A journey into track days

[BatMobile]

Gents,

GoPro cameras...

I got one with the view of taking some footage of the fun but most say no suction mounts, no external mounts unless roll hooped etc.

I wanted to place it on the front tow eye and had a guy set up to bond a mount to the actual front of it but thats clearly not an option, how do you guys mount your's that keeps the stewards happy? 

Thanks

[NW76]

I always mounted mine on the Harness Bar ... do you have a Harness?

If not its going to be difficult to find a perfectly „steward approved“ place ... anyway a suction mount on the engine comparment window will do the job in most cases I think ...

[Colin67]

Hi Alastair, Norbert. You should get plenty of advice on this topic here as many do it. I have the Sony equivalent and attach mine using a suction mount on the windscreen, but tied off to permanent structures, (ie internal mirror support, sun shield structure) with cable ties. This has satisfied the 'authorities' so far, including Brands Hatch who are as strict as any i would have thought. BTW Alastair, this is what David Pittard will do whether he uses his own car at Silverstone next month with you or you use your own car if you have included use of his video set up. If you are using your own car, as i did last year when I commissioned David for the day at brands hatch, I also paid for him as a second driver. That way I have the video on how it should be done. Always useful.   

[BatMobile]

Hey Colin, good to hear from you.

yes I have commissioned David on my car and put him as a second driver. He will be bringing his vbox as well so we can discuss improvements between sessions.

planning on using him every third track day this year to really build my skill/confidence.

just got Hofmanns to put r600 brake fluid into my car at David’s request.

i have a horrible feeling that this track day plus watching alias and gfwilliams threads  is going to require a serious increase in my husband points....harnesses, lcd dash, forged wheels, tvs1500 I can feel the need to do them all growing by the day....

norbert thanks for the note, you are helping to convince me on the harnesses question. 

[Bibs]

You'll have a lot of fun

[Colin67]

I admire your commitment to improve Alastair, David will certainly be able to up your game. On the subject of 'husband points" you are seriously screwed now, its a never ending journey!! You mention harnesses and i can thoroughly recommend them. I found myself getting moved way off the controls last year at Hethel in the two hairpins so had a single Schroth 4 point Harness installed and it makes a huge difference. (unless you head off having left the passenger window open, or left the heater blasting, etc cos you cannot reach anything when strapped in). The installer is in Petersfield, not a million miles from you and i can recommend him. BTW, track days are always more fun when you have others around and I try and tie up with a number of folks on a Elise Cup Owners facebook page. Do you have any others in the diary in the next two months?

   

[BatMobile]

I know bibs, that is what’s concerning me! Maybe we need a thread called “how do you earn husband points, the definitive guide to ideas”.

I agree Colin, for me it’s a way to meet like minded people and enjoy the off track time as much as the on track.

This is the only one I have in at the minute but planning to add some more over the next few weeks. If you have any recommendations of days I would love to hear them. 

With two young kids I need to ensure they are within a sensible distance so I can just get up early rather than stay away; ease my wife in slowly  

just asked Hofmanns to do the harnesses - I blamed you and Norbert to my wife.

Who did you use in petersfield? Might quickly get a quote before Hofmanns order them in. As you say he is just up the road from me.

[Colin67]

Thanks for alienating me with your wife!!! 

Because i live in the Southampton area, everywhere is a long way away except Goodwood, so I always book a hotel for the night before and often the night of the track day. I have the opposite wife issue to you. With 5 grandsons my wife is only too happy to see the back of me for a few days! Brilliant.

I'd have though Brands would be a good option for you and i love it. Its reachable and a great track. In fact i think that would have been a better track for teaching than Silverstone.

I'll be chatting with some friends about track days over the weekend so I'll let you know if we pick any venues.

[Bibs]

Silverstone has 22 corners to Brand's 5, and it feels safer without Paddock to scare the life out of a first timer. 

[Colin67]

Hi Bibs. Agreed about the GP circuit, however i think Alastair is on the National circuit.

