edh
New member
We got back (almost) in 1 piece - that was the first priority [
]. I got in 12 laps, and am just starting to get the basics right. I'm up to about 20 laps as a driver now after 3 visits - 2 as a passenger & now for the first time with the 944. We stayed at the Tiergarten as usual - highly recommended. The whole 'ring experience is still just amazing - if you haven't been yet, it should be high on your list.
Oh - Hi to Nick and the NE PCGB crew - they arrived at the Pistenklause for dinner on Sunday when I was under the car. I hope you got some laps in on Monday evening []
We went on the RSR trackwalk on Friday night - they ship you round in minibuses & walk you through various sections - well worth the money, although may be a bit too much information for first timers (they do point out the corners you are most likely to die at, so that's fairly useful for newbies []). The track is far more intimidating on foot - less of a fast "A" road, more of a winding mountain road! the gradients are huge & loom up over you - especially places like Flugplatz & Ex Muhle. Many of the corners have huge cambers (not just Karussel).
The weather on Friday had been very wet, so I was very pleased to see Saturday start bright. The track was pretty busy - although nowhere near as bad as last year. There were plenty of closures on Saturday but I still got in 7 laps. The first couple were a bit ragged but it started to come together a bit. I was a bit disappointed with the car's handling - lots of body movement, (more on that later....) but at least I was passing more cars than I was letting past. I had one "moment" through the entrance to miss-hit-miss where I got the lines all wrong & the car got very squirmy & out of shape, but I managed to let the car sort itself out. (I discovered the barriers look very close at that point!). Here's the only pic i can find - Jochen from frozenspeed takes great pictures, but didn't get any of me.
http://www.e40racer.be/php/nurburgring-16-05-09.php?image=/_dsc2534_wm.jpg
Sunday started wet, & we got there just after 8. I ventured out for a couple of very slow wet laps - I have to admit I bottled it at the top of Fuchsrohre on one lap & coasted down in 5th at about 90... There were no closures at all in the morning - fewer cars & most of the "heroes" don't go out in the wet.
Gradually the dry line appeared & the pace picked up. By lunchtime it was dry & I was starting to push a bit harder. The car still wasn't handling all that well, & the ABS was going mad at some points on the circuit where the tarmac was very bumpy. I thought that maybe the circuit was just generally very bumpy & unsettled the car too much. We had chatted about this the night before, & a mate suggested firming up the dampers, so I thought it was time to give that a go...
I sorted the fronts and o/s rear, and when I got to the n/s rear, I moved the adjuster & the whole shock moved in my hand! - the lower mount had completely parted company from the lower arm!! - pics may follow later. I decided that it wouldn't be very wise to continue - even though I'd probably done a fair few laps in that state. I drove the car back to the hotel, where it took at least 8 of us to (fail to) remove the shocker. I know it's just one bolt, but it is a long one.... At this point, we just lashed up the damper to the suspension arm with a ratchet strap. I had taken the car into ph last week for them to give the car a once-over - particularly underneath to check bushes etc.. so I was a bit disappointed they hadn't spotted this (If there was anything to see at that stage)
The (very rusty) exhaust tip also dropped off somewhere on the circuit - 2 of our party took their mountain bikes & got in a lap on Sunday night - they found it just before mini karussell!
So I ended up driving a broken car back to the UK. It was suprisingly well behaved - although there was a bit of rear wheel steer when you hit a bump at over 100!
Now it's time to save up for the new suspension - looking at the options, i could replace the rear leda shocks (concerned that the other one could also let go) & rebuild the fronts, but am very tempted by KW. I could really do without spending the money just now, but I want to do it right.
]. I got in 12 laps, and am just starting to get the basics right. I'm up to about 20 laps as a driver now after 3 visits - 2 as a passenger & now for the first time with the 944. We stayed at the Tiergarten as usual - highly recommended. The whole 'ring experience is still just amazing - if you haven't been yet, it should be high on your list. Oh - Hi to Nick and the NE PCGB crew - they arrived at the Pistenklause for dinner on Sunday when I was under the car. I hope you got some laps in on Monday evening [
]We went on the RSR trackwalk on Friday night - they ship you round in minibuses & walk you through various sections - well worth the money, although may be a bit too much information for first timers (they do point out the corners you are most likely to die at, so that's fairly useful for newbies [
]). The track is far more intimidating on foot - less of a fast "A" road, more of a winding mountain road! the gradients are huge & loom up over you - especially places like Flugplatz & Ex Muhle. Many of the corners have huge cambers (not just Karussel). The weather on Friday had been very wet, so I was very pleased to see Saturday start bright. The track was pretty busy - although nowhere near as bad as last year. There were plenty of closures on Saturday but I still got in 7 laps. The first couple were a bit ragged but it started to come together a bit. I was a bit disappointed with the car's handling - lots of body movement, (more on that later....) but at least I was passing more cars than I was letting past. I had one "moment" through the entrance to miss-hit-miss where I got the lines all wrong & the car got very squirmy & out of shape, but I managed to let the car sort itself out. (I discovered the barriers look very close at that point!). Here's the only pic i can find - Jochen from frozenspeed takes great pictures, but didn't get any of me.
http://www.e40racer.be/php/nurburgring-16-05-09.php?image=/_dsc2534_wm.jpg
Sunday started wet, & we got there just after 8. I ventured out for a couple of very slow wet laps - I have to admit I bottled it at the top of Fuchsrohre on one lap & coasted down in 5th at about 90... There were no closures at all in the morning - fewer cars & most of the "heroes" don't go out in the wet.
Gradually the dry line appeared & the pace picked up. By lunchtime it was dry & I was starting to push a bit harder. The car still wasn't handling all that well, & the ABS was going mad at some points on the circuit where the tarmac was very bumpy. I thought that maybe the circuit was just generally very bumpy & unsettled the car too much. We had chatted about this the night before, & a mate suggested firming up the dampers, so I thought it was time to give that a go...
I sorted the fronts and o/s rear, and when I got to the n/s rear, I moved the adjuster & the whole shock moved in my hand! - the lower mount had completely parted company from the lower arm!! - pics may follow later. I decided that it wouldn't be very wise to continue - even though I'd probably done a fair few laps in that state. I drove the car back to the hotel, where it took at least 8 of us to (fail to) remove the shocker. I know it's just one bolt, but it is a long one.... At this point, we just lashed up the damper to the suspension arm with a ratchet strap. I had taken the car into ph last week for them to give the car a once-over - particularly underneath to check bushes etc.. so I was a bit disappointed they hadn't spotted this (If there was anything to see at that stage)
The (very rusty) exhaust tip also dropped off somewhere on the circuit - 2 of our party took their mountain bikes & got in a lap on Sunday night - they found it just before mini karussell!
So I ended up driving a broken car back to the UK. It was suprisingly well behaved - although there was a bit of rear wheel steer when you hit a bump at over 100!
Now it's time to save up for the new suspension
- looking at the options, i could replace the rear leda shocks (concerned that the other one could also let go) & rebuild the fronts, but am very tempted by KW. I could really do without spending the money just now, but I want to do it right.
