SCCA AutoX school

Oofie · 06-05-2011, 07:24 AM

Did my first ever SCCA event, an autocross school yesterday. Day was full of driving and chatting with fast people, I definitely learned a lot. It was my second time out with the 135i so I'm still learning how to drive it. Car is all stock with 17x8.5 Kosei's wrapped in 235/40/17 Dunlop Direzza SS.

Broke the timing beam going sideways and ended up sliding for a considerable distance. I tried steering with the slide, but it was really dirty once I got off line and I'm just glad the car stopped before hitting those big pillars. I think I just got right in between the two pillars and stopping a few meters short of the curb.

Since they weren't strict with cones and times, I really didn't DNF

Ended up being .5 seconds off of my instructor, who also drives a 135i. Given he only did 2 tries, and I did my fastest time during my third run, I'm still pretty happy with my times.

aisthetes · 06-05-2011, 10:55 PM

Nice, looks like you're getting comfortable with the new ride. Now that you've gotten your first spin out of the way, there's nothing holding you back.

Exhaust sounds like you guys couldn't wait to modify for more power. That's stock?

Oofie · 06-06-2011, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aisthetes

Nice, looks like you're getting comfortable with the new ride. Now that you've gotten your first spin out of the way, there's nothing holding you back.

Exhaust sounds like you guys couldn't wait to modify for more power. That's stock?

Thanks Doug! I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong during that last corner though. Chris said I might have been on the gas and not unwinding the wheel enough. I also think I should have been more aggressive for the other slaloms.

By the way, that's still all stock. I modified my Gopro camera to accept an external mic which I then placed on the rear bumper just above the exhaust tips.

You going to be here for the 26th autocross?

pixelblue · 06-06-2011, 07:37 AM

I am interested to hear how you modified your gopro for an external mic. Gopro mic really sucks

IGoFast1589 · 06-06-2011, 08:05 AM

From the looks of the video and the sound you were fully on the gas coming out of that last corner and you needed to straighten out for the stop box. The weight of the car swung around on you as you tried to straighten out for the finish and as you said there was likely some dirt on the pavement adding to the mayhem. You might've been able to save that with a super fast steering correction in the opposite direction, but all is well and that looked awesome! Haha

aisthetes · 06-06-2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oofie

By the way, that's still all stock. I modified my Gopro camera to accept an external mic which I then placed on the rear bumper just above the exhaust tips.

Ah, that makes sense. It sounds wicked!

Quote:

You going to be here for the 26th autocross?

Not sure. I had planned to, but I may have someone interested in my car. If not, this more than likely will be my last event with the 1.

Oofie · 06-06-2011, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aisthetes

Ah, that makes sense. It sounds wicked!

Not sure. I had planned to, but I may have someone interested in my car. If not, this more than likely will be my last event with the 1.

wait, what? So you're selling it? What are you going to get?

pixelblue · 06-06-2011, 12:54 PM

don't forget to let us know how you modified your gopro. I was thinking about buying an external digital audio recorder and then sync the audio to the video. is this what you did?

Oofie · 06-06-2011, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixelblue

don't forget to let us know how you modified your gopro. I was thinking about buying an external digital audio recorder and then sync the audio to the video. is this what you did?

yup, ill try taking pictures of what I did. Having an external recorder is a good idea also, but entails more steps to edit sync points, etc.

pixelblue · 06-06-2011, 01:54 PM

great thanks man!

Oofie · 06-06-2011, 04:04 PM

***The mod most likely will void your warranty, and do this at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage that might happen or if your GoPro won't function properly.***

I bought these:

-3.5mm male to female stereo cable like this.
-external microphone like this.

-Basically, you have to open up your gopro camera by taking out the batteries and taking out the four small screws behind it.

Be careful opening it as there is a ribbon cable connecting the front half to the other half. Once opened, look for this piece, the stock mic.

I used a soldering iron to take it out. From here, cut your 3.5mm cable and keep the 'female' part. I just cut off the 'male' part so that I have a long cable sticking out of my gopro.

