[Jon E]

I'm off to a Trackday at Bedford Autodrome on Tues (Arranged by Autocar and Vauxhall) and was wondering about my tyres. I've had my Cooper since Oct and the fronts are getting worn, for maxium life am I better off switching front and back before the track day giving me the 'fresh' ones off the back ready for tues? Or should I keep them as they are until after?

Having never taken it on a track before I'm not sure how much rubber I'll be loosing. It'll be about 3 hours worth in 20 min sets - traction control will be firmly off

Anyone else fancy it? I'll post the details, it would be good ot have a fellow MINI'er' along, as I'm convinced I'll be the most underpowered car there.


Also, any advice for what will be my first time on the track in the Cooper?

I checked this site: http://www.circuitdriver.com/ and it was full of useful info - any more?

Many thanks in advance,


Jon E

[Racer]

Jon E

Have fun is this biggest aim - Here's what I would do tyre wise - I would leave the front's where they are this will counteract the tendency for understeer - However be aware that this may mean that they run below the legal min for driving home - It depends on the tyres you have ie Pirelli's that were supplied with Coopers were really hard - Dunlops used in the challenge are fairly soft in comparison

If your exisiting tyres have 6mm or more on them then expect to lose about 2-3mm from the fronts during the day - If they are below 5mm already you will lose about 1 - 1.5mm for this type of day

Loss on the backs will / should be negligible

Since you have a std Cooper ie no adjustment to susp' etc. tyre pressures will be the only real adjustment you have - Change them by BIG amounts to begin with ie 5psi + so that you can really notice the difference it makes

There is a lot of comment over pressures but starting point for track day in a new car (ie new for you on circuit) on a dry day 30psi all round

Most importantly have fun - wish I could have made it because I'd like to see how std Cooper runs against a club sport

As for being underpowered well you probably will have the lowest bhp/ton out there BUT AndyW and myself were able to push Ferrari 360's into the cormers around silverstone the other day - the MINI's handling in corners is superb and you may get overtaken on the straights but you certainly wont be holding too many people up

R

[Jon E]

Cheers Racer,

I've got the Goodyear NCT runflats which come on the Chili Cooper. The main tread is fine, it's the shoulders I'll have to worry about...

I might swap them around first to be on the safe side as I don't really want to forkout on new tyres this soon. I also have a set of 15" spare with some part worns Yoko's on them which I don;t really care about, same PCD, just trying to find out about the central bore and offset of the MINI at the mo...

What do you do re track day insurance?


Palmersport are offering Personal Accident Insurance for £15 for the day, but obviously doesnt cover damage to the car - touch wood.

They also offer many packs for the day:

Pay £42.50 and be covered up to £2000 with a £250 excess

Pay £55.0 and be covered up to £5000 with a £750 excess

Pay £80 and be covered up to £9000 with a £1000 excess

or many other permutations of those...

I've contacted Elephant to see what they do regarding trackdays but I'm not holding my breath, I know I'm not covered currently.


Thanks again,


Jon

[Racer]

Jon

Run flats are a bit expensive to 'waste' on track days - I'd definitely go down the route of having another set ie your 15's and part worn yoko's and keep the run flats fro the road

Shoulder wear is different for different tracks at Brands I find the tread gets knackered long before the shoulders - at Goodwood and Silverstone the shoulders come in for more use (faster right handers)

As for Insurance I don't on track days but AndyW generally does - I have insured for test days (where overtaking is less predictable!) and use Competition Car Insurance - All the price comparisions for them TL Clowes and Eggar Lawson can be found in another thread(sorry no time to search) and you can reckon aon about £200 for £14K with £2K excess

IMHO you have to be very unlucky or very stupid to do more than £2K damage on a well run track day - If it is your first day (as oppossed to first in the MINI) I'd take it for peace of mind and then make a decision for subsequent days - Airfields have long run off and no arnco to hit as a general rule

Bleed your brakes through if you get a chance before you go just to refresh the fluid at the calipers

R

[ELISEBOY]

Racer - your speaking like a real old pro!!

are you sure this is your first season?

[Racer]

Quote:

Originally posted by ELISEBOY
Racer - your speaking like a real old pro!!

are you sure this is your first season?

Oh yeh sorry .... nearly let the cat out of the bag there

You see I originally thought entering in a 'novice' championship it would be a problem that I had been BTCC champion but it appears it doesn't matter

[ELISEBOY]

lol

well must say you moan at the finish line like a seasoned pro

only joking!

whats your next practice session or will it now be Abingdon?

