Cawood

i see a lot of you track your cossies

i want to get into doing a few but have been warned off by tuners

saying that you cant just take your cossie out on a track its a road car not a race car and you'll kill it straight away

they said you need to spend thousands on it before even taking on a track

with oil coolers for everying, full rebuilt, wire rung block, etc etc

what mods have you all done to yours to be able to track it?

SapphyMike

you'd need a big wing sump idealy.

if you have a tired engine then its probably not best advisable to track it.

remember on a track you're at WOT an awful lot, and revving the engine.

RPMS can kill engines

IANS2RST

iTrader: (1)

mine is just a average stage 3 4x4 & have done 4 trackdays since I've owned it with no problems apart from a knackered gearbox ( it was whining before I smashed it though )
just make sure the suspension, brakes & tyres are up to the job & the car is properly serviced.
if it has any running issues at all do not take it on the track as u will be asking for trouble

Dan Cossie

they may have warned you off not because of the car it could be your driving

and track days are alot of fun UNTIL they go wrong..then it seems like a silly idea if you crash it etc

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

A healthy Standard cossie would take a trackday no problems engine wise in my opinion. You would not need a bing wing sump unless you are running slicks and an oil cooler unless you start seeing oil temps of 110++++

The standard BRAKES would be the biggest problem in my opinion.

A well maintained Stage 3 Cossie is a reliable and awesome trackcar in my opinion.

The problems come when people take tired and bodged, and poorly maintained Cossies on track.

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

Im sure there are a lot of people like me who havent and cant afford thousands of pounds to spend on their cossie just to get it properly sorted for the track. So im going to make sure its the best i can get it, fresh oil, filter, brake pads and discs inpsected and re-newed if needed and plenty of tread on the tyres. If it turns into a nightmare halfway through the seesion i shall simply pull off and let her cool down and try again. I havent got big brakes either. Just uprated standard ones

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Rubbish. However, they do have to be very well maintained examples as track days increase wear and tear, so if the car has mostly original parts on and has done high mileage, then these will no doubt expire or require replacement almost immediately. As long as you have the budget to replace or repair any parts that might need replacing (such as discs, pads, bushes, suspension etc), then you can have fun with no more than 250bhp. However, I would not take a 2wd car on track that still had the standard intercooler, as it is marginal on the road with stage 1 boost. This needs swapping for a 4x4 one MINIMUM.

You don't NEED an oil-cooler below 400bhp or even big brakes if the power is no more than stage 1 (although the braking will need to be in it's prime with racing fluid, braided hoses and decent pads).

A nice reliable (smallish) budget track Cosworth would be:

Stage 1, 4x4 intercooler, 17" wheels, good tyres, Konis, shims on rear, poly-bushed all round, Castrol SRF fluid, braided hoses, Ferodo DS2500s, strut braces front and rear, harnesses for driver (stops you rolling round and helps driving).

Anything you can stretch to regarding improving the brakes will be money better spent than giving the car more power . Stage 1 is also dead reliable . If you want to have fun, rather than going fast, keep the standard sized wheels and tyres .

You need to be aware that there is no such thing as a cheap track day - it WILL cost you at least £500 (pads, tyres, fuel, entry costs, travelling etc).

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

Nice advice Mike, now answer my pm please

SapphyMike

i was advised re a big wing sump regardless.. either way, Prevention is better than the cure!

Jay,

iTrader: (4)

and then came eagle standard clutch, head gasket 110k on the clock 24 psi yyyeeeeehhaaarrr

Alan s1

My cossie is nothing specal i've put a 6 point roll cage in My Engine is off Paul @ north Yorks breas and will be set up to st3 with T34 and i have a Big wing sump tp go on I belive thats Good enough Or tho my braes could do with uprating ,

I do have some other bits that i have picked up like Hydlic Hand break FOAM FILLED FUEL TANK (Standard Cossie tank removed from a race/rally car that ATM Sport broke) Braided fuel line on its way next week Im putting the Batery in the back in a box and i dare say some other bits as i go

xr2i-carl

and it still didnt blow up??

Basky

done about 7 trackdays now in mine,well maintanenced and keep boost levels clever ,but like porkies says brakes are a must,coilovers and tyres will soon follow

Cawood

cheers mike & everyone else who posted

so i dont really need to do anything out of the ordinary by the sounds of things

i've only had the car 2 months now so not done too much to it as yet, got konis, & NMS gunship conv. so far and sorted a few issues with it

think i'll see how it runs for the next few months, make sure its got a good engine n is reliable and take it from there

n hopefully be joining you n a few trackdays mid next year

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

yep .. but coilovers help ..

standard headgasket on 24psi ... i have had a few people tell me you can't oh well
rear road tyres are 4 years old
front road tyres have done 6 track days and are a bit shot now

track days on a budget

Basky

so thats why it says flymo on it
track days on a budget

Jay,

iTrader: (4)

PMSL@ Flymo

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

hey not my fault if some escort keeps slowing me down .. i just got bored of it being in the way

Oranoco

You don't need to go mad to have a riot on track.

Preperation plays a large part. SO check all the major components over and check your fluid levels.

I'm a complete track convert

Tony Ryan

The one thing missing from any of the above lists is CHECK YOUR WHEEL BEARINGS !! Std cosworth wheel bearings may be up to the job of a roadcar but expire very quickly on a track , check , adjust and re-grease , if notchy then Replace !
Enjoy .

bud-weis

you sound like you have been speaking to Karl

he also advised me to fit ;

Big Wing sump
oil cooler
diff and box coolers


couple of grands worth of stuff easy there,i'm running about 450bhp though so i suppose a big wing sump is the minimum i should do,and just not do too many laps at a time flat out, apparently the diff/gearbox oil goes like soot if it gets thrashed for too long without a cooler

Alan s1

Mine is also on a Budget but the lists are getting bigger very quickly but i do need coilovers and bigger front brakes there @ the top of the list will have to see whot i get as a Xmas Bonus this yr Maybe able to get 1 of them

Tony Ryan

use a good 75/90 Gear oil in both and you wont have any problems , as for big wing sumps thats a waste of time unless you have a proper baffle to prevent the oil from getting away from the pickup pipe , out of the 2 just buy a baffle that will solve your problems of surge . You'll find the limits of lots more std components before you need to start fitting coolers everywhere !

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

I do more track days than most, and have never had a problem with my transmission in 35,000 miles - however, I use the best oils I can buy (Mobil SHC 75w90)....

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

Spot on... done quite a few. Now carry complete hubs with new bearings as spares.

and spot on advice about the baffle and the oil and gearbox coolers!!!

rapidcossie

be sensible on track is the biggest thing you can do...

limit sessions to 5 laps at a time as to keep temps at sensible levels.

dont know how many cossies i saw with popped expansion tanks caps at national day..

Micky

At Donno that equals a little under 7 and a 1/2 minutes,what are you supposed to do for the next 7 1/2 minutes,snail around???If youre car cant do the 15 minutes session on any track I dont see the point in taking it out. I'd up grade whatever is limiting it.Regards,Micky

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

i did 3 sessions in a row once poor old car loved it

R4N SS

iTrader: (6)

never had any real problems with mine on track except for the handling

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

wasn't the handling tho was it ..


more like thrombosis behind the steering wheel......