Enough is enough; time to track this bad boy

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by Asiarush

I just went to the track for the first time this last sunday.
I took my stock E92 and boy...what an experience.
you HAVE to enroll in a beginner class or you will not have a clue on what hit you.
people there drive fast, very fast and if you dont know what to do you will slam into someone or might even get kicked out.
you have to learn the flags, signals and you have to learn the lie as well.
every track in your area will have beginner classes, just check their website.
you will also need a Helmet, racing gloves (recommended) and a good instructor will make a big difference in your experience.

Good luck, you will have fun but please dont get on the track with out proper training upfront, not only you will most probably harm your car, but you might harm yourself as well.

Thanks for the advice. Will definitely enroll in a "beginners only" type thing. Looking forward to the challenge.

[arter]

New Jersey BMW CCA has there next school at Lightning on August 19th through the 21th ( less than an hour away for you).
Also that same weekend the Patroon BMW CCA ( Albany) section has a school at Lime rock
( I think this was mentioned earlier). The BMW schools are probably the cheapest way to start and they always have a large group of beginners around so you will feel comfortable.

Stock tires and brakes are going to be fine until you get going much faster.
Its a great car to start in ( and you will be faster on the straights than most of the instructor's cars....

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by arter

New Jersey BMW CCA has there next school at Lightning on August 19th through the 21th ( less than an hour away for you).
Also that same weekend the Patroon BMW CCA ( Albany) section has a school at Lime rock
( I think this was mentioned earlier). The BMW schools are probably the cheapest way to start and they always have a large group of beginners around so you will feel comfortable.

Stock tires and brakes are going to be fine until you get going much faster.
Its a great car to start in ( and you will be faster on the straights than most of the instructor's cars....

Yeah, this is close. Barring scheduling issues with work, I will be there. Looking forward to it.

Haha ok last question: helmet - where to buy (at the track?)? Thanks.

[arter]

Type auto racing helmet into google and you will get many options.

Get SA2010 rating ( or SA2005 at worst) so you can use it for a while.
Helmets new cost $ 300 and up.

Many schools rent helmets, ask the registrar if they do and rent cheaply till you know what you like.

Full face helmets ( bottom of face covered) is suggested as this is required at some tracks.

[NJBMWM3]

Originally Posted by arter

New Jersey BMW CCA has there next school at Lightning on August 19th through the 21th ( less than an hour away for you).

NJMP is not less than an hour away from NYC its more like 2.5 - 3 hours

[NJBMWM3]

Originally Posted by Talk2meg00se

Yeah - I might be up for this. Let me check into the details. Strength in numbers!

Edit: hmm ~300 mi. from NYC. A bit too far.

Yea it is far but for a 2 day event its not too bad.

[dawgdog]

At my first BMWCCA driver's school the instructor said: "This hobby is a lot like heroin addiction, only more expensive." Four years later and 30+ track days tells me he was right.

[heart_doctor]

Watkins glen, check out your local BMW cca chapter, they sponsor events there. I plan on doing the same.

[captainaudio]

Distances from NYC

1. Lime Rock Park - 101 Miles
2. New Jersey Motorsports Park - 131 Miles
3. Watkins Glen International - 257 Miles

All great facilities. LRP and NJMP can be a day trip but driving up, driving on the track and driving back on the same day can be very tiring. Watkins Glen is a 2 or 3 day trip.

CA

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Distances from NYC

1. Lime Rock Park - 101 Miles
2. New Jersey Motorsports Park - 131 Miles
3. Watkins Glen International - 257 Miles

All great facilities. LRP and NJMP can be a day trip but driving up, driving on the track and driving back on the same day can be very tiring. Watkins Glen is a 2 or 3 day trip.

CA

Lime Rock seems like the logical choice. I might cruise out there this weekend just to check it out.

[Talk2meg00se]

Follow-up question:

I'm interested in attending the upcoming Lime Rock event but apparently the car needs to go through a whole pre-race day inspection thing before they authorize me to attend. I can only guess how expensive something like this would be at BMW Manhattan.

Any thoughts on how / where to get this done cheaply / quickly?

(yes, I officially admit that I'm a complete noob - ahem, "novice").

[dizzyj]

Originally Posted by Talk2meg00se

Follow-up question:

I'm interested in attending the upcoming Lime Rock event but apparently the car needs to go through a whole pre-race day inspection thing before they authorize me to attend. I can only guess how expensive something like this would be at BMW Manhattan.

Any thoughts on how / where to get this done cheaply / quickly?

