z4m vt2-500 at lotus/caterham clubday pics n clips

[Beedub]

awesome awesome awesome awesome......

Today has been the perfect day:-) I was invited last week onto a caterham and lotus test day, so out comes the little z4m and woooooww.. what a day, early morning the carfelt very very strong, DSC off all day from the first run, taking the first sweeping long left hander @ 75+mph is enough to give a man nightmares with no run off AT ALL!!!! so speeds gradually building throughout the day until i reached the limit and ermmmm went oever it, had a very scary moment entering flagpole @ 80mph.... tyres overheated and my car tried to swap ends, not only did my young passenger crap himelf, i did also but managed to rein things in and keep on the very narrow tarmac... phhheeewww!!! after this i backed of considerably......


the car itself absolutly proves to me why i did what i did, 24 deg c here and consistant power, the kit performing faultlessly and the car really being the star of the show today which made me feel rather proud, my powesteering fluid overflowed as i overfilled it slightly... whooppss!! lol luckily a very minor issue that made no mess thankfully, i tied a rag round the tank to absorb the small amount that was overflowing, i then drained alittle and she was good to go....... the superchager jut pummeled curborough to a pulp, fradly hairpin was drifted nearly all day, my poor tyres MELTED!!! lol... wheel spin in the first 2 gears was a problem and as the tyres seemed to sweat and get dangerously slippy which meant i had to pit and let them cool down. oil temps were bang on all day, raising above the middle mark and keeping nice and steady, also cooling very quickly, water temps again perfect..... i did managed to get some pics and videos, please bear in mind these were taken by spectators so the quality sucks.....i really need that go pro set... ill try and order when i can afford the whole kit...

the AP brakes??? ohhh wow, the aps, insane stopping power, absolutly bang, the brake rotors were completly bright blue by the end of the day an still provided insane stopping power without showing a single sign of fade.... no knockback was experienced at all.... i have ended up with a lovely even pad transfer layer across all 4 rotors, on the way home the brakes were silent and that lovely rock hard pedak im used to!!! This is by far one of the best braking systems ive had the pleasure use or abuse in this case lol........

i really enjoyed riding out with the caterham, louts 7 guys, fabulous people, fabulous weather, what more could i ask for??? The car was then cleaned back to its normal garage queen condition (another 4 hours in total) and put away..... so 10am-5pm driving and a tank full of the go juice!! what a day to be alive....

all in all awesome day, the car behaved perfectly and continues to show me i made the right descision....... please excuse my Grammer, im tired and bored typing this.....

enoy the pics and clips :-)


Taking a breather.... note rag absorbing overfilled fluid

rotors super hot






Rear 4 pots and rotor, again nice even transfer layer






the new stig?? lol, the helmet was a gift from nissan :-)




my dad :-)


my beauty...






exhausts..... 11.5 AFRs... nice and safe..... creates flames and soot :-)


her best angle??, notice HUGE brake dust.... wheels look matt but are infact gloss powdercoat gunmetal




this drift ended in a death.... :-(


tyres looked melted after a full day, still plenty of tread and for a road tyre, simply awesome......


peak boost??? 8psi Note this was a clean run, not rev limiter bump at all ;-)



peak oil pressure?? 80psi


one for you scott... the mysterious boost strap, alive and present ;-)


bug splatterd front bumper


noticeable camber -2.5 upfront, the wheel is visibly diagonal, this significantly changed turn in, definatly a huge huge step forward, the simpson alignment blew my mind today.... much better tyre wear in the extremes also.


detailed and tucked up.......



VIDEOS ([please excuse poor quality, i tried) definatly need to get the go pro...

listen out for the bypass valve popping away :-) :driving:


boost gauge operating

inside car...

braking hard for flagpole, sidways under hard braking from 100mph

overshooting flagpole

nice clean double lap, drifting into woodside

taking flagpole way to hot

This big moment???? loosing the caar at 75mph+, luckily kept the car undercontrol and on the tarmac!!!! yeeeeehhhhhhaaaaarrrr

105mph over the line??? caterhams/lotus's managing 90mph :-)

car skipping sideays under hard braking...

finally getting flagpole rrriigghhttt

one of the lotus's showing me how to do flagpole

[claritycheck]

Envy is flowing through every vein in my body as I watch and reply to this post! Great write up of your experience! I'm proud to be a owner of the M coupe!

[Beedub]

thankyou :-) excuse the double posted clips, i was sending this at 11pm after a long day, today i will correct things.....

[ZStig]

looks like you're getting the hang of this "driving" thing

please get a gopro camera though!

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by Roffle Waffle

looks like you're getting the hang of this "driving" thing

please get a gopro camera though!

go pro is definatly needed and also tom, if you ever intend to drive this thing on a track drain some of your powersteering fluid otherwise it'll spray out!!! lol


i found out the hardway!! lol

vt2 running very strong after a day of harrdd use!!!!!! my blower is really nice and vocal, as you can hear in the video their are clear Bypass pops, really really pleased, the car is a freakin animal!! boost is a consistant 8psi...

[Shereef_Osman]

So how do you guys compare the VT1 to the VT2? I'm getting bored of the VT1 already, doesn't feel like it adds that much power anymore, or maybe I have gotten to used to it! Is it a significant jump from VT1 to VT2?

Great post btw!!!

[Beedub]

vt1 - vt2 is a HUGE difference...... vt1 makes a very quick car, vt2 makes supercar performance.....

[Shereef_Osman]

Sweet! Gotta make the jump to vt2 soon, cause it looks like you are having too much fun! Lol

[l4zy]

awesome! never knew these videos on youtube are yours

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by l4zy

awesome! never knew these videos on youtube are yours

by xmas im hoping to get my go Pro!! im really dissapointed to say but i seem to be the only one that gets footage of these blown cars actually at a track??

glad you like the clips.......... im back on track next week :-) wahoooo!!!

[ZStig]

I track it on the street. hahahahhh

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by Roffle Waffle

I track it on the street. hahahahhh

i KNOW!!!! lol ;-)