Gatecrasher

Thursday morning i woke at 5am and couldnt get back to sleep at 7:00 we was out the door and on the road

First stop was Harveys at SCS to pick the car up got there just after 10:00 loaded the car up onto the trailer and set off for Norwich

Steady drive to Autotest, this is where mike gets his car geometry setup, Turns out my car was way to low so over the phone mike got the guy to raise the car while setting everything else up, only problem he set it up like a rally car

Once the car was back on the trailer Me and the Mrs set off for Mike Rainbirds

On getting to mike's he has a lovely house in the country where you have to go up a long drive and then through a set of gates where at the first attempt is clipped his wall with the wheel arch on the trailer i then backed out and let mike do it as he knows hiw Drive and we did get it in/up his drive but at the expance of my Audi's Clutch

After spaghetti bolognese "cooked by mike" and couple of bottles of wine we was off to bed ready for the my first track day

up and out the door by 7:30 me and the mrs set off for the track, got briefed and noise checked when we arrived and was allowed straight on






this was a Novice day there Was about 15 cars on the track includin a Focus RS, Escort RS200 and a Scopio Cosworth as you can see in the above picks

The only Car that i couldnt get past was a lotus exige, a rare site me in front of it



you can see how high the suspention was from these picks




i also paid for the Tuition at £25.00, if you have never been on a track as in even Karting then its worth having but it was 20 mins of him showing me lines that are obvious and was tellig me to go round corners in to higher gear as i found out on the second day



The end of a wet and damp Day one saw a 1 minute 46 Second lap

once the car was back at mike's we puled it into his Garage and we set about dropping the Cars ride hight and look what i caught on camera

The man who never gets his hands Dirty



Next morning rolled round me the mrs and Mr Rainbum set off for the track, Had mike as my tutor all i can say i havent been spoken to like that since school



Have to say Mike seriously knows his shit and he had me Braking so late i thought i was going to overshoot the corners and caining it round corners so hard that even when it wasnt gripping i was power sliding round them then he switch the ALS on and the thing was like an animal

anyone who hasnt been on track seriously needs too Snetterton is a great first track and i look forward to going back as i think the more i get to know the car the faster i will get Mike Timed me doing a 1.30.9 and im sure on a Dry Day with Slicks on i ould pull an easy 1.25

took the car back to Harvey at the end of the day as the exhaust was kncocking when i turned left, hopfully it will be all sorted for Brands hatch





one of the Best Days of my life

thanks Mike

Ohh and anyone needing Racing Tuition for track Days Mike is £150.00 per day please PM ME For Details

JHS

iTrader: (1)

Nice one Glad you got your car back down to earth...

Gatecrasher

Cheers JHS

3 very short Clips the mrs got on her Digital camera

Bit ALS popping

adamski frst

nice one out of interest what height you running now!? i'm runnin 26'' from arch to floor rear, 25'' front...

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Gatecrasher

Rear 27
Front 26

Wanted the rear a little lower but didnt have the C Spanner so only done one full turn and then bolted the wheels back on as i didnt want to damage the shocks

Have to say i am happy with it but we will have to see once im on a dry track

hows your car Adam up and runnig?

cozzfather

iTrader: (1)

were you doing all that blocks of wood on the front and rear wheels
stuff to save putting the hb on and warp the discs, and opening the
bonnet to let it cool down easier.

nice car

Gatecrasher

On each Outing i done a warm up lap then anything from 5 to 8 hard laps, then one whole lap with no boost cool down, then pull in pop the bonnet check the turbos not glowing switch it off, check the oil and top it up "every time" 90,000 the engines done at 1 bar now im asking 1.8 Bar with ALS

I changed the Headgasket for a Grp A item and standard head bolts, Mike said this would only last 5000 miles of hard abuse or sooner so its a time bomb anyway i just want it to last till the Nurburg ring this Easter

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

I see no mention of the fact that you left the filler cap off for one session and dumped a litre of oil into the engine bay and on to the pit garage floor when we came back in .

adamski frst

mine sits higher than than before on the koni's on my height settings and i'm quite happy with the ride ... As for how it is i think the rear diff is special move back to brum this week gonna pop to reyland book the car in and get 90% of my new parts fitted... Then its on the phone to bufty boy for getting the beam and diff done as i think its way overdue

but as for leaving the oil cap off proper school boy error

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rapidcossie

Looks like a top day Ben

One thing tho...you know that your photobucket is in a public viewing mode?


