My e36 track car
Discussion
- cough* Silverstone update...... *cough*
LOL @ the daily driver.
you are a tougher man than me, that's for sure.p.s. I sent you an email about that assortment of rusty bits
Hum
Hum, I'll email you back in the morning!
Well, Silverstone didn't really happen...
I got there, done a couple laps to warm up, came back in, one of the lads jumped in, and within 3 laps, my rocket gasket decided to s
t itself and piss oil everywhere. Great.
We got the car into the garage and set about taking the rocker cover off, with the view of using some 'instant gasket'. Once it was off however, the gasket was fine. No rips, tears, cracks or any deformation at all. When looking at the gasket, it appeared as if it had popped out. Upon further investigation, both corner studs on the middle of the engine side (if that makes sense).
We cleaned the oil up, put the gasket back into place and I headed up to Total Dynamic Motorsport (Seans new 'official' name') as he was only 40mins away. Since Silverstone was a 'free' day from mission motorsport, I was happy to leave as Oulton was a day I'd booked myself, so wanted the car ready for then.
I took it easy driving to Sean's as there was oil bubbling from the 2 missing bolts. When I got to Sean's, I whipped the rocker cover off again, replaced the studs and re-fitted. There is still a slight leak coming from the middle gasket bolt hole closest to the bulkhead, but nothing to make me worry just yet.
I didn't take any pictures as I was in too much of a flat spin trying to make sure everything was working for Saturday.
The only thing we can thing, is the vent off the top of my catch can wasn't large enough to release the pressure quick enough, the crank case pressured, blowing the seal. So, i removed the blanked off bolt on the side of the catch can, which is the same size as the hose coming from the CC, to allow the pressure to escape quicker.
I ordered a new gasket and rubber o-rings for the bolts from BMW to be safe and took them along to Oulton just incase.
Saturday was a dry day. The track was a little wet to begin with, but quickly dryed up.
Before even getting onto track, I noticed my rear camber was out. I'm putting this down to poly bushes on my hubs settling in as I was told to expect to have to re-align the rear end soon. Luckily, I sorted this before my 1st session.
I used my first session as a shakedown, revving high and long to check for oil leaks and also to get used to track driving without ABS. Had a couple of moments of lock-up through out the day as the track conditions changed, but I do much prefer the feel without the ABS and the pedal box. However, catching expensive cars, in the wet, without ABS, who brake far to early, and far earlier than you'd expect is a 50p-5p moment.
I had a 20min instruction session with Mike from drivertution.com. Out of all the lessons I've had so far, he was by far the best. His tution was alot more race/track focused compared to the others who were almost going through the motions of just showing me lines. His tuition was alot more focused on what I was doing with the car, the way I was pedalling and all the other bits and bobs. He does full day tuitions, which I'll defiantly be taking advantage of in the future.
After my lesson, I went back out and started putting my lesson to use, i.e, i started racing everyone and had a hard session. As I pulled into my garage, my mrs noticed my nearside front wheel had oil on it. I quickly popped the bonnet to find my catch can had filled and decided to coat the engine bay and under the car with oil. Speaking to some of the kumho lads, they had mentioned that the cars breath heavy during race conditions and can usually half fill catch cans in 20mins. I hadn't emptied the can since i fitted it a couple weeks ago, and had had a few sessions already that day. So, I spent the lunch cleaning the engine bay and underside of the car.
That's the oil collected, from the day, bar the very last session. So I would have probably filled both bottles.
I was emptying my can after every other session in the afternoon. I was getting around a ¼ of a bottle of coke for around 20mins hard work. So, I'm going to move my catch can to the O/S of my engine bay to make it easier for emptying.
A clip after the 1st corner that my Mrs got for me.
All day, the car was driving perfect for me. I know I was surprising a fair few people with how it was handling, braking and driving in general, as over lunch and whenever I was in the garage, I was getting nothing but good comments.
And here's a couple good/clean laps!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oCe9wGFbU2w
(really need to figure out how to get the videos to embed!)
