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06-08-2009, 10:33 PM | #1 |
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Post Track Day Report
Went to Texas World Speedway and ran 8 sessions this past Saturday. This was my second time at the track and I felt very comfortable driving there with the M3, which performed beautifully (for a street car). Here are a couple observations/thoughts:
1) Although the M3 is a sports car, the suspension is too soft for spirited track driving. One thing I noticed is that the car takes quite some time to settle after, say, hard braking. I took a ride in an instructor's race prep'd E30 M3 and that car handled brilliantly with minimum body lean and roll, even passing a race-prep'd Ferrari at the corners. 2) I ran 255/35/19 and 295/30/19 PS2s, and they worked very well for street tires. Although they started screaming after they got hot, the grip remained consistent throughout the day. Nonetheless, I feel I have pushed them to the limit. Next time I would definitely get some competition/track tires. Hoosier seem to have a good selection. 3) The brakes (all stock) worked very well. There was a slight bit of inconsistency with the pedal travel at times but nothing major. When braking at high speed after a long straight from around 130mph to 80 mph they felt a little bit lacking... but at the rest of the corners they worked very well. I will probably get some BMW-approved competition pads soon. 4) The car is wonderfully forgiving. Thanks to the balance chassis and MDM, I was able to recover from some pretty serious oversteers. This is the beauty of the M3... what a wonderfully balanced car! 5) 'Normal' power setting worked best for me. As T Bone discussed before, the 'Power' and 'Power +' are a bit to sensitive to the driver input and may sometimes upset the chassis. In sum, I am very happy with how the M3 drove on the track on a 80 deg + day. Every instructor who drove my car used the word 'balanced' to describe the chassis, and I was finally able to appreciate it on the track. Next time I am going to have upgraded brake pads and tires to push the car's and my limit further. As great as the M3 is as an all-arounder, I feel it may be too 'soft' for the track when one really starts to push the car. This is why perhaps all track nuts would have a dedicated track car. But at this point I am going to stick with the best all-around sports car in the world... until I win the lottery A CSL version from BMW that is more track-focused would be appreciated as well. |
06-08-2009, 11:10 PM | #2 |
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Good post. Do you have EDC and did you give the Sport setting a try? IIRC BMW have stated that EDC = normal is the fastest at the track but this may very well be for a track with lots of bumps and other chassis upsetting features like the N'Ring. On a smooth track in very good condition Sport may be faster.
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06-08-2009, 11:17 PM | #3 | |
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06-09-2009, 12:52 AM | #4 |
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SInce it would be your third time, I think brakes would make a world of difference for you but just try and pick a not overly aggressive track pad to learn more with
As for tires I think you could prolong the use of PS2s. Its hard to outdrive them, but if you're not a really good driver you will scrub off some speed and heat them up quickly. I'd say to hone your skills here before getting a Rcomp tire But if you do go with the RCOMP stay away from hoosier until you get better. If you're not an experienced driver you will trash that tire very quickly and it wont last you too long. Stick to something like the BFG R1 of NT01 which are much more forgiving very fast and good learners. I think it will be a very long time before you outdrive any of these choices, it just sucks that they only last about 3-4 events |
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06-09-2009, 01:01 AM | #5 | |
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P.S. Good to hear you had fun rldzhao.
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06-09-2009, 02:39 AM | #6 |
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I assume you went with the driver's edge. What run group were you in? What did you think of it? I liked it a lot, worth every penny. Its a good balance between track/class/maintenance/rest time.
I ran it clockwise last Nov, lots of fun. That sh1t is scary when you are going down the front straight at 140mph and then you go down a pretty bumpy hill right into the carousel. A guy best described it as "scary fun". That course seems to be pretty hard on brakes. After the front straight, you have to go through the carousel and then brake pretty hard 2 turns later on the 180 going across the infield. On my 330Ci, I went from 3/4 pad left on the fronts to about 1/8" from the back plate. There were 2 other guys that literally ran out of brakes.
