Hullavington Trackday Fri 27th

[Grin-a-lot]

Yay! Just booked Hullavington for Friday - it's looking dry and it's quite close - anyone else planning on going?

I'm also on the scrounge, I don't suppose anyone has a:

1. helmet my wife could borrow as passenger?
2. A large fuel jerry can thingy so I can take emergency supplies
3. Colin - can I grab my silencer/muffler back today/tomorrow?

Hopefully see some friendly faces there!

[YellaBelly]

Hi Darren, I've got a 5gal Jerry can you can borrow chap!

What time are you going down there? It's not too far from me, I assume it's the airfield? No idea how to get there though (the airfield that is )

[Moleman]

I can help you out mate.    See you tomorrow.

[benchmark51]

I have a full face helmet you can have, has no visor though

[robp]

It's not too far from me, I assume it's the airfield?

Yes, just up the road from you, JB.

I may try to pop down myself in the afternoon.  I'm intrigued to see what the 'test area', a.k.a. 'mucking about , drifting and doughnutting' area is like!  50psi in the rear tyres and off you go!!

[Grin-a-lot]

It's not too far from me, I assume it's the airfield?

Yes, just up the road from you, JB.

I may try to pop down myself in the afternoon.  I'm intrigued to see what the 'test area', a.k.a. 'mucking about , drifting and doughnutting' area is like!  50psi in the rear tyres and off you go!!

A mate drove there a while ago and that was exactly what it was   

[YellaBelly]

What time are you going and do you need to borrow the Jerry can?

[Grin-a-lot]

What time are you going and do you need to borrow the Jerry can?

Thanks for the offer but while I was pilfering bits from Colin I managed to grab one of those too so no need to grab one from you as well.

I'll be coming past your place about 0830 so i'll try to keep the noise down!

[YellaBelly]

OK mate no probs. Don't worry about the noise, give it some beans, I get up around 7 for the dog anyway

Might take a drive over to see how you're getting on if I can find the way in

[stupott901]

I saw all the cars heading there this morning on the way to my first job
I was so jealous and nice day for it as well

[fullpint]

How did you get on Stu?

[WALNUT]

Casino and myself took a little trip to Hullavington to see how grin a lot was getting on. Not a happy chappy when we got there, but by the time we left he had sorted it out. ( I will leave it to him to tell you what his problems were ) but alls well that ends well.
                                                                                       Wallnut

[stupott901]

Steve keevil was good my exhaust was toch and go with the noise test but they let me go ahead , got soaked a couple of times but good day until the exhaust rubber mounts snapped so had to sack it at 1530 but still enjoyed it

[Grin-a-lot]

Well a good day was eventually had at Hullavington...

It didn't start great to be honest, I broke down before I'd even got to the track as a fuse blew but that was easily fixed and I made it in time and met a couple of nice guys next to me in the paddock.  Noise testing was a success, 94dB so well under the 100dB limit and no need for the emergency muffler!

Sighting laps went well but about 4 laps after I lost power and parked infield waiting to be rescued - it was another fuse that went, this one supplying 12v to the coil so no ignition.  Again easily fixed and I couldn't see why it would have failed so replaced the fuse and went back out.  Half way round, in the same place, the same fuse failed again and I was stranded - red flags and another tow back to the paddock.  The organisers were understandably concerned about me ruining the day so I was on final warnings.

So more head scratching, another fuse and the car was running again.  I spoke with the organisers who agreed I could use the handling area to test the car and see if I could recreate the fault so I spent 3 sessions attempting to do donuts and play on the slalom - the car was fine but by then it was lunch.

Walnut and Casino turned up so we had a chat while I was puzzling over my electrical gremlins - both their cars turned plenty of heads and by all accounts they had their own adventure getting there - I'm sure they'll supply details.

They headed off and I went back out - opting to pootle through the area where the failures occurred (I have/had suspicions that vibrations, bouncing fuse holders and dry joints are the cause).  I also duct taped the fuse holder down for good measure.

Well whatever it was got fixed and I had a great afternoon.  I was gathering pace most of the afternoon  and started getting past a variety of cars.  I struggled with a 3.2L Audi TT who I could catch in the corners but didn't have the legs on the straights.  I was pleased with how the old crossflow stood up to some of the smaller fuel injected engines so miles of smiles in the end!

All in all, an emotional started but some company over lunch, really supportive organisers (MSE) and a successful afternoon meant it was worth it in the end!

[YellaBelly]

Glad it truned out OK in the end Darren

I was going to come over for a watch, but we had visitors over from Oz who were calling in so spent most of the day faffing with the mandatory clear-up

Sounds like Hullavington is a good place to try as a first track-day. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to risk breaking my blood, sweat and tears mobile

['The Gaffer']

Glad all turned out ok, hope you find the problem.

[Moleman]

Glad you had a good one in the end mate. I haven't done this one yet, Is it a good curcuit to try?
Ps  thanks for the beers. 

[Grin-a-lot]

Yeah I'd recommend it, not as inspiring as places like Combe but it made a nice change.

One of the advantages I found was there's so much run off and little to hit that it meant I was happy to push hard and occasionally lose control which was good for learning.  The handling area where it was just one car at a time was great for this too.

A couple of people grabbed me and said how planted the car looked in the cornering complex on track - I told them about a great bloke that knows a thing or two about geometry! It was nice to see that even in my hands Dave's magic was clear to see!

[Moleman]

I think I will look this one up then mate. 

[Grin-a-lot]

Well a good day in the garage yesterday found the source of my fuse blowing problems!

The symptoms were that 3 times I went over the same bumpy bit in the track I blew a fuse - it suggested to me there was some sort of vibration issue rather than pure electrical.

Well I decided to measure current flows through my fuses so that I could size the fuses appropriately and after that I found a dodgy earth on the pedal box.  As I was nipping it up I saw the odd spark from somewhere nearby.  I turned out that my earlier hamfisted-ness had pulled the 12v supply to the brake switch off and it was flapping around near a metal plate.  Each time I hit a big enough bump it was contacting, shorting to earth and blowing a fuse!

So long story short I spent all day operating without brake lights and blowing fuses!  The good news now though is that I've sized the fuses appropriately, got my brake lights back and have a better understanding of which circuit is drawing what current!

I seem to have 2 supplies to the fan so that needs sorting and then I can wrap the loom and have faith that its all working well again!

[robp]

Great news you've found the problem.  

Sometimes those intermittent electrical issues can be difficult and frustrating to locate.

[YellaBelly]

Well done that man!

But don't forget to wrap the loom in proper looming tape, not insulation tape. That stuff makes one hell of a mess!!