Trackday

[chilistrucker]

Has anyone done one with a standard e89?
I quite like the idea of a bit of track time to get a better feel of the car without the worry of a ticket or the chance of bumping into a horse off of a blind bend.

I'm not out to be a track God, or drive the car to within an inch of its life, I just want to get a better feel of the cars/my potential.


Msv have a sort of open track day type thing at the end of April at Brands Indy, its about £200 entry level for the day. Car is currently on runflats, (I know) and rear pads have approx. 2500 miles left in them. I've already bought new pads and discs for the car and am pricing up new tyres to replace the runflat rubbish.


I'm thinking of the track day on the old kit as listed, then swap and change it all over after the track day is done, good or bad idea?

 

[brillomaster]

sounds like a good plan to me. rear pads should be ok if you keep the temperatures under control - its the fronts that do the majority of the work, so make sure they have plenty of material, and that your brake fluid is reasonably fresh and topped up.

most important thing for me when tracking a standard car is temperature management - keep stints short, be sure to do a warm up and cool down lap at the end of every session, and if you start to get an inkling of tyres overheating and losing grip or brakes losing effectiveness, come in to the pits.

Also if you're new to the whole thing then build the speed up slowly throughout the day - focus on your lines and being smooth rather than balls-out hot laps.

 

[NickDE]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

 

[mmm-five]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Definitely!

I had Tim Harvey come out with me at Oulton Park, but the only suggestion I had out of him was to reduce the N/S tyre pressure by 0.5 PSI.

I don't know if that had anything to do with driving through Island with my 2 inside wheels over the grass or not though

 

[NickDE]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Definitely!

I had Tim Harvey come out with me at Oulton Park, but the only suggestion I had out of him was to reduce the N/S tyre pressure by 0.5 PSI.

I don't know if that had anything to do with driving through Island with my 2 inside wheels over the grass or not though

I had my 2 inside wheels on the grass after Rocket at Anglesey on Saturday. I blame the rain, nothing to do with over enthusiastic driving

 

[mmm-five]

I had my 2 inside wheels on the grass after Rocket at Anglesey on Saturday. I blame the rain, nothing to do with over enthusiastic driving

Anglesey used to be one of my regular marshalling tracks - as we could camp from Friday night to Sunday/Monday.

Had one episode at the marshal's post at Rocket In - where the Saxo Juniors (14 year olds) were 3 abreast coming up through the kink to the rise in the pouring rain.

One must have dinked the other to try to get a better braking/turning spot as the next thing we know, there are 2 Saxos coming straight at us! We thought they were coming straight at the tyres, so obviously moved to the left & right of the concrete shelter, but at the last minute they separated...one went one side of the post, the other went the other. Unfortunately that was now where the marshals had taken refuge.

I'm sure I've still got the tyre marks on my toe-caps

I was on Pit In when the infamous flying Legends were there about 10 years ago...
[youtube]h897BdYC3r0[/youtube]

 

[chilistrucker]

Thanks all for the info and tips

 

[chilistrucker]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Definitely!

I had Tim Harvey come out with me at Oulton Park, but the only suggestion I had out of him was to reduce the N/S tyre pressure by 0.5 PSI.

I don't know if that had anything to do with driving through Island with my 2 inside wheels over the grass or not though

Hello again, just double checking is this the
bmwcarclubgb ?

just looking at their website now, and wanted to make sure I'm looking at the right one before joining.

 

[mmm-five]

Hello again, just double checking is this the
bmwcarclubgb ?

just looking at their website now, and wanted to make sure I'm looking at the right one before joining.

Yes...http://www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

 

[R60BBA]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Agreed. Not to mention less traffic.

OP - in regards to the E89 itself, it’s quite heavy and so I would recommend a brake upgrade.

It depends on your budget, but you should swap out the pads for a set of fast road/track pads as a starting point.

 

[chilistrucker]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Agreed. Not to mention less traffic.

OP - in regards to the E89 itself, it’s quite heavy and so I would recommend a brake upgrade.

It depends on your budget, but you should swap out the pads for a set of fast road/track pads as a starting point.

Thanks again. I had a quick look at the site and looks good

Yeah they are a heavy car, the pads currently on the car have 5000 left on the front, 2500 on the rear, plus the rubbish runflats. I was looking at doing a track day on this setup , (more as a spirited drive to get a feel for the car) and then bin the lot for new and improved with a view to doing another track day later in the year.

 

[buzyg]

Try one of the BMW Car Club trackdays. Well run, good driving standards, and free instructors (get there early to get a good instructor slot though).

Agreed. Not to mention less traffic.

OP - in regards to the E89 itself, it’s quite heavy and so I would recommend a brake upgrade.

It depends on your budget, but you should swap out the pads for a set of fast road/track pads as a starting point.

