My Wakefield 18th Jan - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

01-18-2003, 00:12

Firstly, many thanks to Chris and the guys from TOC NSW for organising the day -
I�m sure all the participants had a good time and appreciate your efforts. Thanks all.

For me it was a chance to �learn� the limits of the T3 - although I�ve travelled nearly
30,000km in it, I haven�t been off public roads where I could fully explore the chassis,
brakes, handling, etc properly.

Wakefield is a demanding track for a big heavy car but overall I think the T acquitted
itself fairly well. It�s biggest probelm became evident right away - just can�t get
enough turn in on the tighter corners - and particularly difficult at turn 10 onto the
main straight. I know how the Ford V8 Supercar drivers feel now! I found the best
approach in order to get the car in and out of these corners quickly was the old
�Scandinavian Flick�. And hopefully this should also look pretty spectacular for those
who were taking videos LOL.

I ran a few psi higher tyre pressures than on the road - fr left 45, fr right 42, rears both
40. The tyres didn�t show any excess wear spots or damage after doing, I think, about
30 laps.

The gears actually suited the track fairly well - was just maxing out in 3rd at the end
of the back straight, 2nd was pretty much the go for all the slow corners and 3rd all
the way cruising around the top of the circuit on light throttle so no real demand on
power. I was just nudging 160 coming into turn 1 at end of main straight - but was
having difficulty getting good speed onto the straight as I said before - if I could get in
quicker I�m sure I could see a bit more down the straight. I might do something about
a stiffer front bar before the next track day. And some Formula Rs!!! The Kumhos
were not enjoying the heat, it was about 40 degrees I reckon, but they didn�t fall apart
so can�t complain at that. They definitely don�t have the straight line grip of the
Dunlops. This I already knew from my on road experience since fitting them.

The brakes were great - never had the ABS working, not once. And only once did I
notice a slight bit of fade after a particularly adventurous couple of laps chasing down
the WRX.

Oh, and the T used about 1 litre of fuel per lap.

Great fun and thanks again Chris and everyone else for organising.

Jeff.

PS I'm not home yet and am on someone else's "puter" hence the "funny nic"

JC-XR8 · 01-19-2003, 05:19

I wondered about the 'nic'.

I had fun chasing that WRX STI as well. Stayed with him for 3 laps until my throttle jammed at 110km/h coming into turn10. managed to keep it off the wall though!

160 into turn 1!? Best I was able to get was 150! But then I've got 75Kw less and the wrong transmission (auto). But you're right about the exit speed from turn 10 - it is absolutely critical! Best speed I got out of that corner was 75. Mostly, though, it was 60 - 65.

I'm going to do a full write-up for the next edition of X-rated. So you should be able to read about it in, say, June? LOL!!!

chrispy · 01-30-2003, 05:35

Yeah. it looks easy on tele.
I think you guys should spend more time watching the track and less time looking at the speedo.
Maybe that would make a difference
see you at the next track day

Chrispy

PS it was an STi

JC-XR8 · 01-30-2003, 06:06

You have to balance the glance at the speedo with where you're going though! lol. And I know it was an STI - I saw the badge for 3 laps!