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Oh I totally understand that arrangement. But there's plenty of track to reach without having to stay overnight.
I wanted a V8 and the decision was E92 M3 or some muscle car. I went with the Boss because I wanted a car that does well on track from the start. I was looking for a Camaro 1LE as well but they are close to impossible to find here and most of them are fakes.
In retrospect, an M3 might have been the smarter decision because it is far easier to get parts for them but the sound from the Boss' sidepipes is just to awesome to pass.
I know RSR from when Ron Simons started renting out cars at the Ring I believe. He started with rather rusty but also rather fast Alfa 75s. I saw they have a whole office at Spa when we went to Spa two years ago.
Anyhow, have fun at all track events you go to this year. If you need to be hooked up to someone for track days or courses to obtain a german DMSB level A race drivers license, just let me know.
Nice vid! I really hope I get the chance to drive there with my Boss this year.
Did you enjoy your day? Looks like rain was about to come in.
Spa was really impressive to me.
Thanks man! Yeah, it’s a very impressive track. Just how I like it, fast and flowing. Trying to stay flat through LaRouge is a hell of a ride, and double downhill left handed in the other side of the track is one of my favorite curves on any track so far.
I did 3:02.1 and I can still find 2-3s with more practice I’m sure. Hope you get a chance to take your Boss! Lots of long straights to stretch out it’s legs.
I checked the videos I made in Spa, my lap time was about 3:25 in my E46 M3. I did some faster laps later but I doubt I got any faster than maybe 3:15.
It was fun though. I like it best when you got some participants of the same skill and speed you can battle with without having to drive faster than you actually should...
Yes, I like that too. Actually I like following a slightly faster driver more. I learn each time and get better myself.
I was consistent at Spa when there was no traffic. 3:10 or so with traffic, and I got 2 laps in 3:02 range with this being the fastest. I was more consistent at Hockenheimring, but there was a lot of traffic and my best time there was only a 2:08.7.
Thread revive! Why? Bacause Race Car! I finally got to visit the Nurburgring and drive the legendary Nordschleife. Wow, what a track. My favorite experience so far. 15 miles, over 70 corners and no run off room. Scary as ****, and extremely rewarding when you get it right. You know what else is rewarding? Giving various flavors of Porsche 911 a run for their money in their natural habitat.
Doing the track with my Boss was really wicked by the way, even with semi slicks. The original Brembos get really frightening after half a lap even with brake cooling ducts installed. And I am not really fast. My M3s original single piston brakes did not even flinch.
I did about 18 laps today, and this video was from the last session. It was a track day with Schnell Schwaben. Good group of guys, and what helped was the morning brief was in English in addition to German!
I'm not that fast. My best today was 8:38 BTG / 9:08 full circuit. I ran into another guy with an M2 almost same as mine, and it was his first day at Nordschleife as well. He was a racer from the UK. He even had the same tires and brake pads. The only differences between our cars was that his is a DCT and mine is a manual, and he had Motul RBF 660 fluid vs. Castrol SRF in mine. The crazy thing is he pulled off a 7:58 BTG time today. That's 40s faster than me. Mind blown!
As for brakes, I could not do more than 3 hot laps today. The pads were still fine, but the pedal started getting longer. I think the M2 REALLY NEEDS brake cooling for consistent 40 min sessions. Nordschleife is harder on the brakes than it seems with the elevation changes. I wish for firmer brake pedal. Also after 3 laps my Pilot Super Sports were getting really greasy. Pressure was ok, but the temp was getting over 90C or 194F, and that is when the Michelins loose grip. .
P.S. I got a good tip about lap times from the UK guy. He said instead of doing 2 or 3 hot laps in a row he does "cooling laps" and waits for traffic to clear. Than he goes for this hot lap on warm but not hot tires and brakes. Pretty smart!
I would love to hear your Boss thundering at that track. So cool you get to drive it at the best circuit on the planet! I miss my Mustang. Not sure if it would be faster than the M2 around Nurburgring, but still.
Last edited by 5.M0NSTER; Jul 29, 2019 at 03:01 PM.
Man, you really should have come to that track day before the 24h hour race, it would probably have been the best car and race related event of your life :-) Drivers briefings were in english, too.
