32hrs till Castle Combe....
 

Well the Chairman Budgie and myself Weasel are off to Combe this friday.

Today has given the Wagon Wheel a new 150psi oil pressure gauge from Revotec, a pair of front driveshafts to replace the rotten CV joints and gaiters on the ones I had. Brake pad check all round, a caning to check that the cooling system is all up to scratch oh and a pair of gas struts for the bonnet.

If it rains its my fault.

If the sessioned format us rubbish its my fault.

If the wagon blows up its my fault.

Praying for sun and some supercars with rubbish toff drivers

have fun weaseltron :) weathers meant to be good

Its Nankang weather tomorrow:D

See you bright and early Edwardo:sleep:

Have fun guys. :thumb:

Have fun guys should be a good one!

Any good? :norty:

It`s a nice day here so hope it`s shining for you Two. :thumb:

And so it came to pass that the great Clairvoyant Weasel predicts the future!! :)

So Weather......................Check!! Brilliant weather perfect for hoooning and making sure Magsenius gets more rubber to supply.

Sessioned format - NOT the best Chairman B is right - being cocooned up with the same folks isn't the best

Then the predictions so £170 spent on day total laps approx. 12 before.........

Yup you guessed it right MSOC brothers HEADGASKET blew :o:o:o:o:o

Yoko AD08s were great as were Nankangs

Both cars were pulling 140mph on the run up to quarry.

Castle combe is a really fantastically fast track - 4th gear ENTERING the start finish straight.

And yes there were some great cars there with rubbish drivers- a radical SR3and a 911 GT3RS that kept lifting off in the flatout bits.

Nice to go out in the PJB for the third session as my car pinged its way back cool again.

Roll on the bill for the Headgaskets

Roll on the next Track sesh

Jacks in the support vehicle proved invaluable and I was even able to drop the scoob off in Bristol to get the headgasket done!!

Peace

Arghhh, shame Ed , but thats life i supouse. At least you had fun. Need to consider a different engine builder maybe? 4 engines in a couple of years ... oh my ... ;)

Good write up Ed, I was waiting for you to give an update first
Seeing as you had the engine issue
As I said before, not a fan of the sessioned days. Or of the CC track
Thanks for signing us up to the pro group with all the stripped out full on track tools
Top day for weather and as you say the Nankangs proved to be as good as the Magsimus said they would be, did I mention nobody likes a smart arse.
One thing that came out of the day was how good it is to have the support crew , thanks Jackie for coming down in the loaded Landy
This is why we started the ETC and how good it is to do track days with them
All ETC track days will be posted on here for you guys to join in on

Sorry to hear about your engine woes Ed :( hope they get her back on the road soon.

140mph, ETC record?!!!!!

To be fair it was my nephew that told me about our terminal speed

And then to be fair to whilst I was riding shotgun with pete I said "pete I've just seen 140mph before the brakes"

Coming into quarry the last thing you are looking at is the speedo!!!

Budgie did you mean you are NOT a fan of the track :confused::confused:

Or just the silly format?

Technically 1 engine Mantas that Advanced Automotive 2litre was a disaster of an engine and was total scrap by the end of 8000miles

This API 2.5 motor just got cooked with that sunday nonsense - weakened the HG and the inevitable happened at track- I was secretly deluding myself that it was all ok. still two new cosworth HGs a headskim and some 14mm ARPs and we're back in business!! :thumb::thumb:

Maggs - WE NEED NITROGEN!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sorry Ed, I am not a fan of the track
Come with us to Cadwell or Oulton and you will see why

Forgot to say appreciate the sentiments Andy - but I was a bit foolish expecting it to be okay.

Confucius once said if a car is cooked - then ask how you want it done don't try and put it back in the fridge......

I was in delusion land

;)

Oh we'll there's always the Alpina!

Defineately up for that.

How would you compare AD08s to Nankangs? I'm a bit suspicious if you really can compare them to such like 888s or AD048s, their more into Re070 territory i think .. Any comparisson by lap timing or other would be nice to know..

Good write up ED you definatly went with the right person for a trackday. Sorry to hear about the dreaded HG issues. Hope fully it comes back stroger than ever. Was unsure about the format as it seemed a bit restrictive.

