Bedford Autodrome Jan 26th

[c_w]

£129 open pitlane with www.easytrack.co.uk

[pdwarren]

I'll be there if the car is fixed in time. It's booked in on Jan 4th to fix expensive sounding VANOS problems :(

Paul

[manty]

I think i'll book this, a nice way to spend my Birthday :-)

[rex]

I am there with the track-car club. Will be driving a selection of cars. Would love to meet anyone who is going and chat about Z3MC as it is a car I have been considering for a long time and keep coming back to it as a possibility.

Give me a shout if you are going.

[c_w]

Yep, I'm booked on this, I know a couple of others are tow, and there are a few M3/CSLs and I think pos a Z4M?

[rex]

Excellent. I will come and find you and say hello. I've never been in an Z3MC so can I be cheeky and ask if there is any chance of a passenger ride whilst I am between driving cars.

[c_w]

Excellent. I will come and find you and say hello. I've never been in an Z3MC so can I be cheeky and ask if there is any chance of a passenger ride whilst I am between driving cars.

I'm sure we can arrange a trade :D what cars are you driving?

[rex]

Not 100% sure but last list was :-

Caterham Roadsport
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Clio 182 Cup
Caterham CSR260
JP1-RS

http://www.track-club.com/fleetIndex.asp to see the cars

I have paid a bit extra to be in the JP1-RS but as there are only 3 people on the taster day (last count at PH show) I hope to have a go in all of them. I will find out if I can squeeze you into one

[c_w]

Not 100% sure but last list was :-

Caterham Roadsport
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Clio 182 Cup
Caterham CSR260
JP1-RS

http://www.track-club.com/fleetIndex.asp to see the cars

I have paid a bit extra to be in the JP1-RS but as there are only 3 people on the taster day (last count at PH show) I hope to have a go in all of them. I will find out if I can squeeze you into one

Sounds good, I wouldn't mind a passenger ride in the CSR260 (as long as it's not p*ssing down hehe) or the Exige.

[chippy]

I might be able to pop in and see how the 'm-coupes' are going as i've got to come up that way on Sat.

Might not be in the MC though as the seats have been removed ready for the new ones to go in (when the brackets arrive!).

[rex]

Update on the cars I will be driving

Clio 182 Cup
Caterham Roadsport
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
JP1

Bugger. No CSR 260. I was looking forward to that one. Normal roadsport is a bit of a tight fit.

[Muppetman]

Is it okay to go along to Bedford as a viewer. Myself and a couple of friends (GT3 RS and Exige S) are thinking of doing some trackdays this year and are looking for a suitable company/venue to try.

Could we just roll up on Saturday to take a look at the organization,track etc.

We're all worried about booking a trackday with a company and getting there to find a bunch of nutters out on the track.

[c_w]

Is it okay to go along to Bedford as a viewer. Myself and a couple of friends (GT3 RS and Exige S) are thinking of doing some trackdays this year and are looking for a suitable company/venue to try.

Could we just roll up on Saturday to take a look at the organization,track etc.

We're all worried about booking a trackday with a company and getting there to find a bunch of nutters out on the track.

If it was anywhere but Bedford, then I'd say yes you could just turn up, but they're a bit stricter about who's on site at Bedford; but of course you could just blag your way in I suppose and say you're there for the trackday??

If you choose a reputable trackday organiser (eg Easytrack) then the days are usually pretty tightly run and anyone causing any problems are usually dealt with (and of course the briefings are usually quite thorough).

[rex]

It was very nice to meet you today C_W. Hope you had a good day. You seemed to be going at a fair old pace and you overtook me when I was in the Caterham being a bit of a wuss. I tried to hang onto your tail but without success. Sorry I could not get to you in the afternoon after you had kindly offered a passenger ride. I was disappointed as I have never been in one and was looking forward to it after my lunch. BTW could you park any closer to the cafe/briefing area, I'm sure you could have squeezed it through the doors into reception:-). Circumstances dictated that I had to hang around for my go in the JP1. Sods law came into play. First of all 3rd gear went missing only to come back again but it had to be checked out, and when the chap before me went out he got black flagged for noise. 96db on the drive by!!! That was my go scuppered.

I then had to wait for one of the other cars to come in and bugger me, the silver elise was black flagged for the same reason although not by much. Ended up waiting for the caterham and then they closed the track slightly early.

Stephen from track car club had everything timetabled beautifully with contingency for red flag stoppages and all of us having equal time in all the cars. Unfortunately the noise problems for the two cars and the large queues for the pit lane scuppered them a bit. I was thus 2 sessions short for the day but Stephen sorted this out as soon as the red pit lights came on. I am now off to Silverstone in March the day after my birthday to have another go.

