4 laps of Nurburgring-thoughts?

[Ryanytchan]

Hi all,

It's my birthday next month and I plan on heading over to Nurburgring as I'll be in Belgium that weekend. I have a 1.8 quattro and was just wondering if the brakes and everything will last 4 laps? I'll have two passengers with me and plan on driving at a relatively rapid pace
Any recommendations or comments are welcomed!

Have a good weekend,

Ryan

 

[Schizophonic]

wrong forum?

 

[steeve]

If you drive it very quickly for all four laps you will probably need a new set of tyres and a new set of discs and pads afterwards.

Don't forget if you cause the circuit to be closed you get charged by the minute and it can be very expensive.

Also keep a constant eye out for those who are driving 'quickly'.

But enjoy it's an amazing experience.

 

[Battlekrapz]

Personally think it's not worth risking bending your car or damaging components from over-stressing them. If i were you i'd hire a car to do this and not use your everyday car.

btw, the nurb is a little distance from Belgium so are you thinking of Spa Francorchamps instead? Or you'll still be heading to Germany to the Ring?

 

[Ryanytchan]

If you drive it very quickly for all four laps you will probably need a new set of tyres and a new set of discs and pads afterwards.

Don't forget if you cause the circuit to be closed you get charged by the minute and it can be very expensive.

Also keep a constant eye out for those who are driving 'quickly'.

But enjoy it's an amazing experience.

I'll do a slow first lap, and take breaks in between the subsequent laps-is there somewhere you can stop to let the car cool down without leaving the track?

 

[Ryanytchan]

Personally think it's not worth risking bending your car or damaging components from over-stressing them. If i were you i'd hire a car to do this and not use your everyday car.

btw, the nurb is a little distance from Belgium so are you thinking of Spa Francorchamps instead? Or you'll still be heading to Germany to the Ring?

Spa has a public experience day on the 21st,but I'll be in South of France by then that's why I'm considering nurburgring-three hours away, not too bad

 

[steeve]

I'll do a slow first lap, and take breaks in between the subsequent laps-is there somewhere you can stop to let the car cool down without leaving the track?

When I was there it wasn't possible to do more than one lap at a time to prevent people from 'going for it'. You buy a ticket which entitles you to what ever number of laps you pay for. Each time you enter you put your ticket into a machine at the barrier so it counts your laps. There is a place to pull off at Adenau.

One fast lap is more than enough to cause the brakes to fade..............

 

[warren_S5]

One fast lap is more than enough to cause the brakes to fade..............

Agreed, and remember not to put the handbrake on after you finish the lap or you may boil your brake fluid. Also if you 'overdrive' the car the tyres can get very hot and it's astonishing how unpredictable they can start to feel.
A games console can set you up for remembering left / right, but nothing can prepare you for the relief changes, weather changes and the fact you need eyes in the back of your head!

 

[Ryanytchan]

Agreed, and remember not to put the handbrake on after you finish the lap or you may boil your brake fluid. Also if you 'overdrive' the car the tyres can get very hot and it's astonishing how unpredictable they can start to feel.
A games console can set you up for remembering left / right, but nothing can prepare you for the relief changes, weather changes and the fact you need eyes in the back of your head!

Is the weather quite unpredictable given its up in a mountain?

 

[warren_S5]

Is the weather quite unpredictable given its up in a mountain?

I had rain in two different parts of the track, the rest was overcast. They do flash orange lights where there is rain, but as long as it's not too heavy you can still enjoy it, just keep off the kerbs and and be mindful of your braking / throttle application.

 

[the_lecht_rocks]

You can get off for a break, coffee, coke, etc after Adenau Forest. Great point for spectating too.
However , an A3 on a public session without experience will unfortunately get absolutely devoured.
Purchase the eyes on stalks option with your 105euro ring pass ... Money well spent.

 

[snowfree52]

Purchase the eyes on stalks option

What is that ?

 

[the_lecht_rocks]

What is that ?

it's the must try harder to avoid those with experience / balls / experience of this place without making a complete t#@ of myself for thinking i'm the fastest man in the universe to "attack" the ring.

there's some myopic howlers on the ring and road rules apply. never ever forget : Mirror at least twice, then manouvre. then prepare for a GT3 or local Mk2 Scirocco + cage to vortex your slipstream

 

[warren_S5]

there's some myopic howlers on the ring and road rules apply. never ever forget : Mirror at least twice, then manouvre. then prepare for a GT3 or local Mk2 Scirocco + cage to vortex your slipstream

Totally agree, drive within your limits, live in your mirrors, use clear indication to state your intentions and don't get caught up chasing stuff that doesn't look like it should be as fast as it is. I once made that mistake trying to tail a stripped out Clio, my brakes didn't thank me for that and I still had a weeks worth of driving to do! Leave your ego at the main gate.

