IAM Skills Day

[Silk]

Anyone been on one?

Seems quite good value.

As someone who's only really interested in road driving, is there any advantage in doing track stuff?

[jameslb101]

You just got the email as well then

Never done an IAM one, but in general track days are great for getting a good feel for your car 'on limit', if you are not one to push the car as such on the road. And they're super fun, just remember that although the up front cost may not look extortionate, you can expect to get through the best part of a set of tyres and brake pads.


S60 at Castle Combe 2 by jlewisbarned, on Flickr

[kfae8959]

I've never been on one, but I'm pretty sure they make it clear that they're definitely not track days. Don't they?

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

If you're getting through a set of tyres on a track day you must be driving a big heavy car ... oh, you are

[madmoggy]

Ive done one at Croft, really enjoyed it and learnt a lot from it.
Its not a track day and should be fairly well regulated with no last minute dives into corners etc but does let you test you and your car in a safer than normal environment.
I was surprised at the variety of vehicles that took part in it, from an Aston Martin to a Proton and everything in between. I did it in a Saab 93 diesel and didnt kill a set of tyres, maybe I wasnt trying hard enough

[IanB]

I've been to Croft and will be going again this year. You can practice whatever you wish on the track and if you want to do "hot" laps you can do that too. All drivers are accompanied by members of the training team at all times and IMO it must be the safest track experience you can get. It also great value as you would pay a lot more commercially for that amount of tuition.

Probably consumed about 2mm of rubber and half a tank of fuel. As far as I know there has only ever been one incident and that was caused by a defective vehicle which should not have been on the track. Go for it.

[Silk]

You just got the email as well then

Never done an IAM one, but in general track days are great for getting a good feel for your car 'on limit', if you are not one to push the car as such on the road. And they're super fun, just remember that although the up front cost may not look extortionate, you can expect to get through the best part of a set of tyres and brake pads.

Yes, I got the email.

As a set of tyres will set me back the best part of 600 quid, I may have to think again.

I'm also a bit worried about risking my livelihood (no car, no job) if something goes wrong.

[IanB]

Your insurance should cover you, Surety does (for £15 admin fee) and Direct Line also would, no charge.
Here's around 5 laps from Croft, judge for yourself. There's no way you'll go through a set of tyres and I reckon its as safe if not safer than driving on the road.
http://youtu.be/HmOJ-UBD7rU

[Mike H]

You just got the email as well then

Never done an IAM one, but in general track days are great for getting a good feel for your car 'on limit', if you are not one to push the car as such on the road. And they're super fun, just remember that although the up front cost may not look extortionate, you can expect to get through the best part of a set of tyres and brake pads.

Yes, I got the email.

As a set of tyres will set me back the best part of 600 quid, I may have to think again.

I'm also a bit worried about risking my livelihood (no car, no job) if something goes wrong.

I track the MG several times a year, and have never got through a set of tyres or pads on any track day I've been on!

Yes, they are great fun and allow you to explore your cars limits in relative safety. The only additional costs from my perspective are the fuel on the day, the possible overnight costs if travelling a distance and the fact that I have to replace the rear tyres after around 10,000 miles rather than perhaps 14/15,000. I'm also conscious of the additional stresses on the car and regularly check the steering and suspension components.

Do it! You'll enjoy it, be grinning from ear to ear (and also realise exactly how good the F1 drivers are)

(And in reply to your last comment, Steve, in 9 years of track days I've only ever come across one incident where something went seriously wrong, and it was when son was driving Dad's car with Dad as passenger...)

[stefan einz]

Even on a normal commercial track day, I would not expect to go through more than 1mm of tread on my tyres, provided I wasn't drifting the car. I've not been on an IAM Skills Days, but I can't imagine drifting is encouraged.

What can happen unless tyre pressures are well set is that edges can roll and crack, and at very high temperatures tread blocks can begin to break up. But that's rare and when really pushing it.

