Z4M at the 'ring

[tertius]

Thought you might be interested to see a lap from the DN8 track day last week.

I didn't video every lap and this isn't the quickest from the trip - the data logger says 8:49 was my best lap (BtG) - however, this one has some traffic to add some interest.

I didn't have a lot of choice when it came to camera mounts so tried a couple of different placements and thought this was better than the straight through the windscreen option. Though it obviously wobbles a lot ... it was just on a suction mount with a tether to save it in case it came loose.

Considering it was my first trip in decent weather in the M I was pretty happy with how it went. The other thread has some info about the issues I was having with DSC - fairly sure I will be switching it off in future.

Oh and it is so quiet as the mic sensitivity is still set to low from running the camera in the Elise ...

[youtube]YaaFeh3_gDU[/youtube]

 

[shortfuse 2]

spot on wish I had the b--ls to do it

 

[Franzino]

My best time this year is 8.27min with my Z4M "roadster`' With traffic and not the best racing lines...

What were the issues you are having with the DSC?

Is that carbon I see on the right of the picture... Carbon seats?

[youtube]ORypnSl_tnM[/youtube]

 

[Franzino]

spot on wish I had the b--ls to do it

Practice... that's the only thing. I don't know if it has a lot to do with b--ls. There is always a risk that something could happen. You have to be aware of that, but when driving on the street there is also so a big chance that something can happen. For me a car needs to get driven (that's is purpose in life)...driving my Z4M on the street is great...driving my Z4M on the ring is amazing !

 

[Anonymous]

[youtube]?v=ORypnSl_tnM[/youtube][youtube]YaaFeh3_gDU[/youtube]

side by side

 

[tertius]

My best time this year is 8.27min with my Z4M "roadster`' With traffic and not the best racing lines...

What were the issues you are having with the DSC?

Is that carbon I see on the right of the picture... Carbon seats?

Yes, Tillett B5 carbon seats.



I had DSC on, and was finding it very intrusive. I'm not sure why I didn't just turn it off apart from unfamiliarity with the car.

I haven't had a track car with any sort of traction control before, so wasn't sure what to expect.

Plus it seems to have developed some sort of problem that may or may not be related - waiting to hear the verdict.

Anyway I am very certain the car is *a lot* quicker but I need to build a good deal more confidence in it before I can find it.

 

[Beedub]

i forgot.... how did you get the air bag lights off??? the seats look like a perfect fit for the car as well as many after market seats foul the door!!, are they comfortable??? this could be my next purchase, i can see the passenger occupance mat their..... want want want!!!

 

[tertius]

i forgot.... how did you get the air bag lights off??? the seats look like a perfect fit for the car as well as many after market seats foul the door!!, are they comfortable??? this could be my next purchase, i can see the passenger occupance mat their..... want want want!!!

Air bag lights were easy - I transferred the buckle/pre-tensioner over from the old seats and mounted them to the new seat mounts. It is just a single bolt, but I had to drill out the hole by about half a mm as I wanted to get an FIA std harness eye bolt through, then re-connected the cables as normal.i wanted to retain inertia reel belts so needed a buckle anyway.

The passenger occupancy mat you can see is under the "padding" in the pax seat.

Obviously I had to reset the airbag light as disconnecting everything set it off, other than that no issues.

I would prefer a smaller occupancy mat that could be completely covered but it isn't the end of the world.

Seats are great: very narrow, so an easy fit, super light and I find them comfortable, though I will admit they are better when used with harnesses to lock you in properly.

Also be prepared, they aren't cheap. Though the GRP version is a bit less expensive.

 

[Beedub]

hi tertius so to confirm, swapping over the stock tensioners, ect ect keeps the air bag light off once reset??? interesting.... i though the seats had airbags in them that was causing the car to sense they weren't present.... thus giving the airbag light..... using the mach snhnell z4m floor brckets, this looks like it would be an a easy task, and yes, i also want to use the stock inertia reel belts

i dont mind the cost ;-) it just has to look and perform PERFECTLY....

 

[tertius]

hi tertius so to confirm, swapping over the stock tensioners, ect ect keeps the air bag light off once reset??? interesting.... i though the seats had airbags in them that was causing the car to sense they weren't present.... thus giving the airbag light..... using the mach snhnell z4m floor brckets, this looks like it would be an a easy task, and yes, i also want to use the stock inertia reel belts

i dont mind the cost ;-) it just has to look and perform PERFECTLY....

