new to track days

General General Lotus Talk
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hi guysi was wondering if anyone has come up with a tick list for track day’s. apart from the obvious things such as fluids and pressures.Exiges seem to be taking a lot of track day abuse, so i’m trying to gather up info on things to check before and after a session. has anyone experienced loose nuts, bolts, or had any tell-tail signs of impending problems?Also the left air scoop to the engine bay has the feed for the cold air induction pipe but it finishes a good few inches away from the inlet scoop, is this normal or should the induction pipe be attached to the scoop on the inside??

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KrisI think most people just check the obvious things you mention (fluids - quite normal to use half a litre of oil on a track day).Other than that - it would be good practice to check wheel stud torque and have a check around the engine bay for loose brackets/plug leads etc. There is quite a lot of vibration and I have lost a bolt from the clutch slave cylinder, I have heard of loose bolts on th ecoil pack bracket etc.Its all pretty common sense stuff and the car will live with lots of abuse but you have to think of the life it leads!!There a various discussions on this bbs about the air intake, which end to have th efilter, should it be attached to the passenger side vent etc… so have a search.most of alll ENJOY…

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KrisThere is a good general checklist here http://www.1-2-1instruction.co.uk/ As with all cars, it is worth giving it a “spanner check” before going on track.Cold air feed pipe - can be connected to the left hand air scoop, the Exige/Elise racers do this, BUT general consensus is that there is then a much greater potential for small stones/grit to be sucked into the engine.You’ll probably find that the car has “adequate” speed on track, without wanting to squeeze a couple of extra bhp by connecting the pipe to the scoop.

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good advice guys, thanks…has anyone tried playing with alloy sizes to increase acceleration? or would this start making 1st gear redundant?thanks again

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KrisExige wheel sizes & the Yoko 48 (or 39)LTS tyres have been developed for the car by the ride & handling experts at the factory. In other words - no point in messing about there! Don’t even think about trying to save money by fitting non LTS Yoko 39 or 48 tyres.What’s wrong with the acceleration? Have you been on track in an Exige yet?? Standing start acceleration is meaningless for trackdays. You can get an ultra close ratio gearbox (search the archives), which will keep the engine revs high up in the powerband, but suggest you wait until you’ve tried out your car to see how it actually performs.If some dosh is burning a hole in your pocket, & you intend doing regular trackdays, here are the things to start spending it on:1. Braided brake hoses & Castrol SRF fluid.2. Pagid RS14 or Mintex 1144 brake pads.3. Instruction (20 min session) at each new circuit you venture out on.4. Short shift gear linkage.5. 190 upgrade (incl. de-cat & sports exhaust)6. Contingency “pot” for new tyres!I’m sure that other trackday regulars will be able to add their own constructive comments.

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quote:Originally posted by kris lane:good advice guys, thanks…has anyone tried playing with alloy sizes to increase acceleration? or would this start making 1st gear redundant?thanks againKrisWhy on earth would you want to do this??? If you start playin’ around with alloy wheel sizes, you will change far more than the acceleration characteristics. And anyway, like Pesky says above… its a bit pointless, unless we are picking you up back-to-front and you want to slow the thing down [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image] It all sounds a bit maxpower to me… better to consider the other things Pesky mentions methinks…

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sounds a bit max-power! Mmmmmmmm! different (lesser) league i believe.The geometry can be altered to suit different alloy’s, since the exige comes with fully adjustable suspension. The reduced rolling diameter would increase the acceleration, of course a new gearbox from quaife would be nice to… funds permitting. The exige is after all a road going version of a race car so the suspension is not tuned for full track racing use, and therefore not at its best.The car actually belongs to my father, i’m trying to find out how he can improve the car. Engine, weight, etc at his request i might add…The car already has the 190 upgrade and de-cat. He is planning the emerald chip and a re-built / re-worked head, wild cam’s and various other improvments.he’s using dave andrews i beleive.The suggested wheel size alteration were mearly an idea. though you would get cheaper tyres?thanks for advice. quick shift is a good idea, how much?

