[em5464]

Sorry this is about a week late, however we had a lot of fun out there at Buttonwillow with the Porsches and BMWs.....thanks Fred for putting this together.

It was also fun meeting Mike Mottati and James....nice cars. The track temperature was somewhere around 150 and it was just way too hot, however I had a blast.

Check out some photos from the track....


Ed

A very difficult track with lots of turns...

 

[em5464]

Sorry, having some difficulty posting the other photos....

 

[em5464]

Finally......:byee55amg

 

[drallen]

Finally......:byee55amg

em5464,

Nice pics...

What were your camber settings?...What type of suspension?

Looks like your were having fun....

Mark

 

[em5464]

Thanks Drallen,

I've got -2.5 camber, on the rear and -1.2 on the front, running with KW coilovers variant 1....

it was a lot of fun, cannot wait to get back out there next month. but I need to get a set of stock M5 wheels as my dedicated track wheels.



Ed

 

[MPRESIV]

Nice pics...

BTW, any close-up pics of your wheels?

 

[tfung]

nice pics.. how many M5's were there at the event?

 

[mottati]

nice pics.. how many M5's were there at the event?

just the three of us, plus one local visitor!
Mike

 

[6spd]

I wish I could have been there to meet you guys, thats close to home for me.
Maybe next time.
We test out there every so often, fun track to play on.

 

[Ashok Arora]

Very nice! :thumbsup:

 

[Ducman69]

This is over a week late but I finally have some pictures from the track event at Buttonwillow. It was very nice to meet Mike, Ed, Murph and Boz. Murph was in his E30 race car running with full race Vipers and Porsches and Boz stopped by to say hello. These guys and the others at the event were very cool and no one had any attitude like you sometimes get at track events. In some of the pictures, you can see Mike giving me some tips on driving the Beast on the track. I went for a ride with him and he can really hustle his car around the track. He definitely was keeping up with the guys in their Porsche Twin Turbos. After a few sessions and getting comfortable with my car, I was able to pass a Porsche GT3, NSX and an E46 M3. The next time I head out to the track will be in mid August at CA Speedway with BMW CCA. I should have the H&R Coil-overs installed by then.

I did experience some problems on the track. My car went into limp mode and the SES light came on during two separate sessions. The problem was solved by restarting and fortunately Boz had his Peake tool to scan my codes which said Misfire Cyl 1. The other problem was the coolant temp. The oil temp went just beyond the normal operating temperature, but the coolant would go straight to red 10-15 minutes into the session. I would just back off a little and short shift and the coolant would go back down, but I hope there is a solution to this. I do remeber reading a thread awhile ago about a better radiator that might help. Also, when I asked Ed about how his car was running, he mentioned that he did not have any problems with the coolant going into the red like Mike and I did. Ed mentioned that he had Red LIne Water Wetter in his coolant. I may have to give this a try next time. One more thing. Mike informed me about my sway bar brackets that were broken. I didn't even know, although I did purchase a few extra stock brackets from the dealer the week before. The weather was so frickin hot, I decided to continue the rest of the day status quo and deal with the brackets later. Maybe that is why my car was understeering so much, lol.

Anyways, enjoy the pictures.

 

[mottati]

it might be worth removing the belly pan next (hot) track event to see if that improves airflow thru the engine compartment. The water wetter might be worthwhile too. Ed, did you just pour it into the overflow tank?

James, we both have the evosport pullies... i wonder. I wouldn't think that would make much difference at hight engine speeds, but maybe not enough coolant flow in extreme temps. I know of a couple of other instructors who track their M5 and they do have the same trouble in 100+ weathe(without the underdrive pullies). Seems to take 5 or so hard laps, i had some really open track the session that my temps went up. Oil temps around 240-250 are the norm for me on track, i think that is ok, but this was the first time my coolant temp gauge moved (near the 2/3 -3/4 mark). It dropped back down pretty quickly, definately in less than half a lap just by easing off a touch. Oil temps were consistant, 250ish.
Mike

 

[6spd]

I looked for info on the August event and didn't see it listed with the BMW CCA. Would you know of a link that could give some info, I'd like to try that track.

 

[em5464]

it might be worth removing the belly pan next (hot) track event to see if that improves airflow thru the engine compartment. The water wetter might be worthwhile too. Ed, did you just pour it into the overflow tank?

James, we both have the evosport pullies... i wonder. I wouldn't think that would make much difference at hight engine speeds, but maybe not enough coolant flow in extreme temps. I know of a couple of other instructors who track their M5 and they do have the same trouble in 100+ weathe(without the underdrive pullies). Seems to take 5 or so hard laps, i had some really open track the session that my temps went up. Oil temps around 240-250 are the norm for me on track, i think that is ok, but this was the first time my coolant temp gauge moved (near the 2/3 -3/4 mark). It dropped back down pretty quickly, definately in less than half a lap just by easing off a touch. Oil temps were consistant, 250ish.
Mike

Mike and James,

Sorry about the confusion, but I didn't use Waterwetter....What I've done was an oil change with Red LIne Oil 10W-40 and RedLine power steering fluid.

I was told by my mechanic that the RedLine Oil will give me better protection out in 100 degree weather.....and it sure did...temps on the gauges were just normal.

My oil temps were the highest I've seen them, around 250 or so, but my coolant was steady in the middle...

Hey guys, I'm thinking about Buttonwillow again on the 26th Aug, with
Speedventures.net It's $160 for 1 day (Friday), about 2.5hrs of track....


Ed

 

[Chuckc]

I looked for info on the August event and didn't see it listed with the BMW CCA. Would you know of a link that could give some info, I'd like to try that track.

I believe the central california chapter usually has an event in September. I did not see it listed. Call them direct and see what the story is. They put on an excellent school.

 

[Gustav]

Nice pics!