My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by m3heaven

you like tracks with walls everywhere? haha

Heck no, but from some of my track buddies out there that have frequented tracks like BW they tend to make some bad driving habits out of less experienced drivers who can pretty much drive more recklessly without nearly as much risk.

[roastbeef]

a driver died at buttonwillow just a few years ago. and there are a few opportunities where going off sideways could be bad. this is an inherently dangerous sport.

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

a driver died at buttonwillow just a few years ago. and there are a few opportunities where going off sideways could be bad. this is an inherently dangerous sport.

I do remember reading about that. Definitely dangerous.

I guess my point at the most basic level is at a lot of the tracks like BW drivers can easily get extra confidence above their skill level because for the most part majority of the areas of track have tons of room to safely run off. Not saying you won't damage some parts but definitely less likely to result in a totaled car.

[evilspiritM3]

IDK. Buttonwillow scares me when it's muddy. You can go off side ways and dig into deep mud and flip your car. Or when VIR is wet the grass is like ice no matter what speed you are at you just keep going. Maybe not as bad as a wall, but still- if you are paranoid enough it's all bad.

—

But enjoyed watching Gabe on the livestream, even with the grocery getter comments. The announcer could have been more creative. . .

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by evilspiritM3

IDK. Buttonwillow scares me when it's muddy. You can go off side ways and dig into deep mud and flip your car. Or when VIR is wet the grass is like ice no matter what speed you are at you just keep going. Maybe not as bad as a wall, but still- if you are paranoid enough it's all bad.

—

But enjoyed watching Gabe on the livestream, even with the grocery getter comments. The announcer could have been more creative. . .

It never rains in California....only kidding but half serious...Once you add rain everything is a different animal. I'm just talking dry, full send type conditions.

[Richbot]

lol at a "BMW Tech" not knowing how to release a steering wheel bag on one of the recall-affected cars. Must have skipped every single day of work for like three years

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

Heck no, but from some of my track buddies out there that have frequented tracks like BW they tend to make some bad driving habits out of less experienced drivers who can pretty much drive more recklessly without nearly as much risk.

Walls are a safety feature for drivers. They don't keep the cars safe, but they definitely keep drivers safe.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by evilspiritM3

But enjoyed watching Gabe on the livestream, even with the grocery getter comments. The announcer could have been more creative. . .

I know. Gabe could have been on his way to Home Depot FFS!

Nice work, Gabe! I did a 1:48 at BW, but I was only at the bus stop at that point so I had to complete the lap...

[dogbone]

Global Time Attack Buttonwillow 2020 recap:

The event was a good one. Took 5th in my class. The other cars were smokingly fast as expected. Those cars are really impressive. I love seeing them. So fast.

Overall, it wasn't super dramatic for me. I had a couple moments of bad luck with other people flying off and ruining my laps when I was on fresh tires. But nothing major. Just tried to run some decent laps. There is no doubt that I was rusty. But I think by the end of the event, I was back to tossing the car around and feeling way more confident than a week ago when I got back in it for the first time in 9 months. I'm looking forward to Chuckwalla this weekend.

The weather was perfect. Mornings started in the 40s and highs were in the upper 60s. Best weather I've ever seen for GTA at Buttonwillow.

Last year, I had made a request to GTA to alter their schedule. And it was cool to see that they took my suggestion. They used to run the whole weekend by running the slower groups first. I always thought this gave the best and coolest air to the slower groups. Sometimes Group 1, which has the fastest cars that benefit the most from the cool air, wouldn't run their first session until almost 10AM. My thought was, if you want the fast guys to set the fastest possible times and break track records, you need to give them the best air. GTA said they ran it that way for 2 reasons. 1. Because they wanted the drama to remain high right to the end of the event and have the fastest guys run last. 2. Because they figured if a fast car broke, then it would give the overnight tech crews a little more time to fix it. I didn't know what to say about reason #2, but I suggested running the fast guys first all day Saturday and Sunday until lunch, and then reverse the run order after lunch on Sunday to keep the drama up. They put that schedule into play this year. I don't know what anyone thought about it, but I loved it. And you can see the times that the GTR put down on Sunday AM in the first session with the cool air---1:37.7---new track record for AWD.

