Derbo's ZHP

[johnrando]

Funny that a 3 series in not common at a shop with a lot of BMWs.

[Vas]

How was the track day?

[derbo]

Funny that a 3 series in not common at a shop with a lot of BMWs.

Right? Most of the guys have Ms that go to Ptech which I thought was felt a little strange but it is a performance shop.

How was the track day?

It was a great day for Thunderhill. Temperatures were around 70s and it was a nice cool day with no clouds in sight. Performance Technic hosted a wonderful event with great rules. Beginners had "X" on the back of their cars and we were only allowed to pass them on specific passing zones with a point-by. I thought the rules were great and most of the day was pretty good.

The schedule was as follows:

9am: Advanced session
9:30am: Beginner session
10am-1pm: Open to all Session
1-2pm: Lunch
2pm to Close: Open to All Session




Impressions of the Car:
-Z4M Bushings felt great. The car felt more composed on the straights and braking felt alot better.
-H&R Front Sway Bar set to medium setting felt wonderful. There is a slight understeer on tighter corners but the medium to high speed corners stability was amazing. I am getting more comfortable with my stoptech brakes and starting to brake a lot later and improving my times. I lost a lot of confidence in driving the car at the track due to lack of track days to keep me in shape.

The last time I tracked at Thunderhill in the Cyclone configuration was 2:15. I changed alot of stuff in the past two years so I'm not so sure it's a fair comparison.

List of major things changed since then last cyclone pass:

• Stoptech Brakes
• M3 LSD
• Bimmerworld Brake Ducts
• ARC8 Rims/Star Specs
• Clutch/Z3M shifter lever
• TSE3 Exhaust
• H&R Sway bar
• New Swift Rear Springs

Yesterday's best time was 2:11 with PLENTY of room to run faster. With my improving confidence with the stoptechs I started to run into a problem with a bucket seat with no harness. The stock seatbelts could not hold me in the seat enough during heavy braking and I was wasting energy with my back muscles holding myself in during braking. In a situation where it is a long session like yesterday, my back did not want any of it. I know I can brake a lot later and faster if I didn't have to waste so much energy holding myself in the seat during braking. I think I will need to look into a harness, again. I shouldn't have sold my quickfit pro harness and kept it but I will look for another one.




There was one incident after Turn 12 where one of the E36 track cars dropped 2 wheels on the outside. He tried to counter and it forced him to the opposite side where there was a hill. The car hit the ditch and rolled over a few times and ended back rolling back upright down the hill. The driver is okay with 4 broken ribs but the car did it's job and kept him safe. I'm glad the driver is okay without much issue.



Overall great time! sad that on the way back I listened to the Giants get whooped by the Royals.

[derbo]

On a more sour note,

The SES light went on when I was driving home from the track. I ran through the test plan and confirm my O2 sensors were operational and within the 0-1.1V spec under 5000rpm. The suggestion from the test plan is that there is a leak coming from the mix-prep stage.



I will have to do further diagnostics. I think I need smoke machine to figure it out.

I also have a slight vibration in the wheel. From the looks of it, my control arms are original, and my tie rods have not been replaced under my ownership so I will look into those areas to confirm where the problem is coming from.

[LivesNearCostco]

Wow, great track day story. Are you running fixed back seat without harnesses, or just saying you need harness now for the stock seat? Sorry to hear an E36 rolled.

My 3rd track day ever was at Thunderhill (without Cyclone) back in November 2010. It was great but someone did roll a Lexus between Turns 6 and 7. Went off to right, came back on too fast, shot across to left side then rolled. Driver and passenger walked away but I assume the car was totaled.

[az3579]

That sure was a shit ton of shifting with that M3 diff... but at least you were in the powerband almost the entire time.

[derbo]

Wow, great track day story. Are you running fixed back seat without harnesses, or just saying you need harness now for the stock seat? Sorry to hear an E36 rolled.

My 3rd track day ever was at Thunderhill (without Cyclone) back in November 2010. It was great but someone did roll a Lexus between Turns 6 and 7. Went off to right, came back on too fast, shot across to left side then rolled. Driver and passenger walked away but I assume the car was totaled.

I am running a Recaro SPG with stock belts at the moment. I'm getting better confidence with the stoptechs and finding out it can brake ALOT later and harder than my old setup. Unfortunately this also means I'm getting a whole lot more braking force and my stock belt doesn't seem to be holding me in well.

I'm a bit torn on my situation what to do. The right step is to put a cage and harness. A part of me doesn't want to do this because it means the rear seats are now useless. I had quickfit pro before and it maybe the solution to my issues if I can see if the buckles that are attached to the belts can fit through the harness guides.

That sure was a shit ton of shifting with that M3 diff... but at least you were in the powerband almost the entire time.

Oh I know. Shifting into 5th at 110mph isn't the best feeling in the world. There were a few misalign throws during my session but I didn't put it in gear so it just revved to neutral. But the powerband is quite nice for the track except between turn 2 and 3 I have to hit the rev limit on the little straight of 3rd.

[az3579]

Oh I know. Shifting into 5th at 110mph isn't the best feeling in the world. There were a few misalign throws during my session but I didn't put it in gear so it just revved to neutral. But the powerband is quite nice for the track except between turn 2 and 3 I have to hit the rev limit on the little straight of 3rd.

Things like this are the reasons I don't really want a diff much shorter than what I have now. On the tracks I run, my gearing is absolutely perfect, and don't want to ruin it. All that extra kills time as well...

[derbo]

Things like this are the reasons I don't really want a diff much shorter than what I have now. On the tracks I run, my gearing is absolutely perfect, and don't want to ruin it. All that extra kills time as well...

It's all relative depending on which track you are on. I think turn 2-3 on thunderhill is barely a fault for me. If I kept it in 4th in turn 2 I might be faster. Laguna Seca is a tighter course and I can see the benefits of the shorter gearing there.


Besides, I could totally fix it with an S54 and rev out to 7800 :P



On a side note, I'm still torn on which direction I want to go with the recaro.

[az3579]

It's all relative depending on which track you are on. I think turn 2-3 on thunderhill is barely a fault for me. If I kept it in 4th in turn 2 I might be faster. Laguna Seca is a tighter course and I can see the benefits of the shorter gearing there.


Besides, I could totally fix it with an S54 and rev out to 7800 :P



On a side note, I'm still torn on which direction I want to go with the recaro.

It sounds to me that it's been pretty much relegated to being a track car. Cage it.