First Track day ever for the M and myself... Prep? Do's, and dont's??!!

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

heheheheh!


my recommendations are the same as many others.

brake fluid

Traction control...

I will paraphrase this to "humility/maturity"

To be perfectly honest.... there's just not a lot of need in the green or D level run group to have the traction control off.... You need to learn the track... work on steering inputs... learn where the corner stations are... manage traffic.... etc.. SO many more things to worry about than the traction control being all the way off. One of the things that you shouldn't have to worry about....? spinning your 1M and getting an invitation to speak with whoever is running Black Flag when you are in the novice group. No bueno.

The best way to have the most fun at your first DE? Listen to your instructor and bring the car home.

Brakes - I finally decided I wanted to be able to do this myself so I have a Bavauto pressure bleeder kit with catch bottle and plenty of Motul RBF600 on the way. May not be necessary but makes me feel better .
BTW do you know how long the Motul lasts/often should be flushed and changed?

Traction - From my autoX times I will definitely be running M mode, I personally find regular TC way too intrusive. That being said i am gracious for the runoff and really want to get a feel for things. I have been studying the track map and watching plenty of youtube to mentally prep!

Absolutely none taken, and you couldnt be any more right. I have 0 track time. Zip! I am a pretty modest person most of the time and focused... I dont even want go go in there going nuts for a while. I want to start off nice and easy, get a feel for the right line, gradually up my speed as my instructor encourages, and see how my abilities are and how I can push them. Dont get me wrong I want to try and get the best laps I can, but good things take time, and I really cant wait for sessions 3 and 4 of the day!

I was considering track insurance but decided not to. This is something I have wanted to do for a VERY long time and you can bet your ///M I want to do it right! My biggest personal highlight of my last AutoX was placing while not dropping a SINGLE cone all day .

First and Foremost, I want to make sure my baby is coming home with me!

It took me until the age of 25 for this opportunity, and my hope is for this to be the first of many exciting track days with my ///M!

Great stuff on these forums! Thanks again guys

[Mnime]

Originally Posted by firechicken99

Brakes - BTW do you know how long the Motul lasts/often should be flushed and changed?

Absolutely none taken, and you couldnt be any more right. I have 0 track time. Zip! I am a pretty modest person most of the time and focused... I dont even want go go in there going nuts for a while. I want to start off nice and easy, get a feel for the right line, gradually up my speed as my instructor encourages, and see how my abilities are and how I can push them. Dont get me wrong I want to try and get the best laps I can, but good things take time, and I really cant wait for sessions 3 and 4 of the day!

Great stuff on these forums! Thanks again guys

Depending on the tracks and upcoming schedules, I tend to flush my brake fluid every 3 or 4 events with Motul of course.

This is a good video to watch for some tips... He actually starts talking about the good stuff a few minutes in so stick with the video.

as are all the Shakedown University videos. I've picked up a few good tips that work on the track.

In the link above click on the first post and there are more links to other Shakedown U shows.

Have fun and be sure to report back after the event.

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by Mnime

Depending on the tracks and upcoming schedules, I tend to flush my brake fluid every 3 or 4 events with Motul of course.

This is a good video to watch for some tips... He actually starts talking about the good stuff a few minutes in so stick with the video.

Have fun and be sure to report back after the event.

So If I do one HPDE every couple of months (hypothetically), or the 6+ months during winter when nothing is going on I am probably good flushing it every 4+ months or so, depending on track time.

Awesome! Will definitely check those out later. My buddy is coming and I am giving him my SLR and zoom lens for the day!

[MDORPHN]

Originally Posted by Mnime

Depending on the tracks and upcoming schedules, I tend to flush my brake fluid every 3 or 4 events with Motul of course.

No downside, of course, but that strike me as unecessarily frequent.

FWIW, I do 30-40 track days a year and change my brake fluid no more than twice a year.

Neil

[Mnime]

Originally Posted by MDORPHN

No downside, of course, but that strike me as unecessarily frequent.

