Toby's Track-Ready Daily 197

[tobydavis34]

Okay guys. Bought some ultraleggeras!!! Also came with some Michelin PS4s



Then I went to the Nürburgring with the lads!



Almost all went smooth. Cracked the exhaust on the 5th lap of 7 which has now totally split.

But. The mud flaps are no longer. Might have slightly tapped the wall...

Think I got away with it! Looking forward to uploading the video.

Also these were my lap times.


8:21 - decent time?

 

[suj]

Yes 8.21 is a very good time, but you should enjoy the ring instead of timing each one, as it seems you got away lightly with the wall tap, i've seen it go horribly worse (someone taking out 34metres of armco and maxing out all their credit cards and having to call round people to send them money + a written off car).

If you want to go balls-out and time laps, get on a trackday there, at least you can then get trackday insurance and cover your ass mate.

Sorry to sound like an old fart, but the last thing you want happening is the above, so not taking away from your trip / times, as I was like that the first time I went, until I have witnessed many accidents by friends (and nearly by me), why I am suggesting trackdays there instead

 

[tobydavis34]

Yes 8.21 is a very good time, but you should enjoy the ring instead of timing each one, as it seems you got away lightly with the wall tap, i've seen it go horribly worse (someone taking out 34metres of armco and maxing out all their credit cards and having to call round people to send them money + a written off car).

If you want to go balls-out and time laps, get on a trackday there, at least you can then get trackday insurance and cover your ass mate.

Sorry to sound like an old fart, but the last thing you want happening is the above, so not taking away from your trip / times, as I was like that the first time I went, until I have witnessed many accidents by friends (and nearly by me), why I am suggesting trackdays there instead

I can honestly say that I wasn’t pushing, just got a little wide and saved the hell out of it !!!

The damage was minimal but I am aware that it could have been worse

The timing was in the background and I can honestly say I didn’t look until the end of the day, and I made sure I didn’t care about it either. The trip was always about getting home, trust.

 

[tobydavis34]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10157068754241422

 

[VolumeX]

...I see those videos when thing go wrong, thank your Stars and the big guy upstairs you can tell the tale here. Nice wheels, I would not taken them to the ring unless I had them ceramic coated and taped up!

 

[tobydavis34]

...I see those videos when thing go wrong, thank your Stars and the big guy upstairs you can tell the tale here. Nice wheels, I would not taken them to the ring unless I had them ceramic coated and taped up!

They're still in mint condition!!! I did put some wheel protector on them but there's not a mark on them. Thank you though!

Yes, I'm pleased nothing happened in the end. Minor damage to an already damaged rear bumper is fine with me. I got away with it!!!!!

I also did this Skip to 2:59

 

[VolumeX]

Gotta love the 'save'... with a Clio is looks more graceful. LOL

 

[NickD]

Sorry, boring old fart post about safety. This is not a pop at anyone but more safety advice prompted by two excursions off track as I see many, many things like this. Without HANS, the standard seatbelt, with pretensioner and then load limiting rip plates and airbag is far safer. I knew someone who died of a basal neck fracture through using harnesses. Then if you did hit something, your seat is actually taking the primary load through the shoulder loops and not your shoulders, there would be a high risk that the seat back would collapse and all sorts of shit happens then including a broken back. And while your lap belt may (or may not be tight enough) your passenger's looks to be well off his hips and into the area when it is going to wipe out his ribs and possibly some pretty vital organs (lungs) to boot. As I say to people, you would make sure your parachute and all the safety gear was in place and properly fitted, why take chances in your car?

 

[tobydavis34]

Sorry, boring old fart post about safety. This is not a pop at anyone but more safety advice prompted by two excursions off track as I see many, many things like this. Without HANS, the standard seatbelt, with pretensioner and then load limiting rip plates and airbag is far safer. I knew someone who died of a basal neck fracture through using harnesses. Then if you did hit something, your seat is actually taking the primary load through the shoulder loops and not your shoulders, there would be a high risk that the seat back would collapse and all sorts of shit happens then including a broken back. And while your lap belt may (or may not be tight enough) your passenger's looks to be well off his hips and into the area when it is going to wipe out his ribs and possibly some pretty vital organs (lungs) to boot. As I say to people, you would make sure your parachute and all the safety gear was in place and properly fitted, why take chances in your car?