I havent looked thru it but just incase you have any private pics

kennyA

Looks like a lot of fun.

Thats what these cars were built for. keep posting the videos.


kenny.

dave cos4x4

iTrader: (5)

a very good couple of days then.

you happy with the car etc...

Gatecrasher

I also didnt metion that in the garage late friday night you tride it on and i had to fight you off

as both you and the two guys said in the Subaru "weav all done it"

Gatecrasher

I know youhave ben doing a lot of handeling mods when do you think its going to be ready you got any track days planned?

as far as the oil cap scenario goes it was first thing, i was so exsited when we got there to get back out on track i just totaly forgot

Dan

Car looks wicked mate and sounds like you had a fantastic couple of days!

What sort of speed were you passing the camera at!? Looks like your properly moving!

Gatecrasher

Was a fantastic couple of days thanks mate heard you had a good day Thursday

theres is only car stuff in the photobucket but thanks for the heads up have chaged it now

anyway your allwas welcome to look threw my private parts i mean picks

Gatecrasher

cheers Kenny will do

Gatecrasher

great couple of days

and yes very happy with the car ecstatic

Gatecrasher

full throttle in 3rd changing to 4th as i passed the pits, cant tell how fast i was going as my revcounters not working and the speedo is inaccurate

Is being sorted so will know in future

adamski frst

hopefully have the car in full working perfect order by the summer be working in the meantime just having different parts done... will keep my thread updated ... keep us peeled with yours tho

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

You mean like you tried to fight Rachel's (male) cousin's boyfriend off on the plane that time?

I think had if I tried it on, I would have needed a magnifying glasses and tweasers (and according to Rach, that was because of the cold either ) !

Bullett

iTrader: (2)

nice one ben.glad you enjoyed it and its all coming good for you mate
and also good on mike for helping with the car and the driving lessons what a decent chappie

Gatecrasher

Well if we are going to get personal and truthfull i did start to get worried when jen was hinting about Bondage and i see that twingkle in your eye

especially when you kept on about the pampas grass in the garden

Again thanks for the great weekend now STFU

Gatecrasher

driving lessons

told him he should give up the pipe fitting day job and become a Race instructor would be at the track all the time then

Rippers

Sounds like a quailty day out Mike does know his shit when it comes to driving

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

He was only slightly better than Maureen as well . I had to yell abuse at him to keep his foot in when it slid, as the first time he lifted off and it snapped back quite viciously . The next times (with me shouting at him "DO NOT LIFT!" ) were beautifully held slides .

I think the sayings of the day were "Power!, Power!, POWER!" , "Do NOT lift or brake until I say so!", followed by "Did I say lift yet?!" and then "Don't change gear until I say so, stay in fourth", again followed by a sarcastic "Did I say change gear? / Why are you in fifth?" Followed by him usually wimpering, "But I'm scared" . I had to put my hand on the gearstick at times to force him to hold on to the gear .

When he did actually listen - he seemed genuinely amazed what he and the car could do, and him getting the confidence to take the exit of Corum flat in third actually gave me quite a warm feeling as he started whooping / swearing for joy .

