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Track days report - E92 335i
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08-27-2007, 01:51 PM | #1 |
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Track days report - E92 335i
This weekend I made it to the BMW CCA high-speed 2-day driving school at the Thunderhill track north of Sacramento, CA. It was my first time at Thunderhill and my first time on any track in a car (have done some motorcycle track days and some autocrosses in different cars). Bottom line, great fun, you've got to do it if you get a chance! I can't believe how many people don't get to the track. Cost is very reasonable, $400 for two days. You get 8 total sessions on the track of about 30 minutes each with an instructor sitting next to you, telling what you're doing right and wrong.
As far as the car, the E92 335i was very nice on the track. I just put the shifter in DS mode and drove. The shifting program learned pretty quickly that I was on the track and wouldn't shift well in to the 5000 rpm range. Brakes worked great with no fade (fade adjustment system, I think). Engine was solid and I had no trouble keeping up with anyone out there (M3s, Porsches). My only complaint is the car is set to understeer quite a bit. I understand that most car mfgs do this because they are afraid of inexperienced drivers crashing cars that oversteer a bit. For me personally I much prefer oversteer and if I did any mods to the car I would work on suspension and probably adjust the camber. It is just really annoying when you want to go faster in a turn and the front wheels just plow and the more gas you give the car the straighter it goes. I had no problems with engine heat at all (max was 260 degrees, and that was after 30 minutes of all-out driving in 95 degree heat). I guess the second oil cooler works just fine. In the end, the track day was incredible. It just shows how the driver is so much more important than the car. I drove in the D (novice) group and I regularly passed a new 911 GT3. But a spec miata in the A group would have totally spanked me and anyone else in the B, C, or D groups. It was interesting to see the cars on the course though, it is open to everyone but it probably 85% of the cars were Porsches or BMWs, with a few 'Vettes, Lotus, Audi, and Subaru. Just goes to show that no matter how good a car does in a review, there are not that many cars that you would actually want to drive on the track on a regular basis. Anyway, get yourself to a track day if you haven't done so. It is quite safe to you and your car and will make you a way better driver. The golden gate CCA does a phenomenal job of putting together a safe, well-organized, and fun track day event. |
08-27-2007, 02:35 PM | #2 |
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Cool...btw, isnt turn #2 a hoot.
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08-28-2007, 07:34 AM | #3 |
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Making me jealous! I can't wait to get my car out.
BTW: The driver of the GT3 you were passing must not have been very good...those are absolute monsters, and can readily eat our car alive on a track.
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08-28-2007, 11:23 AM | #5 |
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CB650, I was also at Thunderhill last weekend in my Gray 335 Coupe.
It is very biased towards understeer but did you see the instructor in an E90 328? He was killing it and it was stock except the tires and wheels. I felt the same as you when I started but as I got better (with more instruction) the understeer becomes more managable. You could try non run flats that you can use tire pressure with to adjust a little of the steering bias and you can add an adjustable sway bar to help with it also. This is short of a full suspension mod which I'm not going to do. The car is still far better than I am. BTW. Temps in the later sessions got up to 280 but I was in manual mode and hitting 6 and 7000 RPM in 9 10 11. |
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08-28-2007, 11:27 AM | #6 |
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Turn 2 was cool, but the e92's understeer sucked because the car would just not turn at higher speeds. I want some camber plates so I can get the car more neutrally balanced or even with some oversteer.
Yeah, the GT3 could have skooled most anyone with a more spirited driver. I would love to take one for a spin. The second oil cooler is located by the passenger-side front wheel. You can see the vent opening in the wheel well on the right (front bumper) side. The earlier e92 automatics did not have this second cooler and overheated quite easily. |
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08-28-2007, 11:29 AM | #7 |
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Cool, Jbass, I remember talking to you for a bit. That was an awesome weekend! Can't wait to do it again!
That is cool that our cars had no problems with the heat. I was worried after reading all the stories of cars going into limp mode in normal traffic. |
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08-28-2007, 11:36 AM | #8 | |
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Yeah, I was at Reno/Fernley and my car pushed badly in turn #2 there as well. Now, I have coilovers and non-staggered setup..and think turn #2 at Thunderhill will be more fun..like it was with my Spec Miata and Audi.
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08-29-2007, 05:30 PM | #9 |
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What size tire and wheel do you run on track?
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08-29-2007, 05:50 PM | #10 |
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235/40/18 Pilot sport cups..on 18X8.5 SSR Type C RS wheels on ALL FOUR CORNERS...to lessen understeer.
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08-29-2007, 05:55 PM | #11 |
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Sweet! You happy with the set-up?
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08-29-2007, 06:13 PM | #12 |
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I have only autocrossed so far...but I liked that..car rotated nicely. Trying to get out to a track event in the next month.
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08-29-2007, 06:44 PM | #13 | |
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I've got a few weeks before my car is stateside for a track event. But I must have a nice sticky set of track wheel/tires. I'll do a session on the RFTs just to see how it feels, but I'm concerned once I get to a set of non-RFTs that the car will be too soft given the suspension is compensating for the RFTs. Any reason you didn't go to 19s? I wonder if 19s, non-RFT, with stock suspension would help stiffen-it-up a tad.....
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08-29-2007, 06:56 PM | #14 | |
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08-30-2007, 02:55 AM | #15 | |
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09-11-2007, 03:27 PM | #16 |
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Sorry, but this is the first and only oil cooler the car got. The earlier e92 automatics, as well as other E9X without sport package, did not have any cooler thats why they overheated so easily. Anyway, it was treated as a complaint, as its supposed to be included in the sport package, so the package owners can ask their dealer or BMWNA for a cooler to be retrofitted. This issue is killed in the general forced induction thread, just
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