[Bimm Me Up]

Shoud I do it? It only has 100 miles on it btw, the autox is coming next Sunday and I should be able to put about 1k miles on it.

I just sold my Integra R and now I have no car to compete with. The 325i feels really nice esp with DSC off, so I might wanna give it a shot next Sunday.

If I take the car in at 1k mile for oil change, would it be under warranty? I want to flush out the gunk.

[ward]

I wouldn't autocross it until it was broken in, but 1000 miles is pretty close to broken in,
be sure you've got the tranny pulled down to 2nd gear so you don't end up in 4 gear on the track.

if you've got those pirelli's that are stock on the sport pack, be warned, they really suck. They squeal like crazy and don't have that much grip. On tire rack's site they're rated 33 out of 40 tires in their class.

your oil change is definetly not going to be paid for by the dealer

[onesixeight]

If you can keep the RPM below 4k, it might actually be nice. The car will get a wide range of RPMs and you'll really scrub in those run-flats.

But as ward said, they won't do an oil change unless those lights show or the 1st year.

If you leased this car, I say go for it all the way!

[scottz5]

Sure

[Petercat]

I wouldn't do it on the run-flats. I had a small emergency braking situation the other day and was suprised by how little effort was needed for the tires to chirp.
Not alot of grip.

Otherwise go for it. Good Luck.

[ward]

OK, has anyone else here autocrossed????

There's no chance in hell the revs will stay below 4 grand

Why is it a bad idea to autocross because the tires don't grip?

it's better to learn how to drive on a less capable car (crappy tires) than a car on race tires. PLUS autocrossing will help wear out those crappy pirelli's faster so that you can get good tires

[Petercat]

I'm assuming this is his first autocross.

I agree, he'll never keep it below 4K... If it is his first autocross, he'll be too distracted by driving and excitement, most likely to over rev often.
He did say that he could get the miles up to 1000 before sunday, so break in shouldn't be any issue.

I think by autocrossing on good tires, he'll get a more satisfying experience. Using the runflats just seems like a waste of money, to me. Why not get some $100 Kumho's. Save the $300 runflats for the road where they may have some value (if you get a flat).

[onesixeight]

It doesn't sound like it's his first autocross...he mentions he had a Integtra Type-R and and now doesn't have a car to compete with...

Sure he might get excited and rev above 4k, but it won't hurt the car. The Bridgestone RE050A are actually very grippy tires, but I'm not sure what he has.

If you're just out there to see how the car is, why not? Sure, there are better tire options out there, but if you just wanna see how the car will do out of the box, I don't see a problem. I ripped up my '02 M3 the first 130 miles I had it. I didn't really care about brake-in because I knew I wasn't going to keep the car longer than a year or two. I never had any mechanical problems, even with all the block problems the E46 M3 has.

[Bimm Me Up]

Lol, I've been autoxing for the past 5 years and won year-end class champion.

But this will be my first RWD autox event, and the first time with BMWCCA that my car is in the BMW run groups

Actually...I already ran the car once pre-100 miles to 7k rpm in 2nd and 3rd gear, I'm following the drive-hard break-in guide and yes, it's a leased car. I'll have DSC completely off and start in M1 and finish the course in M2. Also, if I set up the air pressure right, crappy tires = more tail happy, which is the main thing I'm looking forward to.

I'll probably only do 3 runs, depend on how bad the the tires wear. If the car is autox worthy, I'll invest in a set of r-compounds for them.

If I do beat the E30, 36, 46's, I'll post my time

[scottz5]

If is a lease why ask why? Beat the crap out of it and have fun!

[Petercat]

Just a question...

Has anyone else heard of Automakers not honoring warantees for cars which have been autocrossed?

I could swear I had read a story in one of the several magazines I get which pointed out that if a car is used in a timed event and the results are published, the dealer/manufacturer can find out and choose to not honor the warantee. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Could autocross be considered a drivers ed. event which then would be covered?

Please share any thoughts, experiences, urban legends.

[Bimm Me Up]

Well, friends with the new Evo are having a tough time with Mitsubishi. Appearantly, the dealers look up local autox results and if they see your name on the list, they will void any warranty repair to engine/tranny/brake...etc.