Don't forget to try a currywurst too!

 

[snowfree52]

it's the must try harder to avoid those with experience / balls / experience of this place without making a complete t#@ of myself for thinking i'm the fastest man in the universe to "attack" the ring.

there's some myopic howlers on the ring and road rules apply. never ever forget : Mirror at least twice, then manouvre. then prepare for a GT3 or local Mk2 Scirocco + cage to vortex your slipstream

stupid of myself, I was lost in translation !

 

[the_lecht_rocks]

currywurst is bogging. try pork and spatzle when you head further south !

 

[Ryanytchan]

any idea if you can buy tickets there or do you need to do it online? Also remember reading somewhere that bringing passengers will result in extra costs but can't find this on the site?

 

[the_lecht_rocks]

Easy access at the coke cafe at the Adenau entrance. Big Hans will sell you a ticket for entrance at the cafe.

 

[steeve]

any idea if you can buy tickets there or do you need to do it online? Also remember reading somewhere that bringing passengers will result in extra costs but can't find this on the site?

I wouldn't buy tickets on line, not sure if you can do that though. As public sessions can get cancelled if some one needs to hire the circuit for some reason, this can often happen.

 

[Vertigo1]

I've done about 20 laps of the 'ring in two different A3s. I've only ever done two consecutive laps and the brakes were fading badly by the end of the second one.

Be aware that insurance, which used to be a grey area, no longer is - you won't be insured at all on the 'ring. Bear in mind that, whilst you may be prepared to take the chance of damaging or writing off your own car without recourse to insurance, things can get much worse than that. Unlike UK trackday insurance, the 'ring is still classed as a public road so the normal laws of liability apply. If you're deemed to have caused an accident then you could be held liable for all costs, which could get seriously expensive if you write off someone's Ferrari and/or cause track damage or closures.

 

[snowfree52]

I don't see how it can be both not covered and a public road ?

 

[royalsteve68]

If you drive it very quickly for all four laps you will probably need a new set of tyres and a new set of discs and pads afterwards.

Don't forget if you cause the circuit to be closed you get charged by the minute and it can be very expensive.

Also keep a constant eye out for those who are driving 'quickly'.

But enjoy it's an amazing experience.

Are you for real... New set of tyres brakes and disks after just laps... No way...100 hard laps perhaps

 

[royalsteve68]

When I was there it wasn't possible to do more than one lap at a time to prevent people from 'going for it'. You buy a ticket which entitles you to what ever number of laps you pay for. Each time you enter you put your ticket into a machine at the barrier so it counts your laps. There is a place to pull off at Adenau.

One fast lap is more than enough to cause the brakes to fade..............

That's the problem will brakes designed for the road.... I'd swap at least pads for decent track pads that work better at higher temps...but they take longer to warm up so watch out at lower speeds.... used to do a bit of street racing when younger and a naughty boy per speed camera era... first thing I always did is swap the awful suspension and the awful brakes

 

[royalsteve68]

I've done about 20 laps of the 'ring in two different A3s. I've only ever done two consecutive laps and the brakes were fading badly by the end of the second one.

Be aware that insurance, which used to be a grey area, no longer is - you won't be insured at all on the 'ring. Bear in mind that, whilst you may be prepared to take the chance of damaging or writing off your own car without recourse to insurance, things can get much worse than that. Unlike UK trackday insurance, the 'ring is still classed as a public road so the normal laws of liability apply. If you're deemed to have caused an accident then you could be held liable for all costs, which could get seriously expensive if you write off someone's Ferrari and/or cause track damage or closures.

Good point... Probably safer to get a local specialist hire car company to loan you a car... Might cost a bit though

 

[royalsteve68]

Agreed, and remember not to put the handbrake on after you finish the lap or you may boil your brake fluid. Also if you 'overdrive' the car the tyres can get very hot and it's astonishing how unpredictable they can start to feel.
A games console can set you up for remembering left / right, but nothing can prepare you for the relief changes, weather changes and the fact you need eyes in the back of your head!

