[J Tyler]

Hello,

I recently had the opportunity to test HP Autowerks' E90 335i project car at Buttonwillow Raceway. Buttonwillow is used by everything from 'Lemons' cars to Indycars for testing, magazines for shootouts, and clubs for open track days. And it happens to be THE benchmark for TimeAttack time trials in the U.S., which is why HPA chose it for a test day: to see how their project car would stack up against the fastest street-legal cars in the country.

We had just set the record for all N54-powered BMWs (135i/335i) at the Autoclub Speedway Roval in Fontana, CA with a time of 1:52.811 -- beating the next N54 car by over 2 seconds. This was at the Redline TimeAttack season finale in November.

We were hoping to set the bar again at Buttonwillow -- but we knew it would be close as Buttonwillow suits the smaller/lighter 135i's a bit more. To make a long story short, we spent 2 sessions working on setup and then laid down a hot lap of 2:00.1 -- the best for an N54 car so far. What's really impressive is that this 335i is a 4-door with full interior/AC/stereo/etc on DOT tires and no wings/aero work. It is a daily driver with ~45,000 miles on the clock, not a dedicated track car. For it to run a 2:00.1 is very impressive to me (and to everyone else who saw it!).

Unfortunately we did not get the fastest lap on video (SD card ran out of memory), but we did get a lazy 2:01.1. Here is some video from the day, hope you enjoy it!

http://vimeo.com/8363135


As always thanks to you guys for watching and a big thank-you to HP Autowerks for trusting me with driving duties. I had a blast driving this car!

[330MX]

Nice video and nice job to you and the guys at HPA.

Are you running the GoPro HD? If so, how is it mounted in the car and are you using the waterproof back or the semi-open back?

Thanks.

[LOLrance]

Awesome times! You guys are running faster times then both Berk Technology and ER's 135 at SLB this year.

[J Tyler]

Originally Posted by 330MX

Nice video and nice job to you and the guys at HPA.

Are you running the GoPro HD? If so, how is it mounted in the car and are you using the waterproof back or the semi-open back?

Thanks.

Yes it is the GoPro HD. I used the 720p/60fps setting, open back, Spot Metering (important for the in-car video to expose properly). I mounted it upside-down with the suction cup to the moonroof and used iMovie to flip the video. The instructions said the camera had a feature that would invert the video, but I couldn't find it.

Overall it's a phenomenal camera, incredible value for $300!

Originally Posted by l4wr3nc3

Awesome times! You guys are running faster times then both Berk Technology and ER's 135 at SLB this year.

Yup. Its pretty cool, especially when you realize that those other cars are dedicated track cars... this is a daily with full interior! And it's about 200lbs heavier than the 1ers.


Thanks for watching

[VMRWheels]

Nice video Jeff! I really like your smooth steering. It seems like the 335i is really easy to drive.

-Charles@VMRWheels (Charles w/ the blue RTA civic) if you remember.

[creaminz]

nice! and damn! that 350Z is quick!

[orionredwing]

Nice video!

Made me go and order the GoPro HD camera too! I held off from purchasing the GoPro Std for a long time because I really wanted HD.

In case others were looking, iceplanter.com has free shipping and an 8MB SD card. I also used coupon code ICMAR15 for another 10% off.

[vwong]

Awesome video, Jeff!!! Very smooth steering input.

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by creaminz

nice! and damn! that 350Z is quick!

I think he ran him down and then let the 335i rest. I could be wrong, but I was in the same run group and don't recall the Z being that fast. For reference, my best time of the day was 2:06.1 - granted I'm not half the driver as Jeff but 2:00 in that E90 is fly'in.

[J Tyler]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Nice video Jeff! I really like your smooth steering. It seems like the 335i is really easy to drive.

-Charles@VMRWheels (Charles w/ the blue RTA civic) if you remember.

It is pretty easy to drive. We made some changes since AAA Speedway that have made it a little trickier (we added more rear camber which made the rear break-away much more abrupt) but overall it's brilliant.

Originally Posted by creaminz

nice! and damn! that 350Z is quick!

He is quick, his best was a 2:07, pretty quick for the car.

Originally Posted by orionredwing

Nice video!

Made me go and order the GoPro HD camera too! I held off from purchasing the GoPro Std for a long time because I really wanted HD.

In case others were looking, iceplanter.com has free shipping and an 8MB SD card. I also used coupon code ICMAR15 for another 10% off.

Good deal!

Originally Posted by vwong

Awesome video, Jeff!!! Very smooth steering input.

Thanks! With the increased rear camber we added, it really rewards smooth/deliberate movements from the driver. The 'limit' is a pretty narrow window as it is set right now.

Originally Posted by Hit_Apex

I think he ran him down and then let the 335i rest. I could be wrong, but I was in the same run group and don't recall the Z being that fast. For reference, my best time of the day was 2:06.1 - granted I'm not half the driver as Jeff but 2:00 in that E90 is fly'in.

Thanks for the kind words

Which car did you get a 2:06 in?

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by J Tyler

Which car did you get a 2:06 in?

The silver grey E46 M3 - I was the taller guy you met while talking with Harold. I think I told you I run 2:08s regularly, and then the next session ran a couple 2:06s while chasing down that white z/g35 with huge wing.

