40 replies to this topic

[jonkelly]

i believe this to be the place.. http://www.carlimits.com/

[VXTim]

XXX, on Oct 5 2008, 19:52 , said:

Plans Motorsport is your nearest VX tuition establishment.........<<clicky>>

Sorry to hear of your accident - hope it all gets sorted soon.

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but can anyone recommend a 'VX tuition establishment' in the Northwest? Think it would be worthwhile now that the winter is taking course.

Thanks

Tim

[lingy]

Ive had my car for about the same amount of time so it must feel terrible to lose it so soon.The guys that have pointed you towards some of the driving courses seem to know what they are on about.It definately beats skid pans etc as avoiding cones is not the same as avoiding other vehicles and lamp posts.However I keep reading on this forum about people driving into an aquaplane.Surely the aquaplane effect is caused by a build up of water between the road surface and the tyres thereby losing grip and control.I hope you get your motor sorted soon.

[jules_s]

lingy, on Oct 6 2008, 20:19 , said:

However I keep reading on this forum about people driving into an aquaplane.Surely the aquaplane effect is caused by a build up of water between the road surface and the tyres thereby losing grip and control.I hope you get your motor sorted soon.

Yep,

IIRC The training involves not backing off when you hit standing water...twas a long time ago I was taught that (in a 911) and it's stood me in good stead in the vx

[XXX]

Jon, to add to everybody else's sentiments - brave of you to admit to your failings behind the wheel. It is refreshing to read someone actually admitting, god-forbid, that it was not everything and everybody else's fault except their own!! I am no driving god myself and am the first to admit it. But we do all like to think ourselves as being invincible - don't we???? I have had 28 years experience behind the wheel - but nothing can prepare you fully for an all out aquaplane. Preperation is the best answer so hope you learn all you need to from your tuition. I must admit to thinking that this post was a little "troll-like" yesterday, hence but initial, somewhat unsympathetic response.......... Hope you get insurance sorted. PM me if any advice needed (ex-insurance broker, me )

[jonkelly]

Hi Guys i just got some great news the insurance company are paying up exactly what i paid for the car so im only down the excess and 2yrs no claims (although that is enough!!!) the question now is... the driving days... do i hold out before i buy the next vx220 to play on the track and hire a lotus OR do i buy a vx and go ASAP if i bring my own car the day will be roughly £200 cheaper what do people think?? FYI £200 is a lot to me as i have been saving for the VX220 for 5 years!! just out of uni so im not paid great just enough to cover insurance... so yeah do i pay the extra or save a few pennys??? i do have a small fear of driving my Pug in the wet now since my accident...

[dw1]

If you hire the Lotus you will save on tyre wear, but it might be worth taking your own VX to give you real confidence in your own car and understand what went wrong last time. If you take the lotus rental then you might question in the back of your mind if it's 100% the same as in your VX and still lack confidence when back in your own car. For piece of mind go in yours and break her in for the track (what its built for)!

Edited by dw1, 07 October 2008 - 06:21 PM.

[XXX]

XXX, on Oct 6 2008, 22:00 , said:

Hope you get insurance sorted. PM me if any advice needed (ex-insurance broker, me )

Well waddayouknow, less than 24 hours after I offer to get involved, they make a perfect offer. They are scared of me, I tell ya................

[snoopstah]

The Lotus Elise S I acquired for a while had significantly (surprisingly so) different handling to the VX, especially regarding lift-off oversteer (the Lotus was *hugely* more sensitive to lifting off mid-corner)

Edited by snoopstah, 07 October 2008 - 07:01 PM.

[jonkelly]

xxx, they knew you where coming!! something tells me there lotus maybe a track day one so very different, but surely that means if ic an drive that well i can drive the VX well... now is that statement true or not?? i dont know.. more opinions would be great!! only worry i have is driving the vx220 round for a few days before the lesson.. plus looks like im goin with the top gear track plansmotorsport as they can Guarantee a wet track! ill let everyone know how it goes!

[Mick43]

I've been on Walshy days and Plans and other track tuition. For real world driving, and intro to taking car to limits on track then I'd vote for a Walshy day (four person as not so intense and cheaper). You can then at a later date practice what you learn at a LOT activity day for £15-20 (with Andy Walsh there to remind you of technique). You'll do a number of exercises taking car to limits in controlled manner, and learn how to feel when it is losing limit in 100% safe environment - understeer, oversteer, braking, fast bends, slalom etc.... Plans (Graham) was great at track tuition, which is what I had and I learnt a lot (which wasn't difficult) - but he may also tailor course to your needs ? Walshy and Plans have a big advantage over Hethel as they are airfield base and so have a huge volume of tarmac to play on.

[techieboy]

Do the CarLimits day. On a four person day, it's not any more expensive than the Plans day and instead of the 2 hours you get with Plans, you get the entire day. Much better value and a more rewarding experience.

[jasvxt]

VXTim, on Oct 6 2008, 20:01 , said:

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but can anyone recommend a 'VX tuition establishment' in the Northwest? Think it would be worthwhile now that the winter is taking course.

Thanks

Tim

Event coming soon

[jonkelly]

mmm... Plans will taylor the day to what i want.. and i know with Walshy i get a lot more time in the car... its the whole wet track/ dry track thing... I think from the feedback here now i will be using my own VX on the day... ill just drive VERY slow on the way there..

[wildgeoff]

IMHO it would be far better to do any track day / tuition in your own car, particulary in this case when you are aiming to learn more about the abilities / limits of the VX. I did a Walshy day several months ago with a couple of mates - who rented the Elise to use. And I took the Elise for a spin (not literally) and was surprised about how different the Elise and the VX felt. Elise was definitely slower and steering feel was a lot poorer than the VX. And it was more rattly than a bag of spanners and didn't feel as planted as the VX. Towards the end of the day, the car also developed a problem with the gear shifter linkage (which we ended up fixing for Andy).

[jonkelly]

well that settles that bit then... im def buying the VX220 and taking it down there! did u find the walshy day good for real road driving?? as i know its kinda wrong but ill never want to track my VX...

[jonkelly]

ah right well walshy is now booked through until the middle of November... BUT as i now dont need to hire a lotus as the advice from you guys says otherwise. i think ill do both days, just do plansmotors first as they can get me in sooner!

[james141]

from what I have heard, budget to replace your tyres after or shortly after a walshy day

[jonkelly]

cool, i bare that in mind. Cos i had my VX for such a short amount of time i never got round to buying new tyres for it, i did flick around on the net and got a rough idea of how much they would cost, i know there not cheap... Can anyoen give me a guide price i should pay for new tyres should i need them after the track day?? just so im fully pre-paired..

[james141]

jonkelly, on Oct 8 2008, 15:00 , said:

cool, i bare that in mind.

Cos i had my VX for such a short amount of time i never got round to buying new tyres for it, i did flick around on the net and got a rough idea of how much they would cost, i know there not cheap... Can anyoen give me a guide price i should pay for new tyres should i need them after the track day?? just so im fully pre-paired..

If you hunt around I think you can get a set for £400-£450

The trick is to play companies off against eachoter "so and so will do them for xxx"