TRACK DAY! Driver Training Day - Wakefield!!!

[T-Sport]

Hey guys... there is a track day on monday... public holiday... its organised by the honda car club but non-members are allowed... cost will be around $130 + u need license, helmet... it's a good opportunity for u to learn your car and test your skills especially since u dont have to worry about cops :P hehe

i've been numerous times down to wakefield and i can tell u its a golden experience to check it out...

please check out http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=143437

I hope some of u other sportivo owners can make it cos i dont wanna be the only one :P

hehehe

[xTiGeRx]

DAMN IT!

I would love to!

but....i'm working... <_<

If i'm not working, i'll definately be going on the next track day Aaron.

-Chris

[grimlock]

Can people come and watch?

[T-Sport]

yeh was a good day... tiring but good experience to see how the car goes on track... basically the suspension is really really soft so theres heaps of bodyroll... and yeh under hard braking the tail slips out a bit especially on the 2 hairpins and the first corner... its really difficult to stay in lift out of these corners... the needle is stuck at 5000 and u lose vital seconds of lap time getting back into the power band... :(

what about times u say? well i was timed for a few laps and it was up and down cos my line is really bad... was doing 1:30's at the start but got better during the day and got around 1:22-1:23... mmm not bad considering the car is 3 weeks old and my first manual car :P

[xTiGeRx]

Aaron: What other cars showed up?

Did you beat anything in the Stivo? heheh

-Chris

[T-Sport]

there were lotsa dc2's, dc5's, mr2's, wrx, s15's, skylines, a prelude, civic's

beat anything? mmm dunno... track was pretty empty most times... its fun chasing someone... chased a black dc2 and stuff for a few laps.. that was fun... sportivo can keep up but then they have more acceleration/torque which pulls them outa corner... thats why dropping outa lift really SUCKS!

[ZEEROLLA]

Hey T-Sport, i guess you sure did have a lot of fun chasing down Type-Rs! Invest in a set of close ratio gears and that will allow the Stivo to keep itself in the power band. Fairly expensive but they work very well especially if you are bring the Stivo to the track to kick some butt :P Alternatively get an aftermarket computer to tune for more low end torque.

By the way, how many kms have you got on your car? Any problems with yours, like shifting problems or clutch or brake problems?

[T-Sport]

yeh its more fun... i mean WAY more fun chasing ppl on the track than driving by urself cos u pressure them etc :P i thought the sportivo had close ratio gears already?? anyway im still not used to car yet so yeh i reckon if u were a good driver u could stay in the power band..

yeh that sounds interesting... might invest in some suspension first.. the roll gets annoying... ive done 3000km's... theres no real shifting problems actually.. its just difficult heal toe-ing into 2nd sometimes cos its really tight and u cant slam in it gear cos of reverse... :( clutch and brakes are fine... brakes are pretty good... but yeh as i said b4.. if u brake hard and turn steering a lil bit the car loses the back and its quite scary hehehe... i find the first corner really hard and where i lose alot of time...

[ZEEROLLA]

yeh its more fun... i mean WAY more fun chasing ppl on the track than driving by urself cos u pressure them etc :P i thought the sportivo had close ratio gears already?? anyway im still not used to car yet so yeh i reckon if u were a good driver u could stay in the power band..

yeh that sounds interesting... might invest in some suspension first.. the roll gets annoying... ive done 3000km's... theres no real shifting problems actually.. its just difficult heal toe-ing into 2nd sometimes cos its really tight and u cant slam in it gear cos of reverse... :( clutch and brakes are fine... brakes are pretty good... but yeh as i said b4.. if u brake hard and turn steering a lil bit the car loses the back and its quite scary hehehe... i find the first corner really hard and where i lose alot of time...

Great to hear your car is trouble free.. mine has gearbox problems, very difficult to shift when in lift, very tight especially 1st and 2nd gear. You mentioned reverse gear and that got me wondering if that is the problem.. Only has 3500kms on the car.

Regarding the close ratio gears, you can get even closer gearing for the 6 speed allowing you to accelerate faster in each gear. The current gear ratios doesn't keep the engine in the power zone during upshifts which is around 6500rpm. It drops to 6000rpm and below sometimes and that is not the sweet spot. But yeah, the suspension probably needs to be fixed first for track use. Also it would be wise of you to invest in some racing brake fluid, brake pads and oil cooler. Track racing puts much more strain on the car so be aware. Keep up the hunt down for the Type-Rs :D

[Toohey]

T-Sport, I am heading to Wakefield for a race day on Friday week, any tips mate? I am going to take the digi along and take a few snaps to post. Going to be a few Rexies, an Evo V, a bunch of older Porsche's and a few Rolla Accents etc.

I posted way back in December trying to get some interest in a day at Wakefield, but no one was really interested, may have been cause so many of the Stivo's only had low Km's on them.

Were you able to keep it on the track all day? Any spin outs?

[T-Sport]

yeh well... make sure u slow down for the first corner... its kinda tricky... u can take the bend without braking but u have to brake in that little straight before the hardish right... then u can take 3rd all the way until the middle hairpin... then u gotta slow down and do that in 2nd or else u'll understeer... then 2nd for last corner and yeh... cain it on the straight...

take it easy if u've never been b4... try and figure out ur line as it is very important on this track... basically one little mistake and u lose losta time... and yeh keeping in lift is quite hard... i was quite happy with my performance... i've still to get better as this is a new car and learning the lines and all that...

[Toohey]

Thanks for the tips T-Sport. I am going to get lowered Kings put on this weekend so hopefully that will help a little with the body roll.

I will let you know what times I could muster.

[T-Sport]

toohey... where are u getting ur king springs? i want them as well? are u in sydney? are u going for the 35mm drop? KTFL-105 and 106? how much are u paying?

[Toohey]

I am getting the Low Kings which I think are a 35mm drop. I have been quoted $242 for the set from Autobarn.

I am in Canberra though, isn't there autobarn dealers in Sydney? If so they should sell them for the same price, they are currently offering 10% off the Kings and take about three days to order in. I am taking the car to Neal Bates Auto next week for a 10K service and they quoted me $131 for fitting them the same day.

[T-Sport]

ok cool.. thanks for that toohey... yeh ill ring up some places... i just dont know where in sydney ppl sell springs hahah... newbie... would be nice if someone in sydney could post up some places i could ring :D hehe

[xTiGeRx]

Toohey: They have opened the Neal Bates shop already?

OOOOO!!!!!

What performance stuff are they selling???????

-Chris

[Toohey]

I am not sure if they have a shop open. I am taking it just for a service. I will suss what bits n pieces they have when I drop it off tomorrow.