A day at Castle Combe! (Incar footage page 3)

[Lee]

Today myself, Dan, Chris, CP and Dar went to combe, with 2 cars lol

Dan and Chris were nice enough to invite us along to a trackday they had booked, and a pretty damn good day it was too.

The day started with problems unfortunately, Chris was trusting enough to let me loose with his car on the first session so he could have a look at some lines, we went out and as I started to drive the car in a bit of anger, some problems arised. One of them being the car was all over the place under braking, and it was also blowing oil out of the filler cap. We were also getting mountains of tyre smoke into the cabin, causing us to look at eash other and simultaniously shout 'WTF IS THAT?' lol

After finding that the rose jointed tie bars were a bit worn causing the wheels to move about under braking, we fixed it with 4 big ass washers, which solved that issue. Chris went back out and reported that it was handling much better, so I got back in and we went out for some flying laps. I started to get a feel for the car and we started flying past pretty much everything. Chris has built a hell of a weapon, and the thought that there was a cheeky 50 shot of nitrous plumbed in made my palms sweat a bit, but luckily he didnt have a bottle on him lol. After a few **** out moments, and some quick laps, the surge problem came back in anger, and the car cut out just after bobbies, and wouldnt restart. We managed to roll back into the paddock, and after some exploring we found the breather tank was blocked up, causing the oil to blow from the filler cap. Chris managed to get a couple of good sessions in at the end of the day which we were all pleased about, theres nothing worse than a day plagued with problems. Theres still a small issue with the car but im sure Chris will sort it before Llandow.

Dans car, however, did its usual thing. it withstood some serious rapage from Dan, Myself and Charles, and as per, Dan drove the thing home as if nothing had happened. I have to humble myself at this point, as much as I enjoy the small blcok, big block banter, (and the car still hasnt swayed me), I have to say I am nothing but in awe of how it performs, especially due to the budget he built it to. Once i got used to the car, and I started putting in some quick laps, I seriously think i started lapping as fast / faster than I do in mine (when the footage appears, that will be proof in the pudding). I think all 3 of us embarrassed some 360 Modenas that were out there, one of which always seemed to dive into the pits when they saw a Nova encroaching on them lol As CP said, one day it will be nice to see one being driven properly.

Dar popped down to do some passengering, and to give the lads some pointers on lines. Before he got in the car with chris, I commented that he didnt look like he trusted Chris much as he was putting on his fireproof balaclava. He said it was so people couldnt see him screaming. It turns out that many a true word realy IS spoken in jest, as Chris then went on to have a 'moment' at quarry, which involved chris not braking where he should have done, and Dar screaming 'BRAAAAAAKE'. One spinnage later, Chris is no longer a quarry virgin lol

CP also appeared to have a lot of fun, arriving back in Dans car grinning like a cheshire cat. Nova's really are immense fun, even when theyre causing problems!

Heres a vid of some outside footage, hopefully Dan will have some in car of a few of our sessions

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=8645241431996504464

Thanks a lot guys, it takes a lot of trust to let people drive your cars, especially in anger on a race track. Thanks for a great day out, and I hope to return the favour soon.

[Dar]

I didn't just shout brake once either!:eek:
It was more like 'You need to brake here', 'um brake', 'brake', 'BRAKE!!!!!'
But that wasn't the end of the fun....oh no!
Out of tower and charging up to Bobbies 'Chris there is a circane here', 'brake!' <Circane comes up and goes past>
But once he knew where the bends where he was sorted :thumb:

Oh and Dans car is a real credit to him. I doubt you could get a Nova through the bends quicker on the same set of tyres. He really does have the balance just right and it responds well to being abused. Its a top little car.

[BigStan]

Cool vid looks like a top day :thumb:

[gazz]

looks like that was an enjoyable day.
dont look as if there were many there,which is good really i suppose to learn a track..
top vid too:thumb:

[CP]

Lee has said it all really. It was a really enjoyable day and thanks to Dan and Chris for sharing it with us.

For the record I clocked Dan at 1 min 22.7 which, considering it was his first day there, was very creditable especially on a circuit with such a long fast straight which favours cars with more power. All in all Dans car was right on the button as usual. I love it - its such an un-assuming motor but whenever you climb in and ask it to step upto the plate and deliver, it always does whether 1/4 mileing or on track. I have no doubt it could do the same sprint racing, rallying or whatever. Its very well balanced -power, handling, torque spread, braking, weight -you name it. It's cost sod all really for what it gives plus its a daily drive. Cant get better than that:thumb:

There's no doubt that Chris's car is a beast. This was something of a shakedown day and his car was doing a lot of shaking down!lol Once the suspension geometry has been worked on a bit & the various niggles have been solved this car is going to be very rapid. It doesn't take a lot of working out why - 215 hp, 700kg, 5SCCR box, LSD, a decent set of ankers and slicks:eek: I think Chris is just starting to see the fruits of his labours:thumb:

As usual the rest of the trackday peeps there were polite but dis-interested at the beginning. Who would blame them - 2 novas, 2 tranny vans, an Omega and a 4*4 lol but by the time it was time to go most of the faster drivers with real track weapons had made the pilgrimage over from their BMW's and Brian James bespoke Westfield trailers to find out just exactly what had been chasing them downlol There were some very complimentary comments for both cars which is pretty cool and is what i have always experienced - these trackday petrolheads are a really good crowd. If your car is fast they'll respect you even if you are driving a Nova lol!

