Trackskills at Kirkistown.

[da.murf]

Tbf on Sunday, the amount of track time was great! Because there were so few cars. I think I got at least 1hr30mins. Ended up ran out of fuel and brake pads.

Can't ask for much more than that really!

Lol. I thought I could chance it home, but had to pull into the hairpin view point to change my front pads!

Out of interest mate how’d the zed get on?

 

[svensktoppen]

Kirkistown is heavy on brakes, big breaking zones on that track.

In a heavier car you'd do well to get more than two track days out of a set of pads. Discs should last longer. On a lighter car the pads and tyres will last much longer.

There is a huge difference between good track pads and cheap road pads though (latter includes vast majority of OEM pads). Driving style makes a massive difference too. Going through a full set on a wet day takes some doing.

Good track pads are mostly about being more aggressive and standing up to the heat better. They may last a little longer but that all depends on what pad they replace. They may also be harder on discs depending on which ones you pick. Horses for courses and all that.

For anyone doing regular track days, brakes and tyres should be top of the list for improved performance. Everything else comes after.

 

[thefool1983]

Out of interest mate how’d the zed get on?

It's great out of the box. Feels at home on the track!!

I put MTEC grooved discs on the front, braided lines and some fancy brake fluid. It all made the difference. No spongy pedal at all and good bite all day.

Next up is looking at some suspension parts to try correct some understeer and axle tramp I'm getting.

Engine/clutch/gearbox wise it just keeps going. Seems fairly bulletproof! (Touch wood)

 

[thefool1983]

Kirkistown is heavy on brakes, big breaking zones on that track.

In a heavier car you'd do well to get more than two track days out of a set of pads. Discs should last longer. On a lighter car the pads and tyres will last much longer.

There is a huge difference between good track pads and cheap road pads though (latter includes vast majority of OEM pads). Driving style makes a massive difference too. Going through a full set on a wet day takes some doing.

Good track pads are mostly about being more aggressive and standing up to the heat better. They may last a little longer but that all depends on what pad they replace. They may also be harder on discs depending on which ones you pick. Horses for courses and all that.

For anyone doing regular track days, brakes and tyres should be top of the list for improved performance. Everything else comes after.

Yeah, I found it strange the fronts were done too.
I think it was due to the new grooved discs "scraping" the material off the pads.

In the dry the last day, I hardly noticed any wear on the fronts, but the rears were shot.
I put that down to stability control doing loads of braking at the back!

In the wet, the opposite seems to have been true, fronts done - rears OK.

I was getting a lot of understeer, so unless the stability control was trying to correct that, but I couldn't feel it activating really. Abs was going mad most of the day tho, due to conditions!

I also found that I could outbreak most of the cars at the weekend, even on the road tyres.

If they are going to wear that quick, I don't think I'd waste my money on some black/green/yellow whatever stuff pads!

I'm enjoying all this post track day analysis nearly as much as the day itself !!

 

[svensktoppen]

Understeer in the wet on a heavy car would be normal under braking, and then on the throttle too with fwd. And oversteer on the throttle with rwd, lol.

Grooves shouldn't really affect pad wear that much. They will keep glazing off though, that's what they are for. But not like they machine the pads down that much.

Sounds like time to try different pads. If you use the car on the road then try something like a DS2500 first and then go from there.

Rear brakes only wear if there is traction/stability control working them. Try turning that off next time. Apart from traction/stability control the rears are basically just glorified parking brakes, and all the heavy braking done by the fronts on track with a heavier road car.

 

[da.murf]

Yeah, I found it strange the fronts were done too.
I think it was due to the new grooved discs "scraping" the material off the pads.

In the dry the last day, I hardly noticed any wear on the fronts, but the rears were shot.
I put that down to stability control doing loads of braking at the back!

In the wet, the opposite seems to have been true, fronts done - rears OK.

I was getting a lot of understeer, so unless the stability control was trying to correct that, but I couldn't feel it activating really. Abs was going mad most of the day tho, due to conditions!

I also found that I could outbreak most of the cars at the weekend, even on the road tyres.

If they are going to wear that quick, I don't think I'd waste my money on some black/green/yellow whatever stuff pads!

I'm enjoying all this post track day analysis nearly as much as the day itself !!

Totally believe the outbraking thing. The zed brakes are fantastic out of the factory

 

[weeloaney]

Kirkistown is heavy on brakes, big breaking zones on that track.

In a heavier car you'd do well to get more than two track days out of a set of pads. Discs should last longer. On a lighter car the pads and tyres will last much longer.

There is a huge difference between good track pads and cheap road pads though (latter includes vast majority of OEM pads). Driving style makes a massive difference too. Going through a full set on a wet day takes some doing.

Good track pads are mostly about being more aggressive and standing up to the heat better. They may last a little longer but that all depends on what pad they replace. They may also be harder on discs depending on which ones you pick. Horses for courses and all that.

For anyone doing regular track days, brakes and tyres should be top of the list for improved performance. Everything else comes after.

I’m still running the ds2500’s I fitted in July, 2 track days and probably about 7k daily driving. Discs warping was my issue tho

Need to either go easier on them or make a cooling setup for them.

Cooling setup seems more likely

But the ds2500 pads are definitely worth the money. They took a hammering and only ever faded once or twice in the day in July when really going for it, but came back again when cooked a bit.

 

[svensktoppen]

Work well on the road too. A bit of dust, lol, but that's it.

If it's a purely track car then go for something like CL5/6 to start with, or DS Uno. They will be harder on the discs if used on the road though.

As for warped discs, that's mostly down to the quality of discs Good track discs tend to not be cheap for a reason, especially on heavier cars.

So either get cheap and cheerful discs and throw them away after every other trackday. Or pay more for good ones and hope they last longer. Swings and roundabouts and all that.

 

[thefool1983]

Was my first time at a Trackskills event and Kirkistown circuit today and I really enjoyed it! Came out to have a nosey as I might eventually take the plunge and track my newly acquired MX5 at some point.

I brought my camera so if anyone is after some pictures of themselves out on track let me know—I was pretty trigger-happy with the camera so more than likely will have some shots of anything that was out.
View attachment 348972View attachment 348971View attachment 348973

Where's these pics ya big tease @kj2rich

 

[PaulYDP]

Heads up for anyone doing track days this year, the new Circle K garage in Kircubbin is now opened and selling Super Unleaded.

 

[JH86]

What's the story if you've never done a track day at kirki before and your thinking about booking on in the future?

Arrive and drive or how does it go?

 

[Cooper]

What's the story if you've never done a track day at kirki before and your thinking about booking on in the future?

Arrive and drive or how does it go?

Arrive and drive. Well worth listening to our podcast interview with Donal @V8 as well. Do it!!!

 

[Jbridges522]

What's the story if you've never done a track day at kirki before and your thinking about booking on in the future?

Arrive and drive or how does it go?

Have to go out a run with one of the guys to show lines etc, only takes 10 mins maybe.

 

[svensktoppen]

They'll take you out before anyone else to show you what to do and what not to do.

In the morning they usually put drivers who don't have a lot of experience in their own group just to let you settle in away from the really fast stuff.

Pace yourself and the car, it's an endurance event not a race. Spend more time looking in the mirror than forward. And don't be intimidated. Just let others through when it's safe to do so and everyone's on their way.

It's generally a friendly bunch. Don't be afraid to approach others. Most will be happy to take passengers. It's a great way of learning.

Most importantly - have fun