I want to share some photos and thoughts of my first track experience and how the F10 held up during the Industry Track Day 7 @ Chuckwalla Raceway. For those of you that are interested in the photos you can just scroll down
Photo by CaliPhotography
My driving experience is literally nothing at all when it comes to the track. The most aggressive driving I've ever done is on an autocross track and that was well over 10 years ago. Other than that I do enjoy cruising and some simple canyon runs. When it came down to racing around the track, what I thought I knew about cars and their handling and dynamics...none of my past driving experience helped me out here.
The best advice I got came from a few of my friends.
Jsyang15 -
"Brake hard and by hard I mean slam on it and let the ABS kick in. Never brake during turns as you'll definitely spin out"
Track specs
Hankook V12 Tires 245/35/20 and 275/30/20
BBS LM-R 20x8.5 and 20x9.5
KW V3 coilover kit
KW V3 EDC fix
K&N dropin filter
MXP Prototype E9x M3 downpipe back exhaust
JB3 Stage1 N55 @ 4.5psi over stock
91 Oct gas
Weight (B-)
All I can say is that my F10 535i was a blast to drive and right off the bat I completely felt the weight of this car and at 4080lbs on the first corner. But by no means was this car difficult to handle around the corners. This track is very technical with a lot of double apex turns and noticeable elevation changes. I was really glad we were running this track counterclockwise as if it was the other way around the chicanes would have scared the living crap out of me.
Suspension (B+)
The KW V3 coilover kit with the EDC fix was simply amazing. The first 3 sessions I ran the car in Sport+ mode and the traction control would kick in quite a bit trying to straighten the car out and caused some unwanted understeer in the double apex corners. But I felt safe and in control the whole time. The last 3 sessions I ran with the DSC off and in this mode you still get the enhanced chassis and drivetrain control but the car felt the best as the understeer was a lot less noticeable.
Power (B)
I had no qualms at all about the power available on tap. On the front and back straights I was able to hit 110 mph and as easily bring the car back down to manageable speeds to enter the corners with the stock brakes. The JB3 stage 1 for the N55 motor works great and with my current setup I had 290-300hp and 315-339tq available on tap. I have to admit that I did want a bit more power on the straights, but coming out of the corners F10 did not fail to deliver.
Braking (B+)
Even with continuous hard braking they did not fade as much as I anticipated. Our stock brakes are 348mm (13.7") in the front and 345mm (13.6") in the rear. Which in my opinion are quite large and effective at bringing the car down to manageable speeds in the corners. It was only towards the last 2 sessions I could notice the difference in braking response but that could have been because I ran those two sessions back to back from Intermediate Slow and Beginner.
Reliability (A)
My 2011 F10 535i successfully survived 6 sessions at this event with no issues at all. The brakes worked wonderfully, and the engine never overheated even though it was ~100 degrees out the whole day. One thing to note was that the N55 motor did not overheat at all. The temperature needle never went past 1-2 o'clock on the gauge and cooled down quickly after each session. I couldn't say the same for our intern who has a 2011 335is w/ the N54 motor & DCT as his car overheated twice. Interesting thing on his car is that he has an intercooler, downpipe, meth injection, JB4, MXP midpipe and stock rear section. Everyone thought it would be the F10 going into limp mode that day and not the 335is!
Final Thoughts
I can honestly say that I will attend another track session before the end of the year. For next time I hope to have a 4" downpipe, intercooler, JB4 stage2 for the N55 if Terry makes one for us 5er owners soon. Most importantly I really am going to have to put some money aside for some nice track tires but the only 20" R compound tires available are from Pirelli and cost over 2.5k for the set
Overall I give the F10 535 a
B+ rating for track use as a beginner (I admit I'm a bit biased because I love the F10
) and an A+ for the drive to and from the event in comfort!
Shoutouts
Steve, Eddie, and Brian @ Mackin Industries for holding an awesome track event
Joe @ Trinity Autosport for teaching the unofficial "Team Attic" the optimal racing lines and onsite support.
Steve & Tom @ European Auto Source for pre-track preparation
CaliPhotography for making me put "Photo by CaliPhotography" under each of his photos
Photo by CaliPhotography
Photo by CaliPhotography
Photo by CaliPhotography
Photo by CaliPhotography
Photo by CaliPhotography
