slcook54 - Track Journal

[slcook54]

Current Setup











Fast Laps

Thunderhill East (Bypass) - 1:58.28 (3/31/2023)

Laguna Seca - 1:42.57 (08/07/2022)

Wheels
Street: BBS E88 18x10 Front, 18x11 Rear. Tires: Michelin PS4S 265/35 Front and 295/30 Rear
Track: BBS RIA 18x10.5 et22, square. Tires: Bridgestone RE71RS 295/30/18 square
Track: Titan7 TS7 18x10 et25, square. Tires: Bridgestone RE71RS 275/35/18 square
Core4 F80 Hubs
Core4 14mm x 94mm pressed in studs
Core4 floating collar lug nuts

Brakes
Front: Essex AP Racing 9668
Rear: Essex AP Racing 9449
Pads: Ferodo DS3.12
Fluid: Castrol SRF
Bimmerworld carbon fiber backing plates with ducting

Suspension & Chassis
TC Design 1/2 Cage
Ohlins 3DM Dedicated Track kit
685/1000 Swift Springs
Bimmerworld solid subframe bushings
Bimmerworld trailing arm bearing set
Bimmerworld rear camber arm bearing kit
Fall-Line rear camber shim kit
Fall-Line race toe link
Fall-Line front sway bar end links
Fall-Line rear sway bar end links
Fall-Line billet aluminum trailing arm set
Hotchkis sway bars
OE Control arms with GAS monoballs
Powerflex urethane front and rear differential bushings
SPL Rear Upper Wishbones/Guide Link Arms
Vorschlag Camber Plates
Bimmerworld Ultralight Wing
Bimmerworld Front Splitter

Engine & Transmission
Karbonius Carbon Fiber Plenum
Dinan Underdrive Pulley
Epic Stage II software
Akrapovic Evolution Exhaust system
BMW Motorcycle power steering catch-can
Do88 radiator
Do88 oil cooler
Do88 power steering cooler
Do88 Transmission Cooler
Fall-Line DCT Main Pan
442 CRT M3 software flash from derbo

Exterior
iND Black front and side grills
Deletion of rear M3 badge
Pinnacle Motorsports undertray
Karbonius carbon fiber mirror covers

Maintenance
Rod Bearings replaced at MRF Engineering
Complete DCT overhaul (RPM / Temp sensor, mechatronics unit, wiring harness)
Complete cooling system overall, hoses, ECT sensor, thermostat water pump and vent hoses

Other
Uniden R7 Radar detector with Blend Mount
Antigravity H6 60 Battery

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7/1/21 - Track Day #1

As I start tracking my E92 M3, I wanted to log my results and share my experience.

I had my first outing with SpeedSF at Laguna Seca on 7/1/21. It was a ton of fun. My only real goals were to have fun, be safe and bring the car home in one piece. After the first session, I took 5psi out of the fronts and rears and just left it there for the rest of the day, the car performed perfectly. Euro MDM will stay on for the foreseeable future.

Goals, Mindset and Setup

I have two goals getting into this hobby, first, to develop as a driver and second, create a 'set it and forget it' setup. I don't want to immediately toss a ton of mods at the car before exploring the limits of a stock+ setup. With that said, even with fresh Castrol SRF, the pedal was becoming mushy in my third, fourth and fifth sessions, not very confidence inspiring. No need to reinvent the wheel here, I'll toss on an Essex AP setup in the coming months. I personally don't see the cost benefit of chewing up stock rotors with track pads. I also found out 6 months ago that 3 of my stock wheels are bent, they will still balance out, but I'll grab a set of Titan7 TS-7's and pair it with Ohlins TrackDay suspension from 3dm Motorsports. The car will stay on PS4's for now. That will be my arrive and drive setup for the foreseeable future, famous last words, I know.

Aside from seat time, I do plan on investing in coaching up front and on an ongoing basis. I've found coaching immensely helpful in other parts of my life, I don't see why driving should be any different. If anyone has worked with a driving coach in the Bay Area, I'd love to know.

Why Laguna?

I live in San Francisco, and have 3 tracks within reasonable driving distance, Laguna, Sonoma and Thunderhill. I'm choosing to make Laguna my home track for a couple of reasons.

