Pre-Track day questions

[mark44]

Hi,

My lovely wife has booked me a training/trackday at Silverstone. Needless to say, I'm VERY excited!

I had a couple of questions as I've not done a day at a 'proper' race track, or taken such a coveted car as my c63. I'm not bothered about being the fastest thing on the track (I'm sure I wont be anyway!) - only having fun!

First was insurance. Any recommendations for track day cover?

Second was tyres. I've got both 18 + 19" wheels. Currently have the 19's on. I don't know how much the tires will get worn on a full day, and was considering swapping the 19's for the 18s just for the day, as I was going to get some winter tyres on the 18's and junk the current summer 18's anyway. Makes sense to me to wear out the 18's, and save the 19's right? Will there be much difference in the handling? Both wheels have got stock Continental 5's with a good amount of tread.

Finally, I was going to check the oil, and book a post track day service to change oil and brake pads after the day. Is there anything else I should be considering before and/or after?

Thanks!

 

[wemorgan]

Take advantage of the free tuition that most track day organisers offer. Usually consists of a few sighting laps.

10 lap stints worked well for me. Enough time to get in to the groove, not so long to get tired and for the brakes to over heat.

Remove anything that is not tied down. At the very least the noise will annoy you, at worse if you crash, it'll be a flying projectile.

Chat with the other people - many are friendly and will offer passenger rides if you ask.

Enjoy.

 

[fabes]

A post day oil and brake change would be sensible (if you get your monies worth)
A pre check of all levels also sensible too

I cannot comment on the wheel choice, but using the 18s sounds sensible. You're not going for ultimate times I take it....

Having seen a few others not take the advice that was offered by the officials when I did one, it was know your limits, before you find them (in a gravel trap or going backwards on the grass)
:fail
Yours is a performance car so should be 'capable' on the bends and braking areas but you need not cane it into a corner as you'll pass most other cars on the way out (and sound great!)

There were a few people in 'small' modded cars who tried too hard into corners and were left in tears in the gravel.

Me?
I was in a Ferrari doing a track day at Thruxton (hit 160 down through Brooklands!)

 

[sirius9]

insuremytrackday.com is a site which offers insurance cover.
Search on pistonheads forum, there are a few others recommended too.

Definitely 18's - will handle better on track.

 

[ricky s]

My advice would be as Wemorgan, get an instructor as soon as your able, totally needed to show you the lines and braking points without you wasting your track time finding them yourself. Pre checking engine level etc, all common sense, should you get to checking tyre pressures during the day, given how they will rise, and releasing pressure, dont forget to re pump them to correct pressure on finishing for the day, or your wreck the tyres on route home, probaly do the shoulders in, as I stupidily did on a track day in france a few of us went on, and ran the car on low pressure, Ugh! live and very much learn. As you state, think given your choice I would run with the 18's

Always liked the look of silverstone myself but never been there on track, have a great day out

 

[bolide]

Not much to add to the good advice given so far. Before I had a trailer I would take spare wheels & tyres, a jack and a groundsheet and would leave everything loose in the paddock under the groundsheet for when it rained

I'd start the day with 1/2-3/4 tank and top up at lunchtime if it's getting low

Silverstone is wide, featureless & fast so knowing where to turn in is essential

Nick Froome

 

[mark44]

Thanks very much for all the great suggestions and advice. Better book myself an instructor pronto!

I think I know my limits, but I'd also like to discover the cars.

I'll try and stay out of the gravel traps and tyre walls!

 

[PobodY]

I've never had free instruction at a trackday, but I've only done a handful.

I've only ever done parade laps around Silverstone, but it has a lot of corners and I found I forget where I am on the circuit (except for the most iconic parts).

I've never got through a set of tyres, but I have had them clearly overheated and marbled by the time I got home. - I've got friends who can eat a set of tyres around somewhere like Oulton Park so I tend to use a set of tyres that I don't mind destroying (and keep the road tyres to drive home on).

Take a handful of common spares with you. - Nothing worse that getting half an hour in and blowing a radiator hose; there's unlikely to be anywhere to get a replacement at the track. Chances are you won't need them and they'll just sit in the garage.

Have fun. It's not a race, but that doesn't stop you overtaking people if you outpace them... or vice versa.

 

[mark44]

I've just had a quote back from "Insuremytrackday.com". Nearly as much as the trackday itself, but I guess that reflects the increased risk for them.

There is an exclusion to engine and gearbox in the policy (excluding damage caused by impact). There seems to be an option to cover it at additional cost. I'm not planning on ragging it, but will be pushing it a lot harder than I could on the road.

Is it worth inquiring about cover for those parts? Excess is already running at £3600.

Thanks

 

[wemorgan]

You'll be doing well to hit the Armco barriers at Silverstone.
Your car is a lot of money at risk, but with the £3600 excess even insurance is hardly risk free.

