My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by b4hand

There's a 2:16 for sure, with less headwind, I say a 2:15. One thing I note is your entry to 11 seems tight and it looks like it takes a while to get back on power. Can't wait to see this thing again next weekend!

The wind was pretty intense on Saturday. I doubt it was doing me much favors.

I agree that some corners are still looking early. I will work today on seeing what happens if I turn in later. I’m not going for lap times today. Just practicing and trying to improve.

[///Mobbin]

So happy for you Gabe, keep it up!!!

[reidetailing]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Driving was average, as you mentioned Gabe.
Friendly tip, the last turn was one of the most important turns on the track, and I believe you lost a considerable amount of time there.

I'd recommend being more smooth entering, so that you can ease into the throttle on the exit and maximize top speed.

Not your lap-time but in the Youtube time around 50 seconds to around 1:05 was very smooth and nice which allowed you to get a great top speed on that straightaway...great work.

Also, some of the downshifts need to be quicker so that majority of braking can be done prior to turn-in (around Youtube time 1:37-1:44). You downshifted while turning the wheel at Youtube time 1:41, which can startle the car's balance making it less controlled, as you have to then adjust your throttle input which costs you exit speed and ultimately time.


All in all, the driving was alright. I know you'll continue to get faster and improve, and I'm excited to see you continue progressing!

~Alex

[Kelse92]

Sorry about your issues with the battery! Glad the OEM one sorted it, but I agree. The 20 AH was probably not enough. I had the AG-H6-40-RS which is their 40aH battery that’s sized similar to the OEM case, but lighter, and never had a single issue for two years except slow starts if the car sat for over a week without a trickle. Might be worth giving that piece a chance.
Congrats on the new PB, but I agree with the others there’s more out there for next week. Good luck!

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

This journey has been super exciting to witness from afar. It really emphasizes the importance of having a good team and support system and the willingness of the community to jump in and help.

Still waiting to hear back on ECR days after gridlife but if you find your way back through Dallas, give us all a holler!

[Bartledoo]

Originally Posted by reidetailing

Driving was average, as you mentioned Gabe.
Friendly tip, the last turn was one of the most important turns on the track, and I believe you lost a considerable amount of time there.

I'd recommend being more smooth entering, so that you can ease into the throttle on the exit and maximize top speed.

Not your lap-time but in the Youtube time around 50 seconds to around 1:05 was very smooth and nice which allowed you to get a great top speed on that straightaway...great work.

Also, some of the downshifts need to be quicker so that majority of braking can be done prior to turn-in (around Youtube time 1:37-1:44). You downshifted while turning the wheel at Youtube time 1:41, which can startle the car's balance making it less controlled, as you have to then adjust your throttle input which costs you exit speed and ultimately time.


All in all, the driving was alright. I know you'll continue to get faster and improve, and I'm excited to see you continue progressing!

~Alex

Who is this guy? Can’t tell if he’s joking or actually a dbag.

Edit: forgot to mention…nice work Gabe! Been inspiring watching your build and progress since before I started tracking. My car proudly wears a version of your original aero, and your work has been extremely helpful in guiding me with the E90. Thanks for continuing to share, and nice driving!

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

Who is this guy? Can’t tell if he’s joking or actually a dbag.

I was thinking the exact same

[dogbone]

Let's file this one under: Call me a liar!

Well, I said I wasn't going for lap times today. But the conditions were crazy perfect and the car was flying.

Ran a 2:17.50 on scrubs.....was floored.

I decided to put the good tires on again and ran 2:16.6. I really don't know what to say other than I kept working on things.

I'm about to get on a flight home. I'll type more later.

[reidetailing]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

Who is this guy? Can’t tell if he’s joking or actually a dbag.

Originally Posted by slcook54

I was thinking the exact same

Direct quote from Gabe: "Here's the 2:17 lap. It ain't the prettiest driving, but it is what it is. I'm hoping I can continue to learn and improve next weekend at SLB."

I'm giving him some feedback with what I noticed to help him improve his laptimes. Not sure why the both of you are making this a personal attack from me to Gabe. This is a community, and I'm giving some honest constructive feedback with no name calling or shaming...so no, I'm not a d-bag.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by reidetailing

Direct quote from Gabe: "Here's the 2:17 lap. It ain't the prettiest driving, but it is what it is. I'm hoping I can continue to learn and improve next weekend at SLB."