Gatecrasher

at the end of the day you said that you could of only shaved 5 seconds off my lap time in my car on the day did you not?

what did you expect telling me that if i go on the grass at Corum i will deff total my car no matter what

and as far as scared goes yes i was scared formy Car not for me i would like to see you get stuck in a 350hp car on your first ever track day and have someone like you shouting at you in the rain after spending close to 30K going FASTER FASTER!!

like to see how many others could stand it again and again saying come on lets go out again

untill this day i have never had a RWD car or 4WD car and this car had only been driven a handfull of times on the road before that day

Think i done pretty well IMO dont you!

Gatecrasher

ohh and you forgot to mention how good that super powerslide at Russell bend was dont worry ile get you a copy off of the photo guy for your wall

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Okay, if you need your ego massaging, then yes I was very comfortable sitting in the passenger seat, and not once did I feel you were out of your depth, hence pushing you so hard . If you were as bad as some people I had been out with, then I would have been sitting on the wall with Rach after the one session, despite the 1.5 deg temp and biting wind .

However, I'd lay money on the fact that you couldn't repeat your 1.30 without me in the car yelling abuse at you .

Gatecrasher

I have no reason to lie at all do i? as you will see from my sig i have put the time in that you timmed and after you left the guy taking photots was waiting for me remember? well i refueled and went back out with the ALS on and rachel said i done a 1:32, 1:34 and then 1:30.5

you forgot it was the last outing with you i got my confidence on Corum and started hammering it but as you wasnt there i wont put the time in my sig as shes a girl

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

You need to adjust your sig, as by the time you did your fast laps, the racing line was absolutely BONE dry and even off the line, it was only damp in a few places .

Looking forward to the next track day .

Gatecrasher

It rained all day! when it did dry out it wasnt dry was it! no it was Damp

So am i

Top Gears on

kennyA

hi Mike

to put the time into perspective, how does the time compare to other cossies and of course your best time. (standing or flying start)?

If you don't like to compare then I understand, its not really so important, important is a great feeling of achievement on the first completed track day with the car performing well and NO DAMAGE.

well done Gatecrasher.



kenny.

Charlie Chalk

iTrader: (1)

Cool , good reading lol

dave green

sound like kike you had a great time

Gatecrasher

thanks Kenny had a great time, Loving your super light escso too By the way

Cheers Radders

I did mate it was excelent

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Ben,
The day before was damp , and the track in the morning on the Saturday was damp, but by mid morning it was dry (on the racing line), and after lunch, it was almost completely bone dry, with only a couple of places off the racing line remaining damp (these are the patches on the corners I told you not to go on under ANY circumstances ). Despite the threat of rain a few times, the track stayed like this ALL day . You need to go to spec-savers, as the only wet parts were signified by dark patches and I would not have been pushing you to go brake harder and later if it had been remotely damp on the racing line (as I value my own life ) . Remember when it started to spit a little and then it got a bit heavier and I called an end to that session, as I didn't want you to get into trouble on a changing surface . Luckily the rain stayed away other than these few spots, and the track remained consistant all day .

Kenny,
Info PM'd .

Gatecrasher

We can do this all day and night you say it was Bone dry i say its damp yada yada yada

if somthings not Bone Dry what is it? DAMP! if you remember under the bridge there was a puddle all day from the morning till the afternoon next to the yellow cone i remember this as you kept saying get over to the right

you said it was Damp in the morning! it was WET and it rained half way through the day and it rained at the end of the day too

you only have to look at the Stats Rain in the morning, rain in the afternoon, in the winter month of November frost on the roads and bitter wind all day but the track was bone dry like a summers day

no problem i cant be botherd now so i will change My sig and next time i go dry, wet or Damp i will destroy the 1:30.9 just to shut you up

Lets hope Brands hatch is Bone Dry like a summers day too so i can get some good times

glancy2081

good to see you are using and enjoying it

G1EN

looks and sounds awsome Ben..

Great work on the car in such a short period of time, it feels just like yesterday you came to pick up the steering wheel from me and you had only just bought the car.

Will have to catch up sometime for a bit of a photo session if your ever near ya mums place in the car.