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      09-16-2012, 08:36 PM   #1
pixelblue
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Drives: the silver bullet
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: northern virginia

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2010 135i  [8.90]
2012 final report

well folks another exciting track season sadly has come to an end for me. now it's time to winterize her for the long cold off season a head. luckily survived the season without breaking anything and learned a few more things about her. this off season I am planning on upgrading a few things like the rotors and finishing up the rear suspension pieces. I am not too happy with the amount of information I am getting from the rear suspension. guess will try the M3 control arms along with the toe rods. I really like to feel more connected. a little numb for my taste despite the upgraded M3 subframe bushings.

so it was a beautiful fall day in west virginia this weekend. had the pleasure of sharing the day with GaryS and MDORPHIN from the 1M community. unfortunately the day fell short of my lofty aspirations but overall it was a lot fun. had misfiring issues all day long. put changing spark plugs on my to do list. my overall impression for my 2012 setup is a mixed bag. brakes did fairly well despite the increased speeds and never did I once had fade. we are talking braking from 140 down to 40 repeatedly over a 20 min session. I am running the performance rotors, pagid yellow pads, castrol srf fluid and titanium shims plus the back shield mod. surprisingly my pistons and my seals still look good after three years of abuse.

this year I changed rubber from BFG R1's to toyo RA1. I was hoping to manage my wet track days better with this choice since I got benched three days last year because of the slicks. funny thing, I didn't get a single wet track day this year. so the R1's are definitely faster but I did like the RA1's talkative nature. my two front tires' treads have melted but I guess the grippy compound is still there. also I switched from 245 sq R1's to 235/255 RA1 setup. I prefer the square setup and despite the extra camber to compensate for 235's I still experienced more understeer.

this year I got the procede tune along with the ETS IC and the evolution raceworks oil cooler. map 1 is silky smooth and strong. I wanted to try map 2 with race fuel this weekend but I am glad I didn't hind sight being 20/20. my average oil temps were definitely up from last year despite the upgraded oil cooler and I regularly noticed temps in the 270 and a reduction in performance. so improving the cooling in some form for next year is a must. also I have recently moved to a new county that does not require an emission test. would love to upgrade to a catless exhaust.

also for 2012 I switched from the pss9 coil overs to the ohlins. my impression on the difference is a mixed bag. although I feel the ohlins to be more nuanced , somehow I remember the car feeling more planted last year. not sure if this has anything to do with the stiffer pss9 springs but I will definitely upgrade my spring rates for next year and see if that makes any difference. the ohlins definitely look like a quality piece compared to the bilsteins. like a nice swiss watch feel. I am sure what I am feeling or not feeling has to do with the difference in spring rates.

so here are my last two video contribution for the year. in one video I had fun chasing a GT3 and a Z06. the action starts around 3:20 mark. I managed to keep them in my line of site the whole time and despite that one of us didn't cross the finish line. in the second video a little miata was punching way above his weight. that thing was crazy fast and hardly ever used the brakes. I know because I spent a lot of time behind him



pitted because of a limp mode icon and then chased a GT3 & Z06

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"I would quote everything pixelblue said, but you've already read it. Take it from someone who's put the 1 through its paces"

Last edited by pixelblue; 09-16-2012 at 09:03 PM..
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