[aus]

Originally Posted by S4to335

I dunno about you guys..but I have no desire to run a roval.

They run the Roval, which is about 1/3 the oval track with the rest in the infield.

[Dascamel]

OMG, the roval was incredible!! It was the long way around, no speed break in the middle. Hitting 140-145 mph when its clear down the main straight and apexing at the end around 120 mph was amazing. If and a BIG if I was more confident in my car and abilities, 150-155+ is very possible down the straight. Anyway, great weekend. I'm sure Satakal, Ramos and others will have more to add. Somehow I still have some tread left after the 3 days...



If you've never been to Cal Speedway, I would go once at least. As far as the infield goes, Buttonwillow is more interesting and fun.

I have new found respect for NASCAR drivers and the adjustments they need to make. Anyway, rest of the track was decent.

[BRO]

Yes. Weather was nice and cool. Wind was down. No overheating/limps. BMWCCA is always very organized and professional. Nice to chat with Satakal and chilicheese.

My laps improved a lot thru the day until the last session, when I was tired or the track was slipperier or some thing. Did a little gardening....

[aus]

Originally Posted by BRO

Yes. Weather was nice and cool. Wind was down. No overheating/limps. BMWCCA is always very organized and professional. Nice to chat with Satakal and chilicheese.

My laps improved a lot thru the day until the last session, when I was tired or the track was slipperier or some thing. Did a little gardening....

We've all done some gardening!!

[aus]

Originally Posted by satakal

you boys in D group better watch out! I spent lots of monies and I'll finally be fast. Only thing holding me back was tires. Not any more. I'm gonna win the Friday race. Saturday race. And... you guessed it... Sunday race too. When you see that monaco blue e90 drifting up behind you, don't worry about pointing me by... I already know. Peace!

Did you get moved up? I don't remember a blue 335. I only gave one point by... to a 530. Whoever it was just took off after he/she passed.
That guy with the "B-spec" race car who appologized for "intimidating" people... got passed by me twice.

[satakal]

Originally Posted by aus

We've all done some gardening!!

and... some are funnier than others.

Here's my text on youtube: one of the GGC's yellow shirted champions interrups my train of thought with a bouquet while I try and explain why I was picking flowers at the exit of 6.

[satakal]

Originally Posted by aus

Did you get moved up? I don't remember a blue 335. I only gave one point by... to a 530. Whoever it was just took off after he/she passed.
That guy with the "B-spec" race car who appologized for "intimidating" people... got passed by me twice.

I was kidding about being in D. I shoulda been black flagged on my 2nd sunday session for passing through the NASCAR 1 and 2. Aparrently, there's a huge difference between 80 and 130.

[Dascamel]

Did you get any gardening on video?

[satakal]

Originally Posted by Dascamel

Did you get any gardening on video?

I took no video over the weekend. I don't know why. I was right behind BRO when he went 4 off in a spectacular and safe way. I was tracking out of the 5/6 sweeper when I see this red car totally sideways in the middle of the track. He did the same thing wrong that I always do. He just didn't open up the wheel on track out.

Did you get vid?

Oh, here's my bragging... 2 of 6 bmwcca instructors this year have told me, "have you thought about racing?" But, maybe that's cause I'm so comfortable being 2 feet from the bumper of the car infront of me.

[Dascamel]

Originally Posted by satakal

Did you get vid?

Yes, but the instructor moved the chair so you see mainly my dash.... It was the third session of B group on Sat. Not sure whats up with 5/6, but I was having the same issue with not unwinding enough either and creating a couple slides. I had to force myself to think unwind before throttle to get the timing just right. Anyway, I have that on video. I liked my instructor though, guy has ice in his veins, his calm helped so much.

Phillip over heard the instructors talking about you on Fri, it was all positive. Something about being very smooth and clean. The funny part is, I'm still not sure why I got bumped up into A over others in that run group, including you. You were smoother and faster along with a few others... I wonder if it was the tailgating and the passing drama with Kim?

