Track forum general chit chat.

kolosy wrote

has anyone tried the alibaba mystery cf hoods? i know you get what you pay for, but at $500-ish shipped it's real tempting to try..

Eric335 wrote

Hey track gurus! Rookie question. I have done a TON of searching but a lot of the information out there is old (products have changed names / compounds) and may no longer be accurate, or I found so many conflicting suggestions, so wanted to get the 2025 "latest".

I am taking my E92 M3 to it's first HPDE at NJMP Thunderbolt track in a few weeks (6/15), and is my 2nd time on track (first was in a G80). I have fully stock brakes, rotors, and pads. I am planning to get a fresh Motul 600 brake line flush at the least. I am also debating getting a set of either dedicated track pads, or an 'in-betweener' brake pad that can do both light track duty + street. Some people have suggested I could stick with OEM pads for my first few track days but it sounds like I run the risk of being unable to fully participate if I overheat them. I have mentally acquiesced to having to swap pads between street/track and re-bed them each time but if you think overkill for my usage, let me know.

If I wanted to get a dedicated track pad, is EBC Bluestuff still a popular/respectable choice? (and if so, it would be these two on FCP right? Fronts and rears ).

I live in NYC and use the car only on weekends and *hope* to get to the track 3-4 times per year if i can (Lime Rock, NJ Motorsports Park, Monticello, Thompson). My goal is to pump that number up if I can get a handle on consumables / logistics.

pirategenes wrote

No but very curious about this. Did you find one that is E90 fitment? My understanding is the E90 vs E92 hoods are different and I can’t recall seeing an E90 version.

F4rmost wrote

Hawk DTC-70 and DTC-60 pads are on FCP Euro. I bought these for that reason. They did just fine on track. I would have probably preferred a 60 front, but they were out of stock at the time so I have 70/60 right now. Castrol SRF is also available on FCP Euro. You will be just fine with these on your track day. Just make sure you flush all of the old brake fluid out.

turbo_joe wrote

The DTC 70 is pretty on/off and works better on Hoosiers/slicks IMO. Thats what I run front and rear. The DTC60/30 combo is great for street tires, especially if you can go the FCP route. I would buy two sets of front to always have a spare and just replace them when you get down to 25% pad left. The rear pads last forever on these cars.

F4rmost wrote

I wish they had 60 fronts in stock when I ordered. I might go back and check to see if they have any. Thanks for the info!

EDIT: It still says backordered with no ETA for the 60's on the front.

former 240 s14 wrote

Contact Hawk directly or you can check Summit Racing, they are typically the cheapest everyday.

Rubin

F4rmost wrote

I wish they had 60 fronts in stock when I ordered. I might go back and check to see if they have any. Thanks for the info!

EDIT: It still says backordered with no ETA for the 60's on the front.

omgzirra_exe wrote

Also, doesn't bimmerworld stock the DTC-60s?

Eric335 wrote

Hey track gurus! Rookie question. I have done a TON of searching but a lot of the information out there is old (products have changed names / compounds) and may no longer be accurate, or I found so many conflicting suggestions, so wanted to get the 2025 "latest".

I am taking my E92 M3 to it's first HPDE at NJMP Thunderbolt track in a few weeks (6/15), and is my 2nd time on track (first was in a G80). I have fully stock brakes, rotors, and pads. I am planning to get a fresh Motul 600 brake line flush at the least. I am also debating getting a set of either dedicated track pads, or an 'in-betweener' brake pad that can do both light track duty + street. Some people have suggested I could stick with OEM pads for my first few track days but it sounds like I run the risk of being unable to fully participate if I overheat them. I have mentally acquiesced to having to swap pads between street/track and re-bed them each time but if you think overkill for my usage, let me know.

If I wanted to get a dedicated track pad, is EBC Bluestuff still a popular/respectable choice? (and if so, it would be these two on FCP right? Fronts and rears ).

I live in NYC and use the car only on weekends and *hope* to get to the track 3-4 times per year if i can (Lime Rock, NJ Motorsports Park, Monticello, Thompson). My goal is to pump that number up if I can get a handle on consumables / logistics.

Redd wrote

Are you staggered or square? Going square is a great way to dial out understeer. The front end is just sharper and the rear just wants to rotate more willingly (but not snap into oversteer).

If you don't want to invest then you can play with more front toe out, thicker sways at the rear or more damping rear/less damping front. But the effects won't be as noticeable as going square.

PACarGuy wrote

Following my HPDE, and based on all the threads here, I'm thinking about getting a square 18x10 setup w/275's, and I'm trying to understand how different the front end of the car will be with it.
Pleased to read it doesn't result in snap oversteer, but how much sharper does it make the car? I believe I have decent car control, trail braking technique, etc. but I don't want to be on a knife edge every lap or feel like one small bad input is going to pitch me into the weeds. Does it dramatically change the handling behavior, or is it just a slight sharpening?

Thanks for any feedback!

PACarGuy wrote

Following my HPDE (on OEM staggered setup - 265/245), and based on all the threads here, I'm thinking about getting a square 18x10 setup w/275's, and I'm trying to understand how different the front end of the car will be with it.
Pleased to read it doesn't result in snap oversteer, but how much sharper does it make the car? I believe I have decent car control, trail braking technique, etc. but I don't want to be on a knife edge every lap or feel like one small bad input is going to pitch me into the weeds. Does it dramatically change the handling behavior, or is it just a slight sharpening?

Thanks for any feedback!

omgzirra_exe wrote

Most of your concerns are all alignment based more than it is tire sizing.

but if there ever was a sweet spot for the E9X chassis, 18x10 w/ 275/35/18 SQ are like my baseline standard.

you will notice a bit better turn in response with that set up, but you will also be more prone to a bit more oversteer behavior due to the SQ set up.

also you'd have to really be driving beyond the limits of the car to make it snap oversteer or cause it to spin out in general. i find spinning out the E9X chassis really hard, unless I'm purposely trying to.

PACarGuy wrote

Thanks for the confirmation.

Regarding alignment, I was running stock alignment w/front camber at max the OEM setup allows, but was thinking about getting some front camber plates to get to -2.5/3 camber to minimize edge wear.

omgzirra_exe wrote

mmm you should be okay with stock top hat with the pin removed. if you're not using 140-240tw tires.

But if you are, then yeah, you'd probably want way more camber than -3.

PACarGuy wrote

Well, I'm thinking about some 200tw "endurance" tires. But how much negative camber do you think is right, and what additional impact does that have?

omgzirra_exe wrote

when i had 275/35/18 V730s i had -3.3 F and -2.5 R

PACarGuy wrote

What toe were you running? Did you have any tramlining?