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Hey all,

Recently just came back from Germany with a load of mates. Had an absolute blast with the 86! The roads were just fantastic and well suited for this car, especially in the wet ;)

It's nice to see a handful of 86's and BRZ's out there.

It was my first time actually driving on the Nurburgring (2nd ever time on a track in this car, first being at Angelsey), so the first 1 or 2 laps I took with caution while I learned where my braking points are and how the car handles. Sounds silly, but I know the track pretty well just by racing with my sim setup on Assetto Corsa and IRacing and it felt very familiar and comfortable haha!

I didn't lap with the intentions of timing but I do a fair bit of endurance karting, so I have the mindset of a racer of wanting to overtake everyone and follow fast lines :P I had it all on video so I was able to time the laps afterwards, however, almost every lap bar my final and quickest lap was hurt by some serious yellow flags and traffic. You're very lucky to be able to do a lap without the ring closing or a yellow flag present somewhere! 

All my laps I had a passenger in and almost a full tank of fuel so that plays a large factor in handling and times as well especially in our cars! haha. My 4th lap was my fastest lap as I decided to do a solo lap with low fuel to see how the car handles and it made a huge difference! (5 seconds quicker halfway into the lap than my 5th and fastest recorded lap) but then I hit a load of yellows at the end of the circuit which ruined the time. To top it off, my camera died which is a massive shame but that's how it is!

Eventually, the 5th lap I managed to get ahead of traffic and set an 8m 48s lap for my first ever trip to the ring and that's in a stock car! Came away a very happy man! haha.

This is the lap:

 

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBTZur0nO1t_uh65xcSTQTeP5k7HkjhED

A handful of photos: (link:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10211780077443345.1073741860.1411372255&type=1&l=afa18d7c16)

 

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Now it's been round stock, it's time to add a few bits to it and see what it's really capable of! I imagine this can get in high 7's with wider tyres, a bit more power in engine and brakes and a good geometry setup!

Anyone else got any Nurburgring experiences to share? :) 

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Sounds really cool, it's been 12 years since I've last been to the Nordschleife and I would love to go back again. I went originally in 2005, a MK1 MR2 and then in 2006 in an E36 325i, which unfortunately had shot ball joints which I didn't fully appreciate until I went out on track. It was horrible! The MR2 though was fabulous and had a lot of fun chasing friends round the track. We stayed in Briedscheid at the hotel at the half way point  and did the Pinochios Italian restaurant and of course Pisten Klaus for the massively over-rated cow on a rock. 

A huge highlight for me was getting a ride in a friend's 996 GT3RS. Just absolutely wow, easily the best car I've ever been in, it was in another league entirely from all else on track at the time. 

The musuem is well worth checking out and we also had a go at karting. I never timed any of my laps round the Ring as I was there to enjoy myself and I honestly think when people time themselves they are an accident waiting to happen. As you know so much can happen round the Ring and you never know what's going to be round the next corner! 

Just out of interest, how much is it a lap now? When I last went it was €15. 

Obviously we need to have a club excursion there at some point in the future. The last two times I drove there we tied it in with a track day at Spa, which is only a couple of hours away from the Ring. Why not drive the best two tracks back to back eh? :)

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interesting way of holding the steering wheel :lol:

not been in the 86 yet but have been in my fn2 and m135i and the only way to describe the place is HEAVEN ON EARTH :lol: 

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Nice one. 

I went there on the way back from a motorcycle trip to Rome on my VFR400 in 2005. We hid our luggage in the woods by the free camping field (which has now become the gravel overflow car park), did 3 laps then ended up in the pub where we got absolutely shit-faced with a few other Brits. On getting back to the camp field in the dark it took us ages to find our kit! 

Visited again last summer on the way back from the Italy again in the 86. Bit more civilised this time, rented an apartment in Adenau. It's changed a lot, far busier and better facilities, but still great fun.

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41 minutes ago, br0wny said:

interesting way of holding the steering wheel :lol:

After I saw this I watched the vid. Blimey @LuckyLukeT you were pushing on there but blimey again hold the steering wheel properly! :P Push the wheel too, don't pull it. It looked like you were steering with your right hand for the most part. Having said all that you obviously have some ability, but you took so many risks and left no room for error.  You got a bit lairy after the Karussel, especially though and after Brunchen. Living on the edge eh? I'm glad you survived! 

