BMW - Munich, Germany

I recently travelled to Europe for my honeymoon and managed to visit several car related sites (and sights). I'll be making a series of posts about these experiences.

The first part of the journey was through Germany and our first stop was in Munich. Apart from being famous for Oktoberfest, Munich is also in the state of Bavaria and this is known for... BMW.

The BMW headquarters are located on the north side of Munich, opposite the Olympic stadium (used for the Munich 1972 games). BMW HQ consists of the head office (the cylindrical building), BMW Welt, BMW Museum (the bowl) and one of BMW's manufacturing plant.

Headquarters and museum

BMW Welt

We started with a tour the manufacturing plant where cars like the iconic 3 series (or "model 3" as our guide calls it) is assembled. Cameras are not permitted on the tour, so you won't see any pictures of what happens inside the factory. What you will see if you take part in the tour is different stages of the manufacturing process and see various points in the production line, while the guide explains what is happening at each stage. These stages include the stamping of body panels, painting, assembly of components on to the chassis and the "marriage" of the engine and driveline with the chassis.

After the very comprehensive plant tour, we moved on to BMW Welt. This is a showcase of BMW's current models (including Mini). There are also displays of their engine technology.

F82 M4 Coupe

M4 Convertible

F36 435i Gran Coupe

Plenty of M power

X5 M

Michelin Pilot Super Sport tested on the Nurburgring

Customise your car with BMW Individual

BMW Isetta - Still running and driving little kids around

i8

The obligatory BMW Shop

The obligatory BMW Shop

We finished walking around BMW Welt and proceeded across the road to the museum. Unfortunately, on the day we visited the museum closed at 3 PM and we were too late to enter.

We returned the next day but the museum was closed due to a special event! Some sort of 3 series owner gathering. We could only take photos of the 3 series parked outside and that concluded our visit to BMW. Another excuse to return to Munich one day, I guess!

Nugget Nationals Track Day - Winton

21st March 2015

I've been busy the last couple of months, so only getting around to posting this.

There's not much to say about this day as it ended for me after the first session. One of my brake pads had worn to the backing plate and I had no spares.

In that single session, I managed a 1:40.84 and here is the video of that lap.

AROCA Sprints - Sandown

14th February 2015

Sandown - Valentine's Day Edition. The day started with a very wet track, having rained throughout the whole night and into the morning. The rain eventually subsided by the track dried up by around 11:00 after a few sessions worth of cars taking the racing line. The day then became very warm and humid, with ambient temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius.

The new parts in the car's setup were:

• RDA slotted front brake discs
• Project Mu HC+800 front brake pads
• 18 x 10J front wheels with 285/30 Hankook Z221 semi slicks (C70 compound)

The RDA disc brakes were great and held up well in combination with the brake pads in the hot temperatures. The most notable difference is how the car now handles with the wider tyres up front (up from 265/35R18). Now with 285 wide tyres all around, I noticed that the larger amount of front grip translates to feeling mid-corner where the rear of the car is seemingly at the limit of grip but then follows the front around the corner.

Below are the lap times for the day. Unfortunately, I did not beat my previous best time of 1:27.69 but I did learn that the potential of a faster time is now greater with the car's new setup.

Practice - Untimed
Session 1 - 1:59.0989 1:56.1098 1:51.6517 1:50.1842 1:54.0665 1:43.3011
Session 2 - 1:39.1209 1:37.8309 1:36.7610 1:34.9352 1:36.2855 1:38.3492
Session 3 - 1:37.2765 1:35.8748 1:36.1227 1:32.6068 1:34.9488 1:31.6475 1:33.3968
Session 4 - 1:30.4820 1:35.0791 1:32.2845 1:30.7166 1:28.6187 1:30.0778 1:28.2480
Session 5 - 1:32.6736 1:29.8638 1:28.2622 1:28.1247 1:27.9774 1:28.5248 1:32.4355
Session 6 - 1:32.8446 1:34.3082 1:29.5302 1:28.0986 1:27.7601 1:29.9723

As can be observed by the speed graph, I didn't beat my best time because I was let down by my top speed on the two straights.

What is interesting though, is that I drove faster through sectors 2, 4 and 5. Could this be attributed to the wider front tyres? Whatever it is, I'm happy there is plenty to be gained in the current setup as the theoretical lap time is now a low 1:26.

I'm looking forward to returning to Sandown when it's not so hot.

RDA Slotted Rotors

It's time to replace the front rotors on the Z. This time I'm working with a smaller budget, so I thought I would try out the rotors from RDA (Part number RDA7685S for 350Z with Brembos).

Here is a comparison of mass for all the brake rotors that I have tried:

Dixcel DAV FS: ~9.5 kg

RDA Slotted: ~8.5 kg
DBA 4000: ~8 kg
DBA 5000: ~7.5 kg
X3E Motorsport: ~7.5 kg
Project μ SCR-Pro: ~7 kg

Along with the rotors, a new set of Project Mu HC+ 800 pads find their way into the brake setup (thanks Kam). I have also treated the Z to a fresh set of OEM wheel studs and lug nuts, the old set have served the car well over the past 8 years.

The proof will be in the pudding when I test out these brake pads and rotors next week at Sandown. I am anticipating some hot conditions, being at the height of summer; so it will be a good workout for the brakes.