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01-20-2014, 07:30 PM | #1 |
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First track experience in the Z
Hi everyone, I recently got a taste of motorsport in my Z4 and wanted to share my experience online (and document it before I forget this feeling). I’m not good at writing or organising my thoughts, and doing both is definitely asking for trouble. Maybe...just maybe you’ll have the patience to read through it all and possibly share in my experience.
Motorsport - Everyone should try this at least once in their lifetime....or 20 bazillion times....like I plan to. This past weekend there was a CAMS Come and Try day at Eastern Creek Raceway Park in Sydney, so me and my Z went to investigate. The cost for the 3 hour event was $50 and we were promised two sessions – Supersprint & motorkhana. (CAMS: Confederation of Australian Motorsports and is the governing body controlling all motorsports in Australia) Now a bit about me - I’ve had my Z since Sep 2013 and haven’t had the chance to even begin exploring its limits. So, as you can imagine, I was itching to see what it’s like when driven with gusto in a safe/controlled environment. My Z is a standard 2013 sdrive28i with the MSport pack, 19” 326 wheels & the 8sp ZF transmission. No modifications. So, on Saturday morning I woke up early (6am) as I just couldn’t wait any longer. It was stinking hot – 30deg C and would hit 40deg C later in the day. I removed all loose items from the car and left for the track at 8am. 1st step was registration where you sign a few forms. Then it was off to scrutineering and once passed I had a bit of a wait for the drivers briefing session. Drivers Briefing: We were told that we must have a coach riding along in the passenger seat during both events and the track was limited to 160km/h, no overtaking in corners, no dangerous driving, no drifting & how to watch/interpret the different flag colors from the flag officials. A few other rules were explained and I was ready to go out and have some fun. The first event was motorkhana. A cone circuit was setup on a wet skidpan & on paper it looked fairly basic and easy. (Driving it was a different matter all together and made me severely doubt if I had any sense of direction at all). I improved after a couple of runs and was happy to see a marked improvement in my times. The Z has a lot of grip to offer when handled with care and rewards you with a sharp turn-in if you’re not being too ham fisted. (Me = ham fisted x 10). Motorkhana is intense! Loads of quick sharp direction changes and delicate throttle inputs combined with thinking 3-4 turns ahead had me buggered by the end of the session. This is also where I felt that a proper handbrake would’ve been nice for a few 180 deg turns. Nevertheless I have a long way to go before that becomes the only handicap in improving lap times. Next up was the Supersprint. This was held on the north circuit which has a few challenging turns and a switchback with elevation change (Trying to sound technical here). I focused on driving smoothly and learning the track on the first couple of laps, taking it easy and just following the car in front. On the 3rd lap, my coach encouraged me to open it up a bit. So off we went chasing down the car in front, then the next and the one after that. I was in heaven! The N26 was so eager and quick to climb the revs. It felt like I was nowhere near the limits of adhesion & the car was definitely out driving me. It felt so sweet to flick it into corners with confidence. The balance is wonderful, sport seats hold you snug, suspension keeps it near flat and stable, good feedback from the steering, brake feel is tight, the exhaust growls, intake roars....everything works in harmony to carve out corners and devour them with pleasure, and then eagerly goes hunting for the next one. This is my first auto car & the ZF is a pure delight (feels similar to a DCT). Throughout the day I was in Sport Plus & manual shifting up and down the gears using the paddles. The shifts were quick and snappy, hardly any noticeable lag. I don’t think I could shift faster in a manual car. For those of you who have thought about motorsports but hesitated to take your Z to the track, let me tell you....you are missing out. The Z feels like it was made for racing. You sit low slung & cosseted in a driver focused cockpit. The whole car feels like it pivots around your hip & it makes all the right sounds and goes fairly quick to boot. I’ve experienced a whole new side to the Z and can’t wait to try it out some more. Best of all, after spending the afternoon hoofing it around a track it was time to head home. So, I put it in comfort mode, A/C on full blast, my favourite tunes playing via Bluetooth and cruised home smiling brighter than the afternoon sun. What a superb machine! I’m completely blown away by the Z’s performance & all round capability......and so chuffed that I didn’t prang it. I’ve now applied for a CAMS Level 2 Speed license and looking forward to the next Super sprint day being held by my local BMW club. Lastly, I wish I had pics but sadly I forgot to pack my cam in my early morning excitement. Next time for sure. Hope you enjoyed reading about my experience and maybe this will encourage those who’re on the fence to go out and try it for themselves. |
01-20-2014, 10:16 PM | #2 |
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Welcome to the world of high performance driving!!! So glad to hear about another Z owner taking their car to the track and experiencing the potential for this chassis. Keep us posted on your future sessions.