Tangent- a) My car number was A1 on Sunday, STEAK SAUCE FTW!!

b) The ZR1 was insanely fast and smooth, he was hitting 155+ after finish line.

[satakal]

Post the video to YouTube or Vimeo or Blip.tv. I still wanna see.

I think I may be done with SpeedVentures, etc. I get so much more out of a BMWCCA day. With just a "track day", in retrospect, it seems like all I do is burn gas and melt tires and pads. Well, and make funny videos.
http://blip.tv/file/2016012
http://blip.tv/file/2015953

Thanks for the compliments. A huge part of a driving weekend is keeping the massive ego in check. I swear, I only gave like 5 points over 3 days. There were all instructors and that fast-ass honda. (you're the man Mike. I was teasing Kim about how you 2 were flirting.) A bump in group will happen when it happens. I'm not really worried about it. I wasn't a jerk on Fri. My Sat instructor didn't mind my etiquitte. But, my 2nd sunday instructor did. I had no problems getting a point when, in the braking zone, I was breathing down the neck of the car infront of me. Frequently, I'd be side by side on corner exit when the point-by hand would be out the window. I really, really shouldn't have done that in B/C. But, there's a difference between "asking" and "requesting" a point. I shoulda been black flagged at least 2x in that session. Mainly for my accidental pass in the banking.

That guy with the ZR1 also has one of these (7 of 10 I think). Oh bad ass, thats him in the pic on the PrattMiller page.
http://prattmillerc6rs.com/

[Ramos]

Awesome weekend you guys... Satakal and Dascamel were both super fast...
I was signed off to run in B for schools that have seperate B and C which is better, less slow cars to deal with.

I let my instructor drive my car on Sunday for a whole session, and WOW... he was flying through 1 and 2 .. 125-130 through there made you really feel the G's
All I was thinking everytime around for some reason was: What would happen to us if we have a puncture at that speed and the car is so close to its limit at 130??

Anywho, it was all fun, I also learned that my lines everywhere else were fine, and that I just need to keep working on smoothness, weight transfer and consistency...

Negatives of the weekend:
Speeding ticket on Saturday
Instructor ran the car so hard and did not take a cool down lap, so now I think I have warped rotors.. The wheel vibrates really bad when I brake hard..

Oh well, more free brakes I guess

[Ramos]

I will post later a seperate thread with some pics and running procede at the track.
Good to see you guys...

[Dascamel]

Speedventures is a good excuse to get out to the track, but yeah at our level not much learning going on. I like the timing though as quantative measure on how we're improving over the course of the year.


Ok here is the uploaded video with a slide at 5/6. Unwinding is key.... I need to upgrade the camera/memory card so I can record more. I wish I had the last session of the day recorded.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by aus

I don't remember a blue 335. I only gave one point by... to a 530.

Which group? Was it a black or a silver/silver blue E60?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Negatives of the weekend:
Speeding ticket on Saturday
Instructor ran the car so hard and did not take a cool down lap, so now I think I have warped rotors.. The wheel vibrates really bad when I brake hard..

Oh well, more free brakes I guess

Those brakes aren't warped. What you have are pad deposits when the instructor didn't properly do a cool-down (the instructor should be slapped for that), came into the pits, and when the car stopped, some additional pad material transferred to the rotor where the pads came to rest, resulting in a slight HIGH SPOT.

Try this. On a cool day, hose down your rotors, let it dry naturally and let rust develop, then go out in an empty parking lot and BEAT on them for about 15 minutes, let it cool off without using brakes (drive around in a big circle). If problem persist, you may need to use an aggressive track pad to grind off the top layer of your rotor.

And do not be afraid to pipe up to your instructor about how driving your car. They're suppose to treat your car BETTER than they treat their own and not doing a cool down lap on a student's car is frowned upon, and in-excusable in the Pacific Region Instructor's rank if you ask me.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Dascamel

Speedventures is a good excuse to get out to the track, but yeah at our level not much learning going on. I like the timing though as quantative measure on how we're improving over the course of the year.

