My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[dogbone]

Had a fun day doing Redline Time Attack on Sunday Chuckwalla.

The car ran well, but the track felt less grippy than previous visits there. There was a bunch of wind the previous day. Perhaps the sand just lowered the grip level. I don't know….

Anyway, I ran in the Unlimited Class because of my tires. If I ran TD's I could run in Modified, but my TD's were shot, so I ran Unlimited. I ended up with a nice result---Fastest Time of the Day!



After I've had a chance to look at the AIM data, I'll post a few other notes about the day.

[okusa]

Show-off

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by okusa

Show-off

haha! The fact is, I will not get many of these. There was someone at the event who has a VERY very fast car, but he had tech troubles so he couldn't run it. So, if I can capture a Fastest of the Day, I'm gonna show that one off!

[dapopa9]

Nice trophy! Did they post the results anywhere? It's odd how long it takes them to put them on the website or facebook.

When you going to come run NASA time trial with me? Just like RedLine, SpeedVentures etc. but everything is better, safer, more organized, and free stuff!

[///Mobbin]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Ah, I forgot to mention in my original post that EAS had found that my engine mounts were torn. They replaced all the rubber belts in the engine bay right before I was delivering the car to Racewerkz for the cage. While doing the work, they found the torn mounts. One of them was torn quite badly.

Since Racewerkz was going to have the car up on a lift for several weeks, it was easier to have them change the mounts. I chose to go with urethane mounts. Now that I've driven them 5 days, I'm happy with the urethane mounts. They translate more engine vibration into the frame than the stock mounts, but it's not bad. I decided against Delrin or aluminum. It didn't seem worth having something SO solid in there. I've been in cars with completely solid bushings. It's more punishing than I think I need. I think it was the right choice for me.

I'm eyeing all the other bushings in the car now. All other bushings are still stock.

dogbone Which urethane mounts did you go with and have you replaced the bushings yet?

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

dogbone Which urethane mounts did you go with and have you replaced the bushings yet?

-Vorshlag for the engine mounts.

-PowerFlex for front tension arm bushings.

-Macht Schnell for the rear subframe bushings.

-Rogue Engineering for rear toe arms because we had to lower the car so much after it was lightened and we were struggling to get to the desired toe with the OEM toe arms.

That's all of the bushings and arms I've replaced so far. I don't have any others planned at the moment.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by dapopa9

Nice trophy! Did they post the results anywhere? It's odd how long it takes them to put them on the website or facebook.

When you going to come run NASA time trial with me? Just like RedLine, SpeedVentures etc. but everything is better, safer, more organized, and free stuff!

Thanks! Yeah that's a cool one!

The official place for results are posted at: http://www.redlinetimeattack.com/times But I don't see the final results listed there.

NASA time trial…..hmmm…..don't know anything about that. I only know about Redline and Global Time Attack. Free stuff!? I'm on board! How can I find out about it? Do you need a racing license to do time trial NASA events?

[AP3X_FTW]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Thanks for the trailer pics and write-up, very nice setup!

Re the C3, couldn't agree more, best battery powered tool I've purchased and battery goes and goes. I got a good deal and think I paid ~$160 for the impact wrench, XCP battery, and charger:

Originally Posted by dogbone

Thanks!

Glad to hear you're using an XCP. It's a great upgrade over the NiCd batteries.

Interesting to hear the two of you like this setup I have been meaning to purchasing a gun for over a year now, but other threads regarding the topic are filled with opinions that several hundred dollars must be spent to get a gun "worthwhile".

Did you guys grab the combo set with the XCP battery on Amazon for that price? This is the best price I am finding and I am about to pull the trigger: http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Impa...+c3+impact+gun

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by AP3X_FTW

Interesting to hear the two of you like this setup I have been meaning to purchasing a gun for over a year now, but other threads regarding the topic are filled with opinions that several hundred dollars must be spent to get a gun "worthwhile".

Did you guys grab the combo set with the XCP battery on Amazon for that price? This is the best price I am finding and I am about to pull the trigger: http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Impa...+c3+impact+gun

For anything up to 100 ft/lbs, the Craftsman C3 with the big XCP battery is a great experience. If you had to pull 150ft/lbs nuts all the time, I would say that maybe something with more juice was necessary. But for 88 ft/lbs on an M3, the C3 is great. As far as price, whatever combo deal you can find I'm sure is fine. I bought them separately years ago.

