Hi all, thanks for your advice. I booked at the Hockenheim ring at the 15.09. I will start with an Instructor for the first hour and then will see how it goes. It's at trackday for loud pipes so i'm hoping that my sport exhaust is ok. Planned preparation: oilchange, new tires, since they only have 3.5mm at the rear. The roadster sport has 205/65R15 fitted with avon ZV5. Would other types be better? Would 205/60R15 work? Brakes: Advice was to change The brakefluid to Castrol SRF and to look for racepads. Are there any available for the standard brake? I'm still hoping that the ordered MBE ECU can be fitted before, we will see. How important is the panhard rod? Scould I push to get it installed before?
Most important as you wrote: I hope to have some fun.
I wouldn't worry about Panhard rod, but put in track day not race pads. They will warm up quicker. Make sure the new tyres have 100 km on the so that they are free of the coating put in new tyres. EBC yellow stuff brake pads are good, don't use the greenstuff ones. Hope you have a harness not a seatbelt, you are much safer with a six point harness. I would also buy a HANS device if your helmet already has HANS clips, Take care, John
Ensure that you have enough fuel in the car but not so much that you have far too much. You do not need the weight. Do you really think that you need the weight to keep the wheels in contact with the track?
Remove the spare wheel and any unnecessary and loose items from the car.
Pump up your tyres about 4 to 5 PSI above recommended. It increases the sidewall stiffness and will make the car handle more predictably. A race track is smotther than a public road and you are not looking for comfort but response.
Consider fitting 'harder' brake pads and brake shoes; they will resist overheating and brake fade if you are travelling quickly.
Be prepared to be rubbish. Most road drivers who have never been on a race track before are rubbish. Do not try and be a hero because you are likely to end up looking like a fool. Worse than that, you do not want to return to the paddock with a bent car or destroyed engine or gearbox.
Take the instructors advice - he will know much much more than you.
Learn the braking and corner lines; it will keep you safe, give you a safety margin as well as give you a faster corner speed and exit.
Drive with your brain not your ego; it will be less harmful to your self-esteem as well as your pocket.
Drive smoothly and consistently.
Remember that this a comletely new experience for you; be prepared to learn. Do not be a hero - there is nothing to gain and a lot to lose.
Hi Beltempo Try the site brakehorsepower.net for all things relating to racing Morgans. The guys and gals on there live and breathe it. I feel sure that they can help you out.
Addicted to Morgans. 44 years and still not cured.
The first track day I did was a disaster, truly terrible. But at least we weren't allowed times. That way all we had to concentrate on was enjoying ourselves and getting around the track safely. Not that I managed to stay on track even during warm-up. I'm useless.
since you gave me good advice for the preparation and about what to expect, I thought I should tell you what happened.
After the trackday, I traded the Morgan for a Porsche 911 GT3.
Don’t worry, I’m joking. The Morgan it still alive, not damaged, I possibly will keep it and I can tell you, that was fun !!!
As adviced, I prepared the Roadster with an inspection, yellow EBC track pads for the brakes, new DOT4 brake fluid with higher boiling point and new rear tyres AVON ZV5.
Arriving at the racetrack, I found myself between 60% 911’s, most of then GT3’s, some BMW’s, Ferrari’s and other special prepared cars. Hockenheim is a wide GP-racetrack, even the F1 used to go there. So I started the first session with mixed emotions. But the faster cars were really civilized and respected the moving hurdle on the track. A 3-series BMW tried to pass me on a straight and went off the track in the next corner, red flag, session interrupted.
After lunch, I had the ordered lesson with a coach. After letting him drive the car to understand the potential, we went out and he took me trough the track. All in all, the line that I had chosen during the morning was not that wrong, but his advice was, to steer in earlier than I thought and point more aggressive over the deflectors. Together with the sliding of the car you then get the best line and widest radius. And I was sliding most of the time. The road tires were the most limiting factor through the day. Modern road tyres and track tyres seem to be able to hold much higher g-loads, this was obvious in every corner. I constantly had to watch rear traffic trough the curves. The second factor were the brakes. After 2 turns, the brake pedal got soft, there was a constant strong smell from the brakes and I had to manage the usage to keep them running.
But again, it was huge fun, I can only recommend it to everyone, and I’m thinking about the necessary modifications to improve my lap times, which I will not mention here… :-)
So, what track tyres do you recommend? Which brake upgrades?
Is there any advice from German drivers, which have to deal with the TÜV requirements? I’d like to keep the car road legal.
..The second factor were the brakes. After 2 turns, the brake pedal got soft, there was a constant strong smell from the brakes and I had to manage the usage to keep them running.
But again, it was huge fun, I can only recommend it to everyone, and I’m thinking about the necessary modifications to improve my lap times, which I will not mention here… :-)
You sound as if you had a great time..!!
What was the reason for you doing it? Are you going to race?