Having raced for many many years, I can safely (get it ) say that harnesses are a lot safer than a standard seatbelt. With regards to HANS, I would never not wear one on a track usually, but I took my HANS and helmet and was told I wasn't allowed to wear a full face helmet on the 'Ring as they are not road legal, and it was a road legal Touristenfahrten toll road day...

My passenger strapped himself in but his belt was across his hips and the load is taken through the shoulders. I can't say it was in the optimal position.

The harnesses are located on the harness bar part of the roll cage, which we welded in to the chassis with plates either side of the floor, and also located across a strut to the back. The lapstraps are on FIA approved hooks, which are screwed into welded-in plates on the floor. It ain't going anywhere..

If an FIA approved reinforced fibreglass seat collapsed in an accident I would be extremely surprised! Having had multiple shunts in a race car, with and without HANS, I can honestly say that I would prefer to have an FIA bucket seat and harnesses all day.

Also the whole point of pre-tensioners is to tighten the belt against the body, which a tightly strapped harness does 100% of the time. In the days of no HANS, are you seriously suggesting that every racing car before HANS would have been better off with a 3 point? If that's your suggestion I disagree strongly.

Finally, I'll leave this video here.

 

[tobydavis34]

...I see those videos when thing go wrong, thank your Stars and the big guy upstairs you can tell the tale here. Nice wheels, I would not taken them to the ring unless I had them ceramic coated and taped up!

You only live once

 

[NickD]

Toby, I am not having a particular go, more that "apparent" safety is very prevalent across social media. The current "knowledge" is that reclining seats should not be used with harness. I too have raced for many years.
The point I wanted to make, so that everyone is aware, not poke at you, is that harnesses need to be fitted correctly if they are to be of any use. Remember, you are responsible for your passenger. They are not driving. You bin it, he gets a rib rammed up into his hung or heart, that is on you, he is not driving. ARDS instructors would get serious grief over not sorting that properly.
Secondly, from your video, which may or may not be the case, your shoulders look to be well below the harness hoops on the seat back. In a shunt the primary load is not going to be taken by your shoulders and you being held back, it is going to be your mass going forward pulling on the bottom of the seat loops which is going to want to pull the seat back down. The reason race car seats rarely move is because the belts and seats are positioned correctly so that the drivers body is taking the load not the seat. Recliner or fixed FIA bucket, those 4 little M8 screws into those little inserts in the GRP or Kevlar seat would break regardless if the seat and not the drivers body was taking the load. You may have seen at Autosport this year the latest designs which require the seat back to also be fixed to the roll cage.
Pretensioner's are indeed to tighten the belt, but this is also to take the slack out of belts. They are then backed up these day with load limiting tear plates, pioneered by Renault, to allow some give and movement to limit the energy transferred into the body on impact and these are backed up by the Airbag to cushion the head. Strap yourself in tight so that none of this occurs and yes, you arrive at exactly the reason why HANS was designed.
Yes you do only live once. Having driven many, many laps of the Ring, I have also been on the scene of many accidents there. I have lifted bikes off riders screaming with pain, parked my car so as to prevent other running them over, turned car engines off crashed cars because the drivers were unconscious and held many hands until the ambulance arrived. I have seen cars drop oil and following drivers have to be cut from their cars and flown to hospital with very serious injuries. You do only live once, but it can change very fast in the Eifel.
Be safe and look after the others that are trusting you.

 

[Cliosport-carl]

Back to the full face helmet scenario @tobydavis34 was it because of your hans they stopped you wearing a helmet or something new this year ?? I'm going in August and just wondered??

