Thanks!

I only have 12 days so far, but I am most likely going to double that this year. As far as fuel goes, just 93 pump gas. I used to add 4 gallons of E85 or whatever VP (100?) was available at the track, but not so much lately.

 

Nothing for the car, but a much needed update for the driver:
Stand21 FHR (HANS) Club Series 3 and a Roux R-1C Composite.



R888Rs should be here Saturday or Sunday 😁

 

Now you just need a track day...

 

​​​​​​
There's never enough of that lol. I finally managed to find some white space, so I'm back at Roebling at the end of the month

 

I'm going to cross-post this here for added visibility:


I've found two ways to do this successfully. I'm sure there are other ways, but this is what has worked for me on my car and another R56.

I'll cover the most convenient method in this post and then follow up with how to do it with how I did it in NCS Expert.

The easiest method by far would be using the Bimmergeeks Protool. The Protool is an Android-based app that brings all f the functionality of NCS Expert and a diagnostic code reader to your phone. It will provide you with BMW hex codes instead of generic P-codes for faults and will allow you to easily code modules and adjust the vehicle order (VO) on the R55-R61, most F-series, and most BMWs. The R50-R53 is still in testing, so that platform has limited functionality. This app completely replaced the Schwaben (Foxwell) scan tool, Carly for BMW, and NCS Expert in my toolbox. And to be clear, I paid retail for this tool and I have absolutely zero affiliation with Bimmergeeks. This is just a product that I find works very well and I believe in. I would also recommend their K+DCAN cable. Again, it's a quality product.



NOTE: You can do this with the Airbag Module installed or removed. That is entirely up to you. If you have already removed the Airbag Module and no longer have access to it (like it's in a landfill in Atlanta), you will only need to code the VO (Step 2) and the Kombi (Step 4). Prior to this, you will need to unhook the battery and remove the seats and side-impact sensors located near the rear speakers.



1. Connect the Protool.
a. Install the K+DCAN into the vehicle's OBD II port.
b. Connect the K+DCAN USB to your Android device.
c. Launch the Protool app.
d. Select "Generation 2" and the appropriate connection method.
e. Tap "Connect".




2. Modify the Vehicle Order (VO).
a. Tap "Vehicle".
b. Tap "Vehicle Order".
NOTE: The Edit Vehicle Order screen will open showing the CAS and FRM.




b. Select "CAS".
c. Select "Edit".
c. Select "Add-Ons".




d. Scroll through the options and select the deactivation options appropriate to the airbags.
e. Select "Actions".
f. Select "Save".
g. Select "CAS".
h. Repeated Steps 1b.-1g. for the FRM.
NOTE: Both modules can be coded at the same time, however, I find that coding them individually ensures that the coding is successful.





3. Remove the Airbag Module.

4. Code the KOMBI.





a. Select "Interior".
b. Select "KOMBI - Cluster".
c. Select "Coding".
d. Select "Edit Coding".
NOTE: You will be prompted to make a backup.



e. Select "Standard."




f. Disable the appropriate airbag options.
1. Alive Counter for Airbag
2. Identification Timeout for Airbag.
g. Tap "Finalize"
NOTE: After coding is complete you will be prompted to cycle the ignition.

5. Verify the Coding.
a. Select "Vehicle"
b. Select "Read" under "Vehicle Errors"
NOTE: No airbag errors should be present. If they are, clear the errors, cycle the ignition and check for errors again. If errors are still present, return to the area that the error is present in (VO or KOMBI) and repeat the steps as necessary.



Hopefully, this makes sense. It is a pretty straightforward process. Good luck.

 

Oh, you are the best!

I have a set of seats that need to go into my R56. Can the it be reversed? And does it clear the pressure sensor in the passenger seat?

 

Yes, this will disable the passenger sensor. I don't know about reversing it though. I would imagine if you reinstalled all of the sensors and re-enabled them in the VO, they should still work.

 

I was hoping for an ISO version, too... But no, not at this time is what they say.

 

I'm going to sound like a shill, but this is app is worth having a phone or tablet dedicated to it. When I tried it out the first time, I put it on an old Android phone that I had sitting in my garage. The app does not need cellular data or any kind of connection, I would just put it on the wifi for the occasional update. I've since transitioned back to Android (I go back and forth every couple of years), so now it's on my everyday phone. If you can find a used phone or tablet on Craigslist or FB marketplace, I would say it's worth it.

 

R888Rs and some DIY door cards. I'll be putting together a how to later this week 😁

 

Your car is way too shiny to be a track car.

I’ll be interested in reading about what you think of the R888Rs.

 

Thanks Eddie!

I'm pretty excited to see how they hold up.

She really does shine lol.

