[daveN007]

It is a stock M-sport.

Anyone have experience with tracking their car?

Specifically I am concerned with two things:

The capability of the car to handle sustained G-loads (stock tires and suspension) and not have the engine blow up.

The propensity to overheat (no temp gauge).

Anyone have any words of advice?

[Quasimodem]

Try this:

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/pr...ellers&from=fn

[2deerwhistlers]

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

Try this:

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/pr...ellers&from=fn

I think he means running the car at a track.. Not gps tracking

[taibanl]

Go oit unmodded the first time. It will be fun and enjoyable but you will notice mods you want to make bby the end of the session(brake fade for example). Car runs fairly cool at the track

[daveN007]

Originally Posted by 2deerwhistlers

I think he means running the car at a track.. Not gps tracking

I was puzzled for a second. I thought maybe I could get temp readings from OBDII sensor...LOL.

Interesting about brake fade. I will keep that in mind.

The only mod I will be doing to this car will be "buying a Z06".

I sold my Porsche and will need something to tide me over. I am fine running the 335d stock for the fun of it. I'll go down a group and take it easy. I am on Pilot's but they are all-weather.

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by daveN007

I was puzzled for a second. I thought maybe I could get temp readings from OBDII sensor...LOL.

Interesting about brake fade. I will keep that in mind.

The only mod I will be doing to this car will be "buying a Z06".

I sold my Porsche and will need something to tide me over. I am fine running the 335d stock for the fun of it. I'll go down a group and take it easy. I am on Pilot's but they are all-weather.

You'll probably be impressed what this heavy beast can do. With a touch of skill and a lot of torque, on a smaller track you can keep some M-cars in your rear view. (Last time was my 3rd and no trouble keeping both 1M and M3 at bay).

I'd be most concerned about your non-seasons.

Brakes seem to do fine in the mornings, noticeable fade (start braking 100 ft earlier) in the afternoons.

[taibanl]

Also, you can get the coolant temp via the OBD BC 'hidden menu' in the absence of a gage.

[Persian Whisperjet]

I tracked mine at Summit Point and it performed beautifully. I was in the junior tyro class so was out for 15 minutes at a time and did not detect any brake fade, although I had purged the brakes right before track day.

[335dFan]

Yeah the brakes will fade some as the day wears on. I guess you could say they will fade more for a good faster driver than someone like myself. I was not inhibited much by brake fade in the 8 15-20 min sessions I have done.

The outside ribs of the tires may take a beating. My OEM RFTs did. Michelin PSS and more negative camber not so much.

I think you will be pleased.

[Puerto Rican 335d]

Contact Scungilly Racing they are using a 335d for racing and have Lenntech mods EGR DPF SCr coded out and his tune anything PM me and I'll give you the number ok

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by daveN007

It is a stock M-sport.

Anyone have experience with tracking their car?

Specifically I am concerned with two things:

The capability of the car to handle sustained G-loads (stock tires and suspension) and not have the engine blow up.

The propensity to overheat (no temp gauge).

Anyone have any words of advice?

I forgot to add:
1. The car hardly broke a sweat, but you are a better driver than I am so you may make more demands on the engine.
2. I can see no reason why the suspension would suffer, but I suppose that depends on what track characteristics will be.
3. Didn't notice any overheating, at least none that was observable without a gauge.
4. As I mentioned above, the brakes will fade a bit as the day wears on, and with standard camber I expect the outside ribs will get chafed a bit. I found the car got a bit more slippery as the tires absorbed the punishment. More thrilling to drive for sure. But in my case the last two sessions were wet too.

[ewodzien]

I took my 335d to Laguna Seca earlier last year at BMWCCA's Octoberfest in Monterey.



The car ran a total of 6 sessions, 3 20 min sessions for each driver with myself and another driver with back to back sessions, so 40 mins of constant track use with a brief 5 min change over, then about 2 hours off between next wave of sessions. I was in the C group (2nd from lowest in a group of 4 groups total) as I only had 1 prior track day under my belt a couple of years ago.



I have factory sports suspension with 19x9.5 wheels in the front and 19x10 wheels in the back with Michelin Pilot Sport tires.



The D didn't miss a beat. It was an absolute pleasure to drive with all of the torque. I was constantly pulling away from EVERYTHING in the corners- especially M3s. The fast straights- I was good up until 80 mph, then the M3's hit their stride and started to overpower me.

In the last session, my instructor encouraged me to NOT brake on turn 9 which is a fast left hand turn that always intimidated me. I listened and was blown away how the car held the road. Perfect feedback and control. I was very happy with this aspect.



At the end of the day, I passed every single car including several M3s with all of the exit speed built up over time. The instructor could not believe that it was a diesel.

