OliverJ's Leon Cupra R : OZ AP Racing upgrades...

[oliverj]

I read good things about the Eagle F1s but I am a Michelin boy through and through, if they are good enough for the 911, GT2 and SLR they are good enough for my LCR! I did a lot of research on the tyre front but it was the following link that made my mind up for me in addition to seasoned track day pros stating that Michelin PS2s were pretty special on teh track (SP Sports and Pirelli Rossos too soft and insufficient wall strength).

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP

I'll speak to the bloke who ordered my bells as he gets them direct from AP. I had 2500s on before I did the brake upgrade and they do not compare. Be interested to know how much my rotors weigh, I know they are significantly lighter than their predecessors.

Great choice on the OZ, almost went for 19s but glad I didn't - I got 6 of the 18s so i have two spares. Only issue I find with them is that they mark easily and they are a b1tch to clean like nothing you can imagine. I have spent an entire day just trying to get baked on brake dust off as they get really hot and just fuse together in the corners of the spokes.

Good observation on the rotors, they are delibrately on back to front as you get a fiercer bite on braking, much cleaner feel and they keep the pads fresh. Downside is they kill pads in about 13 months but upside is braking like you have driven into a wall of water! Another downside is that I squeal going backwards and forwards and it draws quite a lot of unwanted attention, I just point out that they are not worn they are race brakes and this is normal

 

[oliverj]

Oh and it was the spacers that had the negative effect, the wheels are astounding. It's hard to describe but with the spacers on the front the car felt like the tyres were under inflated all the time and tramlined even worse than LCRs normally do on 18s. Surprising how much 6mm can make to the characteristics of the drive. I would leave them off if you can or certainly trial them and see what you think.

 

[oliverj]

It's a shame you live so far away otherwise you would be welcome to have a go in mine.

 

[oliverj]

If you want tips on kit for tracking your LCR the bloke belowing has been instructing me for a few years now and what he doesn't know isn't worth knowing.... He is the one who does the work to mine as a favour.

http://www.drivertuition.com/

 

[Willie]

He'll be the one your getting the AP bells from then
I've been on his web site a few times
What else have you done to your car ready for the track??

 

[oliverj]

He certainly is! He is a very good teacher too, really helped me with my driving.

No changes to the car aside from wheels and brakes and religiously filling her up with only vPower. Thought about a strut brace, remap, revised induction and uprating suspension but no idea where to start or even if it will give that much benefit for the cost. Any suggestions?

 

[Willie]

Lots, lol

 

[Willie]

If you want a netral handling car fit an R32 front ARB £70, S3 strutt brace £60 and 28mm Neuspeed ARB £190 + £70 for 4 wheel alignment.

 

[oliverj]

Cheers for the suggestions!! Have you had yours on a rolling road?

 

[Willie]

Aye see my post, 230 BHP and 218 ft-lbs on standard map

 

[oliverj]

Been through the postings, very impressive. Have you got any dates/tracks in mind for your track day debut?

 

[Willie]

I did have dates but the gearbox problem and cash flow problems have put pays to all plans that i had.
It will definately be Knockhill for me and am planning on getting atleast 2 tuitioned days in before progressing to going out myself.

Good luck with Donnington, what is it your doing there?
Is it a track day with open pits or a full on race?

 

[oliverj]

I hope you get the gear box issues sorted soon. I am starting to realise what a bottomless pit of cash cars can be and there is till so much I want to do! Even getting prepared for track-days with having the car checked over, helmets etc is pricey.

The tuition really helped me, I basically had to start again from scratch as I had so many bad habits. I did a day being tutored on public roads and that gave me the foundations for a track day at Donington a few days later. I then did the Bedford circuit, Silverstone and Donington again and I am hooked!

The plan is just to get used to taking mine round the track, it is an open pit lane track day for the evening so should be a nice gentle introduction. I just want to get out of there with the car the same shape as I drove in.

http://www.circuit-days.co.uk/attendees.php?venue_id=&event_id=160

I am way off getting anywhere near a race!!! Unless it is some annoying chav on the way to or from work who needs putting their place then I'll happily oblige

 

[Willie]

Holy Feck thats a bit expensive compared to Knockhill, obviously very different tracks though

Hope all goes well
What have the drivertuition guys done to their LCR's and what do they recommend for track preparation?

 

[oliverj]

I thought that was quite reasonable - how much is Knockhill costing you?

With Circuit-Days you get twenty minutes free tuition by a race professional and passengers can come for free (the list is growing out of control - it's turning into a track-taxi). I have paid £35 in the past on top of everything else just for a passenger to sit-in!

