I'm back and headed to the track.

[acspecialists]

Just went back to the track yesterday. It was cool and sunny a perfect day for turning some laps.

I turned off my DSC to stop it from interfering on my corner exits. I almost lost it on the exit of turn 12. The next time around at turn five the car came all the way around and ran off the track. After that I eased up a bit and worked on my lines. Coming around the corner and up the hill from turn 8 to 10 I would be over 100mph. I would jump on the binders and start praying with the brakes in full ABS and the back of the car wiggling around. You can't let up you just turn the wheel and hope you make the corner where you want.

I was almost as fast as a 13' Boss 302 with 425hp and suspension mods. The camber plates are doing there job and getting the tire wear off the side wall. I may have one more track day on my Nitto's and then I'm getting continental extreme sport contact tires. After close inspection at the track people are running Michelin Pilot sport 4's or Toyo proxies. The reviews this year say the continental are 99% of the Michelins and less money.

Once I get new tires the brakes need attention. After about the third lap they start to fade. When you are hauling a beast down from 120mph it gets a little hairy. I'm going to go with the 750 calipers and cross drilled/ vented rotors with ceramic pads. I already brake deeper and harder than almost all other drivers. A little help up front should do the trick.

[acspecialists]

I almost forgot the track so people know what the heck I'm talking about. http://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/road-course/
Attachment 627332

[sigzagg]

Sweet your car is hauling ass does the 750 calipers just bolt on the 740?.

[acspecialists]

Yes, as far as I know you bolt on the 750 caliper and rotor and go. It is the easiest and cheapest way to upgrade the brakes.
Hey I was wondering on the drifting program, is the big handle for the brakes? When I'm coming out of a corner hard on the gas I would like to drift instead of flipping around the wrong direction. I guess you are on the gas into the corner and drifting through the corner.

[sigzagg]

yes it is a hydraulic hand brake. this might sound a bit stupid but try to steer it in the opposite way when you spin out and give it some more gas it might save you from spinning out.

[acspecialists]

OK, so the hand brake runs the front brakes so the nose dives, unloads the rear to brake the rear tires loose?
I do try to counter steer if I catch it in time. When I'm on a corner exit I'm at full throttle already usually at 60+mph on my way to 100+ in the straight. Then I'm full on the brakes to haul the car down before my turn in for the next corner. At 300hp and 4500lbs I'm full on the gas and full on the brakes to go as fast as I'm going.
I just picked up a set of mpars that I'm putting a set of continental extreme sport contact tires on in the hope of bringing up my corner speed. I'll post something after my next track day.

[sigzagg]

hehe no the hand brake blocks the rear tires so i can engage the drift faster or if i want to change the angel i drift. but i am going to install a ''line lock'' so i can ''turn off'' the rear brakes so i can do a burnout easier by only using the front brakes. good tires is really important even in drifting cool would like to see a video if you got one

[951Dreams]

Due to my 2 Porsche's, this type of thread is something I'm used to. I wouldn't be surprised to read this in a M3 or M5 forum, but I'm floored to read it in a 7 thread. But yet... I'm not. While I'm just running plane ol' Goodyear Vista's on my 7 (came new on the car), I've been VERY impressed with this cars handling and acceleration. That's even after taking out my Porsche 944 Turbo (951) with MO30 sways installed front and back. Some would consider it the greatest handling non-exotic out there. And even if not the greatest, it's for sure in the top 3-4.

The reason I mention this is that I switch back on forth between driving the two on the same roads under the same conditions. And while I have "grippy" tires on the 951, I still have no trouble taking the same corners at the same speeds in both cars. And even with the 7 weighing 1000+ more pounds, I'm always surprised how well the 7 does.

The 951 does feel like a go cart after driving the 7 tho. Keep in mind, I don't "over drive" on the street. There are other people out there than me. I drive spirited, but I keep it in check. I haven't done a autox or a track day with the 7 to push the limits, but in 99% of driving the 7 holds it own. Keep in mind the 951 is on par with the E36 M3, with a slight advantage to the 951. And handling wise that's pretty impressive.

