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#1. RE: [E36M3] Thunderhill Driving School - from Jim Bassett
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 12:19:21 -0700 From: "Jim Bassett" <jbassett@mayannetworks.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Thunderhill Driving School > Have any of the Bay Area listers ever been to one of the Thunderhill > sponsored High Performance Street Schools? > Any comments or insights on these events would be appreciated. Good schools, on a good, safe, fun (IMO) track. Chances are, since this is their "regular" Street School (as oppopsed to the Advanced one), you'll be using half the track. There's lots of run-off room everywhere, so if you get into trouble, just drive it off. You'll get dirty, but won't hurt the car. There are enough different types of corners on that part of the track that you'll really learn a lot. > Is any one else attending this weekends school at Thunderhill? > I am heading up in the wee hours Saturday morning if anyone would like to > caravan. As Huntley mentioned, several of us will be there on Sunday & Monday. Feel free to stick around for Sunday, if you can, even if you can't get in to the Team Yahoo event as a driver - passengers are always welcome! :-) Cheers, Jim Bassett 1998 M3/4 - tech'd, prep'd, ready for action :-)
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#2. RE: M3 is a sports sedan - from david tow
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 13:05:39 PDT From: "david tow" <david_tow@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: M3 is a sports sedan But it's quite a bit roomier than the one in a 2002, which I owned for more than 4 years. :o) David Tow >If you talk to any of my occasional back seat passengers, I think they'll >call it a coupe, then 8^) > >-Al > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Re: Detecting the limit (looking for a school) - from Ken Robb
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 13:11:39 -0700 From: Ken Robb <kenrobb@willisallen.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Detecting the limit (looking for a school) we have done it in San Diego several times with good results. It requires more staffing than we can get sometimes. We rent a water truck and use the stadium parking lot. We put on 2 schools at The Emergency Vehicle Operation Center (EVOC) owned by the San Bernardino Sheriff's Dept. They have a skid pad of polished concrete that is then flooded. It was so slick that the demo car I got (retired patrol car w/rusted through floor) would not go forward if I dropped it into drive without my foot on the brake due to uncontrollable wheelspin.It had a sticky throttle return and was probably at about 1,500 rpm. It was like driving on the slipperiest ice I ever experienced. I think we could have got the job done without flooding the SMOOOOOTH concrete. Ken Robb Jason Bishop wrote: > Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 23:36:41 -0700 (PDT) > From: Jason Bishop <jason@secondhat.com> > Subject: RE: [E36M3] Re: Detecting the limit (looking for a school) > > Hi Jim. > > On Wed, 26 Jul 2000, Jim Bassett wrote: > > > What's wrong with that? The skills you learn are the same, no matter what > > you learn them in. (And I've seen these tracks - they appear to be set up to > > easily slide/oversteer with teeny tiny tires in the back - and the inherent > > lightness in the rear anyway that a truck has.) > > > > I got to thinkin, and your right, albeit those trucks would work just > fine. What I originally wanted was to slow down the oversteer chain of > events as much as possible so I could practice reacting. Skid car sounds > like overkill now. Truck with skinny tires sounds about right. I'll try > it I think. or maybe the rusellracing. they both sound good. > > I wonder why the bmw club doesn't do car control clinic exercise where you > drive around a figure 8 on wet pavement. wouldn't that work? > > I'll do the ggc clinic when it rolls around again too. didn't have enouph > rubber to do both last weekend :) > > Jason > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from the mailing list. > ************************************************************* -- ----------------------------------------------------- Click here for Free Video!! http://www.gohip.com/freevideo/
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#4. RE: [E36M3] Re: Detecting the limit (looking for a school) - from Sean Hester
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 13:25:49 PDT From: "Sean Hester" <seanh_race@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Re: Detecting the limit (looking for a school) > > funny story. (going along my same thread of M3s are hard to learn in) >i'd > > say about 80% of the people who do this drill in an M3, CAN'T make the >car > > oversteer their first few times. > >Had this experience on an impromptu skid pad in a parking lot area >at a Sears Point school recently... how did I solve it? Don't shift >into 2nd - stay in 1st! Much easier to break traction that way :-) it's not that hard to get gas pedal induced oversteer. but the point is to learn to feel the onset because of steering inputs, not gas pedal inputs (when you know it's coming because you're CAUSING it ;-) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
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#5. BMW aiming to be the next Microsoft - from Michael Ting
