ilogikal1 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Need to remove the "s" from "https". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) i think - just copy and paste the url nope Put the URL in between "Youtube" tags but as Ekona advised me take the "s" off the http as the forum doesn't like it. [media] [/media] Edit: Dam you Matt. Edited March 30, 2015 by GMballistic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-B Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Need to remove the "s" from "https". Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 official photos from the day are now online here, some great photos of all the cars. http://www.msvtphotography.com/?Action=_VC&id=177679402&ppwd=41606frd have to say, even though the beemer was an understeering pig in reality, it looks darn good in the photos, cornering flat and level. once we get some decent tyres it should be great 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-B Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Some good photos in there, couldn't help but order a few. I know the prices are a little steep but it's something I have always done. I have pictures of every trackday I have ever done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Ah, the best thing a petrolhead can ever receive - new car parts! and they're important ones - the ability to stop! first up, full set of EBC Yellowstuff pads - have had great success with these on the old bmw 330ci, allows us to do several full speed laps of bedford (which has lots of large braking zones) without any fade, and braking as late as we dare - truely excellent braking. bearing in mind this is all on a budget, but for the money they really cant be faulted. Second important item - brake fluid. Again used Super blue before, and for the price (£11 per litre) its amazing stuff. when we first had the old BMW 328 with standard fluid, it would boil after 6 laps of hullavington and the pedal would go long - but with super blue in the lines boiling fluid has never been a problem since, in 18 trackdays now. even with standard lines the pedal feels rock solid. and onto discs - and yes, they're completely standard. well, budget is important, and these are £28 each on the rears. plus i have seen first hand the cracking on drilled discs, and dont really trust them. plus, at £28 a disc, it doesnt matter if we score them by getting more than 100% of the pad wear from the pads. have driven home with the brakes grinding metal on metal on more than one occasion! last item is a replacement throttle cable - those who drove the bmw at bedford will agree the throttle pedal was very stiff, and had quite a lot of stiction. hopefully a new cable, lubricate the pedal and clean the throttle butterfly will cure it - i found it very difficult to heel and toe with the pedal so stiff, which detracts greatly from the driving for me. and you might have noticed that the picture quality is pretty dire, which is because it was taken with this: Not a Go Pro, but a considerably cheaper clone. and photos arent its strong point, 'cos the lens is tiny! Its a Vivitar action cam, the cheapest that argos sell - £29.99! but it takes fairly decent video, and allows me to mount the camera externally without worrying that a £150 go pro will at some point go bouncing off into the scenery. Will be fabricating a window mount for it before the next trackday, looking forward to trying it out. Hopefully will get these parts fitted next weekend, and then onto the next trackday - havent decided on a date or venue yet, but Croft on 4th May looks a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw99 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Looking good, hopefully i'll be able to make the next track day see this new BMW for myself. Have mine mapped this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nice one BM - keeps you out of trouble fitting all the bits as well Hope to catch up again at Bedford - or maybe I'll make the run to Snetterton again - but that will have to be a nice day, don't want fog again You going to come down to Castle Combe for a run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 possibly... problem is its an awful long way for my partner in crime, hence why we're generally to be found in the midlands (croft being the exception as its on the BTCC calendar and we haven't driven it yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Seems i spoke too soon! We have just booked Croft for Monday 4th May (Bank Holiday Monday) with Javelin. Still spaces if anyone wants to come along. Really looking forward to trying a new track - the brakes and throttle cable have just been overhauled, so looking forward to some decent braking performance, and being able to heel and toe again! have also done some more investigation into our mismatched wheel bores - seems three hubs are 72.6mm, and one is 74.1mm. however, all the wheels are 74.1mm, so three need a spigot ring! hopefully with them fitted the steering vibration will go away. have a bit more weight to remove this coming weekend, and then will try out the new actioncam on monday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Good luck gents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) So was at Croft circuit last weekend for a day with javelin trackdays... had a very early start getting the car up there - in fact left leamington at 8pm, stopped overight at Kens in doncaster and then went on to Croft from his at 5:30am the following morning. Very straightforward to get up there - just follow the A1! despite having only half of an interior, the bmw actually cruises really well - just have to avoid the drone from the hole in the exhaust around 2,500rpm. which its normally above when at motorways. Once on track there was a good mix of cars - ken was complaining about the number