[94JZA80]

Originally Posted by J Tyler

...And it happens to be THE benchmark for TimeAttack time trials in the U.S., which is why HPA chose it for a test day: to see how their project car would stack up against the fastest street-legal cars in the country.

so out of curiosity, how did it stack up to the fastest street legal cars in the country?

[mike-y]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

-Charles@VMRWheels (Charles w/ the blue RTA civic) if you remember.

pics of blue RTA civic pls

[anthony @ eas]

Sweet video. Very smooth driving skills.

[clubspec330i]

Jeff...great driving...

Harold's car is more like a 335i CSL..You said it yourself, 335i shouldn't be this fast.

Anyhow, great setup car mates with great driver = amazing time on streetable 335i CSL.

[eltoshan]

Nice driving! What tires were you using?

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by eltoshan

Nice driving! What tires were you using?

PSCs 265/285 iirc.

[Javi335]

the 135i handles better than 335i right?

[J Tyler]

Originally Posted by 94JZA80

so out of curiosity, how did it stack up to the fastest street legal cars in the country?

We set the record for N54 cars with a 2:00.1. The definition of "street-legal" gets very blurry with heavily-modified cars as they start stripping off headlights, catalytic converters, etc etc. To give you a frame of reference, Steve Millen ran a 2:02.x in both a stock C6 Z06 and a stock 997 911 Turbo. He did a 2:01.5 in a stock 997 GT3.

The TriPoint SPEED World Challenge team tests their Mazda6 racecars at this track, and they run in the 1:56-1:58 range.

The fastest street-tired car that I know of is Nils Leufven's heavily-modified Evo and IIRC he did a 1:56.6 on Yok AD08's. Not sure if you can call that car "street legal" but at least it was on street tires.

EvolutionRacewerks did a 2:00.9 in their Time Attack 135i.

Originally Posted by anthony @ eas

Sweet video. Very smooth driving skills.

Thanks man

Originally Posted by clubspec330i

Jeff...great driving...

Harold's car is more like a 335i CSL..You said it yourself, 335i shouldn't be this fast.

Anyhow, great setup car mates with great driver = amazing time on streetable 335i CSL.

Seriously, it is an amazing car. Very easy to drive... it makes me look good, lol

Originally Posted by eltoshan

Nice driving! What tires were you using?

6-track-day-old Pilot Sport Cups which at that point in their life were similar in grip level to a good street tire. We ran faster at AAA Speedway on the Yokohama street tires, actually. I think with some fresh Yok AD08's, this car should comfortably do 1:59's.

Originally Posted by Javi335

the 135i handles better than 335i right?

Not necessarily, the 135i is about 200lbs lighter which is an advantage, but when you're dealing with modified cars like the HPA car it's all about how the chassis is set up. Harold's car is set up really well obviously... With coilovers you can choose your own spring rates and make it handle however you like. The longer wheelbase of the E90 makes it a little more stable under braking than the 135i, not that I would call the 1er 'unstable'... Overall they are very very similar, the main difference I feel as a driver is the wheelbase.

[94JZA80]

Originally Posted by l4wr3nc3

Awesome times! You guys are running faster times then both Berk Technology and ER's 135 at SLB this year.

how did Berk Tech do this year? and are they in the Street FR class, or is their car more modified than that? i see in one of Jeff's videos that it went 2:03.9 in last year's SLB.

Originally Posted by J Tyler

The fastest street-tired car that I know of is Nils Leufven's heavily-modified Evo and IIRC he did a 1:56.6 on Yok AD08's. Not sure if you can call that car "street legal" but at least it was on street tires.

i remember SLB 2008 pretty well...if it weren't for Nils' EVO and 3 other "Street AWD" cars, a Supra would have nabbed the "Overall Street" title...but we had to settle for "Street RWD winner." of course if Curtis didn't drive his Supra 260 miles to the event on 4-month-old Neovas, who knows how much time he (or more appropriately, driver Matt Andrews) could have shaved off his hot lap. unfortunately i don't recall them going back for SLB 2009. hopefully we'll see another Supra represent the inline-6's in SLB 2010.

Originally Posted by J Tyler

6-track-day-old Pilot Sport Cups which at that point in their life were similar in grip level to a good street tire. We ran faster at AAA Speedway on the Yokohama street tires, actually. I think with some fresh Yok AD08's, this car should comfortably do 1:59's.

what other modifications were made to the car besides the tires and suspension? brakes? any power adders? any weight taken out of the trunk? also, does HPA plan on entering it in SLB this year, and if so, what class they'll be running in? sorry for all the questions...keep up the good work and way to represent the twin turbo inline-6's brotha

[Javi335]

... Overall they are very very similar, the main difference I feel as a driver is the wheelbase.

yea, I saw both videos, the one on the 135i seems like you fight more with the steering while cornering, but also is more responsive and faster to do changes directions and corrections once you're on the bend.Looks a little bit toy

[aznbenz07]

To invert the footage from the camera you have to go to set from the camera menu before you start filming then select "UPd". Once selected it will change to "UP", and then you can film right side up.

Great video by the way, I wish it wasn't 20 degrees with snow everywhere here in New York so I could take my car to a track. Do you mind if I put your video up on my blog?