Brutus

The driver training day is at theis stage inhouse MX-5 Car club but if we have extra spaces i will post it in this forum late April. Would like to instruct eveyone but we have to have limits and obviously I have to help out those in the car club first. Cost is usually around $150. If you are interested in this sort of thing, hook up with the alfa car club or Maserati clubs as they do several a year. Check the alfa site at www.alfaclubvic.net.au. They have a day at Winton in a few weeks. Neil Choi who organises these is a top bloke and very encouraging to newbies. WRX club are very accomodating as several of you know, unsure what driver training days they organise but they are only to obliging to help out in practice sessions and give you an experienced driver to take you around. Other option is to do a John Bowe Track dy. About $200-$250 but well worth it with one on one instructing with a V8 or Porsche cup driver. James

"Best times in my car were: Warren Luff: 43.4s Paul Dumbrell: 44.5s Snowman: 45.2s" FWIW Warren Luff. PCOTY Motor mag March 2005. MX5 SE turbo. Bilstien suspension, LSD(huge power down advantage at Winton.). 125kw 1.47.00 long track Me in my wifes 98 MX5 Totally stock, open diff, knackered road tyres. 103kw 1.46.16 on my second lap in practice!!! Priceless I'm running a Calder driver training day in May, I'll try and get a short track time for you. I'll probably still have my car by then, been in the paper for sevaral weeks and no bites. Started at $28g and dropping the price constantly and still no bites. Series II 96, perfect condition, heaps of mods and 25g of receipts. Car has been totally rebuilt and no bites , go figure.

There was a crazy bloke up at wakefield a while back in a 242Gt with a big ass hairdryer on it. I was doing the same lap times as him in my MX-5 (high 1.13's) but geez it pulled hard up the hill after turn 2!!! Saw your 242Gt out there on Saturday, you looked like you were having plenty of fun. I want to run my car so bad but I'm thinking of selling and I have a brake shudder when i brake from over 120k's that i can't figure for love or money where it's coming from. I've replaced rotors with new slotted rotors, got new pads, straightened an alloy that had a slight buckle and still i can't find it. Driving me nuts, I want to give my car a good spanking. Especially around Phillip Island. I'm sick of sounding like a 'gunna' with my car, previously I won the MX-5 club championship back to back and won every round but since I got the skyline I can't get it set to my liking for the track. Got heaps of grunt, handling sorted, everything strengtheed but now the brake issue. AAhhh..

Hey guys, I wasn't bagging anyone at all, jeez. You guys all look like you were having a ball and i was jealous as hell sitting on the sidelines. I was merely giving you some tips on where to make up serious time there. All that matters is you guys are out there circulating. As for getting down to the 1 minute mark, a well driven 911 or M3 will be getting down to vbery low 1 minute bracket and I know my car personally kills an M3 or a 911 around Phillip Island. Calder is a great power track so a well sorted 2wd skyline should be right up there. There was aguy out there in a white GTR that looked like he was on the money, didn't see times but he was attacking the track and holding it flat through the kink on back straight, braking deep and hustling. Would be interesting to see his times........ Tracks like winton or wakefield however are a bit hard for a skyline unless serious suspension set up is done as they require optimum handling.... Point being that calder is a great newbie track, not very technical and a place where a skyline can excel. If you want to learn to get the most, follow up with a few John Bowe driver days or find a quick driver to give you some tips during a practice session such as on Saturday night.... James

wakefield Park, standard MX-5 (plus exhaust and koni's) on Yoki 032 R,s 1:12.78, Calder in same car 1.13.02. Saw you fellas out at Calder on Saturday, you looked like you were having fun. Attack the track hard through the corners and you should be down around the minute mark in a mild tuned 2wd skyline. I also noticed many of you guys were braking about 100metres too early at Calder. There was aguy there in a silver GTR as well that was pinging it's nuts off, hope he didn't melt a piston...... FWIW, I took my Cuz's R32 4 door around there on road tyres and we were losing a car length a lap on a 911 RS 993 model and the guy was going hard in his 911. I'd love to get my car out but alas it's in Autosupermarket. Too expensive to start running the skyline how I want so back to racing an MX-5.

