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      07-17-2009, 07:27 AM   #1
TimMc
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Finally got to the track in the 135 today. 1st track day for over a year in a car after I sold my E30 325i last year. We had 40 starters of which about 35 were BMWs - from 2002s to E92s

I bolted on my spare rims on Wednesday night - fitted with new Kumho KU36s. I pumped the tyres up to 43psi cold (cold night too!). They felt pretty good on the road. A little noisier than the runflats but nowhere near as loud or tramliney (new word...) as the Dunlop semi slicks I ran on the 325i. Softer over bumps than the runflats too, even at 43psi. Not a bad road tyre!

When I got to the track this morning I dropped the tyres to 41psi - coldish. I stripped all the cr@p out of the boot, glovebox etc and headed out onto the track. Now I've run around Lakeside a few times in the past but always on a bike and many years ago, so the first time out I was pretty nervous. First time on track for a long time, first time on track in this car, new tyres & not much runoff. The 135 & driver felt terrible for the first session. Braking unless completely in a straight line unsettled the car badly, traction control cut in just about everywhere - even down the main straight! 1'11" was my best time in the first session. I was 5" slower than guys I used to keep up with in my 325... Hot tyre pressure was 48-50 psi when I pulled in so I dropped all down to 45psi hot.

2nd time out after lunch felt much better & I got down to low 1'09". This time I used 4th gear more often rather than holding 3rd longer. I also made sure I did all my braking before turning in. Traction & stability control were still cutting in everywhere but I was getting used to it. I was still too nervous to turn it off.

3rd time out felt better again. I finally turned off the first stage of the stability control towards the end of the session and got down to 1'08".

4th session was a waste of time as I was balked just about everywhere by slower drivers.

For the fifth session I got one of the instructors to drive me around in my car. He (Simon Harrex) fully turned off the traction/stability control which allowed him to dial in more power through the corners and balance out the understeer with some power oversteer. It was fun being a passenger and he got the car down to a low 1'07".

Looking at an old MOTOR magazine tonight I can see Warren Luff was able to run a 135 around the track in 1'03.8" so there's obviously still much room for improvement in my driving. A lot of this could be made up by not being so gutless - fully turning off the traction control & not backing off so much for the kink down the main straight.


Some notes;
  • Brakes were awesome all day. Standard pads on the performance discs.
  • Seats felt terrible. They just don't hold you in place properly through the corners - even with the bolsters pumped right up
  • The rear end seems to dance around very easily under brakes. I'd really like to lower it by around 25mm.
  • Tyres held up pretty well though the front left would certainly wear better if some negative camber was added.
  • Water temperature (89deg) ran cooler on track than around town or on the freeway? Oil constant at around 120deg.
Fastest time of the day was 57" from a very well set up E36 M3 race car. An extremely modified supercharged E46 M3 got down to 59"

Anyway, it was a great day. No accidents and just one car (fully worked 2.8 litre M20 engined e30), towed away after it cracked a head.

I'd welcome advice on cold/hot pressures I should run the 18" KU36s at.

Cheers, Tim.

Last edited by TimMc; 07-18-2009 at 06:13 AM..
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      07-17-2009, 08:38 AM   #2
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Nice one Tim, sounds like you had a blast!

Ditto on the seats, I'd love a race seat in mine!
My back end is still very skitish under breaking even with KW's, however I imagine it would help to do more braking in a straight line which is trick at some corners at Eastern Creek.
Dave at East Coast Suspension is making up a set of camber plates soon..
My breaks went to shit for the first time. So I am going to get the fluid changed to race fluid.

