[QTC]

Road Atlanta looks like a fun track - some serious elevation change. Thanks for posting

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by kevbh

In terms of the weight debate, having manual seats should result in a significant weight savings. Also important is my car not having a sunroof.

Is the F30 like the E90 in that the manual seat is 1" lower at the lowest setting?

Manual seat and no sunroof would give +2" headroom which is so great for helmet room.

[kevbh]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Is the F30 like the E90 in that the manual seat is 1" lower at the lowest setting?

Manual seat and no sunroof would give +2" headroom which is so great for helmet room.

The manual seat definitely drops down pretty low, and the lack of a sunroof combines for significant head room. A couple of my friends that have headroom issues in most cars with a helmet have plenty of room in the 320i.

[Jamesons Viggen]

320 and 328, both do not have standard sunroofs. The 335 does.

Most cars I have had, euro cars like my Viggen, the non-sunroof cars were rare and used at the driving schools. They were 50lbs lighter-not to mention some argue a small percentage stiffer.

[ronin951]

Originally Posted by kevbh

Yes, I think 1:50 is attainable given your car and level of prep. Just keep getting seat time and working with instructors, and you'll keep building speed. One easy way to pick up time from looking at your video, for example, would be to stay full throttle down the back straight until you are half way down the hill, then go immediately to full brakes. I was hitting 116-119 mph before braking, whereas you were cruising at about 111 and then coasted a little before braking. Just compressing your braking zones would do wonders. Do the same on the front straight and between T5 and T6 and you'll be well on your way.

Thanks for the tip. I definitely wimped out in a lot of areas. Mainly because of the vibration I was getting on hard braking as well as the touchy pads. Basically any trail braking was non-existent. After examining the rotors later I think the pads weren't bedded properly...or it was a byproduct of running 335 pads.

Did you feel somewhat of a aero lift and wind sound change around 110 mph or so? It was almost as if things got silent(er). I'm not sure if it was the elevation/car angle change. I'll go back and look at my videos, but it seemed to occur at different locations on the back straight, so it makes me think it's speed related. Every time it happened I'd lose confidence and lift.

[kevbh]

Originally Posted by ronin951

Thanks for the tip. I definitely wimped out in a lot of areas. Mainly because of the vibration I was getting on hard braking as well as the touchy pads. Basically any trail braking was non-existent. After examining the rotors later I think the pads weren't bedded properly...or it was a byproduct of running 335 pads.

Did you feel somewhat of a aero lift and wind sound change around 110 mph or so? It was almost as if things got silent(er). I'm not sure if it was the elevation/car angle change. I'll go back and look at my videos, but it seemed to occur at different locations on the back straight, so it makes me think it's speed related. Every time it happened I'd lose confidence and lift.

I didn't really notice and change in noise level down the back straight, but I probably wasn't paying attention to that. Car felt plenty stable to me, and at the speed I was going, T9/black flag isn't really a turn. My guess is your brakes would have felt better with heavy use over a shorter distance. Road Atlanta is far from being the ideal place to experiment with trail braking. I strongly recommend Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah for that. Very fun track to learn on, with lots of run off. A bunch of us Ike to run with the Dark Side club down there, and a school is coming up in November. It's not as fancy of a track, but more affordable.

[bavarianride]

We need a 335i 6MT video on this same track.

[kevbh]

Originally Posted by f30fanboy

We need a 335i 6MT video on this same track.

Yes! I should definitely be the one to drive the 335i to eliminate that variable from the test. The things I'm will to do for science... :-).

[ronin951]

Originally Posted by kevbh

Yes! I should definitely be the one to drive the 335i to eliminate that variable from the test. The things I'm will to do for science... :-).

Maybe ATL has some rentals? We buy, you drive!