NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

The place for everything non E21. Now with dedicated E12 & E30 sections
User avatar
uwbuurman
E21 VIP
E21 VIP
Posts: 18637
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:49 pm
My E21(s): 1978 type 1 323i 5speed dogleg Polaris
Location: Ljouwert

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by uwbuurman »

Crowded indeed with that hyperfest and e46 guys.

Love to watch those clips anyway.


It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
User avatar
Jeroen
Site Admin
Posts: 29199
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by Jeroen »

What a weekend man! Of course with a win it would have been a dream weekend but 3rd spot after all this ain't bad, congrats! And a nice write up again!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
User avatar
nic65
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 131
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:12 pm

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by nic65 »

:cheers :cheers :cheers
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

Thanks for all of the love! I'm glad to still be welcome here during my E21 hiatus :D
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
User avatar
Jeroen
Site Admin
Posts: 29199
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by Jeroen »

:thumbsup one day you'll come to your senses :mrgreen:
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

TL;DR: Great weekend. Two third place finishes. Absolutely amazing racing the whole time and the Sunday race video is a must watch for some insane racing. Sunday link at the bottom.

Full summary:
Great weekend for me! The car feels dialed in, predictable, and reliable so I'm just focusing on driving. Did nothing to the car except put gas in it all weekend!

Saturday I qualified third, but Jake got by me with a great start, so I had to battle to get by him and try to chase down Joey to try to snag P2. Joey and I traded lap times back and forth all weekend so it was really tough to catch him from so far back but lapped traffic held him and Jon up enough to keep me in the chase. Finished P3 right behind Joey and Jon for my first Saturday Podium (I think this is Podium #3 for me?)

Probably the least interesting video, but still good:

Sunday in the Beast of the East Qualifying Race, Jon, Joey, Me, and 3 Honda Challenge folks were in the "White group" and battling each other. Joey ran away from me while I battled with Brian Maeng and Jack Cobetto and Jake Thiewes terrorized me in my mirrors, but eventually I got past Brian (or maybe he let me past so I wouldn't collect him with a missed braking zone) and I kept pushing but didn't have enough time to turn a good clean lap I was happy with. Qualified 4th for the race.

Exciting BOTE with lots of close racing with HC and Spec3:


Sunday is when it got really tasty. I was behind Jake and we had a great battle. Joey started P1 and we had a great quartet of Spec3s zipping around the track for quite a while. I was able to box out Jake by using a slow out of class car as a roadblock and then I set my eyes on catching Joey for P2. I ended up catching him with quite a bit of time left in the race and I ALMOST made a pass stick in T1 but I still haven't honed my race craft enough to get passed the great Joey Thomas. Jon, Joey, and I finish the race out weaving throughout traffic while chasing each other for a very close 1-2-3 finish with me splitting two out of class cars to go three wide across the line. I turned a faster lap than Joey with a 1:27.213 so I have hopes I can best him one of these days!

This is the video to watch:


Image
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
User avatar
Jeroen
Site Admin
Posts: 29199
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by Jeroen »

Improving every race weekend, nice to read buddy!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
User avatar
nic65
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 131
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:12 pm

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by nic65 »

Great!!!!
nice photo of the group, but I see cars of different generations, how are they divided? how are the E30s on the track?
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

Jeroen wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:12 pm Improving every race weekend, nice to read buddy!
Thank you!
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

nic65 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:07 am Great!!!!
nice photo of the group, but I see cars of different generations, how are they divided? how are the E30s on the track?
We run multi class races. In my race group (Lightning) there are Honda Challenge, Spec3, Spec E30, Spec Miata, and ST5/ST6. We have separate standing start waves and share the track but are not racing out of class.

In this photo you can see I was ahead of another Spec3 but behind a Honda Challenge car. There was also a Spec E30 behind me as well. This particular photo is from qualifying which explains why we are so mixed up.
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

Another great event!

July was a crossover NASA Great Lakes and NASA Mid Atlantic event at my now "home town" track of Pittsburgh International Raceplex. It's a 50 minute tow from my house so I strolled up Thursday night to hang out and relax with my now establish camping setup of enclosed trailer, nice little cot, TV mounted on the wall, coffee maker at the ready, and some nice camping chairs and a big canopy. I'm trying to save money so I didn't sign up for test and tune and instead was hoping to rely on a few hours in Assetto Corsa on a Pitt Race mod track. The weather was decent and all was well until a fellow racer finally fell victim to the rattly transmission he had been ignoring for a year (I blame his fancy chassis mount shifter). We rounded up a transmission to get transported from Richmond, VA to Pitt Race and it arrived after 9PM. We got it installed by 12:30 at which point I left him to his own devices to wrap up and he was in bed by 1:30 AM after tidying it up.

Warm and Qualifying saw me running a 2:09 while the pole sitter ran a 2:03. This put me in 6th out of 8 on grid for the race, qualifying a few tenths out of 4th. I was really disappointed in myself since I ran a 2:07 last year with a tired motor and knew I should have been faster. I adjusted tire pressures and got my head right for the race where I jumped to 3rd on the standing start and was fighting for 2nd until halfway through the race when the series leader (who spun on the start) came rocketing through and passed us both to grab 2nd. I finished 4th while running low 2:06s on a hot day, which I was pleased with.

Sunday saw more of the same with me qualifying 4th and battling for third the entire race, even passing Joey Thomas for third a few times and then giving it right back. We both ran very low 2:06s and almost broke 2:05. We ran within ONE THOUSANDTH of a second of each other for our best lap. Truly a great battle.

Now on to VIR and NJMP in back to back weekends in August where I hope to work on smoothness on input to upset the car less and hopefully get some new personal bests. I only need a few tenths to start snagging third place consistently.





Image
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
User avatar
Jeroen
Site Admin
Posts: 29199
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by Jeroen »

Some real close racing! And a nice field of E36's!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

Jeroen wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:30 pm Some real close racing! And a nice field of E36's!
I do really enjoy seeing so many non-M E36s on track together.!!


------


August VIR! Good and relatively uneventful weekend. My previous best was a 2:16 something at VIR and I got it down to a 2:14.7 over the weekend. We had 8 racers and I qualified and finished 4th both days with some battling with Joey Thomas. Power Steering line failed Saturday morning and I knew it was bad, so that's my fault for not replacing it sooner. Patched it up and it help together fine. On to NJMP with NASA NE this weekend!





Image
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
User avatar
nic65
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 131
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:12 pm

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by nic65 »

on the e36 many eliminate power steering
TaylorGoesFast
Upcoming E21 fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:53 pm
My E21(s): 83 320i, 95 325i Spec 3 Race Car
Location: Washington, DC

Re: NASA Spec 3 Build: 95 325i

Post by TaylorGoesFast »

nic65 wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 9:50 am on the e36 many eliminate power steering
No one in this class does and I can't say I've seen many people delete it on an E36.
2011 F150
1995 BMW 325i Spec 3 Race Car
2008 BMW 128i 6 Speed Sport Package
1983 BMW 320i
2005 Kinetic SC
Post Reply