[M33DLO]

Hey guys..
I'm now enjoying the 340i more then ever with it's recent MPPSK.
And I've been toying with the idea of a track day for many years with my previous cars and the focus is now on my 340i.

I'm a complete noob when it comes to track driving and although I'm keen to really open the 340i up I'm also somewhat apprehensive about the prospect.

So what's the score for a beginner like me?

I predict I'll be hustled by kids in ST's and owned by Golf R's but I still fancy a go as I'm keen to lean on the car in a safer environment.

Should I aim for 'beginner only' days?

Also, insurance. ? I guess this gets asked alot.
Ask my current insurer for a days quote or are the likes of specific track day insurers worth going with.?

I wont be planning to do this for a good few months anyway, most probably next year to be honest, so I have loadsa time to sort the specifics before booking myself in.
I'm in Cambs so any recommendations for events or circuits suited will be well appreciated.

[Firaxis]

There are plenty of driver instructed "hands on" courses where you can use your own car, I'd recommend starting there. It's a completely different way of driving on a track, make sure you read the etiquette guidelines or you wont last long.

There's also taster days and novice track days (none instructor lead / instructor lead / no race car), I'd do the latter later on when you're a little more comfortable. Check out MSVT, great place to find out info. As for insurance there are dedicated track day insurers, I've used random one's without issue.. Initially you'll probably drive like a road user on the track and tyre's won't get too beaten up, although when you get more comfortable budget for tyre's and pads.

[Alscoob]

My missus did Castle Coombe circuit in her road car with Tim Harvey as a co-pilot for a few laps. Day was well organised you could call on a Pro driver at any time to accompany you. She learnt a lot not only about the car but where to place it on the track.

She was lapped by all at the start of the day, but by the end she was lapping a few.

Only advice is take it easy and build up slowly, not like the bloke in his new TVR on the day, one lap and he totalled it on the crash barriers, both sides....big pile of dust!

Was a few years ago now but we still remember it ...for all the right reasons and she still does remember the track craft on occasions

Hope that MPPSK is crackling nicely BTW!!

[Yawn07]

You could do a BMW experience event first. You're not in your own car but you get a feeling for driving on Track. I've never owned a car that was really suited to track use but did loads on my old fireblade. It's fun!!

[Broncho]

I’ve done a few, I just booked on to the MSV days when I had my S2000, I’d already had track experience from when I was a kid so it wasn’t so new for me but the best thing is to pay for an instructor.

Also maybe find somewhere more forgiving than Oulton Park where I did most of mine.

You could just use a courtesy car like this bloke if you don’t want to smash up your own car..

[M33DLO]

[QUOTE=Broncho;26549808]
You could just use a courtesy car like this bloke if you don’t want to smash up your own car..

OUCH! Imagine the phone call to the dealership.

Some great stuff here..

[itsrichierich]

After each session and coming back to your pit, don't use your hand brake and leave the car in park/neutral. This will prevent indents in your rotors.

[TouringPleb]

Depending where in a Cambs you are, this could be an option


https://www.bedfordautodrome.co.uk/

[jenshb]

I had my first track day courtesy of the BMW Car Club of GB at Snetterton last year, and enjoyed it so much I will be going back this year. Stayed local to ensure I was fresh and rested, organised track day insurance just in case. My car is standard, except for the MPPSK, and I experienced no problems as I was not trying to compete with the race prepped cars or Porsche 911s. I found the BMW CC GB very well organised and the rules were in place for everybody's safety and enjoyment.

No timing of laps
No racing eachother
No drifting
No overtaking in corners
No overtaking on the right
If you are being lapped or someone is faster than you, move over to the right and let them pass - but only on the straights.