Strange... No idea why people say that. I look in my mirrors almost every second... My mate didn't believe me so I gave him a running commentary for a few secs like the police do on training... not sure if he was impressed or bored though lol.. It's easy

 

[Dan-Jnr]

I've been and done 13 laps not in an Audi though, my old 106 GTI.
Stick to your driving ability, don't pretend to be the Stig, don't time yourself and you'll have a great time.
As said previously standard brakes will struggle after a couple of laps if your hard breaking.
Take it easy and enjoy it, watch out for the hardened veterans flying past.

If you ask nicely other more competent drivers will take you out for a passenger lap if you buy the lap pass.

 

[Vertigo1]

I don't see how it can be both not covered and a public road ?

It's a public road and most German insurance policies will cover it.

UK policies would do also except they all have clauses which exclude it. These are either explicit exclusions, actually naming the place, or else implicit clauses regarding racing or time-trials. Whilst technically you could claim that you were just having a leisurely drive and not racing or timing yourself, you'd have a hard job convincing the insurers.

Basically, if you have an accident there, any UK insurer will tell you to take a hike. Your only option would be to try taking legal action against them to honour the claim but that would cost a fortune and you'd most likely lose.

I've seen some strange stuff there myself. On one trip, a brit in a Lotus was side-swiped by Sabine in one of the M5 ring taxis. I heard that he'd called the German police out as he wanted them to apportion blame to her, because then he could claim for the damage from BMW's insurance.

The general rule these days is, by all means drive the 'ring, but assume you're totally uninsured.

 

[steeve]

Strange... No idea why people say that. I look in my mirrors almost every second... My mate didn't believe me so I gave him a running commentary for a few secs like the police do on training... not sure if he was impressed or bored though lol.. It's easy

Believe me, you will not see many of the vehicles, both cars and bikes coming. One second there is nothing behind you and then a bolt of lightening passes you. Quite often you will have no idea what it was that just passed you, at best you might get the colour.
As many sections are obviously quite twisty with significant elevation changes the opportunity to keep looking in the mirror is not available as you need to concentrate, also the amount of distance you can see behind you is limited in these sections. Best bet for new comers is to keep right, as you would do on a German public road. Trying to take a racing line at anything other than professional race speeds is fraught with danger.

One issue for newcomers is that there are no right left signs as you will see on other circuits, you have to drive to what you can see so you're never certain what's over that brow or how sharp the next corner is or which way it might go until you can see the exit.

You may have a high opinion of your own driving (or riding) but a few laps on a busy public day soon alters that.

One fast lap by a friend resulted in him needing a new set of discs on his motorbike, a couple of laps by another friend in his RS4 (who races and rallys)resulted in an urgent need for two new tyres two new front discs and a complete set of disc pads. A hundred laps? You've obviously not been to the Ring or even on a track day!

 

[h5djr]

In this week's Auto Express their is an article entitled "Lords of the Ring". According to the article the fastest lap for a production car is held by a Peterborough-based company with a 450bhp V8-enginedRadical SR8 at 6 mins 28 secs in 2009.

Interestingly the lap record for a front-wheel drive car was set in 2014 at 7 mins 58.4 secs by a SEAT Leon Cupra.

 

[the_lecht_rocks]

Believe me, you will not see many of the vehicles, both cars and bikes coming. One second there is nothing behind you and then a bolt of lightening passes you. Quite often you will have no idea what it was that just passed you, at best you might get the colour.
As many sections are obviously quite twisty with significant elevation changes the opportunity to keep looking in the mirror is not available as you need to concentrate, also the amount of distance you can see behind you is limited in these sections. Best bet for new comers is to keep right, as you would do on a German public road. Trying to take a racing line at anything other than professional race speeds is fraught with danger.

One issue for newcomers is that there are no right left signs as you will see on other circuits, you have to drive to what you can see so you're never certain what's over that brow or how sharp the next corner is or which way it might go until you can see the exit.

You may have a high opinion of your own driving (or riding) but a few laps on a busy public day soon alters that.

One fast lap by a friend resulted in him needing a new set of discs on his motorbike, a couple of laps by another friend in his RS4 (who races and rallys)resulted in an urgent need for two new tyres two new front discs and a complete set of disc pads. A hundred laps? You've obviously not been to the Ring or even on a track day!

lol, spot on.

i've been fortunate enough to ride and drive many , many laps and this still rings true [pun intended].
the only advice i can offer newcomers [to any track event in fact] is mirrors are your friend........!