Great value trackdays ... if you live in Scotland.

im a member too, never been asked if i was by my dealer so never had a discount because of it, only when i saw it in true grip did i realise i could get one from them.

A lot of the emails i get regarding events, are usually in Scotland :( , SIDC seems very active up there

No, did it last year the mags not bad but none of the dealers near me offer the discount,i`m not going to mod her I dont do track days, just keep it clean and i can get discounts without the SIDC, sorry guys,and if i go to meets scoobynet helps me out.

i'm a member. i have tended to be a member of all the car clubs relevant to the car i have owned at the time though. it just seems second nature to me i guess.

SIDC is cool though. but i think more work needs to go into the website

As somebody said in an earlier post, a club is what it's members make of it so instead of complaining that your local dealer doesn't give discount - why don't you ask him to set up discount for SIDC members?

Yes, I'm a member and I enjoy True Grip and have benefited from the discount.

Well worth it.

I am now :D

Can't remember the last time there was a proper SIDC track day which was within a reasonable distance to where I live. Every time I get an email advertising something new it seems to be way up north. In fact I've had to resort to being a guest of the MG X-power lot so I can get my fix :(

Iain

And to prove my point, I had another email from the SIDC this morning advertising 6 different events. Every single one in Scotland :(

There are a couple of reasons why most of the SIDC track events have only been in Scotland for the past year:

a) The club lost money on a number of track events in the previous year, as there simply wasn't enough people attending to make it worthwhile. I think at one event, we booked Brands Hatch, and only about a dozen people booked up!!!

b) When we first started doing track events, there wasn't that many other clubs doing them, there was lots of demand, and the idea of a track day company really didn't exist. We could also get tracks booked at sensible rates. Now there are literally dozens of track day companies, who because of their buying power, book up all the major tracks a year in advance. What dates there are remaining, are priced well out of the range that the club can risk (e.g. £8k - £10k + VAT for a full day, mid week!), and are usually available at very short notice (ie usually about 3 - 4 weeks) due to cancellations.

c) As there are so many track days organised by these track day companies, you can virtually choose a circuit and a date that suits you, and you can do a track day there, OK, it's a bit more expensive but the venue and dates are perfect for you.

d) The track day companies don't seem to be interested in Knockhill for some reason, which means we can book the track at sensible rates (keeps it cheap for members), get good dates (all Saturday mornings this year :). Combined with the fact we have a core of people in the club, plus the Elise/Caterham/TVR/etc. owners means that we are almost guaranteed to break even on each event.

e) Lastly, you'll notice that the majority of events posted up in today's e-mail are organised by other car clubs - all we need to do is turn up on the day and enjoy ourselves :D

John

PS The bookings for the Isle of Man trip this year are going very well, with I believe over 40 people booked so far :) Should be another great event :D

Thanks John, I know it's difficult. It's just frustrating that even though I've been a member for 3 years now, I've never been able to get to a club event for one reason or other (especially now that they all seem to be in Scotland) :(

The mg x-power club hardly ever has enough applicants to fill a track day either. What they have done in the past is to negotiate with track day companies like Ed Moore (motorsport events), to get a discount for the club members. That way you can still get a club showing at the events without the headache of finding enough members to break even. The Ed Moore events are always very well organised and marshalled so there are no problems there, and it's nice sometimes to see the other makes of car etc on the track and not just scoobys...

Iain

Iain,

I understand exactly your situation, and it's something we are hoping to resolve, by getting together with track day companies, and also booking up some slots next year (and publishing them well in advance, and also inviting other car clubs to make up the numbers).

We also need a person dedicated to organising the track events, and we'll hopefully have an announcement in that area soon :)

John

As the editor of True Grip since the beginning of the year, I'm happy to get some reaction on the mag.

P1Doc, I suggest you contact our membership secretary andrina@sidc.co.uk to find out where your issue is.

I am looking to make changes and develop the magazine, and as is stressed in each issue, I publish what is presented to me. So far, virtually every article submitted has been printed. So, if you'd like more technical articles about mods or whatever, send them in. I can't write them as I stare at the engine fairly blankly once the bonnet is up (see editorial in April issue).

If you don't want to write an article, then a letter will do telling me what you'd like to read. Opinions always welcome and will be published. Email for this is

david@sidc.co.uk

Cheers

SOunds good. Thanks John :)

Proud SIDC member since 1998.

Just to add my 2p, in reply to D6ale's comment about the SIDC website, I took on responsibility for the SIDC websites a few months ago.

You make a fair point - which is why we're working on a redesign. We've taken feedback from members and visitors alike (if you care to make any suggestions then http://forums.sidc.co.uk is the place to do it :)) and I'm hopeful that we will be able to go live in the next few weeks or so, with further developments thereafter.

If anyone has specific comments regarding the SIDC website I can be reached at webmaster@sidc.co.uk. Always happy to hear constructive comments.

Cameron
SIDC Webmaster

I'm a member of SIDC too.

Definitely worth it for me.
10% off at my local main dealer.

I've just ordered a PPP for my MY03 WRX, and it's saved me £160.00.
£1440.00 instead of £1600.00, makes it a whole lot more tempting.

Pays my membership for the next 6 and a bit years!

Also enjoy True Grip.

Cheers,

Derek

SIDC life member and proud to be part of the club..

Track days were always great for meeting other members and always enjoyable sun or rain. However as was said earlier the SIDC got there fingers burnt on more than one occasion and lost quite a bit of money.
The discount alone can easily get your membership costs back and True Grip has gone from strength to strength.
In my opinion well worth joining..
Oh and being a lifer you do not have to remember to renew :)
All the best
Pete

I never found the membership not much use to me... read True-grip when it actually turned up!! I even had to ring twice, months after one issue was due :rolleyes:

Also getting a 10% discount is not hard from dealers... (well I haven't had any trouble) So for me it never added any value there either.

Used to be a member, but am not any more. why not? well...

a) I don't have a scoob any more

b) Did not really get any benefit from SIDC membership, ok, so I went as a spectator to a few trackdays and had a few passenger laps, but well, I could have done that without being a member.

As I had a jap import, the 10 percent discount did not help out for servicing/parts at dealers,