As for the cars I went in I will give a quick summery. I had about 15-20 mins in each car

Started in a Lotus Elise and although having no idea on where the circuit went the car was much better than I expected. Reasonably quick but the best thing was the balance and progressiveness when I cocked it up and it started to slide, it was easy to gather up. Very forgiving I felt.

Next was the clio Cup 182. Much quicker than I expected but my driving was poor on this session. I kept turning in on the brakes at the end of the long straight. It got very light at the back and very loose but the steering is very intuative and was easy to correct. Looking back the car was great fun and it was my driving that put a downer on it.

Caterham roadsport after that. Been on a track in these before so knew what to expect. Hugh grin factor but could do with more power and width for by ample bulk. Bring on the CSR 260.

Last was the Exige. This was the car I was most looking forward to (apart from the JP1)and boy was I disappointed. The grip was never ending which for me being a relative novice at track days meant the time I has was not enough to explore the limits. The overriding memory of the car though was the horrible noise it made when it hit 6K revs and the cam profile changed. There was another 1.2K of hell. The noise even with a helmet on should be used as a torture technique. Forget constant white noise for hours on end, 10 seconds of this is enough to break anyone. I was short shifting for the last 2 laps.

Thankfully we all had instructors for the drives in the morning, although in the afternoon some went out on their own. The instructors were excellent and encouraged us to push it. I also can look back at how I improved over the day.

As an added bonus though there was a chap associated with the club with a black GT3 who was taking us out on fast laps. My god what a stunningly fast car and its cornering ability is amazing. In the end he was black flagged for drifting too much but it was fun sitting in the passenger seat with a full on, held for fun powerslide.

That was my day then and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am joining the track car club and hope to be able to see some of you at the events you go on as I am still interested in a Z3MC (especially in black).

[c_w]

Good to meet you too Rex, and I saw PDWarren (Paul) there too in his Estoril, there was a silver Coupe there but I never saw driver and car together when I was out of my car.

It was a good day overall but I would say that I'm not intending going back to Bedford for reasons that the noise rules are ridiculous and unfair IMO (how loud does anyone know their car is on drive-by when you don't know the db limit or where the mic is and distance from track, and the fact that you only know you broke it when you're black flagged and not given any chance to try and rectify it; all this is not told until the briefing) a firend of mine wasted £150 and towing his car 80miles!!, the other reason is I think the circuit is quite poor (not saying I didn't enjoy the day though!), most of the corners are off-camber meaning it feels like it's working against you and you don't get a great feeling of corner speed and there are some mid-corner bumps that caught out a lot of people (the last corner infront of the pits being one of them where an M3 span and crashed into the tyre wall). The other thing is the arrogant staff (the top level people), there's a way to be professional and run tight outfit, but this guy misses the mark IMO. It wasn't impressive to be told in the briefing that they don't need our money and they don't need to run trackdays at Bedford either. Gee thanks... I'd not been back since 2000 (when it opened) for these reasons, when there was some "Hitler" charging round the pitlane grabbing cameras off people (no filming was allowed at that time) and telling us passengers were not allowed but allowing a car full of Palmer people go out (including rear passengers!) but it was done is such a way that you were made to feel like trackdayers are an inconvenience, and things obviously haven't changed! Staff/marshalls running the circuit were great though.

Anyway that sounds like I didn't enjoy the day but I did :D and really I think it's a case of Easytrack being the booking agent for this as they dont really run the day and do their own briefings unlike their regular trackdays which are always excellent.

I was suffering from massive understeer (again) but this time it was worse and I think it was to some extent the relatively new tyres going "off" after about 5 laps, but it was frustrating coming out of tight corners trying to bring the back round to cure the understeering when it was just pushing wide. The back straight is massively long, almost too long and I was seeing 135mph+ down there and there was one occassion where I outbraked myself and had to take a short cut across the grass!!

I had some good laps in the afternoon with an Estoril blue track M3 where he was behind me for a few laps and then I chased him for a few more. It was quite a nice looking track car, fully stripped out running cut slicks.

[pdwarren]

Another great day at Bedford yesterday. I can't believe our luck with the weather given all the rain we have had recently. Good to meet you, c_w. Sorry we didn't get a chance to chat properly, would have been interested to take a look at the brake ducts.

I've uploaded some video I took yesterday:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ir2cEHcGqnw

I get a good straight line speed test against an old-style RS4 down the back straight at around 5:00 - absolutely nothing in it. He's not so hot on corners, though...

At around 6:30 is the one time I came across c_w on the track. Sadly we only get half a lap, in traffic, before the session is flagged.

