***TRACKDAY SERIES - Oulton Park, Wed 17th Nov***

Casey · October 27, 2010, 09:43:39 AM

Ah, thanks for clearing up the mystery Grant! I look forward to meeting you and your brother at Oulton.

Very jealous of you being only an hour away. I havn\'t yet dared to see how far I\'ve got to travel, just booked a hotel for 2 nights as I know it\'s going to be a long trip there and back :WaveBye

shaunwil · October 27, 2010, 12:54:38 PM

Cool, going to be a good day with plenty of rotors !

Shaun

Grant Monkhouse · October 27, 2010, 08:08:48 PM

Yes it\'s good being an hour away for oulton but I\'m 2 hours minimum away from the rest of the tracks!
Can\'t wait to go around a real track in a car instead of being a spectator!

I will be bringing my laptop with me to show pictures of my rx4 which will be built in the next few months, so will add the rotary count up even though it will be only pictures!

shaunwil · October 27, 2010, 10:40:53 PM

Know the feeling. Although being close to Oulton is great

Shaun

madder · October 30, 2010, 08:25:04 PM

Oh Shaun and CJR and the rest I no i said i wasn\'t going to Oulton.
But If AtomicRex is going to write a article about driving the rx8 on track then it has to be a Prodrive Rx8 really.

Casey · October 30, 2010, 08:41:39 PM

Wel done Tom, you know it makes sense!

CrissyUK · October 31, 2010, 03:03:17 PM

Quote from: Casey;723115Shaun - looking good, fingers crossed it all goes smoothly from here on!

Latest Oulton list, as I know it;
Casey - \'8 PAID, Crown Hotel booked 16th &17th
lennycarloff - \'7 PAID
C J R - \'7 PAID, Crown Hotel booked 16th
HypoThermia - \'8 PAID
Rutz - \'8 PAID
brads rex - \'8 PAID
Nevryn - \'8 PAID
Shaunwil - \'7 PAID
BlueNev - \'8 PAID
Clive - \'8 PAID - Crown Hotel booked 16th
Bob Monkhouse - \'7 PAID
Jang - PAID (ex RX-8 owner, now with Ford Focus ST )
Madder & AtomicRex - PAID
CrissyUK - Scoobie PAID

So, that\'s 11 rotaries; seven RX-8\'s and four RX-7\'s so far + 1 wRX.

There are still a few places left, but they\'ll be gone soon, so if you are thinking of going to this fabulous track, then don\'t leave it too late, or you\'ll be disappointed!

C J R · October 31, 2010, 03:12:37 PM

I know Shaun is piling on the miles to be ready. Just a quick update on my RX;
Front discs removed and machined, both were warped ! Thankfully only a couple of thou\' off each to have them perfect again.

Managed to get the down pipe to seal against the turbo housing, but still getting used to the new diff. Hopefully we are now ready.

Bring on the twisty bits LOL.

Grant Monkhouse · October 31, 2010, 09:23:02 PM

At the other track days were there more 8s than 7s as there is going to be at oulton? Is it that most 7 owners prefer drag racing and the 8 owners prefer track?

shaunwil · October 31, 2010, 09:42:53 PM

Quote from: C J R;724121I know Shaun is piling on the miles to be ready. Just a quick update on my RX;
Front discs removed and machined, both were warped ! Thankfully only a couple of thou\' off each to have them perfect again.

Managed to get the down pipe to seal against the turbo housing, but still getting used to the new diff. Hopefully we are now ready.

Bring on the twisty bits LOL.

Good to hear yours is coming together.

