maurici Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 E I echo what Adam says Big horsepower and lightweight cars are excellent for competitive sprinting but not a lot of fun as a track day machine which is why most speed series guys don't do track days. I need to disgree with that...My car is REALLY Powerfull about 217 bhp at the wheels and still low mantenaince car... (no matter what fasy it is)... but I enjoy 10 times more in a trackday than in any sprint weekend. Sprinting gives me some adrenaline, a bit of thrill and good social experience, but track time... and KNOW YOUR CAR is he key to be fast. Remember than a full day open pit trackday, Will be more track time than 5 full sprinting seasons... so... even the better speed sèries guys should spend more time in track!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Frankland (T3OMF) Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 So how many of our best sprinters and hill climbers do track days I wonder?? Some of us started with track days years ago but after a while it had limited appeal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 EI need to disgree with that... My car is REALLY Powerfull about 217 bhp at the wheels and still low mantenaince car... (no matter what fasy it is)... but I enjoy 10 times more in a trackday than in any sprint weekend. Sprinting gives me some adrenaline, a bit of thrill and good social experience, but track time... and KNOW YOUR CAR is he key to be fast. Remember than a full day open pit trackday, Will be more track time than 5 full sprinting seasons... so... even the better speed sèries guys should spend more time in track!! But you've only just started the sprinting, and the car while highly developed, hasn't quite started to enter the "focussed" zone of some of the sprint cars. You're still in that glorious crossover period from non-competitive track events to outright competition. As an outside observer, it's always tickled me how most of the Sprint guys, once they've been doing it for a number of years and got to a certain level, do seem to loose interest somewhat, in Trackdays. Plus of course, the cars start developing in to two lap monsters, with restricted fuel, instant warm up tyres etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurici Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 So how many of our best sprinters and hill climbers do track days I wonder?? Some of us started with track days years ago but after a while it had limited appealI understand that the timing beam and the competition... gives you a thrill that a trackday does not give you. But, don't forget that you have a car that is a joy to drive... so... why not drive it more often and during more time only to spend time on the wheel, with no pressure... having fun... learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I understand that the timing beam and the competition... gives you a thrill that a trackday does not give you. But, don't forget that you have a car that is a joy to drive... so... why not drive it more often and during more time only to spend time on the wheel, with no pressure... having fun... learning. Because once the cars hit a certain level of development they aren't so much fun to drive outside of the competitive environment, that was the point we were trying to make A Mega S2000, on throttle bodies, or as standard, or indeed, a tuned XE powered car, with a careful choice of chassis tuning, is quick on track, but still fun, and also, it's still enjoyable to drive on the road. BUT, once you start pushing the boundaries, power to weight ratio, etc. etc. You can start loosing some of that enjoyment. (I listed those two engines, only because the thread started with Honda's and Maurici's XE was mentioned.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurici Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 But you've only just started the sprinting, and the car while highly developed, hasn't quite started to enter the "focussed" zone of some of the sprint cars. You're still in that glorious crossover period from non-competitive track events to outright competition. As an outside observer, it's always tickled me how most of the Sprint guys, once they've been doing it for a number of years and got to a certain level, do seem to loose interest somewhat, in Trackdays. Plus of course, the cars start developing in to two lap monsters, with restricted fuel, instant warm up tyres etc... Is true. My car is not sprint focused... and will never be. Fast enough for its category. Don't forget that I often use it to go to tesco and to McAauto.However... I really like sprinting as a side plate it's being a really fun experience. But my main... is time behind the wheel. Who knows... maybe I'll change my mind in some years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek182 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I've done a lot of sprints/hillclimbs many years ago and done trackdays at just about every UK track plus Spa and find both a bit frustrating. There is something fantastic about driving tracks like Spa and Silverstone but the lack of the competitive element always leaves me feeling a bit flat, and speed events can be very frustrating, a couple of timed runs for £100, really! I'm just installing a Zetec in the ex-Richard Abrahams all steel crossflow powered SEi, my first destination will be a trackday, I may do a few sprints next year but probably Javelin events rather than MSA, I reckon an MSA sprint will cost me £500 before I even enter an event by the time I buy new overalls, helmet, gloves and a license plus even more if they change the tyre rules again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish Bloke Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Can agree with both sides of the sprint/track day argument. I really enjoy the limited track day action I get, it is nice to get out with other cars and I do get a bit of a buzz from it but soon get a little bored. The biggest issue for me is the additional wear and tear on the car. Personally I'd always class my car as a little fragile, it's 90% sprint orientated and has a high spec engine, I really don't like putting too many competitive miles on it! Sprinting gives me a great buzz, it can also be massively frustrating but also very rewarding when things come together! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I understand that the timing beam and the competition... gives you a thrill that a trackday does not give you. But, don't forget that you have a car that is a joy to drive... so... why not drive it more often and during more time only to spend time on the wheel, with no pressure... having fun... learning. Learning? Tel? Don't you know that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Seriously, Tel, and for that matter a number of the other leading competitors in the Speed Series, have forgotten more than most of us have learnt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurici Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Learning? Tel? Don't you know that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Seriously, Tel, and for that matter a number of the other leading competitors in the Speed Series, have forgotten more than most of us have learnt! I was not pointing to noone specificly about "learning. in my case I'm in the very early begining with my car... and with sprinting itself... so I really need to spend time with the car. That is maybe why I don't understand the point of the "boring" side of driving in trackdays. However, no Mather how good you are... time behind the wheel is not going to hurt! If the car is not capable because is too sprint focused car... is a diferent topic that I have not had under consideration at the beginning... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 A lot of the sprinters have tyres that don't last long and for the slick cars 2 to 4 laps is a max before they overheat. Also we only have very small fuel tanks so once again limited track time. Quite a few people have serious engines that would not benefit from being thrashed in 20 min sessions all day long and we don't want engine failure before a sprint event so it would be risky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurici Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 A lot of the sprinters have tyres that don't last long and for the slick cars 2 to 4 laps is a max before they overheat. Also we only have very small fuel tanks so once again limited track time. Quite a few people have serious engines that would not benefit from being thrashed in 20 min sessions all day long and we don't want engine failure before a sprint event so it would be risky As I said... this is a topic that I had not took under consideration... And is true that cars with really small tanks and crazy engines will struggle with so much track time. However. Going back to the original topic about if the power is much or too less for the trackday(what a good way to deviate the original subject)... I would say that as long as the car is reliable... power is never enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 However, no Mather how good you are... time behind the wheel is not going to hurt! I'm with Maurici here, you need seat time to improve. Definitely not enough seat time in sprinting. We're all different I suppose.. but my idea of hell is dragging my car hundreds of miles for four or five single laps of a circuit! But one of the major drawbacks if you restrict yourself to sprints only, is the sprinting calendar. The best UK driving circuits, Oulton, Cadwell, Donington and the little jewel north of the border ... are not included! You lads really are missing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish Bloke Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I'm with Maurici here, you need seat time to improve. Definitely not enough seat time in sprinting. We're all different I suppose.. but my idea of hell is dragging my car hundreds of miles for four or five single laps of a circuit! But one of the major drawbacks if you restrict yourself to sprints only, is the sprinting calendar. The best UK driving circuits, Oulton, Cadwell, Donington and the little jewel north of the border ... are not included! You lads really are missing out. VALID! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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