Adventures tracking a mostly stock M3

[nsogiba]

Figured I'd just start a "track" journal here instead of making a new thread for each HPDE/Lapping day.

Background on the car and more mechanical stuff here:

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1726535

[nsogiba]

June 2022

Originally Posted by nsogiba

Just a quick review of the event:

This past week I attended my first HPDE with the M3, hosted by the BMWCCA Trillium Chapter, with Genessee Valley and Allegheny chapters in attendance. It was a 3 day event run at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Although the first few sessions were slowed by heavy rain, it was still an amazing event that taught me a lot and ended safely.

We arrived on a hot sunny Monday afternoon.



Although my friends and I were in the Novice group, we wanted to settle in and try to catch some ride alongs with seasoned instructors to learn the track and get our feet wet before going on track in our own cars. I was able to ride along with the GVC Chief Instructor in his prepped Mustang GT PP2 for a session. After wandering around some more, I found this awesome C5Z sporting square Toyo 275s, Wilwood brakes, and aftermarket shocks. If I recall, the motor was nearly stock.



Rob, the owner, took me out for some hot laps but we only made it to T3 before encountering a clutch that refused to let the car go into gear with the engine running. After limping it back to the pits in 2nd gear, I recommended he let it cool off and try bleeding it to see if there was air in the system, or the fluid had been contaminated. As a prior C5 owner and having had this same issue, I knew this was common and could be easily remedied.

We woke up on Tuesday to this - tons of rain.





It rained on and off until about 1, and then the track started to slowly dry out. As my confidence and knowledge of the track and line grew, I was able to up the pace and enjoy turning laps without getting lost or holding up faster cars.





After my 2nd session on Day 1, I noticed a distinct metal on metal sound coming from the rear of the sound, increasing in frequency with vehicle speed. I suspected a brake issue but was skeptical of a pad wearing out as I had installed brand new Power Stop Track Day pads for this event.

Up we go for inspection:





The culprit was a heat shield that was rubbing on the rotor hat. I pulled off the caliper and bent it away from the hat, which resolved the noise. I'm guessing a slightly loose/stressed wheel bearing allowed the contact, or maybe some debris got in there and started rubbing.



After putting everything back together the car was ready for the next couple of sessions. My instructor kept providing tips on turn in points (especially for the tricky blind corners), where to late apex, and when to hold off on braking so as not to unsettle the rear end. I ended up getting point bys from pretty much everyone in the Novice group until I came up on this guy:



Both drivers and cars were very well matched, with the E92 having a little bit more agility and the M2 having gobs more torque pulling out of corners. He could never quite get away, but I never was able to sit directly on him for long enough to warrant a point by. After about 4 laps, I was able to make up enough ground by braking later and later on the straights and got the point by. Very rewarding session, and I was exhausted from hustling between classroom sessions, track time, and getting the brake noise fixed. We ended the day with some decent BBQ and great local brews at the 5th Ave Taphouse down the road in New Brighton.

Day 2 started with lots of hope as the forecast was calling for clear skies and sunshine all day. In reality, we awoke to this:



We discussed the altered schedule at the safety meeting and determined next steps.



Ultimately there was a weather delay of about an hour as we waited for the fog to burn off. While I waited for my session, I wandered around and snapped some photos of cool rigs:



Loved this setup - daily driver SUV pulling a light trailer. I will be looking to replicate this setup with my F15 X5 in the future.


Finally the skies cleared up and the remainder of the day was beautiful. I checked in again with Rob and learned that bleeding the clutch thoroughly cured his problem and he took me for some hot laps. We passed a couple of heavily prepared E46 M3s - caged, gutted, slicks, etc - all in a relatively stock horsepower, full interior, no cage C5Z with some suspension, tires and brakes. Definitely planted some ideas in my head to pick up another C5 if I ever decide to field a dedicated track car. Long live the LS.





As my sessions progressed, I felt much more comfortable on track and had the line mostly figured out; I still need to fine tune a few apexes and turn in/braking points, but my instructor agreed that I had come incredibly far since the beginning of the first day. He mentioned that he was comfortable signing off for me to move out of Novice and into Intermediate, and also said he would make a note recommending that I was ready for Solo on this track specifically. I'm thinking I'll need some more time under my belt before that happens, but it was awesome hearing that.

We ended the day on a high note - tons of track time, nobody's car broke, nobody (in our group) went off or wrecked, and everyone had fun and learned a ton. I packed up my tools and supplies and got ready for the 3 hour trek to Buffalo.