I can't help on the tyre front as I'm running Toyo's.
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      07-18-2009, 03:52 AM   #3
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Thanks for the write up Tim. Will be very interested to take the car out there sometime in the future, if you can keep us updated on the next one that would be great!
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      07-18-2009, 04:13 AM   #4
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Just join the Bmw club
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      07-18-2009, 05:59 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by sparoz View Post
Just join the Bmw club
No need to join the club. Non members & non BMW drivers are welcome. All positions were sold out a few days before this track day but usually there's a few spare spots. Events coming up include;

August
Friday 1st. Weekend at Warwick. Staying at "The Abbey of the Roses". Great drive up on Saturday, with a better one home on Sunday. Click here to register contact Greg Tymms or Jude Neibling for more info.
Friday 14th. Club Meeting - Brisbane BMW. Cnr Bridge & Anne Sts, Fortitude Valley. 6.30 pm.
BMW Club Qld is proud to present "An evening with Jim Richards". Click here to register for this special event.
Saturday 15th. /// Mega Driver Training Day - Mt Cotton. Skidpan Session at Mt Cotton 8:30 - 12:30 followed by Motorkhana/Car Control Session on the LVMA at Mt Cotton from 13:00 to 17:00. Both are geared for driver training and fun. Contact Roland Porst for more details.

September
Friday 18th - Track Day - Queensland Raceway. Contact Angus Chapel for more details.

November
Sunday 1st. - Border Ranges Run. Meet: Calamvale Hotel, Compton Road, Calamvale. Time:- 0800hrs for a 0830 departure.
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      07-18-2009, 06:09 AM   #6
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There were two other 1ers at the track, both 130s, both in different sessions to me. I'm not sure what times they were running but I'll find out.

I reset my computer when I got there.
  • Average fuel economy worked out at 27 litres per 100km. I used a full tank and had to top up with my jerry cans before heading home.
  • Average speed including idling around the pits was 103km/hr.

To get things out of my system I spent today riding (not on the Malvern Star...), nearly 400km through the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Awesome start to the weekend!
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      07-18-2009, 08:16 AM   #7
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Thanks for the info Tim, will be overseas in September so will look into the next one after!
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      07-18-2009, 09:12 AM   #8
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Come by and visit next time
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      07-18-2009, 10:12 AM   #9
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I'm not familiar with those tires, but that sounds like a lot of pressure. I ran mine at about 38/42 on the stock runflats and had no issues under braking or anywhere else, other than the expected understeer in long corners.

It took me a session or two to get used to the car, coming from a fully prepped E36M3, but I found it to be pretty capable.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226761
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      07-18-2009, 10:19 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Breville View Post
Nice one Tim, sounds like you had a blast!

Ditto on the seats, I'd love a race seat in mine!
My back end is still very skitish under breaking even with KW's, however I imagine it would help to do more braking in a straight line which is trick at some corners at Eastern Creek.
Dave at East Coast Suspension is making up a set of camber plates soon..
My breaks went to shit for the first time. So I am going to get the fluid changed to race fluid.
Thanks Breville.
I’ll be looking at options for a race type seat in future. They make you feel so much more in control. I used WRX STi seats in my 325 and they were a great compromise. Looking at WAY’s in car shots it looks (have I got this right?) like he’s still running the standard seats. I don’t know how he copes.
Let us know how you go with the camber plates. I’m not too keen to put solid top plates in what will remain a road car…
Not too much hard braking at Lakeside, unlike Qld Raceway – so my brakes didn’t get a huge workout.
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      07-18-2009, 10:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3bs View Post
I'm not familiar with those tires, but that sounds like a lot of pressure. I ran mine at about 38/42 on the stock runflats and had no issues under braking or anywhere else, other than the expected understeer in long corners.

It took me a session or two to get used to the car, coming from a fully prepped E36M3, but I found it to be pretty capable.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226761
G'day m3bs.
When you say 38/42, is that hot or cold? The 47psi hot I ended up with worked out at ~38psi cold.
Your setup with the Cross coil-overs looks good!
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      07-19-2009, 12:44 AM   #12
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I run 42's front, 40's rear (hot) at sandown (heavy braking) with the standard RF's.
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      07-19-2009, 03:45 AM   #13
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Nice write up Tim

I too notice the rear end gets "squirrelly" (another new word) under heavy braking. Not being a suspension expert, but is this because the rear end is too hard or is it tyre related or even both?
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      07-19-2009, 07:02 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TimMc View Post
G'day m3bs.
When you say 38/42, is that hot or cold? The 47psi hot I ended up with worked out at ~38psi cold.
Your setup with the Cross coil-overs looks good!
That was cold, so maybe we were close.

