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      02-01-2013, 08:12 PM   #2
JMK007
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Drives: 335 M Sport, RWD
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Chicago, IL.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by stom_m3 View Post
I'm thinking about doing some track time and wanted some input on options. My car is a MSport 335i and the thought is to do 3-4 track days a year and a handful of autocross courses.

Wheels - I was planning on running a square setup 18x8 or 8.5 with a ET32-38. I'm hoping this will be slightly cheaper to run since I can rotate tires if needed. Also the front end is really space constrained. I checked spacing and the top of the tire is about 1/2" away and the strut is about the same.

Tires - I was going to run 235/35/18 Hankook RS3. The tires will be 0.5" smaller in diameter which should help with gearing and clearance. The tires will be slightly wider but I should be ok. I've never run the Hankooks before but from what I've read they seemed to be a decent tire. I didn't want a full blown R compound tire because I'm probably going to be driving on them to whatever event I go to close and far. Anyone have experience with these or other aggressive street tires? The input would be appreciated.

TPMS - My Toyota requires me to take it in to the dealer to re-initialize different wheels/sensors. I don't believe I need to do that with the BMW. It seems like I can swap tires and use the reset/recalibrate menu to initialize the different set of wheels. Am I understanding that correctly?

Brakes - I may run the stock pads and rotors but didn't know if they would fade. Does anyone have any experience with the F30 on the track yet? Have you had any issues with fading?

Brake Fluid - I can't find in the owners manual what type of brake fluid they use. I'm thinking that I would be ok if they are using DOT 4 fluid but may want to change to ATE Blue to have a little higher boiling point. Anyone make the switch yet to a higher grade fluid? Are they running DOT 4 or 5?

Thanks for the help,
Regarding wheels, I would strongly consider 17" wheels because they are lighter and may allow you to run a wider tire clearance wise. That is what I will likely do unless I determine I want a BBK and can't fit them under 17's. If you run into clearance problems, whether with 17s or 18s, camber and/or spacers may help things.

Regarding tires, I have no experience with the Hankooks. I like Dunlap Direzza Star Specs for a street/track tire. The are good combination of durability, performance, and predictability.

Regarding the TPMS, I was at Tirerack the other day and they swapped over the sensors from my summer wheels to my new winter wheels. I'm not sure they had to reset anything; my TPMS warning light was on for the first few miles afterwards and then turned off. On my prior GTI, I never had to reset anything when swapping between my daily wheels and track wheels.

Regarding brakes, Mocohead indicated the stock ones were pretty good but he suggested he was not going 10/10ths in terms of braking. I believe he also used the stock fluid. Because I will be pushing the car hard in NASA TT, I will almost certainly be going with race pads and Motul RBF 600 or better fluid. I always rather be safe than sorry when it comes to brakes.

Sorry I can't be more help but I just got the car, live in Chicago, and will not track it until May or so. The folks in the South and West have no excuse not to get out there now
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SCCA & Midwestern Council W2W, '91 Spec Miata, '07
NASA TTD Champion, Midwest, '99 M3, '09
Midwstrn Council TT Champion, BS, '10 GTI, '10 &'11
Midwestern Council TT Champion, BS, ‘17 BRZ, ‘19
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