Zhuhai Track Day Experience?

[ArktisE92]

Wonder if anyone here has been to track days at Zhuhai? I read from the other thread about this Type R Club but few have talked about their actual experience. I'd like to sign up for one while the weather's still tolerable here Can anyone point me in the right direction? Cheers.

[kcleung]

arktise92 hing

they r organising a charity track day apr 3-5. if memory serves, its 11800 inc of insurance driving ur car to zh (not on track) , hotel and short briefing and overview of circuit. give mr tang a call on 9450 9933 or 2791 5001 for more detail

[ArktisE92]

Originally Posted by kcleung

arktise92 hing

they r organising a charity track day apr 3-5. if memory serves, its 11800 inc of insurance driving ur car to zh (not on track) , hotel and short briefing and overview of circuit. give mr tang a call on 9450 9933 or 2791 5001 for more detail

Thanks

Is anyone on this forum planning to go? I called these guys and they said they're expecting at least 30-40 cars based on early responses...

[kcleung]

love to go but car not up to the job at the moment.

[ArktisE92]

Originally Posted by kcleung

love to go but car not up to the job at the moment.

Thanks for the info mate. I'm still on the sidelines about the April event... the price seems reasonable but the logistics seem like a big hassle...

[kcleung]

Originally Posted by ArktisE92

Thanks for the info mate. I'm still on the sidelines about the April event... the price seems reasonable but the logistics seem like a big hassle...

totally understand and its time consuming to drive the car all the way to ZIC and back. might be you can enquire about performance driving day by bmw. if time is the concern, you can consider getting your car transported to ZIC from the china border, typeR club can organise that for you. for a fee, they also provide mechanics on site (but I forgot what they said about spare parts). The only thing that I worry about is they seem to allow drivers of different experience and different categories of cars to go on the track at the same time. anyway, perhaps the below will help you make up your mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=HK&h...&v=uhhI1HGu3MQ

[happybirdy]

you can actually join BMWOCHK's Zhuhai BMW track experience

the cars used there are all E90 325iA. There is one coming this May 2009

[ArktisE92]

Originally Posted by happybirdy

you can actually join BMWOCHK's Zhuhai BMW track experience

the cars used there are all E90 325iA. There is one coming this May 2009

Whoa, that's great news! Thanks for the info... anyone on this forum interested?

[pinguhk]

Originally Posted by kcleung

love to go but car not up to the job at the moment.

all cars are up to the job, it all depends on how you drive it.
No need to push the car hard.
Its just fun driving the car around the track and not get a speeding ticket

[pinguhk]

this is the hole point of a track day.
to have fun driving your loved 1 all the way to the track.
Just like UK track day. But itis much easyer to get to in UK.
If you just ship your car up then you mite as well hire 1 up there.

[pinguhk]

Originally Posted by happybirdy

you can actually join BMWOCHK's Zhuhai BMW track experience

the cars used there are all E90 325iA. There is one coming this May 2009

thanks for the info, will have a look into it.

[M_M]

Originally Posted by pinguhk

thanks for the info, will have a look into it.

the hole point is how're you gonna look into it? any clues yet?

[pinguhk]

Originally Posted by M_M

the hole point is how're you gonna look into it? any clues yet?

I will ask around like the lotus guys that do track to see if they know any thing about it.

[M_M]

Originally Posted by pinguhk

I will ask around like the lotus guys that do track to see if they know any thing about it.

LOL

[Giskard]

Check out a track day I participated in earlier this year in Zhuhai...

http://homepage.mac.com/ichow/Cars/PhotoAlbum49.html

It was a lot of fun but expensive and required a lot of maintenance for the M3...

[pinguhk]

Originally Posted by Giskard

Check out a track day I participated in earlier this year in Zhuhai...

http://homepage.mac.com/ichow/Cars/PhotoAlbum49.html

It was a lot of fun but expensive and required a lot of maintenance for the M3...

very nice. it looks fun.
what maintenance did you do on the M3 in the track day?

[ArktisE92]

Thanks--nice ride and looks like you had fun. Would you do this again knowing what you know about the cost and maintenance? And by maintenance I assume you're referring to pads and tires, or did you have to do more?

Originally Posted by Giskard

Check out a track day I participated in earlier this year in Zhuhai...

http://homepage.mac.com/ichow/Cars/PhotoAlbum49.html

It was a lot of fun but expensive and required a lot of maintenance for the M3...

[Giskard]

Originally Posted by ArktisE92

Thanks--nice ride and looks like you had fun. Would you do this again knowing what you know about the cost and maintenance? And by maintenance I assume you're referring to pads and tires, or did you have to do more?

Thanks, it was a lot of fun. The difficult part is driving the car to Zhuhai and the roads in China are full of debris so you will sustain chips on the way especially when going at 200.

If I do it again, it will definitely be in the winter, not summer when the brakes heat up much faster and is not quite as bearable when the air con is off.

The maintenance is mostly pads, tires, plugs, engine oil, etc. Pretty much all of the consumables need to be replaced afterwards which can be costly in addition to the track rental costs, team of mechanics, temporary license, customs/car inspection, hotel, fuel, etc.

[kcleung]

hello Giskard

do you use the bmw stock pads or something else? if the latter what do you use? I am looking for pads to replace the stock ones in mine.

Originally Posted by Giskard

Thanks, it was a lot of fun. The difficult part is driving the car to Zhuhai and the roads in China are full of debris so you will sustain chips on the way especially when going at 200.

If I do it again, it will definitely be in the winter, not summer when the brakes heat up much faster and is not quite as bearable when the air con is off.

The maintenance is mostly pads, tires, plugs, engine oil, etc. Pretty much all of the consumables need to be replaced afterwards which can be costly in addition to the track rental costs, team of mechanics, temporary license, customs/car inspection, hotel, fuel, etc.

[Giskard]

Originally Posted by kcleung

hello Giskard

do you use the bmw stock pads or something else? if the latter what do you use? I am looking for pads to replace the stock ones in mine.

To be very honest, I find that the stock pads are more than adequate for city drivig. I use less than 30% of the braking power as compared to track day so expensive pads are not that useful...

For the track, you would think to buy performance pads but then it is so costly to do so, you end up using cheap ones to save $$...

I forgot what my garage uses, but not definitely brand names like AP or anything like that...

[ArktisE92]

Giskard, thanks--this is useful info. PM me next time you go will ya? I can also use a recommendation on garage(s) and such. Cheers.

Originally Posted by Giskard

Thanks, it was a lot of fun. The difficult part is driving the car to Zhuhai and the roads in China are full of debris so you will sustain chips on the way especially when going at 200.

If I do it again, it will definitely be in the winter, not summer when the brakes heat up much faster and is not quite as bearable when the air con is off.

The maintenance is mostly pads, tires, plugs, engine oil, etc. Pretty much all of the consumables need to be replaced afterwards which can be costly in addition to the track rental costs, team of mechanics, temporary license, customs/car inspection, hotel, fuel, etc.

[kcleung]

Originally Posted by Giskard

To be very honest, I find that the stock pads are more than adequate for city drivig. I use less than 30% of the braking power as compared to track day so expensive pads are not that useful...

For the track, you would think to buy performance pads but then it is so costly to do so, you end up using cheap ones to save $$...

I forgot what my garage uses, but not definitely brand names like AP or anything like that...

perhaps the stock pads on the m3 are already v good. the ones on the 323 are crap for even just fast road driving, its way too soft and will fade. I read decent comments on carbotech on the internet. If not too much trouble, would you mind asking your garage about this next time you speak to them.