www.jec.org.uk

I'm due to do my first track day in the XJS this week and wondered if anyone can give me a bit of advice.

My car's a 95 4.0 convertible. This probably sounds naive but should I run with the hood down or up? It feels as if it would be safer with the top up but I feel that visibility would be much better with the hood down?

What should I set the tyre pressures at for the track? I'm running brand new P6000 225/55 ZR16s on the front, and 1/2 worn P4000 225/60s on the rear (the fronts have just worn out and as I want to move to P6000s, I changed the fronts to these now).

What other prep should I do? I haven't really got much time before the day to do anything significant. Car generally runs really well, although the temp gauge does tend to rise in hot weather if I have the aircon on. Some of the cooling fins on the rad have disappeared as they have on most XJSs! Without the aircon on, temp gauge always read Normal. Is it worth throwing a bottle of Water Wetter in?

Any advice gratefully received.

Tks

Paul

Have you asked on the JEC racers site, Ralph would have some tips for sure.
Other then minimising power losses, ie A/C and radio 4 turned off & no excess weight in the boot, personally I would run it as normal. Try not to get dragged into a race frame of mind, but concentrate on learning about how the car handles in corners, accelerating and braking in relative safety without having to watch for a blue light in your mirror.
Its surprising just how much you can push these things about before thinks start to give. Im sure your confidence will increase on the road afterwards knowing a little more of how the limit feels.
Have a good time, fancy running the Santa Pod strip sometime?
Pop

Paul

From my limited experience (Classic and Sportscar Track Days at Castle Coombe), I would advise -

1 Do you know how old your brake fluid is? Track days are VERY hard on the brakes - I once boiled my brake fluid, and the brakes failed in the paddock afterwards (luckilly I managed not to hit anything ) and had to get trailered home........

2 You will need a helmet - are they provided? Also - no bare arms or legs - race suit or other suitable clothing required, ditto footwear.

3 Have you taken out track insurance? I saw a guy stuff his new TVR V8 into an armco with no track insurance - he was not a happy bunny (we advised him to push/tow the car out onto the public road and drive it at a tree)

4 Re tyre pressures, I would have thought you want to run with the higher "high speed" pressures in your owners handbook?

5 Re temperature. If things look iffy turn the heater on full blast - you'll cook, but you'll also get the benefit of the heater matrix cooling the system.

6 Re hood - don't know - take advice on the day? If you roll it, will it make any difference?

Hope this is of help to you.

Have a GREAT Time
DH Dove

Hi Paul,
My advice is first of all to thoroughly enjoy the day. I assume you are going to the wonderful Brands Hatch? I took my x-type there for a track day a while back. Terrific fun.

As mentioned elsewhere, you will need a helmet, these are supplied to you if you do not have one. You should get one that fits quite snugly, if it is loose, it won't work properly and will be uncomfortable.

Long sleeves are required, but you will not need a race suit or racing boots, a long sleeved shirt, long trousers and thin soled shoes are fine.

Hood up or down may be determined for you once you have your helmet on, depends how much headroom you have... hood up will give you least wind resistance and thus better top speed.

Tyres should be at the pressures recommended for high speed running and you should check the tread depth a couple of times during the day. If you are pushing hard you can wear them away quite rapidly.

Finally, fill up with fuel just before you enter the circuit (there is a garage by the roundabout just north of Brand Hatch, I recall). If you have a 5 gallon Jerry can, you might want to take it along too. There is no fuel available inside the circuit and you will get single figure fuel consumption. (I got about 9mpg in the 3.0 X-type and had to leave the circuit at lunchtime to get more fuel...).

The officials will try to group drivers of similar experience together, so novices are not swamped by the more experienced. It makes for a more comfortable driving experience.

I didn't bother with insurance and did not regret the decision. No-one even fell off the track, let alone hit anything. Brands has very good run off areas all round so unless you drive like a madman, you will be fine.

Have a wonderful time. Getting the line right through Paddock Hill Bend is very satisfying. You'll know it when you have done it.

Enjoy the day and let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Glenn.

Paul

So how did it go?????

DH Dove