Quote:
Originally Posted by JackieFan
What tyres are you running? did you check the pressures before you went out on track? did you check them when you came back in?
When you changed the suspension bushes did you change the Steering rack ones?
Have you had your alignment checked?
Green Stuff are ok for fast road use (although to be fair I'm going back a while since I used a set in anger). Brother in law has some in his Z4 and they seem to do the job well enough last time I had a play in it. Not sure they are quite up to snuff for prolonged track abuse as they do the Red Stuff for that.
What ever you do a pretty standard S12 is never going to hold it's own against Caterhams, Lotus' and such in the bends, got to compare eggs with eggs. That said leaving them behind in a straight line in no mean feat either! 
It's not the worst handling car in the world but I do know what you mean about feeling a little disconnected from the drive, unfortunately that is probably more down to the compromises made to keep the day to day driving more pleasant....... and it's some 20 years old!
Pound for pound the best "performance" mod you can ever make is to get some proper tuition. It stays with you no matter what car you jump in and helps you understand what you can change to make the car better. Someone told me once that unless their can lap within 2 10ths of the same lap time everytime, then they always look at the organic matter between the seat and the steering wheel before changing any car setup parameters. That's a bit extreme for trackday fun but the theory is sound. You'll get more enjoyment out of learning to drive a car better than having to constantly change things/spend money on it to make up for driving shortfalls.
Hope some of that makes sense and you didn't nod off before the end  |
Thanks for replying that's given me some food for thought
I definitely need some proper tuition to get the most out of the car...I could probably have pushed it harder but I know I would be getting too close to the car's and my limit.
It's a manual steering rack on origonal bushes..they seemed solid enough when i changed the rack about 5 years ago ,ill check them again .Tyres are Dunlop SP2000's which are probably letting me down. I just pumped em up to 30 psi and left it at that.
Toe was checked a few years ago when i did track rod ends, maybe needs doing again
Would the red stuff pads be ok for the road too ?
Few pics
This was the best bit on the straights seeing 30 grand worth of lotus elise and subaru impretza disapear in the mirror he he . It was amusing to see how a 20 year old car with an 8 valve engine and a bit of piping from a scrapyard is quicker than modern technomotivery
Oh dear i'm probably managing about 10 mph here
Feeling like i was in the way but i was having too much fun to pull over. Caterham's superlight's must weigh about half a Silvia but seemed really slow in a straight line to me