Monday - Brands Hatch Report.
It was an early start but I made it to Brands with no fuss. Its been a long time since I did any of this so have to admit to being fairly nervous.
I didnt really take much in the way of pictures so excuse the lack of media content
The good news was it was raining. This suited me fine as it suits a low powered FWD car and having never driven a Clio on track I had some learning to do.
I fitted an old CG lock before I went on and this kept me nicely in place and not craving a full set of harnesses.
The suspension has transformed the car. I find the standard chassis balance rather boring - it understeers way too much but the Tractive suspension certainly gives a more exciting sharpness to corner turn in. Grip was pretty reasonable though without a diff I was fighting for traction on the exit of Druids and Graham Hill bends and Mclaren Bends into Craner Curves. Paddock Hill bend is quite a sight as you first drop down into it and I think my favourite of the Circuit. I do not think its the most technical on the Indy circuit however it bites when you get it wrong. One driver (Alex) absolutely stacked it and rolled his 182 4-5 times.
I just caught it on video. Apparently he was largely unharmed and the car drove back on his trailer which considering it was not caged was amazing.
Death of a Clio Video
Being wet the first session felt like I was driving on ice. I checked the tyre pressures and the Yokohama AD08R had still managed to get very hot and needed about 4 psi let out. This did improve grip but an LSD would drastically improve corner exit speed as the nose washes out wide quite easily if you are too aggressive on the power. The Clio excelled in the wetter conditions as others were unwilling to push as hard. For me it felt more and more comfortable.
There were loads of Clio's out so I felt the need to be the fastest
There were some great Meganes on track and they romped away on the straights. I think a Red 3RS had 400bhp and that flew round. They benefited massively with having the fancy diffs too so I was a little jealous - plus I think the 3RS looks fantastic to follow. I chased the faster cars anyway like a small dog chasing a man on a bike. Anything was fair game and it was a blast.
The track dried out and the pace of everyone increased accordingly so the afternoon favoured the bigger powered cars as they could get traction. I also began to concentrate more on what the car was doing and I realised some of the skittish cornering was the traction control (rather than the road surface) coming off and on. As Chris at Beaniesport was messaging me for parts I told him of my annoyance and he pointed me to the TC Unit next to the handbrake. This car was rather better for the lack of intrusion.
This device is pure evil...
The Tractive suspension is nothing short of epic. I was able to use all the kerbs and the car never got unstable. The fast bump reaction time meant that even on Paddock Hill Bend I could nip the apex kerb without unsettingly the chassis. The morning I ran the damping on softer settings to allow more weight transfer but for the afternoon I ramped up the dial to maximise the stability. The chassis was wonderfully slightly nervous and went where I steered it yetwas easily able to be adjusted by the throttle after the corner apex. I was able to brake as late as I dared with the Winmax and the Clio really in summary did everything I wanted of it. I think under braking the rear only got unstable once or twice into Paddock Hill Bend as I hammered the brakes. I've had a look at the new rear exhaust mount compound and that survived the abuse I gave it too.
The drying track and increased heat turned out to be the factor to end my day though and I cooked the driveshafts. I got a knocking sound and vibration suddenly and had to coast to the pits. I checked the front end over and both driveshafts had a fair bit of play so that was the day over.
I let the car cool, packed up and headed out the pits to see if cooling would reduce the vibration enough to drive home. I didnt get far before the vibration suddenly got very loud. As I had only made it up to about 20mph I quickly slowed and turned to pull over and the wheel fell off. If you want to slap fun in the face have this happen!
The only good thing about the incident was the comradery from other trackday drivers. A group stopped to help and basically with a bit of group thinking saved my arse. We got a jack under the rear of the car, wedged an old fence post (that one found in the bushes) under the front so we could then move the jack down enough to get the wheel back on. One found two studs after a little searching and we got the car rolling again.
One of the guys helping runs his own recovery business so I got him to take me home. Damage is minimal considering as the chassis landed on the disc and wishbone and nothing else. I might have scrapped the front skirt a bit more but the wing took the brunt.
So there are some thoughts to assimilate so a list is required:
1. If you have small brakes old driveshafts will die.
2. With mettalic pads the Clio 182 brakes get too hot in the dry to not to have cooling ducts.
3. Thermal contraction as brakes cool will loosen nuts and dead driveshafts act like an impact hammer.
4. Bring the car on a trailer. Its easier to check over a car at home with no pressure.
5. Dry tracks need grippier tyres no matter what the air temperature.
6. You will rub the inner arch liners no matter how stiff the suspension (I'll trim these down or remove them)
7. You dont need to strip out your car to be fast
8. Theres enough feedback through the powersteering so dont remove it.
9. Get the aircon regassed. Its hot work.
10. Dont leave the circuit without tripple checking everything that could be loose (importantly after the car has cooled) - I will always have a doubt about when those nuts loosened.
So thats it really for the winter as we now have a list of repairs to do (Another list)
1.Two driveshafts have been ordered. A Renault reconditioned unit for one side and SKF driveshaft for the other.
2.I've ordered some Renault OEM front brake discs - they have extra cooling holes compared to the Brembo discs.
3. I need to replace the passenger wishbone as that took some of the impact as well as the disc
4. I just need to find a passenger wing
5. Get a new OZ alloy (or repair)
6. Dent repair the passenger door as it got kissed by the wheel.
There should also be a modifications list as no doubt more fettling is required for more fun. Mainly I need to think a little like I'm building an endurance racecar so keeping everything cool.
1. A proper bucket seat will be a good investment. This is mainly as I lacked enough bolster support for my legs when cornering.
2. The brakes need cooling ducts and possibly deflectors on the wishbones to direct air to the hubs.
3. The outer CV joints will benefit from cooling ducts too. I have some ideas for doing this...
4. Get some stickier rubber for the dry sessions.
5. The car needs an LSD.
6. Gearlever position would be better with a PMS shifter.
7. Consider powersteering cooling
8. trim the plastic inner arch liners for tyre clearance on full compression
9. Something I've forgotten
I will upload a video of me going round in a moment. Just figuring out how to trim the video down...
