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      02-02-2019, 08:19 AM   #1101
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[From Above]
-Import AIM data into laptop
-Go into AIM software and export the desired laps as .csv
-copy video onto laptop
-Launch RaceRender and load template.
-Attach AIM data and video to RaceRender project
-Synchronize RPM data with the sound of the exhaust----this step can be daunting to someone who has never done video/audio sync. I can do it in a minute or two now.

Dogbone,
Many many thanks for clarifying how to integrate RaceStudio3/Race Studio Analysis with RaceRender3.

Since I am already two years into RaceRander3/GoPro5 setup, I just tried what you described and it works great.

Again, your knowledge and more importantly your willingness to share it is inspiring.

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      02-02-2019, 09:51 AM   #1102
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhyary View Post
You control the recording in the parameter field.
The default is just start at 800rpm.

you want to use custom and put more than one condition for recording to start.

[from Dogbone]
They also said they may be able to change the CAN channels it sniffs to wake up to be CAN channels that are only active when the car is ACTUALLY running. I don't know....we'll see what they come up with.


[They Did]
This explains it:

This video deals with setting conditions to start recording a lap. That is different than what I’ve been talking about. What I’ve been saying is that the AIM device turns on all by itself when it senses CAN data from the car. Currently, we cannot stop that from happening.

The problem is that, when the car is sitting in the paddock with the engine turned off, there is ALWAYS some kind of CAN data being generated. The AIM Solo 2 DL detects it and turns itself on. This blows the battery because the device is ON and wasting battery most of the day while the car is turned off just sitting there in the paddock.

I have asked AIM to allow an option to just manually turn the device on and off, and not let it turn on by itself. The first AIM Solo DL was better about this topic. It didn’t turn on randomly.
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      02-03-2019, 05:18 PM   #1103
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Let's file this one under---I SWEAR I'm not crying in my spilled milk.....I promise! Well, sorta....... Seriously though, this video shows the best driving I've done at WSIR until I encountered the Mustang at Turn 9, so it's worth at least a quick glance. (I mentioned before that my GoPro battery died before my complete PB lap, so this is the only vid I can produce that shows the same-or-better speeds.)

The lap ended up as a 1:26.8, even with with having to pass the Mustang in Turn 9. Up until I encountered the Mustang, the lap was a 1:25.5 pace.

Here's what it looked like in the AIM software. You can see in the time delta chart at the bottom that the lap was faster than my PB of 1:25.85 (that I had just set 5 minutes prior) the entire time until I came upon the Mustang.



It's interesting that Mustangs have blocked a new PB fast lap at WSIR on three separate occasions. No other vehicle has ever blocked a new PB lap at Willow Springs, and yet somehow, a Mustang has been in my way each time.

Anyway, here's the video:


After that lap, I tried one more time and got 1:26.2......the tires were starting to let go. Regardless, I was really impressed that the scrubs were able to hold the way they did. After that session, it was time to go.

One new bit of data from the day: I set a new high speed of 150mph (GPS) on the front straight on one of the laps.

Looking to the future, there's always room for improvement. I believe that if I'm in the groove of the track, if I have decent tires, later braking into Turn 1 and keep the speeds higher in Turn 1, later braking into Turn 3 and braking later and less for Turn 9, the car can roll a 1:24. When or if that will ever happen is not too high on my priority list. As I've mentioned before, the place is SO brutal on tires that you basically have to be willing to sacrifice a good set of tires to achieve your goal.
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      02-03-2019, 08:29 PM   #1104
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those are some beautiful lines at big willow. your 3-4-5 combo is very smooth.

what do you think is prompting the new pb's? prime pb weather, or are you more settled in with the brakes? still using the cobalt xr1's?
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      02-03-2019, 11:29 PM   #1105
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Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
those are some beautiful lines at big willow. your 3-4-5 combo is very smooth.

what do you think is prompting the new pb's? prime pb weather, or are you more settled in with the brakes? still using the cobalt xr1's?
New Personal Bests in this case are simply a function of continuing to learn and improve as a driver. The car hasn't changed, the tires were moderate at best, the 68ºF was fine but not ideal. I'm just pushing the car harder in places where I was afraid to before. As an amateur driver, there's always room for improvement at every track. I've never been in a hurry to be quick on track. The journey of learning about motorsport has been very rewarding for me personally.

