Track days and instructors in the North-east
- Thread starter coconat
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Pretty sure I said the leave of a plant that flavours chewing gum and toothpaste but forum autocorrects it. Meant very good either way
There will be a pre facelift dc5 in there next week or two once its all registered and insured, can't wait.
Yeah I work in quorum, previously had an ep3 but fully agree there's not many interesting cars in there. Odd amg and yeah I've spotted the gtr
There will be a pre facelift dc5 in there next week or two once its all registered and insured, can't wait.
Yeah I work in quorum, previously had an ep3 but fully agree there's not many interesting cars in there. Odd amg and yeah I've spotted the gtr
coconat
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Let's test this.... mint ? If it doesn't work that's blatant racism against Geordies
Haha no way! Will keep my beady eyes peeled for it, what colour?
Which bit do you work in? Please don't say Balfour they are our mortal enemies greedy gits always hogging the coffee van and pushing in front of everyone lol
Haha no way! Will keep my beady eyes peeled for it, what colour?
Which bit do you work in? Please don't say Balfour they are our mortal enemies greedy gits always hogging the coffee van and pushing in front of everyone lol
Haha play the trusty racism card!
Champ white. Not long off the boat, can't wait.
No not them lol. You have a running battle with them? I work for the insurance company that puts boxes in the car. However I'm forbidden from saying the name on social network sites or forums. Used it on twitter once and got a gentle reminder from the boss not to.
Champ white. Not long off the boat, can't wait.
No not them lol. You have a running battle with them? I work for the insurance company that puts boxes in the car. However I'm forbidden from saying the name on social network sites or forums. Used it on twitter once and got a gentle reminder from the boss not to.
coconat
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Typical 
Oh? Who are you getting it through? JM Imports?
Nah just find the majority of them of the stuck up snobs Oh that's fine I know who they are- a TL who used to work for us (will probably follow suit and say the housing association) works there now, lovely lady called Susan M? If you know her tell her Natalie says hi
Oh? Who are you getting it through? JM Imports?
Nah just find the majority of them of the stuck up snobs
Oh that's fine I know who they are- a TL who used to work for us (will probably follow suit and say the housing association) works there now, lovely lady called Susan M? If you know her tell her Natalie says hi davidpingu
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Ok I'll be prepared for a slating here but do you like driving sims? Gt5, Forza, games like that?
Obviously I'm not suggesting if you can play these games you can be an F1driver but there is a very evident link between people who play racing games and their abilities in a car. If you don't believe me just look at the GT Academy.
If you aren't into racing games I'd suggest giving one a go for several reasons. Firstly you'll get to learn what happens when a car exceeds it's limits in a safe environment (all be it on a small scale). It helps you to understand how you need to drive different layouts differently. FF, FR, RR, MR and 4WD all drive very differently in the game, much like real life.
Secondly if you start taking in track times on certain circuits in your chosen car you can spend hours trying to refine your driving, gear selection, braking zones and corner lines to improve your racing. Driving lines in particular will translate to track.
Lastly, a lot of these games give you a newbie level understanding of racing mods (although don't think the power figures they add are at all representative of real life) and how they change the characteristics of the car. As your understanding develops you can get much more from a car by tinkering with suspension geometry, brake bias, gear ratios and diff setup.
If you ever do manage to fund a trip to somewhere like the ring it's a huge advantage if you've experienced the track hundreds of times in simulation.
Of course it's no substitute to proper track lessons but for the cost I'd definitely recommend using racing sims more in your down time. As you come across things in engineering that you don't understand, Google is your friend!
I think guys are naturally more curious about that kind of stuff so a lot of us probably develop an understanding because it's fun rather than feeling we have to. Please don't take that the wrong way though, it's really cool your taking an interest and I wish more girls new more about a car than putting petrol in it. Some even struggle with that lol.
Another thing that will bring on your mechanical understanding of the car, which still helps when driving, is to start learning to do some simple servicing and maintenance yourself.
Good luck
Obviously I'm not suggesting if you can play these games you can be an F1driver but there is a very evident link between people who play racing games and their abilities in a car. If you don't believe me just look at the GT Academy.
If you aren't into racing games I'd suggest giving one a go for several reasons. Firstly you'll get to learn what happens when a car exceeds it's limits in a safe environment (all be it on a small scale). It helps you to understand how you need to drive different layouts differently. FF, FR, RR, MR and 4WD all drive very differently in the game, much like real life.
