Track days in a vRS

[Speedy123]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of taking my standard (Mark 1) Octavia vRS to a couple of track days next year.

Those that have been, how have they performed? Will the standard car last a whole day?

Will it keep up with most of the other cars? Will remapping and upgrading the car make much difference on the track?

Cheers

[jimbobthebear]

Hi

I've just traded my remapped fabia vrs for a standard octavia vrs wrc. I also had a mk4 golf 1.8T in the past which i trackday'd.

I'm usually a honda man and have done numerous trackdays. but to be honest i had a right hoot in the fabia. i'd say the remapped fabia probably has similar performance to a stock octy and it certainly didn't show itself up.

if you can drive a bit then you can be quick in just about anything. I passed a 400bhp R32 skyline in my fabia.... granted he wasn't lewis hamilton. but it was funny.

and as for reliability... i wouldn't worry about anything. keep an eye on the temp gauge and have a quick check over after each stint. and take some spare front pads if yours are half worn, you might go through them.

tuning wise. a remap will help, as will good tyres, suspension, brake pads, and general cooling. Have a good cold air feed to your filter. but it will not show itself up in standard trim.

i guarantee you'll have fun! what tracks are you planning on doing?

[Speedy123]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm planning to head to Brands Hatch probably around May time once the sun starts to reappear.

I'm quite looking forward to doing a few track days and might even visit the ring next year.

I'll play it by ear and take my Standard vRS and see how it performs, then I will either upgrade the Octavia or replace it altogether.

[westyRS]

Trackdays aint cheap.

Mine cost me. New discs pads, New tyres, and the windscreen cracked from throwing the car into corners about 80 and an oil change before and after the day.

On top of that i just spent a load on new suspension and poly bushes a couple of days before.

Overall 11mpg (pretty proud of that)

Not trying to put you off! I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Edited 10 December, 2008 by westyRS

[niceyellow vrs]

I tried a trackday at Cadwell park a few weeks ago. It was fun while it lasted but I shalln't be doing another one, it cost me a fortune!

Track day fee: £110

Set of wheels and tyres for abusing £240

Set of decent Tar ox brake pads £90

Fuel £60

Hotel £50

Tow truck to get the car home once it broke £360

Getting the car fixed £250 (thats at very good mates rates)

All for an hour of play time before the i lost oil pressure.

[jayc20xe]

thats gotta hurt bummer mate, feeling for ya.

You should try the nurburgring 1 tank of fuel for 4 laps, tire wear and brake wear, price of 4 laps trip costs etc etc. Would go again in the morning!!!!

Seen a guy there crash his M3 from the uk, now thats a towing cost.

[jimbobthebear]

I saw you "niceyellow" i was in that grey integra.

i threw a rod thru the block two days later.... expensive day for me.

Loved your octy. meant to come for a look round it.

picking mine up on sat )

[spaniels fr]

As others have said it all depends how you push your car on track tbh. I did my first track day at cadwell park with niceyellowvrs. With this being my first track day it did work out exspensive, but it was deffinately well worth it, and my car, with minor tweaks, had the following....

Front + rear strut braces + rear ARB,

25mm rear spacers

that was all suspension wise and i was well impressed with the way the car handled.

If its your first track day id advise getting some tuition, i did and it was deffinately worth it. It cost me £25 at Cadwell, and tbh, i think it saved my brakes through out the day.It also helps you take the correct line and carry sooo much corner speeds, some of the corners at cadwell off the 1st straight you could take at 100+ and then not brake for the next 2-3 corners either. Towards the end of the day, there was a black exige s on track and i was pretty much pushing it round the track as he didnt know what lines to take, but was pulling away slightly on the straights.

I also brought some track day wheels for the day, but will also use them as winter wheels so not too bad, and a new set of cheap tyres, which turned out to be excellent on a dry track, for all 4 Nankangs they cost me £150 off ebay.

Jimbobthebear, think i may have seen you also at Cadwell as i was there in my Red mk4 ibiza cupra......, sorry to hear about your mishap the days after.....

What did you think to them oher ***** in the jap stuff? and the guy in the sierra cossy? he blew up on track i think lol

[jimbobthebear]

those ***** were probably all my mates. various hondas? i can't be held responsible for some of their driving. lol. most of us are quite considerate.

I remember seeing you. it was a good day. Cadwell's good for our level of cars. not too fast. plenty of undulations. superb track.

look forward to getting the octavia on there in the new year.

[mark_sargeant19]

iv got myself booked in for a track day at brands on the 21st dec, only cost me £25, im on standard suspension and brakes at the moment, so should be interesting considering the time or year and the shabby weather

[faboka vrs]

So far not had an expensive trackday. Finger crossed. But thats me. I try and take it easy and drive smoothly. Tyres pressures you should monitor. I try and keep pressures even across axles. Check them after each session. You'll probably overheat the standard fluid so change to either 5.1 or super dot 4.