Bill
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Club Organizer, Garden State Euros Motorsport Division 2014 Glacier Silver Z4 28i M Sport - See the build thread: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=950367 |
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01-21-2014, 12:54 AM | #3 |
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01-21-2014, 01:28 AM | #4 |
eh
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Awesome to hear you enjoyed the track day!
Good to read your notes about throwing the 4-banger around the track as well; I remember test driving the sDrive28i and getting a sense for the nose being noticeably lighter than my sDrive35i. It probably makes initial turn-in a bit easier for you; I feel like I'm on the edge of oversteer when trying to get my Z around the autocross. |
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01-21-2014, 04:47 AM | #5 | |||
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01-21-2014, 09:36 AM | #7 |
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Drives: 2012 E89 Z4 35is
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Calgary, Canada
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Thanks for sharing!
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Current: 2012 E89 Z4 35is Previous: 2008 E92 335i Coupe, 2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B, 1993 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin-Turbo AWD, 1994 Ford Taurus SHO |
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01-21-2014, 12:42 PM | #9 | |
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DSC off you can definitely spin it (so watch out when you are in that mode) Take pics next time |
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01-21-2014, 01:25 PM | #10 |
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Sport+ mode is the better option I think... better throttle response and DSC is disabled. The stock setup and alignment is really prone to understeer when pushing hard on the track. Removing some rear camber can help a bit.
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Driver, Ratchet Head Racing #93 BMW Z4
Club Organizer, Garden State Euros Motorsport Division 2014 Glacier Silver Z4 28i M Sport - See the build thread: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=950367 |
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01-21-2014, 04:54 PM | #12 | ||||
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Cheers mate. Quote:
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Oh How I wish I had some action shots... I will aim to get some shots and hopefully an in-car vid the next time round for sure. |
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01-23-2014, 05:34 PM | #13 |
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Dude I'm sorry but our cars are HORRIBLE for the track, completely terrible.
Understeer dogs with too much body roll, and don't even get me started on brake fade. |
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01-23-2014, 06:24 PM | #14 | |
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Remember for a lot of people its not about going out on the track to be competitive, its just for fun. Going out on the track in ANY car is worth the experience to push the car to the limit in a safe environment. At the end of the day, learning how to drive properly on the track will make you a better driver on the street. Most production cars have issues with brake fade when pushed hard on the track. Simply replace the pads with Hawk mixed used pads and use a fluid with a higher boiling temp will resolve this rather inexpensively. If you're more serious about tracking the Z4, the suspension can be upgraded to the point where the car feels very well balanced. See this thread: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=879624
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Driver, Ratchet Head Racing #93 BMW Z4
Club Organizer, Garden State Euros Motorsport Division 2014 Glacier Silver Z4 28i M Sport - See the build thread: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=950367 |
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01-23-2014, 07:47 PM | #15 |
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I did take it to Laguna Seca, it was not fun at all.
I'm comparing it to my Lotus Sport Elise though, i can see if you haven't driven anything else you can think the Z4 is good. but it really isn't. The pads sure you can replace, but if you do I'm not sure BMW will replace them free of charge anymore if you are under warranty. Don't get me wrong, i like my car. But it's purpose is not the track. |
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01-23-2014, 09:33 PM | #16 |
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It will definitely take some money to prep the E89 for serious track use and there are indeed better "bang for the buck" starting points, but let's not take away from the OP's thread by having this conversation here.
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