Rob Synder has been staying at a Hockey arena and says it cost $50 a night, all the guys just sleep in cots in the same room. The club has arranged a deal for Hotel, I'll see if I can get a better deal than what they already have otherwise its still a good deal. I will be going up there on Friday morning so I'll need to spend two nights. You're welcome to share the room if you'd like. I don't know who else is going from this forum.
Well its not final but I just got of the phone with Mt. Fuji Industries and he is considering joining us for the May BIR event. He may not be driving at the event but would like to come and hang out for the weekend. I will be test driving two car for that weekend if he does end up coming. We are going to be dialing both cars for future events. This should be alot of fun and quite the challenge. We will be running my Hoosier R compound tires on his wagon and do some hot laps to see where it sits before making any additional modifications. Power to weight ratio will be a key advantage as will the new additions he has installed recently. Wish us a safe journy in our persute for the ultimate time attack machine.
Look at what today's BMW Tech Session bought out! 135i **I forgot to mention Motorwerks is planning to bring one of these along with an 08 M3 to BIR available for test driving, imagine that. Candyland ** http://www.flickr.com/photos/northstarbmw/sets/72157604716311056/
dang!!! exact car that has been on my desktop for the last year(same color too). wish i would have been there
Ever wonder why they require Tech Inspections prior to a high speed event? hmmm This is why we do a tech inspection!
Well I didnt see any Subaru's in this set of photos, but I did see one of these. So hopefully I'll see at least a 5 star Rally breed at BIR in May. Enjoy, Cheech
Here are some interesting facts, I don't exactly know how old this info is but it provides a general idea what to expect. http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Brainerd_International_Raceway 2004 Stohr DSR with intermediate driver 1:43 1986 Corvette 383 stroker, Goodyear slicks, club driver 1:45 Porsche 996 Cup car 1:46 1999 Dodge Viper GTS, Michelin PS2's, novice driver 1:50.29 2007 Lotus Exige S, Yokohama A005's, Nitron Coilovers 1:50.988 1999 Porsche 996, H&R coilovers, Michelin PSC, Aero kit, expert driver 1:52.246 2004 Corvette Z06 Bone stock/street tires 1:53 BMW M3 with Hoosiers 1:55 Subaru STi, Cobb upgraded sways & springs, Pilot Sport Cups 1:56.5 Porsche 944 Turbo 1:57 Nissan 350Z upgraded sway bars, springs, brakes 1:57.3 Acura RSX Type-S, upgraded intake and exhaust, R-compounds 2:01 Novice Porsche 944 S2 2:01 Novice Ferrari 348 2:03 Volvo S60R, Bridgestone Potenza RE050 summer tires, Ferodo brake pads 2:03.5 Novice Porsche 996 2:05 Volvo S60 T5, chip tune/intake/exhaust, stock suspension, summer tires 2:05.445 1991 BMW 318is, A032 tires, chip, experienced driver 2:13
i have yet to post about the advanced car control clinic a few weeks ago because i've been so busy with work...but it was a blast! i couldnt believe how much track time we got compared to classroom time. chong was a great instructor. he wanted me to put the stock tires back on the impreza because we could get to the limit at lower speeds. i was very impressed with how fast we could go with the stock tires. he has a very unique way of teaching that is different from alot of the other instructors i've been with...its all about sensory with him. needless to say i'm very excited to continue my learning with him and i encourage all of you to get off your butts and get to one of these bmw events! thanks again chong! Justin
Let the fun begin!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So Mt Fuji Industries and Nuke Performance Tuning will also be attending the BIR event in May. We will be testing and fine tuning the Wagon L Monster for high speed setup. We expect nothing and hope for the best and plan to have a great time there. We'll be using some R compound Hoosiers to help our cause. We'll see what this little wagon can do, hopefully we'll have some footage for the fans'.
Well preparation is underway to get Mt. Fuji's Time Attack machine to pass Tech and track worthy. Some new hardware and high boiling point fluid is on the list as well as a nice harness to keep the pilot in the seat. Currently we have 4 from this board going with to hang out. None are driving but they all have their roles and are there for moral support. This will be a momentous moment for the Black Impreza L wagon as this will be its first time at BIR and at a high speed track event. Wish us luck as we will try and endure the long 3 day weekend of tedious track lapping! And you can expect some of Fuji's world famous videos as its a trademark of Mt Fuji Indutries. We have a winning combination, I wish more could be there to witness this occassion.