As far as brakes, I'm really enjoying the XR1's. This is what I'm going to run from now on. Tons of braking power.
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      02-04-2019, 01:40 AM   #1106
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I definitely need to run scrubs the next time I go to see what I can get down to. Great seeing you out there buddy
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      02-04-2019, 07:39 AM   #1107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogbone View Post
The lap ended up as a 1:26.8, even with with having to pass the Mustang in Turn 9. Up until I encountered the Mustang, the lap was a 1:25.5 pace.

Here's what it looked like in the AIM software. You can see in the time delta chart at the bottom that the lap was faster than my PB of 1:25.85 (that I had just set 5 minutes prior) the entire time until I came upon the Mustang.

It's interesting that Mustangs have blocked a new PB fast lap at WSIR on three separate occasions. No other vehicle has ever blocked a new PB lap at Willow Springs, and yet somehow, a Mustang has been in my way each time.
I'm sorry to hear that. Some people block during a whole lap then come afterwards to say they thought we were playing cat and mouse...
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      02-04-2019, 09:36 AM   #1108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shmelgy View Post
I definitely need to run scrubs the next time I go to see what I can get down to. Great seeing you out there buddy
Your car is setup quite nicely. All those fancy parts off of the Racewerkz shop car are very hardcore and should serve you well. Plus, your love of drifting means you’re comfortable with the car beyond the limit. All these things are already coming together into quick laps. I’ll be curious to see the results as you run faster tires.

I’m enjoying seeing builds like yours coming to life. The E9x M3 platform is entering that age cycle where people are going to be making crazy race builds because they’re not worried about destroying the car’s resale value anymore.

Anyway, yup it was fun seeing you at WSIR. What’s next on the list for you?
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      02-04-2019, 09:58 AM   #1109
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Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow View Post
I'm sorry to hear that. Some people block during a whole lap then come afterwards to say they thought we were playing cat and mouse...
You can see in the video, he wasn’t doing anything on purpose, and neither were the Mustangs during the previous instances. It’s all coincidence. But what is it with the Mustangs parked in Turn 8/9 at WSIR? Hehe

Yeah, it’s annoying when someone decides to shut the door on passing. The problem is that I’m not in wheel-to-wheel/get-to-your-front-door-by-the-turn race passing and dive bombing mode. I’m in HPDE mode where they lecture people in the driver meeting to let a car sitting on your bumper by, and don’t dive bomb. If one guy is in w-2-w mode and the other guy isn’t, it makes for an unpleasant experience. Most of the time, if someone is super hard to pass, I don’t fight it. I just hot pit and ask to be placed in the largest gap they can find on track. Occasionally, when I see the track is open in front of the dude blocking me, I’ll wait it out and then do what’s necessary to take the pass.
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      02-04-2019, 12:02 PM   #1110
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogbone View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shmelgy View Post
I definitely need to run scrubs the next time I go to see what I can get down to. Great seeing you out there buddy
Your car is setup quite nicely. All those fancy parts off of the Racewerkz shop car are very hardcore and should serve you well. Plus, your love of drifting means you’re comfortable with the car beyond the limit. All these things are already coming together into quick laps. I’ll be curious to see the results as you run faster tires.

I’m enjoying seeing builds like yours coming to life. The E9x M3 platform is entering that age cycle where people are going to be making crazy race builds because they’re not worried about destroying the car’s resale value anymore.

Anyway, yup it was fun seeing you at WSIR. What’s next on the list for you?
Don't know yet. Can't make it to buttonwillow this Friday, but maybe big willow again on March 31 with slicks
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      02-04-2019, 12:36 PM   #1111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogbone View Post
The E9x M3 platform is entering that age cycle where people are going to be making crazy race builds because they’re not worried about destroying the car’s resale value anymore.
A wonderful age indeed! Such a great platform
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      02-04-2019, 01:06 PM   #1112
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If I end up selling my SRF3 during my mid-racing-career-life-crisis, I will be very interested in picking up somebody's build along these lines as the base for a project. Can't wait for the market to be flooded with good E92M builds lol
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      02-04-2019, 01:25 PM   #1113
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Originally Posted by Richbot View Post
If I end up selling my SRF3 during my mid-racing-career-life-crisis, I will be very interested in picking up somebody's build along these lines as the base for a project. Can't wait for the market to be flooded with good E92M builds lol
I would love to ditch our AER E36s and move to the E9X platform... for starters for the DCT so people stop destroying trannys left right and center
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      02-04-2019, 02:05 PM   #1114
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Originally Posted by Richbot View Post
If I end up selling my SRF3 during my mid-racing-career-life-crisis, I will be very interested in picking up somebody's build along these lines as the base for a project. Can't wait for the market to be flooded with good E92M builds lol
hehe yup, that time is coming.