I don't know about BMWs, but if they consider autox as racing, it will not be covered. When you autox, you always sign a waiver leaving the autox organization out of any liability to the driver and the car itself. As long as the dealers don't have proof that the damage occure during autox, you should be fine.

I'm worried about insurance when I autox. In these years, I've seen more than one totalled accidents: a M3 wrapped around a telephone pole, a brand-new SRT4 jump the curb nearly ripped out the entier suspension, and my friend's STi that went into the portter potty (not totalled ) and numerous off course incidents that hit the fence, or curbs. It's hard to write a police report about going 60 mph in a parking lot.

[bobnaz]

Originally Posted by Bimm Me Up

Well, friends with the new Evo are having a tough time with Mitsubishi. Appearantly, the dealers look up local autox results and if they see your name on the list, they will void any warranty repair to engine/tranny/brake...etc.

I don't know about BMWs, but if they consider autox as racing, it will not be covered. When you autox, you always sign a waiver leaving the autox organization out of any liability to the driver and the car itself. As long as the dealers don't have proof that the damage occure during autox, you should be fine.

I'm worried about insurance when I autox. In these years, I've seen more than one totalled accidents: a M3 wrapped around a telephone pole, a brand-new SRT4 jump the curb nearly ripped out the entier suspension, and my friend's STi that went into the portter potty (not totalled ) and numerous off course incidents that hit the fence, or curbs. It's hard to write a police report about going 60 mph in a parking lot.

You are on the money. Check to see what local race groups you have in the area. They often offer HPDE (high performance driving education) and of course BMW Club events such a driver education. These might be covered by your insurance company.

[stressdoc]

Check out the BMWCCA website -- they have been dealing with the racing/driver's ed insurance hassles for a long time. Near as I can tell, what you need is a sales rep friend in the insurance business and a solid long-standing policy, so that they do not want to pull crap on you. We did not have such worries in the good old days rallying in the Michigan woods...

And then there was the sad but true story in the latest Roundel Tech Talk by Mike Miller (he is great!!) to the Q: "What is the best BMW to have as a track car?" Mike's response: "In my opinion the best new BMW to buy for driving events at the race track would be a Honda Accord LX coupe ..." His reasoning being that BMW has not built a durable car since the E30. "street/track work is no longer BMW's forte. Contemporary BMWs are just too heavy, too complex, and simply not strong enough structurally to handle the stress."

It is wise to have an old beater for the track. Have fun!

[Petercat]

Originally Posted by Bimm Me Up

Well, friends with the new Evo are having a tough time with Mitsubishi. Appearantly, the dealers look up local autox results and if they see your name on the list, they will void any warranty repair to engine/tranny/brake...etc.

It must have been Mitsu I had heard the story about... That sounds familiar.

I've heard there is a difference between timed events (i.e. racing) and "Drivers Ed". I know a guy with a G35 coupe he totaled out at Road America during a "Drivers Ed" event. Insurance covered it because it was consider training. If it had been timed, he would have been S.O.L..

Anyone hear of other experiences?

[Bimm Me Up]

I had my previous Integra totalled at Lime Rock Park with PDA. Insurance took care of it (Allstate btw), because PDA is registered as a driving school. Same as BMWCCA HPDE, NASA, Car Guys...etc.

But we are talking about autox, and there are various issues with insurance claims. I would need to find out too of what happened to those totalled cars at autox events.

[UncleWede]

I read a bunch about the upcoming LA area BMWCCA driving school. No timing devices are allowed at the track at all during the weekend. It is driver's ed, not racing school. If a stopwatch shows up, then the whole driver's ed issue is out the window. I'm contacting my agnet this week to see what's up with driver's ed, if it happens to occur on a motor speedway. Depending on his answer, I'll be deciding on my birthday wish list

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Petercat

I wouldn't do it on the run-flats. I had a small emergency braking situation the other day and was suprised by how little effort was needed for the tires to chirp.
Not alot of grip.

Otherwise go for it. Good Luck.

I have the opposite opinion of my tires. They grip GREAT! Your and my tires are quite different, however.