[BatMobile]

I wouldn’t worry Colin, my wife gave me the look of “that’s total bullshit but i will save this for a future battle i need to win”.

yes, I am on the national circuit, David said there is a lot of run off at Silverstone so he knows the corners to push a little harder and teach me how to save a wobble. 

Brands is one I would love to do soon for sure. 

[Bravo73]

5 minutes ago, BatMobile said:

Brands is one I would love to do soon for sure. 

Save up for the ‘full’ Brands GP course. It’s a very different beasty to the smaller Indy circuit. 

[Colin67]

Agreed Jonny. Much more demanding and well worth the extra cost.

[M4rk]

Yes, Silverstone is a great place to start, not much to hit there and it is a fast circuit - you will know this by how many times you have to get fuel!   

I loved driving Brands GP and would highly recommend it but maybe later in the year for you, on the GP section there are some very limited run off areas and the threat of arm co will likely subdue you.  The Indy circuit is better from a run off point of view but in my personal opinion is too short for learning compared to Silverstone as @Bibs said.  Paddock Hill bend is awesome but may be a bit daunting too for the first track outing in your Exige, it certainly was for me!

Silverstone all the way, the bigger problem there is other faster cars, lots of race cars attend and if it is wet be very carful on the exit of Woodcote in particular and Club, not the place for oversteer with a pit wall ready to catch you!!  But David will be all over that for you and guide you well to keep you safe.

Have you also considered the Garmin, I don't have one but a few guys on here do and you can get an OBD attachment which will give you some overlay information.  You may also be able to get that for GoPro I am not sure.  Worth a thought.  If you are like me, once you have seen David's VBox data you will be wanting that set up....but that is quite an investment though!

 

[LF1]

On 04/01/2018 at 21:34, BatMobile said:

LF1 did you opt for a radical or stay with the caterham for this year's racing?

Sticking with Caterham this year. But probably not a full season. Seriously considering one or two Lotus Cup Europe rounds or maybe UK. 

As for go pro mounts I just stuck a mount on the internal Perspex rear screen and then on on the rear bumper for the rear and the sound. Always worked well on the LF1. 

More difficult with the Cup - struggled to find a decent mount on the rear so tend to just use a roll cage mount on the Barnes bar. However important to change to medium view and get the spot metering right and lined up or you get really bad contrast as you’ll see on a few of my Elise Cup videos. 

[BatMobile]

Wow lotus cup will be very cool, keep us up to date please as it’s interesting following people’s experiences. 

Did they not flag up the rear suction mount on track days or did it depend on the track you were at?

i have a quote for the harnesses:

To supply and fit a harness bar you would be looking at 4 hours plus the bar. So that would come in at £532.14 inc VAT

been quoted £290 per harness for schroth.

does that sound about right? How much did you guys pay? 

Thanks

[NW76]

Sounds ok

[GFWilliams]

22 minutes ago, BatMobile said:

Wow lotus cup will be very cool, keep us up to date please as it’s interesting following people’s experiences. 

Did they not flag up the rear suction mount on track days or did it depend on the track you were at?

i have a quote for the harnesses:

To supply and fit a harness bar you would be looking at 4 hours plus the bar. So that would come in at £532.14 inc VAT

been quoted £290 per harness for schroth.

does that sound about right? How much did you guys pay? 

Thanks

£220 per harness here, but took a few weeks to arrive:

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/schroth-lotus-elise-ii-fe-asm-harness/prod_2421.html

[BatMobile]

@GFWilliams thanks buddy, that saves a bit of money.

is the harness bar about 4 hours to fit? 

[GFWilliams]

1 minute ago, BatMobile said:

@GFWilliams thanks buddy, that saves a bit of money.

is the harness bar about 4 hours to fit? 

I got Jez from Back on Track to fit mine, but it looks pretty simple if you're good at removing the seats. I've got it down to a fine art now so could probably do it pretty quick!

