Trackday

[stylussprinter]

YES , in this weather , mad , probably I'm off to Abbeville over the pond next week at the kind invitation of Jeff Wiltshire , along with his son and a Brands Hatch instructor who I think I've probably met at N Weald last year.
His car is a Phoenix 2lt Blacktop Rotrex superchared 550kgs little beastie ---- power erm --- not sure at this point because various pulley sizes have been experimented with but suffice to say it'll be well over 300bhp and similar torque at pretty low rev's
That power has found the odd weak point along the way , in engine and transmission but that's sorted ready for his 3rd season of sprinting . I had a hand in setting the car up & corner weighting it in 2010 plus he was one of the first to fit my ARB , a couple of years before that then tried it out at SPA .
I've never been to Abbeville so track and car will be a learning curve with his car being around 100 lbft more torque than my 600kgs Stylus ----- I'm at Goodwood on the 2nd April for a ''self wake up'' after 6mths of no track driving ready for my first sprint on 27th April ---- however , I think Jeff's car will probably do that job

[stylussprinter]

I made one error in my previous post , Jeff's car turns out '''300bhp at the wheels''' It was a lot of fun and the sound plus the awesome delivery of that 300bhp is addictive , especially once I'd stopped taking tight corners in 3rd which it's quite capable of doing . In 2nd , the throttle plus a tiny bit of steering input can negotiate the tight corners plus take you right up to 80mph or so before hitting the next one . It doesn't accelerate so much as view where you need to get and it's there with a dab of throttle
A few minor things were really driver specific , like not being able to see through/past the drivers side mirror , right in my eyeline for turn in and apex's in some spots. The steering wheel also tricky for me at 9/10 inches diameter and a short 4 inch ' stick ' . Brakes were very good but huge pressure to make them work , obviously just a leverage or cylinder size thing.
If it were mine , I might change the front wheels to a bigger size as they're so much narrower than the rears --- understeer can be a problem in slow corners unless you drop to 2nd and let it oversteer a touch . There's plenty of power in 3rd , it's just that the speed it induces makes it understeer . A bit of fibreglass chopping would be needed but that's not a problem.
Regardless of my comments , this car was absolutely stunning to drive and sounds like nothing else when on full song , nothing like a turbo -- way better . Reminds me actually of the supercharged 2lt ERA's of the 50's and 60's racing scene

Forgot to mention I managed to spin the car twice on the same corner , during the same first session . He let me drive 3 sessions -- brilliant day Thanks Jeff .