One of the guys at a local auto-x I went this weekend took some videos, including one of me. It was the first time I have auto-x'ed my M3 in over 7 months. After driving the car and really after watching myself, I can see areas where I need improvement. Not my best run of the day (it was the only one on video) but I figured I would see what some of you experts (at least better than me) thought :stickoutt ......

Video (http://members.cox.net/mcivervideo5/M3_16_May_04)

BTW, the video is in Divx format. If it does not play in Windows Media Player click here (http://download.divx.com/divx/DivX511.exe) to get the codec.

don't hear enough tire squeal in those tight turns.

tight turns like that are tough tho



that looks a LOT like the texas A&M location

i think it needs more butter and a pinch of salt, but otherwise yummy.

One of the guys at a local auto-x I went this weekend took some videos, including one of me. It was the first time I have auto-x'ed my M3 in over 7 months. After driving the car and really after watching myself, I can see areas where I need improvement. Not my best run of the day (it was the only one on video) but I figured I would see what some of you experts (at least better than me) thought :stickoutt ......

Video (http://members.cox.net/mcivervideo5/M3_16_May_04)

BTW, the video is in Divx format. If it does not play in Windows Media Player click here (http://download.divx.com/divx/DivX511.exe) to get the codec.

Nice lines. I think you just need to spend more money on your car. Or I could give you some lessons. :buttrock

don't hear enough tire squeal in those tight turns.

LOL......If you saw/heard my first run you would have heard a lot of tire squeal in those tight turns, aka understeer :cool: ! Actually, I was running 245/40 Kumho MX tires (my first auto-x with them) and I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh and Jerry, when it comes to spending money on cars, in particular the engine, I am not worthy when compared to you :D !! BTW, when will you stop making excuses and get back out there (Chad has been whining about no competition in SM since you and I left :) )

LOL......If you saw/heard my first run you would have heard a lot of tire squeal in those tight turns, aka understeer :cool: ! Actually, I was running 245/40 Kumho MX tires (my first auto-x with them) and I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh and Jerry, when it comes to spending money on cars, in particular the engine, I am not worthy when compared to you :D !! BTW, when will you stop making excuses and get back out there (Chad has been whining about no competition in SM since you and I left :) )


Maybe in the next month :alright

You hit the naawwws too early, junior.

And you weren't double-clutching like you should.

Steve

Man, you guys need to make the trek to FedEx or Bowie. Talk about a miserable lot to autocross at! :stickoutt

*Just based on what can be seen from the video*, if it was me driving, I probably would have stayed in 1st gear for most (if not all) of the course. Either that or I'd be downshifting to first for the tight pivot turns. But then again, if you can't heel-toe and downshift quickly, there's no point in trying that.

*Just based on what can be seen from the video*, if it was me driving, I probably would have stayed in 1st gear for most (if not all) of the course. Either that or I'd be downshifting to first for the tight pivot turns. But then again, if you can't heel-toe and downshift quickly, there's no point in trying that.
Yeah, I would have to agree with you there. There is no way I could stay in 1st on the entire course, but I should have downshifted on the 3 hairpin turns.

Looked good overall. I might have tried downshifting to 1st but sometimes that can waste more time than it gains.

What tire pressures do you like with the MX's? I'm switching to street tire class next auto-x and would like a baseline to start with.

What tire pressures do you like with the MX's? I'm switching to street tire class next auto-x and would like a baseline to start with.
I ran 245/40 on all corners with 45f/40r as initial pressures. Hot, I kept them at 47f/42r. The amount of roll was perfect, right at the little triangle mark on both the front and rear tires.

Just my opinion - can't really tell anything definitive by watching that video - it seems like you're coasting quite a bit, and not on the gas early enough. Maybe it's just having the exhaust pointing away from the camera, but I couldn't hear the gas come on until you were exiting each hairpin. If you work on getting on the gas earlier and harder, you probably wouldn't have to think about downshifting to first anywhere on course.

Anyway, just an opinion...

Jim

that looks a LOT like the texas A&M location

Heh, your right! A few too many trees though...

http://people.tamu.edu/~bmk4031/88_M3/IMG_1446.jpg

Definitely need to push a little a more. If you're not squealing street tires like the MX, you're not going fast enough. I also agree with Jim O., sounds like your coasting around those 180-type turns.

Sounds like your tire pressures are pretty good, that's about where I had my MX's last year (same size as you). You might want to try the Falken Azenis 225/45-17 next time. It is very wide for a 225, and grip is great.

Thanks for the input guys. As far as coasting is concerned, it definately did feel slow going around the 180 hairpins. However, on other runs when I tried to go faster, I ended up pushing and loosing time.

The difference between my first run at 57.7xx and my final run 54.3xx was mainly due to slowing down and not pushing in the turns (and keeping my foot on the floor on that one sweeper :D !!).

I don't know, maybe I can adjust the shocks some more (I have the GC Track/School kit with Koni SAs) to account for the push. I will admit though, I did not "trust" the MXs until my final few runs since the last time I auto-x'ed my car I was on Victos.

I'm not too experienced yet, but it looked pretty good to me. Looked like you could have been a bit tighter around the loop-de-loop part though from what I could tell. Not that you were bad or anything at all, but I just did Evolution school phase 1 a couple of weeks ago and being tight on the 270 degree turn was waaaaaaay more important than trying to carry alot of speed. One of those turns where less distance gains more time than more speed does.

And you car sounds friggin sweet! :eek: