Still in one piece thankfully, unlike the poor buggers in the black GT3 that disappeared backwards into the barriers at 100mph at the top of Eau Rouge ! Ouch ........ I'll post some piccies when I'm on my machine at home this evening - it was a pretty spectacular wipeout. The car's a mess but thankfully both occupants got away with a few bruises - the airbags did their bit !
The Colway Traxtar tyres on my new BBS split-rims worked really well. They claim to be 'scrubbed' down to 4mm, however mine had at least twice that ! To start with the car was squirming noticeably under hard braking, but that improved as the tyres bedded in. Overall I was very impressed with the level of grip - it really did not want to let go and when it did it remained surprisingly progressive, also I could not lock the wheels under braking. Grip should improve further as I take more material off the tread blocks. I'm going to run them as road wheels for a few weeks to wear them down a bit. At £40 a corner these tyres a definitely worth a look if you've got a set of trackday wheels.
I had also fitted a strut brace before I went out, and that coupled with the sticky tyres meant that turn-in was absolutely fantastic - no sign of understeer whatsoever, really impressive. I let a friend with a 968 Clubsport have a few laps at the wheel and even he was impressed !
As ever the main limiting factor (for me anyway !) was the brakes. They held up pretty well, and at no point did the pedal go soft, but the 3.2 brakes simply don't have the brutal stopping power of most modern sports cars. Lack of driving skill is most definitely a significant factor here, but the brakes really don't inspire the confidence to brake really late, and coupled with the relative lack of horsepower and lardiness (no weight saving measures on my car !) meant that I was usually the one being overtaken rather than the one doing the overtaking ! It's a bit frustrating to keep having to slow and go off line to let quicker cars pass.
Overall, though, I was remarkably impressed with the way the car went round what is the most fantastic circuit - the TV cameras really don't do the place justice, those hills are steep ! I was able to drive the nuts off it for 150 miles round the track, fill it with petrol then drive 325 miles home in great comfort. There aren't many cars that will do that without complaint ! At least 50% of the cars there yesterday turned up on trailers. A little more grunt wouldn't go amiss - really noticeable on the hills, but with a good set up and maybe some more braking power (new calipers would help I'm sure) then my little 3.2 will make a great track car.
Jamie
The Colway Traxtar tyres on my new BBS split-rims worked really well. They claim to be 'scrubbed' down to 4mm, however mine had at least twice that ! To start with the car was squirming noticeably under hard braking, but that improved as the tyres bedded in. Overall I was very impressed with the level of grip - it really did not want to let go and when it did it remained surprisingly progressive, also I could not lock the wheels under braking. Grip should improve further as I take more material off the tread blocks. I'm going to run them as road wheels for a few weeks to wear them down a bit. At £40 a corner these tyres a definitely worth a look if you've got a set of trackday wheels.
I had also fitted a strut brace before I went out, and that coupled with the sticky tyres meant that turn-in was absolutely fantastic - no sign of understeer whatsoever, really impressive. I let a friend with a 968 Clubsport have a few laps at the wheel and even he was impressed !
As ever the main limiting factor (for me anyway !) was the brakes. They held up pretty well, and at no point did the pedal go soft, but the 3.2 brakes simply don't have the brutal stopping power of most modern sports cars. Lack of driving skill is most definitely a significant factor here, but the brakes really don't inspire the confidence to brake really late, and coupled with the relative lack of horsepower and lardiness (no weight saving measures on my car !) meant that I was usually the one being overtaken rather than the one doing the overtaking ! It's a bit frustrating to keep having to slow and go off line to let quicker cars pass.
Overall, though, I was remarkably impressed with the way the car went round what is the most fantastic circuit - the TV cameras really don't do the place justice, those hills are steep ! I was able to drive the nuts off it for 150 miles round the track, fill it with petrol then drive 325 miles home in great comfort. There aren't many cars that will do that without complaint ! At least 50% of the cars there yesterday turned up on trailers. A little more grunt wouldn't go amiss - really noticeable on the hills, but with a good set up and maybe some more braking power (new calipers would help I'm sure) then my little 3.2 will make a great track car.
Jamie
