








Imagine your perfect track day. A dozen cars, dry tarmac and absolutely zero loose nuts behind the wheel. That's been our experience so far at Buttonwillow. We've had the pleasure of being invited to a private track event organized by Jack Fried, co-creator of the Lotus Challenge Series and all-around genuine gent. For the majority of Friday, the track has been open, so whenever the urge strikes, you just head out and go. With only a half-dozen vehicles on the track at any given time – primarily Porsches and Loti – we're in our own private nirvana. And Project 318is is holding its own, despite being thoroughly outclassed by the rest of the field.
The H&R Cup Kit had paid for itself three-times over before noon. Body roll is minimal, transitions are easy to gauge, and coupled with the lightweight Koseis and Advan A048s we fitted this week, the Bimmer has achieved its goal: providing us with a competent track tool that proves the old adage about driving a slow car fast.
more ...

As I type this, our BMW 318is is up on the rack, sans transmission, to replace the clutch and all the assorted bits that go along with the job. The last-minute clutch work, along with fitting a set of Hawk HPS brake pads and replacing the brake fluid with Castrol GTLMA synthetic, is all in preparation for our two-day track assault this weekend at Buttonwillow raceway.
We'll be running configuration 13 on Friday and Saturday, and plan to keep you updated over the weekend on how the Slut is holding up to our relentless flogging in 100-degree heat. Along with the upgraded pads and fluids (not to mention the H&R cup kit we installed in our previous post), we've managed to score a set of Kosei K1 wheels (+42mm offset), sized 16x7-inches and weighing 15 pounds from the TireRack for the bargain-basement price of $129 a piece. Needless to say, closeout sales rock, and with the TireRack offering Advan A048s (medium-hard compound) sized 225/50ZR16 on special for $149 per tire, we snatched up four new gumballs for track duty. They've been heat-cycled and mounted, and after a spending a few days on the Bimmer, we're convinced that our nerves will give out before the tires do... for the first few laps, at least.
