COTA track day hpde e36 M3 S54 Feb 2023 on Hankook F200 Best Laps, Esses, Fast Cars

well overall I was slower this year.... no idea why
Best 2:37.98, last year 2:37.24
GPS indicates 129-130MPH at the back straight, had no idea, the motor is accelerating well at the end. This straight and Road Atlanta are similar length but different height profiles I have seen 141 speedo indicated there on street tires, the entry is a little faster too at R ATL.
Improvements made to the car:
MCS 2WNR all four corners vs a very old Ground Control Koni DA/SA setup.
Bimmerworld front sway links, silicone air boot
Hankook F200 slicks vs Z214
Detriments
No front lower lip/splitter
I am on standard 3.23 diff.
More on this later in an update
Nevertheless, only scrubbed in the tires at Barber in Jan where I ran a very good 1:40.3 fastest lap. I set the MCS clicks similar to the old C/O settings there. Here at COTA I started out with mid range. Day 1 too much understeer and tire pressure but better lap times. Day 2 less front clicks more rear clicks, and lower pressure. So maybe never really got tires in working zone. I have no idea still, as this departed from the Barber experience.
The car is resolutely tooo slow for Chin's Red group at COTA. I need to add lightness a ton and probably shorten the diff. Not a must either near term.
LOOOPS
Spin it to win it, well I only did a 180 max... twice... on cold tires... DOH I couldn't have chosen better empty spaces to do it in.
The Esses
There is a prescribed way, it is slower. Coming out of turn 2 head directly for the apex of turn 3 carry as much speed as you can so that you have control into the apex of turn 4, maybe a little brake, either way you are maintenance throttle or coasting some all the way to the apex of 5. This is where you can make gains on other cars.
Run wide after the apex of 5 but then turn in rather abruptly as it is off camber and hug the inside after turn 5.
Additionally approach to 7 needs to be mid track as it is similar to 5 so that you late apex it to a moderate degree.
Try to use as little acceleration or braking as possible from 3 to 8 so that you can come out of eight with a squeeze of the throttle that increases rate as you climb the little hill.
The Carousel
Very important for fast lap times, track left at T16 (sorry John I told you wrong) then mid way through the rest of the complex so that you can approach the apex of T18 on the right side of the track. Done right you should be accelerating hard through 17 into 18.
Cool cars on track McLaren, Audi R8, Grid LIfe Miata, GT3, GT4, C7, C8 Corvette, open wheel "aprilia", AMG GTR race, Evora