My first Track day impressions!

[Kregiel]

Hi Guys,

I did my first track day yesterday and enjoyed it greatly. This was at mondello in Ireland - the track is relatively short at 3.5 km in lenght and more technical I would think as only 2 straights where high power cars can shine!

Now my impressions - the first two laps I took it very easy and tried to apply outside / inside / outside technique once approaching the corners etc. After that I tried to press hard within my comfort zone - braked late and tried to get back on power relatively early etc. I got tires squeek on every turn which for my inexperienced head was a sign I was doing quite alright etc. Big brake kit did great as well with no fading what so ever. I did 4-5 laps and then took a short brake etc.

Now my doubts and subjective conclusions
For a track like Mondello with plenty of turns and very few short straights is low weight the biggest factor excluding obviously the skill in winning?? In other words being a driver are you better off in 800 kg 200 bhp car then 1600 kg 400 bhp??  I saw Porsche gt3, and m5 being anihilated by track oriented civics, evos and imprezas. Excluding evos and imprezas which are relatively high power, civics with 240ish (I would think) were running circles around m5 and gt3!
On short straight my 340ish golf were taking off on civics etc but in turns there was no chance in hell I could've kept up! Bear in mind it's my first time so assume 0 skill!
Now the right gear for the turn. Bearing in mind high torque of gti what revs when coming into the corner would you recommend? Will you be in 5500 revs coming into a corner or better 4000 ish? There were some corners which 2nd gear seemed to low but 3rd seemed to high etc.

Avg consumption for 95 km I did in total was 21.5 l per 100 km which is 13 mpg!

All comments welcome especially from track lovers from our community!

And I defo come back to the track!

Paul

[danishmkvgti]

Your BHP is interesting but not that relevant. What have you done to the suspension to prepare the car for track?
rear ARB? Coilovers, WALK, LSD?
My first outing in my golf after it was K04'ed saw it doing straight lines in every turn og stock suspension bar H&R lowering springs, so if you haven't done the above things you don't have a chance against a lower hp lower weight car that has been set up right.

And tracking is quite like modding, once you start it won't stop again 

[tony_danza]

You can't beat physics, light is fast.

There is a false image of powerful stuff being slow though, don't always assume the car isn't capable of cornering fast - it takes a lot of balls to risk £??,???'s worth of Porker by going all out.

My balls would certainly be a lot bigger in a few grands worth of Civic than a LOT of money's worth of GT3/M5.

[Kregiel]

Your BHP is interesting but not that relevant. What have you done to the suspension to prepare the car for track?
rear ARB? Coilovers, WALK, LSD?
My first outing in my golf after it was K04'ed saw it doing straight lines in every turn og stock suspension bar H&R lowering springs, so if you haven't done the above things you don't have a chance against a lower hp lower weight car that has been set up right.

And tracking is quite like modding, once you start it won't stop again 

My car is well modded- b12 suspension, hr arb, walk, quaife lsd and XB, UB Unibraces. In fairness it handles very well

Paul

[Top Cat]

You cant really judge a track day pace on the type of car and power of the car. The Porsche and the M3 drivers may have been to scared to risk on the edge driving or they might not be very experienced. Driver. There is so many variables. Knowing the circuit makes a big difference in time as well, i bet you were 4 or 5 seconds faster at the end of the day. There is always driver ability and bollock size to add into the mix too. I have been passenger a few times recently and have seen Angels and Grim reapers waiting at the Armco. Some people can drive cars right on the edge of adhesion lap after lap, it is astonishing how a car can be man handled round a corner even if the grip is not there.
As for you gear change, in a Mk5 most corners are going to be in 3rd or 4th. The odd one in 5th   so all you need to judge it on is avoiding changing in the corner as the weight transfer will make things interesting.
If you can hit most of the apexes when you are flat out ( not as easy as it sounds ) then you will be amazed how much faster this will take you, and it will bring a big smile to your face.  

[Kregiel]

You can't beat physics, light is fast.

There is a false image of powerful stuff being slow though, don't always assume the car isn't capable of cornering fast - it takes a lot of balls to risk £??,???'s worth of Porker by going all out.

My balls would certainly be a lot bigger in a few grands worth of Civic than a LOT of money's worth of GT3/M5.

You are very right here! On the straight m5 was pulling miles on me despite my power and lower weight.

Paul

[tony_danza]

Case in point - I was at Anglesey the other week in an S1 106 Rallye with a mere 100bhp of umpf and barely enough torque to whip cream. I was taking most bends flat in 4th and sliding the back end into apexes to maintain momentum. In that ballsy little car, I dicked a fair few people.

I got into TC's Exige and pottered around like a fairy.... and got dicked by loads of people in slower cars. I simply wasn't prepared to push TC's car to the same limits. The car was way more capable then I was allowing it to be.

What I'm getting at is don't worry about what other people are doing, just enjoy the day for yourself and try to improve your skills. There's no trophies handed out at the end of the day.

[Hurdy]

What tyres were you running on track Kregiel?

[Kregiel]

What tyres were you running on track Kregiel?

contis 3

Paul

[RedRobin]

What I'm getting at is don't worry about what other people are doing, just enjoy the day for yourself and try to improve your skills. There's no trophies handed out at the end of the day.

.... x 2

And try and be as smooth as possible.

[PDT]

The GT3 and M cars more than likely were not interested in getting into battles with civics. Its common on trackdays for the boy racers in their tin sheds to think they are destroying GT3's and M3's with their £300 coilovers and loud exhaust but in reality the more valuable cars are just out for un and not trying to prove anything or risking damaging ther expensive metal in a tangle with a chav trying to 'hit vtec'