Track forum general chit chat.

[///Mobbin]

Nice day to be trackside.

[FMLYSDN]

Another day in the books

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Do tell - which suspension set ups would fall under that category? My past experience with cup kits (matched shocks & springs) on my E46 M3 ruined the car on the street

Like others have said many will do the same. The problem I had with edc is that on sport mode it didn't soak up bumps. The car just jarred. On comfort mode it was way too soft.

I have kw club sports and even driving over speed bumps are way better. Soaks up the bump but doesn't make the car leap and just settles nicely and smoothly.

There are way better suspensions that do this even better such as mcs and jrz. My plan is to upgrade to mcs in the future.

Ohlin rt are ok but on the track they are just way too soft (drove a friend's and they bottom out on track). You can up the spring rate but not sure if the damping will match it. They come with something around 400 lbs in front which is actually around stock I believe.

[kyippee]

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

I personally cut small circles in my trunk liner and will simply replace it if/when the car is sold. Assuming there isn't a welded cage in there before then lol

I'm just a bit south of you in Campbell if you want to try out the ride on KWV3s w/ swift springs. (In an E82 albeit)

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

I removed the liner but had holes before. You can get the big rubber caps/stoppers as a cover. Maybe Home Depot has them lol

[chamba002]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Nice day to be trackside.

I see you did some weight reduction

[ayao]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

For the rears you can buy extenders that obviate the need for cutting big holes in the liners. Even if you do cut the liners for access there some reasonably elegant solutions out there that keep the car from looking ratty. The fronts require you to get in the ground and reach up behind the wheel to access the adjuster, which is a metal dial.

[Chuck's M3]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

Originally Posted by ayao

For the rears you can buy extenders that obviate the need for cutting big holes in the liners. Even if you do cut the liners for access there some reasonably elegant solutions out there that keep the car from looking ratty. The fronts require you to get in the ground and reach up behind the wheel to access the adjuster, which is a metal dial.

Same question was posed here:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1402410
Pictures of proposed (rear) here:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...postcount=3259

Though I must say... I ultimately ended up leaving it in a 'track-ish' setting at all times like a scumbag. Uncomfortable for some people, but I tell myself it's kind of fun bouncing around and just apologize to passengers in advance

[ayao]

I drove home from an event recently not realizing that I had only dialed back 2 of the dampers to street settings and the whole way back I was thinking that I had blown a shock or something -- the car was so crashy and there was drama with every highway expansion joint impact.

[kyippee]

Wow that extender is sweet. Thanks!

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Nice day to be trackside.

Which direction? Videos? I'll be there in 2 weeks with NASA.

[ayao]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Wow that extender is sweet. Thanks!

My only caution with the extenders is that they are on the flimsy side and don't provide great tactile feedback. All that being said, I'm still happy with the results and they do get the job done. Some others have mentioned using thicker extenders from other manufacturers but I've never been able to find a specific weblink outside of "get the ones made by AST I think it's on their website", etc.

[dj_dub]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Thanks guys! Given my preference towards comfort on the terrible roads downtown and my frequency of track days (4-8/year) I'm leaning towards the ohlins R&T. EDC normal level of harshness is about where I can live nicely with the bumpy roads here!

How hard is it to adjust damping when rolling into a track day? I'd have to remove the trunk liner, a PITA?

IMO, I wouldn't waste my money on those expensive extenders. I literally spent $10 on some caps & some paint...plus some time and elbow grease cutting the holes to adjust the rears on my Ohlins R&T.

Here it is unfinished...

IMG_8856 by dj_dub, on Flickr

Then painted the caps with some gray paint to help blend the caps better and achieve a cleaner look...

IMG_4463 by dj_dub, on Flickr

IMG_4469 by dj_dub, on Flickr

IMG_4467 by dj_dub, on Flickr

If I see you at the next M Meet in Fremont, you're more than welcome to take a look at it in person dude.

[dj_dub]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Ohlin rt are ok but on the track they are just way too soft (drove a friend's and they bottom out on track). You can up the spring rate but not sure if the damping will match it. They come with something around 400 lbs in front which is actually around stock I believe.

I agree...they are softer than what most people are accustomed to for track use, but I like them. Definitely a step up from my old KW Sleeves for both street and track use. haha You're right about upgrading the springs dude, the dampening can only handle around >30% increase in spring rate in the fronts without revalving.

I've been running the dampening at settings 3 and 5, but still kinda felt a little too soft for me. Last Friday I ran the 5-mile course at Thunderhill at dampening setting 1 and it was a huuuuuge improvement. Looks like that's gonna have to be my default setting going forward.

Stock front spring rates are around 160 lb/in while the Ohlins R&T come with 343 lb/in.

[kyippee]

How do you guys handle rebuilds at 2 years? Put stock parts back on? Leave the car at a local shop?

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

How do you guys handle rebuilds at 2 years? Put stock parts back on? Leave the car at a local shop?

My car has been in the shop for almost three months now waiting for JRZ turnaround time, so yeah, it's been there since mid-June. Summer is bad timing for them since the factory in Europe goes on half-shift vacation mode.

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by redpriest

Drove a friend's track prepared E46 M3. It was a big mistake on my part - now I want one bad. The steering is immediate and far more direct than either my E92 or F82. The cabin is intimate and compact. I totally get this car now.

Even driving just on the highway, it didn't feel underpowered at all. Felt like a caged beast when you started revving it beyond 4k RPM. Felt very S65-esque in power delivery. He had a custom exhaust made for it which was just perfect. It's the best E46 I've ever heard.

The clutch was super-stiff so we had a good laugh as I stalled it at least 4 times backing it out of the garage, it didn't want to slip.

Well I've gone out and done it. I'll be buying this exact E46 M3 shortly - not getting rid of any of my other cars, so I'll be rotating three M cars between track days. Lol.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by redpriest

Well I've gone out and done it. I'll be buying this exact E46 M3 shortly - not getting rid of any of my other cars, so I'll be rotating three M cars between track days. Lol.

haha!

You know......you're going to have your own M3 historical museum soon! Who has an E36 and E30 for him to drive and fall in love with? Might as well complete the collection!

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by redpriest

Well I've gone out and done it. I'll be buying this exact E46 M3 shortly - not getting rid of any of my other cars, so I'll be rotating three M cars between track days. Lol.

alex, you're living like a champion. keep it up.

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by dj_dub

If I see you at the next M Meet in Fremont, you're more than welcome to take a look at it in person dude.

That setup looks great! thanks for sharing, definitely would love to take a look and if you don't mind a passenger ride over some light bumps...

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by redpriest

My car has been in the shop for almost three months now waiting for JRZ turnaround time, so yeah, it's been there since mid-June. Summer is bad timing for them since the factory in Europe goes on half-shift vacation mode.

Yikes. Guess this makes me want to replace my suspension sooner and keep the ZCP parts to swap on during the 2-year rebuilds. Anybody have experience with Ohlins rebuild lead time?