As for brake pad wear, the typical rule of thumb is that wear occurs about 10x the rate as on the road - so for 100 track miles, that equates to 1,000 road miles. Again, pretty minimal wear really.

(This is based on having done over 100 track days in the past decade, and in wide range of cars, so a decent sample.)

Cheers

[WhoseGeneration]

Even on a normal commercial track day, I would not expect to go through more than 1mm of tread on my tyres, provided I wasn't drifting the car. I've not been on an IAM Skills Days, but I can't imagine drifting is encouraged.

What can happen unless tyre pressures are well set is that edges can roll and crack, and at very high temperatures tread blocks can begin to break up. But that's rare and when really pushing it.

As for brake pad wear, the typical rule of thumb is that wear occurs about 10x the rate as on the road - so for 100 track miles, that equates to 1,000 road miles. Again, pretty minimal wear really.

(This is based on having done over 100 track days in the past decade, and in wide range of cars, so a decent sample.)

Cheers

In other words, a very capable driver, with a car prepared and who knows how to get the best from it.
Track stuff is fun but bears little resemblance to driving on Public roads.

[stefan einz]

Even on a normal commercial track day, I would not expect to go through more than 1mm of tread on my tyres, provided I wasn't drifting the car. I've not been on an IAM Skills Days, but I can't imagine drifting is encouraged.

What can happen unless tyre pressures are well set is that edges can roll and crack, and at very high temperatures tread blocks can begin to break up. But that's rare and when really pushing it.

As for brake pad wear, the typical rule of thumb is that wear occurs about 10x the rate as on the road - so for 100 track miles, that equates to 1,000 road miles. Again, pretty minimal wear really.

(This is based on having done over 100 track days in the past decade, and in wide range of cars, so a decent sample.)

Cheers

In other words, a very capable driver, with a car prepared and who knows how to get the best from it.
Track stuff is fun but bears little resemblance to driving on Public roads.

I am not sure what you are getting at. I was trying to reassure a couple of posters on this thread that they won't get through a set of tyres and brake pads during an IAM Skills day (on track).

Cheers

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Just to put the serious side of my post, and to try and help with the reassurance, I've never used anything like a set of tyres either. You do get rubber softening and building up in curls, and maybe some surface blistering, particularly on the outside front wheel (normally the nearside on a UK track) but generally after a few miles back on the road that peels off and you're left with tyres that are just slightly more worn than they were when you went. That's talking about real track days too - up to 100 laps of whatever circuit you may be at. I haven't done Steve's number of days but I've done something like 20 in the last decade, and I certainly haven't used 20 sets of tyres, let alone 20 purely on the track.

Pads are more variable. I did have one front set on the 928 that lasted only a few thousand miles and one or two track days, but they were from a manufacturer whose products I now make sure never to recommend. I had a set of Ferodo DS2500s later that I used on two different cars (yes I'm a cheapskate!) and for about 40,000 miles including around 5 track days.

So please don't be alarmed. Other things you do need to monitor are fluids (oil, coolant and perhaps most importantly, brake fluid), engine temperatures, and most of all, yourself. Don't overdo it, particularly on a first outing. Have fun.

[WhoseGeneration]

I am not sure what you are getting at. I was trying to reassure a couple of posters on this thread that they won't get through a set of tyres and brake pads during an IAM Skills day (on track).

Cheers

That you are very able.
I'm also suggesting that, unless given good guidance (mentoring), they might see extreme wear of tyres and brake pads.

[stefan einz]

I am not sure what you are getting at. I was trying to reassure a couple of posters on this thread that they won't get through a set of tyres and brake pads during an IAM Skills day (on track).

Cheers

That you are very able.
I'm also suggesting that, unless given good guidance (mentoring), they might see extreme wear of tyres and brake pads.

You're too kind.

But my point is that when driving to 95% or more of a car's potential, I don't see massive wear of brake and tyres. At the more modest pace of an IAM Skills day, wear, if anything, will be less. It's just a matter of physics.

Cheers