E30 MERAH Video of 2nd Winton Trackday

Ok finally had time to quickly cut just the PB lap... will take a while on the highlights video...
CURRENT PB 1:47s on 2nd trackday with the E30 at winton

Link

my observation...
1. still abit messy, but alot more composed than my first trackday...
2. i think 1:46 is possible with faster driver...
3. the LSD allowing me to plant the power alot earlier and modulate the throttle easier...
4. the sweeper (big long double apex left hander), the car carrying alot more speed, and the extra modified angle on my rear spoiler stopped the car from 'bouncing' in the mid sweeper
5. at turn 4-5-6 (turn 1 is right after the S bend) the car is much more civil and i can stay on the power hence carrying more speed.
6. 4.1 final drive instead of 3.7 is more suited for a slower tight track like this... alot more much needed acceleration and sh0rt burst on the short available straight in between corners... i might have to change back to 3.7 if i start making more power...

Previous 1st Trackday 1:51s with the E30 at winton

Link

EXE TRACKDAY 20th November 2011

thx for the photos from: Dan lee (dupra), Senk9, Andrew Squidge and Trev mcbarber

Result: Personal Best of 1min 47sec (1:47.3920) i slashed 4 sec off my previous PB (1:51.2400) on this 2nd trackday in my E30 325i. what changes is New Set of street tyres to replce the 6 years old tyres, 4.1 final drive upped from 3.7 OEM, e36 OEM clutch type LSD 25% lock.

i drove up from melbourne 5am with Dan Leet (E46 330Ci Convertible)


met one of the car for my dream list, while pumping petrol at our last stop before winton circuit, Red AE86 owned by JP Ordona


finally... at winton, pitted next to kthl is one of my other all time fave car, Z33 350z...


track is abit damp but it did dry up later on the day... i am so glad coz the forecast of the day was supposed to be 'rain', and closer to the day it changes to 'clearing up'...


briefing time... so glad exe ditch that FOB, that no one can understand when he made announcements on briefing time...


so i begin the trackday with passenger session. i had Andrew Squidge as my passenger and was trying to follow Daniel Leet E46 330ci around the track... on the straight my car was left behind, but closing in every corner and managed to stay behind him for few laps... i then ask him what time did he do (the session is not timed but he has personal timing gear) and he said 1:49s... i was so happy as that mean i am doing 1:49 too! thats all i aimed for this trackday... to break under 1:50 second...

observation from first passenger session: rubs very bad at the back, so i raised the back abit more and beat the sh!t out of the inner guard with a mallet... apart from that, THE CAR IS PERFECT at the moment! hahahaha handles even better than Shirosame (my other E30 in indonesia)...




so for the first timed session, i decided to do some weight loss on the car... i took off the: front passenger seats, front and rear bumper...


after the session i look at the time and i remember seeing 1:49s, i jumped for joy and ran back to the car... while i am re adjusting the tyre pressure, jorge came and said "have you seen your time?", i said "YES!!! 1:49!!! woohooo", jorge said "no it isn't! look again"...

i was like:

Link


i ran back and look properly this time... turned out the 1:49 was my last lap on that session, and the best lap was 1:47!!!

i remember thinking that it is possible, and said to jorge "1:49 is achievable, 1:48 if i push hard, but 1:47 is very hard... possible, but probably someone else has to drive it, i don't think i can do it"

SESSION 1
2:02.1360
1:47.3920
1:47.4170
1:47.4670
1:47.5350
1:49.0530

i did 4 consecutive 1:47s on the first session without realising it... the only thing i notice is the laptime on street tyres got slower and slower every lap as the tyres got hotter... while when i was using semis on the 350z, the lap time kinda get faster each lap as the tyres got hotter


SESSION 2
2:05.9920
1:48.2730
1:47.6200
1:48.9420
1:50.0320
1:48.7640
the group is getting busier coz alot of people move up from the slower group A. and had to overtake most car in the group too...

SESSION 3
1:54.5650
1:49.9900
1:52.8310
1:48.3720
1:48.2930
1:49.1510
this group got so busy, and i cannot get a clean lap... so i asked to be moved one group up into Group C

SESSION 4
2:04.8450
1:47.8800
1:48.2630
1:47.7260
now in group C... much much better altho the session ran short... i got 2 clean lap... race with Gerald! i had fun battle with him around the track... just wish i have more ooomph to catch him on the straight...

SESSION 5
1:51.9780
1:48.1200
1:47.8050
1:47.5920
1:47.6230
now that group C has emptied, i can finally get lots of clean lap... altho i cannot get any faster, i still get strings of 1:47s...

