-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
My Compulsory Gerotek Day (Advice Needed)
- Thread starter applehero
- Start date
applehero
///Member
So this day came and went. It was amazing! Really cool being able to take your car to its limits in a (semi) controlled environment.
The day started off with me and two class mates driving in convoy to Gerotek. One of my mates was in his dad's 2010 320d. Did one or two runs on the freeway from 60 to the speed limit... :mmm: Interesting thing being that in both I had a slight lead of about half a car length. He has about 20 kW and 20 Nm on me, but about 95 kg’s more.
Anyhow, the day started with a ride on the Suspension track. Interesting noting the three different road profiles: Belgian paving, random input and corrugations. It was mainly an exercise in showing us the different road profiles used for fatigue testing.
We then progressed to the ride and handling course. This was great. You get a nice feel for the handling of the car as well as sensitivity to gradients and cornering. The road surface is quite rough allowing high cornering forces. I had three runs and each one was better than the last. The first run was with me and three other class mates in the car, was a bit slow considering the extra weight. The second run was just me in the car and felt pretty fast. The final one was with three mates and by then I knew the braking points and apexes pretty well.
Run 1:
3:45 minutes
Average speed of 67.2 kmh
Run 2:
3:39 minutes
Average speed of 69 kmh
As an indication, my lecturer did the course in 3:09 giving an average speed of 80kmh. He was in his Golf 6 GTi.
The skidpan was next. This was pretty familiar to me…
The first and second runs were just showing the effectiveness of ABS and assisting in cornering while braking. The second and third runs were a lot more fun. This was to observe and correct over steer – handbrake or if you’re lucky enough power on over steer. I managed to almost make a full revolution with the back out. It was a really awesome feeling.
The double lane change was the last activity for the day in which we drove. Also known as the Moose Test, the point of the double lane change is to determine the maximum speed the driver can navigate the lane change without hitting any cones. The first run I started at 80kmh pretty uneventful and felt slow. I then progressed to 100, 120, 130kmh. I hit cones at 130 though… The last run was with three of us in the car. Traction control off, stability control on as well as cruise control with a constant speed of 120kmh. Managed to get the back to step out, great feeling and was a great end to the driving.
We then went around the high speed course in a Toyota Avanza. That was terrible…
On the whole it was an awesome day out the best prac I will ever be apart of.
P.S. I say this with much sadness but there was not much viable footage. The light sensor for what ever reason, decided that the light in the car was more important than that of outside. :facepalm: So I got like an hour of in car footage and not much else. :bawling:
The day started off with me and two class mates driving in convoy to Gerotek. One of my mates was in his dad's 2010 320d. Did one or two runs on the freeway from 60 to the speed limit... :mmm: Interesting thing being that in both I had a slight lead of about half a car length. He has about 20 kW and 20 Nm on me, but about 95 kg’s more.
Anyhow, the day started with a ride on the Suspension track. Interesting noting the three different road profiles: Belgian paving, random input and corrugations. It was mainly an exercise in showing us the different road profiles used for fatigue testing.
We then progressed to the ride and handling course. This was great. You get a nice feel for the handling of the car as well as sensitivity to gradients and cornering. The road surface is quite rough allowing high cornering forces. I had three runs and each one was better than the last. The first run was with me and three other class mates in the car, was a bit slow considering the extra weight. The second run was just me in the car and felt pretty fast. The final one was with three mates and by then I knew the braking points and apexes pretty well.
Run 1:
3:45 minutes
Average speed of 67.2 kmh
Run 2:
3:39 minutes
Average speed of 69 kmh
As an indication, my lecturer did the course in 3:09 giving an average speed of 80kmh. He was in his Golf 6 GTi.
The skidpan was next. This was pretty familiar to me…
The first and second runs were just showing the effectiveness of ABS and assisting in cornering while braking. The second and third runs were a lot more fun. This was to observe and correct over steer – handbrake or if you’re lucky enough power on over steer. I managed to almost make a full revolution with the back out. It was a really awesome feeling.The double lane change was the last activity for the day in which we drove. Also known as the Moose Test, the point of the double lane change is to determine the maximum speed the driver can navigate the lane change without hitting any cones. The first run I started at 80kmh pretty uneventful and felt slow. I then progressed to 100, 120, 130kmh. I hit cones at 130 though… The last run was with three of us in the car. Traction control off, stability control on as well as cruise control with a constant speed of 120kmh. Managed to get the back to step out, great feeling and was a great end to the driving.
We then went around the high speed course in a Toyota Avanza. That was terrible…
On the whole it was an awesome day out the best prac I will ever be apart of.
P.S. I say this with much sadness but there was not much viable footage. The light sensor for what ever reason, decided that the light in the car was more important than that of outside. :facepalm: So I got like an hour of in car footage and not much else. :bawling:
