I missed my normal end of season track day at Mosport last month because of forcasted bad weather (it actually didn't rain as predicted). I track mostly my 135i these days, but I was itching to track the C55 this time, as I do want to give the C55 some proper "exercise" once a year.

I went with another track group last week at Mosport. Temperatures were between 4-7 degrees Celsius. I had never tracked in temperatures below 12-13 degrees, so I was a little apprehensive about using summer performance street tires. But the organizer re-assured me that it would be fine as the tires would warm up enough after 2-3 laps. He was right, as the grip was surprisingly good after the tires warmed up.......very close to the grip that could be achieved in warmer weather.

The other people who went were generally very experienced (I guess you have to be pretty hard core if you want to track in November in Canada!!). The majority of people had Porsche's (a quite a few of GT3's), although there were others (GT-R, R8 V10, Corvettes, CTS-V, and several race cars).

Here is an in-car video of some "moderate" laps during the middle of the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKEGz6gu5YQ

And here is my quickest recorded lap near the end of the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avwDnPTKWf8


It's only 0.4 seconds slower than my quickest ever recorded lap here, so I was quite pleased given the temperature and the fact I was using my CLK63 rims which are heavier than the stock C55 rims. I was using a relatively new set of Dunlop Sport Maxx TT tires.......they're quite good, probably very similar to my previous Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. As long as I'm within striking distance of North44's C63 laptimes at Mosport, I'm satisfied.....

As usual, I had a great time pushing the car and taking advantage of its performance capabilities. It's after days like this that re-affirms to me how much I love this car.

Thanks for reading.

 

Love your videos, I didn't even realize Mosport was still open this time of year. I'll be there for sure next year. I just caught the last Shannonville lapping day in the beg of Oct, went with SAAB club of Canada a couple times too.

BTW, what group do you go with?

Bry

 

Awesome +1, thanks for sharing!!

So, which car do you prefer for tracking the Beemer or the MB??

 

How did your c55 performed compare to other cars participated in the event?

 

What speed did you reach at 2:30 in the first video..? Great videos, looks like fun..

 

There are several groups that run track days at Mosport (6th Gear, Dexter, Apex, etc, etc) I usually go with the 6th Gear group. This time, however, I went with a more private group that an individual organized.


Depends on the track. The 135i is a more nimble car and should have higher cornering grip. The 135i is also slightly modded for better track performance (front camber plates, light weight rims, stickier summer rubber, better front rotors, better brake pads, lightened crank pulley). For tighter tracks (like Shannonville/Cayuga), I prefer the 135i, and I'm pretty sure I'm faster in the BMW. For fast flowing tracks, the C55 performs very well. Fast sweeping corners are its strenghths. Despite my best efforts this year, I'm still about 1 second slower in my 135i at Mosport, compared to the C55 (which is stock other than the Renntech CF airbox).


Whenever/whereever I take the C55 tracking, it ALWAYS performs very well relative to all the other street cars and surprises many other drivers of more "track oriented" cars. At this particular track, the only street cars that are consistently faster than me by a good margin are well driven 911 GT3's, 911 Turbo's, and Corvette Z06's or ZR1's (and they usually have R-compound tires).

According to my speedometer, the highest speed I attained consistently on the back straight was 211 km/h. However, an acquaintance who was trying his best to keep up with me in his Audi R8 V10 insists that I must be faster, as he could not close up on me signficantly, even when his top speed was around 250 km/h. Even in my 135i, I see the speedometer going up to 215-220 km/h, so it is possible that the speedometer in the C55 is underestimating my speed.

 

It's always a pleasure to read of your exploits, PC Valkyrie.
Good to know you're still out there getting after 'em.

 

We need to organize one for us southeast folk....

 

Great read! I woulda loved to take the Kleemann through a track event like that. I suspect with all of the modifications it woulda performed well, properly driven of'course.