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quote:Originally posted by kris lane:The car actually belongs to my fatherSo does mine [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]

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At least i’m not alone…Mr pesky…

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quote:Originally posted by kris lane:At least i’m not alone…Spooky innit? [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]

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oh so very. . where you located mate.

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quote:Originally posted by kris lane:where you located mate.In a spot of difficulty [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]

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quote:Originally posted by Mr Pesky: In a spot of difficulty [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]Yes, he cannot get the Stanna to work, on account of deteriorating hand/eye co-ordination. His Dad, however, leaps in and out of the Exige with the alacrity of a springing Panther…

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Kris,One thing i would suggest is that you CHANGE the oil in the car before and after a track day, i have a oil temp guage on mine and use Millers CFS 10/60 which is rated at a continuous 125C temp but ok upto 150C for short periods. Temps of 130C are not uncommon when trashing around the track for long periods of time, open pit lane is worse as you tend to stay out longer.Its also cheap at �28 for 5 litres [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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is that fully synthetic? did you ever use either the Castrol or the Mobil and if so what made you change?

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This is my car we’ve been talking about, though I have only just found out that my oh so helpful son has registered as well!!I’ve done 35000 miles now, and so far the car has been impecable, apart from being sluggish at medium revs…V2MAL has been mentioned before by Dave Kernan, and was the ‘other black exige’ being worked on by lotus engineers because of a power reading of 178bhp AFTER the so called 190 conversion(and several ECUs).I also sprint it a bit, hence desire for the ultimate, but staying within A2 MSA spec.Dave Andrews is going to breathe on the engine with verniers, emerald and fully ported head with big inlet valves (32.5s) and piper 1227s, and that happens next month !!I could do with some advice on wheel / tyre strategy. I’ll eventually go to 048s, but I have several sets of barely road legal 039s, plus a good set of 039s. I intend to trailer the car to track days so I can burn my way through the 039s…Are there compatible alloys available, preferably lighter than the originals? If so, how much, and where from ???

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Mike Speedline did a set of mag wheels suitable for the Exige, but I believe they have now stopped making them (do a search on this site for more info). Mr Admin, & Martin Edwards have them on their cars (which they mainly use on track), & I think they cost about �1200 a set some 18 months ago! Latterly, others have tried to source suitable alternative mags, but I’m not aware of any success, sorry.With regards your upgrades, you appear to be taking the best tried & tested route [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] I presume that Dave Walker will be setting eveything up on his rolling road?Look forward to seeing you & Kris at a trackday in the future.

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Steve,Yes the millers is fully synthetic… http://www.millersoils.co.uk. I tried Castrol RS 10/60 but that seemed to break down quicker at higher temps than the Millers does, i haven’t tried Mobil 1 but i will stick with what i have as i change my oil every 3000 miles and as millers is only �28 for 5 litres it doesn’t break the bank like Castrol or Mobil would.[This message has been edited by Trudy Davies (edited 14 May 2003).]

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quote:Originally posted by mike lane:I could do with some advice on wheel / tyre strategy. I’ll eventually go to 048s, but I have several sets of barely road legal 039s, plus a good set of 039s. I intend to trailer the car to track days so I can burn my way through the 039s…Are there compatible alloys available, preferably lighter than the originals? If so, how much, and where from ???Speedline Corse 2010s. I think they stopped making them when the Elise Motorsport series finished. They made them to order, so you may be able to persuade them. I seem to remember posting their reply to me somewhere on this board, try a search.Toyo and Goodyear do tires that fit but to be honest I think you’ll find it reduces the cars abilites significantly, espeacially on track. In the wet though they may well be better.As for the bigger wheels, well, apart from the previous comments, I would have thought the Exige’s relatively low torque wouldn’t have made it suited to them.Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]