Overdue update time. Sorry for anyone that cares -- it's hard to keep this thing updated sometimes.
Dirty white TE's have my heart.
SO, since the 51.8 at Buttonwillow, I've run Chuckwalla CCW, Streets of Willow CW & CCW (19.4 & 19.7), and went back to Buttonwillow to play around one more on old tires and worn brakes (which wasn't great... you'll see why).
The car has been insanely reliable and fun to drive, and I really haven't changed anything. But, with the summer heat coming in, the itch is back, and with all the data and driving time I've had with this setup, in the name of science and a sub-50 Buttonwillow goal without slick or completely gutting this thing, I'm going to make two changes.
Before I get to those, wanted to give some love to the custom spec'd KMP Drivetrain wheel I ordered. Hard to believe a steering wheel can change the whole car, but man... the E92 was meant for a 330mm wheel. The car feels amazing on track now, and I love the look of this thing. Went with their grey alcantera, tri-stitch, and I worked with them on an inverted classic BMW logo. So cool. The horn has been useful, and having traction control up there is just a nice easy bonus, especially if I remove the console later and want to hide that big button by the shifter.
I also managed to find another 17.7lbs in the car that I wasn't using, thanks to the rear door cards, bench carpet and passengers 3-point seatbelt assembly. I needed an alignment before Bimmer Challenge anyway, so went to Chewerks and hopped on the scales with half a tank of gas just to see where we're at. New goal achieved, we are under 3200lbs!
Sometime in June, I'm going to send my trusty MCS 1WNR's to MCS in Georgia to be upgraded to their 3-way remote setup. My goal with this car was to see just how far an NA E92 could go on 200tw tires with 1way adjustable dampers. While it would have been cool, and it's definitely possible to extract some more from the current setup, the data and the videos show the car could be handling curbs and bumps with some more composure. The remote reservoirs will really help there. Will they instantly make me faster? Time will tell.
Next up -- aero. I've enjoyed my 8-month honeymoon with the beautiful carbon GT4 MkII wing. I do love the look of it, and it's proved itself to be functional without a doubt. But sometimes I see a photo from the rear and I just feel like it's just too cute. Top that off with the fact that I really have to work for my fast laps. And while this quality is part of what makes the M3 fun, I'm curious if a more substantial rear wing could be run without adding a ton of drag and understeer.
Again, I don't know if this will make me faster, but I feel like I'm at a point in my driving, and the car is at point where any chance is felt and seen instantly, that now's the time to try something else out. We don't see a lot of BimmerWorld Ultralight wings out there. It's not the prettiest from some angles, or the most economical, but it's light AF (I'll weigh it soon) and mocked up on the car, I am SOLD. It just looks right.
The stock steel trunk has some nice holes from the GT4 wing, and I really have been wanting a carbon trunk but haven't felt the desire to spend $2500+ to get one, plus paint... So, I posted up on Instagram to see if anyone had one they weren't using and low and behold, my buddy James Paick had an oldschool Challenge OEM-style carbon/kevlar trunk collecting dust in his garage. One of the holes for the hinge is stripped and there's some holes from different wings, which made it a perfect candidate to be restored for my M3. So thankful for awesome friends in this community.
Stock trunk is 29lbs, the Challenge trunk is 7.5! And with the wide mounting feet on the BimmerWorld wing, I think we'll be in good shape mounting to this.
The car will go back down to Kings Autobody for some cleanup and paint and then to EAS for some suspension work where the dampers will be pulled and sent out to MCS.
As far as Bimmer Challenge goes, this new setup will be maxed out in B2 class, which should be pretty interesting moving forward as Bailey in his 2400-ish lb e36 on A7's is an incredible driver and opponent. I haven't showed up enough this year for it to matter in the series, but 2023 should be fun.
Planning to run GTA Street Class at Buttonwillow Finals at the end of the year. Likely going to get destroyed by Mk5 Supra's, but hopefully can put on a good show for the NA BMW crowd.
19.47 at SOW CW for the first time in years, on 3-day old RT660's.
Did a 1:56.1 at CVR CCW in dust and heat. Was disappointed with my pace there, but I tossed the keys to legendary time attack driver Jackie Ding, and he only ran .1 quicker with a 56.0, so at least I know it wasn't me! Just a slow day... I'll have to go back. Jackie should be posting his lap in my car soon, since my GoPro decided not to cooperate. Was pretty cool that he was in love with the E92 and said it felt better balanced than his Supra
1:53.7 @ Buttonwillow on worn tires, catching up to a Cayman GT4 in a terrible spot.
1:19.7 @ SOW CCW for Bimmer Challenge R5. Got 2nd place. Might have been a first place finish if I didn't hit traffic on this lap. Needed an 18.6... Would have been close!
Bonus lap in a friends S54 E30 on 3-year old NT01's, no ABS and a wonky diff. This car has mega potential and hopefully Rob will take my advice on some changes! What a blast.
Thanks for following along, etc... I'll try to be better at this!