May 29-31 Buttonwillow & Cal Speedway (BMW CCA)

[xbook]

Hiya all,

In a few weeks time, the LA chapter of the BMW CCA ill be holding a Car Control Clinic, and High Performance Driving School out at California Speedway in Fontana, CA.

You can download apps and get more info from the links below:

http://www.bmwclubla.org/calendar.php
http://www.bmwclubla.org/media/docum...ation_2009.pdf

If you haven't been to a BMW CCA track event, you should really try and get out there. It is a great time. Nothing better than driving your beast on the track. At the same time, honing your skills as a driver. Even if you can't do the HPDE or CCC, please come out and check out some kick ass BMWs run around the ROVAL @ California Speedway. It is a fun sight to see.

There is a thread over @ E90posts talking about this event, you can check it by clicking me

Hope to see some of you there.

-Jason

[vasracer]

i am signed up and taking my father (who just retired, and is a track virgin) with me. We are sharing the new 135i..

Now I am obsessing about changing the suspension to KW3 or Dinan Stage 1 before the event.

I haven't been with BMW CCA since 07, (since I started tracking the Lotus), but I have nothing but good things to say about these events. Well almost nothing, if you only want lots of track time, with no teaching or other distractions then this may not be the right place. (i.e, you are already a professional race car driver )

[The HACK]

Don't forget there will be a club race on both days as well. Probably the best racing you'll see outside of the professionals with the big stickers and colorful graphics. In fact, several "pro" racers in today's Grand Am and Speed World Challenge series were at one time or another, BMW CCA club racers.

Even if you are not going to be attending the school, it might still be fun to come out and watch the club racers duke it out, or do the parade lap at lunch for a nominal fee. Or if you have a helmet you can catch e-ticket rides with instructors in their cars.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Don't forget there will be a club race on both days as well. Probably the best racing you'll see outside of the professionals with the big stickers and colorful graphics. In fact, several "pro" racers in today's Grand Am and Speed World Challenge series were at one time or another, BMW CCA club racers.

Even if you are not going to be attending the school, it might still be fun to come out and watch the club racers duke it out, or do the parade lap at lunch for a nominal fee. Or if you have a helmet you can catch e-ticket rides with instructors in their cars.

I couldn't agree more. If you are in the SoCal area, get your ass over to Fontana and check this event out.

[J Tyler]

Hmm, although it would be fun to come out and embarrass some club racers while on Street tires, we will be busy running the RTA at Willow Springs this weekend

Jason, we'll meet up at the track one of these times. Are you going to run Buttonwillow or only Fontana?

FYI we did a 2:00.3 with very minimal mods (KW V3, wheels, street tires, brake pads) at the Roval (and we were having some pretty major braking issues that day). I think we could do a 1:56 or so now. Maybe faster.

Roval shenanigans:

Have fun out there everyone.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by J Tyler

Jason, we'll meet up at the track one of these times. Are you going to run Buttonwillow or only Fontana?


Have fun out there everyone.

Yo Jeff,

I'll be at Fontana only. Work dictates my schedule on friday, and we are still working then, so no Buttonwillow for me. The man's got me busy. I won't be running too much @ Fontana though. I decided to give a little back, and am instructing over @ the Car Control Clinic both days. Which is nice, cuz it gives me a little bit of free track time

Kick Ass at the time attack. Make us proud man, I know you will. One of these days I gotta get my schedule to work out so I can be out at one of those events. Now that I have ditched those crap ass runflats, I have been really itching to get backout to the track, just haven't had the time

[xbook]

Bump for a great event.

There is still room in sunday's car control clinic. And I also think there is plenty of room both days for the Driving School on the track.

Even if you aren't into driving your car on track, this is a fun event to check out. So come on down, hang and watch a club race. We all know there will be at least 1 135 race car there, scottn2retro I am pointing @ you.

[vasracer]

we are still planning to go, all 3 days. Hopefully I can get the Dinan spring/shocks/camber plates on by then.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by vasracer

we are still planning to go, all 3 days. Hopefully I can get the Dinan spring/shocks/camber plates on by then.

I'll see ya there. I'll be instructing @ the car control clinic on saturday, then swapping over to being a driving school student on sunday. Should be a really really fun weekend.

[bigmicj]

I'm interested in doing the Saturday CCC with the track lap, but I don't have a helmet and I doubt I'll be able to get my car inspected before the event.

What does the inspection intail? Is a helmet required for first time CCC students?

I sent you a PM as well. Thanks!

[xbook]

Originally Posted by bigmicj

I'm interested in doing the Saturday CCC with the track lap, but I don't have a helmet and I doubt I'll be able to get my car inspected before the event.

