Track Day - This week??????????

General Meets + Track Day Reports
21

I’ve booked on too

There are the usual 3 sessions/groups, with a max of 30 cars per session. Naturally, I’ve booked myself into the novices group, cos Sean said he had too

Anyone else?

22

I’ve booked on too

There are the usual 3 sessions/groups, with a max of 30 cars per session. Naturally, I’ve booked myself into the novices group, cos Sean said he had too

Anyone else?

I will be there with my Elise (unfortunatelly on bicycle tyres ) and George with his Motorsport Elise.
That is if we finish his geo and some other bits, otherwise he could bring the family SAAB

Naturally we booked in novices together with you guys

Nikos

(Off to email Shangani and Hans )

23

Naturally we booked in novices together with you guys

Nikos

(Off to email Shangani and Hans )

Excellento

24

I was hoping to make this too but have to wait for my new exhaust otherwise I’ll spend the day avoiding the noise police

25

Just finished working on the car� I�ve did a super fast and probably crap GEO so, I am not sure if it is going to drive straight or not! I�ll have to bleed my brakes tomorrow too

Lets hope I�ll have no major problems and return the car in one piece
But before everything else, I�ll have to pass the noise control, which worries me a bit as the car sounds really loud�
See you tomorrow guys.

26

I went along a took a few pictures. I need a bigger lense when your so far from the track at donnignton !!
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2488.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2494.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2499.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2512.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2537.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2545.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/chaseldine/IMG_2550.jpg[/image]

27

Love the one of Pesky on his own in the Craner Curves.

28

Thanks for the pics Chris. I would appreciate high res copies, if you feel able to, please.

Today was not, in fact, the best of days for me:

  1. Hit a bloody squirrel at 80mph (me that is!) on the A50 driving to circuit this morning. Took 1/2 my Edwards splitter with him, as he inspected the underneath of my car. Not happy - but neither was the squirrel I suppose.

  2. Thought my car felt a bit twitchy in corners, so asked Randy to do a few laps in it. (He was there with his dad & Scuffers shaking down the Prosport being next weekend’s 24hr Britcar race). Big mistake - that boy really can drive. When we swapped places, I was still buzzing from Randy’s performance, & I then proceeded to drive like a complete tw&t for 2 laps, taking Craners with lines I’ll forever have nightmares about! At least I know that I either need softer front springs, or harder rear springs - ta for the diagnosis Randy.

  3. Immediately after lunch, I greeted young David, & his mum (who he had nagged to bring him the 115 miles to the circuit). He got signed on as a passenger, & we went out in the first session of the afternoon. Lap 1 was a gentle warmer upper, & the pace was increased for lap 2. All honky dorey until the exit of the Melbourne hairpin - lost all forward drive! Managed to coast to the pits (which was very fortunate as the session wasn’t interupted for anyone else), to find that the nearside driveshaft was knackered at the hub end. Phoned my breakdown/recovery service, & was loaded onto a truck for the journey home.

  4. Travelling up the M6, get a phone call from Jaycee, who had seen the truck with my car on the back, as he was travelling south for his work tomorrow. Fair play to him, he didn’t really comment about “Honda reliability” - who am I kidding?

Ah well, now sat here downing my second glass of Grolsch, & perhaps things aren’t as bad as I first thought!

It was great to see loadsa peeps today - Sean & his gang, John from Plans, George & Nick, Randy, David, & of course ChrisH.

Sean will no doubt give his take on the day in due course - but in the meantime, thanks again, matey, for offering to trailer my car if the my breakdown/recoverers didn’t have a suitable vehicle for the job.

29

(who he had nagged to bring him the 115 miles to the circuit).

Yeah, and believe me am I making up for it, I even helped bake a cake !!! .

In all honestly though, it was a stunning two laps, and at least now my Mum can (sort of) see what all the fuss is about. She was also most impressed by the whole atmosphere of the day � I think she was envisaging chaved up hot hatches driven by rowdy louts � so I think she�s more relaxed about the whole track day thing.

Also, a big public thanks to Mr P , that really was stupendous fun; hope your car isn’t too tricky to bring back to life.

David

PS. It was really more gentle persuasion than nagging .

30

Sorry to hear that it was not the best day for you - looking for positives:

  • it didn’t rain (or at least you didn’t mention it!)

  • you got a freebie top notch geo check

  • the craners picture is one of the best I’ve seen

31

Oh, Mr P, is this what lies ahead? Days of fun clouded by mechanical misfortune?
I knew it, I just knew it . . . haven’t taken delivery of the dream machine, as yet.Could be Tues or Weds.O next month.I can’t wait. but guess I’ll have to.

32

What part of the shaft has gone Rob ?? cv or the actual shaft itself ??

33

Bad luck Pesky, hope you’re back on the road soon. No fun having to be flat-bedded home, been there a few times with mine now with one thing or another. Another couple of Glosch is the answer for starters!

Hope everybody else had an enjoyable, uneventful day. Pity I couldn’t make it for a nose around this time.

Great pics as always Chris.

34

Thanks for the kind words peeps - I’m not at all downhearted, sorry if my earlier post “over emphasised” a day, which could have been better Steve’s points are extremely valid, & in fact that was precisely the way I’ve been viewing things

Chris - shaft itself appears intact, but it “wiggles” about in the cv joint. I’ve not taken the rubber boot off, so I don’t know what is actually broken, but I suspect the cv joint. Will post findings later this week.

35

At least the squirrel went out in style much better than being run over by an old mondeo

36

Bad luck there Pesky.

Is this a known weakness of the Honda conversion, i.e. drive shaft angle quite acute that can overheat the joint and lead to failure?

There’s been a few now with some issues related to drive shafts.

37

tough luck that rob.you said that the cv joint wiggles,try looking back on the A50,bet it was that bloody squirrel that pinched ya nuts!

38

At least the squirrel went out in style much better than being run over by an old mondeo

Quite how the squirrel failed to see you we will never know

Bad luck Rob, sure it will be sorted soon enough.

39

I went along a took a few pictures. I need a bigger lense when your so far from the track at donnignton !!

Hello Chris

Do you by any chance have any pics of my Elise (gunmetal grey S2)?

Thanks in advance
Nikos

40

It’ll be sorted soon, I hoping this week anyway, although there is no particular rush.

Driveshaft problems are more common with the Honda conversion, for the reason Steve says. In all fairness, the shaft/cv in question has had a good old hammering for 18 months or so, & the hub cv is the Lotus/MGF/Austin Maestro standard issue jobbie after all!

In the last 3 weeks alone, I’ve done trackdays @ Cadwell, Anglesey, & today Donny (4 x 20 min sessions in the morning). Thinking about it, earlier this year I’ve done 2 Anglesey days, & a day each at both Oulton & Donny, plus a 2K mile round trip to France & back. I can’t remember how many trackdays I did in 2005, which were, of course, with the driveshaft which has been a problem today, so putting things in perspective…