Lola goes to an HPDE

[agent]

I'd really rather be doing a bunch of laps back-to-back at a track day than driving for sixty seconds out of every hour I've committed to the day - not including drive time to and from the event.

This past weekend I did it. I took a trip up to Bowling Green to join the Bluegrass Bimmers (Kentucky) Chapter of the BMW CCA and attend the third ever event at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park.

It took a fair amount of effort to be able to make it. One of Lola's half shafts had puked grease all over the inside of the passenger wheel (last year...) so I knew that would have to be addressed before she'd pass tech. I took care of that a couple of Saturdays ago by installing two new ones (detailed in her build thread). Also on the inspection form was a recent brake fluid change, so that was done last weekend along with a full coolant flush, new thermostat, oil & filter change, a new Group 91 battery (so the factory hold-down would work again - good bye ratchet strap!) and repair of a severed ABS wire.


She underwent a full wellness exam











Loaded down and ready to roll




I rolled up to Bowling Green Friday afternoon, stopped at the local Harbor Freight for a new aluminum jack and headed to the hotel for check in. Tech was right next door at the local BMW dealership.

I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to mention how great those guys at Luxury Imports were. My paddock neighbor Greg had a coil go bad in his 135i during the second session on Sunday. The service manager delivered one to him during lunch and we got him back out on the track for the third session after swapping it and changing all six of his plugs. Great stuff.

So back on track (ha!), Lola passed tech with flying colors and was ready for action Saturday.


In the (massive) paddock







Gridded up for the first time and ready to go




Some pics of the action










Some in-car videos of the action from a few different angles

Saturday; session 2



Sunday; session 3



Sunday; session 4




My instructor (Marshall) was great. I knew he and I were going to click just fine when I saw he was driving a bronzit 87 iS. :mrgreen: He helped me diagnose an issue I thought was something serious, which fortunately ended up being nothing more than loose lug nuts on the right front. This was after torquing them right before that session too. I missed the fourth session on Saturday diagnosing what was wrong, though I was very happy to be going back out on Sunday instead of sending Lola home on a flatbed.

I had a tiny coolant drip, which was fixed by simply tightening the hose clamps on the radiator. The only other anomaly was a little bit of hesitation as I was coming out of 2 and running up through the RPMs. It only started on Sunday, and only late(r) in the sessions.

I want to say it feels like a fuel delivery issue, though the fuel pump is OEM and only a few months old. All that sloshing around may have loosened up some schmutz in the tank, so I'll change the filter and see if that helps although though I'm going to have a difficult time testing under anything resembling similar conditions.

I'm hoping to be bumped up to B for the next one of these (May 17). I didn't get passed by a single car in my group all weekend. In a class full of E46 M3s, E60 M5s and E90/92 335s, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances.

[Beej '86 325es]

Looks like a good time! I wanted to go, but a 5 hour drive to Bowling Green would be grueling in my E30! What was your impression of the track? Did you run the full course?

I'm still relatively new to HPDE's...I've done three now.

On your fuel issue...you may be experiencing the infamous E30 fuel starvation. Were turns 1 and 2 right handers? Did you have less than 1/2 tank left? I have a thread in this forum for my modification, but you have a later E30 which will be somewhat different.

[Dave]

We ran the full 3.2 mile course. This is certainly not a trivial track. It should be on the list of must do tracks in the eastern part of the US. Three very high speed sections, with some great technical sections in between.

[agent]

On your fuel issue...you may be experiencing the infamous E30 fuel starvation. Were turns 1 and 2 right handers? Did you have less than 1/2 tank left? I have a thread in this forum for my modification, but you have a later E30 which will be somewhat different.

I'm pretty sure the hesitations only came in the afternoon sessions, so that would mean I was probably around or below half a tank.

1A and 1B are the bus stop at the end of the front straight; 2 is the tight right hander that opens up into 3 and 4, though if you get 2 right you are opening up as you accelerate flat out through 3.

