[Ramos]

Hello all,

This weekend I had the opportunity to take my M235 to its first track outing with the BMWCCA at chuckwalla.

I have 6 years of moderate track experience, and recently graduated to the A run group.

The car is stock with the exception of running a square tire setup 245-40-17 Dunlop Star Specs, and performance brake fluid.
My wheels setup is: Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's 17x8 ET 40 all around.

No rubbing but very close to the strut! Thanks Timsev for the help on wheel and tire fitment

Here are my takes:

1) BMW has done a wonderful job with the cooling on this car, the ambient was 90 degrees on track, and I was watching the temps through the secret menu. They stayed constant throughout the weekend, never overheated in the slightest. Coolant was constant at 105 Celsius (220 F) and oil was also steady at 115 Celsius (240 F)
Gone are the days of the 335 overheating and limp mode.
Accessing the secret menu is quick and easy but in no way does any of that excuse the lack of an oil temp gage.

2) I ran in Sport + (Plus) the first day and DSC all the way off the second day. DSC off is the right setting for the track, it keeps the steering and suspension in sport (6MT) car, and the throttle in normal lazy mode, which is better for the track because it makes heel and toeing easier and less sensitive to over revving when blipping the throttle.

DSC all the way off is not that scary, car was still neutral but more playful and tail happy.
Yet it remains very easy to control over steer and correct. Recovering from slides and pretty hair raising slip angles is a piece of cake in the M235.
Also this mode saves your rear pads from the constant application caused by the traction nannies.

3) Stock brakes are good enough, strong and easy to modulate with very little fade but not quite great or what I would call track worthy. Pedal does get a little long half way through a session.

4) Overall the car is very neutral and at home on the track, turn in a little loose (read initial oversteer) likely caused by my square tire setup, which is how I like the car to be setup. Minimal under steer mid corner and exit, even with no added camber. Definitely more E36 M3 feel than E90 335 feel.

5) The lack of an LSD was felt on tight off camber corners but not much anywhere else. The E-diff cannot be turned off even with DCS all the way off, and seemed to really struggle to stop the inside rear wheel from spinning. I tried multiple lines and speeds through that one corner (17) and no matter what I did, the car and the E-diff just did not work well through there.
Overall, the lack of a mechanical LSD is definitely manageable although it would be a nice upgrade for sure.

All in all, the car handled brilliantly and I had an awesome experience.

Bring on the M2!! The platform is already amazing even in M235 guise.

Happy to answer any questions.

[Liquidpaper]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Hello all,

This weekend I had the opportunity to take my M235 to its first track outing with the BMWCCA at chuckwalla.

I have 6 years of moderate track experience, and recently graduated to the A run group.

The car is stock with the exception of running a square tire setup 245-40-17 Dunlop Star Specs, and performance brake fluid.

Here are my takes:

1) BMW has done a wonderful job with the cooling on that car, the ambient was 90 degrees on track, and I was watching the temps through the secret menu. They staying constant throughout the weekend, never overheated in the slightest. Coolant was constant at 105 Celsius (220 F) and oil was also steady at 115 Celsius (240 F)
Gone are the days of the 335 overheating and limp mode.
According the secret menu is quick and easy but in no way does any of that excuse the lack of an oil temp gage.

Yeah, the cooling is really impressive on this car. You can flog the crap out of it and the engine takes it in stride. Very impressive.

[ddmyte]

Hi Ramos, great to see you actually "use" your car. Wondered if you could advise how to access the temperatures through the "secret menu"
Thanks

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by ddmyte

Hi Ramos, great to see you actually "use" your car. Wondered if you could advise how to access the temperatures through the "secret menu"
Thanks

Here you go:

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...ht=secret+menu

Notes:

1) The "Unlock code" is the SUM of the last 5 digits of your VIN
2) Hold the Trip reset button with the ignition off, then switch on the ignition, while keeping the Trip Reset button pressed for a few more seconds until the secret menu comes up
3) Short presses on the button to scroll, long presses to select.

It's quite easy once you get the hang of it.

[ddmyte]

Thanks Ramos

[jordantii]

I was under the impression that DSC all the way off does not put the chassis in sport mode. Is this only on the 6mt?