94 MX-5 standard except koni's, 032's and muffler. Wakefield 1.14.19 Sandown 1.34.12 Winton Long 1.43.79 Winton short 1.11's Calder 1.10.89 Phillip Island 2.00.29 Tottaly Standard 98 mx5 on road tyres at phillip island 2.04.79 Now to get the skyline out and record some times....

cool, Look forward to playing soon. PS. The GTR R33 and the series 2 anniversary R33 were both silver up at Winton. The guy in the GTS-T was doing some good times 'til he fell off around the sweeper....(Ford Credit).

Hey there, sounds like you guys had a great day at Sandown..... Only 5 weeks to the wedding for me and then after that I can start coming to met some of you guys at track days..... Any GTS-T's running at Sandown????Times?? Do you guys run with NDSOC?? I saw a GTR and a GTS-T up at Winton with the WRX club when I was up there a month ago running in my standard MX-5. Was that any of you guys ??? James

Nope...... But it was never a problem with fast street pads on the track or after this one occurance I never locked it up again with these pads, just getting used to a new dimension in braking compared to what I had used before. Not an ABS problem, a lack of familiarity with new equipment problem......

Well aware of the drill. I locked up a front left in my MX-5 going into turn one at Sandown on a 40 degree day. Lock up was not much more than a car length and I did a brand spanker A032R Yoki down to the canvas!!!! Luckily I was getting my tyres for nicks at that stage. Biggest difference comes when changing from using fast road pads to full track pads, that is when you WILL lock up brakes until you are used to them. So if down the track you get the driving sorted, go and get some track tyres and then go hardcore on the brake set up, be careful. The above happened when I swithced to Hawk Blues. Amazing pads but man, they were so easy to catch a brake and bye bye rubber. 50c piece tyres anybody......

Hey there, just thought I'd put in a vid for you to all enjoy.....See below http://pics.aus-cartalk.com/vicclub/Events.../videos/Brutus/ Also, I want to get my skyline happy at track days and was looking at puting an oil cooler in. I know there are HKS etc but they are rather expensive, due to the name perhaps??? Anyway, I know you can get Serck coolers which a lot of racecars use or the aluminium Permacool 'Rocket' coolers and they both have a good rep and they are half the price of the japanese coolers. My question is do any of you have experience with these coolers and know what sort of size I need. The Serck I looked at was a 19 or 25 row with 12 guage fittings. My car has mild mods but will be drivern HARD so I don't want it to get hot and go bang. Power is 200kw at rears and over 800nm torque. Runs low 12's in street trim but set up for circuit, hence big torque, mild power. Any help, thoughts would be greatly appreciated James

All good advice but for those of us who have been running track tyres for ages, without ABS and no the cons if they aren't treated with a driver who knows what they are doing, what suspension settings do you suggest so you don't bugger them. I also enjoy running on road tyres and having gret slip angles over Lukey heights and through turn one at the island but I would much prefer pulling 1.5g through the corner at warp speed on track tyres. So what's a good setting for camber, castor, front and rear toe for a set of track tyres for a GTS-T??????

Oh yeah, you mantioned the subframe bushes, which way is best to set them up as you can have it 3 different combinations. I think mine currently has all four pineapple rings on the road side of the subframe???????

