slcook54 - Track Journal

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by leftfootbr8king

No kb springs in the GTS kit. I know others experience it after the esses, but it's never been present when I brush the brakes at t10. Or anywhere else like roller coaster and hog pen.

Maybe my kit is faulty.

It can only occur if your pads are worn down as there's no room for the pads to move when new. once my pads get to ~60% I start to get KB after high speed transitions, it's way worse as the pads get down below ~40% thickness.

[leftfootbr8king]

That makes sense. I never really use my brakes because they just slow me down, thus my pads are always full thicccness

[Gouki]

First things first, love the detailed updates and continuous posts for your car and driving progression, keep them up. I feel kind of crappy initiating the MDM question now earlier in the thread, but glad you survived TC off and ultimately it was a safe low speed turn that the spin occurs within - which is positive!

With my best lap posted earlier, staggered set up and soft ZCP EDC will be easier to control than your car at the limit as your car likely exceeds GT4 spec now. The weight transfer and hence pitch and roll in a car helps quite a bit, staggered set up is confidence inspiring also.

We all make mistakes, here's one of mine that will cheer you up

https://youtu.be/IZJKi5TuRXU

[derbo]

Originally Posted by Redd

I had great results fixing knockback on my Brembo GT with brake residual pressure valves. You can get them from Wilwood/McGill. Cheap too,just need custom fittings/hoses. Zero downsides so far, but I've not tracked them. Ping me if you need details.

This is interesting. wouldve been a great solution for my ST60 when I had it.

[Bimmer Barney]

@slcook54

My second to last day at Laguna I spun 2 times and had 2 offs.
Exit of Turn 6 towards the inside (oversteer)
Exit of Turn 10 towards the right and through mud (oversteer)
Entry of Turn 6 tried to brake short and hard after the bridge and went straight when I knew trying to make the turn would have been a worse choice.
Entry of 2 trying to be a hero and hit 130 mph and brake at the second marker.

It was a good day of learning 😇

Have to know where the limits are in order to stay within them. Congrats on finding some!

[slcook54]

@spxxx & spooni.

I just found this track day nestled within the Thunderhill calendar. I booked it. $700, capped to 20 cars and open track. I like these types of formats better. Currently 11/20 spots booked.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/...osports/742713

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by slcook54

@spxxx & spooni.

I just found this track day nestled within the Thunderhill calendar. I booked it. $700, capped to 20 cars and open track. I like these types of formats better. Currently 11/20 spots booked.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/...osports/742713

Nice I'll check my calendar, might be out of town that weekend but I love open-track/test day format... So great being able to run a quick session and make tweaks before jumping back on track.

[spooni]

Originally Posted by slcook54

@spxxx & spooni.

I just found this track day nestled within the Thunderhill calendar. I booked it. $700, capped to 20 cars and open track. I like these types of formats better. Currently 11/20 spots booked.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/...osports/742713

Damn $700? Super low car count but that is not cheap. DC private days have a similar car count for a bit less. Track is $7500 for the day..

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by spooni

Damn $700? Super low car count but that is not cheap. DC private days have a similar car count for a bit less. Track is $7500 for the day..

Ya I figure normal days are usually $300-400, I'm happy to pay double for approximate 1.5-2x more driving time and less traffic.

[slcook54]

I got the car back yesterday from VT with the 9668 installed, ready to shake it down tomorrow at Thunderhill East. I had a 3mm spacer already installed, but we needed to run a 7.5mm to make it fit onto the E88's, thanks slicer for hooking it up from his personal stash. We also mounted a fresh set of RE71RS. I'm not sure exactly what hot psi to target with these, but I'll likely aim for 35-36psi as a starting point.

I've also been daydreaming about how to get the next 100lbs out of the car, I'd like to get into the 32XX's on a full tank. I think I have come to terms with ditching the speakers. Here is my rough list so far and I'm happy most of the weight is coming off the middle and front of the car. Ditching AC is still a maybe, but I rarely use it, 1-2x per year. These are all rough estimates, rounded to the nearest 5.

Carbon Door cards (M24, Schirmer, Fiberlab, etc) - 20lbs
KMP steering wheel (ordered from bimmerworld) and removing passenger side airbag - 10lbs
Washer Fluid tank and accessories - 5-10lbs when full?
Rear polycarbonate side windows from roastbeef thread - 10lbs
Karbonius Plenum - 5lbs
Rear doors cards and speaker - 10lbs
Subwoofers under driver / passenger seat - 5lbs?
M24 Hood with aero catch and ditching the hood latches - 10lbs
Ancillary trunk pieces we didn't ditch during phase 1 - Trunk mat, rear seat pulls, rear seat mounting points, etc. - 10lbs
AC - 20lbs?

