The Official Willowbank Raceway Test'n'Tune Thread:

[Ian S]

If you make it 29th September, I'll bring the E30 out for another go. I get back from Singapore on the 28th.

[TimMc]

Either date suits me, though 29th may be better.

[dontask]

i should be able to do either date (22nd or 29th)...

[BMW86]

I should be available for both dates as well but I'll confirm soon. Are Saturday's just as good? I've heard it's a lot busier with a lot more powerful cars and you get less runs in, also worried about heat-soak. Either way, it does not bother me so long as we can get a few of us going. If everyone's who's shown interest so far in going attends on the same day we'll have a decent turn-out!

[Caduceus]

Originally Posted by BMW86

I should be available for both dates as well but I'll confirm soon. Are Saturday's just as good? I've heard it's a lot busier with a lot more powerful cars and you get less runs in, also worried about heat-soak. Either way, it does not bother me so long as we can get a few of us going. If everyone's who's shown interest so far in going attends on the same day we'll have a decent turn-out!

Yes, Saturdays are busier. In my experience there on a Wednesday night, if you are queued up at the gate at 5:30 and you go directly to the staging lanes when the gates open, you will get your first two runs about 20 minutes apart. Then is starts to settle into about a 45 minute cycle for the rest of the night. They shut the staging lanes at about 9:30.

I've generally had enough after 4-5 runs, especially if you have had a good one and then your times are getting worse. My sense of mechanical sympathy also comes into it because the launches can be pretty hard on the car - there is a lot of grip on that track and I usually do a light burnout during staging because I run R-compound tyres on a spare set of wheels (for special occasions - not my daily drivers!)

The only issue which I wish there was a way around is the luck factor with who you line up against. They take two cars from the top of each staging lane at a time but when you line up nose to tail with a mate it depends on whether there are an odd or an even number of cars in front of you as to whether you will run together or get split up. There's no way to count the cars ahead of you before you pick your lane so luck comes into it.

I'm not all that keen on running next to some of the powerful older cars like overblown VL commodores and the like so if they are likely to be quick, I just let them go on the green and hold back for a few seconds. Reaction time makes no difference to your ET on you time slip so it's best to keep out of trouble. However, I love getting lined up against FPVs, HSVs and the like because the little 135 nearly always beats them. I've yet to lose to anything with a 307 badge on the back yet. And there have been several. Most of them take it well and come over and speak to you when you are collecting your timeslip. They always want to know "what the he'll kind of BMW is that (mine is debadged) and what the he'll has it got in it?).

Happy times. See you on the 29th.

[MrBlonde]

Originally Posted by Caduceus

Yes, Saturdays are busier. In my experience there on a Wednesday night, if you are queued up at the gate at 5:30 and you go directly to the staging lanes when the gates open, you will get your first two runs about 20 minutes apart. Then is starts to settle into about a 45 minute cycle for the rest of the night. They shut the staging lanes at about 9:30.

I've generally had enough after 4-5 runs, especially if you have had a good one and then your times are getting worse. My sense of mechanical sympathy also comes into it because the launches can be pretty hard on the car - there is a lot of grip on that track and I usually do a light burnout during staging because I run R-compound tyres on a spare set of wheels (for special occasions - not my daily drivers!)

The only issue which I wish there was a way around is the luck factor with who you line up against. They take two cars from the top of each staging lane at a time but when you line up nose to tail with a mate it depends on whether there are an odd or an even number of cars in front of you as to whether you will run together or get split up. There's no way to count the cars ahead of you before you pick your lane so luck comes into it.

I'm not all that keen on running next to some of the powerful older cars like overblown VL commodores and the like so if they are likely to be quick, I just let them go on the green and hold back for a few seconds. Reaction time makes no difference to your ET on you time slip so it's best to keep out of trouble. However, I love getting lined up against FPVs, HSVs and the like because the little 135 nearly always beats them. I've yet to lose to anything with a 307 badge on the back yet. And there have been several. Most of them take it well and come over and speak to you when you are collecting your timeslip. They always want to know "what the he'll kind of BMW is that (mine is debadged) and what the he'll has it got in it?).

Happy times. See you on the 29th.

Some good advice. A couple of comments:

R Compound tyres have very hard sidewalls and so you may even be better off with street radials.

When you find yourself at the front of the staging lane and you're mismatched to a mate, just ask the official if you can wait one slot because you want to grudge match. They will nearly always oblige and just waive another car through in front of you.

Don't sweat it if a quicker car beats you, just concentrate on your RT and short time. You might even take down a VL turbo if they fall asleep at the lights!

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by Caduceus

Yes, Saturdays are busier. In my experience there on a Wednesday night, if you are queued up at the gate at 5:30 and you go directly to the staging lanes when the gates open, you will get your first two runs about 20 minutes apart. Then is starts to settle into about a 45 minute cycle for the rest of the night. They shut the staging lanes at about 9:30.

I've generally had enough after 4-5 runs, especially if you have had a good one and then your times are getting worse. My sense of mechanical sympathy also comes into it because the launches can be pretty hard on the car - there is a lot of grip on that track and I usually do a light burnout during staging because I run R-compound tyres on a spare set of wheels (for special occasions - not my daily drivers!)

The only issue which I wish there was a way around is the luck factor with who you line up against. They take two cars from the top of each staging lane at a time but when you line up nose to tail with a mate it depends on whether there are an odd or an even number of cars in front of you as to whether you will run together or get split up. There's no way to count the cars ahead of you before you pick your lane so luck comes into it.