I can only imagine what an E38 with a truly built suspension could do! I'm impressed with my non-sport stock 7!

One question, mine stays so level I had assumed we had sways stock. Do we not? Or do we just not have rear sways stock??

[acspecialists]

From what I understand only SLS cars have rear sway bars. Most SLS cars are 750's but mine is an individual meaning that is was ordered with extras. I am looking to upgrade my sway bars. I know the M5 rear can be used on a e38. For the front I can get a sport bar or if I can make on fit there are all kinds of E39 front sway bars to choose from.

Everyone including myself is surprised how fast my living room is on the track. I think the difference is how the car drives. If you are driving a car that forgives you at every turn you will drive harder/ faster. When I'm on the track I am either full on the gas or full on the brakes or sliding through the corner. You can feel and hear the tires when you are on the edge. The only time I got out of shape was when I turned off the DSC. Leave the nanny controls on and anyone can head out and tear up the track with a v8 for 3-5k.

The video is coming. I just bought a timing app that takes video and networks with the OBDII for engine data. It will be interesting to see how I do with all of the new data and video. My next track day is an autocross event on the 29th. After that I joined the BMW club and I'm going to go out to Pacific and hang out with all of the M3's.

[951Dreams]

The M3 crowd are pretty proud, not saying it's not without reason, but I'm so interested to see how you do running with that pack.

The E36M/951 rivalery gets pretty heated over in the 944 forums sometimes. If you put all the BS aside, and dig through builds and lap times on the same tracks it gets pretty interesting. I won't go on about it here since this is neither a M3 nor a 944 forum. But just from my own personal observations and reading your experience I'm very interested in your journey!!!

Please keep this thread going!! I can't wait to hear about your next adventure.

[TxDarth]

From what I understand only SLS cars have rear sway bars. Most SLS cars are 750's but mine is an individual meaning that is was ordered with extras. I am looking to upgrade my sway bars. I know the M5 rear can be used on a e38. For the front I can get a sport bar or if I can make on fit there are all kinds of E39 front sway bars to choose from.

Everyone including myself is surprised how fast my living room is on the track. I think the difference is how the car drives. If you are driving a car that forgives you at every turn you will drive harder/ faster. When I'm on the track I am either full on the gas or full on the brakes or sliding through the corner. You can feel and hear the tires when you are on the edge. The only time I got out of shape was when I turned off the DSC. Leave the nanny controls on and anyone can head out and tear up the track with a v8 for 3-5k.

The video is coming. I just bought a timing app that takes video and networks with the OBDII for engine data. It will be interesting to see how I do with all of the new data and video. My next track day is an autocross event on the 29th. After that I joined the BMW club and I'm going to go out to Pacific and hang out with all of the M3's.

I found this pic of the M5 bar after I heated and bent to compare to the e38 Euro 13mm bar..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153582...in/dateposted/

[acspecialists]

Thanks Darth. I'm taking some measurements on my wifes e39 to see if I can wedge some beefy sway in the front.

[TxDarth]

Thanks Darth. I'm taking some measurements on my wifes e39 to see if I can wedge some beefy sway in the front.

No help there never messed with those. Just bought an 07 335i that is driving me crazy right now....

[acspecialists]

Based on my measurements and observations an e39 front sway bar will not fit. My wife's car is a 525 I must assume a 540 would be no different. Off to UCC, they still have some big stuff.

[acspecialists]

Well I was back at it last Friday. This time I was at Pacific Raceway with the BMW club. They have a different way of running things but it was great day, cool and overcast. It was $290 for a full day with lunch included. Everyone rides with an instructor. They ran four groups, A, B, C, and D for the newbies. They would normally require you at attend the car control clinic first but made an exception because of my previous track time. They require the car inspection to be done annually and signed off by an Indy. I wanted to do the car control clinic but it was booked up so I just got back on the track. My instructor was good, mellow and just giving me pointers where needed. Again everyone one was impressed with how well my living room performed. I made some changes and here's how things went.