And that in a nutshell is what tuning up your Nova and going to a trackday is all about:thumb: :D

[NovaLad]

Loved the end of the vid where they came around the corner together lol ...

[Adam]

Cool vid, loving the noise of chris's gearbox :cool:

Good to see Dan's going as good as ever :)

[Ash]

:( my sound doesn't work still!

If I had known this was on i would of popped up. Still haven't been. Sounds like it was a good day and enjoyed by all.

[draper]

chris' car looks proper hardcore and will be when everythings running spot-on :thumb:

[craig green]

I was wondering who 'Chris' was. I was thinking the Goldey, Orange one from Yorkshire way, but its Mr Tunnicliffe.

Sounded like a great day chaps.

Love CP's last sentence.

[nova---chris]

Well what a day for many a reason!
Woke up nice and early (5.15) with intention of being on the road at 6am. Firstly came out to 2 flat tyres on the trailer lol. Typical . After throwing a hissy fit i got them sorted and got on my way. Evetually late as normal .
Got on the m6 heading for the m5 and traffic was stood still (but its only 6.30 wtf) anyhow eventually got it up to combe for just after 9am !
Everyone already there we got signed in and everything unloaded and sorted.
Forgot me oil so had to pay the robbing price of ?26 for some normal gtx( not even the fancy stuff) lol! ****s!

Anyhow car prepped and lee at the wheel we took it out so i could get me first sighter of the combe curcuit. Car felt really nice a few laps in untill lee noticed a vibrating under braking. so of we came and later sorted this problem. (tie bar rose joints dead)
so got back out on track and lee really started to hook it up big time. we really were starting to push hard inc one yellow caterham that seemed very fast but we were catching it at a good rate of nots. just came out the esses a touch sidewards and ready to over take it the the car decided to either suffer with fuel surge or a ecu problem / electrical problem of kind. its hard to know exactly what but that ended the session as it finally cut power to the engine.
But we managed to get the thing up and running again and i went for a trip out
Anyhow my first few laps out i managed to **** up dar a treat (and me) lol. Into quarry missed the braking point all together and nice spin complete with tyre smoke and dar looking a touch pale. Altho i did only hear him shout brake once out of the 10 times he shouted it.. Then came the chicane. err oh yeah that one. lol but after them few instances his words of advice on gearing / braking seemed to take effect. at the end of the day i was very happy with how things were feeling. Once the car is setup and the niggly problems have been sorted i think this could be a proper little track snorter. And as for big blocks dont handle. Dont make me laugh.!!!

As for dan it was the case of same old thing lol!!! not in a bad sense. driven to the event. thrashed to within a inch of its life. didnt miss a beat all day. CP and dan had fun out in it pushing most things about! Think some others were miffed by it being a 1.6 lol! respect goes to it again. budget build / small block / but loads of fun and reliability thats just stupid!

Funny what cp said is true . we turned up with out budget outfit. Everyone looking. but at the end of the day had several people coming over intrested in see what was propelling these things round the track.
(Lee the guy in the yellow striker later commented on how quick the thing went past and he couldnt catch it not even in is striker lol) which was rather nice considering we dont really like to say them things lol

Big thanks to charles and lee for helping sort out some running issues with the car. cp also for use of all is gear . Amazing whats on the back of a farmers van i tell thee! lee also for use of his van for storage.!

over all was a good day. wish id have had a touch more time out but thats the way it goes. these problems would have never shown up on road and this acted as a good shake down. i know whats needed now and time to get it sorted. It proves with a certain few mods its amazing how quick you can push one of these round a curcuit.

Anyhow big thanks to CP/ Dan / Lee /Dar for all your help/ input/ look forward to doing it again! :) :thumb:

[craig green]

Great story!

[greg1.4]

great read.. brilliant vid too! cant wait to get my nova out on the track..

Greg

[Dan]

ok, i have been abit slow replying due to hassles trying to get my vids off the camera (being sorted now and due very soon)

I arrived first and had a scout around (and a few odd looks as people could see the inters through the back window), all i could see was cars that gave me the impression the busiest thing in my car would be the left hand indicator lol . Being my first time at combe i wasnt sure what to expect so after we had done the signing in bit i took dar out with me for a few rough guides to bed me in abit quicker. By the end of the first outing i kinda had it sussed and just needed to tidy up abit.

Abit later on i just chucked the keys at CP and told him to go and have some fun, which he appeared to have in bundles (always assess by the size of the smile), for a second stint i took lee out with me for a few more tips and a different perspective again which helped, nothing better than having guys who know the track to point out little extras :) . Then it was Lee's turn, ooh no not the dreaded small block :eek: he was gone effing ages lol upon his return his first words were "that was f**king awesome" with visible signs of shaky hands which i took as a proper seal of approval and aswell as make me very happy was a good sign that he understood some of the previous comments people had made with reference to how easy it is take my car to the limit and be comfortable with it (the whole point of the build).