Any other ideas, roastbeef?

I'll be taking a small weight penalty when I add the aero, also a carbon trunk isn't out of the question either.

Anyone else have any thoughts? DRLane and I were chatting regarding thinning the wiring harness, but I think that would be further down the line.

I also really want to move to running 295/30 square, I keep hearing mixed feedback if this will fit or not, but I'll likely give it a shot on my next set of tires, if it doesn't work, I'll just swap on 275 fronts and run staggered.

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by slcook54

I got the car back yesterday from VT with the 9668 installed, ready to shake it down tomorrow at Thunderhill East. I had a 3mm spacer already installed, but we needed to run a 7.5mm to make it fit onto the E88's, thanks slicer for hooking it up from his personal stash. We also mounted a fresh set of RE71RS. I'm not sure exactly what hot psi to target with these, but I'll likely aim for 35-36psi as a starting point.

I've also been daydreaming about how to get the next 100lbs out of the car, I'd like to get into the 32XX's on a full tank. I think I have come to terms with ditching the speakers. Here is my rough list so far and I'm happy most of the weight is coming off the middle and front of the car. Ditching AC is still a maybe, but I rarely use it, 1-2x per year. These are all rough estimates, rounded to the nearest 5.

Carbon Door cards (M24, Schirmer, Fiberlab, etc) - 20lbs
KMP steering wheel (ordered from bimmerworld) and removing passenger side airbag - 10lbs
Washer Fluid tank and accessories - 5-10lbs when full?
Rear polycarbonate side windows from roastbeef thread - 10lbs
Karbonius Plenum - 5lbs
Rear doors cards and speaker - 10lbs
Subwoofers under driver / passenger seat - 5lbs?
M24 Hood with aero catch and ditching the hood latches - 10lbs
Ancillary trunk pieces we didn't ditch during phase 1 - Trunk mat, rear seat pulls, rear seat mounting points, etc. - 10lbs
AC - 20lbs?

Any other ideas, roastbeef?

I'll be taking a small weight penalty when I add the aero, also a carbon trunk isn't out of the question either.

Anyone else have any thoughts? DRLane and I were chatting regarding thinning the wiring harness, but I think that would be further down the line.

I also really want to move to running 295/30 square, I keep hearing mixed feedback if this will fit or not, but I'll likely give it a shot on my next set of tires, if it doesn't work, I'll just swap on 275 fronts and run staggered.

You can definitely fit 295/30 without issue assuming you have some short front springs (5") and enough camber.

Also, you mentioned a 7.5mm spacer. I'm a big fan of spacers since I've had so many chassis/wheels but make sure they're hubcentric with the outer ring/hub support on the spacer. I've stuck with either 5mm or 10mm (nothing in between) as I'm OCD when there's less than 5-7mm of hub engagement on the wheel. Pic attached.

Regarding weight, 100% take those front subs out. It's like 4 screws and I think they're over 9lbs combined. I'm sure you're already running a lithium battery... But door cards actually seem to provide decent ROI when it comes to $/lb savings (I'd be a bit nervous running those without a cage w/ door bars though). Another one might be the Ti Xpipe that Alex (Berno) is promoting, 8lbs is insanely light.

Also, the rear seat/seat-belt hardware is crazy heavy - the bolts are like M12 or something huge, should be close to 10-15lbs depending what's still back there. I just got rid of the front seat belts too since I'm running the OMP wheel without an airbag, I just use my harness at all times.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by spxxx

You can definitely fit 295/30 without issue assuming you have some short front springs (5") and enough camber.

Also, you mentioned a 7.5mm spacer. I'm a big fan of spacers since I've had so many chassis/wheels but make sure they're hubcentric with the outer ring/hub support on the spacer. I've stuck with either 5mm or 10mm (nothing in between) as I'm OCD when there's less than 5-7mm of hub engagement on the wheel. Pic attached.

Regarding weight, 100% take those front subs out. It's like 4 screws and I think they're over 9lbs combined. I'm sure you're already running a lithium battery... But door cards actually seem to provide decent ROI when it comes to $/lb savings (I'd be a bit nervous running those without a cage w/ door bars though). Another one might be the Ti Xpipe that Alex (Berno) is promoting, 8lbs is insanely light.

Also, the rear seat/seat-belt hardware is crazy heavy - the bolts are like M12 or something huge, should be close to 10-15lbs depending what's still back there. I just got rid of the front seat belts too since I'm running the OMP wheel without an airbag, I just use my harness at all times.

