There are fast Miatas, but...

[wolftrouble]

From a track day @ Thunderhill on Friday.

To his credit, he was actually driving pretty solid even if he was slowing me down a little (lack of V8ness will do that I hear). Judging by the puff of smoke from his driver's-side front tire I'm guessing he tapped the brake coming out of the turn for some reason (on purpose or accident, I dunno) and that was that.

As soon as I saw him spin I thought oh my god I hope the camera caught that. Guess it did.

Just skip ahead to 1:55 if you want to see the fun. Yes he was fine, in fact I think he passed me later in the day on another run.

[MTROIS]

6 MT FTW!!!!!!

That guy was pretty solid though..... but this is why there are tracks... and M3s built for them !!!!!

Great Vid. Thanks.

[wolftrouble]

Hey moderators, why'd this get moved to the track/autocross/dragstrip/driving techniques forum? I very carefully looked over the forum descriptions and recent topics in each, and intentionally chose the general forum because this isn't about driving techniques at all. It's just video from an M3 of a spinout that happens to be at a track. All of the other posts in this forum are instructional/questions/etc. in keeping with the topic description, why would this fall into that category?

I'm not trying to be difficult, but this seems kind of random. I want to make sure I'm posting 'properly' but this makes it hard to do the right thing.

[lucid]

i moved your post to the track section because the event is taking place on a track while you are driving your m3. the conversation will most likely turn into one about driving technique (why the miata spun, how you were driving, etc). if that is not your intent, and if this is simply about a M3 driving around, then it should be in the videos section as opposed to the general section. if you are saying this is about a miata spinning, then it should be in the "General Automotive (non-BMW) Talk + Photos/Videos" section. (see post below for the type of response this video will naturally elicit, which is of course fine).

[e82mon]

hey wolftrouble, great video thanks for the post, i have a question though (sorry to thread jack)

in a few weeks i plan on attending a few track days and documenting the process kind of like you did... i guess you can use any video camera, but how did you mount it in the middle? is it easy to install / remove, thanks a lot

[lucid]

Originally Posted by e82mon

hey wolftrouble, great video thanks for the post, i have a question though (sorry to thread jack)

in a few weeks i plan on attending a few track days and documenting the process kind of like you did... i guess you can use any video camera, but how did you mount it in the middle? is it easy to install / remove, thanks a lot

search for "camera mount" or go here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...t=camera+mount

[M3V8Driver]

Looks like either his brake line failed or his tire blew out.

[monsta]

I'm glad you didn't target fixate....which is one of the worst things that could happen at a track

[wolftrouble]

Originally Posted by lucid

i moved your post to the track section because the event is taking place on a track while you are driving your m3. the conversation will most likely turn into one about driving technique (why the miata spun, how you were driving, etc). if that is not your intent, and if this is simply about a M3 driving around, then it should be in the videos section as opposed to the general section. if you are saying this is about a miata spinning, then it should be in the "General Automotive (non-BMW) Talk + Photos/Videos" section. (see post below for the type of response this video will naturally elicit, which is of course fine).

Totally reasonable, thanks! I considered the video section but it's not video of an M3 (and all the other posts are), and while I don't say it's about Miata spinning... Well, it's kind of a gray area I guess.

Thanks for the explanation!

[wolftrouble]

Originally Posted by monsta

I'm glad you didn't target fixate....which is one of the worst things that could happen at a track

It was a 'good' part of the track for it to happen. Plenty of grass for him to go twirling off into, and I was already preparing to brake for turn 11 (which is a slooooow turn), so it was kind of like... Oh hey, ok, guess I'm braking a little earlier than I was planning.

[dawgdog]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[wolftrouble]

Great to see the M3 in its natural habitat! You will have a blast taking this car to the track. It is an addiction.

This is my 4th track day if you include Nurburgring. As for it being an addiction, given that I just blew a few bills on mods specifically dreamed up while at the track, I concur.

What track day organization was this? What run group were you in?

This was TEAM Racing. Fantastic group and highly recommended. All really fun people and all different kinds of cars, from unmodified Civics to a few full-on race cars (including probably the fastest NSX I've ever seen).

