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      03-25-2008, 10:35 AM   #1
fu2_pal
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Track car options

I'm planning to order a 135 as a dedicated track car. It will be used for open track events, driving schools One Lap, and eventually stock or prepared class club racing (and anywhere else it might fit).

Any thoughts on the usefulness of Active Steering on a track car? My initial thoughts are the it's just one more thing to break and not worth the additional complexity.

The 135 brake system looks promising but aftermarket floating rotors would help. What about brake ducting? Has anyone looked at adding ducts?

It looks like TC Klein is developing a Koni SA/DA system for the 135 that will be a good place to start.

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      03-25-2008, 11:06 AM   #2
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I wouldn't get active steering for a track car. one more thing to break, lack of feel and extra weight. Its a fun useful daily driver feature but not something I'd put on a track car. might be very helpful for AutoX though
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      03-25-2008, 01:05 PM   #3
redwood
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You should try the brakes first. Also, there is ducting for the brakes already, which is why there are no foglights. I would advise against active steering.
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      03-28-2008, 09:28 AM   #4
ersatzS2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fu2_pal View Post
I'm planning to order a 135 as a dedicated track car. It will be used for open track events, driving schools One Lap, and eventually stock or prepared class club racing (and anywhere else it might fit).
You're nuts, but hat's off! Keep us posted on progress.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fu2_pal View Post
Any thoughts on the usefulness of Active Steering on a track car?
So far I have not heard anyone report on Active Steering. Conceptually, as I understand it, it sounds like exactly the opposite of what you want on a track car. You want to program your brain to understand the relationship between the steering wheel angle and the direction the tires are pointed. That's exactly why racers put yellow tape at top-dead-center of the wheel; so that in the heat of battle they have another reference point in their peripheral vision. The fact that there is an independent agent in the machine _changing_ the relationship between the turn of the wheel and the angles of the tires seems like a very bad idea. Then again, BMW allegedly makes drivers' cars so it would be interesting to test it on the track...

Quote:
Originally Posted by fu2_pal View Post
The 135 brake system looks promising but aftermarket floating rotors would help. What about brake ducting? Has anyone looked at adding ducts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redwood View Post
You should try the brakes first. Also, there is ducting for the brakes already, which is why there are no foglights.
Why floating rotors? They are not common in racing applications. More worthy of question-mark is the observation made elsewhere by white911 that the brembo caliper they gave us has a series of connecting webs at the rear which prevent quick changes of brake pads. No idea why they designed this, but it is a disappointing design flaw (so close, guys, yet you still managed to blow it!) AFAIK, no one has changed a pad yet, but if indeed you need to drop the whole caliper, I'd look at swapping out the calipers for a proper set of porsche-spec brembos with fast change pads. (for the track)
On ducting, yes there are ducts built into the lower valence but there is nothing directing them to the rotor hat. To make them really functional on the track, you'd want some hose leading to a pan concentrating airflow on the inner rotor hat.

Once you decide what spec/rulebook you are going to build to, you might jettison the whole front valence anyway in favor of something that incorporates a better splitter lip.
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