The spacers I sold him are the Turner Motorsports spacers with built in hub extensors for F8x hubs. He did one of our hub conversions (collaboration with Core4) to F8x hubs with press-in M14 MSI studs. Not only are they lighter and stronger, but they also open up spacer options due to the F8x hub protrusion design.

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by slicer

The spacers I sold him are the Turner Motorsports spacers with built in hub extensors for F8x hubs. He did one of our hub conversions (collaboration with Core4) to F8x hubs with press-in M14 MSI studs. Not only are they lighter and stronger, but they also open up spacer options due to the F8x hub protrusion design.

Nice to hear that's another benefit of the F8x hub conversion, I don't remember seeing much difference on my F8x hub. Does the F8x have a deeper hub ring?

[slicer]

Originally Posted by spxxx

Nice to hear that's another benefit of the F8x hub conversion, I don't remember seeing much difference on my F8x hub. Does the F8x have a deeper hub ring?

The F8x hub has slots versus the continuous ring of the e9x hub. TMS took advantage of those slots to create an integrated hub extension on their 5mm and 7.5mm spacers.

[spxxx]

Ahhh yes, that's right. haha not sure how I forgot about that hub style, maybe I was thinking of the Z4M hub. That Turner spacer is pretty badass.

[slcook54]

11/10/22 - Track Day #16

Unfortunately experienced my first mechanical DNF.

On my out lap the car went into limp mode at T7 with a yellow transmission sign on the gauge cluster. I exited and restarted the car and gave it another go, same turn, same issue. I abandoned the session and left the track to see if I could replicate it on the street, I couldn't. I started the second session and the same error happened at the same turn.

We just replaced the gasket on my Fall Line DCT pan, maybe they under filled it, since it takes an extra quart and I was experiencing starvation? I packed up and left after the second session and drove 100+ miles to VT and couldn't replicate the issue. I'm hoping they can turn it around in the next 48 hours before my private day on Monday. If not, I'll drive the CS

I also managed to knock off the rear view mirror while I was loading the tires, lol. Can't win 'em all.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by spxxx

You can definitely fit 295/30 without issue assuming you have some short front springs (5") and enough camber.

Also, you mentioned a 7.5mm spacer. I'm a big fan of spacers since I've had so many chassis/wheels but make sure they're hubcentric with the outer ring/hub support on the spacer. I've stuck with either 5mm or 10mm (nothing in between) as I'm OCD when there's less than 5-7mm of hub engagement on the wheel. Pic attached.

Regarding weight, 100% take those front subs out. It's like 4 screws and I think they're over 9lbs combined. I'm sure you're already running a lithium battery... But door cards actually seem to provide decent ROI when it comes to $/lb savings (I'd be a bit nervous running those without a cage w/ door bars though). Another one might be the Ti Xpipe that Alex (Berno) is promoting, 8lbs is insanely light.

Also, the rear seat/seat-belt hardware is crazy heavy - the bolts are like M12 or something huge, should be close to 10-15lbs depending what's still back there. I just got rid of the front seat belts too since I'm running the OMP wheel without an airbag, I just use my harness at all times.

I didn't really want to ditch the helper spring just yet, if I have to, so be it.

Yep, already running an AG battery and I agree, I'll probably ditch the sound entirely, rear door cards and speakers, subs, front door cards and speakers, subs, amp, radio controls, etc.

I'm not going to do the Ti xpipe, I reached out to Nolan, who builds them, about doing a resonated / hfc version, but stumbled into the Akra and couldn't pass it up, it also passes 90db days at Laguna, which is important to me.

All of my rear seat belt receptacles are already out.

[slcook54]

I'm pretty sure the issue is related to the tune. Here is the code, trying to get ahold of Mike at BPM to see if we can get it sorted before Monday.

[fsmtnbiker]

It’s low on fluid. 100%.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by fsmtnbiker

It's low on fluid. 100%.

That was my guess also but it seems to be the tune. Mike is sorting it out. Not sure the exact reasoning behind it, but he's seen the issue before. Torque demands were too high at that specific moment, maybe due to the cooler temps 45'ish degrees.

Also double checking the DCT fluid.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Any other ideas, roastbeef?

you're on the money for your weight figures. the karbonius actually saves about 8lbs, so a little better.

did you ditch the floor carpet yet? what about the headliner and pillar trim? i'm still working on the side airbag removal, but they are probably going to be about 5-6lbs each, just eyeballing it. the headliner was 10lbs (slicktop) by itself, not including the a, b, and c pillars. there is a pound of carpet glued to the carbon roof as well.
lots of little nuggets of weight if you're willing.

all the speakers in the car (premium sound) was about 22lbs in a box. not as much as i thought.

also, its kind of a bling thing, but the front and rear titanium tow straps from future classic saves almost a pound at the very far edges of the car.

