E30 Ring project 290708 with pics- nearly done!
Come on Rob
you must be able to do better than that mate
Where's the pictures of the Swiss drift team in their E36's :thumb:
you must be able to do better than that mate
Where's the pictures of the Swiss drift team in their E36's :thumb:
http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
'Ring car complete- first trip done!
As some may have read, we did have the odd "issue" prior to getting the car ready, but we made it.
The big day arrived, and we got ourselves down to Ashford for the Eurostar. The four of us all had a nervous sort of anticipation as to what lay ahead. None of us have been there before, and i have not even done track days or the like for years.
The crossing went well, with the train acting as a mobile garage for the last minute checks (remember the engine only went in two days before )
We then had a fun if rather noisy run down through France, Belgium and the Germany. The car ran well, handling quite smoothly, and the engine seemd ok so far. We arrived at the Nurburgring about 3pm, and landed straight in the waiting car park.
I never expected the atmosphere to be so friendly, nor the noise to fill the air the way it did. There's cars and bikes testing, running, and in the distance, racing and sliding.
We were blessed with good weather, and the people we met over there were on the whole, very friendly.
The car park was littered with everything from Ferrari's and Porsche's to , erm, our 20 year old un tested BMW! :lol:
A sample of what was there were (Stu, here's your flipping drifters, it'll save you reading the whole post
)
And having planned to do the first run on Saturday,but having been bitten by the 'Ring bug already, the first laps were done on Friday before we'd even found the hotel.
The first lap i did was something i'll never forget. Those of you who've done it might recall the aniticpation building as you approach the barrier for the first time, then gently build your pace up as you approach the first brow, and then the road drops away ahead of you and you see the first bends, as soon as I saw it for myself i knew i was going to have a fantastic time.
And luckily the car even came back in one piece!
The specs of the car worked well, the spax PSX kit worked well, not being too upset by the lumps and bumps of the 'Ring, but allowing the tyres to work really well. The brakes worked well, after some concerns were expressed about the Green stuffs being up to it. We were able to read the track fairly well, and after a few laps, the brakes were nt getting nearly as much use once we started to improve the lines between bends.
After a few laps we finished for the night, and retired to the hotel (Am-Tiergarten if you are interested), and we were really impressed with the location, staff and food at this great place. We were lucky and got an upgrade to "Sabine's House", which is a house consisting of 6 apartments, and a triple garage.
So after a busy first day, we put the old girl to bed for the night (The car, not Sabine)
After a great Pizza and a few beers, we started Saturday a little bleary, more through tiredness than drink.
The car had a good nights kip, but mis-behaved coughing and farting (as opposed to the boys, who snored and farted ALL night)
The atmosphere was a little different on Saturday, there were not only more people, but a slightly edgier feel. On track, we all were suffering a little at the hands of people pushing us of line, and cutting us up. My only observation would be, it's better to back off and let them get on with it, than get over involved and crash. There were several crashes that day, with bikes cars and a combination coming together.
This particular Evo was mullered
These however survived!
We did nt bother with a Ring Taxi, as they did nt seem to be going that quick, looked cool though
And there still seemed an endless line of cars to drool over queing to get on (and over take me
)...
In all the videos I've watched, and features i've read, i was nt prepared for the cambers, inclines,declines and run-offs (or lack of)
After the car seemed to be devloping a mis fire, Nigel discovered a vacuum hose had split with a two inch hole in it. After half an hour, he'd fixed it, and it ran faultlessly. The owner of the M5 Touring (above) came over a gently laughed at the hose, as if to say, "been there, had that"
The laps continued, and we all went through a process of improving lines and corners, but the guys did a great job of getting to grips with the car and the track, and put together some respectable laps considering the lack of power it's got.
I struggled a bit on Saturday, trying a bit too hard, and getting lines messed up. It did nt help having car after car pushing through.
The following day though, things settled, and got a better lap in the bag, and was very happy to call it my last on this trip.
I say this trip, because we'll be back next year, with a better car, and possibly others to go with it!
Thanks to all those that took the time to chat to the new boys- Nige's Golf looked a serious bit of kit, but had bearing issues so could nt take me out. He's clearly liked and respected by people there, and Tommi STI came over and said Hi, top bloke, just a real shame i could catch up with him again. (Although i did see him go through one of the corners pictured above (near the Nurgring cafe- bear with me, i am still learning their names) and he was flying!)
The big day arrived, and we got ourselves down to Ashford for the Eurostar. The four of us all had a nervous sort of anticipation as to what lay ahead. None of us have been there before, and i have not even done track days or the like for years.
