27th September 2009, Sepang Open Track Day (With Little Pony)

I took the little pony (BMW E36 318is -4 door) out on the track last Sunday. It was fitted with street tires and a softer suspension setting, we thought that it needed more, so here are some pictures of me preparing the little pony.

Weight is the primary enemy to a cars performance, and that’s where I started, weight reduction. The only thing I could do was to remove all the carpets, rear seats, spare tire, boot carpet and all the other junk laying around the car, which eventually weigh at approximately 70kg. I was unable to remove more because the little pony is also my daily ride and without the rear seats, the external noise is seriously deadening.

Rear Seats Fully Intact:

Butt Support Delete:

Back Support Delete:

Boot Carpet Delete:

Tool Kit Delete:

And there we have a DIY weight reduction. With the tool kit removed, I brought along a set of tools (just in case). Remember, track days are pretty taxing on the cars, a lot of care and attention is needed before/while/after the event. I brought an additional bottle of engine oil, ATF fluid, WD-40 and a fan (to cool things down). Do remember to bring along a video camera for recording.

And Poof, here we go.

The street tires doesn’t seem to be able to take more than 2 consecutive flying laps, i was struggling with it. It started to grain towards my middle stint and gosh, the car was a handful around the corners, the little pony was practically power drifting around the corners. With that said, the softer setup allowed me to slightly over-steer the car which in return, Fun!

Although the car could handle massive amount of traction around the corners, I lost out a large chunk of time on the straights. The M44B19 engine could not cope with the other monsters on the straights, the little pony maxed out at 180km/h at the end of the first corner while braking at the 100 meter mark.

A whole load of Type-R’s were rampaging the track on that day, and yes, I have to say that they are the real beast at a fraction of cost. With that said, I would rather ride in the little pony, it gives me more time to think (as it is slow).

Had a new buddy that day, a BMW E46 M3 Convertible. The legendary 3.2 liter engine makes the little pony pee in its exhaust. The M3 is quick, but was not impressive in the corners, perhaps its the soft nature of the convertible? Massive body roll was experienced.

At the end of the day, the fan was our life saver! Now, a manual tranny should help me shave more time!

Video of my hot lap, all I could achieve on that day was a 2.59*.

* Broken rear left wheel bearing and pathetic street tires.