jazz trackday report - thumbs up!

**Andys** · 26-04-2005 11:24 AM

Took my car (jazz VTi) to Wakefield again (2nd time), and managed to shave another second or so off my previous best time

.

The Jazz is a unique track experience compared with the other more sporty cars that came. I would like to try to convince all of you to attend a track day because this car we have is a great thing. The tyre wear, brake wear, and fuel consumption is really modest for this car. Here are the facts:

1. After two track days in 2 months, the oil level is still above the "High" mark, I had no need to top it up at all. (Note: my engine has 86,000km on the clock and still going strong!)

2. Secondly, I was able to fill up my tank with BP Ultimate in Sydney the night before. I drove down to Wakefield (near goulbourn, about 200km from sydney), ran about 20-25 laps over 3 sessions, then drove home again, and pulled into my local BP again and filled up - 39L for the whole day! This level of fuel consumption for a car taken to the track is almost unheard of.

3. I have an automatic transmission and though it is a pain to select gears quickly when braking at the end of the straight, over all I'm happy with it as it means the engine is in the 5000-6000 rpm power band all the time, which is definitely where you need it to be. Whether you have auto or manual, you can come to the track no problem. (I am planning to change my transmission fluid more often than the manual specifies, though)

4. I braked pretty hard this track day (I went a bit easier last time) and suffered absolutely no brake fade and still had good brake feel during the whole day. (but they did get very hot so I did a few cool down laps each session to make sure they cooled down enough before parking.)

5. The only mods done to the car was to remove the rear seats (only 4 bolts, takes 5 minutes or less, and saves you 30kg), remove the spare tyre and tools (10kg), and the pirelli P6000 tyres on the stock rims. These tyres are very grippy and even after 2 track days have only slight amount of wear - another plus for the jazz.

I think Honda got a lot of things right with the jazz. Its strongest point is its chassis, which is strong at the base yet lightweight everywhere else. The mid-mounted fuel tank is great. The weakest point is the engine power, but I think with a lightweight, balanced car you don't need a whole lot of power to have fun even on a racetrack. It seems the jazz is both economical and very reliable. "Underclocked" springs to mind...

I hope I have convinced some of you to come to a Trackday with your Jazz. I'd be happy to help out and show you the ropes if its your first time. Next trackday with Circuit Club is on July 5th, I'll post again when its closer to the date.

- Andrew

ps.
If anyone is interested, the overall best times recorded for the day can be found here:
http://www.racetime.com.au/?event=i0...1&view=fastest

I was car number 39. For some reason the practice session results aren't listed (which is where I got my best time of 1:22.3). Unfortunately no other jazzes came.. my main competition was a worked up Toyota Echo, though it was only 1.3L it weighed in at around the 850kg mark. (The driver wasn't very experienced).

As you can see from the best laptimes, even a fairly stock jazz has the ability to be competitive with some much bigger more powerful cars which have been poorly modified and/or aren't being driven hard.

**Kit** · 26-04-2005 11:36 AM

Hey Andy,
good report.

Who organises these events?

I can see quite a few familiar names on that list.

**TypeG** · 26-04-2005 12:53 PM

man
i hope i am in Sdyney as i cant find another ppl accompany to track with me =(

**ahcash** · 26-04-2005 01:04 PM

Good report. TypeG, perhaps you want to take your car up there during the break?

**Q_ball** · 26-04-2005 01:19 PM

im keen to take me teg out that way later in the yr!!
should b really good!
good report andys....n mad airial shot!

**Kawasaki** · 26-04-2005 01:19 PM

Jazz's will be awesome second had cars in the coming years.. I might even end up buying one

. All they need is a bigger engine.

**Andys** · 26-04-2005 01:25 PM

Well, you can attend any wakefield day that is listed on their site as "Open day", but so far I have only gone to events organised by Circuit Club.

Their website: http://www.circuit-club.com

It costs a little bit more but unlike regular open days, you get accurate official timing, organised sessions with different classes (so you can run with people who are similar speed to you). Yesterday we even had a fun little competition with some prizes..

- Andrew

**Andys** · 26-04-2005 01:46 PM

Another anecdote: My friend brought along his Pulsar gti-r. This is an imported 2L turbo AWD nissan that is an absolute blast to drive. Where the jazz was hitting 145km/h at the end of the straight, it hits about 180. Despite the rocket acceleration I was only 1 second better in that car than the jazz, (but its not my car so I guess I need more practice in it)

Unfortunately he's missed a couple of trackdays already due to breakdowns and yesterday he only did a couple of laps before burning oil smoke started coming out of the engine bay, and he had to limp home. It made me appreciate the benefits of a simple clean design like the Jazz for easy and affordable track days.

The spoon fit seems to follow this philosophy - they changed the intake, exhaust, and then concentrated on weight reduction - thats the way to go IMO.

I mean, turbo or K20A option would make an awesome street car, but maybe isn't really in fitting with the overall theme of 'well-balanced' from Honda?

- Andrew