OR is packed with track events in the next 3 weeks. :D

1) PIR track day with the Lotus club this Friday, the 23rd. No pre-registration is needed. Most track time available.

2) PIR track day with BMW ACA on May 30th, Friday again. Pre-registration is recommended - last day to sign up is May 23rd. Sign up here:

http://www.bmwacaportland.com/

3) Eugene AutoX weekend on the 7th and 8th of June. Valley River Center parking lot.
No pre-registration is required.

Junkies! Come and join us for the ultimate fun. :wave:

I'll be down in Eugene for the auto-x Saturday morning :clap:

dc

How was the Lotus day? I have been so busy at work that I still haven't got out to one this year. I need a write up so I can live vicariously through you!

I am going to try and beg my boss to let me have the tri-club day off. Not my favorite but it is one of the few that I have a chance of making it to...

andy

I didn't make it to the lotus club day unfortunately (are you thinking of someone else?), but I know what you mean.

I haven't been on the track since FEB :eek: I better do something about that, but I don't think I'll be able to until after July :(

dc

Sorry Dan, I was refering to Akakubi. He usually has some good writeups from the trackdays. Generally he makes me feel guilty about not blowing off work and going to the track!

My poor car's brakes haven't been faded for over a year now:(

Have you taken the 337 to PIR before? How did it do?

andy

I've had 337 out at PIR twice, and she holds her own, especially since I'm becoming a bit better with the driving :stickoutt

Seriously, I'd say the 337 falls inbetween the pack, ahead of tuned miatas and such, but pretty far behind chipped S4's. But as far as a fun driving experience, hell ya!

The front brakes are huge and now that I've got the Motul RBF600 in the lines, there's no fade and she hauls down pretty fast. The most disturbing thing about the 337 is the weight, she's portly! I usually lower the pressure in the rear tires to compensate, but it'll come unglued with lift-throttle-oversteer!

dc

Hey guys!

Sorry, I forgot to put the write-up here. :embarrasm I am usually over at the B-Fest.

Whew, just got back. Dead tired. Heat got to most of us today at the track. I guess we are not really used to hot temps here in OR. In the sun we hit about 90°F - not a pleasant experience. You Southern guys must be hard core.

The heat was brewing since 5:00am. You could practically feel the air - never a good sign. The first session out at 9:00am was more or less OK, dry and not too hot. A spec Miata did manage to slam into the tyre wall on the third lap - cold rubber.

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p2998efa830e9f0e4cde95a26d49c5028/fc16dd9b.jpg">

That cut our run time by half for that outing.

Buy 11:00am the air became virtually unbareable for us. JIO's (my friend) was running Pilots on his M3 and by lap 2 they had ZERO grip, in the total dry! A total POS tyre. It "fell apart" worse than Conti's. It should be illegal to use it on the M3. I really hope PS II turns out better.

I was running behind him (Victoracers on my car) and saw him drift practically through every curve, not even nearly pushing it hard. After just 4 laps it came down to a point where it was plain unsafe to drive the M at a decent pace.

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p999c1a4d07eb37251d72ad1fc5f5cd88/fc16d63a.jpg">

Looking back, S-03's (even my Conti's) never allowed this kind of behavior in hot weather. Jim was constantly checking and adjusting the pressures, so that was not really an issue.

Victoracers really came through however. I have nothing but praise for the tyres. First I had too much Psi in them (35F/33R cold) and they got a bit slippery. Dropped back down to 35F/33R HOT and they stuck like glue.

There were other misfortunes too due to heat. Well, I almost threw up (I get car sick ) when stuck in "traffic" and adrenalin subsided. Had to even use the A/C. Got off the session early... We survived on wet towels and gallons of liquids.

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p1b031bb33d59d0127ea1375427f5982d/fc16dda1.jpg">

Among others: Alta Sport WRX threw a rod. A Supercharged Z-06 with supposedly 600WHP blew the engine. An S/C-ed M-Coupe overheated, even running an oil-cooler. My friend in a Frankenstein NSX was cooking Hawk Blues after every 5 laps. You get the picture....

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p4cbc15ad217806abdac9363863249e10/fc16cff8.jpg">

Not really a bad day, but we had better. The greate thing was that we met a whole bunch of cool people and exotic cars. There were 4 Lotus Esprit V8's, an Aston Martin (older one), SCCA Porsche GT2, 60' Formula car with a huge Chevy V8, Elise, Super Seven, Westfield among others.

<img src="http://www.dpcars.net/elise/l062.jpg">

<img src="http://www.dpcars.net/elise/l063.jpg">

<img src="http://www.dpcars.net/westfld/w090.jpg">

I keep my fingers crossed for the next Friday, that it would stay dry and cool.