[AP3X_FTW]

Originally Posted by dogbone

For anything up to 100 ft/lbs, the Craftsman C3 with the big XCP battery is a great experience. If you had to pull 150ft/lbs nuts all the time, I would say that maybe something with more juice was necessary. But for 88 ft/lbs on an M3, the C3 is great. As far as price, whatever combo deal you can find I'm sure is fine. I bought them separately years ago.

Makes perfect sense to me, I am sure this piece will work just fine. Just picked one up with the XCP battey from Sears today for the $160 price point Mobbin referred to

[dogbone]

I went to Auto Club Speedway on Sunday and had a really nice day. I have never been to ACS with gutted interior, roll cage and aero. Big surprise------the aero is incredible there!

ACS has always been my Achilles heel track. My first track day ever on any track was at ACS in Jan. 2012, and I was overwhelmed the whole time. The facility itself with the huge grand stands is daunting, the bank is scary to look at, Turn 1 is quite a mind job----going from max speed on the banked straight into a banked turn takes quite a bit of nerves---which I didn't have at the time. I was super slow. These kinds of feelings stick with you. Also, the biggest technical issue I ever had at any track happened at ACS a couple years ago. I was going down the front straight and I felt a thump and the RPM's dropped to zero while going 130 mph. I had to coast into the infield and get towed back to the pits. Ultimately, it turned out that I had simply blown a fuse, so EAS fixed it in 2 seconds (phew). And the only time I have ever instructed anywhere was at ACS. I had been asked to instruct at some private event. I had my choice of people to go with. I wanted it to be mellow since I don't particularly enjoy riding shotgun on track. I got into a guy's Z3 thinking it will be mellow……well, we get on the oval and he punches the gas and this Z3 took off like a rocket, faster than my supercharged M3……I'm like, What the Hell? It turned out this guy had a a prototype project engine in this Z3---a supercharged older Corvette engine……I could not have picked a worse car to get in. And prior to yesterday, my fastest lap time was---uh not so fast. So, the point is, ACS has just been a thorn in my side.

When I pulled into the track yesterday morning, I could still remember those pangs of anxiety that I felt on my first track day in 2012. But now, with a lot more experience under my belt, I was really curious how my caged and aero car would feel. The question was: could I tune out my personal baggage and focus on driving?

The day started on a curious note because the transponder guy gave me transponder marked as #13. hehe I'm not superstitious, but c'mon…really? Ok, lucky #13 it is at ACS! Also, it was a cloudy moody misty morning and you'd be coming down the front straight and water would mist onto the windshield and that's never a fantastic feeling at 150 mph. I'm telling ya----ACS is just a thorn in my side.

After all the tracks I've visited, I've learned that ACS is not really my favorite kind of track---the oval is just scary and parts of the infield are very poorly paved--especially near the end of the infield section----man, you are BOUNCING around those last corners. As a result, I don't go very often. Let's say I have around 100 track days under my belt…..I've only been to ACS 4 or 5 times. Yesterday's visit was the first visit in almost 2 years.

So, the day started on some ok-condition R1S tires that had 10 heat cycles. I was pretty tentative. This was my first time at ACS running DSC-off. That was definitely a mind job for me. I started off with a 1:52.5. The 2nd session, I was sitting in traffic and didn't get a clean lap. After the second session, I checked out my tires and one was cording…dang. These tires had been abused in the Bowl at Chuckwalla, in Turn 2 and 8 at Big Willow, along with some hard 1:49 laps at Buttonwillow. But this was cording sooner than I expected. I wasn't massively surprised to see them cording once subjected to the oval---just disappointed. I had a fresh set of Hankook TD's with me. So, I put the TD's on and boy did the day take a dramatic turn for the better! The clouds stopped spitting and on my first session with them, I drove a 1:47.6. The second session a 1:47.3. The third and last session I drove a 1:46.6 and 1:46.9. I just kept getting faster and faster and building more and more confidence. I had to cut the day short at 1PM because I needed to get back home. I wish I had a couple more sessions to see where I would have topped out. Figuring out the optimal braking zones could definitely use more work. Just better braking might get me into the 45's-----although I have to confess I'm not in a rush to go back.