(yes, I officially admit that I'm a complete noob - ahem, "novice").

tech inspections can be done by typically any performance shop for $20-$30

[skim]

Stock form is a great way to learn the dynamics of body roll, etc. But I'd definitely recommend that you change brake fluid with higher temperature one. The stock brake fluid and brake pads overall aren't that great on BMWs in DE environments.

[Talk2meg00se]

Well, my first day at the track was yesterday and I have to admit, I had a ton of fun.

The instructor was great; met some nice people; and, most importantly, got to push the car around the track to the best of my (very limited) abilities.

I tried to get some footage of it, but sort of failed with the positioning of the GoPro in the cabin. Not sure where to really set that thing up.

The instructor took me as a passenger in his car for a session. He's a former racer with over 20 years experience at Lime Rock. All that I can say is wow - it was both terrifying and humbling. The literally drove like a bat out of hell. At each turn, I was convinced that the car was going to go off. He had that thing on the edge the entire time. You may think that you're good driver, but when you sit with a pro ... well, then you realize where you stand.

Also: highly-modified, lightweight E36s are **fast**! haha.

[ThunderMoose]

I am glad you had fun and didn't hit anything. When do you plan to go out again?

[Talk2meg00se]

October.

Yeah, that is the scary thing underlying the day of fun - one car went into the wall and was almost certainly totaled.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by Talk2meg00se

Well, my first day at the track was yesterday and I have to admit, I had a ton of fun.

The instructor was great; met some nice people; and, most importantly, got to push the car around the track to the best of my (very limited) abilities.

I tried to get some footage of it, but sort of failed with the positioning of the GoPro in the cabin. Not sure where to really set that thing up.

The instructor took me as a passenger in his car for a session. He's a former racer with over 20 years experience at Lime Rock. All that I can say is wow - it was both terrifying and humbling. The literally drove like a bat out of hell. At each turn, I was convinced that the car was going to go off. He had that thing on the edge the entire time. You may think that you're good driver, but when you sit with a pro ... well, then you realize where you stand.

Also: highly-modified, lightweight E36s are **fast**! haha.

Were you at LRP with the BMWCCA Patroon Chapter?
I have worked with them as a track steward. Great bunch of people.

CA

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Were you at LRP with the BMWCCA Patroon Chapter?
I have worked with them as a track steward. Great bunch of people.

CA

Yeah, that's the chapter. I will probably attend the Oct event as well (I don't recall the chapter that it holding it, but it's not Patroon)...

[lisnter]

I'm in LA so I don't have experience with the East Coast tracks but I've never seen a car or person get hurt in the 15 years I've been tracking my cars (2 or 3/yr). I've seen (and done) plenty of offs but never anything more than a dusty car and maybe some scratches from pebbles being kicked up. It is definitely more dangerous than playing video games but also a million times more fun. As long as you *think* and stay within your limits you should be fine.

You should buy a helmet and be very conservative of your skills. Almost none of us are even remotely talented and it's just about having fun and learning to control the car at speed.

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by lisnter

I'm in LA so I don't have experience with the East Coast tracks but I've never seen a car or person get hurt in the 15 years I've been tracking my cars (2 or 3/yr). I've seen (and done) plenty of offs but never anything more than a dusty car and maybe some scratches from pebbles being kicked up. It is definitely more dangerous than playing video games but also a million times more fun. As long as you *think* and stay within your limits you should be fine.

You should buy a helmet and be very conservative of your skills. Almost none of us are even remotely talented and it's just about having fun and learning to control the car at speed.

Haha well during my first event a car was *totaled.* Spun, and then straight into the wall head-on. Fortunately, the driver appeared to be ok but the car was toast.

I have no clue as to whether or not the guy had track day insurance. The overwhelming majority of us did not.

Seems like events of this sort might be more commonplace than you might think.

[of course, they seem to be more or less reserved for the "Expert" and "Instructor" groups.]

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by Talk2meg00se

Haha well during my first event a car was *totaled.* Spun, and then straight into the wall head-on. Fortunately, the driver appeared to be ok but the car was toast.

I have no clue as to whether or not the guy had track day insurance. The overwhelming majority of us did not.

Seems like events of this sort might be more commonplace than you might think.

[of course, they seem to be more or less reserved for the "Expert" and "Instructor" groups.]

Where on the track did the car spin out?

CA

[Talk2meg00se]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Where on the track did the car spin out?

CA

The corner between No Name and Uphill; right into the wall.

Apparently he had tires on the grass - hit the brakes, spun, and ... well.