Stage 1: stock(-ish)
End track-hours: 15-20
End Laguna Seca time: 1:56-high
End parts/specs:
KW V3 coilovers
Ground control camber plates
Turner thrust arms with monoballs
Apex studs
RBF660 fluid
-2.2 F -2.2 R camber; ?? toe
MPSS/MP4S tires: 225/40/18, 245/35/18
Stock BMW rims: 7.5x18 ET45 F, 8.5x18 ET52
"compulsory" exterior bits: black grilles, black mirror caps, painted front reflectors
As I mentioned, I didn't get this car with tracking in mind -- I'd actually never been to a track before. I don't need a car for work, so it was mostly something for weekends / roadtrip adventures. The day after I grabbed it from the dealer, I took care of the engine break-in with a 2000-mi trip from San Francisco to Denver and back the scenic route, dealer plates and all (CO police was *not* happy about that!). I'd been reading the forums here, so I swapped the "compulsory" exterior bits literally on the side of the road somewhere in Nevada on the way.
I did a few other longer trips and was pretty happy with how the B58 pulled for overtaking. Plus, the usual other things -- some "spirited" runs on local twisties, some onramp kicks -- none of which were really pushing the car anywhere near its limits, but I was definitely enjoying it. Around that time, a coworker mentioned some "racing school" they've done on a local track, and the gears in my head started turning. I've been watching motorsports pretty much my entire life, but never really connected the dots that you can take a "normal" car on the track between the real races. Having a fast car, it was a no-brainer to try it.
First HPDE with the car (and for me) was pretty typical -- some nerves, big sensory overload, tiptoeing around, learning the line. Honestly I wasn't too impressed until I took a ride with my instructor (in some M4 IIRC) for a couple of hot laps. That was the holy cow moment when things clicked! I realized: (i) why the line was what it was, car just goes there anyway; (ii) how far away I was from any reasonable limit. These two laps were better than any crack that instructor might have given me... Now that I occasionally instruct myself, I always encourage my students to come along for rides.
Anyway, at that point, the car was bone stock. I did a couple more events in the next few weeks, learning to pick up the pace a bit. I destroyed my first set of front tire shoulders between two consecutive days, and put on whatever terrible all-season fronts the local Les Schwab in Yolo county had for the second day. This would pretty much set the tone for the next quite a while -- I'm pretty aware I'm the limiting factor for the car -- so I don't need a perfect setup to learn something new. Bonus points, I'd learn how to adapt to different setup changes.
I was reading the forums for camber solutions and it seemed like the M2 LCA thing was more or less half-assing it, but camber plates didn't work great with the stock suspension. So, decided to focus on the long term and invest in good coilovers and camber plates. I talked to a local performance shop, and they spent a while convincing me that the KW clubsport I had my eyes on didn't work with the new M240, only with the M235. In hindsight, total bollocks, but I ended up with KW V3s, Ground control plates, some camber, a fairly slammed ride height, and better brake fluid. Note to self, a pretty instagram page with shiny cars in front of the shop doesn't guarantee solid track knowledge.
With the KWs the car was leaning less in corners, and the front tires had a higher chance of surviving. Went through some more MP4s tires, stock pads (yay warranty), cracked the front bumper in my first off track excursion (it's still that way despite bondoing it like 5 times), moved to slightly more aggressive alignment settings each time, and put in thrust arms with monoballs mostly on a whim (and really appreciated the improved steering feel).
At this point, I'd learned how to push this setup hard enough that the MP4s were starting to chunk. Plus, I'd corded my tires a couple of times in the middle of nowhere, with very few replacment options. Sounded like the right time to jump to dedicated track wheels / tires. I put on some Apex studs to prepare for that.
