First Track Day Advice

[dom187]

Got my first track day in my RX7 at RAF Marham, I have been on a trackday once but this is the first one when I am alone in my own car. Just looking for any advice/tips really.

Cheers

[mikeb]

All i do make sure brakes are going to last no real leaks anywhere and tyres are good

And enough fuel for the day

don,t rush to get out you have all day to play i leave it about 45 mins just give the car a final check and then the track will be a bit clearer.

What day you going on ?

[Daniel]

Wheel nuts Make sure those are set correctly. Also when you come in to the pits to have a cool down, never leave your car in gear. Because you will forget, and when you go to start it up... believe me, I've been there.

[Ben]

Marham will destroy road tyres, if you have a spare set of wheels, take them - there will be a tyre guy there so you could get them changed before the end of the day !! - Cover the front facing parts of your car as best you can - marham WILL attack the paint. You just have to look up the pics of Dan's Cerbera after a day there.

Last time I did it I went into the canvas on my tyres, the previous time we used the golf we went through a complete set of pads and discs (I will add they weren't new )

Try to use the runway for cooling as opposed to trying to hit warp factor 10.

Take a seat with you - otherwise you'll be standing quite a lot .

[Ben]

This is the general layout (The vid starts at the end of the runway) - you'll see where the track actually starts when watching the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKHoB0EB ... ture=g-upl

[BIGBIMMA]

make sure you put your lid on the right way round , otherwise you will never live it down ,:hat:

[RX7]

Take a load of coolant, I always carry 5litres in my car just to be on the safe side. Also take some oil to keep the car topped up.

Agree with the others re wheel nuts, seats, basic tools etc.

Also take a sunhat and suncream, Marham is incredibly exposed.

Also leave your aggression, red mist etc at home and take it steady out there. Although there is plenty of run off there you should be ok. One thing is if you hit a cone move the car right over and stop to check, I got shouted at big time as I was dragging one and was almost thrown off.

Oh and bring a camera !!
But above all just have fun.

[Ben]

One thing is if you hit a cone move the car right over and stop to check, I got shouted at big time as I was dragging one and was almost thrown off.

Yep in my car !! :P

I think it was more that they had recently spent thousands of pounds on new tarmac and you were doing your best to bugger it up

[Stuart]

Some great advice there Dom
My guidance would be relax, take your time and drive the car as fast as you feel you would on a road that was totally unknown to you. Try to make a point of going out for a maximum of twenty minutes at a time or come in to the pits as soon as the car starts to get a bit hot.

As the others have said, Marham can be harsh on tyres but only if you are aggressive with cornering. Driven steadily and allowing for weight transfer, it needn't be that bad. Same for cooling, petrol and paint chipping. If you drive up people's arse, you can expect to get some marks but if you avoid the traffic you should be ok.

In the videos you'll notice large zebra crossing style areas; these have far less grip than the normal tarmac and because you have paint, tarmac, paint, tarmac, paint about twenty times in as many seconds, stability here is a bit questionable. Prepare for oversteer

The chicanes are faster than they look but cones and cats eyes are airplane spec not highway spec, so if you hit one of them prepare for the thud!

Loads of run off everywhere.......I came off with Ben in the car at about 85 backwards and still missed the brick observation hut More luck than judgement, that's for sure.

Tyre pressures need constant checking once you get up to speed. Oil and coolant levels too but if you drive seven tenths for your first event you should have fun, you should have time to check the car and you should also have time to take it all in.

There should be a couple of other lads going from this forum, and I expect that they will help you out with passenger laps, ducks and drakes stuff or whatever else you need on the day

[Ben]

To expand on Dan's comment about never leave it in gear (funny story) - don't apply your handbrake as you may warp your disks after a session due to heat (road driving will never heat them like a 20min track session), so some chocks are a good addition - I actually leave the car in gear but as I do this normally, I never start my car without checking - hey dan