What did you do to/for your 1er today?

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Originally Posted by mkeiser

Great minds

Wondering if my mind is so great! I think my snows are 11 years old, getting to that point they seem to be considered unsafe. Ugh. I need 2 new front tires for the summer wheels as well. Strongly considering some all-seasons on the "summer" wheels and just skipping the bi annual swap altogether. 4 new tires instead of 6, and no more swaps. Hmm.

[mkeiser]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

Wondering if my mind is so great! I think my snows are 11 years old, getting to that point they seem to be considered unsafe. Ugh. I need 2 new front tires for the summer wheels as well. Strongly considering some all-seasons on the "summer" wheels and just skipping the bi annual swap altogether. 4 new tires instead of 6, and no more swaps. Hmm.

I went through a winter on some continental extremecontact dws06's when I had a GTI and they did pretty dang good in the winter while still having impressive grip in summer. I think those would be right up your alley...

[K9Leader]

Originally Posted by mkeiser

This is something I want to get into next year. I keep telling myself I'll do it but never follow through... let us know how it goes and pics if possible!!

My C5 Corvette is a convertible and I don't want to put a cage in it so I had never done any track events. But then the Corvette track in Kentucky started offering intro HPDEs and allowed convertibles (speeds were kept to 100 mph) so I jumped on that one and enjoyed it. But that was seven years ago.

When I was looking for a retirement project car I wanted something that could do HPDEs, so that was part of the reason I went with an E82. I've had it two years and it is getting close to where I want it but I had been hemming and hawing about track events. This one popped up and I took the plunge. We'll see how it goes.

Fortunately, I have a friend with more experience also attending. This friend is actually a young man I've known since he was 11 years old and joined my Boy Scout troop (he is 34 now). The additional wrinkle is that he met my daughter when she attended some troop functions and they dated for two years in high school. They eventually broke up but he and I still kept in touch about Scouts and cars. One day a few months after they broke up, she saw his car in our driveway and asked my wife what was going on. My wife said, "He's in the garage with Dad, doing something on a car." My daughter expressed some displeasure and my wife said, "Well, you may have broken up with him, but Dad didn't." He is a great young man and we are car buddies - he has helped me with a lot of questions on what to bring and what to expect.

Pic of Little Red getting an oil flush and fresh Liqui Moly for the track day:

[jdt10768]

Originally Posted by K9Leader

My C5 Corvette is a convertible and I don't want to put a cage in it so I had never done any track events. But then the Corvette track in Kentucky started offering intro HPDEs and allowed convertibles (speeds were kept to 100 mph) so I jumped on that one and enjoyed it. But that was seven years ago.

When I was looking for a retirement project car I wanted something that could do HPDEs, so that was part of the reason I went with an E82. I've had it two years and it is getting close to where I want it but I had been hemming and hawing about track events. This one popped up and I took the plunge. We'll see how it goes.

Fortunately, I have a friend with more experience also attending. This friend is actually a young man I've known since he was 11 years old and joined my Boy Scout troop (he is 34 now). The additional wrinkle is that he met my daughter when she attended some troop functions and they dated for two years in high school. They eventually broke up but he and I still kept in touch about Scouts and cars. One day a few months after they broke up, she saw his car in our driveway and asked my wife what was going on. My wife said, "He's in the garage with Dad, doing something on a car." My daughter expressed some displeasure and my wife said, "Well, you may have broken up with him, but Dad didn't." He is a great young man and we are car buddies - he has helped me with a lot of questions on what to bring and what to expect.

Pic of Little Red getting an oil flush and fresh Liqui Moly for the track day:

That's a great story. Maybe they will get back together, maybe not
You have a lot of stuff going on in that garage, a lot of stuff

[fast1eddy]

Replaced all the bushings in the rear suspension then parked the car for the winter.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by mkeiser

continental extremecontact dws06's .

Good recommendation, it made me go back and think some more. It was a super close battle between them and the Michelin PS4 all seasons, I went with the PS4's. They're ordered, but it'll be a bit before they arrive and then I can get them on.

