How did the kick plate work?

 

This pretty much explains it.....

"Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire has taken its £1.5 million Wet Grip facility to a new level of sophistication this week, with the installation of a new hi-tech kick-plate. The new kick-plate – the only one in the UK – means Rockingham’s Wet Grip facility is able to offer car manufacturers and component suppliers the ultimate automotive demonstration venue capable of meeting their varied and exacting needs.
As a vehicle crosses the kick-plate at speeds of between 15 and 40 mph, sensors in the ground are triggered and a hydraulic piston below the surface of the plate creates a ‘kick’ movement. The rear of the vehicle then swerves, causing it to start skidding on the adjacent wet performance surfaces.
The kick-plate also makes it possible to simulate at low speeds what happens to a vehicle during violent manoeuvres at higher speeds. The plate’s ability to produce varying levels of kick - and therefore skid - means organisations can carry out precise testing of ABS braking, traction control and ESP systems in a safe and controlled environment.
“The kick-plate makes Rockingham’s Wet Grip facility unique in the UK,” commented Rockingham Chairman, Len O’ Hagan. “The Kick-plate is the only one in the UK and one of only three in Europe.
“This is a fantastic feature that makes our facility first choice for driving training programmes and testing new technologies such as ESP. We have already received excellent feedback from clients using Wet Grip and the kick-plate can only lead to greater customer satisfaction.”
The existing wet performance surfaces, together with the all-new kick-plate, now give manufacturers the opportunity to evaluate a combination of driving ability, electronic systems and the effects of physics on their vehicles in the same place, at the same time.
Developed in co-operation with MIRA, the state-of-the-art Rockingham Wet Grip facility offers unrivalled extreme weather automotive demonstration facilities. The performance surfaces have been developed in line with the latest manufacturer standards and simulate ice, rain, and even the effects of wet leaves.
Also unique in the UK are the water walls, which can be randomly programmed with 19 different settings and create the closest possible simulation of a real-life emergency avoidance situation."

 

the kick plate certainly livened up the afternoon, once people got used to it knowing which way it was going to throw you it became reasonably easy to catch. then they put it to random and that made it very "lively" with many spins and you had to be a lot quicker reacting :-)

 

Was speaking to one of the instructors after the kick plate and he said that the average speed we went over in the afternoon session was 25mph and its best to go over at 28mph.

So the reason for some people losing it straight away off the kick plate was because they went too slow and therefore spent too long on the plate.

 

I luckily got the fuel cut-out when I had the instructor in with me. He just said take the keys out for 10 secs and it should sort it..which it did

 

Yep, same info as they gave my girlfriend, but that ten seconds seems like forever when you're sat there immobilised...

 

That does make sense, and IMHO we should have started further back, as you really had to give it some to be anywhere near 30mph in the distance we had. If the cones were further back you could have got to ~28mph well before and cruise over the plate. My first few runs I was concentrating more on the speedo than the task in hand.. Excuses eh..?!

Do 06> have DBW throttle..? Just wondered if the electronic management took over/had an eppy after doing a 360..?

 

Tell me about it!

I agree that we should have started further back for the kickplate as I don't think I got near 28mph once (which could be my excuse for doing so badly ). I was never looking at the speedo as I was too busy putting wipers on (too many times I forgot! ) and planning ahead, making sure I was straight etc.

 

yeah agreed. Just before the plate i was busy chancing gear and getting ready etc to check the speedo. Mates told me it was about 30.

Also it seems the faster i went the harder it kicked. and Always the first time on a new event it really kicked hard!

 

Yes they do as I have had the way it responds remapped on my Spec D, no idea if it is affected by as 360. I do know it didn't like going on a dyno.....

 

One of the TVRs seemed to shut down on a granite surface run - but that may have just been how TVRs react to wet electrics.
The Auto DCCD cars have G sensor(s) as part of their inputs which could have picked up high forces and shut the fuel pump off, but it doesn't explain how YXD also shut down.

nick

 

Bloody youtube video has been uploading the the past 3 hours....

 

Lol, has it worked..?

 

No such problem in the Tuscan - had to ease off the gas at least 10-15 feet before the sensor strips.... (although I agree with Jo about forgetting to put wipers on .... and windows up ! )

It was just a fuel pump cut off in the Chimaera from a violent spin, although I admit to having some worries as to how the electrics would cope with those water jets, so kept the engine running between runs.

Only problem is the engine heat baked that dirty water onto the bonnet and the paintwork still feels rough after washing, so looks like I will need a session with the clay bars to sort it.

 

Finally.

The video
YouTube - Rockingham Wet Grip Skid Day 28/02/09

Im sorry but the quality has gone from 1080p to crap and jerky through conversion reduction movie maker compilation and youtube...

Ill get the original HD files up on t'internet when i have time.

 

^^ Like the video. Wish I'd made it

 

Lol, I definitely needed to counter-steer more from the start, I eventually got it as we were about to move on to the crescent..

I wish I'd have taken my proper video camera now and reviewed each run whilst waiting for the next. Just seeing the video footage reveals so much, ie you can hear that I kept the throttle open, but see I applied too little steering too late..

As I said before, when you do eventually apply throttle, having overcome the natural reaction to lift off, the results are quite astonishing the way the rear comes back into line, even from extreme angles..

 

Sorry there wasnt much of you guys! ran out of bat half way through the kick plate too.

 

Hi everyone some pictures as promised

 

and some more

 

and lastly

 

Not that great I am afraid but if anyone does want a hi res version of anything then please let me know.

Best wishes,

Robin