Conti extreme sport contacts, 265/35-18.
The tires started out pretty rough sliding around in the corners and on the exits with the DSC going crazy. They were brand new with may 200 road miles on them. As the day went on they improved and by the end of the day I would say they held better and were more predictable than the Nitto's. There was a guy with a GT3 that I was chatting with and he agreed that the Nitto's can be a little greasy at the edge of there grip but he liked that quality. His tires were also new. Anyway as the day progressed the tires got quite good. I would say that the track itself seems to improve as it heats up and gets some fresh rubber laid down. The conti's were very controlled at the edge of traction. When you laid the car in the corner they would start to complain of you were fast but they would hold on. The car had no wiggles the tries would speak up and start to give way a bit at a time. If you had track available you could just stay in it and slide nicely to the corner exit. The ABS was kicking in at the start of the day but by the end everything was working smooth.

As I was lapping the DSC was going apes%&t. I think as first it was the new tires and then concluded that it was the rough track. When the cars bouncing around at 100mph and you bump the DSC it's a bit unnerving! After two seasons another driver said my car was throwing out puffs of smoke on the corner exits. I concluded that the DSC was dropping cylinders on the corner exit as I was at full throttle and trowing out some unburnt fuel. Really it was not a big deal for me other than being annoyed by the light flashing. So I spoke with my instructor and we agreed to go out the next time with the DSC off. Of course I started slow because I already new that I was at the edge. Going off at Pacific would not be fun it's and old track and doesn't have well groomed run outs. So after a few laps to check things out I laid into it. I'm very happy to report that I stayed on the track. I picked up a good line with the guidance of my instructor and the car would take a nice set in the corner. I could hear the tires talking and would just hold my line. As I apexed I would roll on the throttle and blast out of the exit onto the straight. No more annoying stumbles from the DSC and I didn't turn the car the wrong direction. I missed my last session because of a wreck but I was ready to rip one last time. One more thing, running at about 50psi all of the wear was on the top of the tire. the side walls seems to be nice and stiff. I started dropping the pressure and will watch the wear pattern.

Cool carbon S/T pads,
I have been running Hawk HPS pads with cross drilled rotors. After about six track days and 5k they were looking a little thin. It was short notice so I had to order the cool carbons to get them in time. I bedded the crap out of them to try an get them ready. When I went out for my first session they were so bad I thought I was going to have to leave early. They were pulsating like mad the ABS was going crazy and they were fading way to early. It's a good thing for me that I'm a bit of a nutjob. I stuck with it and was richly rewarded. The second and third session the pads were great. Little or no fading and a very strong bite. With the tires breaking in the ABS backed off as well. I would say they are comparable to the hawk hps 5.0 so I expected an improvement. The definitely had more grip and less fade than the HPS pads. I also noticed a dust or sand like material on the wheels whereas the HPS pads put off something like a powder. I would imagine that I am eating up more of the rotor. I think if you get it right the rotor and pad wear evenly and are replaced together. On the street they behave like the HPS 5.0 like I have on my 525. When you first step on the peddle there is a slight delay in braking when they heat up and then they bite hard. Unlike the HPS 5.0 I have heard no squeaking at low speeds and in fact not even a short squeak at the end of the stop like my HPS pads. Overall a great pad for the price for the street and track.

Strut bar,
the strut bar did not seems to make much difference that I could detect. Turn in for the corner may be a little more crisp but I think the front is pretty tight on its own and I could have probably skipped it. It was relatively cheap and easy to install over my camber plates with a little modification to the camber plate gauges.

I have also started using harry's lap timer. I also picked up a BT OBD tool to run with it. What you end up doing is preloading the track you are on. You go out and run some laps with your camera on and you get a nice video with the data overlaid. The BT feeds all of the engine data in and the GPS and yaw sensor in the phone feed the rest to give you speed, location and g-forces. When I first reviewed it everything looked good but now it has lost the link to the video. As soon as I figure out the bug I will post some stuff up on youtube. I am happy to report that I started at about 2:10 and ended the day at 1:56. About 10sec off of a spec e36 m3 race car. Not bad for a living room on the track.