Oh. And I was looking at the schedule wrong. The sessions were 20 minutes, not 25. oops. hahaha

Friday Practice: The format was open track. I drove 7 sessions throughout the day. Stayed on scrubs the whole time. I was trying different lines all day with the new suspension setup. Still wasn't 100% sure I loved it over the old softer setup, but I was committed.

Saturday - Day 1: I decided to save the brand new tires for day 2 since the weather would be great. So, I started the event with Yokos that had been run for two hot laps at PCA the previous weekend. I think it was the right decision overall because I still wasn't running super aggressive. And the first session showed because I kept getting faster on each of the three hot laps. I actually ran my fastest lap of the day in session 2.

I was still questioning whether I liked the new suspension setup. So, the biggest drama of the day was that between sessions 3 and 4, I decided to do a spring swap of my front springs. I had my original 600lbs springs with me and I knew all my original settings of nitrogen, damper settings, etc. I just had to feel it for myself. And I could do the swap without ruining the alignment, so I jumped under the car and got going with the swap. Got it done in time and went out the last session of the day. Was not impressed with my 600lbs feel. It was familiar, but the braking was not nearly as good. Turn in was not sharp. It was washy. And I didn't pickup any worthwhile speed in Riverside. So, after the session, I jumped back under the car and put the 800lbs back in. And I'm comfortable that this is the right direction for the car.

I have to pause here and laugh at myself: 10 years ago, I had never been to a track. Never was a karting guy. Never was a motocross or BMXer. Had no background of any kind in motorsport. If you had told me 10 years ago that in 10 years I would be at a racetrack, with my own race car, in a time trial competition and diving under my car to rip the springs out of my race suspension to swap them with other springs because I wanted to try a different feel-------I would have told you that you were fricking CRAZY!! You got the wrong guy!!! hahahaha

I was a bit surprised that the Yokohama 280/650/18 Soft compound slicks were wearing so quickly in the front. After 4 driving sessions (and going through the effort of swapping sides after two sessions), one of the front tires was cording.....remember, this is not full 20 minute sessions. This is 4 time attack-style sessions where you do 2 or 3 hot laps and get off the track. The 300/650/18 rears were hardly wearing at all by comparison.

My takeaway from all this is that I think the Pirelli DH 305/645/18 is probably the best slick for me in terms of sizing, grip, longevity and lap times. The 305 up front gives me some really good meat and is enough in the rear. The DH heats up in one lap and grips really really well. The behavior of the DH is not really a hard compound. I've run new Michelin and Yoko hards. Those take a long time to heat up and the grip is lower than DH. But DH even stands up very well grip-wise to the soft Yokos. And the sizing of DH is great for me. Whereas Michelin has a 270 and 300 which are not ideal. The 270 is not enough rubber up front compared to DH----quite narrow. The 300 is too much rubber for the front. And Yoko has 280 and 300 which are not ideal. Again, the 280 is not enough rubber up front compared to DH. And the Yoko 300 is fat as hell----one full inch wider than 305 Pirelli DH. And by running DH in a square config, I can rotate the tires around the car which gets me even more life from the tires. Obviously, running staggered means you can only swap side to side. For what it's worth I do like the Yoko 300 soft in the rear. Maybe some day I should try a Pirelli DH 305 in the front and a Yoko 300 soft in the rear. Of course, I can't do that at GTA since Yoko is the spec tire. But I think that would be a pretty interesting setup to drive. My other takeaway is that I believe the Yoko softs are around 2 seconds faster than the hards. If that's true, I would really love to take another shot at sub-2:20 at COTA with soft Yokos and no shifting issues. SuperLap is in March next year. We'll see if I can make the that happen.


