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      11-01-2012, 01:14 PM   #9
3002 tii
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Drives: Z4 M, 550i, X3
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: CT

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Quote:
Originally Posted by DerekSelmanRacing View Post
Just to give some background, our car was a limited dd for the first 5 yrs of life. We would show up at the track with track pads and change the wheels/tires to Hoosier R6 (car has camber plates) and run. Car now has 26000 miles; probably 50% track miles. It is the 2009 NASA TTD national champion driven by my son (Derek).

The front of the car has taken quite a beating (paint chips) but it might not be so bad on eastern tracks. Engine undertray is broken from a couple off track excursions. In it's first five yrs of life as a dd, it was involved in 4 parking lot skirmishes, 3 minor and one major. In short, my track damage body repairs equal about 25% of my street damage repairs!

I've come up through the NASA ranks while my son has come down to TT from Grand-Am. I also instruct with NASA. TT tends to be safer and more controlled than HPDE4 because cars go out on course in order of lap times and most driver's are respectful of others wishing to be timed. Of course, some regions run 4 and TT together.

Unless you're trying to win your class (for contingency prizes or bragging rights---watch out for red mist), IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE YOUR CAR MAXXED OUT IN CLASS TO RUN TT. While my car is obviously very capable in the hands of the right driver, I generally run at the rear of the TTD or front of the TTE field and am PLACED IN THE APPROPRIATE SPOT by lap time, NOT CLASS.
Thanks for the insight, so what would you recommend... running in D with max points (no Hoosiers but DOT non-rcomps like Star Specs) or going all out and trying to run in C (E36 M3 and race-prepped s2k's)?

RE: bumper, after 15 track days per year, my bumper isn't any better... next time I do a respray I may put some clear bra on it.
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