I got quite some laps on the Nordschleife but my best lap time so far is 8:55 BTG. But that's a very safe ride then, I usually do not go full throttle on the more straight parts like Klostertal (?) though, and I guess I could easily shave of 10 to 20 seconds by driving faster in these sections without risking too much.
As for brakes, I always had brake cooling ducts installed first, also on my M3. There's plenti of good kits I think that fit nicely and can be removed when selling the car.
If you go on a track day with guided laps on the Nordschleife the instructors are usually drivers from Nürbrugring endurance series like VLN or RCN or 24h. They know how to brake and drive without stressing the hardware too much, and it helps you cope with the car's standard brakes.
On the BMWs, my brother and I usually used 265/40 R18 I think. We used the Nankang Semis and it's very good for its price. Even with new rims you pay under 1000 € for the whole set and at least in the E46 M3 you can store the 4 rims on the backseats. Even in the M2 I'd say 3 in the back and 1 in the trunk should work, so no hassle with getting the rims to the track and back. The tires are road legal though and if you get all the paperwork done you could just drive them to the track. You might need 5 mm or 10 mm wheel spacers though for proper clearance.
With lap times around 8:30 to 9:00 I would expect a set of tires to last like forever if you do not overdo it.
Did you do any guided laps? Do you remember your instructors name?
Man, you really should have come to that track day before the 24h hour race, it would probably have been the best car and race related event of your life :-) Drivers briefings were in english, too.
I got quite some laps on the Nordschleife but my best lap time so far is 8:55 BTG. But that's a very safe ride then, I usually do not go full throttle on the more straight parts like Klostertal (?) though, and I guess I could easily shave of 10 to 20 seconds by driving faster in these sections without risking too much.
As for brakes, I always had brake cooling ducts installed first, also on my M3. There's plenti of good kits I think that fit nicely and can be removed when selling the car.
If you go on a track day with guided laps on the Nordschleife the instructors are usually drivers from Nürbrugring endurance series like VLN or RCN or 24h. They know how to brake and drive without stressing the hardware too much, and it helps you cope with the car's standard brakes.
On the BMWs, my brother and I usually used 265/40 R18 I think. We used the Nankang Semis and it's very good for its price. Even with new rims you pay under 1000 € for the whole set and at least in the E46 M3 you can store the 4 rims on the backseats. Even in the M2 I'd say 3 in the back and 1 in the trunk should work, so no hassle with getting the rims to the track and back. The tires are road legal though and if you get all the paperwork done you could just drive them to the track. You might need 5 mm or 10 mm wheel spacers though for proper clearance.
With lap times around 8:30 to 9:00 I would expect a set of tires to last like forever if you do not overdo it.
Did you do any guided laps? Do you remember your instructors name?
I did have an instructor, but I can't remember his name. He was a nice guy, and very knowledgeable. He helped me get Hatzenbach and the following few curves way better. Also helped me improve my line through Hoheneihen and into Adenauer Forest and then Bergwerk and Eiskurve on the other side of the track. Guy didn't say that much, but what he said made a difference right away
Hey, you know, you are right. I am just now after 18 or so laps starting to get quicker is some sectors, but I have not even started to put them together yet. I am still in "gross optimization" phase. And you are spot on about using brake hardware more efficiently. I still get on the brakes too early, use them for too long, and use them at all! I know for a fact there are some corners I don't need to brake for, but my self-preservation instincts still tell me I do! I need to train them better. And in the Klostertal uphill area of the track or after Planzgarten I can enter faster than I think which means saving time. And brake temps.
Well, I just need to practice. After I have 50, 60, 70 laps under my belt I also expect 25-30 second reduction in lap times. Then when I put on semi-slick that's another 12-15s, and with that I 'should' be in the 7 min range.
One more video from earlier in the day. POV, but not so fast. Cooling brakes and tires between hot laps, but good view of the track, which is totally amazing.
I may have mentioned that I am trying to sell my Boss right now to get a more economic track car that I can get parts for more easily here in Germany. I don't want to wreck the Boss now.
If I had a track car available, I would have participated in that one last Monday though.
Selling a Boss in Germany is hard, people don't buy a Mustang for track use, and posing can be done with a non-Boss Mustang but for 10.000 EUR less :-(