Anyway, it ended up being a personally satisfying day---more than most. I was very surprised to be able to drop into the 1:46's---dropping 7.5 seconds off my previous best. I think my personal baggage made it a sweeter outcome for me. I finally was able to leave my fear of this track behind and just settled into focusing on working out the various challenges it presents. The biggest thing I walked away with yesterday is really seeing that I am a much more confident driver than I ever was in the past. I know that sort of just makes sense---you drive more, you get more confident. But you don't get these moments very often, and it's interesting to experience them.

Oh yeah, and one more weird thing that has never happened anywhere else: in Turn 4, my suction cup mount holding my Harry's Lap Timer came off. And it happened on my fast lap of the day! I had to catch the damn thing in the middle of a turn, put it in my lap, keep driving, and then shove it over to the passenger side because I couldn't drive with it in my lap. haha! C'mon---what IS it with that place!!??

Here's the video of that little moment:

And here's my fast lap of the day all the way through:

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I went to Auto Club Speedway on Sunday and had a really nice day. I have never been to ACS with gutted interior, roll cage and aero. Big surprise------the aero is incredible there!

ACS has always been my Achilles heel track. My first track day ever on any track was at ACS in Jan. 2012, and I was overwhelmed the whole time. The facility itself with the huge grand stands is daunting, the bank is scary to look at, Turn 1 is quite a mind job----going from max speed on the banked straight into a banked turn takes quite a bit of nerves---which I didn't have at the time. I was super slow. These kinds of feelings stick with you. Also, the biggest technical issue I ever had at any track happened at ACS a couple years ago. I was going down the front straight and I felt a thump and the RPM's dropped to zero while going 130 mph. I had to coast into the infield and get towed back to the pits. Ultimately, it turned out that I had simply blown a fuse, so EAS fixed it in 2 seconds (phew). And the only time I have ever instructed anywhere was at ACS. I had been asked to instruct at some private event. I had my choice of people to go with. I wanted it to be mellow since I don't particularly enjoy riding shotgun on track. I got into a guy's Z3 thinking it will be mellow……well, we get on the oval and he punches the gas and this Z3 took off like a rocket, faster than my supercharged M3……I'm like, What the Hell? It turned out this guy had a a prototype project engine in this Z3---a supercharged older Corvette engine……I could not have picked a worse car to get in. And prior to yesterday, my fastest lap time was---uh not so fast. So, the point is, ACS has just been a thorn in my side.

When I pulled into the track yesterday morning, I could still remember those pangs of anxiety that I felt on my first track day in 2012. But now, with a lot more experience under my belt, I was really curious how my caged and aero car would feel. The question was: could I tune out my personal baggage and focus on driving?

The day started on a curious note because the transponder guy gave me transponder marked as #13. hehe I'm not superstitious, but c'mon…really? Ok, lucky #13 it is at ACS! Also, it was a cloudy moody misty morning and you'd be coming down the front straight and water would mist onto the windshield and that's never a fantastic feeling at 150 mph. I'm telling ya----ACS is just a thorn in my side.

After all the tracks I've visited, I've learned that ACS is not really my favorite kind of track---the oval is just scary and parts of the infield are very poorly paved--especially near the end of the infield section----man, you are BOUNCING around those last corners. As a result, I don't go very often. Let's say I have around 100 track days under my belt…..I've only been to ACS 4 or 5 times. Yesterday's visit was the first visit in almost 2 years.