Sunday - Day 2: Woke up early at the track in my rented RV. I decided to walk around the paddock around 6AM. The sky was blue and I was really excited to run with brand new tires in the first session. I really wanted to do a 1:47 in GTA competition. Never put a 47 down at GTA. I did it at Bimmer Challenge and on my own, but not GTA. As I was walking around the paddock, my phone vibrates, I look at it. It's a weather app putting up a fog warning until 10AM. AHHH! No!! At first I didn't believe it. The sky was blue! No fog in sight! But then around 7AM----from the East.....you could see it creeping in......NOooooo!

At the driver meeting, I asked about the fog, and they said we were a go. So, I go and warm up my brakes on the track entry road. First session was 8AM. We all line up, annnnnnnd the fog REALLY rolls in. Buttonwillow's rule is that corner worker stations need to be able to see each other. They delayed the session. argh.

It was cold out---like 43ºF. After sitting for awhile, my brakes were cold again.....I had asked, would we get some warning when the session would go hot? I was told yes. So, I left the grid to go warm the brakes up again. As I'm re-entering the facility, the guard gate lady is yelling at me. I couldn't hear what she said, but I can tell you now that she was yelling that the session was getting going right away! Ah! I actually stopped at my trailer to get another gallon of gas unaware that the event was starting. I roll up to the grid and cars are already leaving!!! My helmet was not on. My harnesses were not on, my AIM CAN cable was not hooked up. My GoPro was not on! hahahaha I was actually able to get into my proper place in line while throwing my helmet on and strapping it. I'm waiting to go on track and I'm still buckling my harness. As I'm driving onto the track, I'm connecting my AIM cable. And once all that crap is done and I'm on my warm up lap, I turn the GoPro on. What a mess!!! But I was ok. I was still focused.

Then I hit a bit of bad luck while I was on my first hot lap with fresh slicks because a car flew off on the final turn of the track. That's really the worst spot because it ruins the lap you're on right at the end, and it affects the start of the next lap. So, that lap was not great. And the next lap ended up being my fastest of the event----1:48.1. Just missed 1:47.

I also flew off after Cotton Corners because there was a massive dust cloud and I couldn't see where the track turns......so that was annoying. But whatever. All fine.

I drove the next two sessions as aggressively as I could but it was so much warmer and there was no faster laps to be had. I was satisfied that I was tossing the car around pretty good by the end. I skipped the last session because I didn't want to completely kill the tires.

I'm happy to report that the car never had a bad shift all weekend. That means 4 track days now without a missed shift. Amazing.

So, that's the GTA event. Was happy to be out there in my E90. Really enjoy driving that car. Missed seeing it for 9 months. And it was fun to see the super fast laps being put down by the other cars. It really is a nice environment. I agree that some of the classing rules aren't the best, but the people who put it on are nice.

I'm looking forward to Chuckwalla this weekend!

[e36clubracer]

Just for note a 1:48:x is one of the fastest if not fastest time set by a BMW at Buttonwillow. Looking back at the BMW CCA Club Racing fast lap list. I only see Ralph Warren breaking the 1:50 barrier in his B-Mod E92 13CW.

Possibly if Tony Colicchio from TC Design or VJ Mirazyan brings out either of their cars they may be able to get into the 1:40s though I know both their cars have a lot less power but also probably have another level up of chassis setup. Also VJ is a pro driver and I know Tony is no slouch either.

Personally having done 30+ weekends at Buttonwillow I think you have some time to pickup. Once you go to the full Zebulon aero setup you can run more spring/damper and I bet you'd pickup 2-4 seconds at lap if not more in the 13CW configuration.

Either way very cool and very nicely done! Really cool to see a BMW running in the top group with GTA! I watched through the entire weekend and was rooting for you!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by e36clubracer

Just for note a 1:48:x is one of the fastest if not fastest time set by a BMW at Buttonwillow. Looking back at the BMW CCA Club Racing fast lap list. I only see Ralph Warren breaking the 1:50 barrier in his B-Mod E92 13CW.