[Racer]

Quote:

Originally posted by ELISEBOY
lol

well must say you moan at the finish line like a seasoned pro

LMFAO

Quote:

whats your next practice session or will it now be Abingdon?

Lydden Hill 3rd June

[ELISEBOY]

is that the one that we can come along too??

any idea if we can put our cars around the circuit too ?

[Racer]

Quote:

Originally posted by ELISEBOY
is that the one that we can come along too??

any idea if we can put our cars around the circuit too ?

I should think you can come along to watch but you need a race licience to test on test days -

[ELISEBOY]

Quote:

Originally posted by Racer


I should think you can come along to watch but you need a race licience to test on test days -

have to be watching then
btw think you are stalking me on the forums tonight!!

[Jon E]

Nice one for all the tips Racer, much appreciated.

Could you give us a quick run down on the best way to bleed the brakes? Can it be done on your own or do you need some to pump the pedal?

What psi do you run your tyres at for a typical (testing?) day on the track?

Cheers,

Jon

[Racer]

Jon

Bleeding the brakes is fairly simple process - I use a presssure bleed kit the type of thing you can get from Halfords - then you only need yourself - Work diagonally bleeding one at a time ie front right followed by rear left - Tips

1. Try not to disconnect the pressure bleed system until you have finished and used ALL new fluid from the pressure bleed bottle - else the neg' pressure sucks back 'old' fluid into the bottle

2. With the rear jacked up to take the wheels off you can sometimes end up with it too high for bleeding to be effective - when the wheel is off lower the car on the jack to get a better bleed

You shouldn't need to renew all of your fluid since your car is fairly new - just run a little through on each caliper

I will PM you with tyre pressures

[ELISEBOY]

*Round of applause to Racer*

Your levels of knowledge and experience are vast and most appreciated

May the force be with you .....

...... always

[Racer]

Quote:

Originally posted by ELISEBOY
*Round of applause to Racer*

Your levels of knowledge and experience are vast and most appreciated

May the force be with you .....

...... always

....and available at very reasonable rates for a novice

[AndyW]

Quote:

Originally posted by Racer
I will PM you with tyre pressures

Being a bit cagey aren't we?

See you Friday?

JonE - try a mate of mine, Steve Carter's site here for track-day tips - it's worth exploring the rest of the site too, he's got some great piccies (not of MINI's, sadly ). Check out this oops section of his site

Cheers

[Jon E]

You racing lot are all up early!

I 'spose it's in the blood...

'Gotta get going, must be there first and fast..'

Thanks for all the tips and advice, it's all a great help, I can't wait until tommorow, not sure what I'm going to do about the tyres and wheels as my 15" have a different central bore to the MINI so they wont fit

I was toying with the idea of trying to get some part worn 16" tyres from somewhere just to have on for the day, not sure if this is a viable option - anyone else do this?

Thanks for the link Andy, some handy info on there, nice pics as well - whose was the Silver MINI onthis page? What was Bedford like?

Can't wait - thanks again for the advice,

Jon E

[Racer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jon E
You racing lot are all up early!

I 'spose it's in the blood...

'Gotta get going, must be there first and fast..'

more to do with the 18 month old although I like your take on it I might use it in future - AndyW is probably just up earlier hunting fro customer scalps

Quote:

- whose was the Silver MINI onthis page? What was Bedford like?

AndyW is the you or Wallace - where's gromit!!!!

Smile I almost p*&&%d myself - Can we have a before and after shot - seperated at birth - AndyW/Wallace and Darth Vader

[AndyW]

Quote:

Originally posted by Racer


more to do with the 18 month old although I like your take on it I might use it in future - AndyW is probably just up earlier hunting fro customer scalps



AndyW is the you or Wallace - where's gromit!!!!

Smile I almost p*&&%d myself - Can we have a before and after shot - seperated at birth - AndyW/Wallace and Darth Vader

Oi! Not me mate - I was out fighting Yoda or something

This is me though in my TVRman days - halfway down the page Missed my TVR for the first time the other day - when the sun shone, funnily enough Then I went for a spin in the Mini, and I didn't miss it any more...

Andy "Dark Side" W

[Racer]

Jon E

Classic first timers mistake that I forgot to put in the posts

DO NOT put your handbrake on when you come in from a circuit

Pads hit disc
Disc very hot and big
Pads not so hot and small
Heat goes straight to pads (and hence fluid)
Fluid Boils
Nuf said


G