[richm]

Octy will behave just fine, especially if you can drive a bit, you will surprise a few people.

My reccomendations:

Get fresh brake fluid in there,

Fit good uprated brake pads, certainly in the front and bed them in properly beforehand, they will just overheat otherwise and take a lot of enjoyment out.

Change the oil beforehand so it's fresh and decent quality

If finances allow get some proper tyres ( just front will be a huge benefit if you can only manage 2) - that is the one big thing that will affect your enjoyment of the day. Octy is a fairly heavy car and all but the best road tyres will soon overheat and start complaining.

If you can afford it my fave is Bridgestone RE070 (ONLY 070's though, anything else won't be close) or Goodyear F1 Assymetric as far as road tyres are concerned that you can carry on using on the road.

If you have the luxury of being able to buy some decent track tyres then lots of choice depending on $$ - Toyo R888 have to be up there as best value for money.

Even if you can't push to new tyres, you will still have a hoot, just go a bit easy on your road tyres, but if at all possible do the brake fluid and front brake pads as a minimum for safety sake as much as anything.

I'd love to go back to the nurburgring and give the vRS a few runs round

[spaniels fr]

those ***** were probably all my mates. various hondas? i can't be held responsible for some of their driving. lol. most of us are quite considerate.

I remember seeing you. it was a good day. Cadwell's good for our level of cars. not too fast. plenty of undulations. superb track.

look forward to getting the octavia on there in the new year.

Yeah i wasnt branding you with the same brush, alot of people were considerate, although the **** in the white integra with stickers and stuff all over it, he was a plank. Was out getting tuition with the instructer down the back straight doing about 110 before the sweeping left hander, and he forced his way past going into the corner, when we came in the instructor made sure he got pulled in for a warning......

I thought the CTR may have been a bit more fair game for me though considering they were stripped out with coilovers etc etc, but they wernt :s

[spaniels fr]

Octy will behave just fine, especially if you can drive a bit, you will surprise a few people.

My reccomendations:

Get fresh brake fluid in there,

Fit good uprated brake pads, certainly in the front and bed them in properly beforehand, they will just overheat otherwise and take a lot of enjoyment out.

Change the oil beforehand so it's fresh and decent quality

If finances allow get some proper tyres ( just front will be a huge benefit if you can only manage 2) - that is the one big thing that will affect your enjoyment of the day. Octy is a fairly heavy car and all but the best road tyres will soon overheat and start complaining.

If you can afford it my fave is Bridgestone RE070 (ONLY 070's though, anything else won't be close) or Goodyear F1 Assymetric as far as road tyres are concerned that you can carry on using on the road.

If you have the luxury of being able to buy some decent track tyres then lots of choice depending on $$ - Toyo R888 have to be up there as best value for money.

Even if you can't push to new tyres, you will still have a hoot, just go a bit easy on your road tyres, but if at all possible do the brake fluid and front brake pads as a minimum for safety sake as much as anything.

I'd love to go back to the nurburgring and give the vRS a few runs round

TBH i would have to question some of this advice, i had half worn pads, and discs when i went to cadwell, and if you drive correct then you wont overheat the brakes imho. If you get tuition then you get told when to break, change gear, turn in and accelerate etc etc, and late braking is what causes brakes to over heat, but doesnt mean your gonna be fastest out there......

As for the tyres, like i stated above, i had Nankangs on mine, all 4 were brand new, and even when you felt them going off as they were getting hot, they still gripped very very well, no understeer or anything......

Brakes after 10 hard laps were fine, and only once when i came in did they have smoke coming off them, but never got any fade, just a tad of abs kicking in which wasnt a problem imho

[jimbobthebear]

no offence taken. That guy in that white integra is doing the nippon challenge and seems to have to bring his rather harsh racecraft on normal trackdays. we did tell him but.... never mind. lol

[spaniels fr]

no offence taken. That guy in that white integra is doing the nippon challenge and seems to have to bring his rather harsh racecraft on normal trackdays. we did tell him but.... never mind. lol

no worries, not your fault hes a pleb, maybe next time ill try to force him off the track lol

[richm]

TBH i would have to question some of this advice, i had half worn pads, and discs when i went to cadwell, and if you drive correct then you wont overheat the brakes imho. If you get tuition then you get told when to break, change gear, turn in and accelerate etc etc, and late braking is what causes brakes to over heat, but doesnt mean your gonna be fastest out there......

As for the tyres, like i stated above, i had Nankangs on mine, all 4 were brand new, and even when you felt them going off as they were getting hot, they still gripped very very well, no understeer or anything......

Brakes after 10 hard laps were fine, and only once when i came in did they have smoke coming off them, but never got any fade, just a tad of abs kicking in which wasnt a problem imho

everyone is happily welcome to their own opinion, and if you got on well with your setup then that's all that matters

If you drive correctly and GENTLY you may not overheat standard brakes, and equally you may be happy with ordinary tyres, and if I'm correct in my interpretation Cadwell was your first trackday, then the setup may well have been sufficient for you.

