Sixty-fourth track day.
After a long overdue, 6-month hiatus. The F80 is back out on track. Great day with the track buddies throwing down laps. High of 80 degrees.
Ive been perfecting my cars wheel fitment for the last few years and this was the maiden voyage of the final solution for a daily track car. 295/30/18 on 10.5/18/et36. Down from a 35 profile. The rubbing and fitment just wasnt worth the hassle for me on the larger profile. Even if the 35 feel better under the car.
This was the first event ever with brand new RE71RS on F80. (Had ran a used set when I bought used wheels) They did not disappoint. They are much more beneficial to the F80 over the E46. You can put the power down with the peaky torque. Still have to be careful not to spin wheels mid corner tho.
Third event with the Nitron R1 coilovers. West is the best track for test and tuning. Have the most experience here. Dampers did good for the most part. Ran them 10 click from soft front and 8 rear for first half of day. Group of people saw my car taking turn 1 and mentioned it looked a little floaty. Decided to take them up on that comment and stiffened the dampers last half of day. Set them in the middle at 12 clicks both sides. The car did feel a little bit better, I think. Might end up keeping the extra dampening. Things felt flatter once I upped adjustment.
Tires let me throw down a new personal best. 1.23.03.
Roughly a second less than my old PB on ECF tires. I had truly amazing consistency the first three sessions of the day. 1.23.04 / 1.23.03 / 1.23.03 / 1.23.05 laps. Definitely more pace. Optimal was in the higher 1.21's. Will be pretty tough to hit that. No aero is a huge factor at this point. Car is a handful at the current pace without aero.
Session 3 ended up being a drift fest near the end. Hot enough that it was time to have a little extra fun. Did around 2 laps hitting most the big corners. Eventually I got a black flag :0
Kunal had car trouble all day in the M2. Took him for a ride along in session 5. He had a few good notes around things to try different. Always good to get a second opinion. I know there are a few spots to improve and increase speeds in. Sometimes it is hard to narrow in on it, on your own.
Last event planned for the short term is Sonoma next month on the 10th with E46. Then another hiatus of some kind for the hotter months.
Thunderhill West 4/20/25 hosted by SpeedSF. Red Group (Fast Advanced).
Highlights:
00:30 - Following the sub20 boys
03:10 - 1.23.04 2nd lap
05:14 - One of the cars that got kick out of red for slow pace and awareness, lel
8:15 - Lil spicy on exit
12:00 - Start of some sketchy doritos
21:00 - T4 entry skid (also ruined PB)
21:38 - lil skiddy
21:46 - Tried to point by Joes car but didnt take and then I proceed to yeet into T1
23:18 - Personal Best Lap: 1.23.03
24:33 - How to ruin a 1.22
24:41 - 1.23.05 Lap
25:30 - How to ruin a 1.22: part two
33:23 - Juicy T2 Drift
39:18 - Another 1.23.03 tied PB lap
42:29 - This was a little close outa dorito
48:31 - Light drift all of T6
48:40 - This is where I start to go for it drifting
48:54 - T9
49:04 -T10
49:17 - Nice T1 exit
49:25 - Testing T2
50:07 - Nasty T7
50:23 - lil exit
50:31 - Black flag gon gitya
51:42 - Definitely didnt drift on black flag :0
52:39 - Drifting Bad Mkay!
1:12:54 - Too much slip angle here. Going to bite me again sometime.
1:13:23 - 2 off blowing the corner
1:16:58 - Lil spicy on exit
1:17:09 - Clean dorito and T4 (Kunal approved)
1:17:38 - T7 skiddy
1:17:53 - T9 skiddy
1:19:05 - One last drift to end the day
00:00 Catalyst Overview
00:06 Session 1
18:55 Session 2
36:16 Session 3
53:21 Session 4
1:10:54 Session 5 (Kunal ride along)
16' BMW F80 M3
Suspension:
- Nitron R1 coilovers (OG Shark spec)
- Bimmerworld front monoball
- SPL rear toe arm
- Powerflex diff bracket/bushings
Brakes:
- AP Racing 9660 brake kit
- Ferodo 3.12/2500 brake pads (Day 4)
Wheels:
- Bimmerworld T5AR wheels
- Bridgestone RE71RS 295 tires (Day 1)
Engine:
- VTT crankhub
- VRSF charge/j pipe
- Bootmod3 CS tune
- Active Autowerke midpipe
Chassis:
- Full Interior
- Turner skid plate
Recording:
- Garmin Catalyst laptimer
- DJI Omso 4 + DJI Mic 2 + purple panda lav