ATTENTION: Next Track/Practise : 29th November

[CussCuss]

got the new rear tyres on and well... coming out of corners will be interesting.
Just waiting on pirtek parts.

What time does the track open? not sure i wanna be all the way down at pheasants nest that early.

Also, is there any clothing requirements, like long sleeve etc that i need to know of.

[Cookiemonster]

Long sleeves. Long pants. Shoes that cover the foot (ie no thongs, sandals).

Track opens at 9am. But it usually takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to sign in and pay your dosh.. depending on how many people are there.

Plus you have to unload your car, check your fluids, check the tyres, have a good chat with everyone else, have something to eat, something to drink before you get started etc etc

I'll be at Pheasants Nest at 7.00am.

[Will]

Long sleeves. Long pants. Shoes that cover the foot (ie no thongs, sandals).

Preferably cotton, no nylon, no lycra just in case you were planning on it. :o

[StarionChef]

Lycra?? Is kelfy wearing lycra again?

[CussCuss]

no lycra awwww...

will what time are you leaving your place, you know the way better than i do.

[WANTSOM]

rofl

[Cookiemonster]

no lycra awwww...

will what time are you leaving your place, you know the way better than i do.

5:30am.

[Will]

will what time are you leaving your place, you know the way better than i do.

I haven't decided yet, but I'll be making a detour at the Southern highlands and then onto Goulburn. I'll let you know when I work out when I'm leaving.

I dug out some general hints/tips/directions for Wakefield courtesy of Ed Hor. Not sure who Ed is, I just have this document he once wrote:

How do you get to Wakefield?

Take the M5 south of Sydney. Take the first turnoff to Goulburn.

Once you’re on the main drag in Goulburn, you’ll pass a huge McDonald’s. Keep going.

About 1km down the road from McDonald’s, is a Mobil Servo. It’s one of the few sources of PULP in Goulburn, so tank up. Turn left off the main drag at the Mobil servo.

Keep going, past the railway station, until you see a concrete bridge going over the train tracks. There is also a small sign pointing the way to Wakefield. Turn left, across the bridge.

Follow the road, and about 10 mins down the track, you’ll see Wakefield to your left! It’s about 2.5 hrs drive from Sydney’s North Shore, about 1.5 hrs from Campbelltown.

I think I go a slightly different way, and I thought there was a 2nd turnoff to Goulbourn. I'll let someone else comment as I'm not 100% certain.-Will

What should I do to my car?

Pump up the tyres to 38-40psi cold pressures. Road tyres don’t have the stiff sidewalls and super strong carcass of race tyres, so you need the extra air to give the sidewalls some support. 4WDs and FWDs should run a smidge more pressure in the front, say 43psi cold.

Make sure there are NO loose belongings inside the car (road map, mobile, clublock, etc), which can turn into a missile if you have an incident.

Unless you have the Honda type which bolt on, take off your hubcaps, they tend to become lethal frisbees that embed themselves in people, or cars…

Check your fluids before heading down (oil, coolant, auto tranny fuild, etc). If you run a V8 or V6, make sure your oil level is to the top mark of the dipstick. Likewise, have a look at your brake pads. Are they nearly worn out?

Check your tyres. If they are close to bald (ie won’t pass a pink slip), you can be sure that you’ll see canvas by the end of the day. Check your engine bay. Is anything loose (eg. the battery?)

Grab your wheels and give them a hard wiggle. Is there any bearing or suspension play?


What about Brakes?

A brake fluid bleed with good quality brake fluid (Castrol Ultra Stop in the red bottle is fine, but the fancy stuff, like HKS Super Dot 4, or Castrol SRF is better) will do wonders to avoid fade. If your brake fluid is more than a year old, this would be a very good idea.

Most OEM standard pads are ok, but a performance pad is better, and any of the locally made heavy duty stuff (Bendix Ultimate, Metal King) is fine. But the cheapo $25 pads will practically catch fire at the end of the straight.

The best way to manage your brakes is sensible driving. By the time your car has done 4 laps, the brakes are super hot. By the time you feel them fade, they are much, much more than overheated, and you’ll need 10 laps of cruising around to cool them down. Try to only belt it hard for 4 laps at a time, then do 2 laps to cool down. Then pull into the pits. That way, the heat buildup is never bad enough to really cook your brakes, and you shouldn’t have any problems with pad wear.

What about a Fire Extinguisher?

- Wakefield is not strict about fire extinguishers, and will still allow you to run if you don’t have one.

What should I wear?

Long sleeves and long pants made of a non-flammable material. By non-flammable, I mean, no nylon tracksuits, no polyester jumpers or nylon runners. Wool and cotton are ok. Jeans and a long sleeved tee shirt will be fine. Shoes must be closed, ie. no thongs or sandals.

Don’t forget your helmet!

No Passengers, right?

The Wakefield rules for an open practice session are clear. No passengers, unless the passenger is a bona fide driver training instructor, and that car is the only one on the track. Taking your mates for rides is out. Sorry.

Actually, this rule doesn't always apply. If the passenger has paid for the day and has a Wakefield license, they can ride as a passenger. It may depend on who is marshelling, but this has been the case every time I've been at Wakefield. The doco I quoted might be a bit old - Will

Anything else I should bring?

If you have a Falcon/Commodore, bring a spare little bottle of power steering fluid. They are known for spilling their power steering fluid out on a track, and it’s a good idea to bring some fluid for a midday top-up.

A full tank of gas. Flat chat, a car can use up to 1 litre of fuel per lap. That goes equally for V8s or high revving 4s. Tank up at the Mobil servo in Goulburn, as it is a 30min round trip from Wakefield to get gas.

What if someone else is behaving like an idiot on the Day?

They will be marched off the premises by the circuit manager, and generally vilified as a total w*nker on Autospeed. Doing a burnout whilst in the pits or one the track will impress no one, and if you really annoy us, we’ll take a picture of you and post it in the Forums…J.

Autospeed forums? Wow, this doco is old! Another approach I take for wankers that don't let you pass safely, is to exit the track, drive through the pits at a safe speed (20km/h tops) and then re-enter the track at a different spot away from the wanker. Don't try to overtake them on the track to prove a point even if you are quicker! You can talk to them in the pits if you wish. - Will

Responsible driving both in the pits and on the track are expected. By all means cane the daylights out of your car, but take it easy when in traffic.

[hoongirl]

I can't go anymore.

Stupid work. Stupid pitches.

[StarionChef]

Yeah Im out too, but theres a twighlight at Eastern creek in a few weeks so i'll go to that

[Camotec]

shit, mass exodus, heh, atleast we still got a fair few staz's going, i am counting the days. tomorrow i am going to get my camera mounting sorted out. and change my oil, and do some fluid checks.

Cheers
Ben

[Cookiemonster]

OK GUYS SAY AYE!! IF YOUR COMING TO THE TRACK DAY ON THE 29TH *BUMP*

Cheers
Ben

kenoath

Im sorry Cheffy.. but you've entered into a binding contract there. You have to go.

[merlin]

yeah, I thought "kenoth" was unbreakable.

[Cookiemonster]

Curse you Pajero!!

Sorry people.. the hunk-o-junk blue gas guzzler has done a cam seal. It's pissin oil everywhere. Happened just this afternoon.

Won't be there tommorrow sorry. :(

[NXTIME]

Borrow a tow car!