Speed Ventures Buttonwillow Event 9-27-08

[Thomas Barrett]

After the Streets of Willow Springs with Grand Prix West, I headed north to Button Willow for a Speed Ventures Track day.

We ran the configuration 18 which is very unique for this track. You go into the Riverside sweeper at about 100 mph and down a long straight that I reached just over 140mph on into a 40 mph corner called the Star Mazda Turn.

It was a little hard on brakes but very exciting and fun. I ran with some GT3 Porsches as you will see from the video.

I think it would be great to get some of our solo club members to run in some of these track day events that do not conflict with our solo schedule. Groups can get discounts and it is a lot of fun to bring a group to run with.

These events are run safely and consistently, and the amount of seat time you get for your money can;t be beat.
Here is the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egEllXqipmU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

race_18_config.gif (63 KiB) Viewed 12350 times

[Grant Heathman]

These events are run safely and consistently, and the amount of seat time you get for your money can;t be beat

Also they start on time and run on time with very little drama in most cases..

[Jeff Ringer]

exciting vid again dude! high powered action
the gt3 sounds as good as a ferrari...damn damn damn ... sounds like straight pipes almost
how did he get you so bad on the straight? he made you look like you were off the gas .. you might need a magna charger against him next time...lol

track layout is bad ass
great weekend of racing your a true weekend warier

what day was more fun sow or buttonw

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Just did California Speedway (R-OVAL) course with BMWCCA and that was a BLAST! I like Buttonwillow as it's a bit more technical than Cal Speedway but not as fast. And you can't beat the feeling of 125mph on the banking! All 4 tires compressing into the asphalt. What an addiction.

[Jeff Ringer]

nice you had the e46 out there?
must have been fun with the power and finally having a real m engine

any big deal with having the wall close?

any vids?

[Steve Ekstrand]

nice you had the e46 out there?
must have been fun with the power and finally having a real m engine

As opposed to the old E36 332?

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

nice you had the e46 out there?
must have been fun with the power and finally having a real m engine

Yes. The power is addicting but.........NOT the weight. After now having both, I'd much rather have an E36 M3 for track than E46. E36 is more predictable and stable. E46 is high-strung high-stress engine. But man it was FUN having that power. I have a much clearer appreciation for the NASCAR guys. We have a chicane that slows us down before Turn 1, then banking that goes into Turn 3 to start the road course. I'm at 130mph in my stock M3. Properly setup with R-comps and suspension, I'd hit 145mph. NASCAR guys keep going down the back straight to the next banked part of the oval. They are at 200mph!! We come out of the road course into the front straight at the end of the banking section.

any big deal with having the wall close?

Nope. I just drove within my limits, but I did get within 5 feet. Not exactly kissing the wall but more like "air kisses". Hauling my M3 down to 40mph from 130mph is an unreal experience. Hawk HPS pad did their job for 2 sessions. After that any other sessions I had to brake way earlier as my pedal was now "mushy".

any vids?

No vids, I just had a few sessions as I was instructing in the Car Control Clinic (inside parking lots) over the 2-day weekend.

[Jeff Ringer]

ya the euro e36 with 321hp is the car to have or the lsx m3.. but your car isnt that much heavier is it.. how much does it weigh 3350? is it just not as nimble? can you reduce the weight slightly ?

i do know that a guy(help with his name) running @ the pro solo in his silver 330i 4 door has his e46 handling what looks to be absolutely amazing with coils and huge slicks and probably some other goodie$


oops sorry to get so off topic tom

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

ya the euro e36 with 321hp is the car to get.. but your car isnt that much heavier is it.. how much does it weigh 3350? put it on a diet ..

can the suspension be tweaked to make the car handle better

E36 M3 can get down to 27-2800lbs in STU trim.

M3 Stock weight

• E36 - 3219lbs
• E46 - 3415lbs

Difference of 196lbs.

Now granted mine has the sunroof-DELETE option, partial leather, alcantara cloth seats, 6-speed. Still heavy. Yes the Euro M3 would be the car to get, but not sure if it'd be legal to drive in Cali.

[Thomas Barrett]

exciting vid again dude! high powered action
the gt3 sounds as good as a ferrari...damn damn damn ... sounds like straight pipes almost
how did he get you so bad on the straight? he made you look like you were off the gas .. you might need a magna charger against him next time...lol

track layout is bad ass
great weekend of racing your a true weekend warier

what day was more fun sow or buttonw

I know, he did blow me off didn't he. I lifted a little but not much, then I was trying to catch him until the off.

I love every track I run on. Sow I had some overheating problems cause I am in 1st and 2nd gear all day and cranking the rpms.

I did hit high gear at Buttonwillol with more straight away for cooling. I had no over heating problems there.

I think I had more fun at the Streets cause George and Tim were there and the comaraderie was better.

Maybe a supercharger or twin turbo is what I need.

Think anyone would notice in Super Stock???

[Richard Jung]

any big deal with having the wall close?

Nope. I just drove within my limits, but I did get within 5 feet. Not exactly kissing the wall but more like "air kisses". Hauling my M3 down to 40mph from 130mph is an unreal experience. Hawk HPS pad did their job for 2 sessions. After that any other sessions I had to brake way earlier as my pedal was now "mushy".

Have you removed the 2 panels blocking the factory brake ducts in the bumper?

Rick

[Jeff Ringer]

it would be nice to have the cash to mod an e46 m3 for street/track/autox .... i think removing 150-200 lbs wouldnt take much- you can have 285's or 295's all around

and yes the euro e36 car would be illegal in cali

have you ever seen the silver e46 330i in action?