- I love the city of Carmel, I'll likely spend the night before or after and hit some of my favorite restaurants.
- I can run it year round and not worry about temps, with California getting hotter every year and fire season being a real thing, Thunderhill is frequently getting to 110 and Sonoma is 95+, it's just too hot for me personally.
- While I think exposure to a lot of different tracks will ultimately make me a better driver in the long run, I like the idea of minimizing variables and keeping the track constant, I can work on getting my lines and braking points dialed in and focus more on driving.

This hobby is best shared with friends, I've met a lot of friends through this forum and look forward to meeting more of you in the future. Johal E32 , Davisca455 , wyatth , SAMM3Y , derbo

And thank you for so much solid content and contribution dogbone , berns , kyippee , fsmtnbiker, SYT_Shadow

I'll also be posting content to my Instagram: @slcook54

[dogbone]

I’m glad that your first outing was a fun experience! Sounds like you have a good plan as you keep going.

Laguna Seca is a fun track to learn on. And it’s nice that you can drive on it with good weather all year long. I’m itching to get back there. Been too long…..since 2017……

Keep us posted with your progress!

[kyippee]

Oh.. just missed you by a day then. I drove my stock Supra (also red) there on Friday. Changed just brake fluid.

[roastbeef]

i'll see you out there sometime! laguna is also one of my favorites and the only track i'll go to in the middle of the warm season. very dog friendly and the wife and i have a few favorite restaurants we like to hit (tarpy's after the track, forge in the forest, il tigamino, katy's place for breakfast, mission ranch happy hour).

[RealBerusch]

Great pics.

[slcook54]

9/3/21 - Track Day #2

Prior to the Event

Brakes

I completely toasted the stock brakes at my last track day. There is enough documented success with the Essex AP kit that made it the obvious choice. It is a large price tag up front ($9,600), but the peace of mind made me pull the trigger. The goal with this car is to create a 'set it and forget it' setup and minimize future headaches, the AP kit checks that box. I went with 9660 front and 9449 in the rear. One important feature of this kit is that it saves 34lbs. On it's own, it's not huge savings on a 3500lb car, but in the total weight savings equation, its an important piece of the puzzle. I opted for Ferodo DS2500 all around for the street and ds1.11 on the front for the track. I also added Spiegler stainless steel lines, anti-rattle kit and had the rotors pre-bernished.






Transmission Fun

A couple weeks prior to the event, the car threw a transmission overheating code. I don't know if this was caused by the GTS DCT tune, but the shop tracked it down to a faulty temp sensor within the DCT. This was not a fun repair, it requires you to pull the transmission and the clutch packs. It's 10 hours of labor and not a problem I had seen documented before. While we were in there, we did a full refresh of the transmission. We replaced the DCT wire harness, valve body gasket, mechatronic kit, the RPM / temp sensor, added fresh fluid and a new Fall Line DCT pan.



Steering Wheel Vibration

The car was also suffering from steering wheel vibration on the freeway. I know 3 of my stock wheels are bent (more on that later), but we also replaced the front control arms with GAS monoballs. This partially solved the problem, and when we later did the brakes, it nearly eliminated it. New wheels should solve the remainder of the vibration. The monoballs up front cleaned up the sloppiness and create more directness in the steering feel.



Track goodies

I also picked up this neat Sparco helmet bag with a built-in fan that can dry off the helmet between sessions.



The Day Itself

Davisca455 and I were greeted with perfect weather, clear skies, high 60's / low 70's most of the day. Given this is my second day, I ran with the novice group. The goal was to have fun and be safe. The first day was a lot to process, this time I paid more attention to the corner workers and flag stations. I was also trying to be smoother and slower with my inputs, squeezing not stabbing the throttle and having lighter hands. I also wanted to build more confidence cresting turn 1, it's the only part of the track that I'm scared of.

Unfortunately, during the morning session, someone was trying to win the HPDE and put the car into the wall going into turn 2, he is okay. After talking with some other folks, he had already put 4 wheels off and was known for being way too aggressive in previous track days. The track shut down for 90 minutes and resulted in us losing the first session.

My first session didn't start until Noon and was a very slow lead / follow with an instructor. The second session was the same. The third session started at 4pm and gleaning from the pace of the group, I elected to slot near the front. I had open track for the entire session. I could not adjust to the new braking power, I was over slowing the car. It was a significant change and will take some getting used to.

In the last session of the day, I started building more confidence in turn 1. I'm not fully planted cresting the turn, but I was carrying a lot more speed into the braking zone and began to realize how much later I can brake going into turn 2. Despite only having two sessions at pace, it was an absolute blast. I can't wait to get back out there in October.







