Saxperience - Citroen Saxo Forum - View Single Post

simonsaunders · 11th August 2014, 14:22

So I left Goodwood with 3 clear instructions from Gareth, my mechanic friend and the organiser of the private track day at Goodwood:

1. Get that steering wheel on there (Gareth gifted me a rather hideous Momo steering wheel that he found when clearing up his yard - apparently it is just the thing for a Saxo... Whatever is he suggesting?)
2. Get that cage in there (a mutual friend is breaking a road-rally 106 that I'm going to plunder for parts).
3. I want to see this on 2 wheels everywhere.

Anyway, that was the end of the day. Let's start at the start - which was more like the day before.

So I finally got insurance sorted out over Friday lunchtime. Bargain £150 TPFT. Decided to take this to the shops... Flat battery. Stuck it on the Optimate and it all looked good, but I wouldn't really know until Saturday morning.

Got up at 6am for Goodwood and the car started first time, perfect. The 100 miles to Goodwood from Kent was the first time that I had really driven it since purchase. All seemed good! Although the radio reception isn't great and there is nowhere to stick my phone / nav. Must get a cradle sorted for the phone / nav.

I was hoping to bed in the brakes on the way down, but the roads were too wet, so I decided to do that on track.

So... on to track. As I lined up for the first session, I dawned on me that (a) I'm really rusty on track and (b) the car was a complete unknown entity. As a result, my pace started very slow and slowly picked up as I knocked some rust off my driving and built up some faith in the car. Come the final couple of sessions I was happy to abuse it a bit more with the confidence that it wasn't going to fall apart.

Issues? The check engine light came on during the second session. Double checked everything and carried on - everything seemed fine and so it proved over the next 80-odd track miles. My seating position isn't ideal either, with my helmet skimming the roof. There was a slight vibration at an indicated 110mph but it wasn't too obtrusive and felt like a wheel balancing issue. I just didn't brain it down Lavant and this wasn't an issue.

Straight line performance is OK, braking OK, handling seems neutral, gear change is very sloppy (but I didn't miss a gear), steering feels a little sloppy. Tried it with and without the bumper ventilation holes open - they definitely helped keep oil and water temps down (the car has factory gauges for both), which was helpful as oil temp nudged up to 3/4 on the later sessions.

Immediate plans? Will keep it at least until the MOT expires in Feb 2015. Will pick up some additions as we go along - like the cage, some seat mounts, a steering boss, etc. Might need a new rear tyre too - will check that soon.

I'm also going to invest in having Gareth give it a good once over - just to make sure that nothing critical is in the process of failing.

Will book myself into Brands in December on the Mazda on Track day and probably something for October. I quite fancy Rockingham, but I'll see what cheapies are around!

Getting busy:

Getting warm:

Getting ready:

I purchased the pro photos, so might stick up a few more in due course.

Oh, and the only thing that I would have done differently is having Gareth give the car a good once over before Goodwood. Probably would have gone harder, sooner if I had the extra confidence of his seal of approval!

11th August 2014, 14:22	#4
simonsaunders L-plater Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 80	So I left Goodwood with 3 clear instructions from Gareth, my mechanic friend and the organiser of the private track day at Goodwood: 1. Get that steering wheel on there (Gareth gifted me a rather hideous Momo steering wheel that he found when clearing up his yard - apparently it is just the thing for a Saxo... Whatever is he suggesting?) 2. Get that cage in there (a mutual friend is breaking a road-rally 106 that I'm going to plunder for parts). 3. I want to see this on 2 wheels everywhere. Anyway, that was the end of the day. Let's start at the start - which was more like the day before. So I finally got insurance sorted out over Friday lunchtime. Bargain £150 TPFT. Decided to take this to the shops... Flat battery. Stuck it on the Optimate and it all looked good, but I wouldn't really know until Saturday morning. Got up at 6am for Goodwood and the car started first time, perfect. The 100 miles to Goodwood from Kent was the first time that I had really driven it since purchase. All seemed good! Although the radio reception isn't great and there is nowhere to stick my phone / nav. Must get a cradle sorted for the phone / nav. I was hoping to bed in the brakes on the way down, but the roads were too wet, so I decided to do that on track. So... on to track. As I lined up for the first session, I dawned on me that (a) I'm really rusty on track and (b) the car was a complete unknown entity. As a result, my pace started very slow and slowly picked up as I knocked some rust off my driving and built up some faith in the car. Come the final couple of sessions I was happy to abuse it a bit more with the confidence that it wasn't going to fall apart. Issues? The check engine light came on during the second session. Double checked everything and carried on - everything seemed fine and so it proved over the next 80-odd track miles. My seating position isn't ideal either, with my helmet skimming the roof. There was a slight vibration at an indicated 110mph but it wasn't too obtrusive and felt like a wheel balancing issue. I just didn't brain it down Lavant and this wasn't an issue. Straight line performance is OK, braking OK, handling seems neutral, gear change is very sloppy (but I didn't miss a gear), steering feels a little sloppy. Tried it with and without the bumper ventilation holes open - they definitely helped keep oil and water temps down (the car has factory gauges for both), which was helpful as oil temp nudged up to 3/4 on the later sessions. Immediate plans? Will keep it at least until the MOT expires in Feb 2015. Will pick up some additions as we go along - like the cage, some seat mounts, a steering boss, etc. Might need a new rear tyre too - will check that soon. I'm also going to invest in having Gareth give it a good once over - just to make sure that nothing critical is in the process of failing. Will book myself into Brands in December on the Mazda on Track day and probably something for October. I quite fancy Rockingham, but I'll see what cheapies are around! Getting busy: Getting warm: Getting ready: I purchased the pro photos, so might stick up a few more in due course. Oh, and the only thing that I would have done differently is having Gareth give the car a good once over before Goodwood. Probably would have gone harder, sooner if I had the extra confidence of his seal of approval!