My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[okusa]

Originally Posted by dogbone

You know, that is a good question. I don’t know. I have heard that Casey from Racewerkz may have run a 1:46 when he had the white E92. But there’s no record of it or posting of it that I’m aware of. Brett Strom said he ran a high 1:46 in one of his crazy E92 builds, but again no record of it or posting of that either.

Video AND data or it didn't happen! So, as far as I'm concerned, you are the current record holder.

[Bartledoo]

I dunno how the S8M medium is different from the S9M+ (medium as well) aside from the slightly lower temp range of the S8M. But, scrub vs scrub (yea I know that throws science completely out the window lol) the 27/65 S9m+ was about the same pace as my best 305 dh lap (within a tenth), but with the respective DH lap being in ~20-25 degree cooler temps. Also, it was my fourth and final session ever running Michelin slicks. So, that is a good mark for the michelin medium! It corded shoulders much faster than the DH though. The session of the best lap I actually went out on at least two corded tires. Further, the balance of the car shifted more towards understeer with the michelins and no other changes.

Long story short, you may actually go faster on the skinny michelins, just not for very long.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Ab28

Glad to see the car back in action. Have always enjoyed reading up on this thread.

Do you happen to know what brand the pieces are that hold your fender on to the top of the bumper?

Thanks!

The latches are AeroCatch 3 above panel Fender/Bumper Latches.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by okusa

Video AND data or it didn't happen! So, as far as I'm concerned, you are the current record holder.

haha! Well, I'm gonna let someone else make that claim!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

I dunno how the S8M medium is different from the S9M+ (medium as well) aside from the slightly lower temp range of the S8M. But, scrub vs scrub (yea I know that throws science completely out the window lol) the 27/65 S9m+ was about the same pace as my best 305 dh lap (within a tenth), but with the respective DH lap being in ~20-25 degree cooler temps. Also, it was my fourth and final session ever running Michelin slicks. So, that is a good mark for the michelin medium! It corded shoulders much faster than the DH though. The session of the best lap I actually went out on at least two corded tires. Further, the balance of the car shifted more towards understeer with the michelins and no other changes.

Long story short, you may actually go faster on the skinny michelins, just not for very long.

Michelin's naming conventions for slicks is just silly. I mean look at this chart. It's the most confusing thing. S9M is considered both hard and medium......



In the end, I consider anything S9 as hard, S8 as medium, and S7 as soft. I've driven S9L a few years ago and those were the hardest tires I've ever driven on---ever. I recommend that a regular HPDE person stay away from the Michelin hards. They take 5 laps to warm up, they're not particularly fast......just not what an HPDE person really wants from a slick tire.

I picked up the tires today from Sube Sports. They're light---22.5lbs. That's pretty interesting. Noticeably lighter than the DH.

I've been debating whether to mount the Michelins to 10" or 10.5" rims. I was going to go 10" for keeping the sidewall more vertical, plus the 10" is lighter than the 10.5". However, fsmtnbiker pointed me to an article where TireRack tested 3 different tire widths across three different rim sizes, and in every size, the tire ran faster on the widest rim (in dry conditions).....argh.....so I'll probably mount the Michelins on my 10.5" Titan-7 T-R10s. I guess I can just mount some scrubs on the 10" rims if I need more scrub tires.

Anyway, I hope the Michelins are fast! Everyone says they are! I hope everyone is right!

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I've been debating whether to mount the Michelins to 10" or 10.5" rims. I was going to go 10" for keeping the sidewall more vertical, plus the 10" is lighter than the 10.5". However, fsmtnbiker pointed me to an article where TireRack tested 3 different tire widths across three different rim sizes, and in every size, the tire ran faster on the widest rim (in dry conditions).....argh.....so I'll probably mount the Michelins on my 10.5" Titan-7 T-R10s. I guess I can just mount some scrubs on the 10" rims if I need more scrub tires.

Always the widest wheel possible!

[Bartledoo]

The michelins are specifically designed to not have a vertical sidewall when mounted on the correct wheel width. They should have a very trapezoidal shape. Definitely 10.5” wheels. Means the actual treadwidth is much narrower compared to tires you’d normally mount.

S9M include hards, but the S9M+ is definitely a medium relative to what you described.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

The michelins are specifically designed to not have a vertical sidewall when mounted on the correct wheel width. They should have a very trapezoidal shape. Definitely 10.5” wheels. Means the actual treadwidth is much narrower compared to tires you’d normally mount.

S9M include hards, but the S9M+ is definitely a medium relative to what you described.

I am committing to mounting the Michelins on the 10.5”.

Today at SoCal Drivers Club, things went well. Did a 1:49 in my first session. Was surprised to do that. Didn’t get any faster later, but wasn’t worried about that because I was just practicing, experimenting and changing some settings. I left the tires in the same position all day.

Anyway, the SoCal Drivers Club folks put on a very nice event. Enjoyed it a lot. Very social day.

So, now I’m looking at the GTA event and starting to strategize how I’m gonna run the new tires. The cold mornings will definitely be a challenge.

