Prep for first day at the track

[_Ryan_]

Hi,

First time taking this thing to the track. Fluids are fresh, pads will be fresh etc.

Items I need to address:
- Secondary hood restraint
- Tow hooks/straps
- Extinguisher

To me, the turner option for tow straps is the best, but they seem over priced for what they are?

Hood restraint- NFI, with my old Nissans it was reasonably easy just to add one to a corner.

Extinguisher- can you easily mount it without the BMW mount?

input welcomed to address the above.

R.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by _Ryan_

Hi,

First time taking this thing to the track. Fluids are fresh, pads will be fresh etc.

Items I need to address:
- Secondary hood restraint
- Tow hooks/straps
- Extinguisher

To me, the turner option for tow straps is the best, but they seem over priced for what they are?

Hood restraint- NFI, with my old Nissans it was reasonably easy just to add one to a corner.

Extinguisher- can you easily mount it without the BMW mount?

input welcomed to address the above.

R.

The Turner tow straps are well made, worth the money afaic.

Why would you need a hood restraint? Never seen anything like this in use.

VAC Motorsports sells a bracket for an extinguisher (which they also sell) that mounts to the front seat rail bolts.

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by justpete

The Turner tow straps are well made, worth the money afaic.

Why would you need a hood restraint? Never seen anything like this in use.

VAC Motorsports sells a bracket for an extinguisher (which they also sell) that mounts to the front seat rail bolts.

Hood restraint- ryanfail. not an old JDM car

Will check out the VAC bracket, thanks.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by _Ryan_

Hood restraint- ryanfail. not an old JDM car

Will check out the VAC bracket, thanks.

No worries.

Thought you might have meant hood pins.

[02rsxpilot]

If it's just a track day and not a competition, you shouldn't need anything you mentioned. All BMWs I know of come with a tow hook that you can screw in. It's usually in whatever little tool kit they provide.

Fire extinguishers aren't required in my club unless you are running slicks and/or in our race group.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by 02rsxpilot

If it's just a track day and not a competition, you shouldn't need anything you mentioned. All BMWs I know of come with a tow hook that you can screw in. It's usually in whatever little tool kit they provide.

Fire extinguishers aren't required in my club unless you are running slicks and/or in our race group.

^^ This

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by 02rsxpilot

If it's just a track day and not a competition, you shouldn't need anything you mentioned. All BMWs I know of come with a tow hook that you can screw in. It's usually in whatever little tool kit they provide.

Fire extinguishers aren't required in my club unless you are running slicks and/or in our race group.

CAMS schedules apply equally to both timed and untimed events for which an L2S licence is required. (L2S is required for certain events which I can't remember )

[John_01]

Yes, For CAMS events in Australia and club events in general we need a "CAMS approved" 1kg Fire extinguisher that is installed within reach of the driver. In a road car situation its common to have it mounted to a piece of metal plate that attaches under the front seat rail mounting bolts. It can be either on the driver's side or passenger side. Sometimes scrutineers may insist the drivers side, but it doesn't necessarily need to be.

It will depend on your club whether or not you need a secondary hood restraint. Sometimes it is written the rules, but not actually enforced depending on the nature of your vehicle and the competition. For a late model road registered car, I guess you may not need it. If you do get a strap or other method, you need to make sure it can be removed quickly if, for example, the fire officials need to attend to the car.

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by John_01

Yes, For CAMS events in Australia and club events in general we need a "CAMS approved" 1kg Fire extinguisher that is installed within reach of the driver. In a road car situation its common to have it mounted to a piece of metal plate that attaches under the front seat rail mounting bolts. It can be either on the driver's side or passenger side. Sometimes scrutineers may insist the drivers side, but it doesn't necessarily need to be.

It will depend on your club whether or not you need a secondary hood restraint. Sometimes it is written the rules, but not actually enforced depending on the nature of your vehicle and the competition. For a late model road registered car, I guess you may not need it. If you do get a strap or other method, you need to make sure it can be removed quickly if, for example, the fire officials need to attend to the car.

Great post, thanks. What did you use for your extinguisher mount?

