E90 on track - Longevity mods? Also, autobox....
Discussion
Looking to take my E90 335d on track soon. Firstly, I'm not a massively fast driver, I'd say my pace is more of a "early morning fast road blast" than "qualifying sessions at Monaco".
I'll be going out there with the car standard. So, questions:
1) Do I need to change for Dot 5.1 brake fluid before I go? Or will the standard fluid cope?
2) I'm under the impression that standard brakes are ok, and the standard recently replaced pads should be ok-ish. Correct?
3) Coolant? Ive heard that some E90s have a weak spot in the coolant system (335i?)... Is this applicable to the 335d also?
4) Will the autobox behave itself on track i.e. not overheat?
5) The main one, aside from brake fluid, is I will be getting tuition (as I always do), having never tracked an automatic or a diesel, are the instructors generally able to alter the instruction for each vehicle, specifically different gears and engine braking etc?
That one seems like a really stupid question, basically asking if they can do their jobs, but the point I was getting at is more about whether they can correcet for a 2nd gear corner in a diesel being different to a 2nd gear corner in a petrol engined car.
Thanks!
it all depends how hard you plan to drive the car - if you treat it like a fast a road, then no reason why you can't drive a perfectly standard car.
my advice would be if you do keep things completely standard, is limit your time on track to a few laps at a time - probably 4 laps of a long track like bedford or snetterton, maybe up to 6 for somewhere shorter, and then come in for 15 minutes to let the car cool down.
And always ensure you do a decent cooldown lap before coming in - and don't put the handbrake on when back in the pits otherwise it may bind to the hot discs.
other than that, keep an eye on the temps as you're driving, make sure all fluids are topped up, and get a decent tyre pressure gauge - as the tyres will heat up and the presures will rocket, you'll need to be able to drop them down when they get warm.
the thing that kills track cars is doing lap after lap after lap without breaks, and as everything gets hotter and hotter you'll overheat the brakes, then the tyres, then engines and cooling systems wil suffer, then gearboxes, diffs and all other things. but as long as you keep temperatures under control you'll be fine.
my advice would be if you do keep things completely standard, is limit your time on track to a few laps at a time - probably 4 laps of a long track like bedford or snetterton, maybe up to 6 for somewhere shorter, and then come in for 15 minutes to let the car cool down.
And always ensure you do a decent cooldown lap before coming in - and don't put the handbrake on when back in the pits otherwise it may bind to the hot discs.
other than that, keep an eye on the temps as you're driving, make sure all fluids are topped up, and get a decent tyre pressure gauge - as the tyres will heat up and the presures will rocket, you'll need to be able to drop them down when they get warm.
the thing that kills track cars is doing lap after lap after lap without breaks, and as everything gets hotter and hotter you'll overheat the brakes, then the tyres, then engines and cooling systems wil suffer, then gearboxes, diffs and all other things. but as long as you keep temperatures under control you'll be fine.
Jim1985 said:
Looking to take my E90 335d on track soon. Firstly, I'm not a massively fast driver, I'd say my pace is more of a "early morning fast road blast" than "qualifying sessions at Monaco".
I'll be going out there with the car standard. So, questions:
1) Do I need to change for Dot 5.1 brake fluid before I go? Or will the standard fluid cope?
2) I'm under the impression that standard brakes are ok, and the standard recently replaced pads should be ok-ish. Correct?
3) Coolant? Ive heard that some E90s have a weak spot in the coolant system (335i?)... Is this applicable to the 335d also?
4) Will the autobox behave itself on track i.e. not overheat?
5) The main one, aside from brake fluid, is I will be getting tuition (as I always do), having never tracked an automatic or a diesel, are the instructors generally able to alter the instruction for each vehicle, specifically different gears and engine braking etc?
That one seems like a really stupid question, basically asking if they can do their jobs, but the point I was getting at is more about whether they can correcet for a 2nd gear corner in a diesel being different to a 2nd gear corner in a petrol engined car.
Thanks!
1- no need for 5.1 but new fluid, ideally a higher boil point fluid, srf, racing blue, motal 600 etc I'll be going out there with the car standard. So, questions:
1) Do I need to change for Dot 5.1 brake fluid before I go? Or will the standard fluid cope?
2) I'm under the impression that standard brakes are ok, and the standard recently replaced pads should be ok-ish. Correct?
3) Coolant? Ive heard that some E90s have a weak spot in the coolant system (335i?)... Is this applicable to the 335d also?
4) Will the autobox behave itself on track i.e. not overheat?
5) The main one, aside from brake fluid, is I will be getting tuition (as I always do), having never tracked an automatic or a diesel, are the instructors generally able to alter the instruction for each vehicle, specifically different gears and engine braking etc?
That one seems like a really stupid question, basically asking if they can do their jobs, but the point I was getting at is more about whether they can correcet for a 2nd gear corner in a diesel being different to a 2nd gear corner in a petrol engined car.
Thanks!
2- ha ha no not at all, where did you hear that? If you don't want expense & hastke of sticking race pads in, just do short stints, & do a cool down lap no brakes till pits & don't use handbrake when parking.
3- no idea
4- no idea
5- a decent instructor of course, the cheapo do a quick session types who knows, could be anyone.
Edited by iguana on Friday 8th May 18:48
Cheers folk! I'd actually forgotten about the hidden menu. I went into it once, it was all in German, so I left it alone.
I've done a few track days before so I'm au fait with the whole "warm up lap- 4 fast laps- cool down lap- park in gear" procedure.
I'm planning on tackling this trackday and seeing what parts need upgrading. Most likely the wobbly bit in the drivers seat!
It'll be either Oulton Park, Anglesey or Croft.
Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff