E9x M3 LAP TIMES (Road Course)

[CalSE]

^Well done Gabe! Glad to be able to run with the Red group now (in auto). Hahaha.

[dogbone]

^^Thanks guys!

Geez, I don't know what the heck he was doing, but how many times have we seen people hook a tire on the far side of Bus Stop and then go across the track and fly off right where he's sitting?………heck, I've done it.

C'mon man! Get on those paddle shifters! Forget automatic mode!! hahaha! Congrats on the new car!

[flipm3]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Went Speed District's Buttonwillow weekend. Very nice time. Weather was great. Before this weekend, I've never done a 1:54. This weekend, I ran 6 laps at 1:54. The lowest being 1:54.03…….so now I'm hoping to get in the 53's hehe….darn! SO CLOSE!

Actually, in the 11AM session on Sunday, my timers showed that I was running 4/100th faster than my fast lap through Phil Hill, but then a guy had a mechanical issue on the track AND HE GOT OUT OF HIS CAR TO LOOK AT IT!!! Immediate black flags……That lap would have been my best chance at 1:53……then I broke a stud during a brake pad swap, and my day was done because both bolts that hold the rotor on the hub were frozen with rust and we couldn't get them out.…..ah well. I guess there's always next time……

One other note: The new surface at Buttonwillow is interesting because it doesn't seem to punish you for running old tires like it used to (my tires were on day 5), but it also doesn't really reward you as much for running new tires. On the old pavement, new tires were noticeably faster than old ones. But on the new pavement, old tires seem to work quite well. I had a completely fresh set of tires with me, and I never used them because my 5 day old tires were working great!

E90 M3
Track/course: Buttonwillow 13CW
Best Lap Time: 1:54.03 (transponder)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 5th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

Great lap and killer time, Gabe! You and Owen are the boosted bros, LOL.

Btw, this is Alex Roy

[USCTrojanMan29]

Nice lap time DogBone. You'll be in the 53s as soon as it cools down again. I was trying to get into the 59s with the Cayman but the OEM suspension wasn't going to let that happen.

[dogbone]

Went to Thermal Club. All I can say is, HOLY COW! What a facility! Really impressive! The staff is incredible there and the pavement is fantastic.

Had the opportunity to run both the South Palm Circuit and also the full track which combines the North and South circuits - the "Twin Palms" Circuit. Wow! That Twin Palms Circuit is a monster! So much to take in! So many places to screw up!…...

The South circuit simply eats brakes for breakfast. There are 3 corners in particular where you're going very fast and need to stomp on the brakes and then dive into a tight 180º turn. Those turns are brutal on the brakes. I'm used to getting 10 days out of a set of front brake pads in my AP calipers. After 2 days at Thermal with a basically new set, I'd say the fronts only have 1 day left…..If you go to Thermal, make sure you have plenty of brake pad material. I do have to give props to the AP Racing calipers, the Cobalt Friction Pads, and the Castrol SRF brake fluid-----not a single instance of brake fade on 100+ laps across 2 days.

Odd note: I put on new Hankook TDs and could not run faster than my 6/7 day old TD scrubs…..! The times listed below are from scrub tires……both Buttonwillow and Thermal have shown me that fresh pavement doesn't really reward new tires nearly as much as old pavement, but it also does not punish you for running old tires like older pavement seems to do.

Anyway, Thermal is quite wonderful.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club South Palm Circuit
Best Lap Time: 1:22.79 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 7th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club Twin Palms Circuit
Best Lap Time: 2:20.97 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 6th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

Videos: (unfortunately, the microphone did not get turned on for day 2 for the South Palm lap, so I put some music on there to help pass the time.)

South Palm Circuit

Twin Palms Circuit

[radiantm3]

Car: 2011 E92 M3 (6MT)
Track: Thunderhill East (3 mile), Cyclone config (over the top)
Best Lap Time: 2:04.2
Brakes: Brembo 380GT, Endless Pads
Tires: AD08R 265/295-18's
Suspension: Ohlin RT

Beat my r-comp time on street tires. Still tons of room for improvement. I should be in the 2:02's in the next visit or 2 as I know where I can make up lots of time. Just need more laps to get comfortable pushing on a few corners.