I took mine to Infineon last month and was awed by the DCT and a little bit scared from the availability of power. While I can drive my R53 flat out most of the time at Infineon and Thunderhill, the M3 still needs tons of respect. I still have a lot to learn and I am looking forward to it. What was your experience like?

This was my second time at Thunderhill, although last time it was raining. If you think the M3 demands respect on dry roads, try it in the rain, trust me - it's a whole other level of fear. But it gave me lots of good technical practice that served me well this time, and I at least had a baseline for the turn speeds.

One thing another E9X guy pointed out to me was that the stock PS2s take a beating at the track. They tend to 'roll over' and the edges get chewed up, to say nothing of the gobbets of rubber-beef that are left towards the middle where they started to melt. The grip was fine, although had I a few more bills in my wallet I'd run at least Cups. Frankly it just gobbled up the track. Passed rarely and I'd attribute that at least 90% to the car, it's very forgiving and even in full-on M mode with DSC disabled it does its best to keep you going where you're aiming, as fast as possible.

Brakes got squishy later in the day unsurprisingly, which is partly why I just ordered a set of Pagid RS19s.

Anyway, Miatas, Civics and MINIs eating up Corvettes especially in the lower run groups of trackdays indicates that the best mods are the ones applied to the driver.

Great video!

I dunno, my boyfriend's blown Z06 might disagree with you there. But a 600+ bhp cannon pretending to be a car will make up for a lot.

ps: lucid, you were right.

Also, here's some more video from later in the the day, just a (decent) lap behind an S2000 (I think? Might be a Miata). Whatever it was I'm pretty sure it wasn't stock, I couldn't catch him in the straights.

[sayemthree]

i thinks it should be in the tire sections for tire smoke.

looks like he just locked it up under braking. I hope the Miata was highly modified. but you did run him down, prolly locked up cause he was watchin his mirrors.

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

man... those vids made me wanna go back to thill... i'll prolly be there with nasa in may to run it backwards... i haven't done forwards yet, but looks like just as much fun!!

[Radiation Joe]

If they run the bypass, you'll catch BIG air on a blind crest. I used to catch air in a 200 hp car. I can't imagine they'll do that with 400 - 500 hp cars out there. That track is SO fun to run backwards.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

looks like he just locked it up under braking. I hope the Miata was highly modified. but you did run him down, prolly locked up cause he was watchin his mirrors.

Looks to me like the Miata was working his butt off while our OP was cruising well within his capabilities and the car's.

Dave

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

If they run the bypass, you'll catch BIG air on a blind crest. I used to catch air in a 200 hp car. I can't imagine they'll do that with 400 - 500 hp cars out there. That track is SO fun to run backwards.

oh i def caught a good amount of air, when i was first learning it backwards with the new pavement. if you aim right down the middle and a little to the left as you go over, then you're all good... no air, but if you line up too far left on the bypass, then better hold on!!!

[wolftrouble]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Awesome... stock exhaust? Sounds sweet. Love 6MT... was just admiring how much I love shifting and feeling the engine through the stick shift while out this afternoon. Wouldn't replace it for a million bucks.

Nope, not stock, Remus sport. I've been experimenting with a recording rig to try and get some good audio next time I'm out there (like, with less wind noise). If I get anything working I'll post clips.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by wolftrouble

Nope, not stock, Remus sport. I've been experimenting with a recording rig to try and get some good audio next time I'm out there (like, with less wind noise). If I get anything working I'll post clips.

Remote mic under the rear seat.

[wolftrouble]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Remote mic under the rear seat.

Were it only so easy. Mic placement I think I have figured out, but I've been swapping between the mics plugged into a DSD recorder and the camera directly. Both have their relative benefits, but I'm not sure which will work. To complicate matters the mics I use have a separate battery box which would make a fantastic missile in an accident, so I'm trying to figure out how to mount it safely.

[RickyBobby]

Nice videos. I hope to you see you at Thunderhill at some point.

Way off topic, but what kind of phone holder that is? I'd like to get something similar, but for commuting purposes
That one seems to hold up well under high g's.

[GT3 Tim]

ROTFLMAO! I spun once in many years at T-hill and it was that corner. lol Also....I had just passed a spec Miata before that corner..HAH! I guess it is payback in some strange way!

Thanks for the vid!