[Cozy]

I've been invited along to a BMW UK organised novice track day, in partnership with Club MSV at one of our UK's touring car circuits, Brands Hatch will be my choice. This comes off the back of purchasing a BMW from a main dealer recently and one of a handful of offers my local dealer seems to put my way. It will be conducted in my own car & is extremely cheap, very tempting indeed but I wonder if anyone has been to one of these events and can comment if they are worth the time or not?

I'm no stranger to the track but I've only raced FWD & 4WD cars, never RWD apart from GP go-karts. I'm very confident in my E93's handling and I seem to have learnt its limits well, may I add that it handles superbly, not just 'for a 'vert' so I believe I'll refrain from destroying it (also, how wild can a novice day be?!). Performance enhancements are a Stage 1 remap (~370bhp) making it a fair bit faster than standard but not warp factoring, M-Sport suspension. If things go my way then I'll have non-RFT's for the day.

So what do you think? I'm a little apprehensive that I'll enjoy it too much if I'm honest, chop the E93 in for an E92 and stick it on the track. The reasoning behind my 'vert purchase (other than enjoying the Summer in it) was so that I'd not take it down the slippery slope of modification but as you can see that's not lasted long. I have however set myself the limit of DP's & FMIC (Stage 2+ ~440bhp) which I feel should be plenty for the road.

[MEGA]

non RFTs would be crucial. On the limit the RFTs are dangerous, as is the DSC cutting in, which even restricted with DCT enabled is pretty debilitating on a track..
You don't want that near the edge on a corner. Very hard to predict. But these MSV novice days are excellent value. You get an awful lot of time on track and free tuition, often with a pit garage to yourself also.

Go for it

[DarkAnt335i]

JamJay i had the same offer sent to my email add' Been thinking about going to brands as well as its only 10-15mins away.

My friends always invite me but i always refuse as i don't want to take an e92 on a track with 10's of 205's and fiesta xr2's

But i think the BMW only 'Novice' events seem like a good time to go down for the evening.

Would be good if a few members from the e92 forum went down.

The only 'Track' experience i have is 2 days at the ring last year in my MPS. So would be a good opportunity to get used to the e92 before the ring this year.

[Hotcoupe]

JJ,if this is the track day you told me about recently,then all I would say is go for it,although I suspect your fears about enjoying it too much will be well founded!

The events are extremely well organised,the number of cars is limited,and from my experience the number of cars on track at any given time are very few.
Most attendees seem to spend more time drinking and standing around chatting,which is fantastic as you can really stretch the cars legs!

As Dave mentioned,if you can get some non RFT's for the day,I'd agree with his comments.
Contrary to Dave's comment about free tuition,unfortunately it's not free,but for the £25.00 cost,it might be worth considering if that's what you want.I paid the last time I went and I thought it was good value.
You can get a free pit garage though,which is useful for dumping jacks and wheel wrenches etc.

Get it booked ASAP, you can show me what a 370HP 335i vert can do,and I'll reciprocate with a 363HP 335D

I'm booked

[MEGA]

Usually you can talk to them pitside free of charge though! In-car tuition isn't free. Sorry, I knew what I was trying to type!

Out of interest: When is this one ?

Why has my dealer not given me an invite All I got from Elms was a free portrait shoot (Not sure if they were taking the piss ) and a book for free MOT and oil service (which is somewhat negated taking into account the 160 mile round trip .. )

[DarkAnt335i]

8/5 for Brands £49
Also Bedford, Cadwell, Snetterton 300 on different dates

[Cozy]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

JJ,if this is the track day you told me about recently,then all I would say is go for it,although I suspect your fears about enjoying it too much will be well founded!

The events are extremely well organised,the number of cars is limited,and from my experience the number of cars on track at any given time are very few.
Most attendees seem to spend more time drinking and standing around chatting,which is fantastic as you can really stretch the cars legs!

As Dave mentioned,if you can get some non RFT's for the day,I'd agree with his comments.
Contrary to Dave's comment about free tuition,unfortunately it's not free,but for the £25.00 cost,it might be worth considering if that's what you want.I paid the last time I went and I thought it was good value.
You can get a free pit garage though,which is useful for dumping jacks and wheel wrenches etc.

Get it booked ASAP, you can show me what a 370HP 335i vert can do,and I'll reciprocate with a 363HP 335D

I'm booked

Hi HotCoupe!