The crossing went well, with the train acting as a mobile garage for the last minute checks (remember the engine only went in two days before
)We then had a fun if rather noisy run down through France, Belgium and the Germany. The car ran well, handling quite smoothly, and the engine seemd ok so far. We arrived at the Nurburgring about 3pm, and landed straight in the waiting car park.
I never expected the atmosphere to be so friendly, nor the noise to fill the air the way it did. There's cars and bikes testing, running, and in the distance, racing and sliding.
We were blessed with good weather, and the people we met over there were on the whole, very friendly.
The car park was littered with everything from Ferrari's and Porsche's to , erm, our 20 year old un tested BMW! :lol:
A sample of what was there were (Stu, here's your flipping drifters, it'll save you reading the whole post
)And having planned to do the first run on Saturday,but having been bitten by the 'Ring bug already, the first laps were done on Friday before we'd even found the hotel.
The first lap i did was something i'll never forget. Those of you who've done it might recall the aniticpation building as you approach the barrier for the first time, then gently build your pace up as you approach the first brow, and then the road drops away ahead of you and you see the first bends, as soon as I saw it for myself i knew i was going to have a fantastic time.
And luckily the car even came back in one piece!
The specs of the car worked well, the spax PSX kit worked well, not being too upset by the lumps and bumps of the 'Ring, but allowing the tyres to work really well. The brakes worked well, after some concerns were expressed about the Green stuffs being up to it. We were able to read the track fairly well, and after a few laps, the brakes were nt getting nearly as much use once we started to improve the lines between bends.
After a few laps we finished for the night, and retired to the hotel (Am-Tiergarten if you are interested), and we were really impressed with the location, staff and food at this great place. We were lucky and got an upgrade to "Sabine's House", which is a house consisting of 6 apartments, and a triple garage.
So after a busy first day, we put the old girl to bed for the night (The car, not Sabine)
After a great Pizza and a few beers, we started Saturday a little bleary, more through tiredness than drink.
The car had a good nights kip, but mis-behaved coughing and farting (as opposed to the boys, who snored and farted ALL night)
The atmosphere was a little different on Saturday, there were not only more people, but a slightly edgier feel. On track, we all were suffering a little at the hands of people pushing us of line, and cutting us up. My only observation would be, it's better to back off and let them get on with it, than get over involved and crash. There were several crashes that day, with bikes cars and a combination coming together.
This particular Evo was mullered
These however survived!
We did nt bother with a Ring Taxi, as they did nt seem to be going that quick, looked cool though
And there still seemed an endless line of cars to drool over queing to get on (and over take me
)...In all the videos I've watched, and features i've read, i was nt prepared for the cambers, inclines,declines and run-offs (or lack of)
After the car seemed to be devloping a mis fire, Nigel discovered a vacuum hose had split with a two inch hole in it. After half an hour, he'd fixed it, and it ran faultlessly. The owner of the M5 Touring (above) came over a gently laughed at the hose, as if to say, "been there, had that"
The laps continued, and we all went through a process of improving lines and corners, but the guys did a great job of getting to grips with the car and the track, and put together some respectable laps considering the lack of power it's got.
I struggled a bit on Saturday, trying a bit too hard, and getting lines messed up. It did nt help having car after car pushing through.
The following day though, things settled, and got a better lap in the bag, and was very happy to call it my last on this trip.
I say this trip, because we'll be back next year, with a better car, and possibly others to go with it!
Thanks to all those that took the time to chat to the new boys- Nige's Golf looked a serious bit of kit, but had bearing issues so could nt take me out. He's clearly liked and respected by people there, and Tommi STI came over and said Hi, top bloke, just a real shame i could catch up with him again. (Although i did see him go through one of the corners pictured above (near the Nurgring cafe- bear with me, i am still learning their names) and he was flying!)
Some great pictures Rob, they certainly bring back the good memories of the trips
I'm delighted that you came through it (you and the car) unscathed. We need to sort a family trip now :thumb:
I'm delighted that you came through it (you and the car) unscathed. We need to sort a family trip now :thumb:
http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
Superb write up and awesome pics.
The Nurburgring is certainly a haven for petrolheads and everyone should go there at least once !!!! Its crazy some of the cars there, it's definitely a place with serious money !!
The Nurburgring is certainly a haven for petrolheads and everyone should go there at least once !!!! Its crazy some of the cars there, it's definitely a place with serious money !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gareth
Gareth
Nice write up Rob and it certainly was a shame we didn't get to chat. I do remember seeing you on track a lot though! We did 14 laps before our brake discs cracked (again!) but it didn't matter. Probably the best weekend I've ever had and with a 9.18 to boot (on the 3rd lap following one of our group's instructors (Darren/Herr Teflon on Norhtloop) - couldn't have done it without him).