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      10-02-2012, 08:26 AM   #1
mocohead
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F30 328i On Track at Driver's School

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I recently had the opportunity to drive my Sportline 6MT and a customer's no line 328i automatic on the infield road course at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

No line - What an amazing package the F30 is right off the shelf. First I will comment that I was instructing in the novice group in an E90 M3. The owner of this no line 328i passed my student virtually every session. Because of the F30's excellent corner speed and exit speed, the M3 couldn't catch the 328i on the straights! It was interesting to observe.

Driving the no line was great. It was light, nimble, tossable and incredibly quick. Grip from the all season tires was remarkable. Power was just right rendering the car SO EASY to drive on the track. The brakes felt great, transmission shifted perfectly and...OMG the balance of this chassis is truly impressive.

6MT Sportline - I only got to drive one session because like an idiot I cross-threaded one of the rear lug bolts changing wheels so my day was done at that point. However during that one session I was just giddy. Like I noted with the no line car, the balance of the F30 328i chassis is unbelievable. There is none of that dramatic understeer like in my e92 335i and the power delivery was so smooth that getting on throttle early and aggressively barely upset the chassis. Because the weight is all centered toward the middle of the car, it rotates perfectly and has just the right amount of weight transfer.

There are two critical weaknesses - brakes and alignment. Unlike older versions of BMW's, the alignment pins at the top of the front shock towers do not seem to allow removal for more negative camber. The only solution is going to be camber plates. The lack of negative camber in front destroyed the outside shoulder of my tires so we really need to deal with that.

Regarding brakes I did a small mod to try to help cooling. I cut out the rear half of the dust shields and added some Porsche GT3 brake scoops (modified a bit) to the rear control arm. While I ordered some custom CarboTech RP2 brake pads for this event, they did not arrive in time so I was using the OEM pads. Despite it being 108 outside and my running with the most advanced students and instructors, on very sticky tires, the brakes never faded. Still we need better cooling and the aftermarket really needs to come out with pad choices for our cars.

Here is a video shot from my spy sunglasses (really.. $20 from ebay). It is short and I had to lower the quality for uploading but you get the drift. Note that the students paid to be on track so I let slower cars pass out of respect for their time.

Enjoy!


Last edited by mocohead; 10-02-2012 at 09:09 PM..
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      10-02-2012, 09:09 PM   #2
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Here is another view of the same action

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      10-02-2012, 09:46 PM   #3
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Thanks for sharing!

The F30 328i really shines on the track, I'd encourage others to get some instruction or join their local clubs to participate and see what their cars can do.

Just remember to keep ambition under capability!
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      12-24-2012, 02:21 PM   #4
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I searched on google for "f30 328i on track" and this was the top search. I guess not too many out there yet. The f30post on the forum doesn't even have a "track / autox" thread like the other posts do.

Can't wait for the cca event. I see that the oktoberfest is already scheduled and there will be car control clinics / autox / and LAGUNA SECA??!! should be awesome.

Moco I recently went out to SOW with another member out here and it was fun but WAY too crowded. Wishing there will be an event with the la chapter real soon!
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      12-24-2012, 02:46 PM   #5
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Did the no-line have the DHP or was it completely base model?
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      12-24-2012, 05:46 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
Did the no-line have the DHP or was it completely base model?
Completely base...
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      12-24-2012, 05:46 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pkim1079 View Post
I searched on google for "f30 328i on track" and this was the top search. I guess not too many out there yet. The f30post on the forum doesn't even have a "track / autox" thread like the other posts do.

Can't wait for the cca event. I see that the oktoberfest is already scheduled and there will be car control clinics / autox / and LAGUNA SECA??!! should be awesome.

Moco I recently went out to SOW with another member out here and it was fun but WAY too crowded. Wishing there will be an event with the la chapter real soon!
You should go to O'Fest. It will be really fun! Hope to see you there.

Glad you changed your signature too!!!!
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      12-24-2012, 11:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mocohead
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkim1079 View Post
I searched on google for "f30 328i on track" and this was the top search. I guess not too many out there yet. The f30post on the forum doesn't even have a "track / autox" thread like the other posts do.

Can't wait for the cca event. I see that the oktoberfest is already scheduled and there will be car control clinics / autox / and LAGUNA SECA??!! should be awesome.

Moco I recently went out to SOW with another member out here and it was fun but WAY too crowded. Wishing there will be an event with the la chapter real soon!
You should go to O'Fest. It will be really fun! Hope to see you there.

Glad you changed your signature too!!!!
Haha. Yep. Driver mod. Now i just need to tune my driver software like yours!!
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      12-25-2012, 11:26 AM   #9
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Nothing better than taking your car to the track!!

Now imagine how capable the car would be with good tires, a tighter suspension and the brake upgrade you mention!!! It would be even more fun.

I'm surprised you didn't get brake fade on OEM pads/fluid. Maybe you weren't pushing the car hard enough? I was able to get very bad fade on my 2011 E92 M3 on OEM pads/fluid and those brakes were otherwise very good (I would bet much better than the F30 328). A fluid swap and more track oriented pads fixed the issue and were well worth the upgrade.
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      12-26-2012, 04:10 AM   #10
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My next to get items are pads. This particular course only had a couple real hard braking zones coming from straights. And we arent getting to m3 speeds on those lol.

For me, gotta get more seat time before adding all those mods. And id rather save the money for the m2!! That car better make it to the showroom.
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      01-01-2013, 07:37 PM   #11
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Looking forward to my next track day.
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      01-01-2013, 08:43 PM   #12
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Quote:
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Looking forward to my next track day.
Me too!
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      01-01-2013, 09:31 PM   #13
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We need an Autocross/Track day header on this forum.
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      01-02-2013, 09:30 AM   #14
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Lets do this! All in socal?

Alpine should we do SOW again?
Im down for three runs again but none of that course reading lap this time.
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