Originally posted by Dan337
I'll be down in Eugene for the auto-x Saturday morning :clap:

dc

Awesome! :b_blue:

I'll either be running my car or co-drive my friend's Miata, depending how tight the course is. He wants me to try it together with him.

You know, as I think about it, my track days have been Sep., Oct. and Feb., so I haven't experienced a true hot track yet. Thanks for the write-up, sounds like a great showing of cars.

dc

BTW, I'm really jacked about the valley river auto-x. Hope to see you there.

dc

Originally posted by Dan337
You know, as I think about it, my track days have been Sep., Oct. and Feb., so I haven't experienced a true hot track yet. Thanks for the write-up, sounds like a great showing of cars.

dc

BTW, I'm really jacked about the valley river auto-x. Hope to see you there.

dc

The course should be in the 50's sec range - pretty long for Eugene. :D

See you there!

Interesting, do you already have a track map?

dc

Originally posted by Dan337
Interesting, do you already have a track map?

dc

Hehe, no, they don't let us see it until the event. But from past AutoX, this parking lot allows for wider courses.

What a blast! BMW track day was just awesome!

Dan337, were you running a silver Golf with 337 lettering on the back? A very nice ride!

We had 7 friends running together in different groups. All but one were BMW's. The other one was a Protege 5 in the Novice group. The guy was first really scared to drive. But after just one session, you could not pull him away from the track! :rofl: That car has suspension mods and corners really well, no power on the straights though.. He was passing Porsche's by the end of the day. That pissed them off a lot.

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p9a1559b44f9f109936248c6ac825e667/fc0682a0.jpg">

10 E46 M3's, including JIO's, got together for a photoshoot. That was quite a site. Two of the M's were '04 models with LED tail lights. Not my personal favorite, but not bad.

The weather was just about perfect. A little drizzle got me nervous in the morning session since I just put on the slicks with absolutely no tread left up front. The High Performance group drivers had multiple spins on the back side. I could feel my front pushing badly even at very slow speeds.

By 10:30am the track was dry though and the fast sessions started. The car stuck to the surface like it was glued. Gotta love the Victoracers. The fronts won't last much longer though, I would say two more track days and a couple of AutoX's. But the rears still have tread and should breeze through the next year easily. :thumbup:

Jim's M3 was doing much better this time. Pilots did not overheat until after lap 8-9, so he was really gunning it throught the curves. The tread looked sad after a couple of sessions though. Still a strong believer that 255 rear tyres are not nearly wide enough for the M's power. He had quite a tail happy beast on his hands in the chicane. A couple of M3's had a complete spin in the same corner later in the day.

And then, when you thought your day was going really well, this thing shows up and makes it perfect....

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p6369d57fb2b72ecb3d0aad6b2af65512/fc06829a.jpg">

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pe0925798e9c242ed3f25b991cdeeb353/fc06828d.jpg">

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pef1d0c99eae9171f5d54d0a2e4765282/fc068292.jpg">

I was just chatting with my friends when I heard an interesting exhaust note. I looked over my shoulder and saw something red passing behind a low fence. My first thought was: oh, the F50 is back. But the silouette was a little different. And then it hit me - it's an Enzo!!! Here, now, how?!:D

The whole paddock just dropped what they were doing and moved before the guy would even park. The owner is the same guy who owns that F50. He has just taken delivery and the car had about 100miles on the clock. He WILL track it once it settles. In person, it's a marvel. Everything is carbonfiber. The brakes are 15" CF dishes, look gigantic. The engine is a work of art. That made my day.

Here are some more pics that other fellow trackies took.

<img src="http://www.randomresearch.com/dp/misc/enzo1.jpg">

<img src="http://www.randomresearch.com/dp/misc/enzo3.jpg">

<img src="http://www.daimage.com/Z3/Enzo-1.jpg">

Damn, damn, damn! Work and being broke is killing me! All the way to work on Friday I was thinking that this would be a perfect day for the track.

I am surprised that guy got an Enzo. Last I heard, he was saving for a Carrera GT. Damn nice car. The Picture of the Enzo with the blured background is great. I also like the one with it next to the Explorer. Makes the Ford just look wrong...

I am certainly going to be at the Tri-club day. I already have the day off! Akakubi, what pads are you running? I am looking for something else. I have been running stock pads (with everything else stock) and would like to go up a notch. I was thinking ultimates (?). What do you use with the Khumos? By the way, what are your laptimes at PIR?

thanks again for the write up, it was great!

andy

It wasn't me, and I'm sorely wishing it was! It would've been worth it to get up close and personal with the Enzo inbetween sessions!

