This winter seemed never-ending (insufferable, excruciating, torturous are words I prefer). I’m convinced this is because all the nasty days landed on days we had planned to get out for an open lapping day. So instead of getting some turns in at the track, we turned laps around the cars in the garage, crossing off a few thing from our wishlists.
Back in January I wondered, what performance mod can I do that won’t break the bank? Turns out, the answer was simple: stainless steel brake lines. I want to make sure my E90 M3 can stop when & where I say it should. I’m a big believer that stopping is at least as important as going. There was a small snafu by the local installer (who shall remain nameless) where we learned it’s not as devastating as you might think to put brake fluid where the power steering fluid goes. (Don’t worry we had it flushed immediately. The Beast is fine.) In the end the rubber OEM lines were replaced and I’m confident this was a worthwhile upgrade.
A couple of weeks later new tires arrived. Driving on the Blizzaks was certainly cushy. Not what you would call exciting though. It was like Christmas 
Day all over again when I got home from work and saw the new Bridgestone RE-11′s sitting on the doorstep. I had done a fair amount of research and decided on the RE-11′s due to several reviews commenting on the stiffer sidewall (compared to the PS2′s I wore out in 2009). I stepped up the size a bit too: 255′s for the front and 285′s on the rear. It’s possible I started purring when I rolled them into the garage… True to form, mounting them was an adventure because of those sidewalls: they’re so stiff they broke the tire mounting machine. Once on the wheels though… I’ll just say there was some bargaining (begging?) going on every time the forecast was for sun. Blizzaks… RE-11s…
While temporarily satisfying, these little projects only whetted my appetite for one – just one! – day at the track. We tried to set up private instruction. It was as if Mother Nature had some sort of personal agenda. Each time: snow! Even last week was blizzarded out of contention. Like I said. Insufferable. Excruciating. Torturous.
No matter. I am an optimist. The Beast has a new set of shoes and the weather has to cooperate eventually!
- christina
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