[Thomas Barrett]

Just did California Speedway (R-OVAL) course with BMWCCA and that was a BLAST! I like Buttonwillow as it's a bit more technical than Cal Speedway but not as fast. And you can't beat the feeling of 125mph on the banking! All 4 tires compressing into the asphalt. What an addiction.

I love doing the roval too, your right though you have to respect the walls at that place.

DSC02175 small.JPG (101.77 KiB) Viewed 12011 times

Here is a GT3 Driver that knows it better than anyone. He hit a cone on the chicane on the infield straight and over corrected and spun backwards into the expensive end of a Porsche into the wall.


Here is my Auto Club roval video. My buddy Rocket spun right in from of me on the hairpin.

I almost center punched him.

We had a good laugh cause he wanted some dramatic video for the Track HQ web site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ECiEtlY9g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Here is a GT3 Driver that knows it better than anyone. He hit a cone on the chicane on the infield straight and over corrected and spun backwards into the expensive end of a Porsche into the wall.

The chicane heading toward Turn 4 of the oval or the one along the front straight of the road course? Was it an apex/braking/track out cone?

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Have you removed the 2 panels blocking the factory brake ducts in the bumper?
Rick

Funny you mentioned that! When I bought the car and had my mechanic make all the repairs to the car once I had it in my possession, when the new rotors/pads were installed he noticed the ducts and said "you may want to remove these"!! DOH. That was back in late May so yes they were off before I hit the track.

[Jeff Ringer]

you dont need the charger ... i would go roll cage, full harness, then charger lol

your not bored of 430 hp already are you .. ya its tough watch a car leave you .. i know have a momentum car now and though its a great learning tool and amazing fun i get passed on straights when i know i could keep up no problem if i had more power.. at the end of the day it must have been amazing fun to be on the track with the gt3 battling away...

on some tracks im sure its difficult for a new z06 to keep up with the gt3 so you did well... and lifting for that second was probably a good idea given the speeds you were reaching

with the ride along in your car i found the ls3 is so amazingly flexible with a rush to redline i was not expecting.. good times

[Thomas Barrett]

Here is a GT3 Driver that knows it better than anyone. He hit a cone on the chicane on the infield straight and over corrected and spun backwards into the expensive end of a Porsche into the wall.

The chicane heading toward Turn 4 of the oval or the one along the front straight of the road course? Was it an apex/braking/track out cone?

Front straight of the road course. He hit it with the left rear, lost traction said he stood on the gas and tried to correct and overdid it and spun backwards into the right hand wall.

Ouch, I understand it has done this before at Willow Springs too.

[Jeff Ringer]

tom the s2000 600tt?
what is in that rocket

showing off drifting and spinning ...ouch

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Here is a GT3 Driver that knows it better than anyone. He hit a cone on the chicane on the infield straight and over corrected and spun backwards into the expensive end of a Porsche into the wall.

The chicane heading toward Turn 4 of the oval or the one along the front straight of the road course? Was it an apex/braking/track out cone?

Front straight of the road course. He hit it with the left rear, lost traction said he stood on the gas and tried to correct and overdid it and spun backwards into the right hand wall.

Ouch, I understand it has done this before at Willow Springs too.

It's not an easy car to drive, relatively speaking. The infield course at Cal Speedway requires patience. About the only corner that's at all forgiving is one that isn't part of the roval. Turn 3, and only because 4 is a double apex. Get the bus stop right and you can rocket down the back straight all the way through the chicane and late/trail brake into the hairpin, where an early apex will KILL your lap. Get it right and you can almost straight-line the chicane and carry all the speed into the braking zone for Turn 1.

[Thomas Barrett]

tom the s2000 600tt?
what is in that rocket

showing off drifting and spinning ...ouch

He is running some kind of turbo charger. he is a pretty regular track driver. He was running on street tires thougg so i could leave him behind.

Nice guy and we had some fun swapping vids.

he was expecially glad I was able to miss him.

[Thomas Barrett]

Front straight of the road course. He hit it with the left rear, lost traction said he stood on the gas and tried to correct and overdid it and spun backwards into the right hand wall.

Ouch, I understand it has done this before at Willow Springs too.[/quote]

It's not an easy car to drive, relatively speaking. The infield course at Cal Speedway requires patience. About the only corner that's at all forgiving is one that isn't part of the roval. Turn 3, and only because 4 is a double apex. Get the bus stop right and you can rocket down the back straight all the way through the chicane and late/trail brake into the hairpin, where an early apex will KILL your lap. Get it right and you can almost straight-line the chicane and carry all the speed into the braking zone for Turn 1. [/quote]

It took a few laps to get the guts but now I go through the chicane into the hairpin flat out at about 120. The car is a little out of balance going into the hairpin so you have to wait till it settles to get on the brakes. I cut it as close as possible to the cones to make it straight and it is really not that hard just scary the first few times. There is only a small run off of grass before another wall. Go figure.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Thomas, I'm trying to follow on the PDF file of the road course where I ran this past weekend and I'm trying to picture where the GT3 crashed. Could you point it out? In my E46, I actually take the racing "line" even though they teach the "school" line, and as I go through the chicane before the hairpin, I lift a little and take a late apex. Though I have to roll on the gas because if I mash it, I'll just end up drifting.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

it would be nice to have the cash to mod an e46 m3 for street/track/autox

I may just have to do that with mine.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Front straight of the road course.

Are you referrring to the part beginning with the "hairpin", that leads to a little chicane?

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Front straight of the road course.

Are you referrring to the part beginning with the "hairpin", that leads to a little chicane?

That's what it sounds like to me. What's the difference between the school and racing lines?