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      08-31-2020, 02:43 PM   #1
msendit
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Video: Sonoma

Wait, we don't have a thread for Sonoma videos? Ok, I'll start one.

Only the second time I've taken the M240 to the track in the last 6 months, forgotten how much I missed it And first time in a trailer (it fits!)



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      08-31-2020, 07:05 PM   #2
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Nice! The consistency of your line and smoothness with the controls makes for an enjoyable viewing experience. This quality of driving should enable someone new to the track to be confident in their car placement during their initial sessions.

The fact that videos are poor representations of what it's like in the car along with the throttle application data makes it look like you're conservative during the transition to full throttle. Whether that's true or not, I know that's not what it feels like.

Couple of questions: I've lost track – what tires are you running now; and, your seating distance from the steering wheel makes it look like you'd have better control if you sat closer – have you tried that and found it unsatisfactory or do you have concerns about the airbag going off with you right in front of it?

I'll be the first to admit that I like sitting right up on the wheel, air bags be damned*. My elbows are bent at pretty much a 90° angle when I'm holding the wheel at 9 & 3. It's not the safest, I know, as my knees are within an inch of the bottom of the dash. The position did help me save a tank-slapper once, so it "paid" for itself in that regard. I use this seating position on the street.

Was this your trailer's first outing? Isn't it nice having one?

* A neighbor told me that he was t-boned at the driver's door on the street the other day. His left-side airbags went off, and they did a number on his head (left ear still ringing along with intermittent headaches) and on the skin of his torso.
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      08-31-2020, 07:50 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
Nice! The consistency of your line and smoothness with the controls makes for an enjoyable viewing experience. This quality of driving should enable someone new to the track to be confident in their car placement during their initial sessions.
Thanks! (blush) It was nice getting back in a car I'm comfortable in and focusing on smoothness, compared to the last several months of struggling with three-pedal monstrosities...

Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
The fact that videos are poor representations of what it's like in the car along with the throttle application data makes it look like you're conservative during the transition to full throttle. Whether that's true or not, I know that's not what it feels like.
100% true, being more aggressive on the throttle is something I'm trying to work on. The instant torque rewards some smoothness (I have the spins to prove it), but I generally err being too gentle there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I've lost track – what tires are you running now;
275/35/18 Re71r on 10" rims. This was also my first time trying some fancy MCS shocks and very aggressive springs (650 ft lb F, 800 ft lb R). Never thought I'd say it given the weight, but the car feels very much like a go kart now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
and, your seating distance from the steering wheel makes it look like you'd have better control if you sat closer – have you tried that and found it unsatisfactory or do you have concerns about the airbag going off with you right in front of it?

I'll be the first to admit that I like sitting right up on the wheel, air bags be damned*. My elbows are bent at pretty much a 90° angle when I'm holding the wheel at 9 & 3. It's not the safest, I know, as my knees are within an inch of the bottom of the dash. The position did help me save a tank-slapper once, so it "paid" for itself in that regard. I use this seating position on the street.
To be honest, haven't thought too much about it, definitely not concerns about the airbag. I can probably pull the wheel closer to me, but then I stop being able to see the bottom of the instrument cluster. Short people problems...

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Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
Was this your trailer's first outing? Isn't it nice having one?
Not the first time, I hauled my friend's car a few times when I first got it, and now my "proper" racecar a few more before this weekend. (And it's more than nice!) First time with the F22 though, which is both wider/taller and 1000 lbs heavier than I anything I'd towed in it. There was a lot of "measure 5 times, drill once" when I was making sure the F22 fits under that tire rack...
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      09-08-2020, 03:02 PM   #4
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Hi,

May I ask what software and hardware were you used for the video recording with the corresponding data shown?
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      09-08-2020, 11:17 PM   #5
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Quote:
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May I ask what software and hardware were you used for the video recording with the corresponding data shown?
Of course. For HW, I have a GoPro for the video (hero 6) and an AiM Solo 2 DL for the data. I've described how I connected it to the CAN bus here.

