Another shopping expedition...

I am now back in Hong Kong from our annual family visit to the US West Coast.  Before departing, I had promised myself not to buy much more stuff for both the car and my personal items.  A few "necessities" were listed for acquisition but since it was a relatively short trip (11 days), I thought I would be able to keep the store visits to the bare minimum.

Two things threw me off track. 

First, I suffered through more than the usual period of jet lag.  I was wide awake every night except for the last two.  Sleep would come at almost exactly 6:30 every morning and I would awaken at about lunchtime.  To entertain myself while everyone else was asleep, I would pore through all sorts of reading material and it being the US, catalogs comprised a huge portion of that.  I saw what was on sale at which store and on what date.  Under this kind of brainwashing, my disoriented mind easily concluded that resistance was futile.

Second was the fact there were actually a lot of good deals to be had.  The economic downturn really has taken its toll and retailers seem to have little choice other than lowering prices to find a way to lure customers in.  As a result, between Tina and myself, we ended up with 9 new pairs of footwear among other things. By the way, its 7:2 in her favor.  And to think that I did not want to get a single one before I left.  To further emphasize how good the deals were, I ended up with a new leather jacket...inspite of it being over 100 degrees outside!

On the car related things, I saw some Meguiar's interior and exterior care products at less than half the price of what its going for in Manila.  I probably now have enough of these supplies to run a small detailing operation from my garage.  That and a few other random/impulse buys took up most of whatever extra luggage space was available.

It was not as if I did not plan to buy anything at all.  I had listed down a few items which I wanted to get from Bavarian Autosport, a long established supplier of BMW parts and accessories.  BavAuto keeps inventory of a lot of hard to find items especially for older Bimmers and at reasonable prices too.  Since I am in their catalog mailing list, I had already preselected what I wanted for Sergio and calling their East Coast timezone business hours helped while away the sleepless night.  I was worried that shipping would take longer than expected but fortunately everything arrived with a couple of days to spare.

What did I buy?

On top of my list was a pair of original BMW chrome exhaust tips.  These are hard to find and much more expensive in Manila.  There are some substitutes available but I was never happy with the quality among those I saw and frankly speaking, the price differential was not much.  Again, I am lucky in this respect because my frequent trips abroad and having a mailing address outside the Philippines helps as otherwise, access to these goods would not be easy.

Pair of chrome exhaust tips

In order to complete the car's toolbox, I have long been looking for the reversible BMW screwdriver.  This is some thing not absolutely necessary but nice to have for originality's sake and when I saw it at the BavAuto catalog, I even ordered an extra one for spare.  Another minor irritant for me was that Sergio's fuel door hinge no longer holds open while loading gas and while its an easy DIY, I had been unable to find a replacement until now.  Probably the smallest item on my list was a windshield washer nozzle adjuster.  Ever notice that, over time, the jet of water used to clean the windshield is no longer aimed properly?  This is the solution to the problem.  Sure it can be done with an ordinary pin but determining accuracy is messy as its literally a hit-and-miss affair.  Relatively expensive for such a little piece of metal but I justify it as a purchase which should be useful for all my cars over a very long time.

Washer nozzle adjuster (top), fuel door hinge, and reversible screwdriver

While I am now fighting off the return journey jetlag, its still good to be back home.  With a few more things stricken off the list...

At the racetrack (Part 3)...

Team BMWCCP (with event organizer CJ)

At the end of our track run, I was positively buzzing! Probably the most exhilarating driving experience I have ever had. I always thought going down that viaduct above the Everglades from Miami to Key West, the setting for many a car chase movie scene, and the fact that I was in an MB CLK convertible at the time, was pretty hard to beat. But this goes way past that. The speed demon in me was appeased without fear of getting pulled over by the authorities.

Now for some post-run assessments.

I was happy to note that Sergio could still rev up to redline. I had not pushed the engine hard before and conditions were never right to do so on regular roads. Its still fresh on my mind that when we went onto SLEX that first night after I got the car, it was difficult to go near 100kph because there were a lot of vibrations and the engine seemed to be unwilling to power much past that point. On the drive to and from Subic, my GPS recorded a top speed of 141kph while cruising on the SCTEX. This is a definitive indicator of the big improvement in overall mechanical condition. Not only for the engine but also good marks for the suspension, brakes, and transmission.