So, the day started on some ok-condition R1S tires that had 10 heat cycles. I was pretty tentative. This was my first time at ACS running DSC-off. That was definitely a mind job for me. I started off with a 1:52.5. The 2nd session, I was sitting in traffic and didn't get a clean lap. After the second session, I checked out my tires and one was cording…dang. These tires had been abused in the Bowl at Chuckwalla, in Turn 2 and 8 at Big Willow, along with some hard 1:49 laps at Buttonwillow. But this was cording sooner than I expected. I wasn't massively surprised to see them cording once subjected to the oval---just disappointed. I had a fresh set of Hankook TD's with me. So, I put the TD's on and boy did the day take a dramatic turn for the better! The clouds stopped spitting and on my first session with them, I drove a 1:47.6. The second session a 1:47.3. The third and last session I drove a 1:46.6 and 1:46.9. I just kept getting faster and faster and building more and more confidence. I had to cut the day short at 1PM because I needed to get back home. I wish I had a couple more sessions to see where I would have topped out. Figuring out the optimal braking zones could definitely use more work. Just better braking might get me into the 45's-----although I have to confess I'm not in a rush to go back.

Anyway, it ended up being a personally satisfying day---more than most. I was very surprised to be able to drop into the 1:46's---dropping 7.5 seconds off my previous best. I think my personal baggage made it a sweeter outcome for me. I finally was able to leave my fear of this track behind and just settled into focusing on working out the various challenges it presents. The biggest thing I walked away with yesterday is really seeing that I am a much more confident driver than I ever was in the past. I know that sort of just makes sense---you drive more, you get more confident. But you don't get these moments very often, and it's interesting to experience them.

Oh yeah, and one more weird thing that has never happened anywhere else: in Turn 4, my suction cup mount holding my Harry's Lap Timer came off. And it happened on my fast lap of the day! I had to catch the damn thing in the middle of a turn, put it in my lap, keep driving, and then shove it over to the passenger side because I couldn't drive with it in my lap. haha! C'mon---what IS it with that place!!??

You make it look so easy, gliding around those turns so effortlessly. The scariest part of the track to me is not the banked oval but turn 8 and 9, because of the slightly off-camber nature of those turns. I feel like I'll fly off to the left and hit the wall if I make a mistake there. You carry so much speed into there! :O

It's funny how our first impressions color our view of a track - Willow Springs is like that for me. Before I brought my track wheels with me, I drove down on them and blew a tire on the drive from the hotel to the track. Spent the morning trying to find replacements, and was running RE-71R front and Michelin Pilot Sport 2s in the back. I was sliding around everywhere and I didn't really know how to handle it since I didn't have many track days under my belt at that point, it felt like the car was trying to kill me in every turn.

From that day on, that track has a pall of dread over it for me - I have mental blockers that won't let me push it hard there, while ACS is my 2nd favorite track behind Laguna Seca.

[roastbeef]

Speed district is going to ACS on 11/19-20!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by redpriest

You make it look so easy, gliding around those turns so effortlessly. The scariest part of the track to me is not the banked oval but turn 8 and 9, because of the slightly off-camber nature of those turns. I feel like I'll fly off to the left and hit the wall if I make a mistake there. You carry so much speed into there! :O

It's funny how our first impressions color our view of a track - Willow Springs is like that for me. Before I brought my track wheels with me, I drove down on them and blew a tire on the drive from the hotel to the track. Spent the morning trying to find replacements, and was running RE-71R front and Michelin Pilot Sport 2s in the back. I was sliding around everywhere and I didn't really know how to handle it since I didn't have many track days under my belt at that point, it felt like the car was trying to kill me in every turn.

From that day on, that track has a pall of dread over it for me - I have mental blockers that won't let me push it hard there, while ACS is my 2nd favorite track behind Laguna Seca.

The aero gives you SO much confidence at that track. It does an incredible job of keeping the rear of the car in the rear---at least at speeds over 60 mph. It's a fancy trunk decoration below 50 mph. Turn 8 is one of those weird ones where I just don't know how fast I can go through there and keep it under control. On fast laps where I'm approaching the chicane of Turn 8, I come in around 115-118 mph, and I seem to dab the brakes briefly to set the nose of the car and edge off a little speed. My minimum speed through the chicane on my fast lap was 107 mph. I'm curious if I can go through that chicane above 110 mph, but I'm not so curious that I'll be back any time soon… Turn 9 doesn't really bother me at all. It's such a slow speed corner that even if things go wrong, you're either gonna ass it all the way around and spin, or if you understeer off the far side, you have enough space to bring it to a halt. My minimum speed around 9 on my fast lap was 41 mph. I can deal with most situations quickly that come up at 40 mph. My approach to Turn 9 is that there's nothing to be gained there----you can only lose, meaning I don't go crazy in that part. It's one of those corners that's meant to be a throw away and you just need to be patient. Ignore the bend in the pavement as much as possible and brake as straight as possible along the far left edge. It's a very late apex---you almost have to pass the turn before turning in. You don't want to early apex 9. If you early apex it, you will definitely be shooting for that grass and wall on the left.