In the end, I’m very thankful the car was working fine. Hope it keeps going that way.

[berns]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I am committing to mounting the Michelins on the 10.5”.

Today at SoCal Drivers Club, things went well. Did a 1:49 in my first session. Was surprised to do that. Didn’t get any faster later, but wasn’t worried about that because I was just practicing, experimenting and changing some settings. I left the tires in the same position all day.

Anyway, the SoCal Drivers Club folks put on a very nice event. Enjoyed it a lot. Very social day.

So, now I’m looking at the GTA event and starting to strategize how I’m gonna run the new tires. The cold mornings will definitely be a challenge.

In the end, I’m very thankful the car was working fine. Hope it keeps going that way.

nice to see you out today! good luck at GTA.

[dogbone]

Yeah man, great to see you and all the nice people at SDC.

Testing went well today. Changed damper settings and found a setting I love. Went out and ran 48.4 on scrubs. Feel good about the car right now.

The Michelins are mounted up and ready to go. My plan is to start the day with the best Pirellis I have, to get that first sorting out session done. Then, switch to the Michelins for session 2. That’s the plan for now.

[spxxx]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Yeah man, great to see you and all the nice people at SDC.

Testing went well today. Changed damper settings and found a setting I love. Went out and ran 48.4 on scrubs. Feel good about the car right now.

The Michelins are mounted up and ready to go. My plan is to start the day with the best Pirellis I have, to get that first sorting out session done. Then, switch to the Michelins for session 2. That’s the plan for now.

Good luck this weekend!! Bummed I got to BW late on Thursday and was being antisocial on work calls. I meant to come say hi!! :

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by spxxx

Good luck this weekend!! Bummed I got to BW late on Thursday and was being antisocial on work calls. I meant to come say hi!! :

Thanks! Will you still be at Buttonwillow on Sat? Come on over if you get a chance.

[dogbone]

Went over the Friday data and found something pretty interesting from that 1:48.4 lap when comparing it to my PB of 1:47.2.

The 48 is 1.2 seconds slower than my PB. I was analyzing where I was losing time. First, we need to remember they my PB in 2018 was done on brand new DH. Yesterday, I was on DH scrubs.

In the data, I found that the 48 lap lost 1.0 second to my PB by the entry to Cotton Corners. Ok, not great. Buuuuut then the rest of the lap, I only lost 0.2 sec to my PB. I was very encouraged by that!

This means I really need to work hard to clean up the first two turns. But I’m matching my PB on the rest of the course with scrubs.

So I’m hopeful that between better driving in the first two turns and new tires, that a good result is possible.

[dogbone]

Day 1 was an interesting day at GTA today. I ended up getting soooo close to my goal, but I will have to wait until tomorrow to give it one last shot at 8AM.

The weather was very cool this AM. There was ice on my Race Ramps when I arrived at the track.

My plan, as I mentioned before, was to do the first session on DH scrubs to bank a lap and then move to the Michelins for session 2. I was concerned that I knew nothing about the Michelin characteristic and I didn't want run new ones in the cold without any clue as to what might happen. So, I went forward with that plan.

In every event I've done with GTA, I've always been placed in the first (fastest) run group at the start of the event. Part of the reason my tire strategy was what it was, was because I was concerned the first session of the day would be too cold and full of unknowns. Well, GTA surprised me by putting me in the Group 2 in grid position #2. I was thrilled to have been put in that position because I really have no desire to be in Group 1. In fact, in the past, I have asked not to be in Group 1, and they still always stick me in there. In hindsight, as soon as they put me in Group 2, I should have run back to the car and put the Michelins, because it would be just warm enough. But, I didn't.

So, I ran Session 1 and did a 1:47.6 on the DH scrubs. I was elated. I felt like I was putting the pieces together. After the session, I swapped the Michelins onto the car. I was super pumped. But, I still uncertain on how quickly the Michelins would come up to temp. I went and scrubbed the tires gently on the track entry road to just scuff them up a bit. They felt really smooth.

Session 2 starts and I roll out and the Michelins felt really good. And they only needed one lap to be ready for action. First lap, roll a 1:47.3. Ok. Second lap, the predictive is shown a 1:46.9 all the way through Sweeper. I'm going through Sweeper and there are 4 green AIM lights. And then, I exit Sweeper, and whatever I did on the exit of Sweeper..........the 4 lights disappear. I rolled up the Esses as quickly as possible and finished the lap----1:47.28. 0.07 sec slower than my personal best. Tried a couple more times and the engine just wasn't pulling the same.

So----I just missed. I pulled the Michelins off and saved them for session 1 on Sunday.

They re-shuffled the run groups at lunch, and that dumped me back in Group 1 with the crazy cars.....yay.....but it was fine. I never had an impeded lap all day. Ran the last two sessions on scrubs simply to practice and continue experimenting with car setup. Didn't like the setup changes and put them back to where they were.