 

[RSRowe]

"I wasn't pushing"


..... Goes off track twice

 

[tobydavis34]

"I wasn't pushing"


..... Goes off track twice

Yeahhhhh

It was fun though

 

[tobydavis34]

Back to the full face helmet scenario @tobydavis34 was it because of your hans they stopped you wearing a helmet or something new this year ?? I'm going in August and just wondered??

My German ist nicht so gut but I think it was both. From what I understood.

 

[tobydavis34]

Toby, I am not having a particular go, more that "apparent" safety is very prevalent across social media. The current "knowledge" is that reclining seats should not be used with harness. I too have raced for many years.
The point I wanted to make, so that everyone is aware, not poke at you, is that harnesses need to be fitted correctly if they are to be of any use. Remember, you are responsible for your passenger. They are not driving. You bin it, he gets a rib rammed up into his hung or heart, that is on you, he is not driving. ARDS instructors would get serious grief over not sorting that properly.
Secondly, from your video, which may or may not be the case, your shoulders look to be well below the harness hoops on the seat back. In a shunt the primary load is not going to be taken by your shoulders and you being held back, it is going to be your mass going forward pulling on the bottom of the seat loops which is going to want to pull the seat back down. The reason race car seats rarely move is because the belts and seats are positioned correctly so that the drivers body is taking the load not the seat. Recliner or fixed FIA bucket, those 4 little M8 screws into those little inserts in the GRP or Kevlar seat would break regardless if the seat and not the drivers body was taking the load. You may have seen at Autosport this year the latest designs which require the seat back to also be fixed to the roll cage.
Pretensioner's are indeed to tighten the belt, but this is also to take the slack out of belts. They are then backed up these day with load limiting tear plates, pioneered by Renault, to allow some give and movement to limit the energy transferred into the body on impact and these are backed up by the Airbag to cushion the head. Strap yourself in tight so that none of this occurs and yes, you arrive at exactly the reason why HANS was designed.
Yes you do only live once. Having driven many, many laps of the Ring, I have also been on the scene of many accidents there. I have lifted bikes off riders screaming with pain, parked my car so as to prevent other running them over, turned car engines off crashed cars because the drivers were unconscious and held many hands until the ambulance arrived. I have seen cars drop oil and following drivers have to be cut from their cars and flown to hospital with very serious injuries. You do only live once, but it can change very fast in the Eifel.
Be safe and look after the others that are trusting you.

Fair enough!

I now have better fitting seats anyway.

Unbranded but these fibreglass bad boys are strong. The guy who made them showed me one in progress and I’m mad happy. I’ll take a selfie later showing the better height.

£200 - can’t go wrong surely!



They suit the car but I’m sure won’t be to everyone’s taste.

 

[tobydavis34]

Better?

 

[tobydavis34]

It’s been a few months and I haven’t done much, my car has been off the road! Mostly due to lift sharing at work and the expiration of my MOT. In order to pass I had to put the original steering wheel back on and change some other bits and bobs back to standard.

Anyway, now it’s passed, I’ve decided to do some more stuff. Firstly, it annoys me how dim all the standard lights are. So, I’ve decided to do the chav led upgrade! Bought some cheapo eBay 501 LEDs. Here’s a before



And after

 

[tobydavis34]

I’ve also had a go at the headlights which are also terrible. I think the bulbs were the cheapest possible Halfords own brand!!!

There’s a useful list of what bulbs you might need here; https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/renault-clio-hatchback-2008-08.html

I bought some amazon leds, knowing if they sucked I could always return for £0 expense.

They were surprisingly easy to do - to start I did the dipped beams first. These are H7. I bought these amazon bad boys - they were £20 so I figured it was worth the risk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BHLRTPM/?tag=clio197-21

literally the only things I had to disconnect was the battery cover on the near side.

Here’s a comparison shot halfway through (also see interior lights!!);


And the finished article (I also did the rear number plate). As you can see I got pretty damp doing this but then again, I do live in Wales:

 

[tobydavis34]

I’ve now done the fog lights (yellow leds ), main beams and daytime running lights.

what do you think?