The upside is I'll get to run my Apex wheels all year long, and I won't have to mess with swapping wheels over every 6 months. The downside is I wont' actually have dedicated snow tires. I'm no longer the hard core enthusiast I guess who wanted the best at all times. Since I barely drive in winter and only on super clean days it's not like I really needed the Blizzaks anyhow.

[Donkeyshins]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

Good recommendation, it made me go back and think some more. It was a super close battle between them and the Michelin PS4 all seasons, I went with the PS4's. They're ordered, but it'll be a bit before they arrive and then I can get them on.

The upside is I'll get to run my Apex wheels all year long, and I won't have to mess with swapping wheels over every 6 months. The downside is I wont' actually have dedicated snow tires. I'm no longer the hard core enthusiast I guess who wanted the best at all times. Since I barely drive in winter and only on super clean days it's not like I really needed the Blizzaks anyhow.

I made the switch from Blizzaks to Pilot A/S 4s last year and don't regret a thing. While we don't get a ton of snow here (PNW), when we do, it's high moisture / slick as hell and it largely falls on hilly terrain. If it's bad enough where I don't feel safe with the A/S 4s, then I probably shouldn't be on the road anyway as I'm liable to get hit by some yobbo in an AWD SUV with summer tires who doesn't understand the laws of Newtonian motion.

[WrathOTM]

Installed Bimmerworld sway bar end links. Didn't realize just how much my factory sway bar and ECS one were banging around on my chassis over bumps. These were quite a heckin' improvement.

[K9Leader]

Originally Posted by jdt10768

That's a great story. Maybe they will get back together, maybe not
You have a lot of stuff going on in that garage, a lot of stuff

Yeah, well, he is now married so no getting back together.

Yes, my garage is packed. I'm planning to add a shed for lawn and garden tools to help declutter it. That, and I need to sell off four of my five bicycles.

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

I made the switch from Blizzaks to Pilot A/S 4s last year and don't regret a thing. While we don't get a ton of snow here (PNW), when we do, it's high moisture / slick as hell and it largely falls on hilly terrain. If it's bad enough where I don't feel safe with the A/S 4s, then I probably shouldn't be on the road anyway as I'm liable to get hit by some yobbo in an AWD SUV with summer tires who doesn't understand the laws of Newtonian motion.

I don't winter drive my car, unless it's perfectly dry out (don't care if its cold, just salty and gross), but still use a set of winter tires for the purpose... thinking about switching from BMW sourced conti run flats to Michelin.

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Originally Posted by Fishee

I don't winter drive my car, unless it's perfectly dry out (don't care if its cold, just salty and gross), but still use a set of winter tires for the purpose...

Same here for the winter driving. And I enjoy having dedicated summer tires of course too.

With 6 new tires to buy, and very few days that are clean enough in the winter to appreciate the snow tires (aka tires with rubber that doesn't turn into round bricks), and realizing (admitting) that I don't actually track the car in the summer either to fully use those tires... on I finally threw in the towel.

I almost can't believe it but convenience is starting to outweigh performance for me. In my defense though the new all season tires are far better than they used to be. I'm going to keep telling that to myself anyhow.

[1and1]

Tire shopping is sooo much less complex when you live in Florida....

[G3min1]

Today I removed my catless DP's and installed my stock cats, went and passed emissions, then took the Cats back off and put the catless DP's back on lol

Originally Posted by 1and1

Tire shopping is sooo much less complex when you live in Florida....

True! When I lived in Tally Michelin PS4s were what I ran. Were perfect for the climate. Now I'm in Denver Co and its a different beast here lol

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Tire shopping is sooo much less complex when you live in Florida....

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

Same here for the winter driving. And I enjoy having dedicated summer tires of course too.

With 6 new tires to buy, and very few days that are clean enough in the winter to appreciate the snow tires (aka tires with rubber that doesn't turn into round bricks), and realizing (admitting) that I don't actually track the car in the summer either to fully use those tires... on I finally threw in the towel.