This video session didn't have my best lap, but figured I'd share anyways:

[elim11]

Went to SpeedDistrict's Willow Springs Track day last weekend. Another awesome event held by Josh and co. They are the best. Beautiful day

Car: 2008 E90 M3 (6MT)
Track: Willow Springs (Big Willow)
Best Lap Time: 1:36.47
Brakes: Stock w/ PFC 08 pads
Tires: RS3 275/35/18 square
Suspension: KW Clubsport

First time on the track with the KW. Previously I had just swift springs and ran 1:37. Still getting use to the clubsport, have not adjusted them at all. They are at KW recommended settings. Does anyone have any preferred settings/setup for this track?

Looking for some advise/input on how to bring the time down. I still have TONS to learn....little by little.

[TheKosherStogie]

^i always used KW factory setting and found them to work well. U don't want too stiff cause turn 8 can get bouncy.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by elim11

Went to SpeedDistrict's Willow Springs Track day last weekend. Another awesome event held by Josh and co. They are the best. Beautiful day

Car: 2008 E90 M3 (6MT)
Track: Willow Springs (Big Willow)
Best Lap Time: 1:36.47
Brakes: Stock w/ PFC 08 pads
Tires: RS3 275/35/18 square
Suspension: KW Clubsport

First time on the track with the KW. Previously I had just swift springs and ran 1:37. Still getting use to the clubsport, have not adjusted them at all. They are at KW recommended settings. Does anyone have any preferred settings/setup for this track?

Looking for some advise/input on how to bring the time down. I still have TONS to learn....little by little.

Were your cornering speeds higher as compared to the swifts? Especially in those 3rd gear left/rights. Were you on the power noticeably earlier coming out of corners? Did you feel like you were at the limit of grip? Didn't seem like it other than through the final corner (no offense intended).

Depending upon experience level, it will probably take some time to use all of the available performance with the KW's. I transitioned after years with stock EDC and went seconds faster than my previous best first session out.

Have KW factory specs right now, which have worked great at all tracks so far for me. Initially I had a full race alignment, including ride height. That was slightly better than KW factory specs on track I think, but not street friendly whatsoever. I'd leave the alignment where it is and try to grow into them.

Just looked up some Willow Springs lap times. You're doing too bad at all!

Also, I'm not sure the swifts don't offer some measurable improvement over stock EDC on track. So keep in mind the delta between swifts vs clubsports might be less than stock vs clubsports.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Went to Thermal Club. All I can say is, HOLY COW! What a facility! Really impressive! The staff is incredible there and the pavement is fantastic.

Had the opportunity to run both the South Palm Circuit and also the full track which combines the North and South circuits - the "Twin Palms" Circuit. Wow! That Twin Palms Circuit is a monster! So much to take in! So many places to screw up!…...

The South circuit simply eats brakes for breakfast. There are 3 corners in particular where you're going very fast and need to stomp on the brakes and then dive into a tight 180º turn. Those turns are brutal on the brakes. I'm used to getting 10 days out of a set of front brake pads in my AP calipers. After 2 days at Thermal with a basically new set, I'd say the fronts only have 1 day left…..If you go to Thermal, make sure you have plenty of brake pad material. I do have to give props to the AP Racing calipers, the Cobalt Friction Pads, and the Castrol SRF brake fluid-----not a single instance of brake fade on 100+ laps across 2 days.

Odd note: I put on new Hankook TDs and could not run faster than my 6/7 day old TD scrubs…..! The times listed below are from scrub tires……both Buttonwillow and Thermal have shown me that fresh pavement doesn't really reward new tires nearly as much as old pavement, but it also does not punish you for running old tires like older pavement seems to do.

Anyway, Thermal is quite wonderful.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club South Palm Circuit
Best Lap Time: 1:22.79 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 7th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club Twin Palms Circuit
Best Lap Time: 2:20.97 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 6th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

Videos: (unfortunately, the microphone did not get turned on for day 2 for the South Palm lap, so I put some music on there to help pass the time.)

South Palm Circuit

Twin Palms Circuit

Nice, thanks for posting up the videos....looks like a nice technical track. Did you go out there for a private track day or was it with some group?

[elim11]

Originally Posted by TheKosherStogie

^i always used KW factory setting and found them to work well. U don't want too stiff cause turn 8 can get bouncy.