Strip the 3.5mm cable. I basically joined the red and white (L/R) and soldered them onto the (+) of the board, where the original mic was attached. Then just solder the (-) of the cable to the (-) of the board.

Reassemble the camera and test it with the external mic. I also covered my external mic with a piece of cloth/foam to reduce wind noise. Of course, you can skip the 3.5mm cable and just cut the external mic's end and attach it to your gopro, but I chose the 3.5mm interconnect so I can be more flexible. This way, I just have to buy another 3.5mm interconnect so if I wanted to, I can place the camera in the front bumper while the mic is near the exhaust.

By the way, the external mic will probably greatly reduce the battery life of the camera. It's still worth it though compared to capturing wind noise.

cpt97m3 · 06-06-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aisthetes

Nice, looks like you're getting comfortable with the new ride. Now that you've gotten your first spin out of the way, there's nothing holding you back.

Exhaust sounds like you guys couldn't wait to modify for more power. That's stock?

I can tell you he got very used to the 135i by the end of the day! Big improvements. Let's just wait to see how long they keep it stock.

pixelblue · 06-06-2011, 09:07 PM

damn you weren't kiddin' when you said you had mod your gopro! thats amazing what you did. not sure if I have the know how to pull that off. couple of questions, how do you route the wire from the sealed enclosure and where do you route the wire to the back of the car? in all honesty I would probably buy the external digital audio and just sync the audio and video but thanks for the info

Focusedintntions · 06-06-2011, 09:13 PM

It's a pretty sweet mod, but alas cannot be done for mine as I'll be using it for diving

Oofie · 06-07-2011, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpt97m3

I can tell you he got very used to the 135i by the end of the day! Big improvements. Let's just wait to see how long they keep it stock.

lol, still thinking about those camber plates and m3 suspension bits...

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixelblue

damn you weren't kiddin' when you said you had mod your gopro! thats amazing what you did. not sure if I have the know how to pull that off. couple of questions, how do you route the wire from the sealed enclosure and where do you route the wire to the back of the car? in all honesty I would probably buy the external digital audio and just sync the audio and video but thanks for the info

I used the backing that had two holes in it, so I just forced the camera in. The wire will be squeezed a lot, but I don't think it should be a problem. As for the car, I just mounted my camera on the back window, and just ran the wire on the side of the car. I just used some blue painters tape to tape the wire. Kinda crude, but works.