OP was asking advice regarding his Octy 1, and from experience of plenty of trackdays, I am happy that my advice is good for Speedy to maximise his enjoyment.

He doesn't say if it's his first trackday venture too, but I guess from the wording it may be, in which case he will have to make his own mind up how he will be approaching it, and if the standard brake/tyre setup will be adequate for him.

I use Mintex Extreme pads on my vRS and whilst brilliant on the road, they are'nt really intended for track use and they just about manage as long as I am reasonably considerate towards them. Tyre-wise I can promise you that on the heavy fwd Octy the likes of Nangkangs won't turn in very well at the best, and will be going like plasticine after a couple of average laps if run at a reasonable pace. (I know cos I've tried them lol)

Maybe I'm heavy on my car lol - as a comparison to your 18mpg and 3/4 tank of fuel, my last outing in the Octy (stg1 remap) showed 8mpg average on the trip computer at the end of the day, and I used most of a full tank and half way down the next one for around 105 miles

Have to agree 100% about the benefits of the instructors though totally worth what it costs to get the instructor to go out and show you the way round, as you say the benefits are huge in both enjoyment and pace, and also unneccesary wear and tear on the car - correct line is everything to get the best out of everything

[spaniels fr]

tbh, i was suprised about the mpg average aswell, mines running full stage 2 revo, 4 bar etc etc and i can get it lower than that on the roads sometimes, but i can assure you it wasnt hanging around, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear were all foot to the floor, apart from when i was coming through the corners...... that was probably 3.4 throttle, but like you said, maybe cadwell was more suited to my set up, as you could use the changing cambers etc etc. After re reading my previous post it does come across as im slating you but i wasnt, this is what forums are for, giving people advise. Im going to look at doing donnington park next year sometime and your right, i may well cook the brakes on that track as they have longer straights than cadwell..... think i only hit about 120 at cadwell and then braked hardish.....

Ill agree withthe tyres too, i bought them not expecting anything due to the price, i have yoko parada spec 2 on my normal wheels and these are great in the dry, but cack in the wet. It did shock me how quickly the nankangs started to heat up though, but as they were only for winter and track use i wasnt too bothered about them getting shagged.

Will be changing the discs and pads all round though in january as the fronts are just about finished off now. Not sure if ill put the AP standard pads in the fronts or some uprated ones, as ill be going grooved discs and uprated fluid too.....

The octy may well handle differently on track due to the added weight, id deffo advise rear spacers, rear arb and strut braces though if he hasnt already got them. A friend of mine has a LCR with coilies, arb all round etc etc and that handles like a go kart

[jabba_luke]

I would of saved your money on the Rear strut brace tbh. they dont tie anything together so there isnt really any point in them :thumbdwn:

Cadwell is a mega track, im looking forward to the 4 race meetings we have there next year!!

I agree with Rich though, its down to how you drive. I run DS3000 pads in my mk2 race car, and even though that is really light it still gets through front pads every other meeting!

and about 3/4 of the pad on trackdays :eek:

I managed to get through a set of front pads and disks giving Passanger Rides in my Audi at Castle Combe on the Audi driver day!

[spaniels fr]

I would of saved your money on the Rear strut brace tbh. they dont tie anything together so there isnt really any point in them :thumbdwn:

Cadwell is a mega track, im looking forward to the 4 race meetings we have there next year!!

I agree with Rich though, its down to how you drive. I run DS3000 pads in my mk2 race car, and even though that is really light it still gets through front pads every other meeting!

and about 3/4 of the pad on trackdays :eek:

I managed to get through a set of front pads and disks giving Passanger Rides in my Audi at Castle Combe on the Audi driver day!

Rear strut brace didnt cost me anything as i got it free from Forge gave them my old one which they looked at and then designed there own..... sold my older one on to a mate

[jabba_luke]

I meant if i was the original poster i would probably put his money into something else for the day

[spaniels fr]

rear arb and spacers would be the best bet imho totally transforms the car and not too expensive either....

[billy2981]

what do you need the rear spacers for? as my car is set up If I put spacers on the wheels will rub on the rear wings not just on the plastic on the inside of the arches. doesnt happen much now thou since i put the weitecs on.

[jabba_luke]

what do you need the rear spacers for? as my car is set up If I put spacers on the wheels will rub on the rear wings not just on the plastic on the inside of the arches. doesnt happen much now thou since i put the weitecs on.

You dont really need to, its just to get as much track width as possible, but if your wheels are the correct offset then thats as far as they can go out without doing arch mods anyway!

The wider the track width the better, but for front wheel drive you want the front to be wider than the back to get the extra grip to the wheels.

[billy2981]

kk cheers Luke,

not really wantin to do track days myself. only wanting to go to the RING for the experience. to really to get good times just to go round pritty fast lol.