That Nelson place looks like a good time...I'd like to try this sort of thing out sometime...do they offer lessons?

Does Mid-ohio ever go as a "group" outing?

 

Whenever I go to a track day I ask if anyone else is up for it. We've had a few takers, but in reality not many people come. The folks that do come sure have a fun time.

There is no schooling at the Nelson Ledges Fun Days. If you want to drive on track I'd suggest joining the BMWCCA & running one of their schools. They run at Nelson, Mid-Ohio & Putnam. All of those are fairly close for you.

 

You order one pen with your cars color & one with clearcoat.

 

Nelson's is a blast. I showed up at the fall one as a spectator and still had fun (I just had a new alignment and tie-rod replaced, thought I'd just show up & watch). Nice to ride around as a co-pilot too, learned a lot from that then and last May

 

Did my dark gray gauges yesterday after work! It's starting to feel more like Nano now. Everything mechanical is back on the car - now on to the lighting.

 

Matt,

How hard is the gauge install? That is something I would really like to do but it makes me nervous to think about taking apart the dash.

 

What year is your car? On the 05/06 it just pulls off (provided you know where to pull), and you have to pull the panels off in the following order:

1. Passenger side (totally remove the panel)
2. Driver's side (just pop off the bottom clips but leave the panel in place)
3. Center panel last (be sure to pull off the black interior peice w/ the vents ALONG WITH the colored piece as they are SUPPOSED to be sandwiched together).

I BELIEVE on earlier cars you need to pull off the top dash rail first, but that's not too hard (it's held on with bolts on the sides). I can do the whole thing (tach and speedo) in about an hour.

Also note that I've seen multiple things that state that if the speedo is unplugged that a dealer needs to reprogram it - this is NOT the case. I believe that's only required if you swap the entire assembly for a new one. All unplugging mine did was clear the clock - everything works fine after being unplugged even after multiple disconnections.

Also contrary to what's out there, the speedo really must be taken completely off the car to swap the face - the gas and temp gauges are threaded through actual HOLES in the gauge face, and the only way to access those needles is to pull off the inner bezel, which means pulling out the entire assembly. Others might have broken off those tabs to do the swap with the gauge still in the car, but I highly recommend you NOT do it this way.

 

Excuse me for jumping in mid thread here.....




BOOO HISSS......and to think, I used to look at Chuck as a wise lame old man.....

Track days and autocrosses are two different animals in my mind, both are tons of fun, but track days can never compete with autocrosses when it comes to so many different driver inputs in such a short period of time, never getting a chance for the car to completly settle.

Maybe Chuck is just getting forgetful in his old age, why don't you humor me and come out to one autocross this year for a little refresher? Come on buddy, would you do it for me?




Jason

 

wise, lame, old

two out of three is not bad

Come on Chuck you could get a new set of wheels just for the occasion!

 

- 1 for me, but lots of folks do love it. I'm sorry if I implied it wasn't fun for you guys. I did do it in another time & had big fun doing it too. That was over 35 years ago & now spending all day on a parking lot for maybe 10 minutes of run time just won't get this LAME Silverback Old Fart out of his lazyboy these days. You'd have a better chance of getting Welshguy to one of our breakfast meetings than you will of getting me to an auto x.

+ 1 Lets go down to Zaleski State Forest & I'll show you so many different driver inputs in such a short period of time that you'll puke your lunch. The car will never settle. Man I loved rallying. All except the puking codriver part.

 

BWHAHAHAHAAA...and NO chance of that, either! Can't wait for Mid-Ohio and Putnam Park, though.

 

I think I found an advertisement for an upcoming Old Fart track day:
Chuck can you all handle this?

 

Sure I can, them tin lizzy's handle like they're on rails.

But Cooper that looks like you driving.

 

Yup, just like Chuck, turning in WAY too early

 

Thanks for the critique.

 

Woot ! Got my new grill badge today (checkered flag one from motoringbadges.com) AND my 'clearance' Checkered A-panels from aesthetic creations! Now I just need some time and warm weather... *sigh*

 

[/QUOTE]

Hey! Is that real British Racing Green???? !!!!

 

Hey! Is that real British Racing Green???? !!!! [/QUOTE]

Looks pretty close!!

You should paint your wheels Yellow like that one shows!

 

You should paint your wheels Yellow like that one shows! [/QUOTE]

Yeah... and right after, I'll add the fringe on the top ("surrey with the fringe on top" - get it?)

 

I was thinking we should all do a mod like that car and remove our A-pillars, windshields are way overrated And a Mini would look great with running boards!

 

You just want an excuse to do colored wheels!

 

But I think the difference between wrecking on a track, as opposed to wrecking on a road is insurance. Our insurance company (Erie) made it very clear that if our accident had happened on a track, the car would NOT have been covered. AutoX is still up in the air, but our agent did not recommend it, just in case.

[quote=Crashton;1993999]Yes there is absolutely a risk doing a track day. There is also a degree risk doing anything. From a track day to an auto x to driving on a road down in TN. What happened to our friend Paul would have had the same result if it would have happened on SR 536 or any other backroad here in Ohio.

 

I think the point is a small mistake on the track and you get grass on your car, a small mistake on a public road and people can get hurt. Babs and I both spun on the track and only our egos were bruised and even then only slightly so. Had that happened on the road we both would have needed at least a tow truck.

Paul's track crash was also a totally different event as there was a mechanical failure and the other person in the car could verify the story, thus his replacement Mini.

Does anyone know if the guy who messed up the front of his Mini at Nelson had to pay for the repairs himself?

Back on topic I plan to continue talking about painting my wheels, but probably never actually do it. Same with my dash

 

And MY point was that on an Auto-X course, the result of a slip is almost nil, save a few mashed-down cones. I suppose one could REALLY mess up and hit another parked car or a light pole or something (I've seen films of people that simply failed to stop at the end of the course and ran into the parking area), but I think that's the exception rather than the rule.

Good recaps all! Excellent work!

Back on topic... painted wheels? Maybe in black or anthracite, but YELLOW? Naaaaah.... Either way, I'd go for proper stripping and powder-coating, not a DIY job.

 

I thought signing the waver included understanding that you have to carry insurance for you car. (All participants must be over 18 yrs old, carry a valid driver’s license, and have current auto insurance.) I would guess the driver had to pay for himself.

ON T - I want to paint one set of my wheels RED!!!