Dave's super clean trackday machine

car was taken to track torque racing yesterday for set up.



firstly the car was checked over to make sure all the bushes and suspension components were ok before trying to set the car up. the staff were very helpful in asking what i wanted thinks setting up for i.e track, fast road, looks, oversteer or understeer and how different caster, camber and toe would effect the characteristics of the car on road and track.





geometry was next to get the car set right before altering camber and caster.

2 degrees of negative camber was put on the front to give an advantage on track under hard cornering but not so much that it made the car a ditch finder on the road. caster was set only a little to keep the car smooth under straight acceleration and braking.



the car was then corner weighted with me acting as driver ballast (something i was actually brilliant at) and the ride height of the car adjusted as necessary to distribute the weight as evenly as possible. front to back was 65/35 which i was told is ideal for a fwd car but the left to right balance was harder to get even due to the engine, fuel tank and driver all being on the right hand side of the car. this ment increasing the height of the dampers on the right hand side to balance the weight more.

the ride height was raised at the rear about 5mm and the front lowered by 5mm which gives a much more balanced ride height.

ive only driven the car 20 miles back home since due to the weather but the car did feel better over the bumps and less busy at low speeds and on rougher surfaces than before. raising the rear seems to have helped get rid of some understeer when turning in hard as well. hopefully some dry weather will allow me to get a few more miles done soon. very happy with the service and advice from TTR.

also in there unit was BTCC racer Dan Welch's old S2000 class seat leon running 380hp



and a v6 engined Chevron. both had sadly been crashed the day before at doningtons test day



thanks for reading. comments and questions welcome.

regards

Dave

 

visited Seb to clean his and my R26 yesterday and thought id share some pictures as its the first time ive had the car out since the suspension was set up and the trackday wheels were fitted.















and the morning after with a bit of beading.




ive also just purchased a 197 steering wheel which im planning on getting retrimmed once it arrives.

Dave

 

thanks mate! there ET55 standard size so 235 section tyres.

my favorite mod on the car still. give the car real presence

Dave

 

thanks very much Jamie

 

finally got round to fitting my Cupra splitter today and gave the car a clean up ready for blyton





simply screws in place once the old brackets are removed. the hardest part is lining everything up as you need a few pairs of hands ideally. wasnt sure how it would look but now its fitted im really happy with how it suits the car. lets hope i dont loose it on track this time!



my 197 wheel has also turned up and should soon be sent away for retrimming.

Dave

 

yeah it was my only real with the brackets broken off and the front looks so plain without it. Fits like a dream though and wasnt expensive.

 

Thanks very much andy. Thats high praise indeed! I was the same, never really a fan but now its on im really pleased with it. Looks better in the flesh. Ive got a few more pics I'll upload them later.

 

this is the same as mine and should be genuine VAG item. Prices have shot up but compared to the oem trim its still good value.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/221106412164?nav=SEARCH

 

Yes mate. Same as standard size.

 

another shot of the splitter



not bad gloss either for just a wash.



Dave

 

thanks mark. Seems to fit and suit a good number of cars. The more I see it the more im liking the look

 

Thats it mate. Just line the centre of your bumper up with the centre of the splitter. I removed the front wheels as it runs into the arches a bit before its trimmed. Get a fixing in below the fogs first then it should flex enough at the edges to finish flush at the conrners of the bumper.

Dave

 

finally made the time to upload a few pictures from the Blyton Park trackday on 15th march that me and Seb attended.



this was my first trackday since destroying my ds2500 pads and replacing them with PFC 07 compound pads. the pads took a few laps to fully bed in but performed faultlessly. after the sighting laps i stayed out for around 45mins without returning to the pits and both the brakes and tyres remained trouble free.





the car felt on another level from how it performed last year at blyton with the BC's now fitted and improved pads. big improvements noticeable from mid corner grip to getting on the power very early to drag the car back out. some corners that required braking last year now only need a slight lift before your able to get back to accelerating.







fuel consumption was high at 10.4 average including a trip out for fuel just before lunch.











soon the car will need the front tyres replacing as the treat to the edge of them as gone although grip remains the same on track. i have 4 more RSR's to ruin before i consider a slicker compound such as the fereral FZ 201's. til then its just going to be a care of track, clean, repeat as the car is performing so well.

thanks for reading comments welcome

Dave

 

thanks steve. Have considered fixes buckets before but its a big step to get rid of the standard belts and the combined comfort of the trentlines.

 

Thanks liver. The new layout was the day after but was cancelled due to a lack of interest.

 

Thanks Northy. Yeah they work ok for fast road but seem a bit overwhelmed on heavier car on track. These performance friction pads may not be cheap but they perform on another level to what ive used before. They should come with a free bottle of iron x...

dave

 

Yes mate I think thats what put people off. If theyd been clearer and said people who have done X amount of trackday or more. I dont think the short notice will have helped either.

 

if i could find something to fix straight to the OEM mounts or even the R26R mounts steve id be very tempted.

would still want them to slide and ive always hated having to use a harness on the road. open to any suggestions you or others have though!

Dave

 

thank you John. a picture would be great when you get a minute.

 

im on track at blyton again with some friends from fiestaSToc on the 13th but i might come down for a look and maybe a passenger lap if you have a free seat. i really want to do donington at some point though with my brakes working properly!