By the final stint i had a go on my own, i took a few laps to get back into it and about halfway through when out of traffic dropped the hammer and went for it producing the times CP said (well chuffed with them for a first day at combe).

Chris's car, well what can i say when this thing went it really went, awesome sound and the speed was out of this world. stood on the sideline the speed of the thing was clearly visible and will be/is a serious bit of kit. The few issues he had soon got worked through and it was only a trackday that they would be apparent as on the road they would not of shown up. By the final stint we had together 99% of it was sorted with one last underlying issue. which should be sorted very soon. I loved his new wheels and think they set the car off perfectly (first time to see it in the flesh for a while), and when he wasnt around a few people commented on how good it looked before trying to get me to let them know how come it was like a rocket ship :D

During the day i also spoke to David who owns BHP Trackdays and a Club discount can be set up regarding bulk bookings, once the events calender has been emailed to me for next year i will into it further. The thing i like about these guys is the fact they keep numbers low so the track is never busy, which means more open space to have a damn good blast like we experienced.

FINALLY lee is going to upload the vids i have, first one is of me at the end of the day, i dont start banging it around until about mid way due to traffic but i think its an ok vid considering its from my diy mount, it may look abit hectic but i am restricted abit when driving it (lee or CP called it like a gorilla having a go in a gokart:cry: ), but at ease all the same lol . Following that lees vid of him driving mine will crop up.

Apologies for the essay :thumb:

[ANDYRACER]

Awesome video and looks like a top day out.

I cant wait to do Coombe in September. :D

And Chris's gearbox sounds utter porn!
:eek:

[Ste L]

looks like a good day :thumb:

[Nick]

Looks like a top-day !

A sneak peak of the fun to be had @ llandow, can't wait !

[Ash]

like a gorilla having a go in a gokart

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/372/danfu9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
:thumb: lol

[Riggy]

both top cars and both look wikid out on track :thumb:

[stuartp]

tears in my eyes lads, this is what building novas is all about and havin decents people like ya selfs on novaload all ways helps us others out and shows what can be done.
p.s cars look very quick in the vids!
stu

[Dan]

Ok here is THE first ever incar footage from my quiet little car :thumb:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6040646896727002308 (http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6040646896727002308)

Enjoy

[Adam]

Cool vid, the cam mount seems to do its job,Lol.

Sounds awesome, im beginning miss that carb noise :( LOl

[Nick]

Nice driving dan !

Sounds 100% exactly the same as mine !

[gazz]

good vid mate..
seems you got well into it
:thumb::thumb:

[Lee]

And heres the footage from me in Dans car.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3034063107863225970

Im quite chuffed to be honest, turns out I was lapping pretty much the same as Dan, which goes to show that you can learn a track and / or a car pretty quickly. Enjoyable tussle with a Ferrari and a Aerial Atom, then I hooked up behind a grey westie and chased him down.

Great car!

[Martin]

i WILL be at the next one lads what i'l be in is another story, and it WILL be stayin on all four ;)

[Lee]

lol, thats the best way up to have it.

[Martin]

Whooop wil be in the nova.. but it be on standerd bumpers as the new splitters wil scrape like a mofo wen hard steering.. wel they'l scrape in a str8 lines tbh


whats my chances on a track with a 59bhp 1.2?

[Ernie]

A good time dont worry about it. it's just a laugh to be able to put your foot down and not get done for it.

[chris gsi]

looks like you all had a good day glad it was dry for you and wish i could have been there

[BRoadGhost]

Could I just ask why Dan you hold the steering wheel with one hand at the top?

[nathan.]

Good vid's chaps. Looked like a good day! :thumb:

[Lee]

Could I just ask why Dan you hold the steering wheel with one hand at the top?

If he holds it normally there would be a big elbow shaped dent in the door LMFAO

[Jim]

Could I just ask why Dan you hold the steering wheel with one hand at the top?
The other hand is holding a banana pie...

[BRoadGhost]

Just seems strange to not be 10 to 2 when driving "properly"

[Ash]

looking at the size of the wheel and the size of his hands, i'd say it was a space issues.

[nova---chris]

Dans arm = epas!:thumb:

[Martin]

If he holds it normally there would be a big elbow shaped dent in the door LMFAO



LMFAO!!lol

[Lee]

Just seems strange to not be 10 to 2 when driving "properly"

Luckily, Dan has been driving a great many years, plus he wasnt trying to impress a driving instructor. He's a big lad, and Novas are pretty restricted width wise.

[nova---chris]

Dans a f-uckin ape !

Its like putting a ape in a china shop. :tard:

[BRoadGhost]

Maybe a centre seat conversion's in order!

Dunno if the gearlinkage would work but i know nippletweeks do a central rack

lol @ ape in china shop