"BKRM3" (BKRM3)
08/29/2014 at 17:17 • Filed to: Happenings, BMW, M3, Track day, Bro, Racecar, New Jersey, NJMP
6
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"BKRM3" (BKRM3)
08/29/2014 at 17:17 • Filed to: Happenings, BMW, M3, Track day, Bro, Racecar, New Jersey, NJMP | 6
| 29 |
Perhaps some of you saw my post last month from the wild and wonderful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! This past weekend was another event with the BMW CCA, which brought me back to my home track, New Jersey Motorsports Park in scenic Millville, NJ. There are two circuits there - Thunderbolt and Lightning - and this event was on Lightning, which I haven't driven since last October. Time to brush off the cobwebs!
There was a lot to see as usual. Check out these beauties:
My girlfriend, who is generally supportive of my car stuff but had never actually come to a track day, decided to come down on Saturday to check things out. She was in for a real treat because I secured her a lift in my friend/instructor's BMW CCA club race B-Mod car. Check out how delighted she looks! She didn't stop smiling for a solid hour after she got out of the car.
There was also BMW CCA club racing this weekend, and a banquet Saturday night at which our club presented a check to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an incredible charity that supports families dealing with childhood cancer. Very proud to say my club is a part of that.
As usual, we stayed until the day was truly over, track was cold and beers could be enjoyed. I always take my time packing up. It's so peaceful at the track on Sunday night. You wouldn't believe how quickly everyone gets out of there.
I finally got an external microphone setup for the GoPro, which I put in my ash tray with the door closed lol. Worked pretty well. I wanted to get engine noise, tire noise and conversation and wanted to cut back on the wind noise. Worked perfectly for that, except I didn't get much from the tires. Still get wind noise above 100 or so, but that's realistic and I wanted it. The wind at 135mph is part of the experience! Here's a video from our very last session, with a rather sparsely populated run group. Again, everyone went home! Perfectly fine with me...less people I have to pass =)
Brian Silvestro
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 09:51 |
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Awesome.
Awesome to the max.
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BKRM3
> Brian Silvestro
08/29/2014 at 10:05 |
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Thanks. =)
BeaterGT
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 10:50 |
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Love NJMP, can't wait to bring a car on one of the tracks and not just go there for karting! Thanks for sharing.
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BKRM3
> BeaterGT
08/29/2014 at 11:09 |
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I've spent 10 days so far at NJMP alone - not once have I managed to go karting there. I'm DYING to try it! Similar situation with respect to Summit. Bah.
AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 11:30 |
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Awesome! Can't watch the video right now due to some crappy connection but I'll watch it once i find some wifi.
Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 11:32 |
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How long can you hang around the track after last session?
Road America kicks people out about an hour and a half later, and then it's something crazy like $500 per 15 minutes late. I have my car and trailer Tetris down pretty pat now, but I'm still around an hour to pack up, since I have to swap wheels back to my street ones as well. Also, if it's hot it takes longer, and it's generally hot.
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BeaterGT
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 11:39 |
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Get on that! And make sure you get a kart with brakes.
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BKRM3
> AM3R
08/29/2014 at 11:53 |
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Find some wifi, watch it in 720p and use some decent headphones =)
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BKRM3
> Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
08/29/2014 at 11:59 |
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Everything takes sooooooooooooooooo long when it's hot. Not only do I have to swap wheels, but I have to load the track set in the car across the back seat. Really have to wait for things to cool when you're doing that. I'm usually re-drenched in sweat by then and have to dig out our free event shirt to wear home because it's the only non-gross one I have lol. Yuck.
I've never been rushed out of NJMP or Summit, so I don't know if there's a policy. For this event my last run was like 4:50 to 5:15 or so, then there was one more group after that and the track was cold at 6pm. We were out of there by 7:15ish, maybe a few minutes earlier. Everyone else was gone by 6:30, although most left earlier. When it's really hot/exhausting/humid I can totally understand skipping the last session - I did it myself back in June. The weather for this event was great though and I was shocked by how many people packed up and left!
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AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 11:59 |
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Only one of my earbuds work :(
But I found some good wifi!
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BKRM3
> BeaterGT
08/29/2014 at 12:00 |
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Brakes? In a go kart? Pfffffff! =P
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BKRM3
> AM3R
08/29/2014 at 12:01 |
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w00t!
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AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 12:25 |
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Dat engine noise! Is your exhaust stock?
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BKRM3
> AM3R
08/29/2014 at 12:39 |
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Almost. I have Dinan mufflers but the rest of it is stock. You get way more engine noise in this video than exhaust (I basically can't hear the exhaust from inside the car) and that's what all E9X M3s sound like if they're driven properly =)
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AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 12:43 |
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ah yes it didn't sound too loud. More E9x M3's need to be driven properly, especially because they sound like that!
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BKRM3
> AM3R
08/29/2014 at 12:45 |
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100% agree with you. I love when they're all tarted up for the street with 20'' rims and expensive suspension I'm like hey man cool M3 have you ever driven it on a track? That's when I get the blank stare. DUDES, stop modifying your cars and DRIVE them once in a damn while! Sheesh!