Torque your Lugs

I'm still new to this hobby and didn't know you are supposed to retorque your lugs after every session. I did borrow Davisca455 's torque wrench at the beginning of the day and torqued everything to spec. On the way home, I was had a terrible vibration in the steering wheel. Luckily, I was only 10 minutes away from my shop and nursed it over there. They quickly tracked it down the next morning to loose lugs and sent me on my way. Lesson learned, torque wrench ordered.

Wheels

While they were inspecting the lugs, they also said the previous owner did some low quality refinishing on the stock wheels, which was disintegrating from the heat and mating to the rotor hat. I'm 5 months into a 6 month projected wait for BBS E88's, but pulled the trigger on 18x10 Titan7 TS-7's yesterday through EAS. They processed the order, but we'll see if they are actually in stock. I will pair them with fresh 275/35/18 PS4's. I would prefer to not run spacers up front, but given the ET25 offset, I don't think I can get around it based on what others have told me.

I'm also talking to Barry at 3DM this week to determine what Ohlins setup to go with. Stay tuned for more.

[Davisca455]

Sorry about that Steve, I was a shitty wingman and should have handed you the torque wrench each time I checked mine.
I'm glad you didn't pay a severe penalty, because I would have felt awful.

But holy crap was that fun day, in spite of that guy destroying the schedule (along with his car).

I 100% agree about Turn 1.
When cresting the hill above 115mph, the steering on my car starts to feel vague.
I basically coast with trailing throttle over the hill.
My thought was "Is that why people install those lips on the front?"

You need to buy this picture and make a poster for the living room though.

[roastbeef]

i suspect your loose lugnut issue is due to other factors besides you not doing a torque check after every session.

i torque my nuts in the morning and don't bother them all day. never had an issue.

there was a stud thread a while back where a guy from msi said this was ok, but its probably going to depend on the quality of stud you have.
i've never gone to swap wheels at the end of the day and had a nut be loose.
my theory, and i don't think i'm alone, is if you come in and torque nuts when they are the hottest, the metal is expanded. as they cool, they are going to contract. you're essentially stretching studs by doing this. imagine five cycles of this throughout the day. doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

i swap out my studs every two years. never had a broken one, never lost a nut. i haven't kept up with other people's habits have been, but others seem to be breaking studs every few track days.

also, the nuts aren't really bearing the weight of the car, its the friction of the wheel mounting surface to the hub/hat. the issues you're having with material transfer (paint?) might be the culprit.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i suspect your loose lugnut issue is due to other factors besides you not doing a torque check after every session.

i torque my nuts in the morning and don't bother them all day. never had an issue.

there was a stud thread a while back where a guy from msi said this was ok, but its probably going to depend on the quality of stud you have.
i've never gone to swap wheels at the end of the day and had a nut be loose.
my theory, and i don't think i'm alone, is if you come in and torque nuts when they are the hottest, the metal is expanded. as they cool, they are going to contract. you're essentially stretching studs by doing this. imagine five cycles of this throughout the day. doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

i swap out my studs every two years. never had a broken one, never lost a nut. i haven't kept up with other people's habits have been, but others seem to be breaking studs every few track days.

also, the nuts aren't really bearing the weight of the car, its the friction of the wheel mounting surface to the hub/hat. the issues you're having with material transfer (paint?) might be the culprit.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm not on studs, I'm on OE bolts. I don't see the value of studs, I'm swapping wheels maybe 1x per month, I don't need the added convenience or associated risk with snapping a stud.

[roastbeef]

i'm sure both could break if mishandled. do any seem loose when you're retorquing them?

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'm sure both could break if mishandled. do any seem loose when you're retorquing them?

Everything seems fine now and I'll replace the bolts as a precaution.

[VicS5]

Based on that photo of the lug bolts, it looks like the issue is galling and break down of the finish on the wheels at the conical interface. Just losing the thickness of the paint is enough to lose significant tension in the bolt.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by VicS5

Based on that photo of the lug bolts, it looks like the issue is galling and break down of the finish on the wheels at the conical interface. Just losing the thickness of the paint is enough to lose significant tension in the bolt.

Thanks Vic 🙏🏼

[derbo]

I'm glad the bolt failure wasn't any worse. On the note of wheels, 18x10et25 doesn't need spacer on stock suspension. I ran that setup for a little bit before I got my coilovers.

[rhyary]

I torque twice.