Thanks for the input. I'll double check to make sure they are actually set to the KW factory specs. Felt a little soft around turn 2.

[elim11]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

Were your cornering speeds higher as compared to the swifts? Especially in those 3rd gear left/rights. Were you on the power noticeably earlier coming out of corners? Did you feel like you were at the limit of grip? Didn't seem like it other than through the final corner (no offense intended).

Depending upon experience level, it will probably take some time to use all of the available performance with the KW's. I transitioned after years with stock EDC and went seconds faster than my previous best first session out.

Have KW factory specs right now, which have worked great at all tracks so far for me. Initially I had a full race alignment, including ride height. That was slightly better than KW factory specs on track I think, but not street friendly whatsoever. I'd leave the alignment where it is and try to grow into them.

Just looked up some Willow Springs lap times. You're doing too bad at all!

Also, I'm not sure the swifts don't offer some measurable improvement over stock EDC on track. So keep in mind the delta between swifts vs clubsports might be less than stock vs clubsports.

Thanks for input. Yeah. It did corner at slightly higher mph vs swift. I think it all boils down to more practice and familiarity.

[radiantm3]

Car: 2011 E92 M3 (6MT)
Track: Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point)
Best Lap Time: 1:53.5
Brakes: Brembo 380GT, Endless Pads
Tires: AD08R 265/295-18's
Suspension: Ohlin RT

Best r-comp time is 1:52 so I'm getting close.

[elim11]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Car: 2011 E92 M3 (6MT)
Track: Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point)
Best Lap Time: 1:53.5
Brakes: Brembo 380GT, Endless Pads
Tires: AD08R 265/295-18's
Suspension: Ohlin RT

Best r-comp time is 1:52 so I'm getting close.

Very nice driving and video. How did you mount the camera to get the foot work? And what camera did you use?

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by elim11

Very nice driving and video. How did you mount the camera to get the foot work? And what camera did you use?

Thanks! I'm using 3 go pros. I have a sticky mount on the bottom of the steering column.

[surlynkid]

Mark,

Is that your GT3 RS4.0 style steering wheel mark at 12 o'clock.

[Sleeper519]

Open-track day at Road Atlanta for Instructors and Advanced drivers prior to BMW CCA HPDE this weekend. Morning temps of 32F with snow flurries not conducive to good traction but warmed up to high-40s later on. Set a personal best trying to chase down a veritable fleet of new 991 GT3s and a brace of Cup cars doing some shakedown sessions. Mucho fun!

Car: 2008 E92 M3 DTC
Track/Course: Road Atlanta
Best Lap Time: 1:39.70
Brake Pads: StopTech ST-60/40; Pagid RS-29.
Tires (Size & Model): BFG R1 275/35/18 square on Apex Arc-8s.
Suspension: GC camber plates, 2.6 F; EDC w/ stock struts and springs.
Other Mods: BPM tune

I actually DID get a video but it was turned 45 degrees to the side and was worthless! Go figure. Took a screen shot of Harry's. My virtual best was down to 1:37.92. Ridin' the ragged edge!

[tlp]

Car: 2011 E92 M3 (DCT)
Track: Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch - Hunt Config B
Best Lap Time: 2:03.71 (Transponder)
Brakes: Brembo 380GT, Endless Pads
Tires: RS3's 275/285-18's
Suspension: Ohlin RT

Last 4 laps of the session with a transponder. Always nice to finish the day with a PB on the very last lap.

02:03.78
02:03.72
02:03.85
02:03.71

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Went to Thermal Club. All I can say is, HOLY COW! What a facility! Really impressive! The staff is incredible there and the pavement is fantastic.

Had the opportunity to run both the South Palm Circuit and also the full track which combines the North and South circuits - the "Twin Palms" Circuit. Wow! That Twin Palms Circuit is a monster! So much to take in! So many places to screw up!…...

The South circuit simply eats brakes for breakfast. There are 3 corners in particular where you're going very fast and need to stomp on the brakes and then dive into a tight 180º turn. Those turns are brutal on the brakes. I'm used to getting 10 days out of a set of front brake pads in my AP calipers. After 2 days at Thermal with a basically new set, I'd say the fronts only have 1 day left…..If you go to Thermal, make sure you have plenty of brake pad material. I do have to give props to the AP Racing calipers, the Cobalt Friction Pads, and the Castrol SRF brake fluid-----not a single instance of brake fade on 100+ laps across 2 days.

