Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[de Bounce]

Hey I'm with you Terry! Only good rabbit is a dead one. I was disappointed that there wasn't any red stuff splattered up the wheel arch. If I hadn't swerved I would have hit it with the front bar rather than the left tyre. Couldn't have that.

I'm a little sad as I managed to avoid him on his initial trip from right to left, looks like he tried to return home when you got him.
I did get the red stuff under my MX5 as you left him on the racing line

[tbro]

What you left a good fat bunny laying there in the middle of the track???????


Bloody wasteful!!!!! or didn't ya have any carrots???

Terry

[Guran]

What you left a good flat bunny laying there in the middle of the track??????

Fixed.

After being flattened by several MX-5s and the odd Alfa, there wasn't enough left to use as a garnish, let alone a full blown stew!

[MrsB]

I've got video of him before he got squashed, just think of all of the poor little Victorian children who will miss out on their chocolate eggs at easter, lucky it wasnt Santa

[Guran]

2010 is over, so I thought I'd figure out how much I've spent over the last year on my track day adventures in Little Reddy. Here's a breakdown:

Track costs $3,501 (entry fees, accommodation, memberships)
Parts $2,281 (major service parts $517, soft-top $443, brake pads $410, swaybar bushes/links $310, radiator $280, etc)
Fuel $1,583 (1161L)
Tyres $944 (4x RE001, 4x RE55S used)
Servicing Labour $864 (major service, swaybar bushes, wheel alignment, rotor machining)
Operating Costs $736 (rego, insurance)
Other Consumables $267 (engine oil, brake fluid, coolant, etc)
Tools & Equipment $155

TOTAL $10,332
That does include a premature major service (waterpump failure), new radiator, new soft-top, and new swaybar bushes/links.

Distance travelled 11,600km
(including two return trips to Phillip Island = ~4000km total)

15 trackdays total (917km)
8 Wakefield Park (457km)
4 Eastern Creek (233km)
2 Phillip Island (186km)
1 Oran Park GP (42km)
... and prepaid for two more at Wakefield Park via Spreets
I missed one club trackday (14 Feb 2010) and one Supersprint round (26 Sep 2010)

Tyre usage and trackday kms (ignoring road-based kms):
RE001 set 1 (2009) 643km
RE001 set 2 (2010) 589km and still going strong, although the shoulders are badly chipped after PI
RE55S "used" set 1 (2010) 328km and still have one more trackday in them

[Guran]

Looking ahead at 2011, I've already blocked out my calendar with 10 dates at Wakefield Park, 5 at Eastern Creek and 1 at Marulan.

I'd love to get down to Winton sometime this year, but don't think it'll happen - the Victorian club dates don't fit too well with my calendar.

I'll need a new set of R-specs pretty soon, and will probably need a new set of street tyres come rego time at the end of February.

[Taz_]

Wow, it all adds up

Respect your dedication.

[Charlie Brown]

2010 is over, so I thought I'd figure out how much I've spent over the last year on my track day adventures in Little Reddy.............

TOTAL $10,332

Gee that’s not cheap Bryan, time to get an NC.

2010 wasn’t a big year for me on the track but it did set me back a few $$$.

1 x Oran Park
1 x Phillip Island
1 x Willunga Hill Climb
2 x Eastern Creek
3 x Wakefield Park

Track Fees, license - $1,270
Tyres, alignment - $1,732
Shocks, Pads, Oils & Fluids - $2,848

The V70A's just lasted the above events, less Willunga and a wet day at Wakefield. Great times from them but at the equivalent of $200 per track day for tyres alone, I’ll sacrifice 0.5 seconds a lap for some D01’s that will last double that number of track days and still have tread left.

[KRM]

Bryan and Phil thanks I don't want to know I did most of the trackdays and super sprints as well as Phillip Island and Willunga hill climb.

If she who should be obeyed works out the total I could be limited to the number I do this year.

[Hellmun]

I don't want to know mine... I went through 2 sets of R-specs, 2 sets of pads, rotors, oils, all supersprints, clubdays and 3 mx5 challenges. Plus the Wakefield 300 and Phillip island... Plus a new clutch...I think I'd be at least double $10k.

[Guran]

16 January 2011

I got a "pass out" from home and decided to join the Informal Annual Putty Road Run last Sunday. It had been too long since my last decent drive in the 135i, so I decided to leave Little Reddy at home. I had the 135i for sale since August, but recently gave up trying to find a buyer after getting tired of dealing with tyre kickers, dreamers and lowballers. Time to start having some serious fun with it instead!