What’s the seasonal commitment for an SRF series? How many races in a season? What does an average race weekend cost for that kind of car? Do you bring a crew?
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      02-17-2019, 11:16 AM   #1115
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Here's my fast lap of 1:47.9 from the final 2018 Bimmer Challenge event at Buttonwillow 13CW in December. It's not a personal best but it's the fastest lap I've run in a timed competition so far.



Hopefully, if the weather is decent on March 2nd, I'll attend the Bimmer Challenge Buttonwillow 13CW event. Would love to put down some laps before the weather gets hot.

btw, I finally joined Instagram recently. I'm "dogbone881". Come over and say hi!
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      02-27-2019, 01:52 AM   #1116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogbone View Post
ummm the nitrogen rig as it is setup right now is not super convenient for quick tire filling.

The schrader coupler pictured below is a necessary and excellent part of my nitrogen rig for suspension filling. However, it does not allow you to fill a tire quickly. It requires you to it turn the lower nut to screw it onto the Schrader valve, then you need to use a wrench to make an air-tight seal, then you need to rotate that plunger on the top to actually depress the spring loaded valve in the Schrader valve. Then you need to turn the handle on the regulator to allow nitrogen to flow. Then you need to reverse all those steps to disconnect.....it's a lot of steps to disconnect, and then you need to move on to 3 more tires.......not very convenient. Especially, not compared to a ball chuck that you can just press onto the Schrader valve. That's instant.



Now, if you wanted the rig to do double duty, I guess you could put a quick disconnect on there, so when you need the rig for the suspension, you put the Schrader coupler on there, and when you want to fill tires to swap to the ball chuck. But I have found those air quick disconnects to leak a bit at high pressures and that would not be ideal when working at 300 psi on the suspension.......

I see you've been talking about nitrogen for tires on some other threads. For me, it's just not practical. To get all the oxygen and moisture out of a tire, and just have nitrogen in there is a pretty big commitment. It's not just a simple matter of installing the tire and then putting nitrogen in. Remember the tire has "regular" ambient air sitting in it once it's installed. You have to have a special bleeder that can allow you to fill a tire with nitrogen while simultaneously pulling the "old" air out. And a tire has a MUCH larger volume area than a tiny suspension canister. And sometimes, they have to put a LOT of air in a tire to get the beads to seat. So you're going to go through a LOT of nitrogen.

And then the biggest issue for me is that I don't leave tires on for very long. For instance, just yesterday, I flipped the rubber on a set of rims after just 5 heat cycles. I want the tires to last as long as possible, and since Auto Club is SO PUNISHING to the outside edge of tires on the passenger side, I had the tires flipped. All that nitrogen setup in the tires would be gone after 5 runs......

Sure, from a theory standpoint, nitrogen in the tires could be great----you'd get better consistent pressures....that's why they put it in suspension canisters. But in tires, it's really only practical for a racer who has very solid support because someone else is dealing with all that crap. For a hobby guy like me who shows up to the track and does my own support, it's just way too much commitment.

Your question is timely for me. I'm actually in the middle of write up on my nitrogen rig and my approach to nitrogen in suspension canisters. I am super slammed with moving right now though, so I don't know when it will be done. I promise though, once it's done, it will solve ALL known cases of insomnia!
I have that same lossless valve and stripped mine today, the nut spins but doesnt' necessarily unscrew. Then I had a few of the schrader valves get tight to the lossless chuck and pull out of my coilovers so I had to loctite them in and start over.
There has to be a better connection tool than that lossless chuck. I did buy some extensions that can help, but I have adjusted my shocks a few times, filled my tires nitrogen and that chuck is junk already.
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      02-27-2019, 08:10 AM   #1117
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btw, I finally joined Instagram recently. I'm "dogbone881". Come over and say hi!
We've added you!
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      02-27-2019, 09:43 AM   #1118
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hehe yup, that time is coming.