We ran the full 3.2 mile course. This is certainly not a trivial track. It should be on the list of must do tracks in the eastern part of the US. Three very high speed sections, with some great technical sections in between.

Indeed. The track itself is nothing short of phenomenal. I didn't talk to anyone the entire weekend who wasn't impressed by it. I'm sure as they continue to add and expand the facilities it's only going to grow its reputation.

I said it in the event thread but I'll happily repeat myself here: Dave, Keith, Bill, Greg, Zach and all the Bluegrass Bimmers folks are top-notch. I had an absolute blast and can't wait to do this again in the Spring!

[matthugie]

I'm pretty sure the hesitations only came in the afternoon sessions, so that would mean I was probably around or below half a tank.

Chris, I had issues with my car cavitating anywhere below half a tank both on track and autox. Most people don't get it until about 1/4 of a tank but regardless I couldn't run below 1/2 without issue. I couldn't even get 2 full sessions in at VIR before having fuel cut coming out of right handers. There are quite a few remedies in this section if you search, or, since you aren't competing, just keep it topped up and you'll be fine.

That said, it looks like a blast! I really like that course layout, I'd like to get up there at some point and give it a shot, though it is a solid hike from where I live.

[Hooffenstein HD]

That track looks amazing.

[agent]

That track looks amazing.

Oh it is.

Looks like a good time! I wanted to go, but a 5 hour drive to Bowling Green would be grueling in my E30!

I'm pretty sure the other two Chris' were from Indy. They were both in E30s - one in a 325i sedan; the other in a swapped E30 M3.

Chris, I had issues with my car cavitating anywhere below half a tank both on track and autox. Most people don't get it until about 1/4 of a tank but regardless I couldn't run below 1/2 without issue. I couldn't even get 2 full sessions in at VIR before having fuel cut coming out of right handers. There are quite a few remedies in this section if you search, or, since you aren't competing, just keep it topped up and you'll be fine.

Thanks Matt. I had pronounced starvation issues in right handers at both AutoX and taking on/off ramps at speed when I was running the Walbro 255 using the install mod found here on R3V. Based on my experience I would not recommend that method, especially for an AutoX and/or track car. The issue was nonexistent on the OEM VDO until this weekend, though I'm relieved to know it's not just an issue with Lola!

That said, it looks like a blast! I really like that course layout, I'd like to get up there at some point and give it a shot, though it is a solid hike from where I live.

See you in May. ;)

[Wh33lhop]

Sweet man! Thing sounds mean and that track looks badass! How you liking them azenis? :)

You'll see some more video from me soon, but this one won't be from whee30 ;)

[agent]

Thanks man! I was pleasantly surprised by them. I think the Azenis are even better on track than they are at AutoX. The audible feedback I got from them was really helpful as I picked up speed over the course of the weekend. I was able to get really close to (and even match a few of) my instructor's corner exit speeds, and he was running NT01s on Koseis.

[Ether-D]

Jeeze, that looks like fun. And legal!

[Beej '86 325es]

I'm pretty sure the other two Chris' were from Indy. They were both in E30s - one in a 325i sedan; the other in a swapped E30 M3.

I know the Chris with the M3...I'll have to ask him next weekend what he did to make his ride more tolerable. His car is just as uncomfortable as mine!

[agent]

One of them drove and the other trailered. According to Chris D they wanted to have a trailer there in case one of the cars had to go home on it. Ironically enough they both had on-track failures (wheel bearing on Friday for D; clutch on Saturday for P), made repairs in the paddock the following morning and got out that afternoon.

Here's Chris P's clutch:

[Beej '86 325es]

That's pretty awesome that they both fixed the issue and could still hit the track...especially replacing a clutch!

[agent]

The Bluegrass Bimmers CCA hosted their Spring event at NCM this past weekend. Here's a video of the final session with one of my friends (who is an instructor, though he wasn't mine) riding shotgun and giving me pointers.

I got to within about two seconds of the times he was running in his S50 powered E30 M3, so I'm definitely happy with that.

Drink every time he says "Floor it!" or "Gas!"

[GAbOS]

Nice!