Day 1 at the HDPE

[mhughett]

The Kansas City and Sunbelt chapters of the BMWCCA are having a 2-day HDPE this weekend here in Oklahoma at Hallett Raceway. This is a 1.8 mile road course with a lot of elevation changes and 10 turns. I'm a relative rookie as this is only the second time I've done this. I'm amazed at the diversity of the cars at this event. I'd say close to half the cars in the event are modified enough to be considered race cars with interiors gutted, roll bars, R tires, etc. One of the instructors had an E30 with the aforementioned modifications and the addition of an LS-1 engine and a huge rear spoiler. I can only imagine that engine in a 2,000 lb. car.

In my group, the only cars I couldn't keep up with were a Z-06 vette and an E-92 M3. Keep in mind that my car is bone stock with Hankook V12 tires and stock pads. My instructor has the exact same car as I do (same color too) but his mods included coilovers, H-10 pads, camber change and Dunlop Star Spec tires. Big difference. It takes a while for a "rookie" like me to get the courage up to really get the most out of this car but it's fun trying. One more day tomorrow and we'll see if I can reel in the E92.

[Aries326]

Got pics or videos?

[pal]

That looks like a fun track. Be aware and mindful of fading brakes (soft pedal = fluid, no stopping + normal pedal = pads) once you start picking up the pace and speeds as that will call upon more brakes and stock pads and fluids do have a limit.



Have fun!

[mhughett]

Good picture but the picture does nott show the elevation changes. The stright that parellels the turnpike goes up to the middle and down to the 160 degree turn at the end of the straight. This really works the brakes hard. It is a little scary the first time you crest the hill at high speed and see the trees on the other side of the hairpin turn.

[Finnegan]

Looks like a fun track!

My home track has a corner like that one--over the top of a blind corner and then a long downhill straight into a 80 degree left. It was unsettling the first few times at the track, but I worry less about that now than I do the next immediate 90 degree left that goes into esses. But I have a huge cow pasture in front of me going into that corner not a bunch of trees, so yeah, I can see how that might be unsettling!

It's been interesting for me how as familiarity with the track improves and skills improve different areas of the track present more or less challenge. That "next 90 degree left" I mentioned wasn't an issue until I started carrying more speed out of the previous corner, and since the next corner requires what seems like "early" braking and a very late apex to set up the line into the esses it's easy to overcook it and mess up a whole section of the track. I wonder if you'll find the same thing to be true. My sig shows me coming out of the esses on the right line--which took a fair bit of work!

When we get it right it seems like the car "wants" to go where we want it to go rather than it being more of a fight with the car. (Which is one of the ways I've found to gauge how well I'm driving--not speed so much as how gracefully and receptive the car is to my inputs--if it fights me I'm doing something wrong!) There's so much to learn and so much room to improve it really makes for a really good time!

It's a plus IMO that you have an instructor that knows the car--you can learn from any good instructor, but the Z4M has some unique driving dynamics he's aware of and can help with. Enjoy!

[sho-one]

wow that track looks like a fast one. Our local track MAM has two straights where i hit 125mph, this track looks like you can easily hit higher than that more than once. Looks like you got almost 4 straights.

[mhughett]

Originally Posted by sho-one

wow that track looks like a fast one. Our local track MAM has two straights where i hit 125mph, this track looks like you can easily hit higher than that more than once. Looks like you got almost 4 straights.

From what I hear, this track doesn't allow nearly as fast of speeds on the straights as MAM. The longest of the straights is about .3 miles. About the fastest I was going was 90-95 on the straights here. Only went into 4th gear on two of the straightaways. One of the things that I found interesting is that despite the fact I could feel the car sliding out to the edges of track at the ends of the corners, I never felt the DSC interfere with my driving. Others have said they needed to turn it off but it never got in the way. Also, I'm surprised the V12 tires held up as well as they did. I expected them to be scrubbed to nothing but they still look pretty decent. I kept the pressures at about 35psi for most of the session and they never got too far down the sidewall--right at the arrow where they want you to be.

Here are a couple of pictures that kind of show the elevation change from turn 3 to turn 4. The second one was right before I passed the Pontiac G8. Despite its V-8 engine, the M had no trouble getting past it.

[arggg45]

For those that want to get an idea of what this track looks like in-car, this is a friends TTB E46M3 setting the track record earlier this spring.

[SmartBastard]

That track looks like it has the best days behind it.

[esqu1re]

Looks amazing! Car looks great!