[John_01]

Originally Posted by _Ryan_

Great post, thanks. What did you use for your extinguisher mount?

Mine was made and installed by a well known Sydney mechanic / tuning specialist. Send me a PM if you want to know more details. Its just a strip of steel about 20mm wide. One possible issue is the Extinguisher only just fits under the drivers seat. I'm 180cm tall so its ok. If you are shorter you might find your seat position will interfere with the extinguisher mounting location. Maybe you could install it on the passenger side to avoid that problem as long as your club's scrutineer feels ok about it. Otherwise you will need a bit more sheet metal and some way of fabricating it. The concept could be something like This .

[Nugget]

This should work in all e8x/e9x cars as well.
He makes a lot of them for all the Subarus, Nissans and Mitsubishis in Perth
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1057601

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by John_01

Mine was made and installed by a well known Sydney mechanic / tuning specialist. Send me a PM if you want to know more details. Its just a strip of steel about 20mm wide. One possible issue is the Extinguisher only just fits under the drivers seat. I'm 180cm tall so its ok. If you are shorter you might find your seat position will interfere with the extinguisher mounting location. Maybe you could install it on the passenger side to avoid that problem as long as your club's scrutineer feels ok about it. Otherwise you will need a bit more sheet metal and some way of fabricating it. The concept could be something like This .

Was looking at the VAC item as it is easier than finding time to make one! Being 188cm shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks.

[skyscraper_g80]

I bought the factory fire extinguisher mount and put it under the passengers seat, and use the stock tow hooks. CAMS events require a secondary bonnet tether if there is only 1 bonnet latch, but I've successfully argued that the 1 Series has two, so hopefully you won't need a second one.

A few track day tips if you haven't heard them already:
- Always do a cooldown lap (highest speed possible without using brakes) to get fresh air through them and cool them down
- Don't put the handbrake on when your in the pits as the hot rotors will heat up the brake fluid through the pads
- Use a torque wrench to check your wheel bolts are tight throughout the day
- Remove all loose items and unnecessary weight from the cabin/boot
- Take spare fuel in a jerry can if there isn't a petrol station nearby (1 tank doesn't last me a full day)
- Drop cold tyre pressures to around 26-28psi for street tyres, 22-24psi for semis
- Make sure your water pump is in good working order (I found out the hard way)
- Gradually explore your limits, be safe, let faster cars pass and have fun

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by evolution42

A few track day tips if you haven't heard them already:
- Use a torque wrench to check your wheel bolts are tight throughout the day
- Drop cold tyre pressures to around 26-28psi for street tyres, 22-24psi for semis

Thanks AY. These two are useful- how tight should they be torqued?


btw, made an extinguisher mount for under five AUD and 30minutes of our time.

[skyscraper_g80]

88 lb ft/120nm

[hoki06]

Originally Posted by evolution42

- Use a torque wrench to check your wheel bolts are tight throughout the day
- Drop cold tyre pressures to around 26-28psi for street tyres, 22-24psi for semis

I disagree with these two suggestions and here's why:

Do NOT torque your lugs/wheel bolts while they are hot unless you don't have a choice (ie you took the wheel off and need to put it back on and go drive immediately). Torquing while things are hot will stretch the bolts/studs and cause them to fail prematurely.

If you are new to the track, set your cold tire pressures at whatever is recommended per the manual. I do this with all my new students because in all honesty, they won't be driving hard enough early on to get the tires greasy. As the day/weekend progress and they get faster, then start dropping pressures accordingly.

Each tire (and car they run on) is different and to blindly say "drop to 26-28 or 22-24" is incorrect. For example, when I run 255/40/17 Nitto NT01s I start them at around 30 cold. When I run 245/40/17 Hoosiers, they start around 26-28 cold.

[_Ryan_]

Originally Posted by Nugget

This should work in all e8x/e9x cars as well.
He makes a lot of them for all the Subarus, Nissans and Mitsubishis in Perth
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1057601

It does - http://kapindustries.com.au/?product...7-e88-1-series
Thanks. Replaced the bracket I made to meet my timelines, far better.

Can put the seat forward far enough to carry people in the back, doesn't shake or rattle and being black makes me happy.