Speaking of the transmission, I now have a better understanding of why some would insist on a manual over an automatic.  Inspite of setting mine to "Sport" mode, I was still unable to keep up on acceleration with most of the others.  There is a very perceptible lag between gear changes and the time full power kicks in to the wheels.  While I am eventually able to catch up on the straights, a gap will always open up everytime the brakes are applied.  Over a longer period, this will surely translate into a big lead for those with faster acceleration.  Having said that, it still does not change my mind that given daily driving conditions, an automatic is still the best choice.

My GPS readings at the end of the run indicated a top speed of 121kph and an average of 59kph throughout the run.  That average should be higher.  Because I forgot to stop the unit at the end of Lap 2, the parameters included the slower cool down lap and the drive back into Pit Lane and paddock which were done at typical parking lot pace.  In any case, there is no way for me to know the exact numbers because no official timing was done.  While the top speed may seem unimpressive, it has to be borne in mind that acceleration occurs in short bursts instead of continuous stretches as done in the expressways.  This is also why a faster accelerating car builds a huge advantage since it can hit a higher top speed before braking into the next corner.

After exchanging high fives, congratulations, and pictures amongst ourselves, we prepared for the drive home. It started to drizzle not too long after we finished and because of this, some of the subsequent groups backed off from using the track. As we were about to leave the paddock, the marshals approached me to offer the team another run. I asked the others if they wanted to but the unanimous decision was that the track has now become slippery and too dangerous for our skill level. Personally, I admit it was a very tempting proposition but in the end I knew it was time to stop.

True enough, as soon as we hit the street, the heavens opened up.  Although I have no news of what actually happened afterwards, I am certain it would put on hold any track activity until the weather cleared.  I had planned to give myself a tour of Subic before heading back but obviously was not a good time to do so.

On the way home, it occurred to me that this was the first chance to observe my tires for their wet weather capability.   There was no slippage that I could notice on the track and they also gripped well at highway speeds during the heavy rain.  I am using a set of moderately priced Firenzas manufactured by Sumo Tires and I must say that they are very good value for money.

Safely reached home by 9pm but only because the stretch of EDSA from Balintawak to Trinoma took almost an hour to cover.  Very irritating to think that a 3 or 4 km portion took half the time of the previous 130 from Subic.  Round trip, the total distance travelled was roughly 400 kilometers.  It is well worth noting that when I reloaded fuel back in the Greenhills area, it turned out my average consumption for the trip was over 8km per liter.  Not bad at all considering the fact that this covered spirited expressway driving, the track portion, and eventually being stuck in heavy traffic.  By contrast, regular daily driving averages 7kpl for me.

Finally, is this something I will do again?

Offhand, I will say no.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, any car will take a beating from track use.  The more its done, the greater the accelerated wear and tear.  Its always exciting to watch cars being pushed to the the limit while watching on television but people do not take into account that at the highest levels, each car is thoroughly serviced after every race in order to be at their best. This, of course, is highly impractical and not within reach of the average enthusiast.  In Sergio's case, a short, one-off track session should be no problem but I will accelerate the schedule of changing the car's fluids anyway.  In addition, the head gaskets, radiator hoses, belts and pulleys are already pencilled for replacement on the next maintenance service.  On the cosmetic side, of which I am even more particular, there is a lot of chipped paint down the front bumper.  Although this will be an easy job for a professional to take care of, the possibility to have had greater damage bothers me.  A broken windshield or headlight would have been expensive tuition for a track day.

But then again, I am keeping my options open...

At the racetrack (Part 2)...

Face-off: BMW vs Mercedes Benz

Enough already with being starstruck on high-end race cars! How did Sergio and I do?

Once we had checked in with the organizers, we found out that we were slotted to use the track at 2:50pm.  Before going any further, let me point out that what we were doing was a track run, not an actual race.  This means is each driver gets a series of laps around the track to test his own and his car's limits.  There is no real competition between cars in the sense that there is no placing order of any sort.  In the interest of safety, overtaking is discouraged and only done upon being allowed by the driver ahead.  The unwritten goal is to be able to hang on with cars faster than your own or at the least keep up with your group.  With it, goes the inevitable bragging rights. 

After leaving the venue for a leisurely lunch in downtown Subic, we returned about an hour before the appointed time and tried to observe and learn how the more experienced drivers go about the track.  One of our fellow BMWCCP members was competing in the Philippine Touring Car Championship, a real race event, which was just about to start.  As soon as the cars took off, I could easily appreciate how fast they were going and how good the cars handled on the turns.  More doubt was setting in me, particularly on how fast I could go and being a first-timer, whether I could actually learn the flow of the track.  In any case, all of these thoughts had to take the backburner for the meantime as we were engrossed in watching our friend take 3rd place after starting from the back of the grid due to some pre-start technical problems.

