The Driver's Edge at MSR 3.1 this past weekend

[bigjae1976]

What a weekend! It rained like crazy on Saturday. Then Sunday was dry, wet, dry, wet, and dry again. My 330 finally survived an entire Driver's Edge weekend to include the return trip home!

The 3.1 is an awesome configuration, a must run if you ask me. Far more challenging that TWS or MSR Houston.

I'm two cars up in this video. The track got really slick about halfway around this lap. MSR is like an ice rink in the rain. The next lap had 2 yellow flags and then a red flag. I'm behind a silver vette and owning him...on 5 cylinders. Had a dead coil pack.



Here's my trying to keep up with an Audi TT RS in blue. This was again, a 5 cyl vs a 5 cyl.

[TXmtrhed]

Very cool track, I need to make it up there next year. Nice session with the TT, that must have been fun.

Eco mode huh? Save much gas?

[bigjae1976]

I wish.

It is a much more challenging track than TWS and MSRH. There are a lot more little nuances that you have to figure out. Its fun and safe in both directions. It feels like I still haven't figured out most of the track. Whereas I feel like I know TWS and MSRH pretty well.

I'd try doing the 1.7 configuration before the 3.1 if you can. But I'd jump on an opportunity to do the 3.1 in millisecond.

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I'm behind a silver vette and owning him...on 5 cylinders. Had a dead coil pack.

Seem to recall the first time I met you at TWS you had a bad coil pack, which led me to bring a spare pack to the track.

Here are some pictures of stuff that I have been working on with my car...

[VMcV3y]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I wish.

It is a much more challenging track than TWS and MSRH. There are a lot more little nuances that you have to figure out. Its fun and safe in both directions. It feels like I still haven't figured out most of the track. Whereas I feel like I know TWS and MSRH pretty well.

I'd try doing the 1.7 configuration before the 3.1 if you can. But I'd jump on an opportunity to do the 3.1 in millisecond.

Ahhh, MSR. That was where I took my first motorcycle racing school, almost a decade ago. Have spent many many laps taking a knee around the 1.7. It is a fantastic bike track. I'll have to figure out when to take the car around it. Thanks for the videos.

Besides the eco-cylinder mode you used, did you also engage Auto Start/Stop mode?


- V

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

Seem to recall the first time I met you at TWS you had a bad coil pack, which led me to bring a spare pack to the track.

Here are some pictures of stuff that I have been working on with my car...

Dang, you're gettting serious! Good work! You're doing the roof yourself?

I've ALWAYS brought an extra coil pack. But for that weekend, I brought an extra belt instead. I'm always one step behind my car.

It was really wet Sat so it didn't matter. But it got really bad on Sunday. Unfortunately, no auto zone close had a coil pack in stock. FYI...E46 BMW ignition parts at Auto Zone is mostly OEM stuff...NGK, Bosch, and Bremi.

Originally Posted by VMcV3y

Ahhh, MSR. That was where I took my first motorcycle racing school, almost a decade ago. Have spent many many laps taking a knee around the 1.7. It is a fantastic bike track. I'll have to figure out when to take the car around it. Thanks for the videos.

Besides the eco-cylinder mode you used, did you also engage Auto Start/Stop mode?


- V

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Dang, you're gettting serious! Good work! You're doing the roof yourself?

I've ALWAYS brought an extra coil pack. But for that weekend, I brought an extra belt instead. I'm always one step behind my car.

It was really wet Sat so it didn't matter. But it got really bad on Sunday. Unfortunately, no auto zone close had a coil pack in stock. FYI...E46 BMW ignition parts at Auto Zone is mostly OEM stuff...NGK, Bosch, and Bremi.

I did the roof myself. Jeremy gave me a lot of advice. I still don't have the glass on yet as I am waiting for CSL type molding. I have what I hope is only a small fitment issue on the rear corners of the roof. Pretty sure I can cut out the problematic area. Hopefully done by end of month.

[ranger22]

Seems like that Audi should have given you the point by. He (maybe you would have been too) were way too conservative on many of the turns. I would have wanted away from that guy.

I went back and watched the first video. Looks like you were prob running faster times in that video than in the second one with the Audi slowing you down at nearly every turn.