What’s the seasonal commitment for an SRF series? How many races in a season? What does an average race weekend cost for that kind of car? Do you bring a crew?
You can do as many or as few as you like. If you want to go to the national championship runoffs, which you should at least once if you're doing wheel to wheel because it's an awesome event and you'll face the best drivers in amateur motorsport and find out if you suck or not, you need to do three race weekends plus the runoffs week. There are always enough events out West to cover most of the season if you want to be on track a lot.

SRF (SRF3, really, that's the one you want with the updated 1.6 ford motor) has the benefit of the CSR network. These are businesses dedicated to supporting this particular car at the track and away from the track, and are able to provide anything from parts and pieces if you do your own work on your own car through full service arrive-and-drive cars to rent. There's usually one at most SCCA race weekends.

I am capable of maintaining my car myself and do, when I need to, but I often take advantage of the CSR as it's a built-in crew to take temps and pressures, help with setup changes and string the car, make sure everything's torqued and fueled properly etc. Since I own my car and manage my own tires etc., it's only a small upcharge beyond the entry fee if you bring the car to the track. Many CSR'[s also store and maintain driver-owned cars and transport them to let people loose from the burden of trailer and truck ownership. It can be a great setup for a gentleman racer who doesn't want to race wallets with the next gentleman, because the cars are really really really close. Whether things go well in a race or not is entirely up to the driver. They don't break much and contact usually doesn't break a car either. There is a huge amount of crash structure between you and the other cars as well for a small open car, the entire side pod on both side is just open space.

Even though it's an open cockpit car (meaning you must use arm restraints), the cockpit is so spacious that it's easy to learn how to get yourself strapped in without help unlike some formula cars that make it really hard to do on your own. Has a starter, synchros, reverse, uses cheap long-lasting Hoosier spec tires, brakes can last a season...it's a good train. And the racing is GREAT. The cars do comparable times to what a stock-motor, with suspension and race tires E92M will do around most tracks. Imagine that kind of pace, in a pack of 25 cars nose to tail, butt 4" off the ground in an MR open car that drives mostly like a 1600lb boxster, sorta. It's pretty awesome.

Highly recommend setting up a drive, if you're interested at all, with one of the CSR's. An arrive-and-drive weekend is usually $2-4k depends on the entry fees and the rental place. If you take the rental out of the equation, and own the car, a race weekend is $400-700 for entry fees for four sessions (two qualis, two 30-45 minute sprint races) plus 1/3 of a set of the $800 tires, plus gas (7-10 gallons depending on the track, more time spent on a straight means more fuel per hour, winding tracks less). So, figure like, $1500-ish not including stuff you tear up. Bodywork is cheap to fix, it's just fiberglass. The suspension is easy to fix, it all bolts together and has sacrificial arms and heims. Even the frame is relatively fixable, it's just a bunch of square tubing welded together. The only expensive thing you can really do is blow a motor ($5k + labor and other bits like oil cooler if it blows badly enough), which is rare and usually involves a money shift and/or crimping the nose closed hitting something and then overheating the car after ignoring the dashboard for laps.



https://www.scca-e.com/ has a list of CSR's.

Aw - Clay Russell is on the front page right now for his Runoffs championship last year. He beat me by a nose one time (with another driver pushing him up the hill at Road America, bastard), now I get to pretend I almost won the Runoffs by the transitive property of racecar drivers
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      02-27-2019, 02:10 PM   #1119
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 72dan View Post
I have that same lossless valve and stripped mine today, the nut spins but doesnt' necessarily unscrew. Then I had a few of the schrader valves get tight to the lossless chuck and pull out of my coilovers so I had to loctite them in and start over.
There has to be a better connection tool than that lossless chuck. I did buy some extensions that can help, but I have adjusted my shocks a few times, filled my tires nitrogen and that chuck is junk already.
A lot of the shock filling tools out there use that very same piece that you're having problems with. (I would have recommended Powertank to you, but they use that same piece! I think the MCS tool uses the same piece too.) My tool hasn't broken on me, but I do replace it every couple years. It did remove the JRZ canister Schrader stem once. I re-installed the stem and it hasn't happened again. I have found that you don't have to super tighten the filler tool to the Schrader valve. Just a modest amount of torque is enough.

JRZ used to make a shock filler tool that I think you would have liked. Here's what it looked like. I don't know if they make it anymore. As I recall, it wasn't cheap. I can't find it anywhere now. You might want to contact JRZ directly to see if it's still available.

