Spoilt In Snetterton

So, it was back to Snetterton for the final test. This was a Club MSV OPL trackday. So, no lap timing but I really just wanted to get comfier in the new car.

This was a real trackday with a large array of different cars and driving skills. As usual, I’m pretty amazed by the people who turn up in fantastically expensive machinery and then drive really slowly. I do like the people, though, who buy a track-day special Clio or similar for a small amount of money and just have fun.

However, that meant that the track was very busy. I was by far and away the fastest person on the track so spent the entire day passing, or trundling round corners just behind, lots of other people. However, I did manage to get some decent testing. Before starting, though, I’d taken the spoiler off so as to get some back-to-back information.

One thing that was immediately obvious was that the instability I’d worried about before was still there. On careful observation when the car was going really quickly then it became directionally unstable, you can see it weaving on the in-car video. On getting on the brakes, it got much worse. I suspect that this is what caused my spin last time out, not the brake bias at all.

So, first attempt was to stiffen up the rear. That made a slight effect but not too much. Then I lowered the rear of the chassis by about 10mm which would move the weight bias backwards slightly. That made a big difference and the car suddenly felt better; much more planted on the road. It was still oversteering though.

So, over lunchtime I fitted the spoiler, or at least the bits of it that I’d completely which was really just the vertical wall and the side-fences.

In a nutshell, that made an astonishing difference. All of the sudden the oversteer was gone and the car seemed to be glued to the road. Admittedly it was about 2mph slower at the end of the main straight, but I suspect that the overall laptime would have been better. (Being a trackday one isn’t supposed to time oneself. Given the traffic there wouldn’t have been a point anyway.)

So, a successful day. I’ve got a couple of minor things to do but I reckon I’m in good shape for the first race of the year at Mallory this weekend. I doubt I’ll be at the front, but hopefully not outclassed…