Quote:
Originally Posted by jafo1701
Well I did my first track day with my 135i.
first my set up, an 2011 135i DCT with PPK 1 and an ETS intercooler. BMW performance springs with Koni sport shocks and struts. Dinan camber plates and rear shock mounts. M3 front upper and lower control arms as well as M3 upper rear control arms. Also M3 subframe bushings installed. Stock calipers and rotors with Stop Tech performance street pads front and rear installed. As for tires I was running Michelin Pilot super sports 245/40/17 with light weight wheels. Temps never exceeded 75 degrees and engine temps never went above 250. I'm running 25% coolant with 75% distilled water with a bottle of water wetter.
I ran at Mid America Motorplex. It's my 3rd time there. My previous HPDE car was a well set-up E36 M3. Last year my best lap time with my E36 M3 was 1:56.25, that's only around 2 seconds slower then an instructors stripped out E36 M3 with R compounds. That was a solo lap time no instructor. I ran a 2:03.56 with the 135i. This was with a driving instructor as he didn't cut me solo till the last 2 sessions of the day which were a wash, because it rained all day after my first session of day 2. Lap times were unscientific. I just watched my previous video and timed it with a stop watch. Comparing the video for those of you familiar with Mid America my times were the same with the M3 going from turn 7 into 8, then it goes down hill. I lose 7 seconds from that section back to the tower. Basically the course tightens up and I couldn't carry as much speed through the corners. I attest it to two things. Of course the driver, I'm still not completely accustomed to how this thing handles and second it's just a bigger car. It just doesn't handles the corners as well. I only got 3 dry runs of 20 minutes each through 2 days, as it rained constantly especially on day 2.
Here's what I noticed, the thing is heavy and you can really feel the weight. Power delivery was smooth with no lag, DCT performed flawlessly. After the first session i was extremely disappointed. Even my instructor was expecting much more out of the car given what I had done to it. However after the final session he stated once I started to push the car and get use to how it handled that the car settled down the car felt much more stable and planted. I had the same observation. On a side note an E92 M3 caught up to me around turn 14 just before the front straight. I wanted to see if I could hold it off. We both punched it on the .6 mile front straight and it couldn't make any ground on me. Even the driver after the session asked if that was my 135i. She said she had her foot down and that was all her M3 had and I was walking away from her. I did eventually let her pass though as I couldn't corner as well as her. I'm sure I'll improve with more track time, along with some more mild upgrades, better tires, actual track pads and the M3 swaybar.
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Well for the first time out that sounds pretty good. I had a prepped E36 before and my first time out in the 1 was considerably off my times in my m3. I also had the PSS's which offer good feel and feedback, but they aren't the best for track duty. Seat time will make the biggest difference. As it is you can probably have equal times once you get use to the car. I suppose the faster the track the more the 1 will separate itself. Better tires are probably going to be the best upgrade you can have for the money, but I'd wait until you explore the limits of those before you spend any more money.
Another thing you'll have to get use to is not shifting as much. Use the torque to your advantage. Every time you shift even with a dct you lose time, so try not to downshift as much when you go into a turn. Leaving it in gear saved me a bunch of time since I was in the right gear for a longer period of time. Without seeing the track it's hard to say where you could save time so post those videos and other folks might have other tricks for you too.