06-05-2011, 07:24 AM	#1
Oofie Private First Class 16 Rep 127 Posts Drives: 13 FR-S Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: SF, CA iTrader: (0)	SCCA AutoX school - San Diego Did my first ever SCCA event, an autocross school yesterday. Day was full of driving and chatting with fast people, I definitely learned a lot. It was my second time out with the 135i so I'm still learning how to drive it. Car is all stock with 17x8.5 Kosei's wrapped in 235/40/17 Dunlop Direzza SS. Broke the timing beam going sideways and ended up sliding for a considerable distance. I tried steering with the slide, but it was really dirty once I got off line and I'm just glad the car stopped before hitting those big pillars. I think I just got right in between the two pillars and stopping a few meters short of the curb. Since they weren't strict with cones and times, I really didn't DNF Ended up being .5 seconds off of my instructor, who also drives a 135i. Given he only did 2 tries, and I did my fastest time during my third run, I'm still pretty happy with my times. Last edited by Oofie; 06-05-2011 at 07:33 AM..
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06-05-2011, 10:55 PM	#2
aisthetes First Lieutenant 13 Rep 340 Posts Drives: 2013 M3 Competition Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Colorado iTrader: (0)	Nice, looks like you're getting comfortable with the new ride. Now that you've gotten your first spin out of the way, there's nothing holding you back. Exhaust sounds like you guys couldn't wait to modify for more power. That's stock?
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06-06-2011, 07:37 AM	#4
pixelblue Colonel 140 Rep 2,234 Posts Drives: the silver bullet Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: northern virginia iTrader: (2) Garage List 2010 135i [8.90]	I am interested to hear how you modified your gopro for an external mic. Gopro mic really sucks __________________ "I would quote everything pixelblue said, but you've already read it. Take it from someone who's put the 1 through its paces"
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06-06-2011, 08:05 AM	#5
IGoFast1589 Captain 49 Rep 654 Posts Drives: 08 135i Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: NY iTrader: (2)	From the looks of the video and the sound you were fully on the gas coming out of that last corner and you needed to straighten out for the stop box. The weight of the car swung around on you as you tried to straighten out for the finish and as you said there was likely some dirt on the pavement adding to the mayhem. You might've been able to save that with a super fast steering correction in the opposite direction, but all is well and that looked awesome! Haha
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06-06-2011, 12:54 PM	#8
pixelblue Colonel 140 Rep 2,234 Posts Drives: the silver bullet Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: northern virginia iTrader: (2) Garage List 2010 135i [8.90]	don't forget to let us know how you modified your gopro. I was thinking about buying an external digital audio recorder and then sync the audio to the video. is this what you did? __________________ "I would quote everything pixelblue said, but you've already read it. Take it from someone who's put the 1 through its paces"
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06-06-2011, 01:54 PM	#10
pixelblue Colonel 140 Rep 2,234 Posts Drives: the silver bullet Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: northern virginia iTrader: (2) Garage List 2010 135i [8.90]	great thanks man! __________________ "I would quote everything pixelblue said, but you've already read it. Take it from someone who's put the 1 through its paces"
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06-06-2011, 04:04 PM	#11
Oofie Private First Class 16 Rep 127 Posts Drives: 13 FR-S Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: SF, CA iTrader: (0)	*The mod most likely will void your warranty, and do this at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage that might happen or if your GoPro won't function properly.* I bought these: -3.5mm male to female stereo cable like this. -external microphone like this. -Basically, you have to open up your gopro camera by taking out the batteries and taking out the four small screws behind it. Be careful opening it as there is a ribbon cable connecting the front half to the other half. Once opened, look for this piece, the stock mic. I used a soldering iron to take it out. From here, cut your 3.5mm cable and keep the 'female' part. I just cut off the 'male' part so that I have a long cable sticking out of my gopro. Strip the 3.5mm cable. I basically joined the red and white (L/R) and soldered them onto the (+) of the board, where the original mic was attached. Then just solder the (-) of the cable to the (-) of the board. Reassemble the camera and test it with the external mic. I also covered my external mic with a piece of cloth/foam to reduce wind noise. Of course, you can skip the 3.5mm cable and just cut the external mic's end and attach it to your gopro, but I chose the 3.5mm interconnect so I can be more flexible. This way, I just have to buy another 3.5mm interconnect so if I wanted to, I can place the camera in the front bumper while the mic is near the exhaust. By the way, the external mic will probably greatly reduce the battery life of the camera. It's still worth it though compared to capturing wind noise. Last edited by Oofie; 06-07-2011 at 06:18 AM..
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06-06-2011, 09:07 PM	#13
pixelblue Colonel 140 Rep 2,234 Posts Drives: the silver bullet Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: northern virginia iTrader: (2) Garage List 2010 135i [8.90]	damn you weren't kiddin' when you said you had mod your gopro! thats amazing what you did. not sure if I have the know how to pull that off. couple of questions, how do you route the wire from the sealed enclosure and where do you route the wire to the back of the car? in all honesty I would probably buy the external digital audio and just sync the audio and video but thanks for the info __________________ "I would quote everything pixelblue said, but you've already read it. Take it from someone who's put the 1 through its paces"
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06-06-2011, 09:13 PM	#14
Focusedintntions Colonel 105 Rep 2,696 Posts Drives: 2011 135i M-Sport :D Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: NoVA iTrader: (1)	It's a pretty sweet mod, but alas cannot be done for mine as I'll be using it for diving __________________ Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death… – Hunter Thompson
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