There's talks in the ranks that the data acquisition in the A group may continue, if the A students feel that it offered them more opportunities to learn.

[satakal]

Originally Posted by Ramos

I was signed off to run in B for schools that have seperate B and C which is better, less slow cars to deal with.

Rock n' Roll!!!

Originally Posted by Ramos

I will post later a seperate thread with some pics and running procede at the track.
Good to see you guys...

I told you that piggy back would work flawless. That dude makes a good product. But yeah, seperate thread when you get some time please.

Originally Posted by Dascamel

Ok here is the uploaded video with a slide at 5/6. Unwinding is key.... I need to upgrade the camera/memory card so I can record more. I wish I had the last session of the day recorded.

good stuff. That traction ctrl is awesome. I wonder what that tank slapper would have looked like without the nannies riding with you?

Originally Posted by The HACK

And do not be afraid to pipe up to your instructor about how driving your car. They're suppose to treat your car BETTER than they treat their own and not doing a cool down lap on a student's car is frowned upon, and in-excusable in the Pacific Region Instructor's rank if you ask me.

The silver lining of him getting his car raped was: he commented "it's not the car, it's me. I just have a long way to go." That made me smile. Nothing like getting humbled to put your mind in the zone to learn and improve.

[Dascamel]

MDM mode is great! The instructors are used to the full DSC, he wasn't ready or expecting the car to slide.

It really did not kick in on that slide, I felt it more when not unwinding enough at end of turn 2 when getting back on throttle. I saw few blips there once. Overall, don't think I set it off much during the 3 days. With all that power in those tight turns, second gear was way too abrupt. Later I was doing it in 3rd and it really helped getting more power to the ground.

At high speeds, MDM is far more sensitive. Low speeds it really doesn't do much except help prevent a full spin when you really lose it.

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Those brakes aren't warped. What you have are pad deposits when the instructor didn't properly do a cool-down (the instructor should be slapped for that), came into the pits, and when the car stopped, some additional pad material transferred to the rotor where the pads came to rest, resulting in a slight HIGH SPOT.

Try this. On a cool day, hose down your rotors, let it dry naturally and let rust develop, then go out in an empty parking lot and BEAT on them for about 15 minutes, let it cool off without using brakes (drive around in a big circle). If problem persist, you may need to use an aggressive track pad to grind off the top layer of your rotor.

And do not be afraid to pipe up to your instructor about how driving your car. They're suppose to treat your car BETTER than they treat their own and not doing a cool down lap on a student's car is frowned upon, and in-excusable in the Pacific Region Instructor's rank if you ask me.

It's all good man, he was super cool and I am the one who asked him to push my car so I knew what I was getting myself into.. I have no problem with tire wear and normal brake wear, but the cool down lap was a mistake .. I should have said something, but I was still speechless for going around 1 and 2 at 130 on my tiny 235-40 street tires !!!

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by satakal

The silver lining of him getting his car raped was: he commented "it's not the car, it's me. I just have a long way to go." That made me smile. Nothing like getting humbled to put your mind in the zone to learn and improve.

Hahaha... Very true, I never have a big ego when it comes to this stuff, I was humbled a long time ago on my first HPDE..
The only person I am competitive with is YOU You just bring out the worst in me

[mike-y]

Thanks for the compliments satakal! I was really pleased with the car on friday. Last weekend I swapped out the rear springs from 450 to 500 lb/in, and dialed in an extra .5 degrees of camber up front, hoping it work out on the track. The changes definitely helped, and the car drove great all day. The hankook RSS Z211s seemed to hold up well too (first time trying this tire).

It was my first time with the BMWCCA, and I think I'll be back for more. The track wasn't over crowded, and everyone was super cool and pointed me by. And Kim's E36 is /Fast/! I don't think I would have caught up to her if she didn't slow down after a few laps! I need more power!