Auto Club Oval (or any Oval)

[8600RPM]

I am heading to the Auto Club "Roval" in Fontana CA next weekend. It is the NASCAR oval circuit that was used in the movie Days of Thunder back in the day. I am not sure if it is currently on the NASCAR schedule or not but essentially it is a huge oval.. There is a road course in the middle of the oval and speed ventures set the course up where you essentially drive around 3/4 of the oval and then cut in and drive through the road course and then back on the oval. Hence "Roval"

Speeds hit about 160 mph around the banked oval. I am just wondering if there is anything I should keep in mind in terms of oil starvation risk in the situation where you are doing high speeds on a banked oval for a consistently long period of time?

Anyone ever driven an oval like that in their e92 m3?

[roastbeef]

yes, it is still a nascar track, and many people on here have driven on it. our cars will do about 140ish. speedo will show a lot higher, but its about 140.
if you're dct, you'll be at the top of 6th. nobody has had any issues that i know of, however, it has been said that with sticky tires, one would be able to exceed the oil pump g force rating. you're really only sucked down for about five seconds.

[Richbot]

More pressure on the outside for the oval than you think you need or you'll eat tires

[dogbone]

I drove Auto Club Speedway's Roval Course a couple times in June with my E90 M3.

I've written a few things about it since.

I talked a little bit about the general course here:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...postcount=1814

I talked about the braking zone into Turn 3 to exit the Oval here and how challenging it is to get right:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=437

People have asked about oil starvation in the past. No oil starvation issues as far as I know. However, I will say that all of the strangest tech issues I have ever experienced have all happened at Auto Club:

-I've blown a fuse while going 130mph on the Oval which caused the engine to stop functioning and I had to coast into the infield and get towed into the paddock

-The pressure switch on my misting system suddenly stopped working there

-With front aero, my bumper was pulling downwards in general. The sustained high speeds on the Oval along with the front aero caused the outer edges of the front bumper to pull down even more. This caused a metal bracket between the bumper and fender to bend downwards (more than it had been). That bracket had a sharp point on it and it became a cheese grater on the outer edge of the passenger-side tire on the Oval and damaged it.

-In June, I lost my entire air filter and air intake hose for my supercharger somewhere either on the track or the paddock. I didn't even realize it and kept running without it.

I only experience weird stuff like this at Auto Club. Nothing like this happens at any other track. The Oval is the fastest section of track pavement in California. Between the bank and the high speeds, the car is subjected to unique forces that you just don't see anywhere else locally.

It is an interesting track with unique challenges, although I find the most interesting challenges to be on the Oval (the nerves of Turn 1 and the braking for Turn 3). The Playground section at the end before returning to the Oval feels like a poorly setup auto-cross to me.....bad pavement, pot holes, people hitting the cones so they're in you're way....the Playground is definitely my least favorite section.

Anyway, I hope you have fun! (and have less tech issues than me!)

Here's one of my laps to give you an idea what it looks like:

[8600RPM]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I drove Auto Club Speedway's Roval Course a couple times in June with my E90 M3.

I've written a few things about it since.

I talked a little bit about the general course here:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...postcount=1814

I talked about the braking zone into Turn 3 to exit the Oval here and how challenging it is to get right:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=437

People have asked about oil starvation in the past. No oil starvation issues as far as I know. However, I will say that all of the strangest tech issues I have ever experienced have all happened at Auto Club:

-I've blown a fuse while going 130mph on the Oval which caused the engine to stop functioning and I had to coast into the infield and get towed into the paddock

-The pressure switch on my misting system suddenly stopped working there

-With front aero, my bumper was pulling downwards in general. The sustained high speeds on the Oval along with the front aero caused the outer edges of the front bumper to pull down even more. This caused a metal bracket between the bumper and fender to bend downwards (more than it had been). That bracket had a sharp point on it and it became a cheese grater on the outer edge of the passenger-side tire on the Oval and damaged it.

-In June, I lost my entire air filter and air intake hose for my supercharger somewhere either on the track or the paddock. I didn't even realize it and kept running without it.