The club had instructors available to ride with you in the car, and I found people very friendly, and seasoned track drivers were happy to invite you for a ride in their car. Not sure how that will work in these corona times, but I'd think the instructors would be available if you ask. Helmets were available to hire, but I recommend bringing your own balaclava. Mine was soaked with sweat after the first session. I took the car out for 20-30 minutes on the track, then had a cool-down lap at 30 mph (which yellow-flagged me at first becuase the officials thought there was something wrong with my car) keeping well to the right hand side of the track, and then had a break to let car and driver cool down. No use of the handbrake - just put the car in Park as mentioned above. Brakes and tires were still road legal after that day, although the fuel consumption was something like 12 mpg In the end, noone was red-flagged, and all had an enjoyable day out. Having seen the video above from Castle Coombe, it does seem like a free for all, and I wouldn't be happy with that.

Given my experiences, I would recommend a BMW CC GB track day to anyone who wants to explore the limits and performance in a safer environment that will not give points on your licence.

[Watsey]

From experience :

Book a forgiving track with large runoff areas. Bedford West Circuit is a good example.

Start with modest goals; find your/car limits and progress steadily from there.

As others have mentioned, booking an instructor is a great way to learn quickly. I haven't done this for track sessions although the feedback from friends (that have) is that it's good value. I've done Palmer Sport a few times and it's an excellent day if you want to be pushed to your limits.

Pay for the more expensive track sessions; it tends to weed out the riff raff. Cheaper sessions can be full of badly modified bangers, driven by loons who just want to slide and spin. If you collide with one of those idiots don't expect anything more form them than a shrug and and denial of any form of liability. Insurance can be vital (or also go in a 'disposable' car) !

Listen to the briefings and abide by the rules and etiquette - you'll get the 'feel' of the driver attitudes at the ore responsible sessions, and it makes for a much more enjoyable session if all/most people are in a similar frame of mind.

Do stints of a few laps at a time, and make sure to do cool-down laps. Tyres and brakes, unless your car is running a high performance setup, will quickly go past their operating window. Best to do bursts or slower speeds if you want to do longer stints.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by itsrichierich

After each session and coming back to your pit, don't use your hand brake and leave the car in park/neutral. This will prevent indents in your rotors.

Fake news !

The parking brake isn't going to be doing much work during a track session. I think you mean that holding the car on the footbrake, when the discs and pads are very hot, can imprint a thicker localised layer of pad deposit on the disc face which can cause brake shudder. This is often confused with warped discs, but, discs almost never warp with heat - it's almost always uneven deposits.

[AndyMD]

Pick one that limits to 32 cars for the day. The format is that you go out for 15 mins every hour. 4 sessions in the morning 3 or 4 in the afternoon depending on the time of the year. But only 8 cars on track at a time. You get about 7-8 hot laps per session. So about 40/50 laps for the day.

Did one at goodwood and this format is great. The cars ranged from 911's to a golf gti to an MG B. But you only have 7 other cars to worry about and you leave the pits at 15sec intervals.

Usually get unlimited drinks and there's a nice cafe or food truck. Chichester sainsbury for petrol is a 5 min drive away.

Dont worry about being a noobee, those who are experienced will know what to do.

[jackstrath]

As mentioned, an instructor will be the biggest help, despite what you think you know... There track knowlage alone would help you have more fun and in turn be quicker....

Be realistic, There is always going to be someone faster than you out there. So go out and have fun, build the speed up through out the day and dont just go balls to the walls from the get go!

Other tips are no loose things inside the car, check your tires are all in good nick, screws or nails in them will come out and not only end your day but potentually others as well. Check all fluids are topped up, and your pads arnt on the wear sensors.

Letting the car cool down is just as important as letting the car warm up, on your cool down lap dont just refuse to touch the brakes, use them lightly, will help with the heat transfer.

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Broncho

I’ve done a few, I just booked on to the MSV days when I had my S2000, I’d already had track experience from when I was a kid so it wasn’t so new for me but the best thing is to pay for an instructor.

Also maybe find somewhere more forgiving than Oulton Park where I did most of mine.

You could just use a courtesy car like this bloke if you don’t want to smash up your own car..

That is exactly what happened to the TVR on the day the missus was on that very track except he spun it and did the offside as well!

[BBri89]

Isn't the F30/31 handbrake a drum on the rear axle, so the pad/discs aren't actually part of the handbrake mechanism?