Possibly if Tony Colicchio from TC Design or VJ Mirazyan brings out either of their cars they may be able to get into the 1:40s though I know both their cars have a lot less power but also probably have another level up of chassis setup. Also VJ is a pro driver and I know Tony is no slouch either.

Personally having done 30+ weekends at Buttonwillow I think you have some time to pickup. Once you go to the full Zebulon aero setup you can run more spring/damper and I bet you'd pickup 2-4 seconds at lap if not more in the 13CW configuration.

Either way very cool and very nicely done! Really cool to see a BMW running in the top group with GTA! I watched through the entire weekend and was rooting for you!

Really appreciate that man!

My best ever there is a 1:47.2. Just not in a competition...and that lap was a 1:46.8 until the car double-upshifted coming out of the Esses.

Anyway, yeah there's always more to look forward to. The tweaking is never finished in motorsport.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by e36clubracer

Once you go to the full Zebulon aero setup you can run more spring/damper and I bet you'd pickup 2-4 seconds at lap if not more in the 13CW configuration.

2-4 seconds would put that grocery getter at a 1:43-1:45. That would be something.

[e36clubracer]

Originally Posted by okusa

2-4 seconds would put that grocery getter at a 1:43-1:45. That would be something.

Yep! If you saw a lot of the cars in group 1 had some crazy aero going on. Its a testament to Dogbone's car & driving skills that he has much "simpler" aero mods and was still very quick.

[roastbeef]

just to put it out there- are you aware that this wing exists gabe? its part of my fantasy build.
https://aeromotions.com/products/bmw...3-series-wing/

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by okusa

2-4 seconds would put that grocery getter at a 1:43-1:45. That would be something.

hehe yeah that would be insane. Unfortunately I don't think that kind of gain is possible. If I didn't already have aero, then yes. But improvement to the aero will be a bit more subtle.

I really am quite eager to get the new aero on the front. The current splitter is really suffering. A significant part of it has been ground away from rubbing the pavement so much at Off Ramp on the older softer springs. No doubt, I've definitely gotten my money's worth from this splitter. 5 years is quite a bit longer than I thought it would go.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

just to put it out there- are you aware that this wing exists gabe? its part of my fantasy build.
https://aeromotions.com/products/bmw...3-series-wing/

hehe yes, active aero! I don't believe I'll be doing that.

Isn't active aero not allowed in some competitions? I can't remember......

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by dogbone

hehe yes, active aero! I don't believe I'll be doing that.

Isn't active aero not allowed in some competitions? I can't remember......

I thought unlimited means unlimited.

[Kelse92]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

I thought unlimited means unlimited.

And unlimited budget lol

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by e36clubracer

Just for note a 1:48:x is one of the fastest if not fastest time set by a BMW at Buttonwillow.

btw, one of my friends has recently built up an E36 M3 into a sneaky monster. It is definitely faster than my car.

It has an S54 engine. It's light as a feather. It can run big fat tires. Has full aero. And he's a great driver. A couple weeks ago, he went out and did a 1:47.4 on DH scrubs at Buttonwillow. A bunch of us were trying to get him to do GTA, but he decided against it. I believe that car can do a 1:45 on the right tires.

He'll be out at Chuckwalla this weekend on Sunday for Bimmer Challenge. His car should crush mine by several seconds at Chuckwalla. Chuckwalla is a momentum track. Light cars do really really well there.

[dogbone]

Soooooooo-------I guess I'll just leave this here.......

Feel free to be confused. I am too.

[tsk94]

Danny sent you these, didn't he? He couldn't take you running the JRZ's any longer

Testing new spring rates so you don't have to revalve yours?

[e36clubracer]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Soooooooo-------I guess I'll just leave this here.......

Feel free to be confused. I am too.

Those will be a step up from the JRZs!

Looks like you went with the triples?