[Alpina_B3_Lux]

Originally Posted by marcel b

I went to BMW today, and they will exchange the thermostat (there seems to be a new one) but I guess this will not help. They also will check the possibility to put in the high power fan of the BMW Performance power kit (and possible the cooler as well) Maybe even the whole kit, cooling is a good excuse The guy however made a strange remark. He said the kit only fits with the performance airokit, and not with the M tech. This would be crazy if this would be true. Let's see...

That's not true - it seems (from what I learned from people who have had the kit installed in Germany during the past few days) that there's an additional airflow piece that has to be added for the M tech bumper. But it definitely works for all E9x. Still, I think you'll get even better results from an oil cooler (and for less $$).

Alpina_B3_Lux

[booforty]

Here's a pretty cool one I found of me. Waiting to hear if Jochen got me or not - too quick probably

[dxb335d]

Nice find paulie,

[Roaders]

My brakes are making a bit of a funny moise after the track. It happened last time I was at the ring and it got less and eventually stopped after a while (as the pads bed in again I assume).

It's a kind of low droning resonating noise.

Anyone know what I am talking about. Someone on the M3 board has said I could have warped my rotors.

I had the same noise every now and then on my Z4 M which also had drilled discs so it might be somethign to do with that.

My brand new pads that were changed last week now only have 9000 miles left on them so I'd rather not have to replace the discs as well!

[dxb335d]

A drone? Warped discs would make the steering wheel vibrate when you depress the brake pedal.

I have this and i had new brakes fitted just before we left for the ring!

Oh and nice to meet you mate!

[Roaders]

Nice to meet you as well!

Steering wheel is solid when braking which is good.

Are you saying that you have a vibrating steering wheel and warped discs? Or are you saying you have a dronign noise?

Ring really does get through the consumables quickly!

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by Roaders

Nice to meet you as well!

Steering wheel is solid when braking which is good.

Are you saying that you have a vibrating steering wheel and warped discs? Or are you saying you have a dronign noise?

Ring really does get through the consumables quickly!

I always have some noice when having (ab)used the brakes. After driving a few hundred miles normally it dissapears. No problem. Had is also with the Z4M.

When you have big vibrations in the steering wheel while braking then you have to check your discs.

[Roaders]

That's a relief. I thought that it was probably ok but better to check these things.

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by Alpina_B3_Lux

That's not true - it seems (from what I learned from people who have had the kit installed in Germany during the past few days) that there's an additional airflow piece that has to be added for the M tech bumper. But it definitely works for all E9x. Still, I think you'll get even better results from an oil cooler (and for less $$).

Alpina_B3_Lux

In the German Forum they write the M forum does need additional airflow pieces. (http://www.auto-treff.com/bmw/vb/sho...postid=2556374) Quote : die Notwendigkeit der Luftführung für einige Modelle (zumindest für Cabrio ohne M Front erforderlich)

Are you this weekend also at the NS?

[booforty]

Met up with Andrei (neo871) and Lucy in London last night (who drove to the UK from Romania via the Nurburgring!!). I took them to my local pub for a pint and fish n chips. They loved it!!

[Alpina_B3_Lux]

Originally Posted by booforty

Met up with Andrei (neo871) and Lucy in London last night (who drove to the UK from Romania via the Nurburgring!!). I took them to my local pub for a pint and fish n chips. They loved it!!

Great! They said that they would like to get to know really good fish'n'chips inLondon. Has Andrei had his remap done yet?

Alpina_B3_Lux

[booforty]

Originally Posted by Alpina_B3_Lux

Great! They said that they would like to get to know really good fish'n'chips inLondon. Has Andrei had his remap done yet?

Alpina_B3_Lux

He's getting it done right now. Carlos is there to ensure the remap doesn't make Andrei's 335d quicker than the DXB!!

[Hoops]

Just wanted to add my little about the trip. Had a super fantastic time with some super fantastic people. It was a real pleasure and honour to spend some quality time with some quality friends. My wife has always berated me for coming on this forum and "wasting" so much time on here, but having met some of the key players last weekend she now has a better understanding as to why!! We both had a great time. Our converted castle hotel in Kronenburg was truly exceptional, full of character and charm and we will definitely stay there again, only 20 mins to the Ring and on some brilliant twisty roads, perfect for warming the car up! The weather was perfect albeit a little too hot for the cars on the circuit, but great for topping up the tan ready for our holiday in Spain this weekend!!! The food in the Pistonklause was as good as ever and those Argentine filets take some beating!!! The company was equally perfect and it was a genuine pleasure to spend time with you all. As for the GT-R, well what can i say......