This car looks familar! Spring Performance Driving School @ Brainerd Intl Raceway Friday, Saturday and Sunday May 16 - 18, 2008 Registration closes by the end of Sunday May 11, 2008
What you have good news? I knew this would work, otherwise I was going to bring out the heavy artilary, come on class can we all say "GEO PRIZM!" Obviously this was not the exact one, but it sure felt like it or so it would seem. I guess those Bimmer were just taking it very very easy on us ricers. Anyway I look forward to meeting you at BIR mr 1fastwagon. So does that mean there will be 5 of us from MNSubaru going?
"Truth be told, any fool can go fast. It takes something more to go very fast. To go faster still, to be among the fastest, takes the most careful burnishing of all that has come to you by nature and all that you have learned." -Denise McCluggage
I want to...bad...but I really don't want to burn up the all seasons on my car currently. I'm waiting to hear back from Orr on a few things...so I'll know within a few days. Who's going from the club?
Currently I am aware of Mt Fuji Industries, Nuked Performance Tuning, Substeroo Marketing & Advertising and Cheech Driving School. Let me know when we can add you to the list! And anyone else who I may have missed.
I found some wheels on ebay, talked to Orr about tires and pads and am now just trying to figure out if I can make it all happen by next Friday Did you end up finding lodging? Any room for another if I do end up going? I just did some math on all of the stuff I might invest in for this thing...oof, I might just sleep in my car
LOL I can imagine. Because your a good friend you can cram in with us if you want to, I got a room with 2 queen size no smoking with free internet, frig and microwave. Its not far from the track. Hope it all works out for ya. I am always looking for good experienced students to teach me a few things. :laugh:
Well if you end up toasting the NO Season tires at least than you have a good reason to get some summer fun tires.
Ok, things are looking more like 90% that I'll be going Wheels purchased last night and being sent to Orr. Now I just have to sign up for the event, but I'm waiting to hear that the wheels are in the mail before doing so. Chong, are you instructing for anyone in A or B group? I'm going to request you as an instructor. If you're not available I was thinking either Rob or Mike Atlas...but I also don't know if they're going or not. Ok, I'm going to get all signed up to make it official. Mike
Awsome, that news just made my day, some new challenges. Looking forward to working with you. Just give me a call later we can start working on some things before that weekend and discuss what your goals are for BIR. The club is very flexible about catering to our students so you won't have to worry. The only obligation that I'm aware of for the weekend is making sure my friends are having fun and are safe. We are planning to be at BIR by 8am Friday morning.
Ok, 1fastwagon incorporated is up and running and registered for next weekend...it is so on Looking forward to is. I'm likely going to be getting parts next Friday for this thing...I like cutting it close.
Awsome I'm soo glad you're able to join us, we now have official 5. Cool beans and Congrat's. I'm going to get to drive an M3 just to make sure its not a fluke against the Geo Prizm.
Car will be equipped with the following by next Saturday morning: Wheels: SSR Comp-H's Tires: Toyo RA1's (I was trying for 888's, but Orr couldn't find any) Brake Pads: HT10's in the front, HP+ in the rear I know, I know, I should learn to drive the car stock. My main goal is to get around the track correctly, safely and faster than the other guy. My goal is not to some day do this competitively...it's simply to do it well and have fun. Maybe one day instructing others...but to be honest, I would have a hard time getting in some of my friends cars as an instructor...I don't know how you do it Chong I suppose if you have full control over the student it isn't a problem...but it's the guys who are a bit off their rocker that I'd be afraid of See you all on Friday night. Mike
Registration is official CLOSED! 1fastwagon-thats a big list for a short amount of time, I hope I don't disappoint ya as I might not even reach the paddles as a friend would say. To answer your question, its actually alot simpler than you'd think, but first you have to earn their respect and trust. And if they don't that too can be easily resolved. HAHA Most of which I will teach you if you aren't already doing them. Simplicity is not basic, but rather practical. Eric responded that he will do his best to accommodate your request. I am sure I'm not the only one hoping for good weather for the weekend so come prepared. "Eventually sword becomes "no sword", intention becomes "no intention", a spontaneous knowledge of every situation. The first elementary teaching becomes the highest knowledge, and the master still continues to practice this simple training, his everyday prayer."
well, so far everything is here except for tires. Pads are on the car...so it should stop just fine Crossing my fingers that tires show up.
Well, I'm sure more will be posted of the weekend, but I had a great time. Chong, thanks again. I appreciate the time and effort you put into teaching me this weekend. It certainly helped. And I feel safer for it. Even though my ride was a bit short in Fuji's wagon, it felt like a load of fun...and in the chase session, it also looked to be a lot of fun Good meeting all you you. Hope to see the rest of you out on the track next time
Well, I'll be posting more later but, I also had a blast. My first time to Brainerd and I got to ride in two M3's and a little black wagon that defies the laws of physics. Thank you Mushashi, FujiK, and 1fastwagon for a very informational and fun weekend! I too hope more MNSubie members can make the next event!