One thing, after watching the videos, at the end of the day, I should have been shifting down into 2nd for the exits of Brittens and Hislops (the 2 back straight chicanes) and probably the Shell Oils hairpin. Whilst driving, I could feel the car was sluggish, but was happy with the way I was learning and driving. I know for next time tho!
I don't have any track days planned just yet, but I'll probably head to Donnington again next month, and money depending, do it with a full day tuition...
Well, Silverstone didn't really happen...
I got there, done a couple laps to warm up, came back in, one of the lads jumped in, and within 3 laps, my rocket gasket decided to s
t itself and piss oil everywhere. Great.We got the car into the garage and set about taking the rocker cover off, with the view of using some 'instant gasket'. Once it was off however, the gasket was fine. No rips, tears, cracks or any deformation at all. When looking at the gasket, it appeared as if it had popped out. Upon further investigation, both corner studs on the middle of the engine side (if that makes sense).
We cleaned the oil up, put the gasket back into place and I headed up to Total Dynamic Motorsport (Seans new 'official' name') as he was only 40mins away. Since Silverstone was a 'free' day from mission motorsport, I was happy to leave as Oulton was a day I'd booked myself, so wanted the car ready for then.
I took it easy driving to Sean's as there was oil bubbling from the 2 missing bolts. When I got to Sean's, I whipped the rocker cover off again, replaced the studs and re-fitted. There is still a slight leak coming from the middle gasket bolt hole closest to the bulkhead, but nothing to make me worry just yet.
I didn't take any pictures as I was in too much of a flat spin trying to make sure everything was working for Saturday.
The only thing we can thing, is the vent off the top of my catch can wasn't large enough to release the pressure quick enough, the crank case pressured, blowing the seal. So, i removed the blanked off bolt on the side of the catch can, which is the same size as the hose coming from the CC, to allow the pressure to escape quicker.
I ordered a new gasket and rubber o-rings for the bolts from BMW to be safe and took them along to Oulton just incase.
Saturday was a dry day. The track was a little wet to begin with, but quickly dryed up.
Before even getting onto track, I noticed my rear camber was out. I'm putting this down to poly bushes on my hubs settling in as I was told to expect to have to re-align the rear end soon. Luckily, I sorted this before my 1st session.
I used my first session as a shakedown, revving high and long to check for oil leaks and also to get used to track driving without ABS. Had a couple of moments of lock-up through out the day as the track conditions changed, but I do much prefer the feel without the ABS and the pedal box. However, catching expensive cars, in the wet, without ABS, who brake far to early, and far earlier than you'd expect is a 50p-5p moment.
I had a 20min instruction session with Mike from drivertution.com. Out of all the lessons I've had so far, he was by far the best. His tution was alot more race/track focused compared to the others who were almost going through the motions of just showing me lines. His tuition was alot more focused on what I was doing with the car, the way I was pedalling and all the other bits and bobs. He does full day tuitions, which I'll defiantly be taking advantage of in the future.
After my lesson, I went back out and started putting my lesson to use, i.e, i started racing everyone and had a hard session. As I pulled into my garage, my mrs noticed my nearside front wheel had oil on it. I quickly popped the bonnet to find my catch can had filled and decided to coat the engine bay and under the car with oil. Speaking to some of the kumho lads, they had mentioned that the cars breath heavy during race conditions and can usually half fill catch cans in 20mins. I hadn't emptied the can since i fitted it a couple weeks ago, and had had a few sessions already that day. So, I spent the lunch cleaning the engine bay and underside of the car.
That's the oil collected, from the day, bar the very last session. So I would have probably filled both bottles.
I was emptying my can after every other session in the afternoon. I was getting around a ¼ of a bottle of coke for around 20mins hard work. So, I'm going to move my catch can to the O/S of my engine bay to make it easier for emptying.
A clip after the 1st corner that my Mrs got for me.
All day, the car was driving perfect for me. I know I was surprising a fair few people with how it was handling, braking and driving in general, as over lunch and whenever I was in the garage, I was getting nothing but good comments.