At the end of the day, they re-shuffled the groups one more time for Sunday, and I'm still in Group 1 in position #7. I hope Cole Powelson doesn't blow a driveshaft in session 1 [like he's done twice before]......Anyway, the weather should be in the low 40s at 8AM tomorrow, so I should have really good air, and hopefully the tires still have some good mojo left in them. The pieces are in place to potentially have a nice result, but as I said before, Buttonwillow does not hand out fast lap times. I can't make any mistakes for it to be possible.

The data showed some interesting stuff. I mentioned that the Friday practice lap lost a lot of time at the beginning of the lap. I was able to remove the deficit on Turn 1. But Off-Ramp and the section after Cotton Corners are still losing time. I'm doing really well from the approach to Bus Stop through the middle of Sweeper, and then from the exit of Sweeper to the end is not so great. But the data confirms that I was solidly in 46 territory for much of the lap.

I like the characteristic of the Michelin S8M. It feels good. Solid. No funkiness. Great braking. Great turn in. Great cornering hold. And the grip level came up real quick on the out lap. I would happily run this tire again the future. It did not feel like I had a narrower tire on the car. I've heard people say that Michelin slicks fall off fairly quickly......hopefuily not too quickly!!

So, I'm inching closer to my goal. Ran a 49 on Thursday, a 48 on Friday, a 47 on Saturday........hmmmmm what does that mean for Sunday!!?!?!?!! AIM data says my virtual best is 1:46.8. All I can tell you is that I have never worked so hard during a lap in my life. I am throwing the car around to the point that I almost feel bad about it. I didn't have to drive this hard in 2018 when I did the 47.2. The track is definitely aging.

[Bartledoo]

Still watching the final day of GTA finals so I haven’t seen it all yet, but my friend William told me about how you helped him fix his F80. Brought a little tear to my eye to find out you are as awesome (well even more) as you seem

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

Still watching the final day of GTA finals so I haven’t seen it all yet, but my friend William told me about how you helped him fix his F80. Brought a little tear to my eye to find out you are as awesome (well even more) as you seem

hehe well, of all the people that helped William, I definitely did the least labor, but yes, I did connect him to who could save the day.

On Friday, the practice day, William came over to my trailer and introduced himself and said that he had read my thread and thought it was cool to see my car in person. He was super nice. He also was in need of a spacer for the front wheels. I had a spare set that I lent him.

He goes out for practice and had an off at Phil Hill that damaged a number of things on the front of his F80 M3. Luckily for him, he was randomly sharing a garage with two full blown race mechanics--- flipm3 and Cory from Honest Assembly Garage. They tore down his car and removed all the damaged stuff. But the problem was that no dealers had parts. He needed a couple coolers, tie rod, hoses, etc.

At some point, I wandered over to that garage to visit Cory, flipm3 and some others. I didn't know William had been off track. As I wander up and see the damage, I'm chatting with them and find out there's no parts to be had and they're sorta stuck. So, I said, "if you want, I can call European Auto Source. Sometimes they have leftover parts from all the mod work they do." William said yes, so I called Steve at EAS, annnnnnd------he was able to provide ALL the parts William needed! And he really helped him out with the cost too.

William went down there got all the parts, came back the next day with the parts and Cory and Flipm3 put the car back together and by mid-day Saturday, William was back on the track doing laps! Awesome.

So, the real heroes here are actually Steve, Cory and flipm3. I'm the dumb guy that walks up and says I can make a phone call. hahaha

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

Still watching the final day of GTA finals so I haven't seen it all yet, but my friend William told me about how you helped him fix his F80. Brought a little tear to my eye to find out you are as awesome (well even more) as you seem

Haha. I was texting George too and heard the same story. Gabe with the EAS hookup. Great story.

[DRLane]

But this is why the sponsors love you, grassroots / direct brand engagement pays 10x than the "pros". Bottom line Gabe, you're a friendly people person who's available and willing to lend an intro. Sometimes that pays in spades.

Pretty fast too…

[dogbone]

I haven't had time to sit down and write my final thoughts about the weekend. However, I have made the video of my two fastest laps that happened to have been run consecutively. The faster lap is the second one.

On Sunday, in the first session where I had pinned all my hopes of hitting my goal, approaching Phil Hill, the tail stepped out on the first hot lap on the cold track. Went off track and drifted left around Phil Hill in the dirt. Session was over. Car was fine. But that was my last shot. I tried the 2nd session and did a 1:47.5, but that would be as fast as I could go on Sunday. hehe never thought I'd be so disappointed by a 47.5......

Anyway, for now, here's the video.

[SYT_Shadow]

Looks pretty wild out there Mr Bone! Sad you didn't get to the time you wanted, but at least you and the car are back 100%!

[admranger]

That's properly quick. FWIW, I would be flat into the bus stop (not fast enough to need to lift) and hit 100mph in the E36M3 club race car on the left hand turn after Riverside when I nailed everything just right. You're just flying out there.

[flipm3]

Great seeing you this past weekend dogbone!

Appreciate the shoutout. You did a great job bringing everyone together to get William back on track.

Awesome driving as always.
Come out to Road America and visit us in the Midwest. 😎

Thanks again for all the tips n tricks at BW! Hopefully see ya soon.