I'm headed back to the Ridge tomorrow for another SCCA track night. As I was there last month I will really be able to compare the tires and brakes much better. No instructor so DSC off and see what happens. After that if I don't head back to sea it will be 750 brake time. I have the calipers and the rotors, pads, SS lines and bronze bushings are on the way. Based on the improvement with the cool carbon pads I hope that the bigger calipers and rotors will make it like hitting a brick wall with no fade? After I test out the new brakes I have some H&R lowering springs to try out. I pretty happy with the EDC but dropping the car down should help with the body roll. Wish me luck!

[shenofjo]

Nice to read every time! I can just imagine myself in my car. One day... i share the same sentiment when it comes to ceramic brakes. My carbotech 1521 pads felt spongey and useless at first hundreds if not thousand miles. I kept bedding it over time and it is finally a sweet braking experience. I notice it being very linear in terms of foot pressure to brake performance. Cant wait to hear more!

[JDP530]

Just reading through your thread and thought I would post photos of front brake upgrade I did on my '91 E31 a couple of months ago. I was unable to attend the last local track day of the year but I will say brakes work extremely well on the street. And, I am using a 750i master cyl since the E31 is no longer made. I am using Brembo 4-pot Type B/H calipers. I was lucky to find adapters from a shop in Poland that fit the E31 struts. So I upgraded from 324mm rotors to late model M3 360mm rotors and for just a $100 more per rotor I was able to use the ECS Tuning two-piece drilled and slotted rotors. I have saved apprx 8 pounds per corner with this setup.
IMG_20180725_192023500.jpg
IMG_20180727_194611659 (1).jpg
IMG_20180727_124846997 (1).jpg

[acspecialists]

Nice set up. My 750 brake upgrade is working well with Hawk HPS pads. No fade in the 30min track session and I can still get the ABS to kick in. I know I can get more with cool carbon S/t pads. My next upgrade will be cooling, everything is fine at speed on a 80deg day but when I slow the car down for a corner the temp gauge goes up.

[JDP530]

I ran Carbotech pads in another car I had and I was very impressed with performance of pads. I could drive deeper into corners before braking using a few hundred pounds less pressure to slow the car according to logging data. But, I just put some inexpensive Bosch street pads on the E31 for the time and they are working very well since brakes are so much larger than the stock setup.

I want to install an oil cooler on my car before next summer because temps in S. Texas are around 90-100 deg on a summer day.

[racer2086]

Man I would be far too afraid to do this stuff with my car. I'm nearly certain something would break/blow

[acspecialists]

Yeah I know. It was a 90deg day and I was on a warm up lap and blew the upper hose off the engine. Drove back to the pits, let the engine cool off. Put a hose clamp on, refilled the coolant and rove home. Engine is still running strong. If I do blow the engine I'll just have to drop in a S62. It's really a ton of fun and you only have to go as hard as you want.

[racer2086]

Haha that's the problem. I want to be able to drive it hard, but I'm sure the first thing to go is something cooling related. If not the upper hose, then the radiator, etc etc.

[JDP530]

Haha that's the problem. I want to be able to drive it hard, but I'm sure the first thing to go is something cooling related. If not the upper hose, then the radiator, etc etc.

Go over the car closely and replace any old or worn items. The E31 I bought had sat for some years and was not running at the time I bought it. It took for several months to put it on the road again and I am trying to prep it so its dependable and rugged enough to drive across the country or at a local track. I have run it now at a couple of HPDE events and autocrosses this past summer. Its a work-in-progress and is more fun to drive every time I work on it to improve the handling or dependability.

ADV-103.jpg

[acspecialists]

Exactly! TNA is a great way to get started.

[racer2086]

Go over the car closely and replace any old or worn items. The E31 I bought had sat for some years and was not running at the time I bought it. It took for several months to put it on the road again and I am trying to prep it so its dependable and rugged enough to drive across the country or at a local track. I have run it now at a couple of HPDE events and autocrosses this past summer. Its a work-in-progress and is more fun to drive every time I work on it to improve the handling or dependability.

Oh believe me this car is treated better than I treat myself lol. I daily drive it and regularly drive this on road trips 500+ miles round trip with 235k on it. There's just no way some of this stock stuff lasts through a track event in my mind. At least not multiple of them