of racecars, but actually everyone was very well behaved - i dont remember any drivers pushing to get past or overtaking in unsafe places. The only problem we had was actually a road car - honda civic type R infact, which despite us following him for 4 laps, refused to let us past on the straights. Yes he was faster in a straight line, but really slow through the corners - could have easily overtaken him under brakes or round the outside of the faster corners, but thats not really the trackday way. Ah well, rest of the day was good. Overall the car was pretty good - ken may complain about a lack of power out the slower corners compared to the old 330ci (we have a 328i now, get used to it!). Still tending towards understeer rather than oversteer, which is a little frustrating, but through some of the faster corners around the back of the circuit the car did feel pretty fast. The only time the back was stepping out was if the rear tyres started to overheat, and the nature of the circuit means the rear right tyre basically does nothing as 95% of the track is fast right handers, so when you do need it to do something its not up to temperature. We did manage to unwrap some tread off the front left tyre by mid afternoon... down to the canvas - not surprising given the abuse the left front was taking! but im surprised the inside unwrapped, since the last time we took the tread off a tyre was the front left at Castle Combe - another very fast clockwise circuit! but that time the outside tread fell off. And then we also had a small problem with the power steering... the shaft in the pump snapped! no loss of fluid, belt still spinning the PS pulley, but no power steering. It did start making a pretty horrible noise about an hour before it finally went, but hey, wouldnt be the first time we drove home with no power steering. New brake set up was pretty solid - yellowstuff pads and ATE super blue fluid holding up well, no problems all day. And new throttle as nice, so good being able to heel and toe into the first chicane and then from 4th to 2nd into tower. Managed to get a bit of video - excuse the weird camera work, original footage was rather shaky, so used youtubes stabilisation software. and also the sound wasnt picked up that well, but you get the idea. so, few things for the next trackday... get the power steering sorted out primarily! and we'll also be swapping over the front left hub, so we can fit the wider wheels. the spigot rings worked well to cure the vibration, but would be good to have all the wheels fit. might do two more days before getting proper rubber on and an alignment. Not sure of next trackdays, but hoping to do cadwell early July and Donington mid july, both brilliant tracks whatever the car. Edited May 10, 2015 by brillomaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Glad you are having fun in the new motor gents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Sounds like you had some fun, shame about the PAS. Love Croft, it's the only place I've been for trackdays so far. Cool vid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 yeah it was middle of the pack for us... glad we've done it, but still rank Donington, Cadwell and probably Oulton Park in front of it. but some great corners there - the first chicane into the long right is a tricky corner, then out the back through the very quick esses, and the double apex sunny in/sunny out. works the front left tyre soo hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Short notice, but we're booked in for rockingham this weekend! Ken has taken custody of the car for a while and in his stewardship he's fitted the new PS pump, fitted a new front left hub so we can run the preferred (wider) wheels, and also given it a good wash and vacuum inside. We've also finally ordered some proper trackday tyres! Excited doesn't even begin to cover it, have been waiting a long time to get on some decent rubber, really looking forward to seeing what the car will be like on them. Unfortunately they wont be on for Rockingham as its a bit short notice, so will just use normal road tyres, but will be ready to go for the next two trackdays, which also happen to be my two favourite tracks! Will report back from rockingham after Saturday - i'll be using a different case for the camera so should pick up sound a bit better. Target for me for the day is to take Turn One flat - no mean feat when you're foot to the floor in 4th at this point, and theres no run off if you get it wrong, just a wall! Just about worked up the courage at the end of the day last time we were there. And Ken's target is to keep it out the wall this time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 No doubt Ken has fitted a Teas Maid as well whilst the car was in his custody? And er, Rockingham....now why does that ring a bell More seriously, great to read the updates and look forward to hearing how this weekends session went - and have a safe one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrumbMC Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Haven't been on the forum for a while. checking back in today and reading this thread has got me in the mood for some more trackdays. bought my first house at the end of last year so i'm spending all my £££ on that at the moment though. I wonder if i can get away with buying a shed and a bottle of brake fluid and then scrapping it at the end of the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 what do you think we've done? our latest beemer cost £800, plus a bit extra on some decent pads and fluid and you've got the basics, simples! Also if you do buy an old bmw, me and ken offer a disposal service when you're done with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrumbMC Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I'm currently trawling through the classifieds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 unless you fancy doing something radically different, you've got three cheap choices - 1 - MX5! cheap to buy, cheap on brakes and tyres, handles brilliantly. not that fast though. 