[kenneth]

So where are the next track events? Who, where, when?

Been awfully quiet in this thread. Are you folks at Watkins Glen?

[kenneth]

Ok, since I sold quite a bit of stuffs (New PS2s, Winter tires/rims, OEM 162, DCI, Cool Carbon pads etc), I now have those new shoes for both Track and Street: 17 x 9 Apex Arc 8, ET 30.

They will look much better, 32 mm wider footprint than my Koseis (17 x 8.5 with ET40). Same weight as the Koseis 16.5 lbs. Hopefully they are not fragile...... The Koseis have 2 yr old Direzzas on them, perhaps 2-4 track days left on them, if I break and flip the tires over.

Ok, will need to order tires, either the tried and true Direzza SS ($1100) or the Hankook RS3 ($900). I looooove 17s, they are so much more affordable I might just try the Hankooks. Thoughts?

[Tonybest]

Originally Posted by kenneth

So where are the next track events? Who, where, when?

Been awfully quiet in this thread. Are you folks at Watkins Glen?

New track events are added from time to time and are inserted in the first post of this thread.

Yes, jgalaxy and I are at The Glen. So are Jaypod, Gearhead999s, ZWEAPON, STALKER and others from Toronto.

The weather is perfect. No rain. The track is awesome. The folks are great.
On day one, one mustang and one corvette got damaged in separate incidents. All occupants were unharmed.

The M3 is adapting very well to Joel.

[Tonybest]

Nice looking wheels Ken.

Sorry I can't help you for the tires since I only know the direzzas.

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by Tonybest

Nice looking wheels Ken.

Sorry I can't help you for the tires since I only know the direzzas.

Ok then, I went ahead and ordered the Hankooks.

[Tonybest]

Joel is faster. I need to buy me a new track car.

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by Tonybest

Joel is faster. I need to buy me a new track car.

Muahaha!

or a GT3 RS, or a Turboed Cayman S

[jgalaxy]

Love the new rims Ken. They look real familiar

Fragile? Nope. I impacted the shit out of one when I was out at Sanair. Hardly bent it. Slight wobble on the wheel balancer. We were sure it was destroyed. I just tossed it on the rear and away we go.

I'll be ordering up 9 more rims soon. 1 as a spare, 4 for another dry set and 4 for wet (RA1).

I'll wait for the next group buy if I can.

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by jgalaxy

Love the new rims Ken. They look real familiar

Fragile? Nope. I impacted the shit out of one when I was out at Sanair. Hardly bent it. Slight wobble on the wheel balancer. We were sure it was destroyed. I just tossed it on the rear and away we go.

I'll be ordering up 9 more rims soon. 1 as a spare, 4 for another dry set and 4 for wet (RA1).

I'll wait for the next group buy if I can.

Fantastic then! LOL 9 more rims/tires, would all that fit in the trailer? It does make sense though, since you may be running on a dry set with almost no life in them, with a new set waiting....

What are your dry tires, can't seem to remember, NT01s right?

I am delaying the use of track tires for another year!

[Tonybest]

Recap of my visit at The Glen.

jgalaxy and I drove down on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we got there with three hours to spare before inspection which was scheduled at 18h00.

So we went back to town for some early dinner (late lunch) of seafood drowned in an unhealthy amount of melted butter. Beer was good. Took some time to walk on the pier and laugh at his sailing stories.

We then waited a little bit up at gate 4 with many other participants. Many came over to look at jgalaxy's green beast on the trailer. It has that power of attraction. Such a clean looking track car.

Inspection went as expected. We emptied our stuff in our respective spots inside the amazing garages that make this track my favourite. (the track layout is also amazing).

After an early bedtime, and a quick b-fast at the hotel, 2 great dry-chilly-windy-sunny days awaited us. It took me 2 sessions to find my bearings. Brake zone, shift zone, turn in zone... all were a bit hazy. It got better in session 3 and 4... and the following day.

Switched to NT01s for session 2. Saw some more traction but not as much as I thought I would.

I kept my hot tire pressures between 38 and 40 PSI. Brakes felt good but I was getting a little deeper in pedal travel before getting results. The HT10s are very good. I will be switching to DT60s in the future to see if I can better modulate my braking pressures.

The car went well over both days... did a few power sliding (oversteer) practices in turn 8. All fun.

Now my times (after reviewing the tape) are not as good as I thought. I only cut 2 seconds off from last years best laps. Tires were not NT01s last year, they were Dirrezzas. But I did get more consistant and more of those quick laps this time around.
My best time based on what I recorded and based on approx reading of time stamp on video is 2.22 and I know I did a few 2.24s last year.

After cutting 4 to 5 seconds at Mosport 1 yr later with the same tires, I was expecting better times at The Glen. Oh well.

A few cars had troubles... only one Mustang was not drivable after a collision ... luckily it arrived on a trailer and left on the same trailer. Rear wheel was hit so hard, the car needed some major repairs...

We drove back on Wednesday bringing with us Pseudo Nim's new NT05s. The drive was uneventful.

Now what is coming up... BMW Ottawa and Patroon event (3 days) in Calabogie. I don't think I will have the Rcomps for that event (anybody want to take them there for me?). I will change oil, flush brake fluid, buy a new helmet, replace wheel bearings, bring new brake pads... all prior to the event in mid July

Hope to see you there

[kenneth]

Nice review Antoine,

Great that you had a blast.

One of the reason I don't time myself is the potential of reduced enjoyment. Just knowing that I am faster than before, and knowing I can still go faster at some places is good enough for me

Why would you need to change wheel bearings, est-ce qu'ils font un bruit de "ronflement"?

[Rampage9]

Damn, a last minute decision to try and get to Calabogie this year and it appears that I've missed the signup for the BMW CC Ottawa event in July.

Waiting list

[jgalaxy]

Nice write up Antoine. I found the difference between the Direzza SSZ1s and the NT01 slight. Dry grip is almost identical but the NT01 hold up better with added heat cycles where the Direzzas start to chunk apart under wear or get very greasy when excessively hot. Happily my NT01s stayed consistent at 37psi rear, 39psi front. Wear was even. Finally.

Seb dialled in the car really well which helped me keep the car on the track. Nothing like a little humility from three bouts of spinning out at the prior event.

What this new car lacks in HP and torque compared to my previous 335XI, more than makes up in light, nimble, and nearly zero understeer. Track times improved by 12 seconds over last year. Hard to believe. It does feel way faster though. Best time from the vids was 2:20. Lots of areas for improvement though since Antoine would catch up on some of the more technical areas of the track. Top speed 227Kmh reported from Harry Lap-timer. I'm not too sure how accurate the numbers are out of it, since I never really saw anything over 225Kmh on the speedo and we all know that BMW speedos are off by about 3%. But that's still 20Kmh faster than the 335 last year.

There were all sorts of really fast cars and drivers at the track. Corvettes, Mustangs, Panoz, and a Porsche here and there. There was a super fast Datsun 280Z that made me look like I was standing still and killer Mini hopped up on steroids. A few Miatas with awesome drivers in are run group as well. Pretty darn fast for 1.6L machines. I really appreciated watching them all and trying to keep up or learn their tricks & tactics. Spent a lot of time working on drafting, passing, threshold braking and looking ahead 1 to 2 turns. With the improved handling there is also no more need for trail braking that the 335 needed.

I'm looking forward to next months WG event. Hopefully I can squeeze in a session or three before WG.

[Tonybest]

Carl from Perry Perf. explained to me the reasons why I didn't see such a big improvement in times.
My personal experience and track characteristics were discussed and it made sense. He said I would have different results at Tremblant for sure.

Really great progression there Joel. You were getting better session after session and it showed.

What were your times on the Nascar track?

[Tonybest]

BTW. I will not go to VIR in September. That event will now use the South track for 2 out of the 3 days, using full course only on Monday.

There is another PCA event at VIR in early November I will be looking into.

[kenneth]

Joel, next time you give me a ride in this monster!

I have just received my Hankooks RS3 I think I'll go mount them on the Apex Arc 8, he he!

[kenneth]

Not sure you will all like the Black on Black, I like it

[Tonybest]

Now gut it and make it a track car

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by Tonybest

Now gut it and make it a track car

Hey, remember I am the sane/poor one 5th year tracking, still enjoying it, no need to make the car faster. Just trying to go faster without spending the $$$. Maybe in a few years when I get bored, and the car will be worth nothing, I'll gut it ..... or after YOU and Chris get your own track cars. I can feel you are already mulling a track car path, Muahaha!

Thinking of which, I am the only one, or soon to be the only one, tracking with the same car.

I sense Chris will get there before you . (=wink! wink!)

[kenneth]

Quick tire review! The Hankooks RS3 are way less noisy than the Direzza SS on street.

[jgalaxy]

Originally Posted by kenneth

Quick tire review! The Hankooks RS3 are way less noisy than the Direzza SS on street.

But will they be as good as the SSZ1s?

I love those rims.

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by jgalaxy

But will they be as good as the SSZ1s?

I love those rims.

I hear they grip better in the dry and won't get greasy as the Direzzas when pushed, nor chunk. In the wet, the Direzzas should be better. Will know soon enough!