For SW, RaceRender. It's ... fine -- a bit of a pain to align the data and video the first few times until you get a good workflow going, but after that pretty easy.
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      09-13-2020, 05:45 PM   #6
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Awesome! I tracked my M240i for the first time a few weeks ago and have a 10/10 and 11/28 track day, both at Thill West w/ Turn8.

I need you in the pass seat as an instructor, great line and smooth driving!
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      09-13-2020, 08:01 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyeC View Post
Awesome! I tracked my M240i for the first time a few weeks ago and have a 10/10 and 11/28 track day, both at Thill West w/ Turn8.

I need you in the pass seat as an instructor, great line and smooth driving!
Nice, keep tracking it! And say hi to Rome at Turn8 from me. Happy to right-seat any time, especially at West -- it's easily my favorite track in the area. I'll definitely miss the Oct date (NASA race weekend at Sonoma), but might be able to pull off the Nov one.

Last edited by msendit; 09-15-2020 at 09:38 AM..
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      10-04-2020, 09:59 PM   #8
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Driving looked great! The gear whine is awesome. We need some updated pics of your car too!
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      10-04-2020, 10:12 PM   #9
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Nice... Looking good...

Seems like you are left foot braking...
It takes a while to get used to it but it saves quite a bit of time on the transitions...and the overlapping is helpful
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      10-04-2020, 11:39 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K8_M235i View Post
Driving looked great! The gear whine is awesome. We need some updated pics of your car too!
Hah, thanks! Funny you should mention the diff whine -- I just spent the drive back from the track this weekend obsessing there's a new pitch to it. Might be time for new clutch packs...

And, twist my arm for more pics. I should probably update my build thread too, it's been a while -- current setup is much lighter, way stiffer springs, different dampers, lower ride height, and a different rollbar. Oh, have been testing some Nankang AR1s too -- first impressions are pretty positive, but need more time with them to make up my mind.

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Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
Seems like you are left foot braking...
Definitely. Even on the street, I left-foot brake two-pedal cars. Makes no sense to me not to use one foot only because it's considered a "bad habit" or something...

That's actually been my biggest issue over the last few months learning to track a three-pedal car -- teaching the right foot how to brake as well. It's harder to trailbrake well when it's constantly switching between the gas and the brake.







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      10-05-2020, 08:21 AM   #11
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K8_M235i View Post
Driving looked great! The gear whine is awesome. We need some updated pics of your car too!
Hah, thanks! Funny you should mention the diff whine -- I just spent the drive back from the track this weekend obsessing there's a new pitch to it. Might be time for new clutch packs...

And, twist my arm for more pics. I should probably update my build thread too, it's been a while -- current setup is much lighter, way stiffer springs, different dampers, lower ride height, and a different rollbar. Oh, have been testing some Nankang AR1s too -- first impressions are pretty positive, but need more time with them to make up my mind.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
Seems like you are left foot braking...
Definitely. Even on the street, I left-foot brake two-pedal cars. Makes no sense to me not to use one foot only because it's considered a "bad habit" or something...

That's actually been my biggest issue over the last few months learning to track a three-pedal car -- teaching the right foot how to brake as well. It's harder to trailbrake well when it's constantly switching between the gas and the brake.







Wow it looks so good. That roll bar also looks great, much tighter to the roof than every prefab bar.
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      10-05-2020, 08:34 AM   #12
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Is that a vinyl wrap?
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      10-06-2020, 01:59 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K8_M235i View Post
That roll bar also looks great, much tighter to the roof than every prefab bar.
That's the main reason we refreshed it. Once I stripped the interior and took out the sunroof mechanism, the old bar was multiple inches from both the roof and the sides. Plus, this one's welded in, not bolted -- if (err, when?) this car goes racing, all it would need is the front half...

