UPDATE TIME!
It's hard to keep this thread updated sometimes... but I'm making a point of getting it done today.
The car has been amazing, really. I honestly can't get over how it feels as a whole package. After my first double-header weekend at Buttonwillow, where I PB'd on my first session after a 6-month hiatus, I went on to run Streets of Willow with Club Racer Events on Jan 29th. I haven't been back to Streets since September 2019 with my old 135i. Since then, it's been repaved and has apparently gotten much faster, and more fun. I wanted to get there before the weather gets too warm, and figured I might as well see how the car did on 3-day old Falken's. This track loves to force understeer. There is a ton of grip everywhere, and it doesn't favor heavy cars by any means, so getting the car to rotate and move through the technical course isn't easy. Somehow, I pulled off my Sub-20 goal with a 1:19.47, and set the fastest time of the day to boot. Love this car! Fresh tires and an alignment and I think we could pull a 1:17 off there. I might go out to compete in Gridlife time attack at the end of March, so maybe we'll find out!
In between the two events, though, my carbon door cards arrived from Fiber Lab Latvia. I requested a matte finish to these, as I'm not into glossy carbon interior bits. The Schirmer or M24 equivalents are easily 4x the cost, and not an option for me, but these were just about $700 shipped and I love the shape of them. I realize on all my long drives that I 100% utilize the arm rest for my left arm, and the thought of having a flat door panel with no support didn't sound fun. Blow away with the quality of these. They are 3.2 lbs each, after the minimal hardware, the door handle and pull, they provide 20lb weight savings! Pretty insane, honestly. The stock door cards are heavy.
Cutting, measuring, drilling, mounting... not my forte at all, but I decided to go for it. I ordered some rubber well nuts from Amazon, and some black low-profile m5 allen bolts. I planned to do 10 per side, but after adding 4, I realized there was no need. So, we have 6 total. The well nuts are interesting... Apparently they help with vibration because they're rubber, and, you don't need a rivnut tool to press them into the metal. You drill the hole, insert them, and they expand and pull back on the back side as they're tightened. I spent 4 nights working on this project, a couple hours at a time.
I also picked up the door pull kit from Condor Speed Shop, because I like the little cover they come with. Felt OEM to me, rather than just slicing the door card and threading the strap through. I didn't think it would look clean. I don't LOVE my placement of these, but once you cut...
Speaking of cutting -- I didn't add the window switch to the pass side, because I don't even have a seat over there and the master control on the drivers side can handle both. Cutting for the big switch was miserable. I never, ever want to do this again.
I'll take some better pictures soon. Overall, I'm super happy with these and happy to trim weight while looking good. Few more things planned for the interior still, but it's coming along.
I reached out to KMP to see if they'd be down to make me a wheel to my spec. After driving TJ's car
StripclubDJ , I knew I needed a 330mm wheel. It makes this big car feel so light and agile in turns and transitions. I wanted a grey alcantera that would match the OEM 9002 alcantera I used on my shifter and handbrake, and plan to use on my dash trim. They offered tri-color stitching, too, and I wanted to laser etch the BMW hertiage motorsport logo on the center, with only two buttons: traction control (in case i remove the console and button later..) and the horn, since I still street drive and I'm a New Yorker at heart. Topped it off with their quick release and this thing is killer.
I got the wheel in in time for Socal Drivers Club at Buttonwillow on Feb 4th. Also got an alignment down at Chewerks, where Rob said "you ran a 1:19 like this at Streets?" Seems a few things were pretty out of spec from some off-roading at Buttonwillow the first time. Last up was a set of new 275/35 RT660's and I was on the road to BW.
It was cold when I got up there, and typically, I run my fastest lap on lap 3-4 of the 1st session. I always wish I could warm myself up more, but this is how it goes. After reviewing my data from last time, where I ran a 1:53.0 and a handful of low 53's over two days, I found my theoretical bet to be in the mid 1:51 range. I didn't think this would be possible, so I went with the intention of just running a 52. Somehow, I ran a 1:51.87 on lap 3, despite the track feeling dirty and the car feeling a bit unsettled. I couldn't believe it. For the rest of the day, people were going off a lot and it warmed up quite a bit, so I couldn't get back to the 51's, but I do know with some more refining, we can run a 50 on these tires. Un.Be.Lievable. Really didn't think this car, at this weight, with mild aero, on Falken street rubber... could set times like this. Couldn't be happier!
Here's the lap, and a video from my buddy James Paick of my approach to on-ramp. More soon. -AB