General Hillclimbing and Sprinting the 100hp

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General Hillclimbing and Sprinting the 100hp

bazman

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Has anyone ever hillclimbed or sprinted the 100hp before that anyone knows off?

I'm going to enter a few rounds this year myself as its fits into the sub 1400cc catagory quite well and I was just intrested to find out other peoples experances of the car on the hills.
 
Baz,

I entered a wiscombe event last year but had to cancel at the last minute. Plan this year is to do two or three wiscombes (starting 28 April) and the ACSMC gurston round. Perhaps Combe at the end of the year. Just for a bit of fun on 1A tyres, will be underpowered against opposition.

What were you thinking??
 
At the moment I’m looking at doing Castle Coombe in march, and Loton park in April, with an eye on doing Harewood and Shelsley walsh at some point in the year too.

I thing compared with all the other sprint cars the Panda won’t be too far up the time sheets, but within the 1400cc class it should be quite competitive. As I can see the major competition will come from S1 106 Rallye’s.
 
I thing compared with all the other sprint cars the Panda won’t be too far up the time sheets, but within the 1400cc class it should be quite competitive. As I can see the major competition will come from S1 106 Rallye’s.

I reckon the 106 is a fair bit lighter and has the advantage of a more nimble chassis. Will be interesting to see how you go. Castle Combe is a fast circuit so you'll be flat out round most of it. Your biggest problem is going to be understeer in the two chicanes.
 
The 106's are the class off the field at the moment, but will give it a go in the 100hp.
 
Here's some footage of Combe..



Chicanes were good fun, Quarry was painful. It just wouldn't turn in and had to watch entry speed.

Real shame that we're going to miss each other at Combe. I'll confirm on here what I'm doing and perhaps there's a chance we're get an event. Baz - you entering a particular series??

The sub 1400 class. First problem is that everyone else will be on 1b tyres, a huge disadvantage (but not in the wet.. early or late Combe has a good chance of rain). The competition can be pretty stiff, problem cars:

1. Corsa. Very common to get 130bhp from a 1400cc. There's one in the south west.
2. Old school Suzuki Swift or Charade turbo. Both rare now, but light and highly tuneable.
3. Pug Rallye's, as mentioned.
4. Classic mini. Weighs nothing and can get an easy 100bhp plus from the A series. Again, there's a couple in the south west that clean up. Check the results from last year's March Combe event.... quick.
5. Diesels. Regs allow 2 litre turbos. Someone could turn up with an Ibiza Cupra R in the 1400 class. You wouldn't see which way it went!

That said, it should be great fun in the Panda. There's also bound to be someone in the class that would be a "challenge".
 
My only hope is that I don't come across such highly modified machinery. A base car goes the Panda is quite good as its got good power and low weight as standard with high levels of grip and good brakes.
 
How much does it cost to do this at Racetracks..?

If you mean track days then they usually start at over £100. The link below is a good starter event.

http://www.castlecombetrackday.org.uk/

Castle Combe also run "action days" where you can buy 15 min sessions for about £25. However, driving standards can be variable..

Motorsport Vision also run "taster sessions" and novice days at their tracks. See http://www.clubmsv.com/car-home/novice-drivers-area.aspx

There's lots of other companies and some run at airfields, which can be cheaper.

Hillclimbs and sprints cost about £60 - £100 to enter. However, there's safety gear to buy and you need licences. Would recommend some track days and then visiting a sprint event before you commit to anything.

Hope that helps.
 
Let me know if any of you go to castle combe. Its only up the road from me. Would definatly come and watch.
 
I'll do a few evening / night-time trainning laps round my local track (as the sticker) 1st before I hit a real track, need to make sure it's not Q-ing anywhere though: :)
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So a question for those that have taken the 100hp out on the track, is it fit for the purpose, i.e. is there anything I should be prepared for? High front tyre wear, oil surge? etc etc
 
So a question for those that have taken the 100hp out on the track, is it fit for the purpose, i.e. is there anything I should be prepared for? High front tyre wear, oil surge? etc etc

The stock F1s overheat very quickly and turn to mush. Took me 2 laps of Anglesey National (that's a whole 2 miles) before they'd overheated.

I did try it again since with S-Drives and tyres overheating was not an issue. This was on the Coastal circuit at Anglesey. Brakes were okay, biggest problem was just understeer everywhere. Not much fun really. :( A friend of mine had his engine blow in the morning so donated his tracktime to me. Think I only went out twice, it just wasn't doing it for me unfortunately.

Just be prepared for tons of understeer. :p
 
As TDQ suggests you need to pick your tyres carefully. I ran well-worn Goodyear F1s on my first Panda track day, and as it was wet, they were fine. In fact, I was a lot quicker than most - but many were struggling on "track tyres" and probably couldn't get heat in them. I ran Sportracs on the next day (and still do), it was cool, and took a few laps before any difference in grip was noticeable. They did wear through the day, but not to mush levels. Brakes were ok.

If you don't have any or limited track experience then the 100HP is fine. Yes, it'll understeer, but that makes it safer for a novice and it's a good way of learning how to get the most out of the car (i.e. diving into the corner at speed and then ploughing through with massive understeer is not!). If you're coming from proper race kit (see TDQ comments), then it would be frustrating but don't let that put you off. If you have never driven on track before, do this before entering competition and get instruction. You will not believe how much faster it is than road driving.
 
The Panda’s currently on Toyo T1S’s on the front and the original F1’s on the rear. I’ve not had the 100hp on track yet, but spent last year sprinting my MK1 Escort RS2000 running in the classic class. I’m planning to go back to rallying with the escort this year but still fancy getting a few sprints in with the 100hp (no trailer or massive prep required). I’ve done a few track days over they years in the MK1 and a 200sx that I used to own, but never in a FWD!

Looks like it should be OK out there. I’ll let everyone know how I get on.

http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/galleryview.asp?GID=82

(I'm in the blue escort)
 
"I’ll let everyone know how I get on."

We need videos, and we need them now! Good luck!
 
Had a look at the midland speed page, and it might prove a good idea to find a series where there's a true "standard" class running on 1a tyres. There can be some big differences between the standard class and a production class running on 1b tyres. Wiscombe for example its a four second gap, 48.5 compared to 52.5 seconds.

But if it's just a bit of fun, then it doesn't really matter.
 
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