I'm giving him some feedback with what I noticed to help him improve his laptimes. Not sure why the both of you are making this a personal attack from me to Gabe. This is a community, and I'm giving some honest constructive feedback with no name calling or shaming...so no, I'm not a d-bag.

No worries. I’m happy to get feedback. I put this stuff out there and accept what comes back.

Thoughts on the 2:16?

[reidetailing]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Excellent driving! Great use of the full track.
Was a solid lap Gabe!

EDIT** since you're continuing to welcome my feedback...2:03 (your laptimer time) you lost some time there...perhaps you were carrying too much speed coming into that left-handed turn.
Also, everything I mentioned in my previous comment regarding the feedback was corrected in this track lap...throttle control was excellent, and you really maximized your exits coming onto those important straights!

[b4hand]

Damn Gabe, NICE JOB! I saw a hesitated shift going on the back straight so there is still more speed and time. 2:15:xx is coming, I know it!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by reidetailing

Excellent driving! Great use of the full track.
Was a solid lap Gabe!

EDIT** since you're continuing to welcome my feedback...2:03 (your laptimer time) you lost some time there...perhaps you were carrying too much speed coming into that left-handed turn.
Also, everything I mentioned in my previous comment regarding the feedback was corrected in this track lap...throttle control was excellent, and you really maximized your exits coming onto those important straights!

Turn 19 (2:03) is devilish. I’m still learning the best way through there.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by b4hand

Damn Gabe, NICE JOB! I saw a hesitated shift going on the back straight so there is still more speed and time. 2:15:xx is coming, I know it!

Thanks man!

That hesitation was me hitting the rev limiter….whoops….

See ya next weekend!

[reidetailing]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Turn 19 (2:03) is devilish. I’m still learning the best way through there.

I think what it is is that you turned in too early and cut the inside of the turn (I believe the entire middle of your car was over the rumble strip.
If you look at your wheel position, it's predictable about where the car is going to come out of the exit.

It's a tricky turn, but I think you should experiment with turning in a bit later. I can show you what I mean on an IG video call.
Gabe from the mentors I've had, it's really challenging to chase every millisecond. Lots of experimenting, analyzing track data, and discussing with other good drivers around you on track tips and strategies, especially if you are really trying to chase a PB or a track class record!

I'm a huge fan of the Ross Bentley and Skip Barber books, and always recommend them to anyone. This year I'm actually travelling to Portugal to do a private driver training at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, to continue building my driver skills and learn from others around the world!


Again, keep up the stellar driving and continuous improvement.

[OG Shark]

Awesome seeing the progress now that Gabe is getting consistent track time out there. Your lines have absolutely improved dramatically! Great driving!!!

Oh and turn 19 is a right bastard - if you haven't driven COTA then you really cannot truly know the line through that turn. Also you really need to know what they are considering track limits for that event. Cutting the middle can be the best way through depending on if there is a turtle there or not that weekend too. It is by far the trickiest turn on the track. Really can help to be two foot driving a DCT through that one as well. It is a hard one to get right - and then once you do to consistently keep getting it right.

Awesome job Gabe!!! Congrats on the 16! Knew you had at least at 18 in you - great to see you blew right past that! Makes me really want a supercharger and real aero though

[StripclubDJ]

Yay, everything works ! Lol

Congrats bro

[admranger]

Originally Posted by OG Shark

Oh and turn 19 is a right bastard - if you haven't driven COTA then you really cannot truly know the line through that turn. Also you really need to know what they are considering track limits for that event. Cutting the middle can be the best way through depending on if there is a turtle there or not that weekend too. It is by far the trickiest turn on the track. Really can help to be two foot driving a DCT through that one as well. It is a hard one to get right - and then once you do to consistently keep getting it right.

I was about to post a similar comment. T19 is a booger. It took the longest of any turn to learn for me when I was there in 2016. You carry a cubic crap ton of speed through that corner and hold on (mainly b/c if you f'up you have the world of run off room). Hustling the car back after the exit of T18 so the suspension has time to settle before turn in to T19 is critical. You can left foot brake to settle the car, but you have to be so precise with your footwork it'll take work to get it right.

Great laps.

BTW: I think if you put a few holes in that factory battery it'll be lighter.

[b4hand]

I know I was saying your speed seemed low but there was an AMG GT3 out there going about 156.

[dogbone]

Got home and a small Super Bowl gathering was underway. Just wanted to jot a couple quick notes down before calling it a night. And ooh yeah---I'm looking forward to a root canal tomorrow.