Here's what it looked like in the car: I'm far left for 9 and I'm braking past the turn and then turning back to it. I'm not braking with the wheel totally straight but I'm keeping the wheel as straight as I can and keep the car on track, and the car is slowing in a predictable way so it's all fine. The OS Giken diff may be helping here by encouraging the car to go straight during braking, so even though the steering wheel isn't straight during braking, the rear is help guide the car predictably.

I like hearing your story about Big Willow. What's funny is that whenever I recommend a track for a totally new person, I always recommend Big Willow. For me, Big Willow is the perfect track for a novice because a novice usually wants to see how fast their car can go, so Big Willow's front straight is perfect for that. There's no blind/weird turns. And given the momentum nature of the track, the corners aren't tight and crazy technical for a beginner if they're going a reasonable pace, which they usually are. I think Big Willow is quite challenging when going fast, but for a novice, I think it works well. But I totally understand how Big Willow can be your Achilles heel. Buttonwillow is the track I generally do not recommend for total beginners. That track is confusing for novices. However, Buttonwillow is what I consider to be my home track. I love that place----although I have to admit----after 7 days in a row there, I was ready to drive something else…..hence my visit to ACS yesterday.

And by the way, the mystique and thorn-in-my-side aspect of ACS is not gone! When I was pulling my car out of the trailer today, I got a bunch of error messages on the dash. It almost sounded like the engine wasn't gonna start. I haven't read the codes yet, but I can't wait to chase all that down……plus, I parked my trailer on a different street when I got home yesterday. When I went to move it in front of my house last night, I jammed one of the trailer wheels into the curb and carved a big flap out of the sidewall. Oh yeah, try finding a tire shop to get you a trailer tire on Memorial Day…..impossible! hehe I'm telling ya-----there's something up with ACS. I think I'll take my lap time from yesterday and be happy for awhile……

[redpriest]

Haha, ACS really doesn't like you. Hope there's nothing bad going on with your car!! It took me a while to work my courage up to take the chicane at 100 mph, but I was able to do it on Sunday. Can't imagine what it would be like at 110 mph! :O

Interesting that you take turn 9 in 2nd, when I try that the car goes sideways with more immediacy than in 3rd! TDs are probably a huge step up from NT01!

[dogbone]

I'm happy to report that the error codes that popped up after Auto Club didn't reveal anything major and the car seems to be fine. The codes have been cleared so we'll see what happens, but I think it's fine. Auto Club is just tough on the car. That's the bottom line. I haven't had a code since…..well Auto Club in Nov 2013 when I blew that fuse…..sheesh. Note to self: Stay away from Auto Club.

The journey into tracking DCT oil temps is about to officially begin!



I have gotten a Macht Schnell DCT oil gauge boss from EAS. This piece looks great. It allows for gauges to be inserted before cooling and after cooling. And I'm going to get two identical Stack gauges to read before-cooler and after-cooler temps. The car has been dropped off at Racewerkz and we're gonna install the gauge boss and gauges over the next few days. I may have a chance to run the setup and check out the gauges on track at Laguna Seca in a couple weeks.

The process of tracking temps is gonna take awhile. I don't plan on tracking much this summer in SoCal, so for now, we will be watching how DCT temps act before and after the OEM cooler and logging that data manually. Later in the year we'll drop the do88 cooler in and see how it compares. We have the cooler already, but we need to get some meaningful OEM cooler readings before jumping to the do88.

[roastbeef]

Have you ever considered sending your radiator to a company like griffin for a custom aluminum radiator? You could literally tell them to make it as thick as you can fit. I think their custom radiators run about $850 or something. I know of them through off-roading and they are the standard in that industry.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Have you ever considered sending your radiator to a company like griffin for a custom aluminum radiator? You could literally tell them to make it as thick as you can fit. I think their custom radiators run about $850 or something. I know of them through off-roading and they are the standard in that industry.