The guy in the 337 goes by GTI-337 on VWVortex.com, nice guy.

Thanks for the pics and write up, see you in Eugene next weekend,

dc

Originally posted by BackMarker
Damn, damn, damn! Work and being broke is killing me! All the way to work on Friday I was thinking that this would be a perfect day for the track.

I am surprised that guy got an Enzo. Last I heard, he was saving for a Carrera GT. Damn nice car. The Picture of the Enzo with the blured background is great. I also like the one with it next to the Explorer. Makes the Ford just look wrong...

I am certainly going to be at the Tri-club day. I already have the day off! Akakubi, what pads are you running? I am looking for something else. I have been running stock pads (with everything else stock) and would like to go up a notch. I was thinking ultimates (?). What do you use with the Khumos? By the way, what are your laptimes at PIR?

thanks again for the write up, it was great!

andy

He is saving now after buying the Enzo. :D

Tri-Club should get packed. Pre-register for sure. This time two of my friends could barely get in. They had to wait till the last moment to be allowed to run....

I just got Ultimates, will install this week before the AutoX. I ran OEM's since they were free. :D But they do fade pretty badly after 5-6 laps. I'll see how the Ultimates fare at the Tri-Club.

With S-03's my lap times were 1:38-1:39, now with Victoracers I got down to 1:36-1:37 with a passenger. I need to pull out my struts a bit to get the max of neg 1.1° up front w/o going to camber plates. Or I will keep eating through the shoulders.

I also noticed the car is much better balanced with the spare tyre still in the trunk.

Originally posted by Dan337
It wasn't me, and I'm sorely wishing it was! It would've been worth it to get up close and personal with the Enzo inbetween sessions!

The guy in the 337 goes by GTI-337 on VWVortex.com, nice guy.

Thanks for the pics and write up, see you in Eugene next weekend,

dc

See you on Saturday!

BTW, what class are you running at AutoX? I'll be running my friend's Miata in CSP most likely at event 1, and my car in DSP the next day or vise versa. Whichever turns out OK. Look for cars with Team Monsoon stickers on them, that's us. :D

Sounds good. I'll be running GS (I've purposely not put mods on the car to stay in this class where I believe I can be competitive someday :stickoutt )

dc

Crap, I missed the Enzo. I was going to head up, but my car didn't start that morning. I need a new fuel pump.

He was planning on getting the Enzo, he's really good friends with the Ferrari people if you didn't already know. How many does he have now? Like at least 5? I think he has a F40 too, a 360 Modena, and a 550 Maranello convert.

Akakubi, I was the red M Roadster parked across from you at the Lotus Day. That was my first time back at Portland in two years, what a great time that day turned out to be.

It was my first full day with the Michelin Sport Pilot Cups and they were just fantastic in the heat. As everyone else's tires were going off the Michelins just started coming on.

Originally posted by jcarp
Akakubi, I was the red M Roadster parked across from you at the Lotus Day. That was my first time back at Portland in two years, what a great time that day turned out to be.

It was my first full day with the Michelin Sport Pilot Cups and they were just fantastic in the heat. As everyone else's tires were going off the Michelins just started coming on.

Hey, I remember your car! :wave:

So the Cup's worked well, ah? Great to know. Some alternatives to consider. I would really like to know how they fare over time. Keep me updated on the wear'n'tear! :D

Tri-Club day is on the 27th. I'll be there for sure.

Originally posted by Cone
Crap, I missed the Enzo. I was going to head up, but my car didn't start that morning. I need a new fuel pump.

He was planning on getting the Enzo, he's really good friends with the Ferrari people if you didn't already know. How many does he have now? Like at least 5? I think he has a F40 too, a 360 Modena, and a 550 Maranello convert.

Tri-Club, don't forget on the 27th. :D

He has a lot more Ferrari's than that: 2 F40's, F50, Enzo, two Modena's, F355, 550 Maranello among others. He has over 27 cars in his garage.

Well, if you remember the guy that brings either an Evo Vi Makkinnen edition or Audi RS4 wagon:

<img src="http://www.monsoonauto.com/en-us/gal23_big.jpg">

He has over 54 cars, including the Porsche 959....:astromile

Damn, that's an impressive collection. Now I'm depressed!

I better call up Don LePre and start making tiny little ads... :stickoutt

dc

I didn't know that he has a RS4 wagon!! I love those! I remember the Lancer though, he brought it a few years ago, and I saw it on 26 once.

