VXR8 / HSV R8 Clubsport @ Cadwell Park 21st August

[oswaldnyc]

4 laps on a set of tires? god damn... oO

[PhantomMark]

@oswaldnyc

No mate, you misunderstand my comment :)

After 3 or 4 laps the tyres were massively overheating and losing a lot of grip, especially up the front, turning into the corners was getting all mushy and understeery

[oswaldnyc]

@PhantomMark Oh, I see, got me worried there for a second or two. Either a VXR8 or a Monaro VXR, depending on funds, is appearing in my garage next. :)

[GaryST220]

God I fucking love this video, your driving is brilliant.

[PhantomMark]

Thanks for the kind comments ;) building a BMW E46 world touring car replica at the moment which will be powered by an S54 E46 m3 motor for some serious trackday laughs. Sadly I had to sell the Holden when I got made redundant, would not hesitate to pick up another in the future tho, many smiles had in that car :)

[MyFriendMyGuardian]

Nice work lads! I must say British by birth, English by the grace of god, Australian by Choice ;)

[robhorannz]

Brilliant relaxed driving, love the side ways stuff at the end. Looks like a good track day.

[holdenls1ssz]

awesome driving skills!

[alfie937]

Nicely done, good to see some well held drifts and not the usual tankslapping we often have to suffer on t'internet! Can't wait to get my R8, going for Evoke LS3 with Walkinshaw bi-modal, and who knows what else from there!

[666demonknight666]

Do people ask you why you don't buy a regular German sedan? What's the general feeling about this Aussie beast? I"m a huge Holden/HSV fan and just keen to know what the feedbacks are about the brand.

[PhantomMark]

@666demonknight666 well thats actually really easy to answer, I am a BMW fanboy, and had quite a lot, the Holden compared to a BMW in the driving experience is very comparable, very much fun, build quality is along the lines of your typical GM/Ford production car, pretty reasonable, I have nothing bad to say about the Holden honestly !

[666demonknight666]

@PhantomMark I respect what BMW is doing, just wish they can re-design their interior or else I'd have a M3 for sure. Holden on the other hand will give you the bang for your buck but they have alot to learn in terms of reliablilty. Do BMW's have so many teething issues when they roll out a new model?

[666demonknight666]

This car has nice exhaust notes man. Is it the 6L or 6.2L? Do you think if the car has MRC it will ride better?

[PhantomMark]

@666demonknight666 6.2 LS3 in this one, MRC ? The only fault with the standard suspension is that it is a touch on the soft side on track, and generates a touch too much mid to high speed understeer, but its definately no worse than my 530d M-Sport BMW for example, just a personal preference.

[666demonknight666]

@PhantomMark MRC stands for Magnetic Ride Control. It means the suspension is not the usual oil ones but are fill with Magnetic fluid. Audi's and BMW's all have them. Our GTS/Senator and Grange all have it.Performance and Track settings and choosing between firm and firmer settings.

[PhantomMark]

@666demonknight666 I can only imagine this would be a good thing then :)

Not an option on the UK Spec cars sadly................the cars are held in very high regard in the UK and get many admiring glances and comments wherever you go, in fact some days I got sick of talking about the bloody car lol.

[GaryST220]

Love this video Mark, any chance of a HD version?

[PhantomMark]

@GaryST220 Sure, will redo the upload sometime, when I originally uploaded this the HD 1080p version kept stalling during upload, gave up in the end and we ended up with this piss poor version sadly :(

[GaryST220]

@PhantomMark

Cheers - I enquired a while ago about buying your R8 but ending up with an Evoke instead :-)

What were your oil & water temperatures like? I seem to remember reading you were concerned about them? Though in the video your oil temperature doesn't appear to go above 120 degrees?

[PhantomMark]

@GaryST220 Oil was peaking at 150c if I remember correctly, and I certainly was slightly concerned at the time, water was not too hot however, Evoke is an awesome colour for the R8, maybe buying another in the future when work picks back up, certainly missing the beastie after being consigned to a TDCi Mondeo for the last 6 months lol.

[GaryST220]

@PhantomMark I look forward to the video. Cheers

[WanganTune3DXPluDeaf]

that HSV R8 is made in Australian.

[PhantomMark]

@WanganTune3DXPluDeaf , Yes the R8 is made in Australia, this is just the UK import version, hence my vid title.

[Volkswagon96]

Great driving there mate. How is the car going reliability wise?

[PhantomMark]

@Volkswagon96

Thanks, I have had no issues in 5000 miles so far.

[Volkswagon96]

@PhantomMark Cheers, I was worried that taking my Maloo (Don't know if they're in Britain, it's the ute/pick up version) to track days would do some damage as the engine isn't run in yet.

[PhantomMark]

@Volkswagon96 , we have a few Maloo's imported to the UK, but very few :)

I had 350 miles on the clock when I got to cadwell for this session, so I short shifted 95% of the time @ 4500rpm, not had any issues with the engine whatsoever but I never thrashed it when it was cold either mate.