Touring Car Championship contenders entering the track

Soon enough, we were being paged by the marshals to get our cars ready. We all did our last minute checks, got into the driver's seat, and were directed to queue up at Pit Lane. Since there were only six of us, the organizers allowed a few other cars to join in the session. Not that I cared, because by this point my mind was shut out of who else was going to be there. All I wanted to think of was how to best tackle the task at hand.

 At Pit Lane: I'm behind the white car

After a longer than expected wait at Pit Lane while the track was being cleared of the previous group, we finally were given the go-ahead to start our session. Here we go! I put the car in gear, stepped on the gas pedal and...nothing happened. Tried reshifting but I was still stuck in the same spot. What in blazes has happened? Has Sergio failed me even before a single tire has touched the track???

A quick glance at my instrument panel showed zero RPMs on the tach. In the excitement, I forgot that I had turned off the engine while waiting and being parked next to a loudspeaker blaring out rap music, there was no way to hear if it was running. A single turn of the key resulted in the engine coming back to life and raring to go. The problem wasn't with Sergio after all!

We were instructed that the first two laps were for practice but I tell you, once the adrenalin starts pumping, you try to go as fast as you can. The first turn is a sweeping uphill left, some esses, quickly followed by a right-left chicane. In my haste, I missed this right to the chicane (which I think is really the most demanding portion of the layout). Without any previous on-track experience, it is very hard to anticipate when this turn comes up. Fortunately, there is a bailout area which gave me enough room to steer my way back to the correct route. In the meantime, a Subaru STI was on my tail and I decided to let him pass on the next straight. Boy, that bugger was fast and added with all-wheel drive capability, he was taking the turns at a much higher speed than any of the cars I could still see.

Its really amazing how powerful harnessing one's full concentration is. By the time I started on the 2nd practice lap, the track layout was already burned in my mind. Starting line// straight// uphill long left// small left// small right// right left chicane entry// left right chicane exit// long downhill straight// left hairpin turn// uphill straight// sharp left (exit to Pit Lane ahead)// small right// long straight down to the start-finish line. Total distance I have been told is 2.8 kilometers. No overruns to report this time and I was also taking a better racing line going into the turns. Definitely a much smoother run. At the end of the lap, all cars were positioned in the starting grid just like in Formula 1 but even if it entailed another long wait, I learned my lesson and kept the engine running.

From the starting grid: I'm the second car on the left

For the main event, we were going to do two "hot laps" and a "cool down" lap afterwards. The hot laps are for going all out and the cool down is to give the engine an opportunity to slowly come off from full exertion; just as an athlete does not stop abruptly after finishing an event.  In the meantime, I was thinking of all the factors I needed to consider.  Among them was resetting my GPS unit to provide some idea of my personal performance and making sure that my camera was mounted and aimed properly.  I had it set on video mode so as to have a record of how my drive went.  Inspite of all the anticipation, we all were relaxed enough to take pictures and exchange a few tips while waiting.

In another few minutes, the signal was given to get ready. We hopped back into our cars, fastened seatbelts, and in my case, took a mental picture of the vicinity on the premise that it will help determine my relative position going around the track. Revved up the engine and then we were off the line. This was the real Lap 1.

Took off relatively smoothly without the heavy screeching and smoking of tires seen on TV, then accelerated down the straight towards the long left bend and esses. Kept in mind that the chicane was coming up and positioned the car to hit the apex of the turn properly. Held on to the correct line and in an instant, I was in the chicane. No drama at all. Gaining confidence, I followed the same procedure to exit the chicane and onto the long downhill straight. Unlike in practice when a big gap was immediately created as a result of my "dead" engine, this time I was able to keep close to the car ahead of me (a modified Honda Accord). The bad thing though was that as soon as we hit the straight, track debris started flying into my front end. I could see small stones heading towards the windshield. The competitor in me wanted to hang on but ultimately decided that it was not worth the risk of cracking the windshield. So I backed off upon reaching the hairpin turn in order to leave enough of a gap and avoid any UFOs. I looked back at my rear view mirror to check who was coming up and saw that the next car was far behind. My initial thought was that I really must have been going fast but just as quickly realized that he too must have slowed down because of my debris. Then came the esses before the start/finish straight. Accelerated hard, glanced into my tach to find out my RPMs and saw the needle very slightly past the 6000 redline. Backed off again to avoid damaging the engine but I guess I had to anyway because I was near the end of the straight. End of Lap 1.

