Sixty-fifth track day. Surprise track day!
Had zero intent on attending this event. Chris signed up to instruct and thought it was going to rain all week. Friday came around and I saw willows was clear and cool'ish. Registered last second Friday night. Figured this is THE last cool day at thunderhill for 4-5 months. Might as well get in while i can.
Installed a DO88 oil cooler during the week. Was looking for an excuse to give it a shakedown too.
Was finally able to break into the 1.24s again with the E46. April 2024 was the last time that happen for my PB, 1.24.77. Early sessions Optimal was a 1.24.3x.

Took the AR1's out for their second day. Think I have made up my mind on the tire. It is very much a Hero Lap tire. You kinda need to get in and get out with it. Warm the tire up and then you have about 4 laps to capitalize on the grip. They feel almost as grippy as an RE71RS. After that 4th lap tho. The tire just cant recover enough. I dont find it to be completely uncontrollable. However, you have to start feathering the throttle around certain corners to skate around the grease potential. The only other TW100 tire ive ran is the NT01. (many sets) I never found those tires to get loose after a hard session. Back in those days, I didnt even do cooldown laps with F80, so the NT01 was getting blasted. I prefer the NT01 without a doubt. Been interested in the AR1 for a few years and I am happy that I tried a set but most likely wouldnt run them again. Definitely not at full price of $1500+. Got them for $600, so hard to say anything too negative.

Gave ride alongs for a couple friends in session 3/4. Always fun to expose what is possible to someone and give them a taste of higher pace. Some homework and things to think about for their last couple sessions of the day.

Had the rare spinout/off during session 3 with Alex. Took turn 1 a little spicey, drifted and didnt hold the gas and commit. Ended up doing a 360 and teeter tottering over the pavement into the grass at T2 entry. Lil rug burn on the bottom side of the car. Nothing too bad :/ 

Oil cooler worked great. Never went past the dot. The oil needle would drop quick enough I could watch it. Which was not the case before. On cooldown lap, the needle would drop to middle position. Noice.
The oil cooler also helps with lower coolant temps. The D088 coolant radiator has been great for hot days but it would get fairly hot after 20min sessions. 215~. Now, it lives just under the threshold.
One session I did no cooldown lap as a test, to see how hot it would go. Lap 10 at 10/10 was when the temps started to get fairly hot. Even then it never actually crossed the bad zone. Still safe for the engine.

Thunderhill West 5/3/25 hosted by SpeedSF. Red Group (Fast Advanced).

Highlights:
14:39 - Best Lap of the day: 1.24.95
47:28 - Turn 1 spinout
48:05 - Full course Red (Ha, didnt get a black flag cause of that)
57:28 - Chasing Chris for a few
1:28:30 - Roli and I playing lead/follow for a couple laps

00:00 Catalyst Overview
00:06 Session 1
20:40 Session 2
39:56 Session 3 (Alex ride along)
55:11 Session 4 (Phil ride along)
1:12:10 Session 5

Suspension:
- TC Kline D/A coilovers 550/700
- Ground Control camber plates
- Bimmerworld sway bar links
- Hotchkis front sway bar
- Rogue Engineering strut bar

Brakes:
- AP Racing 9660 front bbk
- Stoptech slotted rear rotors
- Raybestos ST45/ST43 pads
- ECS brake lines
- Bimmerworld brass brake bushings

Wheels:
- Apex EC-7 18x10et25 wheels
- Nankang AR1 265 (Day 2)

Engine:
- Beisan VANOS
- BE/ARP rod bearings
- Radium oil catch can
- Eventuri carbon intake
- DO88 radiator
- DO88 oil cooler (new)

Chassis:
- 3350lbs full tank
- RTD REVO1 reverse lockout shifter
- OMP WRC-R XL bucket seat
- Brey Krause seat mounts
- SCHROTH Flexi 6-point harness
- Autopower roll bar
- Rogue Engineering transmission bushings
- Powerflex diff/rtab/subframe bushings
- Turner subframe reinforcement
- DIY rear seat delete
- Full interior
- Garmin Catalyst lap timer