I also remember Cam McConville doing a high 1.43 around Winton long track in an STI scooby a few years back. I had never driven one before and instructing, i did a 1.41 in one on my second lap with a 100kg passenger and a full tank of gas in a totally standard STI. Also, Larry Perkins only did a 2.11 around the island in a stock , road tyred MX5 and I did a 2.04, so I guess times aren't that comparable day in day out, although I often wonder what exactly LP was doing that day???? My best time at Sandown in a stocky MX5 with 032R's was a 1.33.9. The only timed runs I have at the island in the GTS-T was a 1:58 but that was totally stock on road tyres and I was taking it pretty easy, first day out and it felt like it was losing about 100kw in heat soak after half a lap with the stock cooler.. Can't wait for Winton saturday, haven't played on the track for two weeks..... And that's two weeks WAY too long.... Oh...Any reply on which way the holes are on the anti rollbar. ie drill extra holes in for stiffer or extra holes further out for softer???? James

Thank you all SO much as the responses were exactly the sort of info I was after. I put in a set of RB74's from race brakes yesterday for the interim and they certainly seem MUCH better than what I had. I went for a really hard run DOWN the kinglake road today and got no fade. I previously ran the HAWK blues in my MX5 and loved them but they are about $400 for the GTS-T. I will get a HICAS kit on your suggestions and also get the swaybars. Are the extra holes closer in (stiffer) or further out (softer)???? Lastly, I wish to run soon but need to (want to) get an oil coller in first so she doesn't go bang after 2 laps and also getting married December so spendings on hold. Hence taking my fiance's MX to Winton this weekend for a thrash with the WRX Club. Andrew, I presume your running in a GTR???? My aim for the Skyline is to get into the 40's if not mid 40's but I'll have to wait and see. I do kow when I was instructing with the BM club I took it for a run and only had piddly 225/16 track tyres and no brakes and I was hosing race prepped M3's driven by the experienced BMW guys. Felt like I was doing low '50's at the time. Best previously was 2.04 in a bog standard MX5 on road tyres and 2.00.18 in an mx on track tyres with koni's....... Could never better that 2 minute barrier in the MX no matter how insane I drove it so that's why decided it was time for a quicker car!!!!! If any of you guys are at Winton, look out for me, I'll be there with a dozen other MX5's..... As for the GTS-T's, all that i have seen at track days have been running around 5-10 secs a lap slower than I did in a stocky MX5, that's what I was confused about...... James

Just wanted to get some ideas from those WHO HAVE driven there skylines HARD on the track. I have a series 2 R33 GTS-T with plenty of grunt and plan on getting serious into track days in VIC. I have run my car when I've been instructing at Phillip Island and at Winton but have realised it has a few shortcomings. Number One. Running out of brakes. Ran out of brakes at 260 odd clicks at the end of the main straight at the islkand and was not too impressed. Managed to get it down to about 210 and sllipped it through turn one to tell the tale. I have since put in Race Brakes RB pads, Castrol SRF race fluid and slotted rotors, rebuiolt the booster and the master as well. I plan to also put some ducting in as the series Two has two nice big free vents in the front bar..... Any other suggestions for brakes...... Number two: Suspension set up. I have Nismo shocks which are passed it, king springs, urethane bushes, camber kit F and R and a subframe lock kit as well and front adj castor.(urethane). I plan on some whiteline adjustable anti rollbars and want to upgrade the shocks to either Koni's or Bilstein... Any thoughts or experience with the Bilsteins or koni's?? I can also get a hold of some TEIN coilovers as well but have heard they are ultra hard and my car is a daily driver. Lastly, any suggestions on a road/track alignment that will give reasonable handling withoiut totally chewing tyres. I currently have too much understeer and the back end has SEVERE bumpsteer on the road. Dunno if anyone has experienced this with their car but when I hit a bump, the whole back end moves sideways..... Also to HICAS or to lock it up.... Any thoughts greatly appreciatted but please, only from those of you who have actually had experience driving these hard on the track and know what set up works.... Lastly, why aren't there more skylines out on the track, there's so many on the road........ Thanks James Here's some photo's playing....

Here's a couple of photo's of me playing with the MX5 car club at DECA. Got some wicked video but don't know how to attach it to the forum.... Also some good shots of me instructing (me driving) a mate in his s13 on the back track at DECA :Oops:

I'll be at Winton in my MX5. Still trying to sort out how to make my silly Skyline stop. Ran out of brakes at the end of the main straight at Phillip Island not so long ago doing around 260clicks!!!! Still washing my undies. Will be out soon........