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 17:08:51 -0500 From: "Michael Ting" <lupin@purdue.edu> Subject: BMW aiming to be the next Microsoft <RANT> What is BMW trying to accomplish?? Here's the current model lineup: 3-series, 5-series, 7-series, Z3, Z8, X5 (C1, but it doesn't really count as an automobile) According to rumor, BMW is going to built a smaller SUV, called the X3. In addition to that, they're also making a Long wheelbase version of the X5 (X5L). Not to mention the Z9, and rumor of the return of the 6-series (7-series coupe). Apparently, BMW still wants to make some more cars. According to current Autoweek (July 31): "BMW will call its four cylinder sub-3 series that arrives in 2004 the 1 Series". In addition to that, autoweek also mentioned a sport variant of the 1 series codenamed Z2. So, in the near future we will have: 1 series, 3 series, 5 series, 6 series, 7 series, X3, X5, X5L, Z2, Z3, Z8, and Z9!!! (Yikes!! 12 Total!!!) On top of that, BMW is pushing to make an ///M variant for most of the model range. M3, M5, MZ3, MX5, ANDDD, a M variant for the Z2, with 177 hp from a 2.0 liter engine (Autoweek). Great!!! We have a direct competition for the Civic SI. Damn, by 2004 even the SI will have 180 hp at the minimum. What happens to our ///M car then?? I can understand that BMW is trying to sell a car into every segment of the market. However, it seems that the current BMW cars has started to lose its shine. I don't really know much about automobiles prior to the 90's, but it seems that the current BMW cars just don't have the kind of image that the E30 M3, the E28 M5, M6, and the 2002 had. Cars such as the M variant of the X5 will only make things worse. We all know that BMW M cars have always been a competent race car. Even our beloved E36 M3s, which was build for a commuter car (unlike the E30) still perform respectably in real world racing. (PTG being a strong example) But racing in a 400 hp+SUV?? (well, maybe we really CAN race in it. who knows??) With Audi and Lexus going after the 3 series, I think BMW really need to concentrate on making the 3 series shine. Not creating a whole bunch of new lineups. Anybody remember Jerry McGuire?? He got a party one day, got fired the next day. Heh, I don't want to be like him. :P </RANT> Cheers, Michael Ting --------------------
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#6. Rollbar Phase III - from Jim Powell
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 17:40:25 -0700 From: Jim Powell <jsp98m3@home.com> Subject: Rollbar Phase III More pictures from Jim at Tri-Point Engineering (TC Kline/ProParts). http://members.home.com/jsp98m3/Rollbar.html In the pictures for Part III we see the rear supporting structure go in. The big difference here is that while it is still SCCA legal, there aren't any diagonal braces blocking the openings to the rear doors. Since I have a 4 door, no fold down rear seats and a set of tires to haul around, this becomes a handy feature. Stay tuned for Part IV Jim
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Question about helmuts (Was: Re: [uuc] Bell Helmet GP) - from Chester Wong
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 18:26:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Question about helmuts (Was: Re: [uuc] Bell Helmet GP) OUCH!!!! LOL! Well, as you might remember, *most* of my injuries--save for the krazy glue and fireball while cooking eggs incidents--were while impressing women!!! I don't think wearing a helmut for those moments would have helped my cause! Then again, I don't drive around a Pimp-mobile (shut up Dave!) nor do I have stories of Miss America contestants in my back seat...so maybe I should start wearing a helmut all the time! Chester --- Jim Powell <jsp98m3@home.com> wrote: > My God Chester!!! You've been walking around without a helmet with your > personal > safety record? > > Jim > > Chester Wong wrote: > > > Seeing that I might do a few more autocrosses and the drivers school at > > Oktoberfest, I am inclined to buy a helmut. So what's the scoop on the > AFX-1? > > Get it? Don't get it? What about the safety standards; are new ones > coming > > out to render this one useless in a year or so? The price looks decent, > but I > > don't want to rush into anything. > ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/
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#8. Stereo Upgrade in SF Bay Area - from Eric Fesler
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 19:12:57 -0700 From: "Eric Fesler" <dixie_f@pacbell.net> Subject: Stereo Upgrade in SF Bay Area Somone at the Car Clinic at 3com park this last weekend told me that there was a list member in ?San Mateo? who did car audio for BMW's. Can anyone point me to this person or to anyone in the SF Bay area that is good with 3 series BMW car stereo setups. I am in the south bay, Saratoga specifically. Does anyone nearby have a nice clean install I might be able to listen to some time? Thanks, Eric Fesler
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#9. - from David M. Sanchez
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 23:28:19 -0400 (EDT) From: "David M. Sanchez" <dsanchez@vegas.infi.net> Subject: unsubscribe David M. Sanchez 1995 Daytona Violet M-3 (Sharked) Sin City Chapter BMWCCA #158907 Henderson, NV
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#10. Huge thanks - from Jeffrey Stowe
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 23:20:49 -0700 From: Jeffrey Stowe <jstowe@cisco.com> Subject: Huge thanks Huge thanks to Jim Bassett and Huntley Parker for hooking me up with the team yahoo guys which gets me an extra day of track driving and learning. I am looking forward to meeting you all (including Mark D and Donna S) in person and would love the opportunity to go for a ride. Of course if any of you more experienced drivers find yourselves standing around bored while the newbies creep around the track, I am always hungry for input and direction. see you sunday (or maybe sat night at golden pheasant) jeff stowe 98 m3/4