Ifastbadger-would you be so kind to post your reviews on the comparision between the STI and M3 now that you have driven both at BIR. I'll provide a full report once I get into the office if its not too busy. I didn't realize how tired I was till this afternoon when I finally woke up.
I'd love to post a comparison on the M3 vs. STi. The only data point I have so far is BIR...and this was my first time at the track in the car. Both are fast. I would be hard pressed to say one is faster than the other really (in one full lap)...and I wasn't being timed at BIR in either car...so no way to confirm. I can say that the STi was much easier to drive fast in the turns. Given that there was loads of understeer and street tires to give off a signal when they're about to let loose. Bottom line I think I took the STi faster, earlier in the track experience. But, I also don't think I hit full potential in the STi in the 3 events that I drove it in. That's the "I don't want to die" part of me kicking in The STi felt tighter, but I had some suspension work done on it...and the shifting felt a little more crisp (the M3's stock shifter is a little soft...ask Chong). The thing I liked about the STi was that I could toss it around and make a mistake here or there and not pay for it. Now for the M3. With RWD, I had more oversteer. And with R-compounds, had less warning when the rear end was going to break loose. In fact, I don't recall any warning in turns 4 and 6 when it went (I caught it in time). I did have slightly more aggressive brakes in the M3 and definitely noticed a difference. I did find heel/toe to be much easier in the M3...must just be pedal position. I also found that the M3 feels much more stable at high speed. Could be that the STi hood gave the impression that it wanted to take flight at 100+...don't know. I'd like to save the rest of my comparo for a post MAM event. That is the track that I know best and will be my chance to really see how the two differ (plus, I'll be able to time myself there). I'm still not confident enough to take 1 or 2 at any more than 125. The M3 did hit a higher top speed than the STi, but just slightly...there was more there (hit 145 on a few laps and could have easily hit 150). In the STi I think I hit 140. Finally, I have to say, I didn't have Chong instruction in the STi...which I regret a bit. I think I could have pushed that thing even harder after similar instruction. At the end of the weekend, however, I felt comfortable in the M3. Chong taught me some very basic things that I'll be able to continue working on in future events and that will make me a better driver in whatever car I take to the track. I would suggest some Chong instruction to anyone going to any events where he's a participant or instructor. Mike PS - Fuji, can you change me from 1fastwagon to 1fastbadger
Here's some photos of the weekend. Sorry, the videos aren't functioning for some reason. I'll get them up soon. http://gallery.mac.com/n3rings#100017
After a great weekend of fun at BIR its time to provide a write up of the whole experience. But before I do I must give much thanks to those who made it all possible. BMW & Audi, my friends from both clubs, and my crew for the weekend also good friends who were there to help make the weekend memoriable. Mike H now one of the few fast M3 driver, Noah M. high energy and consistant egerness to help with what ever is needed and mr. Mt Fuji K for his extensive depth in Subaru technology, mechanics and vehicle geometry. This was a great combination which allowed us to be very successful in acheiving our objective this weekend. Thanks again time for phase 3. more Black Mamba! R & D.
Before I start recapping the whole weekend I'd like to start with summarizing the progress I observed while working with 1fastbager. Here in this picture you can see me giving Mike H a thumbs up for nailing turn 10 perfectly after a few years of conversations about this famous turn on the forum that has a lot of people in ah about what the best way to take this turn and after much testing we were able to achieve 95mph by the time we got to the tire barrier at track out. In one of our sessions there was another BMW with more engine hot on our tail while we were bunched up in traffic. But once the slow traffic moved right on the topfuel straight the fun began. They were no match for the Black M3 with the former Scooby driver. We exited turn 10 with ease and left them in the dusk, had probably a good +50ft lead upon exiting 10 and WOT the rest of the way hitting close to 150mph before turn 1, that car was no longer insight no matter what size engine it had under the bonnett. Mike was able to make some very quick adjustments to his driving and adapted quickly to his new car. New HP brakes had fairly aggressive initial bite with firmness all the way thru the paddle and with the stock suspension it would abruptly transfer the weight to the front very quickly. Mike was already fairly soft with the steering wheel and he also quickly master the BMW's MT shifting without incident. After a full day working with him on Saturday it was clear this guy was ready to be release to go out on his own. He took instructions very well and executed them with ease, quickly taming the Black M3 with confidence and was able to drive near its limits without hesitation. Once he was not able to catch the Red Noble, now its a thing of the past. Mike's driving is as smooth as butter and as cool as ice. Congratulation on achieving your goals for the weekend. I have referred you as a potential Instructor candidate for BMW. Good luck and enjoy the new skills with the new ride. PS: I am glad the Ghost Geo was able to draw you out!