She was an absolute star and performed faultlessly. She looked after my wife and i all the way there and all the way back and didn't miss a beat once. She was comfortable and a pleasure to drive, whether we were blasting around at well in excess of the speed limits or just cruising around. On the rather "exciting" drive back home, after parting company with Ian and Sue, with my oblivious wife asleep next to me in the passenger seat, i decided to open the GT-R up and hit an indicated 196mph!!!!! Even at that speed she was as solid as a rock. On the Ring the car was just sublime and only stepped out of line once - but even then she righted herself almost immediately and just shrugged it off and blasted onward, albeit leaving me with my ring-piece chattering away like a mutha funster in my pantaloons!!! First lap out was with my wife and so i took it pretty slow, concentrating on my lines and circuit familiarisation etc. Even so, Louisa was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing and decided that was her one and only lap of the infamous Nordschleife!! My very next lap out was my one and only lap on my own the whole weekend (i honestly thought Carlos was going to ask if he could move into the GT-R!!) - but it quickly became apparent how awesome the car was going to be around the circuit. I was easily hitting low 8 min laps every time i went out, regardless of whether i had 2 or 4 people in the car!! Everyone that i took out for passenger laps seemed very impressed with the car. Those that were brave enough to sit in the back complained of a lack of headroom! That said, it was hilarious to look in my rear view mirror and see the likes of Yaz & Will with fixed glazed expressions on their faces all squashed up praying we made it back in one piece!!! Their sweaty little paw prints are still visible on my side windows and leather seats!!! I can even see where Yaz's head was touching the rear glass!!! But even four up the GT-R never wavered and it never seemed to adversely effect the way the car performed. The only major issue was the ridiculous fuel consumption - i was averaging 5 laps per full tank of fuel!!! Crazy but worth it!!! I was easily managing a full minute quicker than my fastest lap in the E92 M3 and that was with the M3 getting bent out of shape more than a few times and never feeling as composed as the GT-R did. Absolutely night and day between the two cars in terms of performance and handling and i think that says a lot considering how good the M3 is around the Ring. It was startling how much faster the GT-R would power out of corners than everything else - we would blast past 997 Turbos with such ease we almost felt sorry for them!!! We would power past 996 GT2's and GT3's and i don't recall one single car that went past us.... apart from one particular episode that totally and utterly made my whole weekend..... and that was when Carlos and i went out and i decided this was gonna be THE lap!! We pulled off from the barrier and i cut in front of the Aston Martin race car being driven by a pro racing driver....oh shit!!!!

We both blasted off and i was driving pretty much at my limit. I could see him in my mirrors but amazingly we pulled a gap on him in the first half of the circuit which is my fastest section as my knowledge is better here. After the half way section (where you can come off at Adenau) he started to gain a little more. Having said that, on the straight sections i was easily pulling 3 or 4 car lengths on him. We then got into some traffic which allowed him to close right behind me. I remember coming around/dropping down into the Picture Gallery/You Tube Corner and seeing the banks of crowds watching and hoping for a crash, thinking i can;t afford to bin it here!!! Suddenly they saw us, with the Aston rammed up my tailpipes, power sliding in unison and you could clearly see and hear the crowd cheering and waving - it was bloody awesome!!! I managed to hold him off into the carousel and again started to pull away a little in the uphill sections. BUT, with only 3 corners to go, having driven my tits off and the GT-R behaving impeccably, Carlos suddenly screamed out "he's lost it, he's gonna spin!!!" - i quickly checked my mirrors and saw the Aston completely sideways in a cloud of tyre smoke!!! Im not sure even now why, but i momentarily panicked and bizarrely pulled over and slowed (i think expecting to assist in helping him pull a wrecked race car out of the armco??) but almost immediately he recovered the slide and the next thing i know he is along side me about to drop into the mini carousel. I managed to stick with him whilst he then show-boated the last 2 corners by powersliding the car and lighting up the rears!! We came alongside him on the start finish straight and as we looked over, both the driver and passenger were waving and nodding their heads giving us the big thumbs up.

It was absolutely incredible and was without doubt the best thing i've ever done in a car. Carlos and i were just shouting our heads off like a couple of loons!! We then went over to the Aston once we had parked up and he admitted that he couldn't believe how fast the GT-R was, said that we were often pulling away from him and that he was giving it full beans to keep up!!! That was a great testament to what is a truly awesome car. I cant imagine how unbelievable the car must be in a professional drivers hands - and i can now see how the times that have been posted on youtube are probably pretty accurate!!! And that's in stock form, straight out of the box - what would it be like "tweaked"!!!??? Tyres were sensational with immense grip and reminded me of the Cup tyres on the CSL in the dry.

On a final note i just want to thank Big Tone for organising everything - shame you didn't grab the time to come out with me in the GT-R but i appreciate you were busy tutoring all the newbies!!

Now - lets get the next one organised ASAP!!!!!!

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by STEVIEHOOPS

Just wanted to add my little about the trip. Had a super fantastic time with some super fantastic people. It was a real pleasure and honour to spend some quality time with some quality friends. My wife has always berated me for coming on this forum and "wasting" so much time on here, but having met some of the key players last weekend she now has a better understanding as to why!! We both had a great time. Our converted castle hotel in Kronenburg was truly exceptional, full of character and charm and we will definitely stay there again, only 20 mins to the Ring and on some brilliant twisty roads, perfect for warming the car up! The weather was perfect albeit a little too hot for the cars on the circuit, but great for topping up the tan ready for our holiday in Spain this weekend!!! The food in the Pistonklause was as good as ever and those Argentine filets take some beating!!! The company was equally perfect and it was a genuine pleasure to spend time with you all. As for the GT-R, well what can i say......
she was an absolute star and peformed faultlessly. She looked after my wife and i all the way there and all the way back and didnt miss a beat once. She was comfortable and a pleasure to drive, whether we were blasting around at well in excess of the speed limits or just cruising around. On the rather "exciting" drive back home, after parting company with Ian and Sue, with my oblivious wife asleep next to me in the passenger seat, i decided to open the GT-R up and hit an indicated 196mph!!!!! Even at that speed she was as solid as a rock. On the Ring the car was just sublime and only stepped out of line once - but even then she righted herself almost immediately and just shrugged it off and blasted onward, albeit leaving me with my ring-piece chattering away like a mutha funster in my pantaloons!!! First lap out was with my wife and so i took it pretty slow, concentrating on my lines and circuit familiarisation etc. Even so, Louisa was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing and decided that was her one and only lap of the infamous Nordschleife!! My very next lap out was my one and only lap on my own the whole weekend (i honestly thought Carlos was going to ask if he could move into the GT-R!!) - but it quickly became apparent how awsome the car was going to be around the circuit. I was easily hitting low 8 min laps every time i went out, regardless of whether i had 2 or 4 people in the car!! Everyone that i took out for passenger laps seemed very impressed with the car. Those that were brave enough to sit in the back complained of a lack of headroom! That said, it was hilarious to look in my rear view mirror and see the likes of Yaz & Will with fixed glazed expressions on their faces all squashed up praying we made it back in one piece!!! Their sweaty little paw prints are still visible on my side windows and leather seats!!! I can even see where Yaz's head was touching the rear glass!!! But even four up the GT-R never wavered and it never seemed to adversely effect the way the car performed. The only major issue was the ridiculous fuel consumption - i was averaging 5 laps per full tank of fuel!!! Crazy but worth it!!! I was easily managing a full minute quicker than my fastest lap in the E92 M3 and that was with the M3 getting bent out of shape more than a few times and never feeling as composed as the GT-R did. Absolutely night and day between the two cars in terms of performance and handling and i think that says a lot considering how good the M3 is around the Ring. It was startling how much faster the GT-R would power out of corners than everything else - we would blast past 997 Turbos with such ease we almost felt sorry for them!!! We would power past 996 GT2's and GT3's and i dont recall one single car that went past us.... apart from one particular episode that totally and utterly made my whole weekend..... and that was when Carlos and i went out and i decided this was gonna be THE lap!! We pulled off from the barrier and i cut in front of the Aston Martin race car being driven by a pro racing driver....oh shit!!!! We both blasted off and i was driving pretty much at my limit. I could see him in my mirrors but amazingly we pulled a gap on him in the first half of the circuit which is my fastest section as my knowledge is better here. After the half way section (where you can come off at Adenau) he started to gain a little more. Having said that, on the straight sections i was easily pulling 3 or 4 car lengths on him. We then got into some traffic which allowed him to close right behind me. I remember coming around/dropping down into the Picture Gallery/You Tube Corner and seeing the banks of crowds watching and hoping for a crash, thinking i cant afford to bin it here!!! Suddenly they saw us, with the Aston rammed up my tailpipes, power sliding in unison and you could clearly see and hear the crowd cheering and waving - it was bloody awsome!!! I managed to hold him off into the carousel and again started to pull away a little in the uphill sections. BUT, with only 3 corners to go, having driven my tits off and the GT-R behaving impeccably, Carlos suddenly screamed out "he's lost it, he's gonna spin!!!" - i quickly checked my mirrors and saw the Aston completely sideways in a cloud of tyre smoke!!! Im not sure even now why, but i momentarily panicked and bizarrely pulled over and slowed (i think expecting to assist in helping him pull a wrecked race car out of the armco??) but almost immediately he recovered the slide and the next thing i know he is along side me about to drop into the mini carousel. I managed to stick with him whilst he then show-boated the last 2 corners by powersliding the car and lighting up the rears!! We came alongside him on the start finish straight and as we looked over, both the driver and passenger were waving and nodding their heads giving us the big thumbs up. It was absolutely incredible and was without doubt the best thing ive ever done in a car. Carlos and i were just shouting our heads off like a couple of loons!! We then went over to the Aston once we had parked up and he admitted that he couldnt believe how fast the GT-R was, said that we were often pulling away from him and that he was giving it full beans to keep up!!! That was a great testament to what is a truly awsome car. I cant imagine how unbelievable the car must be in a professional drivers hands - and i can now see how the times that have been posted on youtube are probably pretty accurate!!! And thats in stock form, straight out of the box - what would it be like "tweaked"!!!??? Tyres were sensational with immense grip and reminded me of the Cup tyres on the CSL in the dry.
On a final note i just want to thank Big Tone for organising everything - shame you didnt grab the time to come out with me in the GT-R but i appreciate you were busy tutoring all the newbies!!
Now - lets get the next one organised ASAP!!!!!!