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Is that a vinyl wrap?
Yup. That's the fine folks at SFGWraps. I'm a bit biased, but they've made liveries for some beautiful racecars.
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      10-17-2020, 01:20 PM   #14
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Just moved up here from LA. Hopefully will see you out there at Sonoma. Heading out to the karting track on Monday to get my first taste of it
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      02-09-2021, 10:30 AM   #15
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Ok, here's another Sonoma video. Same format -- 3 consecutive laps within the second.

Slightly faster, but there's some cheating -- a used set of Nankang AR-1s vs new RE71rs. I'm starting to really like the Nankangs, but definitely not using them fully on Sonoma -- as my friend put it, every corner here needs some special cajoling.

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      02-15-2021, 11:10 PM   #16
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Here's a lap from September of last year at one of the performance driving class days. I am definitely still a novice, and don't have any data logging, but wanted to contribute to the thread.

In my stock M240i

https://youtu.be/Q4p7QS2yTPQ
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      08-23-2021, 09:48 AM   #17
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Here's some more Sonoma footage. Mostly messing around with a friend in his beastly Camaro ZL1 1LE, and trying desperately to catch up.
1:51 pace on Toyo RRs.



Someone brought a shiny new M2 CSR as well, which was also fun to play HPDE tag with for a couple of laps. No good video from that though.

Last edited by msendit; 08-23-2021 at 09:59 AM..
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      08-31-2021, 01:49 AM   #18
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Since there was some interest in NASA TT, here's what a full TT session looks like. We grid by time, and try to bunch the pack up on the outlap (while warming tires) so the faster cars have a chance to get a clean lap or two before catching the tail end of the pack. Especially at Sonoma, the track gets significantly slower after the first morning session, so that lap or two is your chance for a good time for the day.

This time, I got an extra warmup lap (thanks, stock-looking car, that clearly missed their grid slot). After a couple of laps, I decided to slice through the pack (which was smaller than usual) and got rewarded with another clean lap at the end.

Some of the closing speed differences are on the large side, but in general NASA TT drivers are fairly aware and it's not a problem. Honestly, I wouldn't move through as aggressively in a typical HPDE org.

Tires are Hankook Z214, best lap 1:50.7, starting around the 14-minute mark.


Last edited by msendit; 08-31-2021 at 02:14 AM..
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      08-31-2021, 09:45 AM   #19
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Your fast lap looked good. Is that among the faster laps you've run at Sears Point? (FWIW, I've got no idea at all what a fast lap time for our cars would be at that track.)

I struggled with NASA's TT format. At two events I never saw a clean lap like the one you were able to enjoy.

The COM time trial club out of Mass runs a format that begins with six 20-minute practice sessions (four on Day 1 and two in the morning of Day 2). After lunch on Day 2, cars with roughly the same best lap times are grouped three at a time and sent out at 30-second intervals. You have the track to yourself as you run an out-lap, three timed laps, and then an in-lap. No excuses for slow lap times there!
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      08-31-2021, 06:41 PM   #20
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Yeah, that's the fastest I've run so far. Though lately I keep cheating with more and more aggressive tires. It doesn't help that when I find a tire I like, it suddenly runs out of stock :-)

As to what our cars can do at Sears... Good question. I guess the typical "track day" spec (255 tires, brakes, some suspension) would be in the 1:55-2 range.

As immodest as it sounds, I think I'm pretty dialed in my current setup with these 50s -- probably within 1-1.5 sec off of the car's limit. Last time a pro jumped in, we were a few tenths off each other, this weekend the schedule didn't quite work (I was also racing spec miata), or another one would have set a reference. But the car isn't built to a specific racing class -- a properly built TT3/ST3 car (where it currently slots) can do 43-45, which is a very very different ballgame.
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      12-04-2021, 05:28 AM   #21
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Pardon the not-a-2er video. But it's still Sonoma, and still a BMW driver... And there's drones!

Thought it was too cool not to share:

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      03-20-2022, 05:42 PM   #22
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A little shakedown video from Sonoma, as the m240 is getting closer to race-ready form.

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