And here's a couple good/clean laps!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oCe9wGFbU2w
(really need to figure out how to get the videos to embed!)
One thing, after watching the videos, at the end of the day, I should have been shifting down into 2nd for the exits of Brittens and Hislops (the 2 back straight chicanes) and probably the Shell Oils hairpin. Whilst driving, I could feel the car was sluggish, but was happy with the way I was learning and driving. I know for next time tho!
I don't have any track days planned just yet, but I'll probably head to Donnington again next month, and money depending, do it with a full day tuition...
Bad luck with the rocker cover issue. That had to be a disappointment, especially that bits were missing from the engine.
We also have a rocker leak, but ours leaks at the edge and onto the rear manifold bank so it smells lovely. I put ours down to an old gasket plus a combination of 10W60 track oil. With that said, I have also modified the crank case ventilation on ours prior to our track day in December, but I find it hard to believe that pressure is backing up on our car because the setup is a 22MM ID hose routing from the crank case to a 22mmID t-piece below the inlet mani with a breather at the opposite end of the t-piece and a smaller iirc 8-10mm opening on the t-piece that connects direct to the return oil hose at the base of the dipstick for return into the crank case. I could be wrong though, based on your evidence I ought to inspect the breather setup more closely.
The surprising thing in our case is, the breather doesn't look soaked in oil/vapour after our shakedown, as I would expect from the amount of oil your car is collecting in the bottle, even with an 8mm return I think we will be flow limited. My Alfa 155 was eating through a lot of crank case oil exhausting with a similar setup to the E36 but with a noticeably soaked oil breather. Perhaps our E36 isn't breathing as heavy, admittedly our E36 definitely has not been pushed that hard in length of time on track yet, strange differences nonetheless.
If your catch tank has an outlet on it at the bottom, perhaps you can connect the crank case return pipe to your catch tank and allow oil to drain to the sump once collected in the catch tank, worth a consideration perhaps.
No doubt the pedal box will be an improvement, that's more along the lines of what you would be using in a single seater/race car. I'm currently working on improving the oem pedals on a budget but even new bushes have lateral play built in them, so the standard setup is poor even when new imo compared with the pedal box.
I know what you mean about no ABS in the wet, but a lot of it is new to you, so you will be able to tune in to the feel and range with more time in the car I think. Definitely a wise call not to risk anything though.
Isn't this your first or second session on track with the cage done? You must have noticed a difference in handling and predictability with the cage now in the car compared to before...
?
P.S. On the video I think I noticed 25-58PSI in oil pressure on the gauge, is that correct? Also the other gauge I think was showing 117, is that the water temperature in C?
Hum
We also have a rocker leak, but ours leaks at the edge and onto the rear manifold bank so it smells lovely. I put ours down to an old gasket plus a combination of 10W60 track oil. With that said, I have also modified the crank case ventilation on ours prior to our track day in December, but I find it hard to believe that pressure is backing up on our car because the setup is a 22MM ID hose routing from the crank case to a 22mmID t-piece below the inlet mani with a breather at the opposite end of the t-piece and a smaller iirc 8-10mm opening on the t-piece that connects direct to the return oil hose at the base of the dipstick for return into the crank case. I could be wrong though, based on your evidence I ought to inspect the breather setup more closely.
The surprising thing in our case is, the breather doesn't look soaked in oil/vapour after our shakedown, as I would expect from the amount of oil your car is collecting in the bottle, even with an 8mm return I think we will be flow limited. My Alfa 155 was eating through a lot of crank case oil exhausting with a similar setup to the E36 but with a noticeably soaked oil breather. Perhaps our E36 isn't breathing as heavy, admittedly our E36 definitely has not been pushed that hard in length of time on track yet, strange differences nonetheless.
If your catch tank has an outlet on it at the bottom, perhaps you can connect the crank case return pipe to your catch tank and allow oil to drain to the sump once collected in the catch tank, worth a consideration perhaps.