Yes this was the one that we talked about . I was a little unsure about it as I figured I'd be off on my own but if you're going for a rip round I think it'd be rude not to join you .

Dark Ant & MEGA, I think you should pop along . I'll happily PM you the link, MEGA.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by JamJay

Hi HotCoupe!

Yes this was the one that we talked about . I was a little unsure about it as I figured I'd be off on my own but if you're going for a rip round I think it'd be rude not to join you .

Let me know if you need anything - spacers etc.
I'll have a jack,wheel wrench etc on the day.

Tips:
Take your wheel centre caps off, the heat from the brakes has a tendency to melt the plastic lugs,resulting in them going for a spin round druids!

Make sure your tow eye is in your tool kit,you need it fitted before going on track.

[Cozy]

On a side note, what 'number' are you classing your remapped cars? I guess a 7 or 8...faster than an Elise in a straight line but cr@pper in the bends ?

[335iLondon]

Having been on a MSV novice day before, I booked the whole day but really had had my fill by midday!
Depends if you are just there to drive or for the social side aswell I suppose.
But I know if I was to do one I would just book the morning session.

You may want to budget some cash for a brake fluid change afterwards, I think its good practice to change it and possibly oil after you have given it a hard time and boiled it on track.

Wish I had the centre cap advice before I went on mine!

Also may sound ott but a pair of gloves wouldnt go amiss as on the leather steering wheel I managed to get some pretty sweaty palms!

Oh and possibly remap on the Cobb to a less agressive map as this should push the turbos a bit less and let you stay ontrack longer without limp mode due to high oil temps.
I would go for Stg1 Drive or Sport Linear throttle.

Do you know if the even is open to joe bloggs to book?

[Cozy]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Let me know if you need anything - spacers etc.
I'll have a jack,wheel wrench etc on the day.

Tips:
Take your wheel centre caps off, the heat from the brakes has a tendency to melt the plastic lugs,resulting in them going for a spin round druids!

Make sure your tow eye is in your tool kit,you need it fitted before going on track.

I've just booked it up . I can meet you there or if you wish, drive up in together.

Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure I have these off in that case. I have some 15mm spacers for the back already but I may add something for the front.

Really looking forward to this!

Originally Posted by 335iLondon

Having been on a MSV novice day before, I booked the whole day but really had had my fill by midday!
Depends if you are just there to drive or for the social side aswell I suppose.
But I know if I was to do one I would just book the morning session.

You may want to budget some cash for a brake fluid change afterwards, I think its good practice to change it and possibly oil after you have given it a hard time and boiled it on track.

Wish I had the centre cap advice before I went on mine!

Also may sound ott but a pair of gloves wouldnt go amiss as on the leather steering wheel I managed to get some pretty sweaty palms!

Oh and possibly remap on the Cobb to a less agressive map as this should push the turbos a bit less and let you stay ontrack longer without limp mode due to high oil temps.
I would go for Stg1 Drive or Sport Linear throttle.

Do you know if the even is open to joe bloggs to book?

I'm planning on switching over to Aggressive Linear Throttle to see how that copes to begin with, I'll switch as I need to and come off the track when necessary. It's really my chance to play with the car and see what it's really like. I don't plan on taking the car within an inch of its life by any means, it's just a novice day so should be a little fun if nothing more.

This one is just a track day evening starting at 5:30pm (on track) and finishing at 8pm. By the 8th May we should have a good bit more daylight at that time also. It's BMW only day and isn't advertsied on the Club MSV website, only by email link sent by BMW UK or your dealer can you get to it. I can share the link with anyone wanting to attend .

[The_Bear_Yid]

Oh wow. I just wrote out a screen of iPad and got the message 'message not sent'. F***.

I'll try to add my tips if I go on the computer.

[phil200tdi]

could you pm me the link please!

Cheers

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by JamJay

I've just booked it up . I can meet you there or if you wish, drive up in together.

Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure I have these off in that case. I have some 15mm spacers for the back already but I may add something for the front.

Really looking forward to this!

I'm sure we can meet up somewhere JJ and go together.

One more tip,make sure you've plenty of fuel,my last track day I averaged 12MPG,god knows what a petrol car will return!

Can you hire a tanker for the afternoon?

