Furby goes to Cadwell - 02Mar09

[corradoboy]

A few pics from the day....

And mine all ready the day before....

And a couple of vids....

YouTube - Cadwell Park Track Day 02/03/08

YouTube - CADWELL PARK 2/3/09

YouTube - CADWELL PARK TRACKDAY 2/3/09 PT2

And more PICS

Well, what a great day.

Weather √

Track √√

Company :(

Only kidding √

The sun was shining for our arrival, but the track looked ominous, shrouded in an intimidating layer of frost. As the sun took effect it quickly cleared and once a few others showed that the grip was OK down through Coppice we all eagerly went out.

The track is tight, twisty, undulating (seriously) and technical, a real challenge for an enthusiastic driver. Leaving the pits the Hall Bends caught a few out early on as the changing camber upset the balance if you tried braking too late or lost confidence. I couldn't get traction out of the Hairpin, but the 4WD guys had no such worries. Through Barn and down the long (almost) straight to Coppice I was hitting about 110, with others over 130 I believe. As confidence and experience grew through the day I resisted the temptation to brake, just using a drop to 4th and steering into the bottom of the steep Coppice hill at about 80 on power. Charlies saw a change to 3rd but quickly back up through to top for 110 along Park Straight. Braking was needed into Park and down to 3rd, but a short shift to 4th and running on torque through Chris Curve and Gooseneck. A big stomp was needed with a little trail braking to induce some steering from the back through the off camber Mansfield turn. Braking into The Mountain, a very tight left/right chicaine climbing very steeply and even getting air over the crest, was the most daunting point on the circuit. The actual sequence of turns was exciting and challenging, but the braking point bothered me all day.

A couple of mates passengered with me throughout the day and I was pleased to hear my turn-in speeds were almost identical to the faster cars they rode in. Obviously with FWD and much lower power I was found lacking from the Apex out, but once again my little diesel hunchback held its head high.

I'll keep an eye out for another at a similar price, but it would be worth much more than the £100 we paid for unlimited access to what I feel is amongst the most challenging tracks in the UK. I hope a few more might join us next time.

[55VRS]

Nice, what's it like on track in the vRS? I have an identical looking car to you (from outside, no idea if you've done any mods inside).

[corradoboy]

It was very composed, and fabulously torquey out of the bends, apart from struggling for traction out of the downhill, off-camber parts. Over 100 it gets a bit breathless allowing the bigger power cars to really pull away from you, but into the bend it was as quick as the Scoobs. I was running Hankook RS2 tires which are a road legal track orientated tire. Thankfully it stayed dry as these would require cuts to perform well in the wet. One big plus was that the tank of fuel saw me do my Leeds-Wakefield commute, Leeds to Cadwell (100 miles) and back, some domestic miles, a days teaching and my weekend commute again this weekend before I needed to fill up. The blue Scoob with the white graphics arrive on a trailer, full, and needed another 2 tanks during the day before being trailered home :eek: IRO £160 for him, £25 for me

[55VRS]

Funny.. unbelievable economy! I thrash mine and average 51mpg, i'ts like a gift of thrashability!

I was just wondering about the handling cus I had a hairy moment on Saturday night chasing a Quattro TT on a roundabout, and ended up doing a sort of 4 wheel drift towards the wrong exit! Thankfully a dab on brake brought the front back in and we (me and car) didn't end up on the M25 the wrong way down a slip road! I have to do something about the handling.. tyres probably.

[faboka vrs]

Cool report dave. Will keep alook out for the next one.

[Jim H]

I nearly did a track day there last year, but didn't in the end. It was the day after my birthday and I had other thing on that day and a hangover.

A couple of years ago I did a Track session around Croft and enjoyed it. Did you change into 6th Gear at all? I only did on the slowing down lap at the end, I got 32 mpg which was a surprise, I though it would have been in the 20's, obviously I wasn't trying hard enough!!

Edited 9 March, 2009 by Jim H

[corradoboy]

Sixth along the straight to Coppice and the Park Straight, about 110-115mph.

[S41NT]

Its a great little circuit, i live 5mile away, would have popped over if i'd known.

Good circuit for the superbikes, not much car racing there though because the tracks not very wide.

[corradoboy]

Keep an eye in the Trackday forum, I always post anything I'm attending in case anyone else fancies it.

[T. Spark]

Good write up, and by the sounds of it, pretty much exactly the same style as when I was last there (and speeds) on my at the time remapped to 170bhp Ibiza.

Only thing that probs differered would be the entering speed of Coppice Hill, as id generally take it at 100mph+

I didnt slow down for it, just let off as turning in. The car handled fine round it at those speeds, lap after lap. I also found the car sluggish down the long straight after, 110mph and just wouldnt go any quicker, managed 115mph with alot of late braking, but that just messed up my exit line, and speed in turn.

[geordie_21]

Great to see the Furby on a track, can I ask do you have any suspension mods? Im running eibach springs and dampers and if I corner hard I'm touching the arches, I'm considering running a set of these FEDERAL TYRES / TRACKDAY TRACK DAY / FEDERAL SS595RS FEDERAL SS 595 RS - 205/45R16 83W TL :: £89.00 :: Track Day Tyres - Trackday Tyres - Motorsport Tyres :: R16" - 205/45/16, 205/45 R16 :: to see if it helps as I have previously tracked it with my Eagle F1s which are very square. I have no cracked springs or anything so just wondering if you've ever experienced anhthing like it as I'm hoping its just a tyre issue.

Thanks mate and I'll try and get to the next track day as well, looks like you had a blast

[corradoboy]

With the early frost and my inexperience at that track, I was taking it steady early on, building my confidence and knowledge. By late afternoon I was happy I knew the circuit pretty well and was driving to 9/10th's. I never go 10/10th's as it is my personal every day car, and my work car, so I don't want or need any repair bills.

I think I could have quite easily taken Coppice flat, although I was the only person I noticed on the day taking it without braking. Having said that, some of the bigger power cars will have been significantly faster than me on approach, and they still only have 4 pieces of near identical rubber on each corner. Another session or two and I may have built the confidence to that level, but I was also getting a squeal (possibly bearings or brakes) which was making me nurse her a bit and resort to Roadcraft style instead of track style driving.

The only suspension mod I have is the Jabba RARB. With the car lowered rubbing is obviously more likely, so any reduction in travel (stiffer springs) or roll (ARB) will help. Not used the tires you show, but they look OK. Minimal cuts so should stand up well to the punishment.

[geordie_21]

Thanks Corradoboy, my track suspension woes are really getting on my nerves! I would of thought the eibach dampers and springs would of prevented this but im guessing I need a stiffer setup, something like a KW Variant 2 kit which is adjustable... more money! I think I'm going to try them Federal road legal track tyres for this years Ring Trip, they're also much cheaper than the R888's which is a bonus.

I hear what you're saying about giving it full ted when its not a proper track car, mine is purely used for pleasure but still stakes are high if you have an accident. Last year at the ring I managed to put it in limp mode coming out the fox hole and punched a too low gear, I absolutely bricked it :eek: and limped it back to the car park, fortunately a turn of the key later and I was back in business but it does make you think.