Well, I never had the original seats, but in my car a) yes, the airbag light is now permanently off (well it lights up as you would expect with the ignition, but then goes out) and b) there are no more connectors for any other cables so I don't think there can be any other airbags.

Re. The Macht Schnell brackets, have you actually got them? As looking at the pictures I don't think they will fit, but perhaps the pictures don't show the E85/6 version.

I have some Sparco seat frames at the moment which work OK, but I have got Machine Money on here to machine some brackets up to my design - just got the first pair and they look ace. Will try to take some pictures later.

Re. the seats I got them from MSAR - if you ask nicely I guess you might get a discount, I did for being a member of SELOC, the Lotus owners forum.

 

[Machine monkey]

Amazing they turned up

 

[Beedub]

hi tertius so to confirm, swapping over the stock tensioners, ect ect keeps the air bag light off once reset??? interesting.... i though the seats had airbags in them that was causing the car to sense they weren't present.... thus giving the airbag light..... using the mach snhnell z4m floor brckets, this looks like it would be an a easy task, and yes, i also want to use the stock inertia reel belts

i dont mind the cost ;-) it just has to look and perform PERFECTLY....

Well, I never had the original seats, but in my car a) yes, the airbag light is now permanently off (well it lights up as you would expect with the ignition, but then goes out) and b) there are no more connectors for any other cables so I don't think there can be any other airbags.

Re. The Macht Schnell brackets, have you actually got them? As looking at the pictures I don't think they will fit, but perhaps the pictures don't show the E85/6 version.

I have some Sparco seat frames at the moment which work OK, but I have got Machine Money on here to machine some brackets up to my design - just got the first pair and they look ace. Will try to take some pictures later.

Re. the seats I got them from MSAR - if you ask nicely I guess you might get a discount, I did for being a member of SELOC, the Lotus owners forum.

ive actually got the ms floor mount brackets, their is a specific z4m part they fit perfectly and have all sortes of add-ons to allow for the stock seat belts to be used!!, all i need is the seats and the passenger mat.... i'll then sell my stock seats as they are perfect.....

 

[tertius]

ive actually got the ms floor mount brackets, their is a specific z4m part they fit perfectly and have all sortes of add-ons to allow for the stock seat belts to be used!!, all i need is the seats and the passenger mat.... i'll then sell my stock seats as they are perfect.....

OK good, the pictures must be for a different model then.

You will also need side mounts and runners if you want adjustment for the seat.

Re. The inertia belts, once you have the tensioner/buckle fitted the only other thing you need is to decide the anchor point for the "tail" end of the belt. In the end I decided to attach to the seat side mount as then it will move fore and aft with the seat. Again I used a harness eye bolt which also carries the harness lap belts.

 

[Machine monkey]

Thats a cracking looking gear knob in the video

I will be working on the anodized aluminum ones shortly for you tertius.

 

[tertius]

Thats a cracking looking gear knob in the video

I will be working on the anodized aluminum ones shortly for you tertius.

It is isn't it?

And do you know what else, it didn't come off! So that was a big plus ... ... looking forward to the black one.

 

[craig3.2]

These seats look very nice, and a serious bit of kit; especially if u do regular track days :evil:

 

[tertius]

Couple of pics of the seat mount brackets which Machine Monkey has made for me:









I haven't managed to fit them yet, but this is the modified design after my first attempt overlooked a rather crucial element ... so I am hopeful they should fit fine.

Very pleased with them and the work that MM has done.

 

[CornishRob]

They look lovely bits of work!

 

[Beedub]

Couple of pics of the seat mount brackets which Machine Monkey has made for me:









I haven't managed to fit them yet, but this is the modified design after my first attempt overlooked a rather crucial element ... so I am hopeful they should fit fine.

Very pleased with them and the work that MM has done.

WOW!!!! machine monkey, very very impressed!!!! they look fantastic, if you can undercut the big bois you'd do well selling these in USA imo... how much would these units cost?? and did you take pattern piece so you can reproduce them??

 

[jimmybell]

they look amazing.. great work