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Originally Posted by SD ///M4
I've been tracking my 2016 M4 since May 2016, 24 days at last count. I have dedicated track wheels/tires, brake pads, and I have camber plates and Dinan springs.
You don't need to do anything special to take your car to the track, but if you are looking for the bare minimum I would suggest brake pads. I've seen people toast their stock F80 brakes at the track after one day. Because I always take my street pads with me to the track as backup I was able to save one guy's weekend and his ability to drive home afterwards by selling him my lightly used stock pads. I use the Pagid RSL29 "yellow" pads. Just bought my second full set for an upcoming track weekend in February. They run around $600 for a full set. I wouldn't run on the stock pads without having spares.
Next would be a dedicated set of track wheels and tires. I run APEX EC-7 18x10 front, 18x11 rear with Nitto NT01 275/35-18 front, 305/35-18 rear. A lot of people think that the RE-71R is the best track tire, but more seasoned track people run the NT01 because it's available in an 18" 305 width and the RE71R isn't. 18" wheels and tires are also lighter and cheaper than 19" or 20" and the stock wheels are heavy, especially the Style 666 wheel on the Competition Package. Look on the APEX website for their blog on fitting the optimal wheel/tire package on the F80 platform. If you're going to get a dedicated set of track wheels/tires, you might as well get the optimal setup rather than make compromises using stock wheels.
There is no need to run special brake fluid, the stock BMW fluid is just fine.
Take a good analog "racing" tire pressure gauge, the kind with a dial and a hose that lets your overfill and then bleed down to the correct psi. Take your tire pressure immediately after getting off the track and immediately before getting on the track. You want around 32 psi before and no more than around 38 psi after. You'll probably need to top off your tires at the end of the day to drive home.
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More seasoned track people?
Stop polishing a turd for these poor people. The NT01 ain't nothing special. Hell in hindsight, I would have rather just ran the old RE11's over them. The RE71R isn't necessarily the best track tire, but it is way more rounded and more up to date with current tire tech. Sorry, I suppose all the pro-nittos guys in hear have turned me into a hater of recent.
Stock everything is OK, but you *may* need to drive the car within the limits of the EQUIPMENT. The stock pads are a weak point, the stock camber is a weak point, so you must hone in your driving style as not to cause excess wear. Ex. once the brakes are hot (slightly overheated) start to dial back your lap times, maybe give up a few mph on the straights, or work on carrying more speed in the corners, getting off the brakes earlier, rather than over-braking (same methodology applies to the tires/camber situation).