I also had the privilege to work with one of these. Boy is this thing fun around the track. We barrier the speedO down the straight and after +110mph it was like watching paint dry. But lots of fun and easy to drive.
Although I am moving on to RWD, scooby blood still runs in my vein's. I got an opportunity to drive this beautifully assembled LGT with stg2 wearing Nitto NT-01 for one session. This thing is soft on your bottom but fast on the track, lots of traction and lots of room for a drive-in movie.
The Black Mamba! The idea started two weeks before the event and after much convincing on my part I manage to get Mt Fuji Industries to commit. He had two weeks of fun trying to put his car together. He was soo busy he managed to get less than 40mins of sleep the night before the event, somehow managed to make it to my house and off we went to BIR. Thanks to Noah for going to his house and waking him up. So I have driven Grimspeeds Green Monster with the quick steering rack on a short track, but not on a high speed track like BIR. So Fuji is constantly reminding me about that along with the fact that he has set up the Black Mamba to have oversteer on throttle exit. He has been watching too many drifting video's on Youtube. We spend all day Friday testing and tuning, had some boost creep issues, serious oversteer while exiting corners and some low friction brake issues when braking into corners. And the Hoosier rubber was a bit wide for the fenders, but it survived. It took a lot of patience and confidence on the passengers part to jump into this car as there were some scary moments. An example of a good reason to come off the course when your starting to feeling fatigued is like the experience we had on late Friday while coming into turn 7 setting up for 8. I knew I was getting tired by the end of the day, but I thought we could use this last session to test the last modifications. We were coming into turn 7 at about 80mph, I just turned in a hair late and went to adjust to track out to setup for 8 when the rear got light, the wagon started to oversteer right, left and back to right and we had neno seconds before going straight off into the woods, and what crossed my mind was I didn't want this to be my first off the track, I somehow managed to still be able process this all the while trying to regain control of the car. I slowly squeezed on the brakes and turned into the direction of where the car was moving and we somehow managed to make it into turn 8 without changing our shorts. Mother nature could not of been more generious, she could not make up her mind as most beautiful ladies do. We had everything except for the snow. High winds, cloudy sky's, rain on an off, shower, cold temperatures, styrophome barriers rolling into turn 10, dead squirrels and sand storms. Sunday rolled in with perfect weather, we got the Black Mamba dialed in to neutral steer with slight oversteer on WOT on track exit a great combination. We were able to exit 10 quickly and WOT throttle as soon as we started to straighten out, catching Mike's M3 on exit. We also buried his speedO which reads 120mph in 6th gear at +6000rpm. We did a few laps where we followed Mike's M3 for two laps and he follow us two. The performance of Fuji's Wagon is astounding. The 5yrs he has put into building his knowledge base and his car really reflects this weekends success. We were probably one of slowest cars in the Instructors and Advance group at the beginning of the event, but on Sunday we kept traffic behind us for four laps before exiting. The wagon has a lot of potential, plenty of power, we just need to find more grip. I'll let Fuji explain the technical details and provide his review from the passenger seat. I would also like to thank him for having enough confidence in allowing me pilot his baby and for riding with someone who has never driven his car at a high speed track and for being the pit crew along with Noah for the weekend. They did a wonderful job of maintaining the car and getting it ready for each session. And Nuke for helping us over the phone with some of the bugs on the map and Yia for loaning us his WRX Race seat. That made a difference in our performance as well. And 1fastbadger for taking it easy on us. Looking forward to another R&D event with the crew till we can build our own GST monster.
I almost forgot here is the car I had been looking forward to working with again after the long winter. My friend here is getting into NASA and HP racing and has this car completely redone. He came and got me back into his car for one more session this weekend and we managed to shave two seconds from 1:55 to 1:53. It must be from the weight saving of putting the little asian guy in the passenger seat. It was also nice that he put in some smaller belts which I was able to squeeze into, unlike other BMW's I have crawled into where I ended up using the 3 point factory belts. Well I could barely reach the paddles because the seat was secured and I couldn't see over the dash so I opted to being a passenger, although he did offer me to drive it if I could. Thanks for reading it was a fun weekend with lots of interesting things and good friends. See ya next time.