I agree with others, the front brakes are the weak link. My front rotors warped from this event and under heavy braking the front wheel got a little violent. Also, the car sounds like a vacuum cleaner under full throttle. The M3's were pure sound pleasure. Gawd I loved hearing them wind out on the back straight.

No overheating or drama, just good clean fun. Do it, you will not be sorry.

-Ed

[Puerto Rican 335d]

EWO love your plates PWR+MPG

[daveN007]

Originally Posted by Puerto Rican 335d

EWO love your plates PWR+MPG

+1

Great story and pics.

Did you happen to get your time around the track?

I have driven Laguna a few times.

Now I am regretting not springing for Pilot Sports. At the time I didn't know I would sell my Porsche.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by Puerto Rican 335d

EWO love your plates PWR+MPG

I'll bet he was the only car on the track with a front license plate. Look at the M3 behind him in the first pic. I drove around the Monterey area for three years without a front plate and had no problem. I got a parking ticket for it once when I was in LA for three days. Cant believe they have meter maids giving out non-parking code violations.

[ewodzien]

Originally Posted by daveN007

+1

Great story and pics.

Did you happen to get your time around the track?

I have driven Laguna a few times.

Now I am regretting not springing for Pilot Sports. At the time I didn't know I would sell my Porsche.

Thank you.

No, we were not allowed any time keeping devices anywhere in the car as it wasn't a competition, but a "safety school". (For insurance purposes). I would have liked to have known my times so I could see how my times improved over the course of the day.

The Pilot sports are amazing. Expensive, but totally worth it. Check out a pic of the rubber balls after just one session:

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

I'll bet he was the only car on the track with a front license plate. Look at the M3 behind him in the first pic. I drove around the Monterey area for three years without a front plate and had no problem. I got a parking ticket for it once when I was in LA for three days. Cant believe they have meter maids giving out non-parking code violations.

Funny you should say this Quasi for a couple of reasons:

1)A lot of people tape over their plates for insurance reasons- they didn't want any proof that their car was on the track. Since I told my insurance company I was attending, I didn't care.

2)I only have my front plate on because the dealer installed the front plate bracket on my car before I could tell them not to. It kills me to have the front plate ruin the look of the front of my car- NONE of my other cars have their front plate installed.

When I tried removing it, the bumper was already messed up from the holes the dealer drilled and evidently a car backed into my plate at some point and pushed the lic plate screws into my bumper, so not only do I have holes from the dealer, but I also have gouges in the bumper behind the plate holder, so it would look ugly if I took the front plate off.

And, like you, the only time not having a front plate is an issue is when I visit San Francisco- the meter maids ticket you for not having a plate.

-Ed

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by ewodzien

And, like you, the only time not having a front plate is an issue is when I visit San Francisco- the meter maids ticket you for not having a plate.

-Ed

Good to know.

I ordered and picked up my car in Monterey and specifically told them not to install the plate. They made me sign something and did not install it.

I guess you now have an excuse for An M3 front end upgrade. I would go the whole nine yards and get new fenders and all the bits and pieces. Honestly, the M-Sport bumper cover looks worse than the stock cover, so I wouldnt go that route. Shhhh, dont tell anybody that I said that here, I might get lynched by a driver who spent $$$ on an M-Sport kit.

I mainly use the parking garage under the Chinese park when I am in SF, I think it's on Kearny. Meters are so difficult to find now that it appears half of them are only for commercial parking anyway. That being said, sometimes I do park around SF State/Haight area, I will keep that in mind and try to park in locations where my front is up against a wall or something. Then again, if it becomes a problem, a little light duty double sided sticky tape would hold the plate on until I return to the car and take it off for my drive (assuming I remember to take it off and dont lose it on the road)

Edit: Oh and you do have a good excuse for a front plate -- your plate is personalized and you are paying for it, mine as well show it off as much as possible. Mine is personalized too, and that did cause me to think about installing it in a way that would not hurt my bumper cover (I bought some pretty powerful magnets to place under the bumper cover and planned to put some foam on the back of my plate, then I realized that the plate is AL and it wont be easy to get the magnets in a fixed location under the bumper cover, our cars are pretty tight for *******. I never liked the tow hook hole plate holders because of expense and if somebody backed into one it would mess up my bumper cover pretty badly. Same goes with the sliding plate holders.

[daveN007]

Originally Posted by ewodzien

Thank you.

No, we were not allowed any time keeping devices anywhere in the car as it wasn't a competition, but a "safety school". (For insurance purposes). I would have liked to have known my times so I could see how my times improved over the course of the day.

Did you record in-car video?

No one "officially" keeps track of lap times with the sophisticated lap timing equipment/video recording equipment in our cars, of course.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by daveN007

Did you record in-car video?

No one "officially" keeps track of lap times with the sophisticated lap timing equipment/video recording equipment in our cars, of course.

Or a tracking device.