Yesterday was the first outing on a new set of Falken 452s. Loads more grip than the knackered Eagle F1s they replaced, but I seem to have picked up some understeer with the switch. The car was very nicely balanced with a hint of oversteer on the old tyres, which I put down to the rears being rather more worn than the fronts. I've just bought some adjustable top mounts which I intend to use to add a bit more negative camber, which I hope will improve this, and maybe even increase the life of the tyres a bit.

Paul

[c_w]

Yea a pity it was flagged then I think that was the lucnch break? I know it was red flagged only once throughout the day though.

I set up my bullet camera but only took one tape so my best laps are when I ran out of tape!!!, but I also forgot to switch the microphone on so it's a bit boring without sound!!!

Your car seem really quick, is nice to know it's identical to an RS4 which is a fast car. You can really hear your brakes hammering at the end of the long straight!

[pdwarren]

Yeah, that was the chequered flag just before lunch. Did you see the cause of that red flag, though? I was just putting my helmet on when I heard the infamous howl of tyres along the length of the pit straight. I looked up and there's an M3 making its way through the gravel... Poor sod just clipped the armco. Can't have been going more than 5mph when he hit.

The brake howling was a new one on me. It only did it a few times during the entire day. The yellow stuffs do seem pretty good on track. I'm increasingly sure that the cause of the vibration is the remains of the DS2500s on the discs. How do you find them on the road? I find them a bit borderline when they're cold.

Paul

[c_w]

Yea it could well be the remains of DS2500s on the discs; the yellowstuffs now have a bed in coating which tries to clean the discs up but it might not fully do it if the discs are pretty bad. I find them ok on the road but I don't do short journies in it/day to day, I only use it at weekends really so kind of concisouly warm the brakes up a bit but I know what you mean, they work ok from cold just not as good as when they're warmer.

[Rags]

Chris,

How did you find the Racelogic on the TrackDay and did you have it switch off?

[c_w]

Chris,

How did you find the Racelogic on the TrackDay and did you have it switch off?

I had it on full slip but the back was still only moving around a little bit coming out of the tight long left hander before the long straight and even then it wasn't much (don't think it trigger the traction control) so it prob wasn't used much as rear traction was pretty good. When I was at Oulton it was doing nice drifts out of 2nd gear corners but those Continentals I used to have were rubbish!

[c_w]

Short video clip of me takign a short cut at the end of the main straight! :D

Sorry, no sound so it's a bit boring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP_rS41GDVM

[c_w]

Pictures from the day are up now!

http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/images/large/photo/20080126_bed_eas/M4UPE/DSC_7372.jpg

http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/images/large/photo/20080126_bed_eas/UNSORTEDBLACK/DSC_8477.jpg

http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/images/large/photo/20080126_bed_eas/UNSORTEDBLACK/DSC_8608.jpg



The photographer also caught the M3 spinning / grazing the wall opposite the pits. Looks like it bounced up quite high!!

http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/images/large/photo/20080126_bed_eas/bt53fvd/DSC_8891.jpg


Link: http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/index.php?main...ath=16851_16935 (http://www.trackphoto.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16851_16935)

[pdwarren]

Nice photos. Wish I'd given my car a bit of clean now...

How do you mount your camera on the front of your car? I think I might try that angle next time, or maybe at the back facing backwards.

Paul

[c_w]

It's a bullet camera just under the reg plate (you can just see the lense in the pics), it came with it's own little mount screws on the car. There's no sound because I forgot to switch on the microhpone!! Had it all wired up too next to the airbox.

[steveH]

very good chris. amazing how quickly you reeled the 'pug' in. does this cicuit suit the Z3MC?? is it mainly 2nd/3rd gears??
that M3 certainly got v.wrong entry and must have been going some!!

[c_w]

very good chris. amazing how quickly you reeled the 'pug' in. does this cicuit suit the Z3MC?? is it mainly 2nd/3rd gears??
that M3 certainly got v.wrong entry and must have been going some!!

It suits it well I think, it's definitely a circuit where power helps; there are a few 2nd gear corners but there is also a 5th gear straight(!)

[pdwarren]

I've now got hold of a video taken by a 911 who followed me for a lap:

http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pdw/videos/mcoupebedford.wmv

Not the clearest video, but I'll watch any footage of an MC being thrashed round a track, especially if it's my own :D

Paul

[c_w]

Looks good! - how did you find the video? Was it the silver 996?

[pdwarren]

Looks good! - how did you find the video? Was it the silver 996?