The alarm went off at 4am, only a few hours after I finally managed to get to sleep. Tired? Not half! The cruise up the F6, Hume and M7 was quick and easy. I was shocked to discover that I was the first to arrive at the Maccas meeting point (5:20). Only minutes later, the MX-5s started to roll in, and there was time for a B&E McMuffin and a "cappucino" (Macca's sorry excuse for one, anyway), and a chat with the guys & gals. Midori was champing at the bit to get going, so I joined a small group of about six cars that hit the road at 6am. We picked up another MX-5 at Windsor.

The drive up Putty Road was absolutely brilliant, with next to no traffic at all. It was so good, that we pulled over a few kms before Milbrodale, and turned around to have another return run on the final 20km+ of twisty bits. It's a brilliant road. Just watch out for that one corner that has a 35km/hr advisory sign, but tightens up after you're into it, and can catch out the over-exhuberant driver! The rest of the rabble finally arrived a few minutes after we completed our third run through that last section.





After a yack and photo opportunity, we got going for our breakfast stop at Hunter Valley Gardens. Only problem was that the 135i flashed up an engine warning light and went into limp mode. That'd be the high pressure fuel pump on the way out. Bugger! So I was forced to cruise slowly to the Hunter with less power than I have in Little Reddy. Thankfully, the fault code cleared after breakfast and I had no problem driving home. I've got it booked in to get checked on Friday and expect they'll be replacing the HPFP.



We skipped the booked venue at Bliss, which apparently only had coffee and cakes, etc. The Big Brekky at Oscars was excellent! Our small group was the last to leave, and we headed for home via Wollombi and the OPH. We encountered a lost blind old dog on the road along the way, and a couple of our group stopped to help it home. I pushed on and made it home by about 2:30pm with 660km clocked up for the day. It was worth it though. Boy did I sleep well that night!

Thanks to George and Mitch for the photos.

[sliq]

there's always something happening at some point during the run. i'm glad we didn't get any near head on collisions with those branches/trees blocking half the road. glad everyone got through the day safely

now.... for the iceberg run

[Steampunk]

Epic fail re grille on "MS 919"
looks like its just held on there by the licence plate

How competent is the 135 in the tight stuff? Does all the fancy driver aids help or hinder?
I have a friend who is big into cars, he has that first Aussie delivered WRX STi 2-door (original owner), and recenly bought a 135.
I've given up trying to bring him on a mountain run or track-day with us as he is unfortunately a "straight-line specialist"

[Guran]

How competent is the 135 in the tight stuff? Does all the fancy driver aids help or hinder?"

It's party trick is straight line punch - plenty of it - and massive brakes! It's competent in the corners, but nowhere near as agile as an MX-5. That's partially because it's so quick and refined that you often approach corners with way too much speed, and scare the crap out of yourself. So you learn to use a slow in, fast out approach rather than the flowing style of an MX-5. The repetitive reversal of longitudinal Gs is not pleasant for passengers!

On that return leg on Putty Road, I was leading in front of Russ in his NC. I was pushing pretty hard but nowhere near ten tenths, and had the stability control fully on. I haven't had the bravery to switch it off on a twisty road! I was pulling away from Russ between corners, but he caught up through them. So we stuck together pretty closely. When we stopped, Russ was sweating and reckoned he couldn't drive ANY quicker than that - testified by his brake rotors which were smoking hot and blue! He commented that my car looked absolutely stable from his position. In fact, I was using the DSC on every corner exit. It works nicely, allowing a bit of oversteer to aid turn-in, provided you don't stick the boot in or it cuts in.

To be honest, the 135i is a very capable & refined muscle car rather than a corner carver. When I bought it, it was my first ever RWD car and it was exactly those things that appealed to me. It is a truly brilliant car - but you have to drive it hard to have fun, and then you're going way too fast, and that's not good on public roads in Australia. Since buying my crappy old NA6, I discovered that it is just as much fun, but much more of the time, and doesn't require antisocial speeds to get there. Ah well, I'm sticking with the 135i now for several years, and will enjoy both cars for what they are.

[wilch]

NA6, I discovered that it is just as much fun, but much more of the time, and doesn't require antisocial speeds to get there.

That's exactly why I love my mx5 so much.

*thumbs up*