What does the inspection intail? Is a helmet required for first time CCC students?

I sent you a PM as well. Thanks!

Saturday is getting pretty booked up, so call Delight Lucas ASAP to get yourself a spot.

PM replied to. Please let me know how everything works out. I sure hop eto see ya there on saturday.

-Jason

[bigmicj]

Hey Jason,
Thanks for the info and the details. I stopped by Werks II and got a helmet. Unfortunately, Saturday is booked up already.

I think I will still come out and check it out though.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by bigmicj

Hey Jason,
Thanks for the info and the details. I stopped by Werks II and got a helmet. Unfortunately, Saturday is booked up already.

I think I will still come out and check it out though.

Sunday is open, as are spots in the driving school ... all track, no skidpad

[aus]

No follow-up posts?
It was an awesome event.

vasracer, did you get moved up? We saw a grey 135 that started with B/D and ended with A/D stickers? Congrats if it was you.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by aus

No follow-up posts?
It was an awesome event.

vasracer, did you get moved up? We saw a grey 135 that started with B/D and ended with A/D stickers? Congrats if it was you.

vasracer was moved up from B to A and will likely stay in A. The only reason he was in B was the fact that the car (135i) was unfamiliar to him IMHO.

[vasracer]

what a great weekend!

yeah, I did get moved into A, and I had a blast.

I don't know if I posted it here earlier, but the 1 on stock suspension and RFT's did pretty well out there. I had to relearn how to drive, which took me multiple days, so I guess that career as a test driver is out.

With stock tires, the 135i is a muscle car. It has way too much power. On the first day, at buttonwillow, I hadn't mustered up the courage to really push the throttle, but by day 3 at cal speedway, it was just ridiculous. I left it in 3rd gear for safety. If it put in 2nd at turn 9, I would just drift. And mind you, I have never drifted before, so that was fun, especially since the car stayed on the pavement. I even experienced power oversteer exiting onto the main straight a couple of times, which is more likely secondary to bad technique than anything else, probably not a great place to lose it.

but anyway, I went from complaining about the lack of front traction and no brakes, into this grinning idiot with the rear end sliding all over the place. This car is much more fun than my old mitsu evo 8, about the same powerwise, but without the traction.

also, my dad shared the car in the d group. I flew him in from Florida as a retirement gift. (what a great son, drag an innocent man and throw him on a racetrack...) Anyway, he had a great time, he had never even thought about being out on a track, and really had no idea what we do out there when we go "racing". (That's what he calls it.) He was slow...very slow, and I apologize for all the trains he caused. But he had a great time, all the instructors he had, he liked. And now, according to Mom, he is driving much smoother and faster, and with 2 hands on the wheel for a change!

As always, I really do recommend bmwcca events. BTW, I heard great things about the car control clinic as well, looked fun from faraway.

Great event and great car!

Raj

[aus]

Your dad did much better the second day. I think he finally got some confidence the second day.

It was a little tight on the first day, but he wasn't the only one. There was a lady with an E63 that was driving to the mall out there... actually driving in the parking lot of the mall. It was a great event. Now I get to be the slow one in the C group next year.


Did you turn off all DTC/DCS while you were out there? Just wondering how the e-diff worked compared to a real LSD.

I drove the M3 the first day and DCS never went off. Unfortunately, I shredded a belt/idler pulley and lost power steering as I was entering Nascar 1!!! Brought the 335 the next day and DTC was going crazy. It was so jerky, we thought the car was broken- I thought for SURE it was the fuel pump. Next time out I turned DTC off and DSC was still kicking in once in a while but it wasn't all jerky like with DTC. It would have been cool to try the e-diff if it was available on the E9x. I bet it could just be a software update if BMW would offer it. It was good to see a few 1's out there.

[vasracer]

Originally Posted by aus

Did you turn off all DTC/DCS while you were out there? Just wondering how the e-diff worked compared to a real LSD.

yeah, I drove without any aids on (DTC pressed for 4 seconds). I assume the ediff worked because the rear end got sideways everywhere rather than just the inside tire smoking away. Some people have commented about hearing the brakes chirping on the inside rear tire, but they have much better ears than I do. I think the e-diff worked pretty well, the car could use more tire.

But I don't know much about how a real lsd would work on the track, the only cars I have tracked with an lsd are the mitsu evo and a z3 mcoupe. The first has awd, while the mcoupe was just weird and would randomly decide to swing the rear end around. So they don't count. The real track guys here would know.

[aus]

You just need some track wheels/rubber and you'll be flying out there.

An instructor took his 328 Step out there and was harrassing an E46 M3 that didn't want to point him by. After 3 laps, the stock run flats were pretty useless and he had to slow down.