Love to come but Brutus is in the shop after getting a miss from the weekend's activities belting around Phillip Island, besides...Bathurst is on.... Perhaps I shall see you all at another cruise or better still at a track day... James

Well guys and gals, Brutus had his first day out on the track at the island yesterday and we had a ball. Got him up to 245k's at the end of the straight and got down to a 1 min 58.52 lap time which is quite respectable. Was a GTR R33 down there which was very quick but didn't get to chat to the bloke running it. Some of you guys should get out to these days to spectate or compete as it's a lot of fun. A few things I learnt as I',m new to turbo cars and things to sort now. The main one being that to run sustained loads on the turbo you must have a front mount intercooler. My car was starting to ping like crazy after 1 1/2 to 2 laps and lost bucketloads of power through heat soak. The other limitation was that my track tyres on standard 16" rims don't give enough grip. Time to buy some 17's for the track and run the same size oin the track as on the road. That being 235's front and 275's rear. Doing the intercooler and the bigger tyres should see some seriously quick track times and a reliable, quick car..... For all those interested I'll keep you posted on any further upcoming track days and if you are interested , drop me an email. Off to Healesville to watch the Rally of Melbourne now. Mmm Sideways fully worked WRX's, EVO,s etc...fun... James

To all interested, the day is free for all spectators. Just rock up to the front gate and tell them you are there with the HSV club etc. Drive in, go under the track via the bridge and park in the pit area. Should be heaps of room. There is a cafe etc there as well for lunch etc...Track stuff starts about 10am after scrutineering and all that stuff and runs till about 4.30pm. Tha day is run by the HSV car club. Pawson, they have put in another run as originally they were over subscribed but I now have a berth. Chris Kelly from the club will have called you if you made it into this list or if you enetered and didn't get a berth he would have rung you. For all details for this day, call Christian Kelly on 0419 003 529. For those who are interested in track days or want info regarding how to get started, what you need etc, send me a private email. I was the Vic MX5 champion for the last two years and have done many track days and also help out at special track days for first timers as well as driver training events at DECA on skidpans etc. Getting started is easy, you need a CAMS LS2 licence which is about $80, call CAMS and they'll send you the form, fill it out and it's done. You will need to join a car club and I would recommend either Maserati or AROCA (alfaclub) as they have a broad range of cars in there clubs and do many track days. Note that the only club that requires you to own that particular car to join is Porsche as far as I am aware. both maserati and alfa clubs can be found in the yellow pages under clubs...motoraport or by using your search engine on the NET. All you then need is a second bonnet restraint, a fire extuinguisher and a helmet as stated in my previous post on this thread. The best thing is the track is fun and safe and you are in no way expected to drive at a certain speed etc. There are newcomers at all track days and they are catered for with instructors around to take you out and show you the ropes..... So join a car club and get your asses out there. Heaps better than a cruise or being a dickhead and hooning on the street!!!

Well, the good news is they opened up another session and extended the number of entries so the island is go for me. Brutus's first track day, how exciting. Just wish i was getting an intercooler in time. Brutus is very quick but loses power even quicker after you boot it a couple of times due to heat soak!! I hope some of you guys come down and spectate and say hello. Mine is a series ii R33, silver....

Perfecto, what details where you after?? Perhaps my previous response in this thread will have answers for you?? If not fire away....

Apparently I got my entry in too late so mat not be running. Don't get it as I sent it straight after talking to the organiser who stated there were 45 places left!! Very miffed as i was hanging to get this car out to the track and the island is a fun place to start!! Will probably ber there to at least spectate anyway so if anyone goes down keep an eye out for me....

PS, you might need a helmet too with AS 1698 compliance.... Can get one for $90 open or ($160) full face from revolution racegear in Mitcham. And no Mr moderator, not advertising, don't work for them, just letting people know where to get a cheap helmet......