2 - BMW! cheap to buy, fast, sounds good. not the best dynamically, needs a few mods before its effective. 3 - MR2! cheap to buy, cheap on brakes and tyres, handles brilliantly. however can have snappy handling at the limit. also plenty of cheap FWD hatchbacks, but nobody wants one of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Good luck gents, have fun and watch out on that last corner ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrumbMC Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 also plenty of cheap FWD hatchbacks, but nobody wants one of them! Affirmative. I used to track the Z but it cost me a bloody fortune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 Woohoo we're back from Rockingham, good news is car and both drivers all in one piece, curse has been lifted! Will upload the vids and i think ken has the photos covered so will do a full write up, but in a nutshell... WOW. just wow. new tyres have made a HUGE difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Alrighty finally got a bit of time to do a bit of a write up of last weekend... Arrived fairly earlyish at rockingham - only an hour or so from me, and since ken had the car i didnt have to faff around wit tyre pressures and fuel the night before, just turn up and drive! The day itself was actually fairly quiet compared to a lot of days we'd been on - although there were a lot of racecars testing so they were in the pits more than usual. Lots of caterham academy cars (since they have a race at rockingham this weekend) and then a few other club level racecars, but then a few roadgoing BMWs, VW golfs, an MX5, that kinda thing. Our car was looking mighty fine has to be said, ken likes clean car and even though the paintwork was so scratched it wasnt possible to clay it or polish it, just washing it made a huge difference! and kens old road tyres were all on - bridgestones RE040s on the front, and some marshall things on the rear. To start with the day was a bit manic - all the caterhams came out in one go, and they hunt in packs like a swarm of wasps - damn pests. clearly ignored the bit in the briefing about it being a trackday, we had whole packs of cars passing on the inside of corners, one ***** managed to do two corners before crashing at the hairpin and causing a red flag, plenty of others were spinning out in front of us. it basically got to the point when you saw a pack approaching, you might as well stop on a straight and let them all past, then set off again. Its times like these i'd really like to just turn across the idiot caterham thats overtaking under braking into the chicane, cos his car would come off a lot worse than ours, and it would be his fault. but i really feel for the novice drivers out there, im sure they werent have been expecting that! BMW was reasonably good in the morning - having the decent tyres on the front now meant hints of oversteer, then after 5-6 laps lots of oversteer as the rears overheated. cue big powerslides out the hairpin, which was fun! there was an E46 M3 that followed us into the hairpin, was clearly impressed by my antics that he then pulled off a huge slide coming out on to the next straight, hilarious! and the old VW golf that was so stiff it was cocking the inside rear wheel a good few inches off the ground when cornering, mega. Then at lunch, well, everything changed. Ken had managed to get our new tyres fitted the day before, and they were waiting in our garage. So, over the lunchbreak, off came the road wheels (with 225/45 tyres all round) and on went the federals (245/35 front, 255/35 rear). with some trepidation about running a brand new set of tyres, Ken headed out to see what they were like. and within a few laps it became apparent that decent tyres was something we should have bought a long time ago, car was completely transformed! Once they'd got a bit of heat in them and the pressures were corrected, they were mega. They just inspired so much confidence - through the fast corners you can just keep it pinned - round the very first turn one, on the road tyres we were wimping out and lifting just at the apex, but with the federals its easy flat all the way round, no worries. and Kens late braking and turn in at the hairpin was something to behold. and then the fast gracelands left hander, can just carry so much speed through its unreal. A really REALLY good upgrade! And even better, the menace that was the caterham academy cars now couldnt keep up! we always had a slight edge in a straight line, but now we were just as fast through the corners as well - the only place they still had and advantage is through the low speed, quick direction changes parts - we're just too heavy for that. But somewhere like Donington or Snetterton i strongly suspect we'd be faster over a lap. Only had one problem during the day - the rearmost exhaust hanger gave up, but someone kindly gave us an industrial sized cable tie so we patched that back up. there was also a slight vibration under hard braking, but nothing too major - despite the brakes getting pretty warm there was always good stopping power and no hint of any fade, which is good. managed to take a few videos, and ken has quite a few photos he'll hopefully upload, but here's ken doing some laps on the new tyres - these were actually some of his worst laps of the day, but still fast! so looking forward to Donington now! the old 330ci went really well round there a year or so ago, so hoping for even faster lap times with the 328i on decent tyres. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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