 

As a TW 100 tire I would expect it to last not too long. I am curious as to how you find they do on the track. When do you get out next?

I have been running the Falken 660 and I am really impressed with them, this is in comparison to the RE71Rs.

Just finished 2 days at a new, to me, track; the New York Safety Track, which is a motor cycle track and airport. It is tight and a great MINI track Here is a link to my write up and to some pictures. And a little discussion in between those two posts.

 

I'll pop over and check those out.

I'll be back at Roebling on the 29th and 30th, Road Atlanta in June, and AMP at the end of August. Speaking od new-to-me tracks, I just found out the Tallegage GP does open track days pretty regularly, so I'll probably toss that into the mix soon.

 

I just finished a pretty successful weekend at Roebling Road Raceway. Six 30 minute sessions per day for a total of six hours on the track.

The new turbo is amazing. It spools quickly and holds 22lbs up to about 6500 rpm, and then it drops to 20. The best part: it works. It worked the entire weekend. I didn't have to troubleshoot or mess with the wastegate. Normally, by Saturday I have symptoms of a boost leak and spend the rest of the weekend babying the car and trying to diagnose the issue. It was nice to not have that problem. I was able to focus on driving and dialing in the suspension.

A few years back when I bought my KWs, I asked the vendor about corner balancing. I explained to him that I had adjustable camber plates, lower control arms, and adjustable end links all from Ireland Engineering. After telling me the IE components were garbage, he laughed when I asked about corner balancing. Well, I finally got her on the scales this weekend and the numbers speak for themselves. The car needs to be corner balanced. So, I’ll be picking up a set of scales soon. Thanks Way, I would think you would know better.




Another issue I’ve had is rear-end instability under heavy braking. The rear tends to wiggle when it gets light with the weight transfer. Talking to some people in the paddock and some friends on IG led me to the conclusion the rear sway bar and the front dampeners were set too stiff. I set the RSB to the middle setting, softened the bump up front and like magic, the car is stable under heavy braking and is more trail brake friendly. On Sunday I set the RSB to full soft for a few sessions, but I’ve settled back to the middle.

Prior to the weekend, I added 3mm total toe-out up front and 4mm toe-in at the rear. I’m pretty happy with that.

The R888Rs were less than optimal. They are a fun tire for sure, but they were actually slower around the track than the Ventus RS-4. I had a hell of a time getting them to a happy place pressure-wise, and the wear rate is absurd. This is my fault because I was abusing the tires, but I was having fun feeling the car slide, so it is what it is lol. I’m back at Road Atlanta in two weeks, so I’ll take the RS-4s with me so that I can run the R888Rs until they're gone and then toss the RS-4s back on. The wear is probably not as bad as it looks in the photos...







Did I mention that the turbo ran like a champ?



Don't shame my jean shorts. It was hot.




I love this lid.




I have six hours of video to review and edit, I'll try to get something up this week.

 

IRON MAN!
6 hr of driving. That is epic.

Glad to hear the the turbo is working out well. It is so nice to drive a car that is well sorted. Sounds like you are there.

As for the rear end wiggle under braking - that is an interesting fix. I have dealt with that too, as have others that I know. The fix for us has been more aggressive brakes in the rear. I run matched pads front to rear (DTC-60s). Another friend installed the JCW caliper bracket and rotors in the rear (not sure what pads he ran).

Do you have adjustable end links for your sway bars? If these are not matched side to side in their adjustment, could they be contributing to your mismatch in corner balance? If that is the case, should those be disconnected to do the corner balance adjustment on the coilovers, first? Then reconnected so as to be neutral side to side... Just wondering as I have never seen that as part of corner balance discussions.

This guy does great tire (or “tyre”) reviews and he recently included the R888R in one of his tests:

The R888R didn’t fare well at all. Read down through the comments. It seems there are people who know the history of this tire and agree with the test results. The 200 TW tires have gotten to be really good over the years and some tires like the Toyo have been left behind. At track events I go to I have seen a lot of Champ car people and have gotten to talk to them about tires they use and the top for lap times are the RE71R and the Yokohama A052. The Hankook tires wear really well but are much slower. A “new” tire that I have seen them using is the Falken 660, which I am using. I recently saw a group testing a new Cooper tire that has a TW of 260. The performance was more like that of a 100 TW tire, though. The TW rating of a tire is done by the individual tire company and is intended to be for street use, so there can be some “disparity” in ratings, especially for tires aimed at the autocross and track world. For me, the price is right on the Falkens and the performance is really up there. So far they seem to have not head cycled out like I have experienced with the RE71Rs, although they seem to be wearing fast. In my experience the RE71Rs get overheated out on the track and their performance drops off quickly when that happens. This may have something to do with my suspension set up, though. The Falkens seem to be more tolerance of my car, which one thing I like about them.