FWIW, I do 30-40 track days a year and change my brake fluid no more than twice a year.

Neil

it probaby is... but just what i've been told previously so i keep doing it . Maybe I'll save some money now

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by Mnime

it probaby is... but just what i've been told previously so i keep doing it . Maybe I'll save some money now

Tell me about it. AT $17 a pint the stuff is not easy on the wallet! lol

[firechicken99]

wanted to share some quick pictures i pulled off the camera...

Was great seeing you guys at the track, had a blast!!

sorry the pix are a little big... told you i threw these up quick.
thread and video to come. Let me know what you think of my driving!
These two laps ran about 1:25!

Enjoy

[Mnime]

sounds like you are now hooked... whats the beeping noise every few moments in the video?

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by Mnime

sounds like you are now hooked... whats the beeping noise every few moments in the video?

My wallet is currently in a state of depression... lol

Shift light

[toni8284]

Originally Posted by firechicken99

My wallet is currently in a state of depression... lol

Shift light

Hey,

this is the one I signed up already.

Hope will see you there.

http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.c...AA8B819F42D3B5

I need to flush my brake fluid ASAP....

should I change to SS line too?

[toni8284]

Mine fastest lap in the last session is 1:27.24 based on Harry's laptimer.

Took me 3 sessions to figure out I cant turn my screen off when driving...

And my brake faded made me drive cautiously... so wont ended like that M5.

[Splinterz88]

Nice meeting you guys again. I'm doing del Val lightning that week in August and the glen with genesee in sept.
Tony come out to one of the KOP meets. Wednesdays at 730/8pm at rock bottom brewery garage area.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by MDORPHN

No downside, of course, but that strike me as unecessarily frequent.

FWIW, I do 30-40 track days a year and change my brake fluid no more than twice a year.

Neil

+1
I use Castrol SRF. It's about $80 a liter. but it's AWESOME, with wet boiling points above the DRY boiling points of most fluids. I would change it no more than twice a year... and in all honestly generally I change it once a year....

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by toni8284

Mine fastest lap in the last session is 1:27.24 based on Harry's laptimer.

Took me 3 sessions to figure out I cant turn my screen off when driving...

And my brake faded made me drive cautiously... so wont ended like that M5.

brake fade???

[toni8284]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

brake fade???

Yes. I think I ran it too hard on the 2nd session and went out of the track at turn 1.

I think because I didn't change my brake fluid before the track.

I think that's why... It's my first time on track without rain.

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by toni8284

I think because I didn't change my brake fluid before the track.

So how did you fill out your tech inspection?

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by bdaddylo

So how did you fill out your tech inspection?

I believe he means he didnt opt to swap otherwise "good" fluid for RBF like I did. I flushed the system with Motul RBF 600 two days before the event and the brakes ran awesome. Made a TON of dust, but consistent and hard all day long.

Toni ill have to look into that! Wish I could make it to the glenn in a few weeks but its too soon.

[KillTakuya]

Get urself stainless brake line it's very nice in track days

[fastauto]

Originally Posted by firechicken99

wanted to share some quick pictures i pulled off the camera...

Was great seeing you guys at the track, had a blast!!

sorry the pix are a little big... told you i threw these up quick.
thread and video to come. Let me know what you think of my driving!
These two laps ran about 1:25!

Enjoy

very nice, pissed i could not make it. what camera did you use? and how did your track your lap time?

[firechicken99]

Originally Posted by fastauto

very nice, pissed i could not make it. what camera did you use? and how did your track your lap time?

gopro. This weekend I made a $8 headrest mount, works great!

I googled "stopwatch" and pressed start when my car passed the start line and stop when it got there again. Accurate within 1 second

[Em/1]

Looked great to me--hit all the apices pretty nicely, but could not hear gear changed well--was it all in 3rd and 4th?

[oldBMWguy]

[QUOTE=firechicken99;12049424]gopro. This weekend I made a $8 headrest mount, works great!

Tell us more about that headrest mount please !!