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06-09-2009, 11:59 PM | #8 | |
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06-12-2009, 10:15 PM | #9 |
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Great to hear you had a good time and that all went well. I'll make a few suggestions based on your comments:
-if you spun the car twice with MDM off, on the stock tires, then you should not be moving to an r-comp tire. When you can control the car well enough to drive without the nannies, when you've moved into the advanced class, when you MUST move to r-comps because being 1-3 seconds per lap slower than your peers is driving you crazy...THEN you get r-comps. Learning to drive well with the stock tires for one season will do more for your driving than going to r-comps for two seasons, especially HoHos...as when they give up the grip in a turn, you may very well spin without much notice. r-comps also cover-up mistakes...learn to slide/slip the car well on stockers, then make the move...you'll appreciate the tires that much more then. - r-comps will make your complaints regarding the suspension that much more pronounced. If you think the car is under sprung/damped now, then what do you think it will feel like with a set of r-comps? - Did you change your brake fluid prior to the event or did you run stock fluid? I assume you used stock pads? If you go again, make sure you change your fluid to SRF (you'll only need to do this once per season and then bleed as needed instead of flushing with Motul600 before every event...the SRF is THAT good). Hate to harp on the subject, but you'll be going through pads much faster with r-comps, too. On stock tires, I use SRF and Pagid Yellows up front...that's it. They are still good...half left after two events...and I've put a good 7K miles on them on the street!!! Yep, they squeak and squeal like banshees at times but I don't care...I'm always ready. I don't mean to preach, only help, so the jist of this is - 1. stay on stock tires for as long as you can sanely handle 2. flush your brake fluid and add some track pads. 3. do more days...more days...more days And keep having fun!!!
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06-13-2009, 11:28 PM | #10 |
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I didn't see where he spun twice. Did you mix him up with the guy in another thread now. I do agree with all the advice, particularly waiting on the R-compounds.
The Dinan spring kit will make you a lot happier with the handling. You can go more agressive, but Dinan maintain a great street ride. Dave
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06-14-2009, 09:23 AM | #11 | ||
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"Arcadian, I've fought countless times, yet I've never met an adversary who could offer me what we Spartans call "A Beautiful Death." I can only hope, with all the world's warriors gathered against us, there might be one down there who's up to the task."Μολὼν λαβέ!! Last edited by ace996; 06-14-2009 at 09:55 AM.. |
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06-16-2009, 11:25 PM | #12 |
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Good stuff here.
I've been told that a wet track day can really help you become a better driver. It makes you sensitive to how the car behaves near the limit, and this can then be transferred to driving on a dry track.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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06-17-2009, 12:51 AM | #13 | |
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NT01s seem to wear pretty well at TWS if you run the hot pressure at 40 (back in paddock after a cool down lap). You'll need to flip them to get more than 4 under 2 minute/lap DE days. The E9X is probably a 1:55ish (CCW) car with rcomps and pads once I forget how much it costs, which is not too bad for 3700lbs. Not as much fun as a hard core E46 with all the fixins, but fun enough... |
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06-17-2009, 03:29 AM | #14 |
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Do you have a link for contact info?
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06-17-2009, 08:50 AM | #15 | |
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Hopefully it also gives you a healthy respect for the fine line between being under control and out of control and how little the average driver on the street really knows. In the USA the other drivers are not expecting someone to come blasting by using any car's potential. Don't make the mistake of thinking you're now superman because you can lap fast. Take you extra margin and use it to anticipate the mistakes of others on the street and keep yourself safe. Dave
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06-17-2009, 06:41 PM | #16 |
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06-18-2009, 11:40 PM | #17 |
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THanks guys for all the response.
Looks like I am definitely get some better pads+fluids for next session, and most likely some NT01, since they are much cheaper than PS2s. Anyone going to TWS for the night event in August? |
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06-19-2009, 12:59 AM | #18 | |
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I think the night event is at Texas Motor Speedway.
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06-19-2009, 08:42 PM | #19 |
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