I ended up spending almost as much on gas as I did for the event admission. The car used a little over a half tank for 2x 25 minute sessions, so I would normally run to the gas station on lunch to top it off and prevent fuel starvation. I didn't encounter any fuel issues, but wanted to make sure the pump didn't suck air.



In regards to times: I downloaded RaceChrono just to get an idea of where I was timewise. Although the learning curve is steepest for someone learning a track for the first time, the ability to improve and knock seconds off is also the highest.

My quickest lap was a 2:14.06. The time itself is not that relevant (yet), but I was very pleased to see that my PB in each session was within tenths of that (2:14.19 and 2:14.1), which speaks to the consistency of my technique over a session. I would be curious to see where other stockish M3s fall in comparison to that time on this track.

Lessons learned:

Next time I will be bringing some more tools and a jack. I was able to borrow a jack from a friend and had all the tools I needed for a basic repair, but you never know when you're going to need an E-Torx bit or a ratcheting wrench.

I'm also going to buy a small air compressor. I was able to air down from 40 something PSI to 34 or so, but had to borrow one the next morning to air up since the car was telling me I had low pressure.

A 5 gal gas can would be nice to be able to fill up between sessions.

Stock sized tires on the M3 make for a bunch of understeer if you start to push the car. You can drive around it by slowing down and giving the front end some more bite with the brakes but it really needs more grip up front.

Power Stop Track Day pads and RBF600 worked awesome with no fade just like they did when I had them on my C5, although by the end of the day I had some severe pulsation under braking. I'm wondering if the rotor holes are packed with pad material. Going to investigate today when I swap the OEM pads back on.

The car was pretty quiet on track; all stock other than test pipes. This was nice as you could hear your instructor through the communicator and reduced fatigue, but was sometimes hard to hear the engine when heel-toeing, requiring me to glance down at the tach.

A parting shot after an amazing couple of days. Can't recommend the track highly enough, and can't wait to go back!

Ended up turning 2:14s. I hope to really work on that number more next time out there. Awesome, fun track that is challenging due to elevation changes and blind corners.

[nsogiba]

August 2022

Originally Posted by nsogiba

Track day bro!

Earlier this month I attended an HPDE at Watkins Glen hosted by the BMW CCA GVC Chapter. Great, friendly, motivated group of people. The theme of the weekend was endurance - managing the intense heat (85 in the shade) and preventing it from doing damage to my body and the cars.

I took Friday off work and grabbed a U-Haul trailer. With a bit of planning and wood blocks it was loaded up. It was under 3 hours to get there; the X5 felt happiest around 70-73 mph. Pushing it a little further to get around slower traffic was easy but being my first time pulling a car this far, I set it at 70 and enjoyed the ride.



I had installed a set of helper airbags just to help with the tongue weight but still had a little more squat than desired. More on that later.

Loadout included the M3, and packed inside of it was the stock wheelset (245/265 Hankooks) in case of rain, tools, pop up tent, coolers, helmet, jackstands, spare brake pads and fluid, 10 spare gallson of fuel for top offs, overnight bags, water, food...you know how it goes. In the future I'll probably load the car facing backwards and measure tongue weight instead of winging it. My wife went along with me for the trip on the condition that she could take the X5 out in wine country and to the State Park/Gorge for sightseeing/hiking, so once we arrived at the track we pulled the M3 off the trailer, unhooked the trailer, chained it up, and hit the Seneca Lodge for their famous beer brewed in house and salad bar.

Originally Posted by nsogiba

Day 1 started with Driver's meeting at 7:30, and before I went out on track I took some time to be a total tourist and take it all in.















My buddy and his wife joined us in his 330K mile E39 M5. Unfortunately he blew a clutch slave cylinder literally pulling into the complex on Day 1, but was able to find a replacement part an hour away and had it ready to go by lunch, so he only missed 2 sessions out of the 8.



Remember the thing about heat management? It was already 80+ in the morning, so it wasn't pleasant bleeding the clutch in the stagnant air. We were very lucky to have been able to borrow a garage bay from his instructor as well as a big box fan to cool off.

Originally Posted by nsogiba

As the day got hotter I just relaxed between sessions and enjoyed the cool A/C in the classroom. Since I am still relatively new to this chassis and setup on track, I checked tire pressures after every session to get an idea of how much pressure they were gaining. Saw this little guy stuck to the tire - luckily it wasn't mine.





Since it was my first time running at any actual speed on this track, I spent the majority of the first day with my instructor learning the track, understanding my line, and beginning to see my mistakes as they happened. As a result I didn't spend a whole lot of time paying attention to the mechanicals, which I suppose is a good thing since the car didn't complain much. The only issue I had on Day 1 was oil temps exceeding 275F and the iDrive yelling at me. It worked out will since I was ready to back off for a few laps to collect my thoughts and process how things were going.







