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blaked93

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What do you need to go on track days. Me and my uncle want to start going with either a mr-2 or a mx-5. Just wondering whether you needed a specific licence for different cars etc.
 
on trackdays you only need to meet the minimal of requirements. pretty much has to be road legal if it's driven to the track. all lights and brake lights have to be working, indicators etc too. if you are stripping the car out to reduce weight, you will need to have a way to open the doors from the inside and to close them (door strap for example) the fluids etc are all up to you, if you turn up for the trackday with low coolant .... that's your problem so to speak mate. basically the scrutineering is common sense, checking for the stability of your seats / seatbelts etc making sure everything's secure and working.

you WILL need a helmet at all tracks, for safety reasons. it's also good practice to have a fire extinguisher incase an engine fire should happen you will want to get at it as soon as possible rather than watching your pride and joy engulfed in flames waiting on the fire marshals to come!!! bring spare tyres, and over inflate your trackday tyres to around 20% of the normal road pressure approximately (34psi road - 40 psi track) for example! obviously check the condition of the brakes, will they need replacing? if so, consider the best brakes you can get for your price bracket.

is this your first time on track, and if so then do you have any experience with RWD vehicles? if this is your first time in a RWD vehicle i would strongly urge you to avoid the MR-2 as a first RWD track experience. it's quite fast and precise for what it is, but it is an absolute pig being mid engined unless you really know how to drive these cars and control the weight shifts under braking you will run the risk of going sideways into some very expensive cars or some bangers, wheras with the mx-5 you will have the time of your life. the mx-5 is a perfect begginers track car, you can drive at the limits of the car itself and it is really well balanced too. you will have a lot of fun learning left foot braking. wish you all the best!
 
Oscar you forgot you're told to wear long sleeved tops and trousers not shorts and sensible trainers ;)

Also don't have anything rolling around in the car, gut it out so its completely clear of any moving bits, you don't need a race licence for public track days but its advised to get some one on one mentoring with an instructor so he/she can teach you some techniques you probably won't know and how to get around the track in a safe and controlled manner, after all a smooth lap is a fast lap ;)
 
You must wear all clothing
Branded/made by Renault too
 
LC":3kfapore said:
You must wear all clothing
Branded/made by Renault too

bitch_slap.jpg
 
oscar":3u48z01m said:
LC":3u48z01m said:
You must wear all clothing
Branded/made by Renault too

bitch_slap.jpg

Like Oscar does... All the time ;-)

Psst don't panic when left foot braking too I did and ended up planting my foot hard down on the brakes on a country lane locking everything up
 
back on track! no pun intended ;) as waitey says, most tracks will want you to wear long sleeved clothing and trousers. the co-owner of twingo133.net Matt & his other half elly drive mx-5's on track, although they are drifters ... Matt is pretty much the guy in the know when it comes to advice on all things mx-5. i do have a little soft spot for those cars when they are slammed. i seen one yesterday slammed on it's hoop and when i peered in to see how low the seat was, a little bit of poo came out. i'm not scared of heights, but i got a bit dizzy seeing how low it was lol.
 
some places around here require cover under the car in case your car is dripping oil etc.

don't apply handbrake when coming back to pits or you might weld your brakes, and let your car run for a bit

also I don't know how it is in UK but I like to bring my own food/drinks
 
So what cars would you recommend. I've heard mx-5s are the car I go to. But heard things like clio 182. 106gti. Saxo vts. All gutted of course ;). Was going to do my twingo but I would be a bit lost if I crashed the bloody thing haha
 
I've never been on track but surely you deflate your tyres slightly on track as the pressures will build up with the heat? As in you want less than 30psi and keep checking them as the laps progress?
 
Hrabroslav":jen1bh89 said:
some places around here require cover under the car in case your car is dripping oil etc.

don't apply handbrake when coming back to pits or you might weld your brakes, and let your car run for a bit

also I don't know how it is in UK but I like to bring my own food/drinks
It's nothing to do with welding to the discs it's to do with heat transfer into the brake fluid and effectively boiling it. And you don't need to keep it running unless you have a turbo and even then only if modded.

Otherwise Oscar's said it all so nothing more to add.

Oh apart from if you can take tuition do so
 
I've done quite a few track days in my MR2 Roadster and to be honest I found it great for a first time track car, eventually I modded to a standard that was way above the norm which when you consider it was still a N/A - could certainly give the turbo boys a run for their money, as power is not everything as some people seem to think.

If you do complete a track day in either a MR2 (Roadster) or MX5 you will normally be made to run with the roof up - unless it's got a hard top fitted - more weight, other than that most is covered above, always do a cool down lap, keep your handbrake off as it will warp your disc's (if fitted on the back) as well as boil your fluid (as stated above) if you have been over doing it.

The most important bit is to not race other cars, do your own thing, let faster cars go bye, use your mirrors and watch out for the arm pit :eek: :eek: that you will always find on a track day who eventually ends up in the barrier, apart from that just enjoy yourself. :cool: ;)
 
markhardy":3rtlh7yq said:
I've never been on track but surely you deflate your tyres slightly on track as the pressures will build up with the heat? As in you want less than 30psi and keep checking them as the laps progress?

1. Over inflate your tyres
If you`re heading to the track on regular tyres then you would need to carry a set of four spares with you. You are bound to lose tread on the way round so if you have part worn or barely legal tyres then you won`t be able to drive home. Make sure the tread is adequate and before you get onto the track, over inflate your tyres to compensate for the type of driving that you`re about to undertake. An extra two pounds on each tyre should be enough to see you through the day.
 
blaked93":2zpjtv8b said:
So what cars would you recommend. I've heard mx-5s are the car I go to. But heard things like clio 182. 106gti. Saxo vts. All gutted of course ;). Was going to do my twingo but I would be a bit lost if I crashed the bloody thing haha

mx-5 is a really good car for what it is, underpowered so that you are driving it at the limits. like i said dude, the mr-2 is a fantastic car if you've had lots of experience of various RWD vehicles but going from RWD front engined to RWD mid engined is a different kettle of fish. the two cars i'd recommend someone to start with when it comes to RWD would be the mx-5 or the bmw 3 series (take your pick of engines!) for example the 328 E36 you can pick up for 600-1.000 and it's fairly rapid for what it is, although you can pick up 323's for the same peanuts. but it's really up to you mate, you will have a barrel of laughs in any car to be fair... even a rover! lol
 
Do I need to have normal insurance for my track car. As I would probably trailer it there. And I read that it doesn't have to have an mot. As long as it is not dripping oil and stuff. Does this mean that I wouldn't need tax aswell ?
 
nope you don't need MOT or TAX as it's a private road essentially, you don't need insurance either. you only get trackday insurance to cover your own car, in which case anyone who takes their car on track takes the risk. honestly it's just common sense more than anything dude
 
Am I legible to tow a trailer with a car on it without having to do one of them tests ? I passed my normal test in 2010
 
blaked93":324npzt1 said:
Am I legible to tow a trailer with a car on it without having to do one of them tests ? I passed my normal test in 2010

Not with a twingo no, they aren't allowed to tow anything.

But you do have to do a test to tow a car on a trailer
 
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