[Zengineer]

Finally got the car on a track! Thanks to all of you who posted and shared your setups and suggestions - it helped me get (and feel) prepared. Other than xtreme experience, this was my first time on track.


Course and event:
https://www.hallettracing.net/events...speed-touring/


Best lap:
My top speed was 100 mph, best lap was ~1:39 which the instructor says is 'pretty good' for a first timer. Track is apparently pretty technical due to elevation change, cambered turns, and blind crests.


Car setup:
Completely stock except:
1. Motul 600 brake fluid
2. Continental extreme contact DWS 06+ (all season nonRFT) in 235/40/R19
3. left traction control on the whole time
4. ~9,000 miles on rotors and pads
5. ~2,000 miles on tires


My takeaways:
1. Before, I would have graded myself as a 6.5 / 10 driver; after, 3/10.
2. Took me dozens of laps to stop "being careful with the car". For the first session in particular, I was all nerves. After a couple sessions, the nerves went away which was great because I was literally shaky after the first session lol.
3. I don't know what the technique is called, but instructor taught me to keep front suspension loaded until I initiate the turn, then gradually release and as I turn in. This was game changing. I could feel the tire grip and suspension stay loaded which dramatically improved my corner exit speed to the point that I was blowing through the next corners, which I had not been doing all day.
4. My worst sessions by far were when the instructor was coaching me during the lap. After a solo session, I asked him to hold all commentary until the end of the session. I went from being passed by almost everyone (a few passed me twice), to actually passing someone (granted it was an old slow ass VW Golf... lol).
5. I vastly underestimated how much technique there is to 'truly' pushing the car. It took me five sessions (~8 laps per session) to start really 'feeling':
- comfortable late braking
- added grip from initiating turn with brakes engaged (i.e. keeping the front suspension loaded)
- smooth brake on / off
- smooth handling
6. I vastly underestimated how mental of a sport this is. From the outside it just looks like a bunch of cars driving fast. Yeah, no.
7. Recommend leaving it in sport plus auto shift for all newbs. The manual shifting is another major distraction and can upset the car and drivetrain if done poorly.
8. The drive home after felt slow and easier than any drive of my life; I felt like a highway superhero (I wasn't speeding that much, everything just seemed to move slower and I knew how far I was from brake and handling limits on highway).
9. If you can get out on a day that isn't as busy, I'd recommend it. Hallett does VIP days, which cost a little more, but include food and limit to 5 cars on track. For a new driver, I think this is great. My worst session of the day was with about 15 cars on the track - I was pointing so many cars by that I couldn't really focus or practice lines.


My review of car setup:
1. Power and speed felt good. Never felt over-powered or under-powered.
2. Drivetrain was very smooth and never felt in the way, except when I was manual shifting and doing it poorly.
3. The tires were fine for my first time out. Toward the end of the day, I did start to find the limit of the tires in braking and cornering; they never slid under acceleration (thanks xdrive).
4. I only detected traction control intervention once and I just saw the light flash, didn't feel anything (coming off a curb, accelerating uphill).
5. I filled up gas about half-way through to avoid some of the issues people have had running hard with low fuel - I never had that issue.
6. Initial tire pressure before each session~32 psi; after each session ~37 psi.
7. Coolant temp never got over about 230 F which kept the temp gauge in the middle.


How I compared to the other cars:
1. As expected, significantly faster in the straights than brz, miata, older lotus - but they all catch up in the corners (especially when I am grandma braking lol).
2. GT350, corvettes, and supras are in another league. Don't expect to be competitive with those guys. Especially those that trailer up there and rocking 100TW tires.
3. That said, in the first few sessions, those faster cars would pass me and then immediately disappear. At the last session, they would pass but it would take a few corners for them to disappear. By comparison, the fastest lap I heard from one of the GT350 drivers was a 1:25, mine was 1:39. I'm sure a great driver could get another 5+ seconds out of my lap, but to get down in the 1:20's feels like it would take tires at least, perhaps brakes, perhaps more.


Pros of tracking daily my daily driver:
1. Fun
2. Challenging for mind and body (mostly mind)
3. People were all great
4. Learning how to truly push the car makes me a better and safer daily driver.
5. Don’t have to deal with trailering.

Cons:
1. It is NOT relaxing (at least not yet for me)
2. Potential for damage to daily (I never truly felt in danger by my own driving or by others')
3. Hard to live with being slow, which either means time and mods to this car or separate track car.
4. Track day insurance adds up.

Still undecided how much of a hobby this will become, but I feel that I owe it to myself and car to go out at least one more time now that I am getting the feel for it.

Thank you all again for the information and hopefully someone gets something from my post!

[RCKYMTN M34OI]

It's awesome to see more and more guys tracking the M340. And good on you for documenting your experience . . this will help you next time out. Get as much in car instruction as you can and keep up the progress.
Personally i've found the M340 to be a very suitable car to be a DD family hauler with occasional track days(i'm plannig on 4-5/year). As long as your not trying to be competitive in time trials etc. . . a set of summer wheels/tires and track day brake pads go a long way and make for a simple "race day setup" that can swapped over the day prior to an event.

[Zengineer]

Originally Posted by RCKYMTN M34OI

It's awesome to see more and more guys tracking the M340. And good on you for documenting your experience . . this will help you next time out. Get as much in car instruction as you can and keep up the progress.
Personally i've found the M340 to be a very suitable car to be a DD family hauler with occasional track days(i'm plannig on 4-5/year). As long as your not trying to be competitive in time trials etc. . . a set of summer wheels/tires and track day brake pads go a long way and make for a simple "race day setup" that can swapped over the day prior to an event.

Thank you for feedback and suggestions! I agree on setup, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it held up. Next big mod for me would be to just accept that there will always be faster cars/drivers and to not go tumbling down the mod rabbit hole lol.

[ztkm340]

Nice and congrats! Looking at your car it's exactly the same as mine. I also have a 24 M340i in the same color. I also been to the track this past weekend for the NASA-NE @ Lightning for season finale. The only mod the car has is ATC Brake Fluid, otherwise I'm on stock pads still and that's after 4 track days, there's about 1/4th left and I'm in no way kind on the brakes.

[Zengineer]

Originally Posted by ztkm340

Nice and congrats! Looking at your car it's exactly the same as mine. I also have a 24 M340i in the same color. I also been to the track this past weekend for the NASA-NE @ Lightning for season finale. The only mod the car has is ATC Brake Fluid, otherwise I'm on stock pads still and that's after 4 track days, there's about 1/4th left and I'm in no way kind on the brakes.

Nice! Agreed it’s pretty solid. Thanks to your other thread I knew to keep the fuel topped off so I didn’t have any limp mode issues!

[ztkm340]

Originally Posted by Zengineer

Nice! Agreed it’s pretty solid. Thanks to your other thread I knew to keep the fuel topped off so I didn’t have any limp mode issues!

I was able to trigger it even above 1/2 recently as I'm getting more acquainted with the car and my lap times are coming down. This time I could only add 6.1gal. to top it off after cut-off.

It also always happens in the same exact place on that track (NJMP Lightning) right at the crest when coming out of the bowl. I'm not happy honestly. It has to be the first car that I had and taken to the track that has fueling issues with that much fuel in the tank.