[zltm089]

is this track day by invite only? ....

how much?...

sounds like its relatively "safe"....

I'm a track virgin....and want my first time to be gentle and trouble free....

when are you guys going?

[zltm089]

and what about insurance?

[Cozy]

PM's sent .

It's £49 + £10 helmet hire, 8th May starting 15:30 and on track from 5:30. I'm going to sort one day track cover, just in case but to be fair accidents are few and far between.

A novice day would be perfect for you matey.

[zltm089]

got ur pm...cheers mate...will have a think about it...

where are u getting ur insurance btw? ....and roughly how much its gona cost?

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by zltm089

got ur pm...cheers mate...will have a think about it...

where are u getting ur insurance btw? ....and roughly how much its gona cost?

Have a think about it?

No brainer Kev,49 notes!
You'd not get a decent blowie for that,not for 3 odd hrs anyway

Splash the cash Pussy,you've been bigin up your old bus for ages,money where mouth is

On a more serious note insurance wise,as long as you drive within your limits,don't race and keep your distance from other cars you'll be fine,cover will be expensive,even for a few hrs.

[The_Bear_Yid]

I went to this last year and although I was very nervous my first time on track, I throughly enjoyed it. I'd been looking at doing it for a while and hesitated too long and got booked up. I put myself on the back up list and was emailed on the day of the event and literally left 5/10 minutes after getting the email and arrived half way through the briefing.

If you can't take a helmet along then I'd try to be first in the sign up and helmet hire queue as that really slowed things down. 3 staff were trying to check in 20/30 odd people, all having to fill in forms and negotiate how much damage was on their helmet. A good tip there tbh as they charge for damage so be thorough when you take one out.

Once we finally got out of signing on, there was a tannoy announcement having a go at us saying that the pace car (or whatever) was ready to go and we were wasting our own time! Which I thought was cheeky considering the shambles the signing on was.

I was quite far down the pit lane and had to run a good 100m or so to get to my car and remembered about my tow eye... f*** where is that?! I'd only had the car a couple of months and had about 2 minutes to locate and fit it. I managed this, just and off I went. My heart was in my mouth tbh.

If you haven't driven with a helmet before, you'll headbutt the window, try to be mindful of this. Just don't do it too hard!

The sighting laps were OK, I could tell the pace of the other cars were quick. Then we were off. Mr Blue Flag became my friend lol. Not too surprising with 335's and M3's there. Where the other people had been to 3 track days or less was unlikely imo.

If you have only seen Brands on TV then you cannot appreciate the height and dip of Paddock Hill, the first bend. If you hit it right, it's like a rollercoaster ride up in to Druids.

I had booked tuition for 7pm, I think I pulled in for it about 10/15 minutes early and he was 20 minutes late which was annoying. Anyway, I would recommend this so much. He was patient and taught me the 'line' for the track. Which at times meant driving in a straight line at a bent and then turning which was very weird but I did it.

I think some of the other drivers wondered where the f**k I was going but at McLaren for example, you can turn and hold the steering wheel in the same position all the way around through Clark Curve. It is f**king un-nerving and your senses scream at you to turn in but if you hold on, the track will pull you round and the sensation is unreal. I only managed this once as my senses won the other times!

The tutor also told me to stay on the inside dip along the Brabham Straight which really worked. He called it a 'turbo boost' and it kept me with an M3 along this straight believe it or not.

I explained to the tutor that I wasn't going all out as I had to drive to work the next day (and I hadn't got time to get track cover), so couldn't afford to go off! Which is not easy to do tbh. The grip on track is immense and no one went off when I was there and people were going for it. I said I'd come back and do the M3 experience and give it full beans then, he said that it's usually the other way around, people go easier in someone else's car?

As tempted as I am to go again, I haven't booked... yet. The M3 experience is £185 and after tuition, petrol, helmet and whatever the insurance cost is, you're not too far off of that cost tbh with this track day. OK you get more time but believe me, driving hard on a track is tiring and I'll be surprised if anyone stays out the whole time!

I'd definitely say do it once if you haven't before. If you're tempted, book it as it will book up and you'll regret it if you don't. Just make sure you check your tyres and remember to have enough petrol for it before you get there.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by The_Bear_Yid

I went to this last year

As a matter of interest Bear when was this?

[The_Bear_Yid]

I can't remember tbh. June/July I think.

Why's that, was you there?