First ever autocross in the new E92 M3! This is my first RWD car (not including the Miatas) that has enough power to really break loose on power, but I’m easing my way into it. The car does feel big & heavy both in autocross and street driving, but nothing unmanageable. The car responds really well to trail braking and lift off to get turned in. I was/am experimenting with how much throttle the car can handle, and working my way up in confidence with the car, but overall the car feels very good, very well balanced. The one area that needs work are the brakes. The pedal feel is actually quite good, nice and stiff, but the OEM pads that are currently in the car have very little actual stopping force. This, plus the weight of the car, means new pads will definitely be required. I have Ferodo DS2500s ready to go on the car once I get some time to do some work on it.

I started the event with a 59.x (with M diff on, which is extremely intrusive), then a 58.x, 57.8 twice, 57.4, and finally ended with a 56.812 which included a slide at the end of the turn around that put me way off line. The tire are also sticker-fresh, and the RE71Rs typically also get a little better after they’ve been broken in. Was experimenting with a few different settings, but after getting a little more used to the throttle it seems M + DSC off, i.e., Power mode on and EDC on full stiff worked the best. Power mode only changes the throttle response, which was a little too aggressive my first few runs, but I turned it back on after getting a little more comfortable with the throttle and it felt pretty good now.

I believe this is enough to take 2nd in index to the fastest guy in the region, which is nice validation that the seat time more or less carries over into the M3. Based on the last time the same driver was at the BSCC event, my Pax Points were 9,616 compared to him. This event is about a 9,735, which means I actually did better my first time out in the M3 than I did in the Evo at the first BSCC event! I’m sure part of this is due to the tires that are currently on the Evo (bad) but still a pretty solid result. Looking forward to kicking off the rest of the autocross events in the M3!

Things to work on (M3):

• Seat time to get comfortable in the car
• Better throttle control, get on throttle as early as possible, smoother throttle
• Look ahead more, smoother steering

Notes (M3):

• 0.4 tank
• Camber at -1.6, -1.6 rear,  0 toe front 1/32 toe-in rear
• 33F/32R
• M Mode, DSC Off
• 9,731 Pax (season best!)
• 2018 Runs: 6 (+6 RE71Rs)

2018 Run Count: 52 (+6 M3)