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      02-27-2019, 03:17 PM   #1120
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Originally Posted by Richbot View Post

Aw - Clay Russell is on the front page right now for his Runoffs championship last year. He beat me by a nose one time (with another driver pushing him up the hill at Road America, bastard), now I get to pretend I almost won the Runoffs by the transitive property of racecar drivers
As a professional mathematician, I endorse this statement!
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      02-27-2019, 09:55 PM   #1121
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richbot View Post
You can do as many or as few as you like. If you want to go to the national championship runoffs, which you should at least once if you're doing wheel to wheel because it's an awesome event and you'll face the best drivers in amateur motorsport and find out if you suck or not, you need to do three race weekends plus the runoffs week. There are always enough events out West to cover most of the season if you want to be on track a lot.

SRF (SRF3, really, that's the one you want with the updated 1.6 ford motor) has the benefit of the CSR network. These are businesses dedicated to supporting this particular car at the track and away from the track, and are able to provide anything from parts and pieces if you do your own work on your own car through full service arrive-and-drive cars to rent. There's usually one at most SCCA race weekends.

I am capable of maintaining my car myself and do, when I need to, but I often take advantage of the CSR as it's a built-in crew to take temps and pressures, help with setup changes and string the car, make sure everything's torqued and fueled properly etc. Since I own my car and manage my own tires etc., it's only a small upcharge beyond the entry fee if you bring the car to the track. Many CSR'[s also store and maintain driver-owned cars and transport them to let people loose from the burden of trailer and truck ownership. It can be a great setup for a gentleman racer who doesn't want to race wallets with the next gentleman, because the cars are really really really close. Whether things go well in a race or not is entirely up to the driver. They don't break much and contact usually doesn't break a car either. There is a huge amount of crash structure between you and the other cars as well for a small open car, the entire side pod on both side is just open space.

Even though it's an open cockpit car (meaning you must use arm restraints), the cockpit is so spacious that it's easy to learn how to get yourself strapped in without help unlike some formula cars that make it really hard to do on your own. Has a starter, synchros, reverse, uses cheap long-lasting Hoosier spec tires, brakes can last a season...it's a good train. And the racing is GREAT. The cars do comparable times to what a stock-motor, with suspension and race tires E92M will do around most tracks. Imagine that kind of pace, in a pack of 25 cars nose to tail, butt 4" off the ground in an MR open car that drives mostly like a 1600lb boxster, sorta. It's pretty awesome.

Highly recommend setting up a drive, if you're interested at all, with one of the CSR's. An arrive-and-drive weekend is usually $2-4k depends on the entry fees and the rental place. If you take the rental out of the equation, and own the car, a race weekend is $400-700 for entry fees for four sessions (two qualis, two 30-45 minute sprint races) plus 1/3 of a set of the $800 tires, plus gas (7-10 gallons depending on the track, more time spent on a straight means more fuel per hour, winding tracks less). So, figure like, $1500-ish not including stuff you tear up. Bodywork is cheap to fix, it's just fiberglass. The suspension is easy to fix, it all bolts together and has sacrificial arms and heims. Even the frame is relatively fixable, it's just a bunch of square tubing welded together. The only expensive thing you can really do is blow a motor ($5k + labor and other bits like oil cooler if it blows badly enough), which is rare and usually involves a money shift and/or crimping the nose closed hitting something and then overheating the car after ignoring the dashboard for laps.



https://www.scca-e.com/ has a list of CSR's.

Aw - Clay Russell is on the front page right now for his Runoffs championship last year. He beat me by a nose one time (with another driver pushing him up the hill at Road America, bastard), now I get to pretend I almost won the Runoffs by the transitive property of racecar drivers
Thanks for the write up. That sounds pretty exciting.

You're racing 2019?
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      02-27-2019, 11:05 PM   #1122
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Originally Posted by Richbot View Post
Aw - Clay Russell is on the front page right now for his Runoffs championship last year. He beat me by a nose one time (with another driver pushing him up the hill at Road America, bastard), now I get to pretend I almost won the Runoffs by the transitive property of racecar drivers
I concur with your analysis.

I've used a similar set of expert math skills. If it would have been a downpour in the 2nd day of a National Tour event like the first day was (this is back in the Pleistocene era when Yoke 008's were the HSU), I would have trophied (and Bob Tunnell was in my class so 1st place was locked up). Dang pre-climate change weather!
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