Secondly if you start taking in track times on certain circuits in your chosen car you can spend hours trying to refine your driving, gear selection, braking zones and corner lines to improve your racing. Driving lines in particular will translate to track.
Lastly, a lot of these games give you a newbie level understanding of racing mods (although don't think the power figures they add are at all representative of real life) and how they change the characteristics of the car. As your understanding develops you can get much more from a car by tinkering with suspension geometry, brake bias, gear ratios and diff setup.
If you ever do manage to fund a trip to somewhere like the ring it's a huge advantage if you've experienced the track hundreds of times in simulation.
Of course it's no substitute to proper track lessons but for the cost I'd definitely recommend using racing sims more in your down time. As you come across things in engineering that you don't understand, Google is your friend!
I think guys are naturally more curious about that kind of stuff so a lot of us probably develop an understanding because it's fun rather than feeling we have to. Please don't take that the wrong way though, it's really cool your taking an interest and I wish more girls new more about a car than putting petrol in it. Some even struggle with that lol.
Another thing that will bring on your mechanical understanding of the car, which still helps when driving, is to start learning to do some simple servicing and maintenance yourself.
Good luck
coconat
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I play a mean game of Mario Kart. I can own Rainbow Road without even using the cheat jump
But on a serious note yes i've played Forza a fair bit, I actually can see your point about the link as I guess it gives you the chance to simulate a track without the worry at the back of your mind about doing something wrong and ruining an expensive car
Also agree 100% on the mechanical side of things. Everything I know about cars/my car i've either self taught from forums or picked up bits and pieces from friends. I actually would love to just be able to go to those basic mechanic courses just so I can learn, can't expect friends to sit and teach me everything from scratch as it would require a lot of time and patience I guess?
I'll hold my hands up and say I don't know half as much about cars as I would like- just never been in that circle of people to experience it first hand, and truthfully I hate it. I hate having to ask people to do stupid little fix it jobs that I should be doing myself. I do want to learn for the methods, but I also want to learn because I do actually find it fun
My idea of an ideal weekend would be spent working on my car in nice weather if I only knew what I was doing! lol For instance need to change my sidelights, need new brake pads as well, these are things I want to be able to do myself and as I want to track the car eventually and modify it for performance I don't want to have someone do that for me. I want to be able to say i've done all my own work as i'm stubborn like that..but it's daunting when you don't know where to look or where to be taught
Thanks though for the reply, any excuse to play games is fine with me!
But on a serious note yes i've played Forza a fair bit, I actually can see your point about the link as I guess it gives you the chance to simulate a track without the worry at the back of your mind about doing something wrong and ruining an expensive car
Also agree 100% on the mechanical side of things. Everything I know about cars/my car i've either self taught from forums or picked up bits and pieces from friends. I actually would love to just be able to go to those basic mechanic courses just so I can learn, can't expect friends to sit and teach me everything from scratch as it would require a lot of time and patience I guess?
I'll hold my hands up and say I don't know half as much about cars as I would like- just never been in that circle of people to experience it first hand, and truthfully I hate it. I hate having to ask people to do stupid little fix it jobs that I should be doing myself. I do want to learn for the methods, but I also want to learn because I do actually find it fun
My idea of an ideal weekend would be spent working on my car in nice weather if I only knew what I was doing! lol For instance need to change my sidelights, need new brake pads as well, these are things I want to be able to do myself and as I want to track the car eventually and modify it for performance I don't want to have someone do that for me. I want to be able to say i've done all my own work as i'm stubborn like that..but it's daunting when you don't know where to look or where to be taught
Thanks though for the reply, any excuse to play games is fine with me!
No a friend imports cars just does it for himself, holiday then should be sorted for when I'm back.coconat said:Typical
Oh? Who are you getting it through? JM Imports?
Nah just find the majority of them of the stuck up snobs
Yeah I think I know Susan, will pass on a hello for you.
davidpingu
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Mario Kart is easily the most in depth of driving sims!coconat said:I play a mean game of Mario Kart. I can own Rainbow Road without even using the cheat jump
But on a serious note yes i've played Forza a fair bit, I actually can see your point about the link as I guess it gives you the chance to simulate a track without the worry at the back of your mind about doing something wrong and ruining an expensive car
Also agree 100% on the mechanical side of things. Everything I know about cars/my car i've either self taught from forums or picked up bits and pieces from friends. I actually would love to just be able to go to those basic mechanic courses just so I can learn, can't expect friends to sit and teach me everything from scratch as it would require a lot of time and patience I guess?