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AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 13:08 |
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Exactly!! I was at a cars & coffee and I saw an E92 with a roll cage so I started asking him questions. He has this crazy expensive custom built coilover kit installed JUST TO LOWER HIS CAR. He was running stretched R888's on 20" polished BBS wheels with stupidly low offsets.
Never tracked his car. He got confused when I mentioned autocross.
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BKRM3
> AM3R
08/29/2014 at 13:50 |
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Hard parker. Probably had a flat-brimmed hat. Sad. There was a guy at our event with a car like that except it had appropriate track wheels. He was in the novice group with a half cage, suspension, exhaust, wheels, track tires, race buckets, etc. I was like, well, at least he's TRYING to track it after all that.
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AM3R
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 13:58 |
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Hopefully he sticks to tracking it or else he pretty much just pissed away a few thousand dollars. Never understood why people want to pose as track rats. Why not actually DO IT? The money they spend on all the mods could pay for way more than a few track days.
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Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 15:49 |
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I did the wheels in the back seat once, when my trailer wasn't ready for my first event this year. Never again. It was the worst. Seriously recommend one if you are going to continue running track wheels and street driving the car there.
I always pack an extra shirt if not full set of clothes to change into before I leave to head home. I learned my lesson about that including a knee-length skirt, since then when I got home I had to try and unhook the trailer in it.... yeahhhhhh. Didn't think that part though.
My last event, the weather was miserable. It was around 90, felt like 95, and probably 90% humidity. It finally broke and rained right after we finished swapping my wheels, and then wasn't so bad finishing up the rest. I am very glad I have a friend who helps me out, because while I can handle doing them myself, it just goes quicker with two people. Also, he owns a cordless impact, which speeds it up.
Notice the trailer is touching the garage wall, and you can justtt see my license plate in the pic. If I want to go to the passenger side of the car I have to awk climb over the front, or open the door and walk around. There is maybe 3 inches between the garage door and the back of the car. But, it all fits, so yay.
I know people have taken my pictures at least once while driving. Probably more.
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BKRM3
> Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
08/29/2014 at 16:06 |
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Mmmmmmmm, slicks. You know, you could probably stand that trailer up vertically and save some space. Tight fit reminds me of my garage (although I'm moving in less than a month to a different not-at-all-big-enough garage). The sacrifices we make for track stuff...lol.
Your track box looks a lot like mine, complete with Blipshift sticker!
So the take-away here was "don't do car stuff in a skirt," right? I think I can handle that one. =)
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Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
> BKRM3
08/29/2014 at 16:13 |
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Yep! Take-off Conti race slicks, and since I know what teams my friends work with, I'm about 98% certain of exactly what car they came from in the Conti Tire SportsCar Challenge. It's nice having friends who have a side business of buying take-offs and then re-selling them to track rats.
Sadly the taillights extend out farther than the frame, so everything would rest on them. For about 5 seconds until they snap off, because Harbor Freight. I might look into detaching them somehow for winter to store it like that. But for now I can live with it.
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BKRM3
> Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
08/29/2014 at 16:38 |
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"...because Harbor Freight." If I had a nickel for every time that phrase has been said...
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> BKRM3
09/02/2014 at 13:39 |
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Awesome - I'll be on track this Saturday and Sunday!
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BKRM3
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2014 at 13:50 |
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VERY glad to hear that!! You've been away from the track for too long my friend. I'm vicariously excited about the amount of time your free-breathing beast is going to get to wail at super-arrested-on-the-street speeds! Of course, I have several questions: 1) which track? 2) which host organization? 3a) have you driven the track/configuration before? 3b) if 3a is yes, do you have any in-car footage from the prior event? 4) will you be recording video this time? 5a) have you bought dedicated track wheels/tires yet? 5b) if 5a is no, what are you waiting for? buy some! they fit across the back seat! 6) how frisky are you feeling? DSC full off, or MDM? 7) what's the forecast like? 8) are you going with friends? 9) are you ready to murder me due to this list of questions?
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> BKRM3
09/02/2014 at 13:59 |
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No joke! The nervous excitement is building...
Hallett, my local track
BMWCCA - "No Excuses" annual event
Yes (need to figure out if CW or CCW), have access to others' footage
Finally got a GoPro, so if all goes well, yes
No, umm... a large cash windfall?
MDM (wish I had the Euro version coded), but might get my nerve up for turning it off
Highs is the mid 80s, slight chance of rain Saturday (hopefully we get lucky)
No takers this time.
Nope!
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BKRM3
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2014 at 14:08 |
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All excellent answers, except for the part about the large cash windfall. Buy a used Apex set and get those HPDE registrations rollin! Can't wait to see pics/video. If there's nothing to hit, I say kill the traction. I don't know what runoff is like but I almost wish I hadn't relied on it (ok, not "relied" exactly but....been comforted by the safety net) in learning to carry the amount of speed that I now do. I feel like I really have to turn it off, dial it back, and re-learn the car with its REAL limits - sometimes higher and sometimes lower than what MDM allows. Pain in the ass.
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> BKRM3
09/02/2014 at 14:17 |
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The car and the PSSs are predictable enough that I might just have to do that... assuming it's dry, of course.
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BKRM3
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2014 at 14:21 |
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Yeah. You want it to be educational, not a suicide mission. =)