Odd note: I put on new Hankook TDs and could not run faster than my 6/7 day old TD scrubs…..! The times listed below are from scrub tires……both Buttonwillow and Thermal have shown me that fresh pavement doesn't really reward new tires nearly as much as old pavement, but it also does not punish you for running old tires like older pavement seems to do.

Anyway, Thermal is quite wonderful.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club South Palm Circuit
Best Lap Time: 1:22.79 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 7th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

E90 M3
Track/course: Thermal Club Twin Palms Circuit
Best Lap Time: 2:20.97 (AIM)
Brakes: AP Racing - Cobalt Friction XR2 front/XR3 rear
Tires: Hankook TD - 295/30/18 square on Apex Arc-8 10.5" (tires on 6th day!)
Suspension: JRZ RS Pro
Other mods: VF620, Akrapovic X-Pipe with stock exhaust, RD Sport front sway bar, (full interior and no aero parts), Euro-MDM on.

Videos: (unfortunately, the microphone did not get turned on for day 2 for the South Palm lap, so I put some music on there to help pass the time.)

South Palm Circuit

Twin Palms Circuit

love the videos, gabe. i've been watching a lot of your youtube channel. i'll be attending many more track days, hopefully i'll run into you at one so i can pick your brain some more. happy wheeling!

oh, and what system are you using that captures the data displayed in the video? i really like the m3 tach and speedo. is it a lap timer synched to a gopro?

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

oh, and what system are you using that captures the data displayed in the video? i really like the m3 tach and speedo. is it a lap timer synched to a gopro?

Thanks! The AIM Solo DL is able to capture A LOT of data from the car if you hook it into the CAN bus. I believe there's an OBD version but I would recommend having EAS tap into the CAN bus data for you. It's more out-of-the-way than having a bulky connector and wire hanging near your left leg. I believe EAS has a way now to also provide power to the device in addition to sending the car's data. Mine's not setup like that but it would be nice.

As far as how the data appears in the video, I use Race Render to marry data onto the GoPro video. I really like that app. First, I'm on a Mac, and Race Render has a native Mac app. (I own Dashware too, but its PC-only and there's a number of things about it that bug me. Of course, now Dashware is free so that might sway people.....). Anyway, I built the M3 gauge cluster myself in Race Render. I took a pic of the M3's speedo and imported it into Race Render and built a set of gauges around it.

My older videos simply use the video overlay capabilities of Harry's Lap Timer. There's less data/info than being tied into the CAN bus, but the results are still quite nice. And it's quite a bit less work----just import the lap you want from the GoPro and sync the finish line and hit render. Done. You can acquire more info into HLT via the OBD port, but it requires quite a bit more effort. I did buy a OBD-to-Wifi device, but again it's bulky and you're relying on a wifi connection. I found it to be a bit finicky, and HLT only displayed a couple more parameters for all the trouble. I never have used it. If you do go the route of HLT, I recommend getting an external GPS receiver. On my iPhone, I use the Emprum UltiMate GPS. It uses the old-style connector, so on a new iPhone, an adapter is necessary.

[Greg S]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Drove COTA in my business partner's 08 E92 M3.

Stock engine,

AST shocks, Vorshlag camber plates,

8x10 18X11 wheels with scrub 305 Pirelli DW slicks, splitter and APR wing.

Stoptech ST60/ST40 with Cobalt XR1 pads.

Full interior, stereo etc, drove the car there from Dallas.

2:30.1 with a passenger via AiM solo. Any faster E9X street car lap times at COTA?

Still sorting through video but here's some of the car.

Good example of the infamous point by drag race by the Cayman at the end of the first lap.

[TheKosherStogie]

moved to an E92 M to ZR1 to Carrera GTS ...just went to Buttonwillow with Speed District. Car is awesome and tons of fun. Only got 2 sessions as I hit curbing too hard and blew a tire. Started shaving time with my girl in the car on the 2nd session and thats when I blew the tire...so should def cut some more time.

Car is all stock, on the pirelli p zero 240tw tires it comes on - 1:58:4