[slcook54]

Track Day #17 - 11/14/22

Thunderhill East - Bypass

This goes down as my favorite track day to date. I was scrubbing through the Thunderhill East calendar and found that an organization called Rogue Autosports had rented the track this past Monday. I did a quick google search and found out that they were running a semi-private day limited to 20 cars for $700.

The track goes hot at 9am and closes at 5pm, no run groups, no sessions, no driver meeting, no download meeting, nothing. This format was 100x better than the standard HPDE and I’ll happily pay an extra $300-400 for this format in the future.

I have only been to Thunderhill once before and don’t know my way around the track. On top of that, we were not able to get the E92 turned around in time. My rear view mirror is still hanging off and I wasn’t able to get the revised tune loaded. I found out last minute that my PC, which is a work computer, blocked me from downloading the file / installer. I also didn’t feel comfortable driving without the rear view mirror given there were several very fast cars in the group and I wanted to be able to see everything behind me.



I feel extremely fortunate to have the CS as a back-up car, and decided to run it instead. I didn’t feel like sending it at 10/10ths, my goal was to stay around 8/10ths the entire day. The CS has DS2500’s and SRF and is on the factory spec Cup2’s, so it was good enough to run, but I wasn’t in the mood to eat through the pads and was braking early with light to moderate pressure. Despite the slow pace, I was still getting a mushy brake pedal after 4-5 hot laps and found my right front brake smoking twice.

My process was to do an out lap and then 3-4 flyers and then come back in. The flexible format was amazing and I didn’t have to push the car for 20-25 minute sessions. I would do 4-5 laps, wait 30 minutes and then repeat. My main goal for the day was to familiarize myself with the track and come back with more pace in the E92.

Turn 3 is still very confusing to me and I was nursing it, it’s deceptively off camber and I spun here my last time out in the CS. There is tons of time to find across the entire track and I’ll start pushing harder next time out. My fast lap for the day was a 2:08.8, which I’m totally fine with. My goal is to run
a sub 2 minute lap running Bypass format in the E92.



I also had a big spin in Turn 1, I was building up more pace and pushed too hard through 1 and the back end came around aggressively. I’m not happy with my on the limit driving. I can’t be spinning every time the rear starts to step out on me. I’m going to prioritize finding more autocross / skidpad time. The muscle memory isn’t there for me, when the rear starts to let go, my hands are there, albeit too slowly, but my instinct is to lift, which I know is wrong, I just need to practice this and unwind that habit and stay in the throttle more.

I also met a really nice guy in an E36 who was doing 2:02’s around there and generally hustling. He unfortunately snapped his wheel studs and lost the wheel and f’d up the whole car. I felt terrible and was thankful dogbone pointed me in the right direction on the Core4 setup at the beginning of this build.





What’s Next

I’ve been accumulating more parts for the E92 and thinking through weight loss and setup in more depth.

Wheels

Thanks to berns, I scored a lightly used set of BBS RIA’s in 10.5 square with Nexen SUR4G tires in 275/35/18. These wheels will allow me to eventually run 295/30 square. I still need to determine if my current suspension setup will work or if I need to run a shorter spring. The Titan7’s will be up for sale after I run through this set of tires.



Weight Loss

I think I have a fairly clear path to the next 100lbs. After going back through berns's thread, I noticed his rear door cards, speakers and rear HVAC were worth ~45lbs, I still have all of that in my car.

My plan will be to remove all of those items, plus the radio, amp, and any other ancillary items.





I have an M24 hood with aero catch provisions and M24 door cards coming in January through Unrivaled Auto on Instagram. They have started to import select M24 parts so you don’t have to eat the insane shipping costs.





I also ordered a Karbonius plenum two weeks ago. Adding the Akra muted the intake sound fairly significantly, I’d like to balance this back out and find a touch of weight savings in the process. Plus, who doesn’t love plenum noise?

The last piece will likely be a carbon trunk, this should be good for another 20lbs

Rear HVAC - 20lbs
Radio / speakers / subs / amp - 30lbs
Karbonius - 7lbs
Door cards - 20lbs
Carbon trunk - 20lbs
M24 Hood - 10lbs

Aero + 15

All of the changes should have me land in the 32XX’s on a full tank.

Bimmerworld also shipped my KMP wheel, I’ll toss that on as well as the MJunkee armrest in the coming weeks.