At home
I take off my wheels after track day for cleaning.
I remount and torque per Core4 recommendations
M12 to 88 (I don't have M12 anymore)
M14 to 110 Ft/Lbs

I go for a test drive and torque again.

At the track
I don't do anything else at the track.

[dogbone]

Here’s my thought on your hubs/lug bolts situation. You have a 2012 car that was probably built in 2011. If the hubs have never been replaced, that means they are 10 years old. I would not want to track on 10 year old hubs for very long. So I think you’re due for a refresh on all four corners.

If you’re going to put new hubs on the car, please move up to 14mm hubs. If you are really against studs, you can go with the Future Classic solution and still use 14mm lug bolts. You say that you’re not changing wheels very often. That may be true now, but I suspect that will change soon.

I went with the Core4 14mm press-in solution. I believe that to be the strongest option for our platform. Haven’t had a problem since. And fsmtnbiker put them on and did the One Lap race and had no problems. Those are the kinds of stories you want to hear—guys who are pounding hard on their cars and not having issues.

Anyway, the list of parts going on the car is impressive!

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Here’s my thought on your hubs/lug bolts situation. You have a 2012 car that was probably built in 2011. If the hubs have never been replaced, that means they are 10 years old. I would not want to track on 10 year old hubs for very long. So I think you’re due for a refresh on all four corners.

If you’re going to put new hubs on the car, please move up to 14mm hubs. If you are really against studs, you can go with the Future Classic solution and still use 14mm lug bolts. You say that you’re not changing wheels very often. That may be true now, but I suspect that will change soon.

I went with the Core4 14mm press-in solution. I believe that to be the strongest option for our platform. Haven’t had a problem since. And fsmtnbiker put them on and did the One Lap race and had no problems. Those are the kinds of stories you want to hear—guys who are pounding hard on their cars and not having issues.

Anyway, the list of parts going on the car is impressive!

Thanks Gabe, I just checked out their site and it's great peace of mind for $1k. I'll toss on the 14mm Core4 hubs with the new wheels. Should I service the wheels bearings while I'm in there too? Car has 55k miles.

[rhyary]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Thanks Gabe, I just checked out their site and it's great peace of mind for $1k. I'll toss on the 14mm Core4 hubs with the new wheels. Should I service the wheels bearings while I'm in there too? Car has 55k miles.

hubs include the bearing

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by rhyary

hubs include the bearing

You'll need rear bearings

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Thanks Gabe, I just checked out their site and it's great peace of mind for $1k. I'll toss on the 14mm Core4 hubs with the new wheels. Should I service the wheels bearings while I'm in there too? Car has 55k miles.

Yes, given that the rear sealed bearings are 10 years old, I would definitely replace them. Most likely, a shop will have to do them because it requires requires certain tools and it's tough work. What's nice is that they'll last a long time, even with tracking.

Yeah I agree---I think the price to move to the Core4 press-in hubs is very reasonable. You'll be moving up to 19mm nuts which I like too. I think it's better for impact guns.

EDIT: The front hubs are a full replacement all in one piece---hub flange, bearings. So, you pull four bolts and swap hubs. The front is so easy. The rear could not be harder.......

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i suspect your loose lugnut issue is due to other factors besides you not doing a torque check after every session.

i torque my nuts in the morning and don't bother them all day. never had an issue.

there was a stud thread a while back where a guy from msi said this was ok, but its probably going to depend on the quality of stud you have.
i've never gone to swap wheels at the end of the day and had a nut be loose.
my theory, and i don't think i'm alone, is if you come in and torque nuts when they are the hottest, the metal is expanded. as they cool, they are going to contract. you're essentially stretching studs by doing this. imagine five cycles of this throughout the day. doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

i swap out my studs every two years. never had a broken one, never lost a nut. i haven't kept up with other people's habits have been, but others seem to be breaking studs every few track days.

also, the nuts aren't really bearing the weight of the car, its the friction of the wheel mounting surface to the hub/hat. the issues you're having with material transfer (paint?) might be the culprit.

Originally Posted by VicS5

Based on that photo of the lug bolts, it looks like the issue is galling and break down of the finish on the wheels at the conical interface. Just losing the thickness of the paint is enough to lose significant tension in the bolt.

Originally Posted by derbo

I'm glad the bolt failure wasn't any worse. On the note of wheels, 18x10et25 doesn't need spacer on stock suspension. I ran that setup for a little bit before I got my coilovers.

Originally Posted by rhyary

I torque twice.