I'll hold my hands up and say I don't know half as much about cars as I would like- just never been in that circle of people to experience it first hand, and truthfully I hate it. I hate having to ask people to do stupid little fix it jobs that I should be doing myself. I do want to learn for the methods, but I also want to learn because I do actually find it fun
My idea of an ideal weekend would be spent working on my car in nice weather if I only knew what I was doing! lol For instance need to change my sidelights, need new brake pads as well, these are things I want to be able to do myself and as I want to track the car eventually and modify it for performance I don't want to have someone do that for me. I want to be able to say i've done all my own work as i'm stubborn like that..but it's daunting when you don't know where to look or where to be taught
Thanks though for the reply, any excuse to play games is fine with me!
Well most everything I learnt to do on my cars for the first couple years was with someone else. I've always liked working on something in pairs as it often makes jobs quicker and it's nice to have someone else watching to suggest a different approach so you know you aren't diving straight in to a job without thinking it through. Even now I prefer doing jobs on my car with someone than on my own but more recently I've been more comfortable doing things on my own if there isn't help available.
Markteg is always helping me out with bits and pieces on mine, he's a legend
If there are local owners to you I'm sure you'll get to know of some people who are happy to help too. Just resist the urge to let someone else take over with things but ask for advice. Sidelights are definitely something you're capable of! Have you downloaded the rsx manual from off of here yet? If not, get it, it's awesome and very in depth and detailed.
Brakes pads are also a great job for the beginner. Just take plenty of time over it and you'll be fine with the help of the manual and some reassurance. You got some tools? I have a Halfords Professional tool set (the biggest one) and for the money it's awesome. I've done practically everything with it. The odd job then where you need a more specialist tool you can just buy as you go. For odd tools Amazon is brilliant. Recently bought the exact same brake rewind tool as what was in Halfords for just £8 when Halfords were charging about £35!
Dont be afraid to ask for pointers on here before attempting a job too. I've done that before now. You'll get the odd "don't you think you should leave it up to someone who knows what they're doing" comment but you'll get some good advice too and hey we all have to start somewhere! As long as you're not planning on a K24 bottom end conversion as your first job you'll be fine
53 Teegwa
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As above Nat you know I'll steer you right lol, we all start somewhere and there is a few long in tooth on here that are more than happy to help (following proper use of the search function beforehand).
If in doubt ask and ask and ask some more and you'll pick it up.
Not long now......
If in doubt ask and ask and ask some more and you'll pick it up.
Not long now......
coconat
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You're right-I'm lucky to know someone local at leastTeegwa said:
On a longer note- I think you'll find mastering Mario Kart is no easy task! Tears were lost and blood was shed trying to beat my brother to the high scores..
As I said i'm lucky enough to at least know Teegwa- he was the first one to offer help waaayyy back when before I hadn't even started searching for mine in Japan. I've got the manual aye, I suppose it's just having the confidence to have a go and if things fudge up..I guess they fudge up, only side lights lol (bought two packs as well)
I don't have any tools purely because I wouldn't have a clue what to use them for! I wish I was joking! But i'll certainly invest in some and maybe I can have a nice weekend having a go at the easy stuff.
Thanks for the help
always appreciate it when people take their own time to help others who have no clue..it does mean a lot when you are unsure, Teegwa knows I appreciate his help with mine so far..or he should know..hah.davidpingu
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To be honest there really is nothing to fudge up with side light bulbs. Just twist the carriers about 90 degrees and out the whole unit comes. The bulb just pops in and out. Only thing to remember with the new bulbs is to try to avoid touching them with your fingers. The oils in your skin transfers to the glass and can shorten the lifespan of them. Having said that if they are LED ones going in then it shouldn't be a problem. I always make a point of using a piece of kitchen towel to hold bulbs though.
Heres a link to that tool set. For the money you'd find it hard to do better - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_862463_langId_-1_categoryId_255215
No worries, as said you can always ask. But be warned if you let Teegwa near your car too often it will definitely turn purple :xlol:
Heres a link to that tool set. For the money you'd find it hard to do better - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_862463_langId_-1_categoryId_255215
No worries, as said you can always ask. But be warned if you let Teegwa near your car too often it will definitely turn purple :xlol:
molten-ice
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How far away are you from knockhill or crail?
if your close to either pm me your details and i can pass them on to my mate , he used to be one of the instructors at knockhill , still does tarmarc rallies now.
if your close to either pm me your details and i can pass them on to my mate , he used to be one of the instructors at knockhill , still does tarmarc rallies now.