My instructor and I discussed ways for me to improve, which mainly included not trying to correct my line mid-turn, braking later and more aggressively, and focusing on the apex rather than the turn in point. By the end of Day 1 he was comfortable with my progress and put me in the next run group (2) and signed off for me to go solo.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by nsogiba

Day 1 concluded with the track walk, which was by far the most useful event of the weekend in terms of instruction. We spent about 10 minutes at each key corner discussing the ideal line, visual cues for when to brake and turn in, and how much of the track to use. I was blown away at how sticky the track was (kind of like the floor in your favorite dive bar), the differences in types of curbing, and how steep much of the banking/camber was. I ended Day 1 running about 2:25s, and was ready to apply everything I had learned the next day.































Right as we were finishing up Turn 11 the skies opened up and we had a torrential downpour come down. Ah yes, the amazing feeling of just cooling off after a sweltering day...

...and then realizing you left your car in the pits with the windows open.

Originally Posted by nsogiba

I spent Day 2 fully solo and just grinded out laps getting a feel for the car and pushing my braking further while trying to string the line together. The day started off relatively cool but quickly moved into the low 90s in the shade...heat index was in the 100s in the direct sunlight.

Oil temps stayed at about 275F. After session 2, the ambient temp and brakes got hot enough that the glue on the wheel weights melted and weights started getting chucked off. After pulling the wheels off, I put most of them back on and taped them on with aluminum tape. Since my pop up tent had broken when the wind blew it over, it was not fun pulling 4 wheels off on your knees in the direct sun.



Ended up turning my best times before lunch...PB of 2:20.63, with a bunch of times within 3-4 tenths to back it up. As I got faster I realized how nice it was to be in the Upper Intermediate Group - people were just generally way more aware and able to give point bys ahead of time so that you didn't have to let off and give up momentum. Lower Intermediate was frustrating because you'd come up behind someone with a bunch of speed off a corner and sit behind them at 25% throttle waiting for them to point you by.

On the last session I was definitely getting worn out and frustrated because the car wouldn't go any faster...hard braking at 140+ on the back straight into the bus stop, my foot slipped off the brake while going 5-4-3 and I ended up going 4-off lightly into the bus stop. I went through the grass doing about 30 and was able to get right back on track without disrupting anything. Made for a hell of a show for the guy in the 135is behind me since he was giving me a bunch of thumbs up after he passed me. I took it as a sign to give myself and the car a cool down and take it easy for the rest of the day.



Pulling into the pits, my wife showed up in my X5 and we called it a day.









Loaded all the junk back up, enjoyed a nice uneventful ride home with the AC blasting.





Next day - back to street mode. Oil change, put the stock wheels back on, and put the street pads back on.





Final thoughts:

M3:
-Tracking this car is awesome, it's extremely capable out of the box
-I pulled the front alignment pins for this event and am considering adding even more front camber because the outer fronts were still wearing more quickly than the insides
-Front pads were pretty much done after 2 HPDE events (WGI and Pittrace).
-Bigger oil cooler would be nice...do88 unit looking good.
-Square 275s are key for ability to be rotated, better turn in, understeer reduction, and confidence under braking.
-5 year old Federals did awesome and wore pretty well considering the heat

X5:
-Could use some more power as it worked hard on a very steep hill but then again I was close to or over the rated capacity. Currently running MHD Stage 1 with a BMS intake, otherwise bone stock. Hesitant to go Stage 2 with a catless downpipe as this is my daily and my 2 young kids wouldn't enjoy the smell. Plus I love how quiet it is now.
-Found a broken rear spring which contributed to rear sag.

Next up: Toronto Motorsports Park maybe in September?

[Cmassey3]

I need to make the trek up to Watkins one day, looks like a blast.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by Cmassey3

I need to make the trek up to Watkins one day, looks like a blast.

Awesome track, my 2nd favorite I've driven after the 'Ring. There were quite a few folks that came from far away to drive, Montreal, Ottawa, Ohio, PA, etc. I even met one guy with an Estoril E36 (sorry I can't remember your name) who came from NJ just to spectate because his car wasn't ready.

It's a great area in general because there's so much to do outside of the track.

[rcracin]

haven’t been to the glen in 11 years. I’ll go again one day.

What hitch and airbags did you install on the x5. I have the same x5 and wondered about towing either the m3 or another racecar one day with it.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by rcracin

haven’t been to the glen in 11 years. I’ll go again one day.