Me, I'd chance my arm and not take the insurance. Just give the faster cars a wide birth and don't over take slower cars on the inside of a corner (usually banned from track days anyway)

 

[Peter DLM]

I've done millions (well, not quite) of laps at Silverstone. Your biggest problem will be overheating the brakes.

If there's time you can flush your fluid and replace with something more suitable, such as Motul RBF600 and hotter pads. The pads you can swap in and out for track day/road. If you do cook the brakes then do two slow laps to get air into the brakes before pitting.

Drop tyre pressures a little, you want to aim for 30-32psi when they're hot. Start with 25 cold and see how they fare after a few laps.

Turn off your stability control as it'll kill your rear brakes totally dead, just be a little careful on the way out of corners. There'll still be some stability control left as MB doesn't allow it to go all the way off unless in dyno mode.

Only danger points at Silverstone are the entries onto the two pit straights. If you lose control here don't try and correct but let the car run wide off the track as the alternative is to over-correct straight into the pit wall. There's lots of room on the outside at these points.

You'll probably do 5 lap stints as you'll be doing 3+ min laps, 15 mins is a long time if you're not used to track days. Come in and check tyre pressures and cool the car down and hydrate yourself.

You'll go through two tanks of fuel. Watch your rear view mirror, just indicate right when a fast car approaches you and let them pass on the straights.

I think that should do it for your first go.

 

[Peter DLM]

Oh, and of course listen to the briefing very carefully!

 

[chesterpiglet]

Hi. The last time I did a lap of Silverstone was in my BMW Isetta with another 20+ Isettas so none of the above applied. The night before 2 Club Members had ridden around the circuit naked on bicycles again without any of the above in terms of problems(other than it not having been

a pretty sight). As a matter of interest I ran 5.20 X 10 Cross Plys without problem. I do remember it being very wide. Mind you there was a chap who had fitted a Kawasaki GPZ 900 engine into his & he kept dropping back so he could have a bit of a blast as it wasn't a track day as such.................happy days
Rob

 

[mark44]

I was considering filming some of the day with a gopro or similar, but I see there are quite a lot of restrictions on camera mounts due to safety concerns.

Can anyone suggest what might be acceptable on a trackday?

Thanks again

 

[grober]

Do you require a crash helmet?

Car track days Terms and Conditions - Silverstone

Helmets and Seat belts or Harnesses must be worn and fastened securely at all times when on the circuit. It is the responsibility of the drivers to brief their passengers with regards to correct fitment of helmet and safety harness and belts.

 

[PobodY]

I was considering filming some of the day with a gopro or similar, but I see there are quite a lot of restrictions on camera mounts due to safety concerns.

Can anyone suggest what might be acceptable on a trackday?

Thanks again

I assume you don't have a cage, because you're generally allowed to mount a camera to something like the harness bar. - What they don't want is a missile inside the car when you corner hard or have a crash.

In my experience it's a little hit-and-miss. - I've seen cameras mounted to the headrest upright get through, and those mounted to the bumper or roof... I suppose if they don't have much cause to look at your car, it doesn't really get policed.
I'd guess as long as it's not stuck on your windscreen you'll have no problems.

 

[Peter DLM]

Suction mounts are fine as long as there's a backup tether. I've used both a headrest mount and suction mount without problem.

 

[PobodY]

Useful to know; now that I think about it, the last time I drove around Silverstone (on a parade lap) I did tie my camera to the spoiler.

 

[StephenSJason]

Rule is with expensive cars is that if you can't afford the insurance then you can't afford to repair your car if it goes wrong. Your excess is steep but if you really stuff it, you'll be over £4K easily. I can understand people running E36 BMWs without it but you've got a bit more to lose. If two of you hit, and neither are insured, then it's unlikely the party at fault will pay cash for your repair.

Track days are awesome but even the best can come unstuck, or be wiped out by someone else. You've got all kinds of cars, slow and fast and with differing driver skill, and some people who make some stupid moves. The worst is catching a tyre on the rumble strip on an exit, then getting a tank slapper going. I've done it at Brands Hatch (not my C63) but held on and spun it on a decent run-off, not far off barriers to be honest. As it's just a fun day, don't go further than sport mode.

You could always have private recovery on standby and roll it into a wall around the corner from your house. That's very naughty though, you know the crime, and you'll probably want to be deleting this thread .

 

[PobodY]

When I did Bedford I tried to chase down a Porsche GT3 in the Nissan. - I overcooked it on the back straight and went across the cobbled section; the only real harm was a cracked windscreen and Churchill don't need to know how I managed to crack it as long as I paid the excess.

Ironically my friend was also chasing the GT3 and over-cooked it on a corner. - He did some grass cutting for them.