So other than nakangs were great theres no more feedback ? Pff, i'll stay with re070s then...:rolleyes:

Sorry Mantas, only just seen your question
The Nankangs seem to be very good compared to the 888's on track, I dont think there is a lot of difference regarding lap times. They are not as quick to warm up and its to early to tell how quick they will wear out but I will keep you posted. I am not a big fan off them on the road due to they seem to tramline more than the 888's but that has not put me off.

Ok Ok Ok Mantas.

AD08s I have been driving them a while now. They are the best tyre I have ever had on any car. They have amazing grip at road temps but then when they get to the track they really show their true metal. When warm they grain up well and really hold themselves together well.

When really hot its only the increased tyre pressure that I noticed affecting their behaviour.

Its worth bearing in mind also that Combe is a three figure MPH track for a LOT of the time and not once did I think the wagon was going to break. I left the dampers and roll bars as per the road settings too.

I wouldn't hesitate to smoke them out and then buy another set from Maggs.

Worth mentioning that the the Palmersports GT3 M3s run these tyres as their track tyre...............

I cannot comment on 888s as have never driven them but can compare to the Michelin Sport Cups I had on my 535d and the Michelin SuperSports I have on the Alpina and the AD08 would smoke both of those.

:) :) :) :) ;) ;) ;)

Thanks Pete, Ed..... So basically nakangs vs ad's would be ...nakangs more track based softish grippy tyre but a bit stressful on the road where ad's great everywhere track, road ? How would you compare side walls of the ad's lets say to re070's ? Any experience on them?

My only comparison is between 888's and Nankangs mate. I have not used any other track based tyre.

Pete , i still think that R888 and A048 are semi slick/ road legal tyre and is for the different purpose instead of naknangs and AD08's road/ocasional track use based tyres , by the thread and by the tyre shape/design itself....

The AD08 IS a track tyre that also handles road use and wet weather.

The BMW M3s at palmersport currently use the AD08

The Clio Cup cars at palmersport also used to use AD08s

I'd put an RE070s as less aggressive compound than an AD08 -

The sidewalls on the AD08 are very stiff too they don't "roll off"

the spread of performance between hot and cold is also less pronounced.

When the Wagon is back from HG replacement you can come out in it.

Tread depth is big on an AD08 compared to out and out track only tyre like888 (8mm vs 5mm)

I may well try some888s in a 265 and we'll get the stopwatch on them.

real world is winter, spring, summer,Autumn punctuated with lots of water and lots of changes in temp.

I think a big factor will be when Budge and Me finally get Maggs to get some Nitrogen Gas- the increasing pressures is a major factor on the tyre performance when on a hot dry track on maximum attack.

PS you were missed today - :)

^^^ Thanks Ed for the reply. I see your point , but i'm not referring to the real world rather than track based tyre.... The times would tell everything i think. If you get the R888, please update us... BTW Palmersport and other race teams use it as R888 are not aloud anymore cause of the regulations or smtn , same as in TA? Might be wrong , just guessing.

:thumb:

So what i gathered so far, lots of comparison on re070's vs ad08's , As i swapped back to re070's i compared the sidewalls, re070s were a bit stiffer, as for the compound AD's are a bit softer when cold, but get the temps into re070's and they will grip as good... I read a lot about wet grip also, i was really surprised when everybody was complaining that bridgestones are bad in the wet, what i've found , that if you keep the temps in them , their not bad at all, obviously you have to be more couscous , but not bad at all... As the design of the AD's newer and was focused into wider weather conditions they should be better than re070's. As for the hard use evo boys do prefer re070's for the feedback, sharpness, but AD's as an everyday/sprint tyre... so my conclusion is , For what re070's cost @ RTS or Camskill 84 quid for 225/45/17 i think its a no brainer against 117 for Ad's ...

I've tried AD's on Misha's GT86 and was impressed, but cant say they felt somehow better than my bridges... The problem with RE070's is that they lack in sizes, 17" and 20" for GTR i think thats why its limiting a lot of other car makes using them...

Cant find a lot about nankangs yet, will continue the reading.....

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Rear wheel off the ground Mantas- car staying flat, look at the angle of our heads, that's the top of 4th entering the start/finish straight at Combe.

That's grip right there....

Pics too small Ed :D , but i can juts see that the sidewalls stayed in tact..Good stuff, Will need to test them again but, it sums it all now. Top tyre for the top price, you get what you pay for .... Now nanakgs, still looking for more info as their very new tyre..