Silver, yes. 996 - think so, I'm crap with my Porsches. Chap came up to me afterwards and said he got some footage, gave him my email address, but didn't hear from him. Then I found this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHC3bEI_634

and got in touch. Clever thing, this interweb. Nice video, but no sign of either of us in it.

Paul

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Hi there guys

I was at beford on that day with the HOT (hondas on track) in my standard black Integra DC2. The Black MC shot passed me after the first hair pin corner after the pit exit. no way i could keep up out the corners and on the strates :driving:

wanted to come up and say hay and ask for a passenger lap but was a little shy...:blush5:

That silver S3 behind the black MC was on full slicks......did you managed to keep him behind you???

BTW New to the forum as i am in the market for a MC soon.

[pdwarren]

Think i may have some video of you V198*** or V337*** ? I've got a lap or so behind these two.

Paul

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Think i may have some video of you V198*** or V337*** ? I've got a lap or so behind these two.

Paul


V198 is me V337 is my mate :thumbsup:

[c_w]

Hi there guys

I was at beford on that day with the HOT (hondas on track) in my standard black Integra DC2. The Black MC shot passed me after the first hair pin corner after the pit exit. no way i could keep up out the corners and on the strates :driving:

wanted to come up and say hay and ask for a passenger lap but was a little shy...:blush5:

That silver S3 behind the black MC was on full slicks......did you managed to keep him behind you???

BTW New to the forum as i am in the market for a MC soon.

hehe, yea you should have come over!

It was a friend of mine Mike, in the S3, he's changed the suspension (coilevers, uprated roll bars etc) and put on big AP brakes plus the slicks. It appeared to be no match for mine in a straight line though (even though it was chipped) but I could only really show that on that really long back straight. We had a few laps together with me in front and him behind, then he went past then I overtook again, but then I understeered off the track(!!!), but overall he was quicker round, but by the afternoon I was lapping much faster and reckon I'd have been slightly quicker after I was lapping with the blue track M3 that was there (running semi slicks).

[Chris]

Hi there guys

I was at beford on that day with the HOT (hondas on track) in my standard black Integra DC2. The Black MC shot passed me after the first hair pin corner after the pit exit. no way i could keep up out the corners and on the strates :driving:

wanted to come up and say hay and ask for a passenger lap but was a little shy...:blush5:

That silver S3 behind the black MC was on full slicks......did you managed to keep him behind you???

BTW New to the forum as i am in the market for a MC soon.


Zorba... Do you post on cliosport.net by any chance, can't be two people with a name like that! If i remember rightly you used to have an LCR? Great choice with the MC, if it's you first RWD car you will love it :D

[pdwarren]

Here you go:

http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pdw/videos/bedford-integra-20080126.mp4

(20 meg download)

Let me know if you can't open that file format.

I'm thinking about doing the MSV day at Bedford on 1st March if anyone else is up for it.

cheers,

Paul

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Hi Chris: Yeah used to have a monico blue 172 and was on cliosport quite alot, not so anymore. Used to go to quite a few meets around London and Surrey as I am based around the Ealing area near ACE cafe. After the clio i bought myself a LCR 225 and owned if for around 18 months, now i have the Integra DC2 and a .............fiat barchetta for when the sun comes out :lol: . Had a Focus RS for about 2 months that a friend lent me as he was out the country but couldn’t live with it and the interior was gash!


Always been in love with these crazy MC ever since i saw the advert on TV ages ago with the MC out in the desert. "the ultimate driving machine"

I know Rags on here from another forum im a member of but as yet i have not seen the car in the flesh.

Pdwarren: I wish I had come up to you guys now . Will have a look into the MSV track day in March as it’s a cool track and as for noise my car is as quiet as a mouse lol

Downloading the vid as I type. Fingers crossed it should work.

Would have loved to go as a passenger in a MC…….quite honestly I have never driven a RWD car. Looking to buy one in the next 3-4 months. Just looking into the whole subject. Might keep an eye on the meets section and pop down to a local one and harass people to have a sit in their cars and ask loads of newbie questions lol.

[Chris]

Zorba (don't know your real name), I used to post on cliosport a lot up till about a year ago when i got the MC. I had a Black 182 with cup packs and Recaro's, i remember seeing you with your LCR at Santapod one time as you were taking loads of photo's???

Have a look in the meets section and come along to something, anyone on here would take you out in theirs. There is a pistonheads meet this Sunday with a few of us going, including Rags and myself i beleive.