Lap 2 was actually a more "relaxed" run. Not that it was slower, but more of a feeling of having settled down, being in a state of heightened awareness if you like. I was easily able to keep track of car positioning, engine speed, the sequence of turns, and other variables affecting my driving. The only thought in my head was of that particular moment. As a guy who normally thinks of as many different scenarios along the same theme, this is one of the few times of complete obliviousness to the rest of the world. And just like that, I saw the chequered flag being waved on my left.

It seemed to me that everyone was going as hard for most of the cool down lap and it was not until the last 300 meters or so when things dramatically slowed. Must have still been the juice flowing but after a couple of personal whoops on my part, I followed the rest of the cars back into Pit Lane.

Entering the chicane: I'm behind the white car

Back to Pit Lane: that's me in the middle

To be continued...

At the racetrack (Part 1)...

It was another new experience for Sergio and me yesterday.

After 17 years as a venue for local motorsports, the Subic International Raceway is closing down for redevelopment.  Sadly, its not to improve the facilities but instead to turn the site into a commercial retail facility.  In other words...another shopping mall.  As a token of appreciation to the most avid supporters of the SIR, the various local car clubs have been invited to use the track for a whole weekend free of charge!
Called "The Last Lap", a lineup of touring car races, slaloms, and car club track days spanning 36 continuous hours was made.  This includes a Saturday night show/party while the cars are still zooming around for the evening events.

As a member of good standing with the BMW Car Club of the Philippines, I was given the chance to be a part of the delegation.  There were six of us who were willing (or crazy enough) to risk life, limb, and most importantly, car to represent BMWCCP.  In order to reach Subic by mid-morning, we agreed to meet up in Greenhills by 6:00 which meant a 4am wakeup for me.  Now, those who know me well can easily attest to the fact that I am not a morning person and even less so of a dawn one.  However, I was very excited at the prospect of driving around in circles that I did not sleep much, if at all.  I was even energetic enough to do a once-over wiping before we went our merry way.

Technically, Winny would have been better suited for any track event.  Although both my bimmers have the same 2.5 liter engine size, the 3-Series is lighter (resulting in a better power-to-weight ratio), smaller and therefore more nimble than a 5er.  I thought long and hard about which car to bring but eventually I concluded that driving a big, heavy sedan around the racetrack was too good a challenge to pass up.  An even more important consideration was that it would be a good test of Sergio's condition after all the work I have done.  If he decides to conk out somewhere, sometime during the day, not only would it be disappointing but then I would have a very big problem of what to do to get both of us home.  Somehow, even this line of thought just seemed to make Sergio the more interesting proposition.  By the way, it had already crossed my mind to do this blog posting afterwards and writing about the same car offered better continuity, in my opinion.

I was meeting most of the other five guys for the first time and I also had no idea of what cars they were bringing.  I expected them to have track prepared cars built for speed.  True enough, once we were complete, the team was composed of a Z4 convertible, 3 mean-looking 3ers whose backgrounds I had read about in the BMWCCP website, and another 5er aside from mine.  I do have to point out that while the other 5er was a big and heavy sedan like mine, it was a 540i meaning to say that under the hood was a monster 4.4 liter V8 32 valve engine.  In my mind, I was hoping no one remembers how far I will be left behind.

After an uneventful 3-hour (including a breakfast stop) drive to Subic, I was heartened by my first glimpse into the racetrack.  We had to wait for a while before we could gain entry into the paddock as a vintage car race was going on.  Vintage is actually a misnomer as most of them will easily run away from all but the fastest of today's typical modern street cars. 

Thanking my sponsors: AHVA, BFHA, Orchard GCC, and E-Pass

About to enter SIR

Finally, Sergio and I were allowed to enter hallowed ground and be in the company of much more illustrious brethren.  The sight of such magnificent hardware makes you forget that it is the Philippines.  Its not that the place is a destination worth going out of your way for because its actually quite rundown, but more out of the fact that the collective worth of the cars parked inside would in all likelihood exceed the annual income of a small city.  And it goes without saying that the cost of fuel and maintenance is not an issue with this group.

Our rides in the paddock (no longer outsiders looking in)

Last time I saw an Opel GT was in high school

Vintage Alfa Romeo: you should see this thing move

This was a brute: simply overpowered everything in its path

Classic Corvette

State-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG

Continued in Part 2...