My learning process is a gradual one. I take my time to build speed. I look at data. I talk to people. I watch my videos. And then I try to apply it. As an amateur driver, usually I don't get lots of days on track in a row. With these three days, I was able to dig in and try to build each day. I love that.

I want to thank OG Shark for taking the time before I went to COTA to look at my fast lap video from 2020 and then discussing areas of the track that could improve. We were talking about how I early apex the slow corners too much.

On day 2 at the track, a driver named Andy, who drives a McLaren 720S, has done a ton of driving on track and test drives for tire companies and has competed against fsmtnbiker in the One Lap competition came over and looked at my data and gave me notes. I appreciated that.

On day 3, a pro driver/coach, who was testing an AMG GT3-class race car, came over and looked at my data and gave me a couple very specific notes.

I have no ego about my driving. If someone seems credible and is willing to take the time, I'm willing to listen. Sometimes, I may not agree with what someone says, but I'm happy to have the conversation.

So, today was about working on later apexes, working on the notes of the pro driver, and trying to carry maximum speed at all times. The wind not blowing was a huge help as well. (It was quite blustery yesterday.) And the 50ºF air on the fast lap was ideal.

Originally Posted by reidetailing

2:03 (your laptimer time) you lost some time there...perhaps you were carrying too much speed coming into that left-handed turn.

On Turn 19, I have been specifically told by multiple people that are very familiar with the track to cut that corner. So, that's what I do. I don't think I'm great at it yet, but I make sure to hop on that corner hard.


Anyway, it will be interesting to see what will happen at SuperLap. As I mentioned before, they may have more sausage curbs out there, and the course might have to be driven differently. I will start the event on the mostly new tires I drove the fast lap on today. And I have a fresh set of DH waiting. I will have to scrub in the new tires prior to running them in the time attack because they really do need two laps to come in when new.

What I am MOST happy about is that the car is currently working without issue. It's allowing me to just think about driving. And THAT is a great feeling. (My virtual best is now a 2:16.05. I'm happy that I'm around half a second from it.)

Anybody want to see me full throttle against an LMP3 car down the back straight? I was on a hot lap and he was on my tail going into T11. I was just ignoring him because I figured he would disappear quickly. I hung on longer than I thought I would! (His line didn't look super clean.) You can see him in my rear view mirror as I go through T11 and then coming around me.

[skyktm]

handsome!!!!

[dogbone]

Had a practice day for SuperLap Battle at COTA today. Not much to report. I didn't want to run good tires, so it was simply a day of getting my head back in the track and experimenting with some wing angles.

I think my head is generally back in the game now. As far as wing, I took two degrees out of the wing and didn't like it. Put one degree back in and thought it was ok. The thought is that I'm understeering a bit much in 2, 6, and the Carousel. And maybe less wing would improve top speed. But if you don't like the feel of something, ya just don't like it. I think this will be ok.

The cold weather is going to be a factor in the AM. I'm all for cold weather to make the supercharger pull strong, but 31ºF is just too damn cold to get heat into the tires--especially in one lap. I talked to the organizers today asking, if the first session is in the 30s, can we have two warm up laps? They didn't immediately shoot the idea down, so we'll see.

Guess what's out in full force?! You guessed it-----the orange sausage berms! And they are NO JOKE! These things have pointy tops!---not the roundy topped ones that you might be ok hitting occasionally especially with the unweighted side of the car. There are some you just DO...NOT...WANT....TO....HIT. Your car will come away injured. After analyzing where they are and my 2:16 video, I think the main area of concern will be Turns 4 and 5. And while I didn't necessarily run roughshod through that last week, I do believe I will have to be a bit more tidy now.

For anyone that is interested, the event will be livestreamed. Here's the link:

SuperLap Livestream

This marks the first time I've been able to do a practice day with Global Time Attack. I've signed up for several, but had technical issues that pulled me away. It was very social in the paddock and garages. I really enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces.

The car continues to run fine, so I am hopeful that the event will go well from a technical standpoint. I've decided to start on the DH that have 3 sessions on them. They are still very fast, and I want to start on a seasoned set. Another new DH set is mounted. We'll see if they come into play on Saturday.

Previously, I mentioned a pro driver that I met at COTA last weekend. His name is Adam Tobolowsky. Well, this week, he reached out on IG and offered to look at more data and video. He's given me a lot of great stuff to think about. Now, I just need to go out and do it. Super easy, right? RIGHT?! Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks because it was very nice of him.