Next Track Upgrade Opinion?

[ilya335]

I've only been to the track a few times but the first thing I would personally do is pickup an 18in track set. My PS2's get pretty shredded once they heat up (100 degrees didn't help). If you plan on going to multiple events it makes sense. Plus it allows to play with tire widths and air pressure setups. On the safety side, you'll always be rolling on non tracked PS2's for your daily driving, I feel that will add some peace of mind.

The OEM 18in" are BBS's and there are plenty of sets being sold for cheap usually. Slap on some Advans or any other extreme non R compound tire and have fun. The tires will be cheaper to replace and you'll get the chance to experiment.

Otherwise I would just pick up some small stuff, gloves, jack, air gauge, a GoPro and mount so I can watch and review what I'm doing right/wrong.

[turb0mik3]

As said before, really master your car in stock form and it will translate once you start modifying. I wish I had tracked my car with nothing on it but I ended up my first track day with mostly all bolt ons, KW/swift, and stoptechs, lol. I will say that the most important lineup should be: wheels/tires, brakes, suspension, aero (including racing seats/harnesses), power

[TurboBimmer]

Originally Posted by turb0mike

As said before, really master your car in stock form and it will translate once you start modifying. I wish I had tracked my car with nothing on it but I ended up my first track day with mostly all bolt ons, KW/swift, and stoptechs, lol. I will say that the most important lineup should be: wheels/tires, brakes, suspension, aero (including racing seats/harnesses), power

I would agree but there are some mods which also give more safety on the track (brakes, seats/harnesses).

To go faster, tires are the most important upgrade. Then suspension (including camber plates) and power mods.

[rcracin]

I wouldn't wear seat harnesses without a proper rollcage. That includes a hoop, diagonal etc. If you roll the car and the roof caves in, your neck doesn't have room to slide out of the way with harnesses versus a seatbelt.

Then I wouldn't drive a car on the street with a cage without a helmet on all the time. Obviously not feasable.

Tires & brake pads and keep on driving. Get a pyrometer to make sure your alignment is on point in that you're making use of your full tire.

Do some data acquisition then coilovers. There are a handful of nice seats that are still comfy for daily driving. The sparco evo is a moderately comfortable seat. The basic Status seat is also not so bad. I think the stock M seat is hard and uncomfortable to begin with so I wouldn't feel like I'm losing a lot with an aftermarket seat.

Try a set of Dunlop Direzza Star Specs or Advan AD08's before moving to r-comp. I prefer the Star Spec over the AD08, but that's just personal preference.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by Team Plutonium

BTW, track tires can also be quite dangerous at times... for example the michelin cup tires will give you basically no warning if they break loose. They have tons of grip, grip, grip, and even more grip - and then none - without warning, if you are not used to track with them. The AD08's are great, tons of grip and you feel (and hear) the limits. Run hard-core track tires, like the cups only if you have tons of expierience on the track.

+1. I love my cup tires, but I'm going back to street tires because I think they are still a bit above my skill level. I actually run faster times with street tires because I'm more comfortable riding on the limits of those tires. I've had the back tires break lose with my cups a few times and the back comes around VERY quickly. Luckily, i've had a lot of practice catching oversteer moments, but I definitely don't enjoy them when they aren't intentional. Also you need to run a lot of negative camber with the cups or you'll cord the outside pretty quickly. Unfortunately this is what happened to mine after about 4 and a half track days. Could have gone at least another 4 track days, but -1.8 degrees of camber just killed the outside. Great tire though.

[MTROIS]

Already a lot of great advice given, but here is my input:

- as many have said, since you already have a BBK, get some track pads. I love my Pagid yellow 19, even if pricey.

- R3 head and neck restraint from Simpson (or similar) - SAFETY FIRST http://simpsonraceproducts.com/head-neck/r3.html

- you do not need R-compounds (yet), but I would think that getting a square set of the 18"x10 ET25 Apex ARC-8s or EC-7s now, with some Dunlop Star Spec or Bridgestone RE11 or Yokohama AD08 (whatever comes in 275-35-18) would be a great way of spending your money. Get 5 or 6 wheels so that you can rotate your tires and only need to travel with 1-2 spare in your car.

- may be some camber plates to get the best of both worlds: DD and Track set up.

- lastly, in order to be strapped in your OEM seat: before you enter the track, tilt your seat backwards, pull on the seat belt to lock it and move your seat forward again so as to keep the seat belt locked and tight on you. You may have to adjust this by repeating the sequence if you were too far or forward when you pulled on the belt. Works great for me and will be good until I decide to make the car a dedicated track car with bucket seats.

- lastly, read books on track driving (ie, Going Faster or Speed Secrets, etc.) and devise a learning plan on which you will be working to acquire the proper skills. Data logging tools like Harry's Lap Timer on iPhones seems a great way to measure your progress.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by rcracin

I wouldn't wear seat harnesses without a proper rollcage. That includes a hoop, diagonal etc. If you roll the car and the roof caves in, your neck doesn't have room to slide out of the way with harnesses versus a seatbelt.

The Schroth harnesses are specifically designed to be used with stock seats. They are a 4 point, they're supposed to prevent submarining (don't wanna find out), and are DOT approved. My unexpert opinion is that I'd rather be in the seat and get my head crushed, maybe, rather than getting thrown around in the car.

