Ti-Tourist introducing himself !

[Ti-Tourist]

Hello everyone,

I'm Erik, 27 yrs old, live in The Netherlands (Holland) & a proud owner of a Boston Green ti for 2.5 years now. Bought it with 40 K on the speedo, now approx. 66 K. For the last year, I've been taking the car to racing tracks all over Europe in near standard trim. Better (sports) tires, 325i vented discs, new racing brake pads & brake lines were the only changes I made so far. Seen 225 km/h top speed on the German Autobahn & tried some innocent drifting on closed track days for this purpose.

It's enormous fun to drive & it's a keeper for years to come. It can be a bit slow compared to the other cars I'm racing with, but the cornering & balance is just fantastic. And with ony having to replace standard items - cheap to run too. When you're sliding on all four wheels, on the limit & still get it right - it makes you feel like a hero too (a little).

Photo's (taken on Circuit d' Issoire, Circuit de Charade, Zolder, Nurburgring-Nordschleife & Circuit Lurcy-Levis):













It's super reliable too. With a group we organised a track-day week in France where it took 600 miles to get there, did 450 miles on track in 3 consecutive days & drove home 600 miles without a single problem !!

Video's of events I've visited (with some footage of my car):





http://exposureroom.com/members/Hube...b20649a717453/

Hope you like my intro. I'd like to share experiences & knowledge related to the ti here.

Regards,

Erik

[minicoop900]

looks great, is it a 5 speed?

[cooljess76]

Welcome to the forum Erik. Great videos, love the music!!!

[Ti-Tourist]

Yep, it has a 5-speed gearbox. US & EU versions don't differ on that.

The video's are made by somebody who is always there with these meets to record everything. He then makes DVD's from them as a memory to that trackday. I can understand that you don't understand sh*t of the language (being Dutch). But the cars involved are nice for petrolheads all around the globe. (Lotus Exige, BMW M3 (CSL), Porsches etc). Because most of us know each other there is also guite a lot of footage of jokes, bloopers etc.

In Holland we used to have a E36 318ti Touring Car Cup. If I can find pictures from them, I'll post them here. I'm not a show & shine or tuning shows kind of guy, nor do I strip the care bare to get rid of all the weight to be faster. Having the interior makes sense 95 % of the time. I just get to the track, drive & go home afterwards without much fuss (having to change tires, put the car on a trailer etc)

[1996 328ti]

Interesting that Euro-spec ti's don't have a rear antenna.
Is it built into the rear bumper?

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by Ti-Tourist

In Holland we used to have a E36 318ti Touring Car Cup. If I can find pictures from them, I'll post them here. I'm not a show & shine or tuning shows kind of guy, nor do I strip the care bare to get rid of all the weight to be faster. Having the interior makes sense 95 % of the time. I just get to the track, drive & go home afterwards without much fuss (having to change tires, put the car on a trailer etc)

Sounds like me.

Did the cup cars look like this?

[Ti-Tourist]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Interesting that Euro-spec ti's don't have a rear antenna.
Is it built into the rear bumper?

Interesting question. All ti's I've seen here, come with-out a antenna on the exterior of the car. So it is built in somewhere, but I have no idea where. The GPS antenna for my sat-nav has been stowed away in the dash near my glovebox, but I'm sure the same doesn't apply to the radio.

[Ti-Tourist]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Sounds like me.

Did the cup cars look like this?

http://www.bmw-cup.nl/deelnemers

A link to give a bit more insight. I have up & close pictures of a few cars somewhere, but can't find them at the moment.

Edit: The model you've posted is a Trophee Andros - ice racing car from a couple of years ago (I think).

[Ti-Tourist]

A318ti special tuning edition here in Europe:

The BMW Hartge H3 2.1 Compact. Beside the body kit & bigger wheels, the engine has been stroked to 2.1. litres, giving 170 bhp & 222 nm torque

[tiFreak]

welcome to the forum Erik, I believe Euro ti's had the antennae built into the rear window, not 100% sure though

[Maverix]

w00t! way to represent bostongruen bases!

[shonky]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Interesting that Euro-spec ti's don't have a rear antenna.
Is it built into the rear bumper?

The antenna is in the rear screen....you can see it amongst the rear heated elements.

Welcome Ti tourist, great pics.....loving the one with the E28 behind you ( I have one of those too! )

Shonky )

[Will'sBimmer]

Nice car. Welcome to the forum.

[Ti-Tourist]

I've been to Zolder again recently, where a few more pics have been taken.



From this pic it's obvious that the car could do with improved suspension, but I'm not sure what I'll go for. For 2009 I've planned to visit the Nordschleife for a few laps & a visit to the Isle of Man end of July (no speed limits outside the villages )

Limited slip diff would also be a nice upgrade.