No doubt the pedal box will be an improvement, that's more along the lines of what you would be using in a single seater/race car. I'm currently working on improving the oem pedals on a budget but even new bushes have lateral play built in them, so the standard setup is poor even when new imo compared with the pedal box.
I know what you mean about no ABS in the wet, but a lot of it is new to you, so you will be able to tune in to the feel and range with more time in the car I think. Definitely a wise call not to risk anything though.
Isn't this your first or second session on track with the cage done? You must have noticed a difference in handling and predictability with the cage now in the car compared to before...
?P.S. On the video I think I noticed 25-58PSI in oil pressure on the gauge, is that correct? Also the other gauge I think was showing 117, is that the water temperature in C?
Hum
Edited by Humour on Tuesday 17th February 20:35
That leak you speak of is a common one. If you haven't replaced the gasket, its worth doing. Mine was leaking when i first got it, and when i replaced it, I don't think the gasket had ever been changed.
My catch can setup is a 20mm I/D hose running from the CC to the catch can thought a 19mm barb, then was venting out the top though a 7mm I/D hose. So, it may have been restricting it, or I may have just been unlucky.
Even with the few lock-ups, I was still pushing. Once I got used to how much pressure I could use before initiating the lock-up, I was happy.
Yep, first time with the cage. The response from the car is amazing. When you turn and ask it to go somewhere, it's already there. It's very 'positive'. I didn't find much oversteer throughout the day, as I can feel exactly what the car is doing, so its possible to counter-act any unwanted oversteer as-soon as it begins.
Pressures, you're correct. It idles at 19/20psi when up to temp, which as far as I'm aware, is normal, then gets to around 60psi at full chat. Again, as far as I'm aware, this is normal, and reading what F0xy has written about PSIs, mine seems to pretty much match what his is doing.
And yes, thats my water temp in C. I'm a little unhappy with just how hot it's getting, but I'm putting it down to an original radiator and no cowling. My plan is to get some ABS plastic sheets and make an undertray and new cowlings so that the air has nowhere to go but through the radiator and over the top of the engine (so should help cooling and also give a little bit of downforce (although the vents on the bonnet will limit the flow).
also, finally emailed you back hum!
My catch can setup is a 20mm I/D hose running from the CC to the catch can thought a 19mm barb, then was venting out the top though a 7mm I/D hose. So, it may have been restricting it, or I may have just been unlucky.
Even with the few lock-ups, I was still pushing. Once I got used to how much pressure I could use before initiating the lock-up, I was happy.
Yep, first time with the cage. The response from the car is amazing. When you turn and ask it to go somewhere, it's already there. It's very 'positive'. I didn't find much oversteer throughout the day, as I can feel exactly what the car is doing, so its possible to counter-act any unwanted oversteer as-soon as it begins.
Pressures, you're correct. It idles at 19/20psi when up to temp, which as far as I'm aware, is normal, then gets to around 60psi at full chat. Again, as far as I'm aware, this is normal, and reading what F0xy has written about PSIs, mine seems to pretty much match what his is doing.
And yes, thats my water temp in C. I'm a little unhappy with just how hot it's getting, but I'm putting it down to an original radiator and no cowling. My plan is to get some ABS plastic sheets and make an undertray and new cowlings so that the air has nowhere to go but through the radiator and over the top of the engine (so should help cooling and also give a little bit of downforce (although the vents on the bonnet will limit the flow).
also, finally emailed you back hum!
Sounds like all is in hand 
I thought you might have a change in response with the cage but you didn't mention anything so I was a bit surprised. I'm liking the feedback on that front though, its certainly in line with what other people have said about the characteristics of a caged E36 properly setup.
Definitely a tad hot in water temps and the ambient is still pretty cold, I think it will need addressing before the air starts getting warmer. Were you able to tell what the oil temperature was getting up to at it's hottest and what was the average (I saw it going into the red by 4 bars on the video)?