On another note, I've never done Drivers Edge, but I'm really surprised at how stacked up you guys are on the 3.1 and that they allow passing in the places I saw people passing. Is it just a free for all with DE?

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by ranger22

Seems like that Audi should have given you the point by. He (maybe you would have been too) were way too conservative on many of the turns. I would have wanted away from that guy.

I went back and watched the first video. Looks like you were prob running faster times in that video than in the second one with the Audi slowing you down at nearly every turn.

On another note, I've never done Drivers Edge, but I'm really surprised at how stacked up you guys are on the 3.1 and that they allow passing in the places I saw people passing. Is it just a free for all with DE?

I had the daughter of the driver in the blue audi in my car as a passenger. I was just taking her along for the ride. I told him before the session that I would just stay behind him. That was in the blue intermediate group.

Definitely running faster in the first video which is in the red advanced group. The red run group (as with most other advanced groups) can pass anywhere with a point by.

The silver vette was not really playing nice with everyone. He's usually one of the fastest ones in the dry...not so in the wet. So he was kind of being a d-head and only letting people by when corner workers pointed the passing flag at him. Plus he had spun twice in front of me on the day before trying to drive the dry line for some reason...which is retarded at MSR Cresson. You'll figure out why really quickly if you ever drive MSR in the rain. Still...that's one of the fastest moving trains you'll ever see outside of competitive racing.

99% of the time, its very civil. People let people pass without issue. You can pass in a corner and the guy giving the point by won't force you to pinch the exit. That is only the 2nd train I've seen in my 4th weekend in Red. That's a pretty good track record. Point bys anywhere does open up the track a LOT!

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I did the roof myself. Jeremy gave me a lot of advice. I still don't have the glass on yet as I am waiting for CSL type molding. I have what I hope is only a small fitment issue on the rear corners of the roof. Pretty sure I can cut out the problematic area. Hopefully done by end of month.

How hard was the roof? I think I'd just put the sunroof panel in and call it the day.

I've been planning aero for my car. I've got a rep M3 bumper. I'm gonna throw an Ebay ACS lip on the front and then a plywood spitter. I'm on the hunt for an E36 style EVO rear wing.

I have a beat on an E36 already built so I'm in a pause for now. Although I did remove my window washer fluid bottle!

[ranger22]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I had the daughter of the driver in the blue audi in my car as a passenger. I was just taking her along for the ride. I told him before the session that I would just stay behind him. That was in the blue intermediate group.

Definitely running faster in the first video which is in the red advanced group. The red run group (as with most other advanced groups) can pass anywhere with a point by.

The silver vette was not really playing nice with everyone. He's usually one of the fastest ones in the dry...not so in the wet. So he was kind of being a d-head and only letting people by when corner workers pointed the passing flag at him. Plus he had spun twice in front of me on the day before trying to drive the dry line for some reason...which is retarded at MSR Cresson. You'll figure out why really quickly if you ever drive MSR in the rain. Still...that's one of the fastest moving trains you'll ever see outside of competitive racing.

99% of the time, its very civil. People let people pass without issue. You can pass in a corner and the guy giving the point by won't force you to pinch the exit. That is only the 2nd train I've seen in my 4th weekend in Red. That's a pretty good track record. Point bys anywhere does open up the track a LOT!

That explains it all. Haha, I had a very different idea as to what was happening. Funny, I was at MSR last Friday doing the 3.1 and I could see all the damage from the DE run in the rain. I haven't been out there in the rain yet, but I have been out there on a green track and that alone is very slick. You guys def left some rubber out there on Sunday though.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by ranger22

That explains it all. Haha, I had a very different idea as to what was happening. Funny, I was at MSR last Friday doing the 3.1 and I could see all the damage from the DE run in the rain. I haven't been out there in the rain yet, but I have been out there on a green track and that alone is very slick. You guys def left some rubber out there on Sunday though.

On the old section in the wet...think ice skating rink. The new section isn't too bad though. On the 1.7 part...definitely want to stay off the dry line as much as possible. When you cross the dry line...you either want to have the wheel straight or be ready to tough it out until you get back off the dry line.

It is an excellent lesson in smoothness and car control!