Originally posted by Dan337
Damn, that's an impressive collection. Now I'm depressed!

I better call up Don LePre and start making tiny little ads... :stickoutt

dc

ROFL! I'll join you. :astromile :laugh

Originally posted by Cone
I didn't know that he has a RS4 wagon!! I love those! I remember the Lancer though, he brought it a few years ago, and I saw it on 26 once.

He ran the RS4 just this track day and the Evo back in March as the most recent events. He doesn't really like the RS4 as a track car - isoalted, with very little feedback, crappy shifter, etc. , but still thrashed it pretty wildly. :astromile

How did you do at the auto-x this weekend?

I went on Saturday morning only, but had a great time. Placed 5th out of 8 that morning in GS. Not too crappy considering it was my 2nd time and I'm not running R-Compound tires :)

dc

Originally posted by Dan337
How did you do at the auto-x this weekend?

I went on Saturday morning only, but had a great time. Placed 5th out of 8 that morning in GS. Not too crappy considering it was my 2nd time and I'm not running R-Compound tires

dc

I think I saw your car. Did you have 337 number?

We came over around noon on Saturday. It was so much fun, we had 12 cars with us, 7 running! :D

The weather got too hot though, so the tyres were melting by lap 4. But I got down to 37.1xx on one run. But in my group (17 cars in DSP) I was only 7th. There are several cars ahead of me (Subaru RS with tons of mods, Euro imported E30 325i, a very fast Sentra on slicks and a Acura Integra GRS on Hoosier's) that I can never beat with my tank. :D

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/pf5132485a82b389fb939b09b702c893a/fbf64b7f.jpg">

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p98044d775f4f030c59179d56f14f58c0/fbf64b78.jpg">

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p1b4a57747473b6c76256e91f62ff2aea/fbf64b74.jpg">


The second day was a total blast. They ran the course backwards and added an extra lap. So the runs were in the upper 50's-lower 60's. I co-drove my friend's bone stock Miata on street rubber. First time out in it. What a fun car it is! :buttrock

Every input has an immediate output. It will come around on you very quickly if you're not careful. Virtually no understeer. It takes guts to stay on the throttle through some corners where you'd think it would just spin. But if you lift...bye-bye. :D My friend spun out several times trying to push for lower times. I managed to keep the car planted, but drifted through almost every curve, especially those off-camber ones. Beat my friend and took a 3rd in CSP. :alright :D

We'll do the same next time. It got personal now who can beat who in his car. hehehehe

I'll be at PIR on the 27th for the Tri-Club day.

Hey Folks! The Tri-Club event is coming up on the 27th. This is a big one, so if you are planning to run, sign up before Friday!

Here's the link just in case:

http://www.bmwacaportland.com/

Hope to see you there!

It looks like I will finally be able to attend an event this year! Sent my registration in a couple of weeks ago!! It looks like it is going to be another hot one! I hope I can break the 2:00 minute barrier with worn brake pads and worn street tires... :az:

I will be the slow ass estoril inthe intermediate class...

andy

How warn are your brakes and tires? I'd seriously reccomend replacing the brakes at least if you're going to drive in the intermediate class. They drive pretty dang fast, and worn brake pads aren't going to help you much.

Originally posted by BackMarker
It looks like I will finally be able to attend an event this year! Sent my registration in a couple of weeks ago!! It looks like it is going to be another hot one! I hope I can break the 2:00 minute barrier with worn brake pads and worn street tires... :az:

I will be the slow ass estoril inthe intermediate class...

andy

Ha! We'll be running together. I prefer the Intermediate class, since it is more relaxed in terms of "hot heads". People still follow the rules more precisely in this class than in the Advanced, where some people think they are the only ones on the track... :mad:

2:00min is no problem at all for you. If the pads are below 20%, you may want to take it a little easier under braking and cool down thoroughly after a session, or you will warp your rotors. I did warp mine last year with the pads below 10%...

We'll talk about your brakes and what we can do about them and your tires at the track. :D

I pulled my wheels and looked, I have plenty of pad left for this track day. In the past PIR hasn't been that hard on my brakes. I get a little build up on the rotors but it usually gone by the time I get back down to Salem. The tires will last too, I plan on replacing them before the weather turns nasty this year.

I usually turn 1:41's in my completely stock M3. I am trying to find some decent track wheels and will probably go to ultimates for the brakes. I plan on staying on street tires until my skills improve. The car is going to remain fairly stock while it is still a daily driver.