The DT guys changed the standard brakes to the same set-up as mine, wheels and eibach coilovers I believe and a hefty dose of pure driving skill! They see no need for power increases or anything else and having seen them punish Ferraris driven by lesser mortals I am a believer!

They state the LCR is already pretty well set up for track use (in standard form aside from the inadequate brakes) and the biggest difference can be made through driving skill. I fall asleep reading the Police handbook : Roadcraft some nights and some of the tips are very effective on the road. Corner entry speeds, visibility, road positioning, braking points on the road etc... I practice smoother driving to and from work and it makes a difference. Final point is that there is no substitute for experience (a customer told me this last week and he was in the Porsche Cup Series as a pro racer) and that is what I am hoping to achieve through just getting on as many tracks as I can...

Apologies for rambling on... too much sugar this morning combined with building excitement. I am half tempted to invest in something to record the track day at Donington - one of those cameras you stick somewhere in or on the car. Watch this space.... and maybe the YouTube footage of me taking out £500Ks worth of track-cars....

 

[Willie]

Sounds brilliant Oliver
I only wish I was as close to a track day as you are, hopefully I'll get all my ills sorted soon and get on the track.
That price doesn't seem so bad with the tuition. KH is £70 for a 4 hours open pit night with all cars needing to be above £10,000. I think I can just about slip into this one
The tuition days are £100 per hour on the track.
Is the Police drivers book a good read then?
Worth purchasing?

 

[oliverj]

I know, it has flown by since I booked it. It hasn't been an easy ride here though as I have had to wait years to get insurance that I could afford that would cover me fully comp on a trackday.

Mike from DriverTuition charged around £600 for a full day and that included the track (£200), his time (£250), fuel and wear and tear on the car (£150) which cconsidering he travells from Cheshire and he goes through 2 full tanks of fuel and it's a 14/15 hour day for him is good value.

The book is good as it gives you good pointers and the Police class 1 drivers use it as their manual. I have the latest edition and the predecessor. I am happy to post it to you no charge if you PM me an address. Certainly helped me. You can read it while you are waiting for SEAT to sort your gearbox.

 

[Willie]

I know, it has flown by since I booked it. It hasn't been an easy ride here though as I have had to wait years to get insurance that I could afford that would cover me fully comp on a trackday.

Mike from DriverTuition charged around £600 for a full day and that included the track (£200), his time (£250), fuel and wear and tear on the car (£150) which cconsidering he travells from Cheshire and he goes through 2 full tanks of fuel and it's a 14/15 hour day for him is good value.

The book is good as it gives you good pointers and the Police class 1 drivers use it as their manual. I have the latest edition and the predecessor. I am happy to post it to you no charge if you PM me an address. Certainly helped me. You can read it while you are waiting for SEAT to sort your gearbox.

That sounds great, if your finished with it I would really appreciate that

Did you get a quote from any of the companies that do track day insurance as part of the standard deal, HIC and Greenlight are two of the ones off the top of my head. I'm with HIC who give you 3 non competitive track days with £2,000 cover for mods. I would only be £50 per year extra if I got the car remapped to give 50 BHP ish and all for a very very competitive price compared to others that don't offer the track day bit.
I'm £450 per year fully comp with bonus protected

 

[oliverj]

Greenlight are the boys I went with in the end, HIC came in quite expensive for me £1600 all inclusive for as many track days as I want) as I have had an unlucky past with vandalism on my previous cars so only have 3 years NCB even though I have been driving for 12. I spoke to Chris Knott too but Greenlight were the ones I was looking to go with (next door neighbour is with them too and he speaks very highly of them).

Greenlight were really helpful and my policy is £640 and I pay £50 for each trackday I do to cover me fully comp. I am only planning on doing 4/5 a year so it is not too unreasonable and they won't bum rape me every time I make a small change to the car like Elephant did.

Elephant threatened to cancel the policy if I made one more change to the car and I had only done the wheels and brakes.

Who would you use to remap yours? I looked at Jabbasport and the custom remap seemed really good as it is bespoke to your vehicle (and designed within tolerances) rather than Revo which just drop a standard one for that model on everyones.

 

[andycupra]

Correct me if I'm wrong but are your discs not on the wrong side??
I thought the grooves were supposed to be facing away from the direction of travel
It definately does need to be on the EBC Ultimax 1 piece ones

ive often thought the same, it makes sense to have them this way for the dusty to be removed when on the move.
However ive seen numerous photos of grooves fitted as shown on this thread by major race teams among others, So i guess it doesnt matter!?

Just noticed the grooves dont even get to the disk edge so it wouldnt help anyway.