I never heard of anything like that. Sounds interesting. I don't have experience with custom fabrication other than having a muffler fashioned for my car…..Since I already have the do88 in hand, I plan on trying that. But I wonder what else those guys could do……..thanks for the heads up.

[burnrbr]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I'm happy to report that the error codes that popped up after Auto Club didn't reveal anything major and the car seems to be fine. The codes have been cleared so we'll see what happens, but I think it's fine. Auto Club is just tough on the car. That's the bottom line. I haven't had a code since…..well Auto Club in Nov 2013 when I blew that fuse…..sheesh. Note to self: Stay away from Auto Club.

The journey into tracking DCT oil temps is about to officially begin!



I have gotten a Macht Schnell DCT oil gauge boss from EAS. This piece looks great. It allows for gauges to be inserted before cooling and after cooling. And I'm going to get two identical Stack gauges to read before-cooler and after-cooler temps. The car has been dropped off at Racewerkz and we're gonna install the gauge boss and gauges over the next few days. I may have a chance to run the setup and check out the gauges on track at Laguna Seca in a couple weeks.

The process of tracking temps is gonna take awhile. I don't plan on tracking much this summer in SoCal, so for now, we will be watching how DCT temps act before and after the OEM cooler and logging that data manually. Later in the year we'll drop the do88 cooler in and see how it compares. We have the cooler already, but we need to get some meaningful OEM cooler readings before jumping to the do88.

I'm looking forward to seeing your data on the do88 vs OEM DCT cooler. I really appreciate all of the information you've been sharing. I'm installing my do88 DCT cooler next weekend

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by burnrbr

I'm looking forward to seeing your data on the do88 vs OEM DCT cooler. I really appreciate all of the information you've been sharing. I'm installing my do88 DCT cooler next weekend

Yeah I'm pretty curious about these DCT temps too. We'll see if I can get the Stack gauges to arrive in time for Laguna. Not sure if they'll make it.

It's been fun sharing my experiences in this thread. I'm glad people have found some of it useful. I'll keep updating it. Actually, I've been wanting to post about an interesting experience/outcome I had at Chuckwalla on May 1st while time attacking. It involves DSC-off vs. Euro-MDM. The results were surprising. I'll try to post that soon....just been busy....

Good luck with your install! Do you plan on running a temp gauge? That Macht Schnell gauge boss makes it super easy.

[bigjae1976]

Again...love the build!

Couple of Q's about the trailer setup...

How well does the Tundra do hauling that trailer? Do you wish you had a 3/4t truck?

Is that a 24' trailer?

I am thinking about going with a Tundra and a 20' trailer (sans the nice cabinets you have). I don't know much about towing other than I need to practice backing up! I keep hearing conflicting opinions about towing an enclosed trailer with a 1/2t.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Again...love the build!

Couple of Q's about the trailer setup...

How well does the Tundra do hauling that trailer? Do you wish you had a 3/4t truck?

Is that a 24' trailer?

I am thinking about going with a Tundra and a 20' trailer. Really don't need the cabinets and stuff.

Thanks!

The Tundra is great. My box is 22'. Tip-to-tip it's 26'. The trailer itself weighs about 4850 lbs. It's a 10k lbs GVW, so it's carrying capacity beyond it's own weight is about 5150 lbs. I went to a public scale and weighed the whole setup which includes 2 extra sets of wheels. The fully loaded trailer rig is around 9500 lbs.

btw, the cabinets are nice to have. It's reallllly nice being able to permanently store things easily in the trailer. I'll take a moment to point out to other people who are thinking of getting large trailers and using a 1/2 ton truck, there is some consideration required regarding a trailer's length versus it's weight. The Tundra tops out around 10k towing capacity. If I had gotten a 24' foot box with a bunch of features like cabinets and awnings, it would have begun restricting what I could put in the trailer because I'd be going over that 10000 lb limit. So, there's this mild irony that a person goes and gets a big trailer so it can hold a lot of stuff, but then the trailer itself is so heavy that the trailer's sheer weight limits what you can carry in it if you're using a 1/2 ton truck. Of course, a 3/4 ton truck makes all this a non-issue, but who wants to drive a 3/4 ton truck around? Not me….

