Track forum general chit chat.

[tadmcmichael]

Anyone have experience at AMP? Was out there recently and couldn't remember the line at turns 14/15 on the long back carousel. That used to be a place I could make up time on other drivers, but was the opposite a few weeks ago. An instructor had shown me a good line out there years ago and I figured it would come back to me once I got on the track for a few laps. It didn't.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Set it and forget it lol

I've seen people press pistons with flathead isn't that possible?

when i was pushing the last piston in, it seemed to have a lot more resistance behind it. the last piston on the second caliper seemed to be the toughest. i was able to use a flat pry bar wrapped in a rag without marring anything, but i don't want to make a habit of it.

Originally Posted by elim11

Don't kid yourself. You barely want to swap/rotate tires at the track, you think you will actually adjust. lmao.

if it was as easy as turning a knob, i think i would have fun experimenting with it. not as torturous as lugging four tires into the back seat of my e92 and having to move my seat up and cram against the steering wheel.

i'm just curious if i could have pre determined parameters for the adjustable valves that give the car a very comfortable ride on the street and the best performance for the track.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

if it was as easy as turning a knob, i think i would have fun experimenting with it.

that's 10% of the work though. you'll have to go out drive a few laps, notice what the car is doing, pit, or exit, then adjust, then repeat.

by the time you're done you'll be done with the track day lol.

[Longboarder]

Hey are you guys doing ACS on the 28th or 29?

I'm about to sign up but I see Sunday the 29th is empty with only 23 drivers signed up vs 65 on Saturday for the Bimmer Challenge.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

that's 10% of the work though. you'll have to go out drive a few laps, notice what the car is doing, pit, or exit, then adjust, then repeat.

by the time you're done you'll be done with the track day lol.

i'm hoping to set it up like others did and then dial it in for my specific car. i'm a novice, but thats the fun of it, right? pretending to be a pro and looking cool turning knobs...

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Hey are you guys doing ACS on the 28th or 29?

I'm about to sign up but I see Sunday the 29th is empty with only 23 drivers signed up vs 65 on Saturday for the Bimmer Challenge.

most are going on the 28th.

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i've been trying to get one since i saw you use yours, but everywhere seems to be out of stock. amazon has the best pricing i have found at about $59 shipped.

Summit Racing, one of the places that pops up in a google search for this item, claims they'll be shipping 5/31. Amazon still shows out-of-stock, but might be worth monitoring in the next few weeks to see if it pops back up in stock. Did you ever order it from amazon when it was claimed in-stock and didn't ship, or was it always in the out-of-stock we'll ship when available category? I'm interested in this myself, had looked into it earlier this year, never got around to buying one.

[roastbeef]

to be honest, i hit the buy button once i saw it was the one i wanted. didn't pay attention to if it was in stock or not. after 30 days, it was cancelled, so i reordered. i've been keeping an eye on it. thanks for the heads up about summit, i've always had good experiences with summit and jegs.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'm hoping to set it up like others did and then dial it in for my specific car. i'm a novice, but thats the fun of it, right? pretending to be a pro and looking cool turning knobs...

most are going on the 28th.

I couldn't pass up an empty track on Sunday.

Good luck Saturday gents.

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

I couldn't pass up an empty track on Sunday.

Good luck Saturday gents.

I'll see you Sunday - doing both days. I don't think it will be empty for long.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Hey are you guys doing ACS on the 28th or 29?

I'm about to sign up but I see Sunday the 29th is empty with only 23 drivers signed up vs 65 on Saturday for the Bimmer Challenge.

Doing Saturday. Redpriest is doing both days

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by redpriest

I'll see you Sunday - doing both days. I don't think it will be empty for long.

Figure cause it's Memorial Day weekend it will be light Sunday. One can hope at least! See you there bro.

Just got my track wheels/tires mounted at GMG today and off to MRF next Wednesday for alignment and oil change.

[DiXiS 18]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

if it was as easy as turning a knob, i think i would have fun experimenting with it. not as torturous as lugging four tires into the back seat of my e92 and having to move my seat up and cram against the steering wheel.

i'm just curious if i could have pre determined parameters for the adjustable valves that give the car a very comfortable ride on the street and the best performance for the track.

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'm hoping to set it up like others did and then dial it in for my specific car. i'm a novice, but thats the fun of it, right? pretending to be a pro and looking cool turning knobs...

I'm in the E46 world, and one of our buddies has THE chariot. Most in our group of friends have driven the car and all of us have tried replicating it. At least 3 of us have copied everything, suspension, sway bar, alignment, damper settings, springs, anything you can think of. And yet our cars don't feel like his. So after all this trial I've learned something. No 2 cars are going to be alike. Copying someone else's settings is useless. Depending on the track, day conditions, other supporting mods, tires, etc. everyones car will feel different. And from there its a continually tunable process to get it feeling right every time.

Your first few times out with them, just to get a baseline your gonna need to go out do a few very consistent laps, come in to the pits, do a quick adjustment, go back out again and see if it feels better or worse. This isn't something you can really do at and HPDE because by the time you come in to adjust then go out you will be lucky to get a lap or 2 in to feel the difference. Then if you think well I'll just go and feel it next session. Well the hour or 2 in between are you really going to remember exactly that minute difference it felt like? Doubtful. So my suggestion is to keep it as simple as possible, definitely not a 4 way adjustment, and be prepared to put some work into getting them dialed in good.