What hitch and airbags did you install on the x5. I have the same x5 and wondered about towing either the m3 or another racecar one day with it.

Airlift 1000 60909 - there is a write up on some X5 forum that I followed, easy install.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018O94RPM...roduct_details

Curt 13077

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[rcracin]

Thank you good sir.

[s0ldats]

are you running oem trumpets w/ out plenum?

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by s0ldats

are you running oem trumpets w/ out plenum?

Only on track. Used to run them on the street but not worth the worry and risk of no filtration.

[nsogiba]

My latest project was refurbing my trailer. Bought it new in 2016 and it has been incredibly useful as mostly a utility trailer but also a track day tool. The deck was rotten in one place (painted regular plywood) but the frame was salvageable despite having some rust/scale.

Back when it was new and nice:



Chinesium paint oxidized quickly and turned pink.



This was a bit on the heavier side for the C5, but just had to take it slow.





M3 putting in work too



Ok, damage report:






Bye Bye deck





The extent of the rust:





The insides of the tires were rough. Somehow outer sidewalls weren't so bad



The cost to buy/mount 2 new tires as well time to sand and repaint the old rims came out the same as brand new ones, so I picked up a set and will keep the old ones as spares.

As further rust prevention I painted the rims (also change up the color a bit from boring Trailer White).



Heavy wire wheel and needle scaler were essential for removing rust and scale. I also put in new hub seals and regreased the bearings since they were in good shape.






Primer and Black Gloss brushed on from Tractor Supply






That's as far as I am today. It has been a challenge getting the paint to dry with the very cold temps, but it's getting there when I run the heater for a bit. More to come.

[nsogiba]

Finally got my track season kicked off. Track prep consisted of an oil change, exhaust swap, Power Stop Track Day pads (brand new all around) and mounting up the ancient Federal 275s. I did have to install a new drop hitch as the trailer sat way nose low before. Of course it hit the bumper before it would reach the pin hole, so 20 minutes later on the drill press...















Uneventful 90 minute ride out to Toronto Motorsports Park pulling the trailer. Being a weekday, the track was nearly empty all day - there were maybe 5-6 other cars throughout the day.









I spent the day mostly knocking off the rust and relearning my motions, lines, etc. Played with tire pressures at bit and found that they were happiest at around 30-31psi hot. The brakes worked well but struggled later in the day especially as I ran longer sessions. The wheels would be coated in brake dust powder and front rotors were measuring 700F+. I also tried out the free Track Addict app, which I liked.



Great fun day lapping, biggest issue is being somewhat uncomfortable in the car as the stock seat and belt doesn't hold you in place. I really don't want to hack this car up as it's mainly a street car, so I might look into those QuickFit harnesses.

[nsogiba]

A few days after TMP, I had the opportunity to do an HPDE day at my home track, Watkins Glen, with the GVC Chapter of the BMWCCA. This was a one day event open only to Advanced/Solo participants, so traffic was very light, and the folks out there were fast and smart. The car performed really well at TMP so I didn't need to do anything other than adjust tire pressure for the trip out there. Didn't even unhook the trailer



Bringing my own fuel to the event was great, it was really nice being able to relax during the lunch hour and not worry about heading into town to refuel. I ran the tank down to about 1/4 and would just keep it around 3/8 by refilling periodically. This car doesn't seem to suffer from fuel starvation, so I figured I wouldn't put unnecessary weight in it.

Ghost town in the garage







Despite the weather being in the mid 70s all week, it only reached a high of 50F on the day of the event. It was cold and very windy which seemed great for power production in the morning but made for an uncomfortable time when not in the car/on track. The tires and brakes didn't seem to mind the cold and by noon the sun was peeking out a bit. Oil temp never went over 220-230ish no matter how long I stayed out or how hard I beat on it.

I continued to play with tire pressures trying to sneak up on the arrow on the sidewall but went a bit low, so I ended up settling at 34psi hot which was a happy medium. These are 2017 date code tires so they're well past their useful life - just wanted to get the last bit out of them. Overall I liked the 595-RSRRs, they wore very well and despite being loud on the street were predictable in the dry. Never tried them in the rain.





As I refamiliarized myself with the track I realized I was leaving a lot of time on the table by overbraking, especially on the front and back straights. I would find myself braking firmly but overslowing, then releasing the brakes slowly (but not fully) as I realized I could have gone faster. Each session I got more comfortable braking later and also much more firmly - definitely engaging ABS hard, and not lingering on the brakes during turn in as much. Lap times came way down, but the front brakes were starting to struggle as a result...

