Quote:
Originally Posted by Bush Pilot
I showed up at the Arroyo Seco Raceway in New Mexico for the last race in a series of time attack events. I got to race around the track for $60 with the opportunity to run as many laps as I wanted to do. At this track the small light cars such as supercharged, stripped Civics and Miatas were king and ran faster lap times than a Viper and Mustang GT350. So my E92 335i was considered a big, heavy car at this event. I had a great time and made myself car sick during the first session. None of the cars were able to pass me in straights because the 335i pulls pretty hard and if I didn't need to let someone by, I could get up to 110 mph. In the corners though I just didn't have the skill and maybe the car to be able to keep up with the lighter cars. What was really slowing me down was the open differential and traction control. I kept traction control on and whenever the inside wheel would want to spin the traction control would cut the power back and stop all the fun. I didn't want to go off the track so I kept the Granny Control on. Also, I was running Michelin All Season tires.
I've got a Wavetrac Limited Slip Diff and plan to install it. From what I can tell, for track purposes, the addition of a limited slip diff should be the first mod done on a 335i.
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Of all the 335i E9x car's I've played with on the track, all of them have experienced overheating issues at some point. Sure most of them were over boosted, so in theory if you leave the power levels stock and upgrade your cooling you might be fine. In the stock configuration, they still overheat pretty quickly. Its just the way it is for Turbo cars, they just make lots of heat. All else being equal these cars compared to most are well above average, but the stock suspension setup leaves ALOT to be desired once you start to taking HPDE the more seriously. The rule of thumb for tracking is always tires>brakes>suspension. All seasons, even with above average performing tires from Michelin, still suck compared to a more sticky tire. I've seen newbies roast a set of Michelin AS+ in one session because he was massively understeering around corners and didn't have enough camber. Invest in a dedicated track wheel set, try and find some light weight square 17" wheels and slap a set of Hankook RS4's (best
value track tire IMHO). Once you'r confidence improves you'll quickly find the upper temp limits of your brake pads. I would skip the butt clenching moment when you inevitably cook your pads and experience brake fade and just invest in a set of track pads and high temp fluid. Once you have these two items locked down, you will need to find more camber front and rear. M3 arms (F/R), rear toe arms and DINAN camber plates are a quick and easy way to achieve this while retaining OEM driving characteristics. These 3 items will set up really well for future driving events. Also start tracking your sessions with a lap timer app, it is the only way to get feedback on what you're doing.
I'll give you a warning, this is an addicting hobby and I always joke that HPDE are the safest and most fun you can have with you clothes on. Its also a ridiculously expensive hobby. If this is your main daily driver, I would recalibrate your expectation of what you want from this. The closer you mod your car to be track focused, the worse it becomes to live with. I've eventually retired my car that I used to daily for track duty and one off back road trips.