I'm looking forward to getting it back on track to see how much difference the Cross setup makes. I'm afraid I'll find the next weak link - brakes or temperature. I figure if I wait until cool weather, both may work better.
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      07-19-2009, 07:50 AM   #15
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Nice write up. Thanks for posting. I would suggest the following:
  • lower pressure to 40 psi/frt, 38 psi/rr hot
  • remove the front strut alignment pins and slide the strut hat over (gains -.5 deg)
  • turn off the electronic nannies
  • trust yourself and the car a bit more

Regarding the seats, a lot of guys are beginning to use carpet underlayment (the stuff that keeps the area carpets from sliding) on their seats at the track. It works surprisingly good, and you do not have to have the bolsters set to "clamp" you in, making things uncomfortable.

The best part is that you had fun and remained safe, anyway!! Win-Win!
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      07-19-2009, 06:05 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by qship View Post
Nice write up Tim

I too notice the rear end gets "squirrelly" (another new word) under heavy braking. Not being a suspension expert, but is this because the rear end is too hard or is it tyre related or even both?
I think there's too much travel in the rear end. It's designed by BMW to work with just a driver - or 4 people & a full boot so it's a big compromise. I'll rarely have more than two people in the car so I'd like to remove much of the travel & have it set up to work a little better at the track. I'm not sure if I'd need harder springs/shocks & I don't think it's tyre related. I'm also no suspension expert though...
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      07-19-2009, 06:13 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smarm View Post
I run 42's front, 40's rear (hot) at sandown (heavy braking) with the standard RF's.

Quote:
Originally Posted by larryn View Post
Nice write up. Thanks for posting. I would suggest the following:
  • lower pressure to 40 psi/frt, 38 psi/rr hot
  • remove the front strut alignment pins and slide the strut hat over (gains -.5 deg)
  • turn off the electronic nannies
  • trust yourself and the car a bit more
Regarding the seats, a lot of guys are beginning to use carpet underlayment (the stuff that keeps the area carpets from sliding) on their seats at the track. It works surprisingly good, and you do not have to have the bolsters set to "clamp" you in, making things uncomfortable.

The best part is that you had fun and remained safe, anyway!! Win-Win!
Thank's Smarm & Larryn.
  • I'll lower pressures a little next time.
  • I may do the strut hat mod - though I'm not sure if it'll have adverse effects on toe & castor, as well as the camber I really want to change. Can the pin be easily re-inserted to put the strut back to it's normal position post track day?
  • The underlay sounds like it could be worth trying! Taa.
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      07-19-2009, 06:35 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TimMc View Post
Thanks Breville.
Looking at WAY’s in car shots it looks (have I got this right?) like he’s still running the standard seats. I don’t know how he copes.
He is fat. So he will more struggle in a bucket seat.

I love bucket seats on the track.. but at the same time so sacry as you can feel all the forces in the car. I was ignoring them before in my stock seats coz I slideed everywhere with the G force.
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      09-15-2009, 09:34 PM   #19
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Next track day this Friday at Qld Raceway with the BMW club. 0800 - 1230. I've just registered. Should be at least one other 135 out there. Only about 20 starters so far so looking for more. Should be heaps of track time & space!
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      09-15-2009, 11:01 PM   #20
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Tim, you're tempting me a lot my man. I haven't joined the BMW Club yet, but with the carrot of a track day dangled in front of me, I might just have to put my name down soon. However, my car only has a few thousand km's on the clock, so might give it a while to settle in before I go bezerk.

How do you go with tyre wear at Lakeside?
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      09-15-2009, 11:47 PM   #21
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BMW Club is good to join IMO.

I'm not going to the track as I don't want to shred my PZero's and I'm too tight at the moment to spring for a set of track wheels
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      09-16-2009, 12:10 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TimMc View Post
Next track day this Friday at Qld Raceway with the BMW club. 0800 - 1230. I've just registered. Should be at least one other 135 out there. Only about 20 starters so far so looking for more. Should be heaps of track time & space!

Hi Tim

I have just emailed Angus what do i need to bring, i have never been on the track before what time do i need to get there

Thanks for the post

Darren
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