[DiXiS 18]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

I couldn't pass up an empty track on Sunday.

Good luck Saturday gents.

65 cars is still like 13 per run group, and at ACS thats pretty much the track to yourself. Wouldn't you rather hang out with the bigger group of guys going, plus participate in Bimmer Challenge?

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by DiXiS 18

65 cars is still like 13 per run group, and at ACS thats pretty much the track to yourself. Wouldn't you rather hang out with the bigger group of guys going, plus participate in Bimmer Challenge?

Good point. But I don't track much so I wouldn't enter the bimmer challenge. And the amount of points that I would be allocated because of the blower would put me in the same class with the full race cars. And i have stock suspension and no aero. Lol.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Redpriest is doing both days

I'm shocked. Shocked. I thought I was an iron man when I did 8 BMW schools one year (it was a lot cheaper for track time back when dinosaurs roamed freely).

Roastbeef: You need to get a base setup at a track you are very familiar with. I believe it is best to start with adjusting rebound (increase until car starts jacking down, then back off), then compression (increase until you start skating, then back off). Once you get a base setup, you will tweak depending on conditions. Don't do your initial setup on worn tires. Use a good set. Poor tires yield a poor setup and you'll be chasing your tail all weekend (or longer). Don't make huge changes unless you like a car that surprises you.

Keep a setup sheet (you can find them online) for each session (at each track). Keep a track notebook for each track. You'll have what you need the next time you're there again. I used to have things like the closest BMW dealer (parts), etc., etc. in mine. Now you can keep all this on your tablet or phone. I hauled paper binders around.

[roastbeef]

makes sense. i might not be as consistent as i need to be to be making changes and seeing results in times. i'm just thinking about being able to adjust a little bit for a bumpy track like big willow and a smooth track like laguna secal.
lets be real- i just want to go out and have fun every time. however, i do enjoy somewhat tinkering with the car (thats why we mod them, right?). maybe four ways are a bit overboard for me... but even if i don't mess with the shocks once installed, i'm curious if four ways offer higher performance and/or comfort even when left alone...

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by admranger

I'm shocked. Shocked. I thought I was an iron man when I did 8 BMW schools one year (it was a lot cheaper for track time back when dinosaurs roamed freely).

Roastbeef: You need to get a base setup at a track you are very familiar with. I believe it is best to start with adjusting rebound (increase until car starts jacking down, then back off), then compression (increase until you start skating, then back off). Once you get a base setup, you will tweak depending on conditions. Don't do your initial setup on worn tires. Use a good set. Poor tires yield a poor setup and you'll be chasing your tail all weekend (or longer). Don't make huge changes unless you like a car that surprises you.

Keep a setup sheet (you can find them online) for each session (at each track). Keep a track notebook for each track. You'll have what you need the next time you're there again. I used to have things like the closest BMW dealer (parts), etc., etc. in mine. Now you can keep all this on your tablet or phone. I hauled paper binders around.

Exactly why I make changes here and there depending on how the car acts because worn tires. Too much drifting they keep telling me

[silvergray545]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

makes sense. i might not be as consistent as i need to be to be making changes and seeing results in times. i'm just thinking about being able to adjust a little bit for a bumpy track like big willow and a smooth track like laguna secal.
lets be real- i just want to go out and have fun every time. however, i do enjoy somewhat tinkering with the car (thats why we mod them, right?). maybe four ways are a bit overboard for me... but even if i don't mess with the shocks once installed, i'm curious if four ways offer higher performance and/or comfort even when left alone...

I tried that with my current set up. While it felt better than the 95k mile OEM suspension I had, it just wasn't right. Had to stiffen the fronts to get rid of some understeer. That held me over for the remainder of the weekend.

This next event I'm doing, I'm going to spend the first day trying to tune it to a point where I can set and forget.

I found this little cheat sheet that can assist in damper tuning. I know it's specific to ASTs but the theory should be the same.

http://www.langracing.com/wp-content...AST_Shocks.pdf

[redpriest]

Old man admranger brought a book on suspension setup to the track, called "Carroll Smith's Engineer in Your Pocket A practical guide to tuning the race car chassis and suspension".

http://www.amazon.com/Carroll-Smiths.../dp/0965160017

Too bad I don't have a suspension I can tune, but for you guys maybe worth it.

I'll eventually get around to replacing the suspension. :/

[redpriest]

Doing some work to get the car ready for ACS. Getting these two coolers installed:



The do88 oil cooler + do88 DCT cooler. It's hilarious how much larger this thing is compared to the OEM DCT cooler. Both of these in conjunction with my CSF radiator should hopefully make things bearable at the track.

Using Motul DCT transmission fluid too. We'll see how it goes.

Also getting my SRF fluid flushed - it's probably way past time.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by redpriest

Doing some work to get the car ready for ACS. Getting these two coolers installed:

Great! Please tell me you have an AIM for data.

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by okusa

Great! Please tell me you have an AIM for data.

Yes I do. I'll put up the numbers. Won't be apples to apples with my last ACS outing, I had a busted water temp sensor there, but oil numbers should be good. Trying to get a Buttonwillow date too.