Looking forward to your video...

 

Do they make the Goodyear F1 3R in your sizes? Seems like that one is a winner for track day speed and predictable performance. I use RE-71Rs on my track car, but their availability is declining, so the Goodyears will be my next tire. (RE-71Rs have been replaced by the RE-71RS in Japan and Australia already). The Falken 660s are supposed to be fast for a few laps, but not keep the pace as the session continues (good AX tire though). I'm not sure how the A052s last over a whole session (perhaps better than the Falken 660s?), but they are also fast.

How much power do you think you're making with your current setup btw? Glad your turbo is working, reliable power is so much more important than outright power!

 

BTW, it looks like tirerack has RE-71R in your sizes still, might be a good deal.

Re: Eddie, interesting that the RE-71Rs get overheated for you, I've heard both that they overheat eventually on track and that they are great for the whole session. I'm starting to wonder if it's application specific. Mine don't seem to overheat, but I'm running 245/295s on a different platform so I wonder if the extra width is keeping mine happy. Whereas 225s on a FWD car, even a light one, might actually be asking a lot more of the front tire (I actually ran some numbers and the loading per mm of tire width is much higher for a mini with 225s than something like a cayman with 295s, so it might make sense that the RE-71Rs get too hot with the mini and not with the Cayman)

 

I've been running the RE-71s on another platform as well with no issues. I've seen people abuse them which overheats them quick, but I've used them for multiple 20min sessions without an issue.

I wonder when the RE-71RS tires will drop as I'd like to grab a set for the Mini. Otherwise, I may give the Falkens a shot.

 

In talking with people at the track I find it very interesting the different experiences they all have with tires. I run 205/50x15 RE71Rs on a R56S. A friend runs the same setup and wheels on a Base Cooper (which he drives the snot out of). Neither of us have much in the way of camber. I find they get overheated and greasy in a 20-25 min session. My friend, loves the tire and has no issues. I ran 215/45x17 Falken 660 on the R56S, same track as I ran the RE71Rs, and had no issues with the Falkens. I note the comment above about the Falkens being an “autocross” tire. This is what I thought about the RE71Rs... Not being different driving styles or different car, so was it the different tire and/or different size of the 660 that better suited me and the car? I don’t know. But I’ll pass this along just for FYI.

I think all of this discussion is great and one reason I like the participation. Clearly there are a lot of variables. The way I look at it, the more experiences I can hear about the better informed I will be. In the meantime, it is all good and fun...

 

re71r turn to snot for me too. I'm not sure why everyone in advanced or instructor is not on RS4 unless they run hoosiers at this point, they last longer, communicate well, and break away progressively. They last so much longer I'm not really sure how they do it and only give up tenths of a second

 

I'm debating putting my RS4 back on or just running the R888R into the ground at Road Atlanta next weekend and then switching back. You're right on all points, the RS4 is just a great tire.

 

Screen grab from Eddie's post above (I'll be getting the 3Rs for my next tire)

 

Super interesting. Part of the reason I love this sport is sorting through all this info and finding what works for you. Here's some more info for the 660 vs. RE-71R comparison: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...oss-and-track/

 

The RS4 has been the mainstay of the Champ car world. Its longevity would play a big roll in the endurance races. However, I am getting the feeling from talking to some of these guys that with the faster times with tires like the RE71Rs and the A052s, these are taking over, even though they wear more quickly. I am not sure how they get them to not turn to mush in a several hour race, but clearly they are able to manage them.

I got the Falkens because I quickly needed a different size tire than the one got that didn’t fit my JCW even though “everyone” said it would. After paying almost $200 a tire for the ones that didn’t fit, the $135 a tire for the Falkens hit the sweet spot in my wallet and they did well in the TR tire test. I figure what’s too lose. I have not tried the RS4s. There was something about the handling characteristics that TR found in their test that I didn’t like and they are not much of a rain tire. Being a really good rain tire along with being a really good dry tire was the appeal of the RE71Rs when I got them. And the price the RE71Rs was reasonable. Now I have latched onto the Falkens. Federal is another tire that I am starting to hear about as a track tire option, but I know nothing about them.

The Eagle F1 Super Car 3R is a 100 TW tire. And it is a really new design. So I would expect it to do well. By the sounds of it, while Goodyear is late to the show, they came ready to take everyone on. The down side of these, as with any good (new design) 100 TW tire will be their price and fast wear. I was hoping for better from the R888Rs, but like the R888s I had, they don’t perform any better than the newer design 200 TW tires. I found the R888s were an expensive experiment that didn’t pan out as they were also no better than the 200 TW tires I had.