At home
I take off my wheels after track day for cleaning.
I remount and torque per Core4 recommendations
M12 to 88 (I don't have M12 anymore)
M14 to 110 Ft/Lbs

I go for a test drive and torque again.

At the track
I don't do anything else at the track.

Originally Posted by dogbone

Here’s my thought on your hubs/lug bolts situation. You have a 2012 car that was probably built in 2011. If the hubs have never been replaced, that means they are 10 years old. I would not want to track on 10 year old hubs for very long. So I think you’re due for a refresh on all four corners.

If you’re going to put new hubs on the car, please move up to 14mm hubs. If you are really against studs, you can go with the Future Classic solution and still use 14mm lug bolts. You say that you’re not changing wheels very often. That may be true now, but I suspect that will change soon.

I went with the Core4 14mm press-in solution. I believe that to be the strongest option for our platform. Haven’t had a problem since. And fsmtnbiker put them on and did the One Lap race and had no problems. Those are the kinds of stories you want to hear—guys who are pounding hard on their cars and not having issues.

Anyway, the list of parts going on the car is impressive!

From Tom at Core4

"Thanks for reaching out and sharing those pictures and sorry for the delay.

So paint finishes on the mating surfaces of a "wheel joint" are something that I briefly discuss in a tech article that I supply with all my hub orders. It's something that is overlooked frequently (admittedly more so on "show" builds where wheels are painted more often).

To put it simply, you do not want any coatings/paint, whatsoever, anywhere on the wheel, wheel spacer, brake rotor/rotor hat, or wheel hub. That includes the seats where the lug nuts sit, the centerbore that fits over the hub boss/pilot, and the surface that sits against the rotor/spacer. If you are to get wheels painted, these spots 100% need to be masked off. You want pure, raw aluminum finish on all mating surfaces.

Notice I refer to coatings or paint, and not platings or anodizing (like what's on rotors like your AP's). This is because coatings are typically an order of magnitude thicker and softer. What happens is that when the coatings are subjected to the very high clamping force and pressures of the wheel studs/bolts once tightened (called preload), they can literally "extrude" or flow/move out of the mating surface over time.

When the coating extrudes away, there's more space that's created in between mating surfaces that preloaded wheel bolt/stud needs to take up (think of wheel bolts/studs as really, really stiff springs). Much of the time, it's too much of a void that's created and it causes all the preload of the wheel bolt/stud to disappear. It literally only takes 0.003-0.006" (thickness of a sheet of paper) of space to be created to make a bolt lose all preload and create a loose wheel situation like you experienced. You're lucky a wheel didn't completely detach from the car. If you were running screw-in studs, it probably would've been guaranteed to happen. "

[Bimmer Barney]

Originally Posted by slcook54

From Tom at Core4

"Thanks for reaching out and sharing those pictures and sorry for the delay.

So paint finishes on the mating surfaces of a "wheel joint" are something that I briefly discuss in a tech article that I supply with all my hub orders. It's something that is overlooked frequently (admittedly more so on "show" builds where wheels are painted more often).

To put it simply, you do not want any coatings/paint, whatsoever, anywhere on the wheel, wheel spacer, brake rotor/rotor hat, or wheel hub. That includes the seats where the lug nuts sit, the centerbore that fits over the hub boss/pilot, and the surface that sits against the rotor/spacer. If you are to get wheels painted, these spots 100% need to be masked off. You want pure, raw aluminum finish on all mating surfaces.

Notice I refer to coatings or paint, and not platings or anodizing (like what's on rotors like your AP's). This is because coatings are typically an order of magnitude thicker and softer. What happens is that when the coatings are subjected to the very high clamping force and pressures of the wheel studs/bolts once tightened (called preload), they can literally "extrude" or flow/move out of the mating surface over time.

When the coating extrudes away, there's more space that's created in between mating surfaces that preloaded wheel bolt/stud needs to take up (think of wheel bolts/studs as really, really stiff springs). Much of the time, it's too much of a void that's created and it causes all the preload of the wheel bolt/stud to disappear. It literally only takes 0.003-0.006" (thickness of a sheet of paper) of space to be created to make a bolt lose all preload and create a loose wheel situation like you experienced. You're lucky a wheel didn't completely detach from the car. If you were running screw-in studs, it probably would've been guaranteed to happen. "

What about putting a thin coat of anti seize between the hub face and rotor like many of us do so that rotors don't get stuck on? I regularly check my lugs and after every session on track. Just curious if the anti siege presents a concern to Tom at Core4