I almost can't believe it but convenience is starting to outweigh performance for me. In my defense though the new all season tires are far better than they used to be. I'm going to keep telling that to myself anyhow.

Given me something to think about for sure.
PS4AS could be a really good way to go given the fact that I do not expose baby to muck.

[Donkeyshins]

Originally Posted by Fishee

I don't winter drive my car, unless it's perfectly dry out (don't care if its cold, just salty and gross), but still use a set of winter tires for the purpose... thinking about switching from BMW sourced conti run flats to Michelin.

The Puget Sound region (and somewhat the PNW in general - especially anywhere that has significant runoff into the watershed) is a salt-free zone due to the potential impact on flora and fauna (specifically, salmon). So, no worries about the ever-present winter rust monster here. Other than idiots who can't drive, there's not a lot to fear about driving in the winter here.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

The Puget Sound region (and somewhat the PNW in general - especially anywhere that has significant runoff into the watershed) is a salt-free zone due to the potential impact on flora and fauna (specifically, salmon). So, no worries about the ever-present winter rust monster here. Other than idiots who can't drive, there's not a lot to fear about driving in the winter here.

Beware, that policy has largely changed. After the big snow in 2008, the city of Seattle reversed course on road salt and started using it again. The same is true for much of western washington. Keep up on your underbody washes in the winter after snow storms!

[tracer bullet]

Sigh. Almost got new tires going. Ordered the tires, the Tire Rack warehouse is super close so I picked them up, and I dropped them off at the shop. Then I headed home to grab my wheels (I'd already swapped them off to put the snow stuff on). Loaded them in the car (an X3) and brought them to the shop. So far, so good.

Noticed the 2 piles next to each other, and the new tire pile was much taller. The 235mm fronts are the same size across brands (Michelin and Firestone). The 265mm rear tires were quite a bit different, the new ones being much taller. At least a cm, almost more. Quite strange, but not too strange, I know I've seen and read about it before.

So they'll delay the install, I ordered 2 new tires (255mm this time) for the rears, and once they finally arrive at the warehouse I guess we get to repeat this little gig. Plus the added fun of returning some tires as well.

I thought about going for it but can't return tires that have been driven on. And 2 times installing them - at the shop and later at home too. Just not up for the mess, went the safe route.

[Skipdy4]

Installed the Mosselman Turbo Systems oil thermostat and the CSF E-Chassis N54/N55 Race-Spec Engine Oil Cooler. Packed away for the winter.

[lucahemi@gmail.com]

Installed 10/12mm wheel spacers and gave her a wash

[WrathOTM]

Fiddled with the rear shocks to stiffen them up a little and did a trans drain and fill with some Motul oil of some variety. Shifts are smoother now, took out a wee bit of notchiness, getting into reverse is slightly smoother. Will find out tomorrow what freezing/near freezing temps will do to the shift feel.


Next up possibly rear sway bar end links or front brakes and stainless steel brake lines. Or something else that I was thinking of but now can't remember.

[K9Leader]

Did my first track day in seven years at PittRace (Pittsburgh) put on by the DelVal Chapter of BMW CCA. Mostly BMWs but also Porsches, Corvettes, and assorted others. Saturday I had four sessions of 25 minutes each. My instructor was great - patient, helpful, and very informative. Morning was a bit wet but it dried up in the afternoon. Sunday was very wet (I chose to leave Sunday morning - it was wet, cold, and my bum knee was screaming at me). I was among the slower cars on the track but worked on consistency and smoothness and got progressively better (and faster, well, a little bit) each run.

I did screw up on my dashcam video, though. I did not copy the videos to my laptop on Saturday night, thinking "Ah, I'll do it when I get home." But I did not realize I had only a 32GB card in the camera and it all got overwritten on the drive home. 'DOH!

Little Red on the paddock, next to my buddy's 1991 325i racer (covered, but watch the video to see it on track).


A group lined up waiting to enter the track:


My buddy on the track (the red car):