first time track day

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chrisyleigh

New Member
Been discussing about a track day with my mates , hopefully car will be ok , thinking of going in feb to oulton park and I basicly know nothing about track days so info is much appreciated , there will be me in the pulsar , a 2.0vxr powered corsa , 20xe nova, e0xe corsa, zs 2.0 turbo and a few other mates in 1.6's so there's a few of us its all for my 21st wanted to do something different , ano about the noise level but what else , ano about helmits ect its mainly the insurance thing do you have to have seperate insurance for the track ect cheers chris
 
bensmith907

bensmith907

New Member
Not sure of the noise limits at Oulton Park but normal noise limits are 100db but some times they go up to 119db's. so you may have problems if you have a super loud exhaust, have a look for mufflers for your exhaust and take it just incase (don't want to be bounced and end up watching your mates have all the fun).

The track days Ive been on in the UK Helmets are mandatory, but the company your booking through will probably have a helmet rental. You can get track insurance but you dont really get much for your money so Ive never bothered- (just dont crash! lol).

Dont know what Mods you have but you would benifit from a Oil cooler as the standard oil cooling system is pants. Don't go crazy on the Laps probably 5 or 6 at a time then go for a short drive off the track after to cool down your brakes (on that note dont use the hand brake when parked up and where possiable dont sit on the foot brake otherwise you'll warp your disks)

I may start up an age old arguement here but Yellow stuff brakes are pretty good on the Pulsar if your using standard calipers etc...

Whatever happens mate have fun and if you aint the fastest out of your mate you need to have a word with yourself :lol:
 
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chrisyleigh

New Member
I think its 105 at oulton park and thanks for the info so its not compulsary to have track insurance , and I dnt have a oil cooler it will just be a basic 1bar pulsar with front mount , silenced mongoose exhaust , airfilter, fuel pump , ill try to get a oil cooler buy then , I don't know what its going to be like against my mates cars but shud be good fun , any advise or more info appreciated and ill let it cool down and leave it in gear when parked up cheers
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
all good advice which ben gave you there

make sure you get fuelling checked on rollers before going on track because if everything is not 100% you will destroy your engine for sure, its a completely different envoiroment on circuit to road driving and stock engines do not like heat of any kind.

waste of time with insurance just take your time and concentrate on your lines and try to be as smooth as possible, speed will come naturally

theres loads of other stuff on this if you do a search
 
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geoff pine

Well-Known Member
I thought oulton park was 100?? i would make sure by asking the track as a mongoose with a 5" tip has fail the sound test there .
 
bensmith907

bensmith907

New Member
pulsarboby said:
make sure you get fuelling checked on rollers before going on track because if everything is not 100% you will destroy your engine for sure, its a completely different envoiroment on circuit to road driving and stock engines do not like heat of any kind.
Click to expand...
Hmmm :cry: Agreed!
 
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chrisyleigh

New Member
So its the master bob advice then haha and yes bob don't want to be killing that engine do I , and the coilovers shud come to use , me and my mate are both getting our injectors sent to be cleaned like u said bob then ill get in on rollers before I go. We will all be newbies to the track seen but hopefully become a comon seen :) I'm slightly worried about standard brakes aswell but we'll see
 
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chrisyleigh

New Member
And my mates corsa C , with a 310bhp vxr engine is some compition and he's lighter aswell , the c20xe corsa and nova are around the 180bhp mark but can pick them up with a finger ,the mg zs is 276.4bhp at fly but is heavy
 
bensmith907

bensmith907

New Member
I did the Nurburgring on standard brakes with Yellow stuff. Wasn't that bad but obvoiusly bigger is better! your mates corsa will have problems putting down the power with front wheel drive I reckon. I have a mate who has a 300+golf and all he does is spin the front wheels every time he puts power down. he cant power out of corners either he just understeers and goes in a straight line!
 
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chrisyleigh

New Member
Its amazingly grip his corsa haavent had chance to put the 2 in a fight yet but we'll see and I'm hopeing to have willwoods but might not , haven't got a strut brace yet but do they make that much difference anyway?
 
bensmith907

bensmith907

New Member
Not sure haven't fitted mine yet. I do suffer alot of roll but I rekon suspension and wheel size (high profile tyres) is my biggest problem.
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
i would forget the power differences tbh as the circuit is a great leveller

ive been taken out by an 80 year old ex racer in a mk1 golf running 210bhp at brands hatch (not just me he was whooping everyone lol) he was that doddery he needed a hand to get out of his chair into the car, his driving skill was way above mine or anyone else on the circuit:lol:
my car at the time was well over 400bhp so its all about the driver really and how much corner speed you can carry.

also as marky said....brakes,4 pots are a massive improvement but depends how hard you drive.

as the old saying goes 'late on the brakes first on the straights'......very true
 
campbellju

campbellju

Moderators
Staff member
Oulton is 105db, they also do drive by checks too.

Any EBC pads :flame::fight:

Helmets are £10 to hire at Outlon on the day. See if you can get one off ebay 2nd hand as it won't be much more if at all.

My first track day in the Sunny was on a near standard car running 1.0bar. It was fun but struggled with the oil over heating. Just do 5 laps (about 10 mins) at a time to preserve your brakes/tyres/oil etc. The temptation is to push harder but it's too easy to over stretch your car.

Remember to do sighting laps and always do a cool down lap. Sighting laps can be important in winter as weather and track conditions quickly change. I remember at Anglesey once I saw a lotus elise stuff it into the hairpin first lap after lunch as the braking point was about 30m earlier. I only just made it round.

Insurance isn't really worth bothering with. Costs a lot and doesn't cover your engine, gearbox, brakes, tyres etc. Main point of track day is not to crash! If you're worried, it might be worth looking at an airfield day first. Elvington in York is close but not sure who runs days there now.

Don't worry about being overtaken, everyone that can drive home again is a winner. :thumbsup:
 
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chrisyleigh

New Member
Brake down cover lol tow it a few miles away from the track first tho haha and thanks for the info I take it you've been oulton park before campbell , been from manchester there's a few tracks up north but all the best seem down south , ill just take it easy and see what the oils like might invest in a oil cooler if its going to be a regular thing , I don't want to push to hard trying to beat my mates haha
 
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MarkTurbo

Well-Known Member
Another thing to remember is keep an eye on your mirrors for faster cars, its quite surprising how fast somebody can appear behind you. As long as you don't try and push yourself beyond your own ability you should be fine ;-)


pulsarboby said:
as the old saying goes 'late on the brakes first on the straights'......very true
Click to expand...
It certainly is, thats why i've got these under my front wheels :lol:

 
bensmith907

bensmith907

New Member
First time I went on a track I paid for some lessons from an ex touring car guy who was there on the day. Learned some valuable lessons. maybe seens as its your 21st you could get someone to buy you some lessons :lol:

BTW Im loving your wheels Mark, what are they?
 
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