droid42

Hi all,

I've just got back from my first trackday since taking delivery of my E46 M3. At last!

I had to get up at around 5:30am this morning to get to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground (near Leicester) at 8:30am. I was glad to see a reasonable number of slightly more interesting cars than I usually see at the Mitsubishi Lancer Register trackdays I've attended in the past; Ferrari 355 and 456, Porsche 911, 968CS, 911 Carrera 4 etc., 4 Caterhams, Maserati 3200GT, couple of Lancers, couple of single-seaters, 3 Lotus Elises. There were only 30 cars in total which meant I could look forward to almost unlimited tracktime.

For the morning session, the track was wet and it looked unlikely that it would dry out. I drove around with DSC switched on at a reasonably relaxed pace ... first impressions were promising although it was hard to really get a proper feel for the car.

During lunch the organisers opened up the full 2-mile straight so we could all try a top speed run. I managed an indicated 157mph on the clock before I ran out of space, and I suspect I had just started to brush up against the limiter. Shame. Car was solid as a rock though.

After lunch, and now with a dry track, I really had a chance to get a feel for the car:

Steering - near perfect. You might think it's a little light for road use, but once it loads up during heavy cornering, the feel is spot-on. It could do with being a tad quicker but I suspect I'm just being picky.

Grip - plenty of it. It was a clockwise track (like most tracks in the UK) and the edges of my two left-hand tyres are now toast. It looks like someone built the tyre out of black treacle then smeared the surface with a knife. They even look bad enough to fool the wife into believing I really need to buy those Bridgestone S-03s early (245/35R19 front, 275/30R19 rear) but I'm sure a few road miles will have them looking normal again.

Handling - much better than I hoped, and I already started off with very high expectations based on 4 months public road use. The track was very, very fast and once I figured out that the quickest way around was to stay in 4th gear for 90% of the lap I was floating around deceptively quickly. The chassis is so much more fluid than my previous M3 Evolution and is unbelievably balanced. Also, anyone who says this car suffers from understeer must have forgotten to switch the DSC off ... a push on the throttle at any speed is enough to get the car back into line immediately. Amazing.

DSC - OK for the road but crap for the track. Don't even bother to leave it on for a couple of laps if it's dry.

Brakes - very strong but very variable pedal feel. What I mean by this is that the braking effiency hardly changed after several repeated 140mph-70mph , but the pedal became more spongy as time went on. DOT 5.1 brake fluid and fast road pads next time I think.

There were a number of cars I could keep up with easily and pass ... All of the Porsches except the 968CS (very well driven) and the race-spec 993, Maserati (too easy and crap driver), Ferrari 456 (too heavy). I had a ride in the 355 and I don't think I would have kept up (this is an awesome car and I'm even more convinced now that I want to own one someday).

Brilliant day. Brilliant car.

Ian.

Myron

Sounds like you had a GREAT time at the track!

Got any pictures from the track-day?

greg

Great report - thanks. I can't wait for a drive in the new M3. It seems to defy logic - a fairly soft ride, a bit of body roll, but really good handling.

4th gear 90% of the way - that is a fast track!

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droid42

Yes, it most definitely was but I wouldn't have been able to do that in most cars (certainly not my previous E36 M3) such is the spread of torque across the rpm range and the car's balance.

An example ... I started off entering the first chicane in 3rd gear and balancing and gently increasing the throttle through both bends to exit high up the rev. range at around 80mph. I then had the choice to change up to 4th for the next imminent bend (and possibly unbalancing the car) or leaving it in 3rd and hanging off the throttle until I exited. Net effect was to leave that final bend at around 85-90mph (traction was limited in 3rd gear).

Entering the chicane in 4th allowed me to carry more speed in, brake later then just nail the accelerator all the way through the chicane. I continued to nail the accelerator entering the final bend and was exiting that at around 95mph-100mph with a nice run to the limiter at nearly 140mph before the next chicane. Fantastic. The chassis just responded to the challenge all the way through and I'm not sure I could have got away with this in many other cars.

Ian.

JohnH

Ian, Sounds as though you had a great time and showed some of the more exotic cars what an M3 can do. Hope you kept the baby seat in just to rub salt in the wound!! Do you have Michelins or Contis on at the moment? Any reason for wanting to go to the S03s?

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droid42

John,

A couple of reasons why I'm keen to get some S-03s as soon as possible:

- I'm already a big fan of S-02s having got through about 3 sets on my M3 Evolution. Absolutely nothing is better in the wet (IMHO), they're quiet and they don't turn into treacle after a heavy trackday. The very hot trackday I did at Snetterton last year is testament to that.

- Everything I've read about the S-03s implies they're even better than S-02s.

- A general point about getting new tyres ... I'm convinced that the stock tyres are far too narrow for the 19" wheels. They're the same size as those fitted to the 18" but the 19's are wider wheels than the 18's. Very easy to kerb as a result.

- The M3 chassis seems to cope well with bags of grip without spoiling the fun ... I think 245(f) and 275(r) will still result in an entertaining drive and I reckon the wet performance of the wider S-03s will still be about the same as the standard Pilots.

I'm going to call Bracknell Tyre & Battery (easily the cheapest tyres in Berkshire) a call on Monday to find out prices. I reckon it will be about £170 for a rear and £150 for a front ... or maybe more. Go to a standard tyre fitting place (Kwik-fit etc.) and you can add another £60 a wheel to those prices.

Have you given your car a good hard drive yet after its running in service? What do you think?

Ian.

droid42

Myron,

Sorry, no pictures. I have a couple of MPEGs though ... one of the Ferrari 355 taking off for its top-speed run and a couple pointed at my speedo while doing my own run. The final one shows my hand waving in the air in disgust as I realised I could have gone another 200m before having to brake!

Ian.

EBMCS03

Post the MPEGs... I'm sure some we are all interested in seeing them

Mr. Grinch

Thanks for the post Ian! I look forward to your driving reviews and comments all the time. It is especially interesting to hear the M3 compared to cars which simply don't exist on this side of the ocean.

Monday BMW is having a track day here but I have to work. I'll definately have to spend time at the local track when possible. Actually I heard a new road course was recently built too but don't know much about it yet. Getting on the drag strip here is dirt cheap... basically the cost of an inspection plus fuel if you want to use higher octane stuff.

Simon at Evosport says they typically sell the imported 19" wheels in the US with S03s installed... same sizes as you are considering, I think. However, he did say that the bigger size was not enough to affect curbing.... I thought Bridgestones had a decent rim protector on them.

As much as I'd like to get some, I don't think I'll be buying S03s for a while. I'll have to spend $2400 on winter wheels / tires. Plus I want things like M3 floor mats, tinted windows, stonguard, etc. Along with a new house, this stuff adds up! I actually like the factory 18" but it's a shame the paint job is not very durable. The polished 19" are definately better looking... I wish I could get 18" in the same construction.

Look forward to more posts, and glad to hear the M3 has recovered fully from the cam problems.

droid42

Mr. Grinch,

Yes, my engine has definitely recovered from the camshaft problems ... during the whole 150 odd miles I covered on the track, it spent most of its time at around 7500rpm (until I figured out the "4th gear thing" later in the day). No problems and the oil temperature only went up by around 12 deg. C.

Hope you're well and hope your wait is bearable. Did you read about MK Boy on bimmer.org?

Ian.

Mr. Grinch

Yes I did see the news on bimmer.org this morning. It's quite sad and unfortunate.