Had a set back which I\'m not sure will balls everything up. Had a run into the lakes to put some miles on and the coolant buzzer went off for 3 secs about 10 miles from carlise up the A595. It went off so didn\'t really think much about it. Looking at the temps on the commander they where 64deg (just doping 60mph at 2.5k in 5th, tootling along) so didn\'t worry too much about it. Jumped onto the M6 at J43 and increased to 70. Coolant on the commander jumped to 100 so I slowed back to 60 and came off at next juction (services). Shut car off and then back on again to keep the electric water pump running without the engine on. Had no pressure so shoved some water in. Ended up bunging about 3lt of water in. Let the system run for quite some time and cooled it down. Refilled system and brought back up to temp only to find the patch line from the heater had split and was chucking coolant out. For how long during the trip is unsure ! Got the AA out because I had no tools and he fixed the split line with a better joiner (mine was a cut pipe !). Warmed the car up to check for no more leaks and it was ok. Cruised back from Carlise and temps where wandering between 78 and 90 on the commander. Jacked the front of the car up today and refilled the system with antifreeze. Bled the system and warmed it up. I can\'t see any champagne bubbles in the filler neck (just the odd big one from - more likely air in the main system). Washed my hands then stuck my hand in the exhaust gas when ticking over. Licked my hand and there was no sweet antifreeze taste to it.

Going to get Pip to do a proper check on my coolant system if possible to put my mind at rest that I haven\'t killed the water system ! God I hope its ok

I\'m a week of commuting miles then a service (oil and plugs) before its ready to be tuned (on 10th Nov).

Shaun

shaunwil · October 31, 2010, 09:46:53 PM

I\'m up to 850 miles now !

Shaun

Casey · October 31, 2010, 10:00:26 PM

Shaun - fingers crossed you noticed the coolant leak in time and no damage done. Really looking forward to seeing you and the 7 at Oulton, so hope all is well!

Casey · October 31, 2010, 10:16:13 PM

Quote from: Grant Monkhouse;724219At the other track days were there more 8s than 7s as there is going to be at oulton? Is it that most 7 owners prefer drag racing and the 8 owners prefer track?

There is usually more 8\'s than 7\'s at the trackdays I\'ve organsied for the past couple of years - exception being Cadwell in June 2009, where we had 4x 8\'s and 6x 7\'s.

I\'m not really sure why this is so. The 7 is great track weapon and it\'s really a place where one can enjoy the car in a way that\'s impossible (legally) on UK roads. Drag racing is great up to a point; straight line speed/acceleration has it\'s fans, but twisty tracks are more fun & challenging (my own opinion of course!!:Laugh)

One factor maybe the noise regs. A lot of 7\'s seem to have very loud exhausts? Having said that, several 7\'s running 400+ bhp don\'t have any problem with the 105dB limit operated at most tracks.

Another factor (maybe) is cost? Maybe 7 owners have to spend all their spare cash on keeping their cars running

I\'d love to see more 7\'s at these trackdays and the MRC is doing everything it can to encourage members to come along. If anyone has any other ideas to encourage more 7 owners to take their cars on trackdays then please get in touch with me.

TiddlesRX7 · October 31, 2010, 10:36:37 PM

Shaun... First off you came to the Lakes (my play ground!) and didn\'t get in touch. Naughty naughty! Secondly, don\'t worry too much about the coolant hose leak. Mine used to leak from there for around 2 1/2 years. I always thought it was the heater matrix but it turned out to be the copper pipe that the coolant hose fits on. Took me ages to find it and my car regularly used to drop coolant and I\'d have to top it up when the buzzer went off. Granted mine wasn\'t a major leak but still don\'t worry too much.

Ade

TiddlesRX7 · October 31, 2010, 10:39:17 PM

QuoteAnother factor (maybe) is cost? Maybe 7 owners have to spend all their spare cash on keeping their cars running

I\'d love to see more 7\'s at these trackdays and the MRC is doing everything it can to encourage members to come along. If anyone has any other ideas to encourage more 7 owners to take their cars on trackdays then please get in touch with me.

Thats probably not far off true. If money wasn\'t tight at the moment for me I\'d have been at all of these track days. Maybe MRC filling stations would be a good idea where any rotary get 1/2 price fuel