Anyway, when I go to Buttonwillow, I have to climb from sea level in Los Angeles over the Tejon pass on Interstate-5 which is 4144' above sea level. It is a SOLID climb. The truck can maintain 50 mph up that climb. It's working but it's fine and the temp needles on the dash have NEVER MOVED------EVER. And it can get pretty hot around here in the Summer. I see in your sig that you're in Kansas. If you're not trailering through the Rockies or something all the time, the 1/2 ton is more than fine.

I HIGHLY highly (did I mention highly) recommend a weight distribution hitch and sway control. I use the Equalizer brand. It includes both. I love that thing. It makes the rig 100% stable even in super high winds. It creaks and groans a bit going around corners at slow speed, but who cares….it is incredible at keeping the rig stable.

The other thing I REALLY recommend (now that I have them) is installing air springs on the rear of the Tundra. My two spare sets of track wheels sit in the nose of my trailer box. I have a lot of tongue weight. Most regular trucks from a showroom floor will sag under that weight. My Tundra sagged significantly. It took me a long time to finally do it, but I finally put Firestone Ride-Rite air springs back there-----holy cow----that solved it 100%. And just a few weeks ago, I upped the ante by having an air system installed in the pickup truck. This Firestone 2549 air compressor system has a 2-gallon air tank that holds 150psi. It's connected to the air springs and can inflate and deflate them. I can't tell you how nice that is. I had the air springs for a year and was manually inflating and deflating them. That was not ideal. Before the air compressor, I found a compromise psi to leave them at and never touched them. But now it is AWESOME to inflate them when trailering and deflate them when daily driving the truck. PLUS, the Firestone air system also comes with a quick disconnect so you have 150 psi at your disposal at all times. Airing up trailer and truck tires used to be the BIGGEST pain in the ass. Now it takes a couple minutes. I LOVE love love this air compressor system. It has a pressure sensor that auto-fills the 2-gallon tank to 150 psi. It comes on when the pressure goes below 110 psi. It's tied into the truck electronics so it's always good to go.

I'm probably gonna run an air line under the trailer so that I can have an easy to access quick disconnect at the back of the trailer so I can use the air at track days too. The truth is I only need a couple PSI here and there at the track, so my battery powered C3 air tool has been fine, but it's not expensive to run the line under the trailer, and it's easy to connect the air on the truck to the trailer line and now you have easy air at the back of the trailer. I'll tell you what I don't want----is to wrestle 70' of air hose from the pickup truck all the way to the car that's 60' behind the truck so I can fill up 1 psi on my track tire.

Anyway, the Equalizer hitch, the Air Springs and the air compressor system is around $2000. For me, I'd say the Equalizer and the Air Springs are a necessity for a quality towing experience. The air compressor gets to be a bit of a luxury, but it really isn't. Three weeks ago, I arrived at my trailer and it had a flat…….the first flat ever in three years over towing. I did not have the air compressor yet. If I did, it would have saved me SO MUCH TIME---hours and hours. Learn from my mistakes!! Actually, I've now had two flats in the last three weeks on the trailer---one was my fault for grinding a curb, the other was a mystery. (The tires are not old.) I was worried about changing tires on a trailer. It turns out, even with my fully loaded almost-10000 lbs trailer, two floor jacks can raise it up without any trouble. I keep two floor jacks in my trailer. I highly recommend having two in there---even cheap Harbor Freight ones. One can sort of do it, but it really creaks and groans and that's never a great sound to hear…….but, two floor jacks raise the trailer easily.

Oh yeah, and the OEM BFGoodrich Rugged Trailer T/A tires on the Tundra lasted 37000 miles, even with all the towing I do, which I thought was great. I was good about getting the tires rotated every 5000 miles.

oh and one more thing…..haha….damn I could go on forever…….make sure you have a good quality electric tongue jack……especially if you use a weight distribution hitch because you're going up and down, up and down…..my big-ass trailer, which I bought used, didn't have one. I could not even fathom how the hell they were using this thing without an electric tongue jack…..

Hope that helps.