Overall, the car felt good but understeer abit when i push too hard. this is due to me removing the rear sway bar to reduce the oversteer from last trackday... and i lost the bolts for the rear sway bar so i cannot put it back on hahahaha i tried stealing the swaybar bolts from jimjim X5 but his X5 got bigger swaybar link bolts


last fuel pump on the way home


last toilet run on the way home, sorry kenny! sorry jorge! man gotta dump


what a scenery to end the day altho jorge told me of for taking pic with my mobile while driving... i said to him "relax, i got cruise control "


thank you for everyone's help in me finishing the car in time, mainly the diff / lsd part... and for my melly suherman for understanding my busy week and endlessly supporting me. i was going to give up on the lsd but she made me keep going... work, editing, then back to garage, then fell asleep few times in the garage, then back to photo jobs, and then editings and back to garage again... non stop for a week... altho i must say beers, lots of them, help sooth the painful process...

REFLECTION:
i would've been glad with 1:49s, but thank God for giving me the extra surprise with abit more, faster laptime...

i remember doing similar time with my 350z on street tyres... ( my 350z street tyre PB: http://silasba.blogspot.com/2008/03/350z-exe-trackday-10th-march-2008.html) i only did one 1:45.9 and lots of inconsistent 1:47s on the 350z...

i see 2 things from here... altho its just a theory which means nothing till it actually been done, it is enough to give me incentive to press forward...

1. my driving has been far more consistent since...
2. the similar street tyres lap time between my 350z and e30, with driver skill being absolut, it is possible to do 1:40-1:42s on the E30 if i put semis on as that is what i did on my 350z with semis, altho if i include the power factor, 350z has more power which mean its suffer more limitation when using street tyres hence using semis probably extract alot more than less powerful e30...

well... only 1 way to find out...

i am aiming 1:38-1:39 with this e30, Natural Aspirated and with semislick, when i am done with improving it... i know this is possible because KTHL has introduced me to someone that has done it before

compared to SHIROSAME, my indo E30, this MERAH #3 is a completely different animal... this MERAH is more agile and light on its feet, userfriendly and very rewarding when pushed to the limit... while SHIROSAME is angrier, more brutal and bites back harder...

now the photo gallery! (VIDEO COMING SOON)

PHOTOS BY SENK9





PHOTOS BY DAN LEE


PHOTOS BY TREV MCBARBER


PHOTOS BY ANDREW SQUIDGE

WHAT A BLOODY RICER!!!

hahahaha now that i got 1 day extra, i decided to spend it doing the alignment, roll the guard and all extra bit of rices that is irrelevant to lap times and have no use at all hahaha its just deep inside i am a ricers i like useless rices within certain limit

first thing first is the clearance, i lower the back to shift the weight distribution to the back more, and roll the rear guards... thx for the guard roller tom!


put the front apron back on


oh did i say i also paint the brake caliper red? it stops faster now hahahaha

jack the car down now and checking the clearance, i test drove it to the alignment place and it still rubs so i need to roll the guard further


rear fitment after mild guard rolling




the car sits pretty straight now compared to the initial setup when i bought it where it slanted towards the front (was: front lower, rear much higher)


thx to jorge for companying me at the Traction Tyres - Rowville


size comparison of my E30 with jorge 135i


never seen so many fresh AO50 before! hahahaha


i just realise i only measure the amount of lowering from each individual corner and not measuring between 2 corner... the car sits uneven atm hahahaha


alignment done


i made 4mm toe in at the back, -2.5 camber at the front, 0mm toe at the front.

now back home for further guard rolling... a visit from shaun senk9, jason unco and bong chee


so further guard rolling and hammering, please ignore the red awesome caliper


fitment after extra guard rolling, still scrub under hard cornering if i carry stuff at the back, but i will empty the car on the track anyway... so hope that will fix it


this are the 2 wall vents that i bought off bunnings for $4 each... i need to vent of abit of heat from the engine bay from the exhaust header side... so this will do...


the reason i got the $15 dented bonnet is that it will be my trackday bonnet... first i cleaned of all the old heat shield foam thing



i tempted to shave some weight of it by cutting as much bone structure as i can... so its grinding time!!! thank you to jason and shaun for the photos and bong (chee) for the help holding the bonnet while i am grinding, also thx for the lovely grinder tom


only manage to shave 1.5kg off the 13kg total weight of the bonnet... will shave more next time when i have more time to grind

now test fit the vent on, i decided to cut more to fit 2 vents instead of just 1... mega vent for mega ricer! how fitting


drilling and riveting


now spraying it all matt black


all done and ready for trackday!!!


top view and putting the wing back on... i mean what kind of rice i am without a gaint wing


pack in all the tools, jack, stands and pit stuff to the boot and close the garage...


TRACKDAY PREPARATION IS DONE... Thank you for all the exe-crew that has been helping me to complete this preparation and thank you for indra santoso from tekno tuner for answering all my questions whenever i am stuck at some stage while building the diff