[Colin67]

Hi Guy's. just got in from the golf course but have to straight out to mother in Laws birthday. I'll post my harness/installation costs when i get back in a few hours.

[david_pittard]

16 hours ago, M4rk said:

Yes, Silverstone is a great place to start, not much to hit there and it is a fast circuit - you will know this by how many times you have to get fuel!   

I loved driving Brands GP and would highly recommend it but maybe later in the year for you, on the GP section there are some very limited run off areas and the threat of arm co will likely subdue you.  The Indy circuit is better from a run off point of view but in my personal opinion is too short for learning compared to Silverstone as @Bibs said.  Paddock Hill bend is awesome but may be a bit daunting too for the first track outing in your Exige, it certainly was for me!

Silverstone all the way, the bigger problem there is other faster cars, lots of race cars attend and if it is wet be very carful on the exit of Woodcote in particular and Club, not the place for oversteer with a pit wall ready to catch you!!  But David will be all over that for you and guide you well to keep you safe.

Have you also considered the Garmin, I don't have one but a few guys on here do and you can get an OBD attachment which will give you some overlay information.  You may also be able to get that for GoPro I am not sure.  Worth a thought.  If you are like me, once you have seen David's VBox data you will be wanting that set up....but that is quite an investment though!

VBOX is the one.... 

  you almost forget its there and all the things it’s capable of logging! 

I’m a dealer for VBOXs, and for TLF members I’ll throw in a days Driver coaching, system install and set up for free if they buy a HD2 unit through me and a healthy discount on coaching for the Lite unit as well! 

 

Buzzing to get out with @BatMobile in the Exige! Fresh meat for me ??

[Colin67]

Hi Guy's. My costs were: Schroth 4 point harness from Demon Tweeks £280. This was the Lotus specific one which comes with tailored strap lengths to avoid surplus webbing and includes the bolts/washers etc to instal both harness and road belts. Installation was by Analogue Automotive in Petersfield, who purchased the harness bar for me and did the full installation for just under £300. Have since read quite a few posts from racers and might have gone for the 5/6 point model in hindsight to eliminate submarining.

Reference Davids post above i must say i was immensely pleased with the quality of his VBOX equipment, whether installed in my own car or when out in his. Great video and an audible soundtrack. Recommended.  

[BatMobile]

Thanks Colin, excited to get my car back with the upgrades I have requested.

 

i need a rear tow strap but all the lotus versions are red. Anyone else sourced a yellow strap that they would recommend?

[Colin67]

Hi Alastair. Just to keep you up to date re track days. I have just booked Goodwood on 24th March with 'Lotus on Track, (LOT)' where there will be a number of guys and their wives from the Cup owners Facebook page. It's not that far from you and they are a really nice group so if you fancy the outing i'm sure you would enjoy it. I also have Spa Francochamp booked with LOT on Monday July 30th and will then go on to the Nurburgring again and a visit to komo-Tec who's upgrade i had installed last year. I know LF1 is going to this and probably a few more from TLF. This immediately follows the four day '24 hrs of Spa' meeting, the biggest GT3 event of the year, so  accommodation can be difficult, but OK from the Sunday night 

I'm currently tracking the weather and considering Donington National on 29th Jan. Weather sure looks crap right now though!! Went last year and loved the circuit. If I go this will be a last minute decision based on a decent forecast as its a long way from Southampton and needs hotel bookings for me. I'm also looking to book something in February. Currently communicating with a friend on the FB page and will probably do Brands Hatch Indy on 25th Feb and maybe one other. In communicating with David Pittard a few days ago I told him i was even considering coming up to the Silverstone National when you are there to offer myself as a target if I have nothing else on. I've not done Silverstone, but probably wait to get on the GP circuit.

I'll also be looking for more venues through to mid summer and will develop some ideas soon.  If you fancy anything please let me know.

Enjoy your time with David. I'm sure it will wet your appetite and I look forward to meeting up sometime soon.