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Originally Posted by tlee55
Just bought my 135i(2009) ~ 1 month ago. Current mods are: AST 4100 coilovers (550 /784 hypercoil springs), cobb stage 1 linear, vorshlag camber plates(set at ~ 1.85), hankook v12's(came with the car used)
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Great car and looks like it's got all the right mods for an autocross!
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Got a chance to take it out to auto - x with speed ventures. Had a blast learned alot about how to drive the 135i throughout the day.
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I would highly recommend doing your next autocross with a BMW club chapter. Either the LA chapter, which runs their autocrosses also at Auto Clib Speedway AND/or the San Diego chapter, which runs their autocrosses at Qualcomm stadium in San Diego.
LA chapter (next auto-x May 20th):
http://www.bmwclubla.org/calendar.php
San Diego chapter (next auto-x May 12th):
http://sdbmwcca.com/
With the BMW club, you get top notch FREE instructors and will learn so much more than you can learn all by yourself. The're a great bunch of people coming to the BMW events and I'll bet you'll leave not only with a whole lot of new driving skills, you'll also make a ton of friends there!
Also, the BMW club is usually a bit more safety minded than Speed Ventures seems to be (still can't believe they put a slalom that close to that curb):
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Impressions: I definitely felt the understeer, especially on the sharp S's.
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To quote my favourite instructor: "Slow in, fast out...."
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This was however a LOW speed course were it was very difficult to "put the power down" at any spot on the course(yes yes I know its an autocross course). I think the fastest you could get on the course ~ 45 mph maybe 50.
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As you said - it's an autocross. While I've done speeds in excess of 80+ at Qualcomm, that's certainly not the norm. Part of having a safe autocross is keeping the speeds down.
That said, the large parking lot at Qualcomm does allow for higher speeds:
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As for the AST 4100, I think they were great....eliminated most body roll and the ride quality is great (even on the crazy pot holes over the 10 freeway). In fact I think the ride quality and comfort is on par with stock M suspension if placed on the softer dampening settings. For the auto x I was running stiffest in the rear and 3 clicks from stiffest in the front.
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I think that's a bad idea. For the autocross you WANT some body roll. I would (and I am not) running anywhere near the stiffest settings. I would probably operate a lot lower towards the soft end of the travel. Your mileage will vary of course.
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Anyways had a blast, I think my camber in the front and better tires next time running will help my times alot(Rs3's!, ~-3 degrees camber)
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Yupp! The tires alone (RS-3's or Star Specs) will make a HUGE difference! You won't believe how much more grip & confidence you will have.
Come down to San Diego or do the next event at the Speedway with the LA chapter! You'll have even more fun than you're already having!