I'm not all that keen on running next to some of the powerful older cars like overblown VL commodores and the like so if they are likely to be quick, I just let them go on the green and hold back for a few seconds. Reaction time makes no difference to your ET on you time slip so it's best to keep out of trouble. However, I love getting lined up against FPVs, HSVs and the like because the little 135 nearly always beats them. I've yet to lose to anything with a 307 badge on the back yet. And there have been several. Most of them take it well and come over and speak to you when you are collecting your timeslip. They always want to know "what the he'll kind of BMW is that (mine is debadged) and what the he'll has it got in it?).

Happy times. See you on the 29th.

Thanks for explaining that mate. It's a big daunting going there the first time as the whole experience is a bit overwhelming. As you mentioned, I've heard there are some serious drag cars putting down some serious power on the weekends. I like the idea of squeezing in more runs on a Wednesday night, I had no idea the wait times were as long as you mentioned. Hopefully we get a few runs against each other as I think that would make for an exciting race. I'm down for whatever day we decide on, I think the nerves will settle once I reach the end of my first run. I think I need to set myself some realistic expectations for my passes as well. I keep reading about all the good times everyone is putting down on this forum who have much more experience than I do, I'd love to get into the sub 13 club!

[BBK]

Alrighty, so let's do it. Wednesday 2 weeks from now?

[TimMc]

Sounds good!.
What's the consensus on the DTC button at the strip?

[Orlin]

man I wish my tyres were not bald

[BMW86]

Hey guys I had a look on the Willowbank website and unfortunately there is no Test'n'Tune on the 29th September. They run every 2nd Wednesday.

I've listed the dates for the upcoming Test'n'Tune below. Sign your name up on the day that bests suits you. We will go with which day has the most numbers. You can sign up on more than 1 day as well.

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

[BBK]

Hang on, if they have them every second, then shouldn't the next one be the 29th?

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by BBK

Hang on, if they have them every second, then shouldn't the next one be the 29th?

Sorry, my mistake - I thought it was every 2nd Wednesday. The dates I have listed below are correct though for the next 3 Test'n'Tune events.

I've listed the dates for the upcoming Test'n'Tune below. Sign your name up on the day that bests suits you. We will go with which day has the most numbers. You can sign up on more than 1 day as well.

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

http://www.willowbank-raceway.com.au...ventGroupID=45

[Caduceus]

Originally Posted by TimMc

Sounds good!.
What's the consensus on the DTC button at the strip?

With auto, I don't know.

With manual, on RFT's, the best times will be had with one press (DTC). Wheel spin is just too hard to control with all the aids off. With everything on, the interference is too great and will really kill your 60' time.

With manual, on grippier tyres running low pressures (18-20 psi), all traction aids off is the best bet. You want some degree of wheel spin but in most conditions on the right tyres this will be your best bet

I have data from 28 runs at Willowbank with all sorts of combinations and permutations and this is my conclusion. I've posted before about the iPhone dynolicious app and while it is far from the be-all and end-all of performance analysis, it can offer some insight into this sort of question.

Here's an example on grippy tyres and all aids off:



Note the small amount of spin at the top of 1st gear and the chirps with each gear change. A good run.

And the corresponding time slip:



And here's an example on RFT's with all aids on:



Note the interference in 1st gear when the TC light was going nuts. Also note the missed 2-3 gear change (my error). A poor run.

[BMW86]

Thanks for the advice mate, I appreciate it. I've seen your mid 12 second pass on youtube before, very impressive!

I have a step auto trans and I always launch the car with everything off. I recently tried launching in 2nd but didn't have too much success. I'll try this one press (DTC) next time and report back. I'm on Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's now, maybe not the best tyre for launching but they do they job.

Dynolicious is such a handy app. I find the ideal place to mount my iphone is in the centre console in my iphone snap-in cradle adaptor. The iphone itself never ceases to amaze me. After I had my exhaust installed I downloaded a sound decibel app which measured how loud my car was and it came to 90db which is within the legal requirements. So cool!

[BBK]

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. BBK
3.
4.
5.
6.

[Ian S]

Can't make any of the Sept ones, as I'm in Singapore for the F1. October 6th isn't good either, as I'm prepping the E30 for Friday the 8th at Lakeside. Corners are waaay more appealing...

[micha3l]

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3.
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. BBK
3.
4.
5.
6.

[TimMc]

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3. TimMc (but not if the forecast rain eventuates...)
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. BBK
3. TimMc
4.
5.
6.

[MrBlonde]

Originally Posted by Caduceus

With auto, I don't know.

With manual, on RFT's, the best times will be had with one press (DTC). Wheel spin is just too hard to control with all the aids off. With everything on, the interference is too great and will really kill your 60' time.

With manual, on grippier tyres running low pressures (18-20 psi), all traction aids off is the best bet. You want some degree of wheel spin but in most conditions on the right tyres this will be your best bet

I have data from 28 runs at Willowbank with all sorts of combinations and permutations and this is my conclusion.
..

Optimum traction from a hard launch is at 10% wheelspin. Your best bet is to turn off *all* traction control and practice, practice, practice. Click in the link on my sig for more hints and tips about beginner drag racing in a BMW street car.

As soon as your BMW triggers a traction control function, you can kiss your pass goodbye because the ECU will kill the power momentarily and you can never recover from it (on that particular pass). Learning how to ride your clutch on the hit (and subsequent gear changes) is what drag racing is all about!

[Orlin]

As mentioned above, I find any form of traction control activated on the car will slow me down. It just feels more restrictive in general. There is the issue of traction however I think that is going to happen no matter what and its just a matter of trying to minimize the wheelspin. I would say shift relatively early in first then at 6k on the others. Refer to avatar for any further information

[dontask]

22 September 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3. DontAsk (prefer next week though!)
4.
5.
6.


25 September 2010 - Saturday
1. BMW86
2. Micha3l
3.
4.
5.
6.

6 October 2010 - Wednesday Night
1. BMW86
2. BBK
3. DontAsk
4.
5.