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

Yes I agree that you should be comfortable sliding and and slipping to drive on R-comps only because that means you'd have better car control. R-comps don't reward driving with a big slip angle though like street tires do. With that said, I like street tires on my street car more because you can really drive however you want and over-rotating and sliding the car is highly enjoyable, if not fast. Also m3's suspension is better suited for street tire. Only thing I miss is the stopping distance of r-comp.

OP I recommend a "cheater-streeter" type tire for your needs.

Agreed. I was running similar times on the conti scrubs and dunlop Z1*'s. The difference is I do have a lot more fun and a much higher comfort level with street tires. You have to be so careful with your tires or they cord. I've seen 2 guys go through a NEW Hoosier R6 in six 20 minutes sessions (it was hot out). The best part is the end of the day. You're whooped and just wanna get home and unwind. As you pull out of the paddock, you see all of those guys pulling their hot and dirty wheels off and then cramming them into their cars. Then you're not sticking your face near the hot wheels checking tire pressure EVERY time you come in. Frankly, I check hot pressures at lunch or after 2 runs, that's it.

I've convinced two people to go from R-Comps and scrubs to the RS3s. Both have been pretty happy so far. One guy says he's not going back to the scrubs.

I do think a stock M3 does pretty decent on slicks/R-Comps. It could be better but the car does well out of the box.

[sleepless]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

The Schroth harnesses are specifically designed to be used with stock seats. They are a 4 point, they're supposed to prevent submarining (don't wanna find out), and are DOT approved. My unexpert opinion is that I'd rather be in the seat and get my head crushed, maybe, rather than getting thrown around in the car..

FYI - Those ASM harnesses allow you to flop around quite a bit after a frontal impact because the ASM bit allows for quite a bit of stretch on that side with the ASM module; this is how they prevent submarining. They effectively become a three point harness after a frontal impact.

So, their main purpose is to provide more support during track driving, and not so much after an impact, in which case they are more like stock belts.

I used to use these but now just do the "slide seat back, lock belts, slide seat forward" method of using stock belts; works almost as well as those ASM harnesses for me.

To the OP, I'd recommend, in order:

- camber plates with -2 to -2.5 camber (I like -2.2)
- track pads
- more aggressive tires like the S3 (I like the AD08s)
- coil overs

[OC3]

Originally Posted by MTROIS

- lastly, in order to be strapped in your OEM seat: before you enter the track, tilt your seat backwards, pull on the seat belt to lock it and move your seat forward again so as to keep the seat belt locked and tight on you. You may have to adjust this by repeating the sequence if you were too far or forward when you pulled on the belt. Works great for me and will be good until I decide to make the car a dedicated track car with bucket seats.

Works for me, as well.

I'm strapped in real nice & tight - no sliding around at all.

It works so well that I stopped looking for Recaro & harness.

[apecush]

+1 on locking the stock belt. I'm not a small guy (6'1", 210 lbs) and any movement during hard cornering now feels like me flexing the seat, not the seatbelt giving up. Schroth harness wouldn't change this one bit.

[bigjae1976]

I did the seat belt thing and my left knee and left side got beat up pretty badly. The biggest difference I noticed is that my upper body seemed more planted.

I'm 5'10" and was about 170lbs the last time I used the seat belt.

[klammer]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I did the seat belt thing and my left knee and left side got beat up pretty badly. The biggest difference I noticed is that my upper body seemed more planted.

I'm 5'10" and was about 170lbs the last time I used the seat belt.

That's pretty much my exact specs I've given up on staying in the seat and love flopping all over the cabin, that's part of the fun and yes my left knee gets bruised all the time, in fact I think it's starting to callous

[Porschefile]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I did the seat belt thing and my left knee and left side got beat up pretty badly. The biggest difference I noticed is that my upper body seemed more planted.

I'm 5'10" and was about 170lbs the last time I used the seat belt.

Yup, same here. Still not even close to a race seat/harness. But I probably won't sink the $5k on those (with cage) till next year.

[OC3]

Hmmm, locking the seat belt works so well for me that my left leg is free for left-foot braking (needless to say, no bruising of left knee).

[kaiv]

5'10" 170lbs with a bruised knee checking in

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I did the seat belt thing and my left knee and left side got beat up pretty badly. The biggest difference I noticed is that my upper body seemed more planted.

I did the seatbelt tightening thing for years in my R32, but the biggest issue I had was occasionally it would unlock itself (maybe the bmw's don't do that). Now that I have the harnesses, I can say it came nowhere close to holding me in as well, though it's the main non-harness alternative. It is definitely not a cheap upgrade, if you go the full cage (or half cage like me), seat, and harness route.

[wwjd15]

Not sure if you already spent the $$ or not. If I were you, I would do

Option 1: for long term track usage and self training
- KW Clubsport
- AD08
- better brake pads for fronts

Option 2: If improving lap time (go faster) is critical, spending is limited to $6k then
- KW V3
- AD08
- GT Wing
- Front brake pads

Option 3: If your next upgrade is coming up soon, and you want to do everything right at once, I would actually spend the whole budget on coilovers set up. However, if you don't have a proper shop to do this, then don't do it. Many places would just mess up those fancy coilovers.