My M3 + track day pictures

[loliea]

Hi,
I have been around (more or less passively) on this forum for some time now so I though it was time to talk a little bit about my ride and share some pictures taken on the track.


My car is a (aging) 2002 M3 that I bought 3 years ago. Put 36k miles on it and now it clocks 70k miles. Everything is stock except the Alpine iDA-X100 (that I warmly recommend for mp3s and HD radio) and Power Slot Rotors with Hawk pads that replaced the worn-out OEM parts.

Mandatory custom shot:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7725/customshothe1.jpg (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=customshothe1.jpg)

Now the interesting part. For the 3rd time this year I attempt a 2 days driving school at Infineon (on the full track, not the Nascar version). Again I had a huge blast and I though I would share some of the pictures that were taken by the official photograph of the event (please notice and respect the copyright).
I have to remember to take my camera next time because each time there was some very nice cars (Viper ACR, GT2 and GT3 RS, GT-R, AC Cobra 427 race spec, F430 Challenge, Gallardo, Murcielago, Z06, Lotus Exige…).

Enjoy!
Turn 6 (aka tire killer):
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/883/6drybv8.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=6drybv8.jpg)

Turn 2 (scary one with the wall very close... no room for error as for most of the turns @Infineon):
http://www.motorworld.net/forum/%5BURL=http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2dryxh4.jpg%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7448/2dryxh4.th.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL%5D%5BURL=http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://img518.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL%5Dhttp://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8633/2dryph5.jpg (http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2dryph5.jpg)

Turn 2 chasing a Dinan M5:
http://img518.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2337/2drydinannk1.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2drydinannk1.jpg)

Turn 8a:
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6990/8adryod0.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=8adryod0.jpg)

turn 11:
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9730/11dryrd7.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=11dryrd7.jpg)


We had a rainy day, but no pb I lived in France, England and Switzerland for 27 years, so I am not scared wet conditions.
Turn 12:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6010/12rainxg0.jpg (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12rainxg0.jpg)

Turn 2 (note how fare from the apex I need to avoid pothole full of water and slippery paint):
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1315/2rainwn6.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2rainwn6.jpg)



Tires after 3 track days (yep BMW under-steer like crazy…) :
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9665/fronttiredm8.th.jpg (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fronttiredm8.jpg)http://img262.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)
Still have enough thread left for San Francisco's winter but I will have to change them next year (or maybe not as I plan to change the whole car).

Enjoy!:-)

[04RCSTI]

Awesome car!

Im glad its getting the use it deserves!

[Strop]

Great car! :-)

[ae86_16v]

Awesome car man. Haha, if you think your car is old, you should see my 98 E36 M3. Now that is really old. :)

Great color by the way!

[CarlZ]

nice pictures :) my favorite BMW

[pitfield]

I love the E46, that engine is fabulous, just hope it's not an SMG.

[dutchmasterflex]

M3's understeer? That's a first... :) Get back on the throttle earlier!

[loliea]

Thanks guys for all the good words, yes it's a fantastic car.

I love the E46, that engine is fabulous, just hope it's not an SMG.
Yes it's an SMG. Trust me I hated at the beginning, but now I am use to it. For everyday use once you learn how to use it (ie anticipating lag in reaction and feeding correctly the gas pedal when up/downshifting) it's a good/ok gearbox. For heel and toe training I still have my wife's Miata ;)

M3's understeer? That's a first... :-) Get back on the throttle earlier!
I know it sounds strange for an M3 but I talk to instructors and owners of prepared M3 and they all told me the same thing: it's a "safety feature" of 99% of road cars.
I don't think that getting on the gas early will correct this behavior, it will just upset the car and I will eventually finish in the wall..:thumbdown:. I could eventually slam it after the apex but that's not when the understeering is bad, it's during the 1/3rd part of the turn, before the apex.
There is a solution to correct this understeer which consists of installing camber plates and put at least 3deg of camber (the max with the stock car is 1 deg) but I don't feel like modifying the car as 1) it is my everyday car and 2) I will change it next year.

[CarlZ]

why are u changing it?

[loliea]

why are u changing it?
This sounds familiar ;-)
Honestly the ride is a little ruff for everyday use. I am living in San Francisco where the streets and surrounding highways are awful. I think the heavy 19'' wheels and stock suspensions don't help but I don't really want to spend $5K on a car that now worth ~$20K. I will leave the joy of customization and pimping to the next owner.