I only experience weird stuff like this at Auto Club. Nothing like this happens at any other track. The Oval is the fastest section of track pavement in California. Between the bank and the high speeds, the car is subjected to unique forces that you just don't see anywhere else locally.

It is an interesting track with unique challenges, although I find the most interesting challenges to be on the Oval (the nerves of Turn 1 and the braking for Turn 3). The Playground section at the end before returning to the Oval feels like a poorly setup auto-cross to me.....bad pavement, pot holes, people hitting the cones so they're in you're way....the Playground is definitely my least favorite section.

Anyway, I hope you have fun! (and have less tech issues than me!)

Here's one of my laps to give you an idea what it looks like:

Thanks man I'll check your posts out. If you have time I'd love to chat with you briefly about the track. Message me your # if you don't mind a quick call

[aus]

If you run with Euro MDM, turn 1 and 2 will set off the DSC light due to the difference in wheel speeds on the inside and outside wheels. This causes a wiggle as you're driving around the banking. NOT FUN.
For the first chicane after the big U turn, you'll feel a slight dip on the RIGHT side of the car at turn it. Turn in at that dip and floor it. You'll fly thru there. The penis turn has 2 lines. A wider turn with a apex at the back of the turn or a "racer line" where you dive in and do a V turn.
It's a fun track but the banked turn is not fun at all for me, particularly after the power steering belt snapped at turn in on turn one. The steering a a bitch, even when dong 130.
.
.

[macdude357]

Originally Posted by aus

If you run with Euro MDM, turn 1 and 2 will set off the DSC light due to the difference in wheel speeds on the inside and outside wheels. This causes a wiggle as you're driving around the banking. NOT FUN.
For the first chicane after the big U turn, you'll feel a slight dip on the RIGHT side of the car at turn it. Turn in at that dip and floor it. You'll fly thru there. The penis turn has 2 lines. A wider turn with a apex at the back of the turn or a "racer line" where you dive in and do a V turn.
It's a fun track but the banked turn is not fun at all for me, particularly after the power steering belt snapped at turn in on turn one. The steering a a bitch, even when dong 130.
.
.

So that's what's causing my DSC light to go on. Thanks for the info. Do you have any videos of you on the track? I'd like to see your technique through the chicane.

[redpriest]

Here's my lap in my more mortal E92 before I stripped it and added coilovers. dogbone is the fastest e90m I know there. Stock interior at this point, just BBK and light suspension mods (camber plates, dinan sway bar, swift spec r springs on oem ZCP suspension):

You will want to be careful of a few points on the track that will bend a rim if you go beyond the track limits. I have a couple friends who fell victim - the end of the rumble strip in turn 4 is notorious for this ( the first right hand turn you make after the left turn you make into the infield). Turn 6 exit too.

Before you reemerge onto the bank oval, the parking lot area that is usually coned off so you can make a wide left hand turn through it is also paved particularly poorly.

[aus]

Originally Posted by macdude357

So that's what's causing my DSC light to go on. Thanks for the info. Do you have any videos of you on the track? I'd like to see your technique through the chicane.

Sorry, no video, but it's the chicane right before the penis turn. As you approach it, you'll notice an old patch where the right wheel will go over. RIGHT after that patch, there's a slight dip. That's when you turn in and floor it for a straight light through the chicane. It's a little butt clenching a at the end because you're going so fast to turn right and then straight for the penis turn.
.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by Richbot

More pressure on the outside for the oval than you think you need or you'll eat tires

^ ^ this is important. Despite the right side heating up more on a CCW configuration, you have to start tire pressures with the right side higher on a roval for wear and stability. Imagine one of your passenger side tires failing at 140mph in a turn.

I'll be there Sunday with a few amigos. Have fun.

[M3 Number 86]

DO NOT DO THIS

Here's an older slow video that shows the difference between what your speedo will say in the car versus actual GPS speed (what you are really doing) as roastbeef posted above.

[M3 Number 86]

Here's a broken wheel from said rubble strip mentioned above. Sadly this was my second wheel to fall victim there.

[elim11]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Here's a broken wheel from said rubble strip mentioned above. Sadly this was my second wheel to fall victim there.

+1. Victim here too. Be on the lookout for rumble strips. The ends have a sharp drop off.