I'll see Heeter's autox vid, and raise him mine

[Gleb]

Thanks :D

[Charlie]

Sorry to bump up the old thread, but I am building a track dedicated E30 and will be ordering Turner's J-stock suspension. How is this setup in the wet?
Thanks.

Setup in the wet is fine with decent tread tires. The Jstocks really aren't as rough as I was expecting them to be, car is very controlled.

-Charlie

[JRKOUPE]

[QUOTE=Gleb;613161]Sorry to bump up the old thread, but I am building a track dedicated E30 and will be ordering Turner's J-stock suspension. How is this setup in the wet?


I run HR race...and jus bought a used JS set up. The rates are kinda hi(500-700?)....so the wont be as forgiving as HR race.......but BMWCCA racers have run JS many years.....w/ the proper tires it should be acceptable.

[joshh]

Yeah smooth driving in both videos. Unfortunately at times the wheel will be jerked in an autocross. Looks really smooth though. And that track looks like a fun one.

[Gleb]

Appreciate it man, I've finally started to get comfortable with the setup on the car, really loving the Turner J-stock setup with the -3.5 degrees of camber up front. Right now, the diff is the stock 3.73 LSD, I'm looking to swap to a 4.10 to let me use 4th more in a few spots. I'm playing around with other "mods" on the car to keep me under the 20 pt limit for the class the car is in right now (TTE).

-Charlie

Sorry to bump up the old thread, but I am building a track dedicated E30 and will be ordering Turner's J-stock suspension. How is this setup in the wet?
Thanks.

[Andreas]

DaveCN,

I live in Johannesburg, about a 10min drive from the Kyalami race track.

[Andreas]

Here is something you guys may want to investigate to improve your sound in your in-car videos.

It's an external mic with a cover made up of some type of animal fur which is very effective at 'killing' wind noise. An additional benefit is that you can mount the mic away from the camera and the open window.

[Dave]

Dave, I'll talk to Dave (Royce) about sneaking out in Group 3 or something if you want a ride. Also try and find JD Ellis when you get out there, he is amazing at that track. He's owned some e30s, and was one of my first instructors.

-Charlie

unfortunately, the NASA weekend is looking doubtful for me at this point. But if I make it, I'll take you up on that shotgun if Dave'll let us.

[Charlie]

Andreas, man, you're making me blush over here. I can be smooth, the car's setup really helps that, fast, I'm not so sure of.


As for the wind noise, NASA makes you keep both windows down, so no easy way to cut down on the noise. I might try and get some solo sessions with the BMWCCA in later august, they tend to let you run the passenger window up.

Dave, I'll talk to Dave (Royce) about sneaking out in Group 3 or something if you want a ride. Also try and find JD Ellis when you get out there, he is amazing at that track. He's owned some e30s, and was one of my first instructors.

-Charlie

[Dave]

Thanks Andreas. I am not totally new to trakcing the car, but MidOhio will be a new track for me. I am confirmed to be at a BMW CCA school there next month - and they usually have good instructors - hopefully I will get an e30 guy as I did at my last CCA event. Typically, they will only allow you on track with your instructor.

Depending on the instructor, I dont doubt Charlie might be of more help -- though I dont have a special booster seat for him. ( :-) ) THough some of the CCA instructors are quite good.

I wont be pushing 10/10ths, or likely even 8/10ths the first day - it will be all about getting comfortable with the track, learning the line, etc.

As for windows, you are required to run the fronts open (no matter the weather). I may try to put a foam piece over the mic to cut down on the wind noise if possible.

BTW, what part of SA are you from? My uncle hails from there.

[e9nine]

.... If possible leave your windows closed (or just slightly open) so that there is more engine sound and less wind noise.

We are required to have windows fully open over here by club rules. I speak for the events I have witnessed and participated in.

[Andreas]

DaveCN,

Glad to hear that you are reasonable and want to start cautiously. I always build up to my best effort, even when I go to a track that I know well. This philosophy has "saved" me on a few occasions where for some reason a track has less grip than the last time you were there.

Maybe you should arrange to meet at the track with Charlie and let him take you around the track. Based on his posted videos, it looks like he has a lot of experience around that track and could most likely help you more with your E30 than a instructor could.

Besides it should be interesting to compare the handling of the two cars. I've read that it is very difficult to set up a coilover suspension to get the most out of it. Particularly critical are the diagonally opposed corner weights of the car which can be unequal even if ride height is equal on all four corners - has to be set up with the driver in the car. Many people actually "go backwards" when installing coilovers because they don't set up the corner weights of the car properly by using scales.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your track day at MidOhio and post some vids. If possible leave your windows closed (or just slightly open) so that there is more engine sound and less wind noise.

[Dave]

Andreas,

Thanks for the comments. As far as setup, my car is fairly similar to Charlie's, except he is running J-Stock suspension and I am on coilovers. Other than that, they are both fairly stock e30s. He runs r-compund tires, and while I just acquired a set, I will not be using them at first at MidOhio. I'll be on Falken Azenis - grippy for a street tire, but not quite an R-comp.

And as I said, I have no notion that I'll start out anywhere near that fast - right now, I am looking at his videos to learn the line primarily. Following that, I am noting braking zone locations, shift points, etc.

When I get there, it'll be an instructed session and I cross my fingers I get a good instructor who will be there to guide me along the way.

Again, thanks for your input.

[Andreas]

Hi DaveCN

When studying Charlie's videos, bear in mind that his car is well sorted. Just watch 2lapsaug5.wmv and see how much ground he makes up on other cars, not straight line acceleration, all later braking and high cornering speeds.

I don't know how experienced you are or how good your car is, however I would advise that you try to build up slowly on that circuit, especially going over those crests.

Watch Mid Ohio 8-14 hires.wmv, you'll see that on the first crest (playback pos = 1min 15sec) his car has some understeer at the beginning of the corner and he quickly corrects about mid-corner, taking out about half the steering angle, as the grip comes back. Now I'm thinking if you get that wrong and release the steering too late, you'll probably swop ends and have a nasty experience just as you go over the top of the crest sideways / backwards.

A different car setup might also require a different approach to that corner - I'm thinking shock rebound which would affect how "light" your car becomes over the crest.

Also notice his body language for the first two fast sweeps, he opens and closes his hands. It's almost as if he has to convince himself to go through them as fast as he does whereas his gut is telling him it's not possible. Most people do follow their gut in such cases and apply some brakes and this is where you can make up time by staying on the accelerator.

Hey Charlie, hope you don't think that I'm over-analyzing your videos. If I'm wrong with my above deductions, I apologize. You were the one in the driving seat, so only you will know the whole truth.

Charlie, it's a shame you ended 2lapsaug5.wmv where you did, I was just beginning to enjoy the total dominance of your E30 over other cars on the track ; would have enjoyed seeing you overtake that whole bunch.

[Dave]

Andreas,

Not trying to inflate Charlie's ego here, but I personally have been studying his MidOhio vids in preparation for my first time there next month. I have no expectation that I will be able to pull it off like him just yet, but . . .