[Year's_End]

Fantastic write-up!

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by jordantii

I was under the impression that DSC all the way off does not put the chassis in sport mode. Is this only on the 6mt?

It does...at least on the AT.
I don't think it depends on the transmission anyway...

DSC OFF = sport chassis, comfort thorttle response, comfort transmission shift AT, louder exhaust

[Xiaoxi]

So just to be clear, does DSC off enable both tailipips / dual throttle?

[jordantii]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

It does...at least on the AT.
I don't think it depends on the transmission anyway...

DSC OFF = sport chassis, comfort thorttle response, comfort transmission shift AT, louder exhaust

Hmm, ok. I'm going to have to see what happens when the AT is put in sport with the DSC fully off.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

So just to be clear, does DSC off enable both tailipips / dual throttle?

DSC off enables louder active sound.... not sure if it opens the second exhaust valve at all times

[Ramos]

I don't know anything about dual throttles,
all I know is that DSC off = Sport damping (same as Sport +), Sport steering (same as Sport +), Lazy throttle response (same as Comfort)
Plus obviously all the nannies are off, but the E-diff CANNOT be turned off

In my experience this weekend, DSC off is great for track, and Sport + is a waste of rear brake pads

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by jordantii

Hmm, ok. I'm going to have to see what happens when the AT is put in sport with the DSC fully off.

You cannot, that's what the whole debate is about.
DSC OFF is its own mode completely separate from any other mode.

[Ramos]

If you guys don't mind, I would like to keep this thread about the OP, and not all about what DSC off mode is and what it isn't.

Thank you

[VMRWheels]

Great write up! Next time.. vid and pics! haha

[Ramos]

I'm getting a GO Pro for next time and some form of data acquisition. Hopefully I can benefit and learn from that.

Wish I had video cuz the footage of the 928 Porsche spinning in front of me and coming back across the track facing the wrong way and me having to drive off the track to avoid it would have been epic !!!

[Iceman51sn]

Great review! Looking forward to some video next time! How did you like Chuckwalla? That's one track I haven't checked out yet.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Ramos

I'm getting a GO Pro for next time and some form of data acquisition. Hopefully I can benefit and learn from that.

Wish I had video cuz the footage of the 928 Porsche spinning in front of me and coming back across the track facing the wrong way and me having to drive off the track to avoid it would have been epic !!!

do you have the M laptimer?

[hoppy6698]

Originally Posted by Ramos

3) Stock brakes are good enough, strong and easy to modulate with very little fade but not quite great or what I would call track worthy. Pedal does get a little long half way through a session.

Thanks for the write up and experience notes! Recommend steel brake lines and ATE 200 brake fluid for the next track event, may help with the peddle mush throughout the day. Cheap upgrade, still burns OEM brake pads which are replaced for free anyways

[Ramos]

Omg, I totally forgot about the M lap timer!!

About the brake fluid, I actually did have high performance fluid in there. Unfortunately my pads were not free, I had maybe 25-30% left on the initial pads. Not enough for a track weekend but also not little enough to get them replaced by BMW
I paid for new pads out of pocket, was gonna go after market but no one makes matching front / rear pads for this car yet,

[Béhème]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Here you go:

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...ht=secret+menu

Notes:

1) The "Unlock code" is the SUM of the last 5 digits of your VIN
2) Hold the Trip reset button with the ignition off, then switch on the ignition, while keeping the Trip Reset button pressed for a few more seconds until the secret menu comes up
3) Short presses on the button to scroll, long presses to select.

It's quite easy once you get the hang of it.

It also works if you hold down the Trip reset button with the car running until the menu comes up, then follow the steps to unlock and select as described above.

While it is possible, I don't recommend doing it while driving.....

[Liquidpaper]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Omg, I totally forgot about the M lap timer!!

About the brake fluid, I actually did have high performance fluid in there. Unfortunately my pads were not free, I had maybe 25-30% left on the initial pads. Not enough for a track weekend but also not little enough to get them replaced by BMW
I paid for new pads out of pocket, was gonna go after market but no one makes matching front / rear pads for this car yet,

Yes they do. Porterfield R4-S. I have a set. They're great.