Thanks again. I had a quick look at the site and looks good

Yeah they are a heavy car, the pads currently on the car have 5000 left on the front, 2500 on the rear, plus the rubbish runflats. I was looking at doing a track day on this setup , (more as a spirited drive to get a feel for the car) and then bin the lot for new and improved with a view to doing another track day later in the year.

A fine plan,. Just be sure not to completely cook them, sudden brake fade on an nfarmilear track, can be, shall we say interesting. Also don't use the parking brake after a session, or you could damage both your pads and discs. :wink: Enjoy

 

[buzyg]

Agreed. Not to mention less traffic.

OP - in regards to the E89 itself, it’s quite heavy and so I would recommend a brake upgrade.

It depends on your budget, but you should swap out the pads for a set of fast road/track pads as a starting point.

Thanks again. I had a quick look at the site and looks good

Yeah they are a heavy car, the pads currently on the car have 5000 left on the front, 2500 on the rear, plus the rubbish runflats. I was looking at doing a track day on this setup , (more as a spirited drive to get a feel for the car) and then bin the lot for new and improved with a view to doing another track day later in the year.

A fine plan,. Just be sure not to completely cook them, sudden brake fade on an unfarmilear track, can be, shall we say interesting. Also don't use the parking brake after a session, or you could damage both your pads and discs. :wink: Enjoy

 

[chilistrucker]

Cheers buzyg
Being a novice, (and an over thinker) I'll be extra cautious. I remember when I did a day a few years back at Bedford they told us not to put the parking brake on when we came in, in fact the tips and tuition were all spot on. Out lap, in lap etc, etc and an instructor came out with me and gave me some excellent advice and pointers.

I had a look on the BMW car club site and they have a track day on at Cadwell Park near the end of April when I am off. My brother in law races bikes and said I may find it a bit narrow and twisty, and its approx. 3 and a 1/2 too 4 hours from me, he suggests Donnington, Brands or Snetterton. I like Donny and Brands and have an xbox type knowledge of both, and visit Brands a fair bit anyway in the real world. Donny is approx. 2 and a 1/2 hours from me, Brands is 30 minutes.
Both are available, but Brands is the Indy circuit on the day available so a lot of turning right :lol: but would it be worth it for that drop into paddock hill bend?

Snetterton is only 1 and a half hours from me, also available but I have pretty much no knowledge of the track other than a quick 5 minute look on youtube. It looks ideal, (I think) so that and Brands are probably the front runners.

 

[mmm-five]

The parking brake tip is a old, but good one...if your car had a pad based parking brake as the heat transfers through the pad, into the fluid and overheats it.

It’s not as much of an issue with the Z4 though as we have a parking shoe, that doesn’t interact with the brake fluid...but our risk is that shoe clamps onto the hub

BTW, unexpected brake fail on a ‘familiar’ track is not nice either, or when you hit someone else’s fluids in the braking zone or fast corner.

 

[chilistrucker]

Thanks
Trackday insurance? Not had a look yet but do people do this, pros and cons?

 

[mmm-five]

Thanks
Trackday insurance? Not had a look yet but do people do this, pros and cons?

I only buy it when I’m at the Ring, or at a new circuit. The Ring because I get multi-day discounts where 5 days costs about the same as 2 days.

Pros

• Covers your car, with you driving for accident damage

Cons

• Costs money
• Not covered for mechanical failure (e.g. your engine blows up on a straight)
• Doesn’t cover track costs (varies by track)
• 1st party only
• Not covered for injuries/loss of income (unless you pay extra)

 

[Jembo]

I see this as critical.

Imagine another party sues you for negligent driving / dangerous driving where your actions caught on video show what you did caused serious injury/death.

Whilst you sign a disclaimer, it doesn’t absolve you of all liabilities to others in circumstances where you’ve acted as a complete Muppet, for example where you decide to purposefully ram someone off the track into a barrier because they pi##ed you off.

 

[mmm-five]

Jembo, what are you saying is critical?

3rd party cover is nigh on impossible to get, and the sign-on disclaimer has only ever protected the organiser anyway..

Everyone who attends has to accept (morally if not legally) that accidents happen, but if you’re driving recklessly, then no disclaimer/insurance is going to cover you. Even the sign-on disclaimer may not cover the organiser if they can be shown to have been negligent by not removing a dangerous/reckless driver earlier.

 

[brillomaster]

Oooh thorny subject of trackday insurance... personally, i never bother, but then in my mind i wrote the car off the second i took it on track. As for risks, i accept that someone may crash into me entirely through no fault of my own and write my car off.

That said, there are ways you can reduce the risk... watch your mirrors, let the faster cars through on the straights. Report any bad driving to the organisers, and subsequently dont be a bad driver yourself. Give yourself and others around you space on track. Make sure your car is track worthy, and check it throughout the day to ensure it stays that way.

Look at trackdays at bedford, should be close by and its perfect for beginners being long, wide and flat.