Do a load more trackdays in the UK, hone your skills and go again. :) Cadwell, Donington and Oulton are all good practice for the 'Ring. 

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Thanks fellas!

A lot of my habits are from Karting and sim racing haha. I actually push more than pull but I don't like to firmly grip the steering wheel, because gripping hard strains your wrist and forearms, in long karting stints anyways and it practically felt like a go-kart haha and not one bit did the car feel out of control despite the hairy moments. But I agree, it seems a very unique way of holding a wheel :P I guess I just like to let the car do the work and then I make the fine adjustments with a lighter grip, but I'm by far not the perfect driver even if I've had all the karting time sim time so cheers for the advice! :) 

I did make many mistakes, I didn't hit the curbs before brunnchen and was in the wrong gear on quite a few occasions. Misjudged how hot the brakes were going into the second Karousel, hence why I went in a bit too fast, But without mistakes, you don't learn, which is what I love about recording the laps hehe.

It depends on which days you go on for the cost. It has new owners now so It's cheaper during the week than weekends, around 25 Euros per lap same for GP Circuit but, you now have free recovery if you break down or crash and full-time marshalls I believe on most days. 

And I've got to say, it's scarier being a passenger than the driver haha!

Track days are the plan and I hope to join in with you all! :)

This was my last event before the ring at Angelsey: (close calls at 2:20 and 6:15 which just turned into, "ah it's fine I'll just power out!" haha)

 

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I totally agree with you about holding the wheel lightly so you have good feel and get decent feedback, but it's good to actually hold the wheel. If you hit a high kerb it could kick it out of your hands. I'll bet the brakes were starting to die on the latter part of the 'Ring. I've been caught out by that before on the second Karussel. 

Why not think about the TSS when you've had some practice? Always good fun to have competition. There's a fair few of us that do track days though for me it'll be as we head into autumn as there's too much going on and the sprint series to do at the moment. :)

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13 hours ago, Lauren said:

I totally agree with you about holding the wheel lightly so you have good feel and get decent feedback, but it's good to actually hold the wheel. If you hit a high kerb it could kick it out of your hands. I'll bet the brakes were starting to die on the latter part of the 'Ring. I've been caught out by that before on the second Karussel. 

Why not think about the TSS when you've had some practice? Always good fun to have competition. There's a fair few of us that do track days though for me it'll be as we head into autumn as there's too much going on and the sprint series to do at the moment. :)

The brakes were pretty cooked haha, but I am very impressed with the cooling as well, compared to other cars, the 86 seems to cool the brakes really well.

I plan on attending three sisters to try some sprint times. Just waiting on some new tyres so I can destroy my current ones, avoiding semi slicks for now because I don't have any geometry setup and aftermarket arms so I don't want to add more grip than the car is capable of to avoid any damage. Plus I do enjoy how sideways it gets :P 

AdvanSport V105's seem to be holding up pretty darn well though, still got around 3-4mm left and they've done a track day, Nurburgring and 8500 miles haha! Plus they're slightly stretched.

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Hat off to you, thats a pretty tidy lap. Not bad for your first trip to Nur.

Conditions looked good. Dry, not too hot. Very little traffic.

I’m jealous :) I’ve been going to Nur 1-2 times every year for about 14 years now and traffic/weather wise I rarely get conditions as good as that.

It looked pretty well stuck with those AdvanSport V105's. I dont think the factory fit Michelin Primacy’s could have done that.

I havent taken my 86 to Nur yet. How was yours feeling through Eschbach on the entry into Brunnchen? As that is the scariest corner for me.

You’re coming in at a really steep angle, lots of speed, right side suspension is loaded hard and you gotta pivot it round whilst being mindful that at the bottom its a right hander. Catches many people out.

Every car ive taken has done what i can only describe as the “dance of death” coming down that bend where I have to do a Luke Skywalker esq “turn off the computer and trust the force” lol

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That was my only lap with no yellow flags haha. I fell very lucky with that, but that track had reopened from an earlier incident to be fair.

I just aimed to be fast enough so I couldn't get overtaken! :P 

 

As for how the car handled into Brunnchen, indeed, it is the scariest part haha. The car grips really well but is on the borderline for oversteer. Which is fine if you can control it haha. Up brunnchen I noticed every time it would kick out a little on entry but then understeer out onto the blind apex. 

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