When we got the car we decided the cooling system had to be overhauled first. We are running an OEM radiator (new) with a cowling, OEM thermostat housing (new), an EMP stewart water pump (new), 82C stat and an 80C auxiliary fan switch also new. Still running the viscous although probably don't need it now, but given we can't read the temps we settled on the side of caution. What I do know is I paid close attention to the auxiliary fan throughout the track day, and it didn't have the need to assist, but it's not a case of something not working as we tested the function numerous times running the engine hot indoors in a garage. On that basis I'm confident our setup shouldn't be running up to 100, however only the sensors/gauges will tell for sure.
I've seen some cars from north America using gaffer tape to close the gaps between the edges of the rad and cowling on the front, which does make sense to include on top of the planned custom cowling. I'll get ours done the next time the bumper is off.
Hum
I thought you might have a change in response with the cage but you didn't mention anything so I was a bit surprised. I'm liking the feedback on that front though, its certainly in line with what other people have said about the characteristics of a caged E36 properly setup.
Definitely a tad hot in water temps and the ambient is still pretty cold, I think it will need addressing before the air starts getting warmer. Were you able to tell what the oil temperature was getting up to at it's hottest and what was the average (I saw it going into the red by 4 bars on the video)?
When we got the car we decided the cooling system had to be overhauled first. We are running an OEM radiator (new) with a cowling, OEM thermostat housing (new), an EMP stewart water pump (new), 82C stat and an 80C auxiliary fan switch also new. Still running the viscous although probably don't need it now, but given we can't read the temps we settled on the side of caution. What I do know is I paid close attention to the auxiliary fan throughout the track day, and it didn't have the need to assist, but it's not a case of something not working as we tested the function numerous times running the engine hot indoors in a garage. On that basis I'm confident our setup shouldn't be running up to 100, however only the sensors/gauges will tell for sure.
I've seen some cars from north America using gaffer tape to close the gaps between the edges of the rad and cowling on the front, which does make sense to include on top of the planned custom cowling. I'll get ours done the next time the bumper is off.
Hum
brian394 said:
a 50p-5p moment
I've just spent a few hours getting through this thread, and it's absolutely superb. Thank you for sharing it on here, there's a dangerous amount of inspiration for my own, much tighter-budget and slower-progressing E36 build! Your photos and writing are great, it makes a brilliant read and you've developed some proper skills under the car and behind the wheel, very impressive.
Getting the car down to 1240kg early on is good, I imagine it's still a little less than that now despite the cage, you've stripped a huge amount out since then. A small note on the original weight, the BMW figures are with a full tank but also included a 75kg driver! Mine turned out to weigh 1360kg with two extra spare wheels and half a tank of fuel, so perhaps about the same or a little under with full tank alone. Yours may have been heavier, sunroof can be as much as 15kg on its own, mine's a fairly low-spec car. Still an impressive reduction, though!
McSam, ye, i really need to get it re-weighed now. Would be interesting just to see where it's at now...
So, payday means 1 thing, car parts!
The main thing on my list this month is sorting my temperatures on track. The only thing I haven't replaced in the cooling system is the radiator. I picked up a Nissens rad from GSF (cheaper than going to BMW and after reading and googling, they are recommended). I did contemplate going to an M3 rad, but couldn't justify it knowing what racers run... (majority run standard rads). I also picked up a new 80C thermostat incase mine was faulty and not allowing good flow. Better safe than sorry.
While I was looking, I also purchased a steering wheel spacer. I wasn't sure how much closer I wanted the wheel, so i bought an adjustable 40-70mm off eBay. After putting it on at around the 40mm, I tried a few different lengths. Eventually I settled at it at the 70mm position. While driving fast, I feel much more relaxed and more in control of the wheel. Where before my arms where stretched, my elbows are now down pointing towards my legs. Gives me more 'power' from my arms to control the wheel (it feels anyway) and also allows me to react better.
Now I know the length, I will probably end up getting a solid version in time.
Then it was onto fitting the rad.
