needforspeed

If their is an official e46 M3 time the driver would have been one that was very experienced on the circuit and that it would probably have been set in closed conditions (ie no members of the public sightseeing in your way).

Best advice I read for amateurs visiting the ring is to forget about laptimes and have fun, otherwise you are going to end up wrapping yourself around the scenery.

If there are official M3 times, then maybe there are official times for other models.... I'd love to see them as I am quite convinced the ring will sort the wheat from the chaff.

0700700

7:06 --- BMW M3 GTR, 24hrs, test session, J?rg M?ller (2003)
7:50 --- BMW E46 M3 CSL (08/2003) HVS?Track Car
8:22 --- BMW E46 M3 (12/2000) HVS

I am not aware of BMW publishing results of non-M /lesser models

needforspeed

So there's only one time that might be for a stock car and we don't have any details about when this was clocked, who drove and in what conditions?

We also don't know it really was stock.....

It would be great to have stock performance data for the ring....since BMW test there they must know......

Anyway ... let's discuss this elsewhere and leave this thread for discussion of IMU's weekend....

0700700

E46 m3 was driven my motor auto und sport if am not wrong 100% stock.
E46 m3 csl is also 100% stock car driven by same mag... it is labeled as a track car, since thats what the cls is

Sure < sorry IMU

IMU

That's okay guys...

Anyways, I think that when manufacturers book the track for testing or timing etc they are able to use the full circuit, including the full straight. Whereas the public circuit is slightly smaller in length and does not include the full straight. Bridge to Gantry times are recorded by members of the public.

We didn't time oursleves while driving as it was our maiden voyage and you tend to want to concentrate as much as possible on the matter at hand. However, since quite a few laps have been *cough* video'd *cough* we will be able to extract times from the videos once they are uploaded

Of couse, I will make sure a link to a video is posted here once it is ready

Steve Gill

Nice one Tariq Did Jochen approach you and mention he knew me?

Just to add to the DSC debate - With 130+ laps under my belt I only switch it off when its dry. Too much to risk with zero run off available - besides, although you can feel it interrupt its still tremendous fun regardless - and for me, thats why I return time after time

Tariq - we'll need to catch up sometime.

CVTBenhogan

Great Post!!!!! One of the best ever. Glad your in one piece.


Regards,


CVT Benhogan

IMU

Definitely

BetterMakeWay

Yeah exactly. Not that i wana brag or anything, of course i'm not intitled to speak since we are talking about the ring here, and i have no experience on it, but hey EVEN when it's wet (in this case it's more avoidable) you still can have more fun with dsc off. You don't have to do it on all turns or you don't have to record a fast lap exactly then, but imo you still have to do it to have more fun. I sometimes do it in the city in both dry and wet, in fact more when it's dry because when wet it annoys me the fact that i don't have any grip and i just spin the tire hardly doing proper powerslides (lack of lsd) Hey but everybody knows their own limits...
I'd like to do some laps of the ring asap, and for sure the 1st laps i would do them with dsc on, because i don't even know the track.

BetterMakeWay

Yeah yeah give us some lap times. I for one don't think it's possible for the 535d to come close to the m3. The m3 is just in another league or at least should be. All the facts point to the m3 as the winner. But that doesn't mean the 535d would be a slouch. I for one would be happy to get a time better than Jerremy Clarkson's time in the jag x-type 2.7D (9:59 seconds). You can call me whatever you want but i'm sure i would acomplish that in my first lap . Can't wait to have a go. Easter trip here i come.