Would be good to get mine on a track, purely to enjoy the car closer to the limits, learn what it and I can do. Bike track days are perfect for that... learn what you and your bike can really do and it makes you safer on the roads too

[M33DLO]

Some great stuff on here guys... Thank you..
Yeah that Castle Comb 'best bits' looked intense, I doubt I'd be too happy with my car amongst those loons.
I'm going to start investigating once we know what's happening with this COVID mess.

One thing regarding tyres... My rears are due for replacement in 2k'ish miles, Do them before or after the track day ? I suppose I could plan to get the new ones fitted the day after.
Or will I shred 2k miles worth of rubber on my first ever track day ?

[BBri89]

Originally Posted by Medslow

Some great stuff on here guys... Thank you..
Yeah that Castle Comb 'best bits' looked intense, I doubt I'd be too happy with my car amongst those loons.
I'm going to start investigating once we know what's happening with this COVID mess.

One thing regarding tyres... My rears are due for replacement in 2k'ish miles, Do them before or after the track day ? I suppose I could plan to get the new ones fitted the day after.
Or will I shred 2k miles worth of rubber on my first ever track day ?

I would imagine better to do the track day on more worn tyres.

The deeper the tread, the more it will move and slide on the tyre. And probably wear a bit more.

I'd rather do a track day on worn but legal tyres then replace the tyres after, than do a track day on new tyres.


I suppose it depends what rubber you have on now, and what you'd be replacing it with.

(I recommend Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, but for best handling you want same on front & rear, not mis-matched)

[G50]

Originally Posted by BBri89

I would imagine better to do the track day on more worn tyres.

The deeper the tread, the more it will move and slide on the tyre. And probably wear a bit more.

I'd rather do a track day on worn but legal tyres then replace the tyres after, than do a track day on new tyres.


I suppose it depends what rubber you have on now, and what you'd be replacing it with.

(I recommend Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, but for best handling you want same on front & rear, not mis-matched)

Also depends what the weather is going to do. You don't want on the legal limit rears on a wet trackday as a novice.

I would buy the tyres from somewhere like camskill, get them delivered to your house, check the weather a couple of days before, if it's likely to rain then get them fitted.

[M33DLO]

Originally Posted by BBri89

I would imagine better to do the track day on more worn tyres.

The deeper the tread, the more it will move and slide on the tyre. And probably wear a bit more.

Yes I was thinking the same... But understand that if it's saturated it could be problematic.
P Zero's (NON runflat) front and rear.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by BBri89

Isn't the F30/31 handbrake a drum on the rear axle, so the pad/discs aren't actually part of the handbrake mechanism?


Would be good to get mine on a track, purely to enjoy the car closer to the limits, learn what it and I can do. Bike track days are perfect for that... learn what you and your bike can really do and it makes you safer on the roads too

Correct, but the drums will still get extremely hot under track conditions. Just stop the car, after cool-down lap(s), and put the transmission in P.

[M33DLO]

Could be a silly question..?. I assume the MPPSK is below the noise levels in Sport mode ?

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Medslow

Some great stuff on here guys... Thank you..
Yeah that Castle Comb 'best bits' looked intense, I doubt I'd be too happy with my car amongst those loons.
I'm going to start investigating once we know what's happening with this COVID mess.

One thing regarding tyres... My rears are due for replacement in 2k'ish miles, Do them before or after the track day ? I suppose I could plan to get the new ones fitted the day after.
Or will I shred 2k miles worth of rubber on my first ever track day ?

Very unlikely you'll be 'tyre shredding' on a track day. If you are, you're doing something wrong.

If it's going to be a dry day then personally I'd use your current tyres and replace them afterwards. The only reason I changed ny near-limit rear tyres for a recent How Fast session at Bedford was the risk of rain.

Even with hard track use the ultra high performance tyres such as the MP4S will handle it. I did a full track day at Spa last year and my tyres only lost about 0.5mm. Hot tyres can pick up more rubber than they lose !