[Volkswagon96]

@PhantomMark Ah ok. Well have 750 (roughly converted) miles on it, I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't do any damage. Thanks for the info :-)

[xBreezy8]

Mate how much is a track day ..... and how old do you have to be :) Im just wondering

[PhantomMark]

@xBreezy8

Half day generally costs around 70 -90 pounds, full day around 120 - 160 depending on the time of year, peak summer being the most expensive.

I believe 17yrs old is min age - ie licence holder age.

Prices are for an OPEN PITLANE, which means you can do as many laps as you like.

[xBreezy8]

@PhantomMark Ahh cheers mate :) well Im 15 :\ got 2 years then I guess I can go on track haha hope to see you somewhere..... if your still doing it then :D

[axo16v]

hey Mark. I see your going a wee bit quiker nowadays buddy, get bored with derv power ?? good to see you still enjoy cadwell, I must try to get back one day. Tam.

[PhantomMark]

@axo16v

Never get bored with Derv power buddy :D

Still loving Cadwell, yer, ready for some different challenges this year tho, once I can get a reasonable track car put together anyways.

Keep in touch mate.

[lukewill783]

Cadwell park FTW XD

[blothian01]

Just brilliant drift at the end there. Love it

[jboot26]

lol i dunno how uze can change gears with ur right hand...

[PhantomMark]

I am happy driving left or right hand drive cars to be honest, makes no difference at all to me, don't know why people make such a big deal about it ?

[kazkoks]

how people can change gears with left arm? :D this should be uncomfortable.

[msman4]

nah changing gears with your left arm isnt bad at all, id say its even more comfortable than the right because i always like to keep my right hand on the steering wheel. I have driven both left and right hand drive cars and it still feels more natural for to change with my left.

[DelDredd]

Its been out on rFactor for ages Mark, see rfactorcentral

Latest version is best, the original simulated lack of grip due to leaves on the track and was a pain.

Also available for GTR2 and GTR EVO / RACE 07 at NoGrip Racing

Del

[PhantomMark]

Is that the new scratch made version made with BTB tho ?? or just a revamped original, the original is ok but lacks quite a lot in the important bits of the track like hall bends or charlies 2 for example......

[weahuhfidh]

im hoping to buy a vxr8 or monaro after my current car, just wondering if you would recommend one of these and is there any downsides to them?

[PhantomMark]

The Monaro has more niggles than the VXR8 from what I have seen on the user forums, the VXR8 is more practical with its 4 doors and big boot as well, brakes and engines better as well, however, if you want a v8 coupe you would be hard pressed to find a nicer car than the Monaro, VXR8 also has tons more natural grip than the Ro........Averaging 20mpg which is not that bad considering the power and performance.

[Aliasify]

CRaking car mate, who is doing the filing? or have you got a rig for your camera? either way its some good not so shaky footage

[PhantomMark]

Thanks, Cam is a Sanyo Xacti HD2000 1080p mounted on a custom steel bar I made, that bolted directly into the rear shelf under back window, hence it's quite sturdy. The won't allow most Cam mounts these days, only hard mounted, hence my custom job to be certain I could get footage this time on track :)

[newrealbomba]

what kind of driving gloves are those? they look hot...

[PhantomMark]

They are mountain bike gloves actually, I get really sweaty hands when on track, the gloves are relatively thin but have excellent feel and grip. If your that interested I will dig them out later and post the make and model if you like.

[Syco318]

@PhantomMark I will save you the trouble! :)

SixSixOne/661 Comp Glove - grey ;)

[BridgeToGantry]

Nice. Looks like an enjoyable few laps from a really nice sounding V8. Top effort on getting the back out nicely too!

[RaceDepartment]

Awesome new car Mark!! Well done!

Cheers

[Uff182]

I have the same SimBin t-shirt. :D I'll try to learn the track by watching the video, so that when it will be out for rFactor I'll already know it. ^^

[PhantomMark]

Hopefully the track will make its way across into Simbin games as well as RF :)

[Uff182]

It would be cool! ^^ Previews on rFactorCentral looks good. :)

[tuska20000]

id love a vxr8 and could maybe get 1 but id get so much agro at work , id probably get fired. nice car bud carbon edition all the way ....

[CrazyDRFT]

You lucky bugger with a Vauxhall VXR8, Pretty much an Monaro isnt it?

[PhantomMark]

Its much the same idea yer, Heavy car with a great big V8 dropped in it, except the VXR8 has four doors and more typical Saloon style to it. Monaro is a gorgeous coupe tho.

[CrazyDRFT]

Go on! Get her sideways!

[MclF01]

lol nice to see ya thash a holden and its a manual to many auto's here in Australia

more drifting :)

[BxHProductions]

Nice Car The BMW Was Sweet for Drifting

[PhantomMark]

The VXR8 had much more grip than I expected, some nice drifting and messing around near the end of the vid when I went a little crazyier :D

The BMW was certainly fun considering it was only a 2 litre diesel.

[BxHProductions]

Wow only 2 litre hmm