My eyes are fuc*ed after reading that. Great job on the times Steve. Looks like you've found a car you might keep for a while...

[Hoops]

Originally Posted by lightweight

Looks like you've found a car you might keep for a while...

Dont be so sure!!!

[booforty]

My word... I'm exhausted from reading your post Steve!! Just like riding a lap of the Nordschleife in the GT-R!! I must say, its like no other car I've ever been in. The passenger lap I had with you will be inscribed in my memory forever - the scariest rollercoaster in the world doesn't even come close!!! Great driving too bud, you handled the GT-R beautifully

[misterS3]

Great write up Steve! Few more weeks for me.........

So i take it Carlos has seen the light?

[Hoops]

Originally Posted by booforty

My word... I'm exhausted from reading your post Steve!! Just like riding a lap of the Nordschleife in the GT-R!! I must say, its like no other car I've ever been in. The passenger lap I had with you will be inscribed in my memory forever - the scariest rollercoaster in the world doesn't even come close!!! Great driving too bud, you handled the GT-R beautifully

Thanks Paulie - that means a lot fella - much appreciated!! Great to see you and Vanessa again, shame it seemed so fleeting, we must organise a meal asap.

Originally Posted by misterS3

Great write up Steve! Few more weeks for me.........

So i take it Carlos has seen the light?

Please promise me you'll take yours to the Ring matey - it has to be done!!! And, to be fair, Carl always rated the GT-R he just wasnt sure it was as fast as they made it out to be on youtube - but trust me, he is FULLY converted now he's been out in one at full chat!!!

[booforty]

Carl is now more into the GT-R than he is into Steve!!!

[Hoops]

Love this pic of the Carousel "spitting" me out!!!

[Hoops]

Originally Posted by booforty

Carl is now more into the GT-R than he is into Steve!!!

Now now, Mr Jealous!!!

[- Paul -]

Glad you all had a great time and I really hope I can make the next one. I should have a car a bit more capable by then also.