Had the first Auto-X in Bianca this weekend past.
First impressions are that it is far more precise than the 135i I used to race, and far more difficult to drive well than the Porsche Cayman S. Frankly the Porsche very easy, and I seemed to be an unneeded bit of weight in the car when it came to racing. Bianca made me feel like, if I lost focus for half a moment, she'd make me pay.
Firstly the Classing. The Z4M falls into BS class, and I feel that's a good spot for her. The challenge starts when the aftermarket suspension would normally put her in a touring class, but seemingly all M's are omitted from any. I competed in BSP this weekend and was woefully under prepped for the class. I had intended on contacting our esteemed member who previously owned her to collect the OEM springs on Sunday, but ran into other issues.... as you'll see.
In the Paddock.... She looks simply bitchin'!! All there is to that. Best looking car in the Paddock, but I'm biased.
The launch. Well what can I say here? The launch needs some work. I set the car in first and dropped the clutch. Predictably the car blew the tires out for a moment, then the engine bogs from the traction control. It made for a couple horrible launches as while grabbing second, I lost all forward momentum, and had to regain traction, get on the throttle, and then retry the shift. Conversely, I tried a launch without the DTS on, and again... predictably... burned tires for far, far too long. I've read about launching in second, or even third, but didn't try either of these techniques.
On the track, visibility, and a lack of feel seems to be the main problem for me. I am short, and just have an issue seeing the corners of the car. In the videos I took with the camera on the fender revealed that I was miles away from the cones. I'm so concerned with running clean, that I'm taking the real long way around the track to do it. Beyond that she turns fantastic, and has the power to get out of slower corners without bogging too much. With the traction control on I feel like I can push her to the limit, without too much intervention. With it off, I found it to be a bit sketchy.
I liked the 135 in that she had a two stage DTS, and I could get a bit extra out of the launch and on the track without too much of the nanny. I am clearly having to learn to drive better, but that is always the case.
In the interest of fairness though, I wasn't racing on great tires.
I replaced the tires today, but I didn't go full potato on them. The 19's are nice to look at, but I prefer a bit more sidewall and a tire with more feedback. I'll likely be selling these rims over the winter so I can move forward with a set of 18's with way less spokes. I liked the Enkei Kojin's and will likely move back to a set of them.