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Pdwarren: OMG mate thats a fantastic vid!!!!!!! :driving:

I must say i was pushing hard to stay infront of you.......but by the sound of your engine and your overtaking move it was pretty efforless for both you and the car! i must say i ran mega wide on the last corner.....was the only time i did it tbh

Didnt think the MC brakes were able to take so much, are they standard? How much does the car weigh. I was running brembo drilled and grooved discs and feredo DC2500 pads.

thanks very much for the vid

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Zorba (don't know your real name), I used to post on cliosport a lot up till about a year ago when i got the MC. I had a Black 182 with cup packs and Recaro's, i remember seeing you with your LCR at Santapod one time as you were taking loads of photo's???

Have a look in the meets section and come along to something, anyone on here would take you out in theirs. There is a pistonheads meet this Sunday with a few of us going, including Rags and myself i beleive.

LOL yeah that was me only 2 days after i bought the LCR. couldnt launch is for S*** :lol:

Regarding this Sundays meet which i also saw on the ITR forum i had already arranged to go shooting ages ago with a mate :( would have been a great opportunity to meet up with a couple of MC's.

Can you post a few pics of your MC Chris.....judging from your signature it sounds a bit of a beast

[Chris]

LOL yeah that was me only 2 days after i bought the LCR. couldnt launch is for S*** :lol:

Regarding this Sundays meet which i also saw on the ITR forum i had already arranged to go shooting ages ago with a mate :( would have been a great opportunity to meet up with a couple of MC's.

Can you post a few pics of your MC Chris.....judging from your signature it sounds a bit of a beast


Click on the 'gallery' section at the top of the page and then click 'members galleries' for pictures. Apologies if you already knew this!

Link to a few older pics of mine (pre KW V3's and SS Exhaust)

http://www.z3mcoupe.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2064 (http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/../photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2064)

[c_w]

Pdwarren: OMG mate thats a fantastic vid!!!!!!! :driving:

I must say i was pushing hard to stay infront of you.......but by the sound of your engine and your overtaking move it was pretty efforless for both you and the car! i must say i ran mega wide on the last corner.....was the only time i did it tbh

Didnt think the MC brakes were able to take so much, are they standard? How much does the car weigh. I was running brembo drilled and grooved discs and feredo DC2500 pads.

thanks very much for the vid

The car weighs around 1400kg/1450kg quoted, don't know how when they aren't that big but that's how much they weigh!!!

Standard brakes are pathetic really, powerful enough on the road for a few stops but all too easy to fade, and on track they will barely last a lap on stadnard pads. A pad upgrade is essential, DS2500 pads on these cars are good on the raod but create judder on track; I now use Yellowstuff pads which are also cheaper but I get no judder from them.

A standard M Coupe may be a shock for you if you're used to a focused FWD hatch like the Integra as they [M Coupes] are quite soft in standard form, a few choice upgrades transforms them though. Rewarding to hustle down a b-road because you can feel the car moving around but I prefer it to feel a bit more "tied down".

[pdwarren]

i must say i ran mega wide on the last corner.....was the only time i did it tbh

Not as wide as our friend in the Alfa with the white stripe does on the hairpin earlier in the lap :D



Didnt think the MC brakes were able to take so much, are they standard? How much does the car weigh. I was running brembo drilled and grooved discs and feredo DC2500 pads.



I'm on Yellowstuffs too. Exactly the same experience as c_w with the DS2500s. I get judder currently, but I think that's because the DS2500s ruined the discs. I'm planning on getting some StopTechs, because I still find the brakes a bit of a weak point (and also because the BBKs look cool). Imran's got some pretty good prices on these...

http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?p=50746#post50746

I got some nice clear laps at the end of day and took some times off the video: pretty much exactly 3:00 . Not seen any other times for that circuit, but I was pretty pleased with how it was going.

Paul

[zorba_the_greekMC]

Not as wide as our friend in the Alfa with the white stripe does on the hairpin earlier in the lap :D



I'm on Yellowstuffs too. Exactly the same experience as c_w with the DS2500s. I get judder currently, but I think that's because the DS2500s ruined the discs. I'm planning on getting some StopTechs, because I still find the brakes a bit of a weak point (and also because the BBKs look cool). Imran's got some pretty good prices on these...

http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?p=50746#post50746

I got some nice clear laps at the end of day and took some times off the video: pretty much exactly 3:00 . Not seen any other times for that circuit, but I was pretty pleased with how it was going.

Paul


Paul great track work! Driving the MC round beford must be great fun as you can get the back end out on some of the hair pins knowing that there isnt much to hit. The V10 M5 was doing it loads!

That guy in the Alfa was retarded....sorry to say but all day he was all over the shop! you would have tought in a stripped out track car he would have known a thing of too. I got some vid of him intentionally holding me up for about 2 laps!!!!! Seeing as Blue flags arent used at bedford and the track is massive it got under my skin just a bit!