The brakes would be great at first (hard bite initially) but after 4-5 laps definitely felt softer and more inconsistent in deceleration rate despite a firm pedal and consistent pressure applied by me.

Front:


Rear:


Front rotors starting to form grooves and cracking around the cross drilled holes. The rotors ended up looking way worse by the end of the event.



The fronts were just puking brake dust powder (not the residue that forms a coating on wheels, but actual black metallic powder) and a quick inspection showed that I was down to about 3/16" material. I pulled the pads just to get a better idea of their condition and found that the friction material was separating from the backing plate.

While pulling one of the front wheels off, I also found this...



Wouldn't come out no matter how hard I yanked with pliers, my guess is one of the steel belts inside broke after hundreds of track miles and slamming over curbing. Between this and the pads, I took it as a sign to call it a day, so I slapped the OEM pads back in and installed the 220Ms for the ride back home.

Despite the day being cut a bit short I was overall happy with my progression. Last year on the same tires and brakes, in 80F weather, I got myself down to a 2:21 and was ecstatic about it. Now with more worn tires and way more seat time, PR was a 2:15.504



Fun fact - Once I got home and pulled everything apart to put the street pads back in and assess rotor damage, I found that the OEM rotors and pads are exactly that....OEM. As in, original to the car from September 2008. I'd say I got my money's worth. I need to remind myself to take a pic of the front rotors in their current state...

Plan going forward:

New OEM rotors and DTC-60 pads through FCP lifetime program
More fresh RBF660
Porsche GT3 brake cooling scoops on the control arms up front
Bimmerworld stainless lines 6x
Mount new 595 RS-RR's that are sitting in my shed

[nsogiba]

[nsogiba]

Aftermath of TMP and WGI 1 day events. I'm almost positive these rotors were original to the car. Pour one out for these bad boys







New SS lines and fresh annual fluid







New pads up front for street use only to replace the OEMs. These are awesome, there is little to no dust output.





Big beefy Hawd DTC-70s for track use. Got them through FCP and will be utilizing the Lifetime replacement to ease costs.



Quite thick

[nsogiba]

The next step in extending pad and rotor life was getting some cooling into the front brakes. For whatever reason there is absolutely no ducting to the brakes on the M3...even my lowly 2001 540i had ducts that shot some ambient air in the general direction of the hub.

I picked up some aluminum backing plates that use a 2" inlet. They needed minor massaging to bolt up, but protect the tie rod ends from heat fairly well.



https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...2usa4itemAdapt

I adapted the 2" inlet to 2.5" hose with an off the shelf exhaust adapter and bolted it all up.









For the fresh air inlet, I cut holes in the face of the undertray and bolted up 3D printed ducts made by a member on the E9X Track and Race Discussion FB group.







Clearance is good, it's very close at full lock with 275/35/18s by the subframe but I used a few extra zip ties to suck in the duct and oval it where it was close to the tire.

Fresh rubber - love these tires for their endurance, durability, and price point.



Turbo LS Jag waits patiently for its turn in the garage.

[amg6975]

I ended up with Girodisc rotors and then bending/cutting the heatshields into scoops for the stock "vents" in the 1 series bumper. We'll have to compare notes on the two different approaches.

[nsogiba]

Sounds good Adam. My approach has been to check the rotor with an IR gun right after getting back from a hard session with 1 cool down lap using minimal braking. Hoping to bring the fronts down to 600-700F and increase pad life longer than 2 days. With the pad brand change it's not apples to apples - the new compound will probably stand up to heat better than the Powerstop.

[nsogiba]

I'm trying to get more into the Youtube thing. Spent some time making a video about my recent lapping adventures this past fall. If you're bored, check it out and consider subscribing. Always open to commentary and suggestions.

[nsogiba]

Mods, let me know if this is ok to post.

Our local BMW CCA Chapter is hosting an early season HPDE at PittRace. Check it out and consider joining us as we're offering a discount.

[nsogiba]

I realized I never wrapped up my notes on the 2023 HPDE season.

Around mid-summer 2023 the car threw its first CEL in my ownership, for a Thermostat code. I hooked up my OBD dongle and monitored coolant temps to find that it was hovering around 165F when "warmed up", so obviously the thermostat was stuck open. Although the car already had the water pump replaced early in its life, I figured it was cheap insurance to do while I was in there.



Surprised to find a plastic impeller, but pleased to be replacing it with a metal one.



I also replaced union o-rings and hoses as a precaution. FCP Euro includes a nice kit for all this.











Of course I broke this little bugger (radiator drain plug) before I realized it was a one time use and had to pay a ridiculous fee for a new one. I also replaced a noisy belt idler pulley/bearing.