birchieboy
Member
Registered: 18th Jan 06
User status: Offline
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So the first outing for me this year was at oulton park yesterday.
Took a while to get used to the new pedal box and seating position which is far lower and further back.
However the pedal box was a vast improvement!!! I actually have good brakes!
Missed 10 mins of quali as the scrutineers were very particular. Qulified 9th and dropped quite a few places at the start after I got sold out to dry on the wrong side of the track and got a love tap from behind. Dropped to 11th and then got back up to 8th. However the race finished 10mins early as air ambulance had to land.
Pleased with how the car went, just need to improve my race driving which is totally different to normal track driving. Key points are learning how to defend and attack at the same time.
http://youtu.be/w6Ko1UlTKA4
Link for race, had to use iPhone to record as battery went dead on go pro 
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boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Looks like good fun! Can't tell you how pleased I was when you passed the Clio and 205, they were pissing me off!
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Reminds me of the old Knockhill vids, some fairly close racing.
I'd have had to close the door on those two though  looks like you spent a lot of time losing your line because they couldn't be gracious, your exit speeds are higher on a few occasions.
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Also after you pass - loads of time you're not using the track to your left. Not sure if its the camera angle but it looks like there's loads of room that side of the car to either come in wider or be faster on the run out.
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Carefull, the home resident steve will be on your case for being a know it all track god or something
I liked the vid, car sounds great, well apart from 5th Reminds me of AK's Impreza BWAA BWAAA BWAAA BWAA Bwoooooooooooorrrrrr
Good vid, room for improvement which you know about. Car seems quick in a straight line but suffers under braking compared to the 205. Is that just down to the weight or something in the setup?
Agree with Ian, use a bit of of the track and release the steering a bit. Less time steerling and let the car go to the edge means more speeds can be carried. But thats half the fun of it all, learning, improving and getting faster  You never stop learning something new. Same goes for race tactics. Going in tight means u'll always sacrifice exit speed, so once you've got passed, try to get over to the racing line again so you can carry the speed. You dont wanna force the others off the track, but getting them to lift a little earlier before the braking zone will always help  All WIP though. Keep up with the vids and post the next one. When are you at Brands this year?
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birchieboy
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Registered: 18th Jan 06
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I did a fair amount of cursing and critiseing my own driving before posting this up online and all of your comments are fair to be honest.
The camera doesn't show when the cars were alongside me stopping me from taking the correct line so on occasions it just looks like I'm running wide which isn't the case by choice.
However I didn't make full use of the track and was some what disappointed slightly with my driving.
Saying that, I haven't driven the car since November last year In the rain at brands and since then the car has changed including the seating position so it feel completely different now anyway.
I had ot of fun and im still learning so more seat time and preparation in time for Rockingham and I aim for a better result. However some people in my class are hard to compete with ie ex works seat super copas with air jacks etc etc
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birchieboy
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Registered: 18th Jan 06
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quote:
Originally posted by Daimo B
Carefull, the home resident steve will be on your case for being a know it all track god or something
I liked the vid, car sounds great, well apart from 5th Reminds me of AK's Impreza BWAA BWAAA BWAAA BWAA Bwoooooooooooorrrrrr
Good vid, room for improvement which you know about. Car seems quick in a straight line but suffers under braking compared to the 205. Is that just down to the weight or something in the setup?
Agree with Ian, use a bit of of the track and release the steering a bit. Less time steerling and let the car go to the edge means more speeds can be carried. But thats half the fun of it all, learning, improving and getting faster You never stop learning something new. Same goes for race tactics. Going in tight means u'll always sacrifice exit speed, so once you've got passed, try to get over to the racing line again so you can carry the speed. You dont wanna force the others off the track, but getting them to lift a little earlier before the braking zone will always help All WIP though. Keep up with the vids and post the next one. When are you at Brands this year?
Yeah I carry 70kg of ballast!!!!
The car is too powerful so I have to stick that much in which does make the car suffer.
As for the 5th.... Yes I know what you mean, haven't got the money to change it yet but by brands gp in August it will have a new lower 5th gear!
Looking forward to that one!
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SteveoBC
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 07
Location: Bucks
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i thought the car looked like it took alot to slow down! now i know why!
how do they set you up in way of classes (ie power/weight?) to make sure its even? i know its ballast obviously but how do they calculate how much you have to have on board??
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birchieboy
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Registered: 18th Jan 06
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quote:
Originally posted by SteveoBC
i thought the car looked like it took alot to slow down! now i know why!
how do they set you up in way of classes (ie power/weight?) to make sure its even? i know its ballast obviously but how do they calculate how much you have to have on board??
It's worked out on power to weight ratio, 175 per ton is the limit and power is taken from a hub dyno which i
Apprently is the most accurate way. As a competition you determine your own ballast depending on the weight and power of your car.
Then there are lower classes, 150 bhp per ton/125 bhp per ton and 100 bhp per ton
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SteveoBC
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 07
Location: Bucks
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ahh i see- simples
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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Not considered taking the weight out and pulling some power out? It'll probably be better under brakes and through the corners so won't be slower overall.
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birchieboy
Member
Registered: 18th Jan 06
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Robin
Not considered taking the weight out and pulling some power out? It'll probably be better under brakes and through the corners so won't be slower overall.
Yeah I've considered it a lot! Although being a n/a car it not easy to do. I have shorter trumpets on the bodies which have already lowered the overall bhp and gained mid range torque. Only other thing I could do is change back to standard cams. But the engine was built with the current cams and compression ratio to suit. Plus it mean a new map which all costs money.
Besides all this as much as I would love and aim to win, it's not a championship, there's no prize money and I can only afford to do 5 rounds this year. Next year I'll be buying a house and the car will be back to a road/track car until I can afford to race again, in which case ill find a different series when I can gut the car down to 800 kg 
I'm back at the ring in two weeks time so it will be ballast out,
Fibreglass panels back on and then let loose round the green hell, can't wait!!
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