Friday is going to be fun. Akakubi, I will wave to you as I give you the international "please pass me" signal!

andy
aka BackMarker

Originally posted by BackMarker
I pulled my wheels and looked, I have plenty of pad left for this track day. In the past PIR hasn't been that hard on my brakes. I get a little build up on the rotors but it usually gone by the time I get back down to Salem. The tires will last too, I plan on replacing them before the weather turns nasty this year.

I usually turn 1:41's in my completely stock M3. I am trying to find some decent track wheels and will probably go to ultimates for the brakes. I plan on staying on street tires until my skills improve. The car is going to remain fairly stock while it is still a daily driver.

Friday is going to be fun. Akakubi, I will wave to you as I give you the international "please pass me" signal!

andy
aka BackMarker

You got the perfect attitude of the real track junkie: stock until you are ready for mods. :clap:

1:41 is pretty good for the stock M3. I bet you can easily shave a second or two tomorrow, especially if you catch a great line in the left hander after the back straight. :D Play with the tire pressures.

Ultimates is the pad of choice for street and track dual purpose. I would also consider a clip-in/out Schroth harness to keep you planted in the seat.

We'll have a blast on Friday! We'll show those P-cars how it's done. :D:biglaughb :biglaughb

Val (Akakubi)

Awesome track day! Andy, it was great meeting you in person! I hope you really enjoyed the event.

Lots of cars showed up. I believe we had over 100 cars running. All kinds of exotics came: 50's Porsche race cars, GT2 race cars, Ferrari 328, two STi's, EVO VIII, plus, as always, tons of Bimmers. :D

I started the day in the Intermediate still being cautios about the "hot heads" in the Advanced group (most of the accidents happen in that group), especially on a packed day like this. The traffic was pretty bad, with a couple of really slow Porsches that did not readily yield on the straights - typical. :mad:

The second session I was "asked" to move up to Advanced and stop taking up space. there goes my relaxed time. Gotta watch out for the aggressive drivers from now on... :eek:

Turned out the group was pretty well balanced this time. I had a time of my life racing against an instructor in a Red 328is. The front tires melted by Lap 8 and I started to slip-slide all over the track. Almost missed the chicane at one point- pretty hairy moment. But I managed to pass and pull a bit on the guy. :D Came into the pits, and the front pressures were well into the mid 40's. :eek: Axxis Ultimates easily oveheated the rubber.

For the third session I dropped them down to low 30's and the grip was back on track. This time the pads the tires worked as a team. Managed to stay away from a Z-06 throughout the session. I am amazed how well these pads could cope with hard braking and hot weather lap after lap with absolutely no fade.

Several of my friends also had a blast (An M Coupe, E30 325es, 635i, E46 323i, Miata and Solara). Two of them were Novices (Miata and TRD Solara). By the end of the day they were complaining about traffic and wanted to upgrade to the Intermediate class. :laugh

The owner of the Enzo, brought brand new EVO VIII and STi. His son and him ran the cars head to head just for fun I guess. The EVO was spanking the STi every time regardless of who was driving.

Overall I rate this track day as one of the best this year. I can't wait for the next one on August 20th.

Stupid me, I left my camera at home, so I do not any pics. A friend of mine took a lot, so once those are developed, I will post them.

Sorry for the delay, work has been hell.

That track day was great! My tires and brakes held up really well and I even got some open space on the track. The only problem I had was after we got black flagged in the afternoon session, my tires got some sort of build up on them and they were slicker than snot. After a couple of laps they were getting better but the session ended . The next session was the best, I was doing really well and passing a lot of people. A ford SVT Contour would not let me past (I try not to pass with out a point by...) plus he was getting really out of shape in the back section and I really didn't want that behind me! I decided to push him a little to force a point by and he got it ALL wrong in the chicane. After that I backed off quite a bit to let everything cool off.

I will agree with you Akakubi that was one of the best events that I had been to and it was great meeting you. I wanted to follow you around a couple of times to watch your lines, but you were moved up to advanced. Maybe next time, I will have to catch a ride with you in the advanced group!

The best part of the day was taking my Dad around the track! I love watching people try hitting the brake pedal in the passenger seat!

I doubt I will make the 20th, but we will see...

andy

Nice review! :D I hear ya on the passing. Some people just never seem to be polite or get it. :dunno:

Yep, my dad also always "co-drives" with me when I'm behind the wheel. But I recently found myself doing the same to other people. :mad: :laugh

Sure, ride with me next time. I will also attend a BMW day in September and and Alfa day in October.

BTW, I will be autoX-ing on August 16-17 at PIR in the Pro-pits. That's fun also. Still trying to kill my fronts before installing wider (245) Victoracers. :D

Have a great one!

Val