Popped the front up, drained the coolant and quickly removed the rad and thermostat. Upon removing the thermost housing, i found the seal had pretty much melted flat. I know the car was getting hot, and with the metal housing, but I wasn't expecting that! I haven't had any leaks, but i replaced with a new seal anyway.
Nice new radiator.
I also move the electric fan to the rear of the rad to allow the air to flow through better. So the fan will now pull air instead of pushing and getting in the way. One of the lads (whose building a mk1 clio track car) who has helped me through-out the build, cut some brackets for the radiator while I fitted everything else.
Not ideal, but I've zip-tied my oil cooler to grills atm. I will make some brackets and mount it properly. Closer to the grill, should help the cooling.
After I had bled the system, I went for a drive. Immediately the car is sitting at a lower temp, but at 96/97 when i wanted 92/93, and does have it's moments where it rises up abit.
After speaking to someone on e36coupe, i drained the coolant and filled with distilled water (i thought coolant was a better at dissipating heat aswell as lower the freezing and raising the boiling point). I left some coolant in there, so it's about 90/10 mixture. Immediately the temperatures were at 92/93, both idling and driving on the road.
One thing I don't have is any fan/radiator cowling or even any underpanels. I've been looking, reading and asking questions and it's more than obvious that this won't be helping. Air, like water, will take the path of least resistance.
So, I've making my own cowling for the radiator, making all the air from the top grills, and half the air (i'll explain later) from the bottom to go through the radiator. I've cut 2 side panels and a bottom panel from 1mm alloy. This will give the air no-where to go, but through the radiator when it goes into this area.
The panels.
Assembled.
Fitted.
For the lower grill, I've left the bottom half open, so some air can flow under the engine. Now, I know air going under the car will create a small amount of 'lift', but the benefits of having cold air moving under the engine, cooling the PAS and the sump, outweighs the downforce I'll lose.
I do want to remake the cowling now with a softer material, so probably some sort of hard foam. That way incase of a bumper, the foam will bend/break and not push through my radiator like the current cowling will...
At the moment I don't have any under panels, but i've been eyeing up a fibreglass front splitter and undertray. Once I get this, the air entering the bottom grill will either go through the rad or will go along the top of the underpanel and over the PAS and sump.
I finally got round to de-skining the bonnet aswell.
Every penny makes a pound...
I then managed to get a last minute spot on the Llandow track day this past weekend. I was properly happy with how the car was feeling. The water temperature never went about 95c whilst on track. My oil temps were sitting around 110c towards the end of my 15/20minute session, but that's low enough for me not to worry. Once I get an undertray, the air flowing past the sump should bring that down a bit more.
The more i drive the car, the more confident I'm getting with it. It's so predictable now. With every track day aswell, my skill is also coming along. I'm alot happier now when the back end steps out, where I'm not panicking and snapping off the throttle, but also not holding the throttle at the same point, which ends up spinning the tyres more.
My toyos are well and trully done now tho, so they will have to be replaced at the end of the month. Apart from that, I had no issues with the car.
so, heres a few cleanish laps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syn6TJqGMvE
Some pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/oversteerphotography?fref...
I'm now really happy with the way the car sits through the corners.
And now for something abit different!
Got to say, I'm happy with taking my rear anti-roll off, otherwise both wheels would be off the ground! Might soften my front tho...
So, payday means 1 thing, car parts!
The main thing on my list this month is sorting my temperatures on track. The only thing I haven't replaced in the cooling system is the radiator. I picked up a Nissens rad from GSF (cheaper than going to BMW and after reading and googling, they are recommended). I did contemplate going to an M3 rad, but couldn't justify it knowing what racers run... (majority run standard rads). I also picked up a new 80C thermostat incase mine was faulty and not allowing good flow. Better safe than sorry.
While I was looking, I also purchased a steering wheel spacer. I wasn't sure how much closer I wanted the wheel, so i bought an adjustable 40-70mm off eBay. After putting it on at around the 40mm, I tried a few different lengths. Eventually I settled at it at the 70mm position. While driving fast, I feel much more relaxed and more in control of the wheel. Where before my arms where stretched, my elbows are now down pointing towards my legs. Gives me more 'power' from my arms to control the wheel (it feels anyway) and also allows me to react better.
Now I know the length, I will probably end up getting a solid version in time.
Then it was onto fitting the rad.
Popped the front up, drained the coolant and quickly removed the rad and thermostat. Upon removing the thermost housing, i found the seal had pretty much melted flat. I know the car was getting hot, and with the metal housing, but I wasn't expecting that! I haven't had any leaks, but i replaced with a new seal anyway.
Nice new radiator.
I also move the electric fan to the rear of the rad to allow the air to flow through better. So the fan will now pull air instead of pushing and getting in the way. One of the lads (whose building a mk1 clio track car) who has helped me through-out the build, cut some brackets for the radiator while I fitted everything else.
Not ideal, but I've zip-tied my oil cooler to grills atm. I will make some brackets and mount it properly. Closer to the grill, should help the cooling.
After I had bled the system, I went for a drive. Immediately the car is sitting at a lower temp, but at 96/97 when i wanted 92/93, and does have it's moments where it rises up abit.
After speaking to someone on e36coupe, i drained the coolant and filled with distilled water (i thought coolant was a better at dissipating heat aswell as lower the freezing and raising the boiling point). I left some coolant in there, so it's about 90/10 mixture. Immediately the temperatures were at 92/93, both idling and driving on the road.
One thing I don't have is any fan/radiator cowling or even any underpanels. I've been looking, reading and asking questions and it's more than obvious that this won't be helping. Air, like water, will take the path of least resistance.
So, I've making my own cowling for the radiator, making all the air from the top grills, and half the air (i'll explain later) from the bottom to go through the radiator. I've cut 2 side panels and a bottom panel from 1mm alloy. This will give the air no-where to go, but through the radiator when it goes into this area.
The panels.
Assembled.
Fitted.
For the lower grill, I've left the bottom half open, so some air can flow under the engine. Now, I know air going under the car will create a small amount of 'lift', but the benefits of having cold air moving under the engine, cooling the PAS and the sump, outweighs the downforce I'll lose.
I do want to remake the cowling now with a softer material, so probably some sort of hard foam. That way incase of a bumper, the foam will bend/break and not push through my radiator like the current cowling will...
At the moment I don't have any under panels, but i've been eyeing up a fibreglass front splitter and undertray. Once I get this, the air entering the bottom grill will either go through the rad or will go along the top of the underpanel and over the PAS and sump.
I finally got round to de-skining the bonnet aswell.
Every penny makes a pound...
I then managed to get a last minute spot on the Llandow track day this past weekend. I was properly happy with how the car was feeling. The water temperature never went about 95c whilst on track. My oil temps were sitting around 110c towards the end of my 15/20minute session, but that's low enough for me not to worry. Once I get an undertray, the air flowing past the sump should bring that down a bit more.
The more i drive the car, the more confident I'm getting with it. It's so predictable now. With every track day aswell, my skill is also coming along. I'm alot happier now when the back end steps out, where I'm not panicking and snapping off the throttle, but also not holding the throttle at the same point, which ends up spinning the tyres more.
My toyos are well and trully done now tho, so they will have to be replaced at the end of the month. Apart from that, I had no issues with the car.
so, heres a few cleanish laps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syn6TJqGMvE
Some pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/oversteerphotography?fref...
I'm now really happy with the way the car sits through the corners.
And now for something abit different!
Got to say, I'm happy with taking my rear anti-roll off, otherwise both wheels would be off the ground! Might soften my front tho...
brian394 said:
My toyos are well and trully done now tho, so they will have to be replaced at the end of the month. Apart from that, I had no issues with the car.
Got to say, I'm happy with taking my rear anti-roll off, otherwise both wheels would be off the ground! Might soften my front tho...
Your Toyos were truly done when I saw the car mate, nevermind squeezing another track day in Got to say, I'm happy with taking my rear anti-roll off, otherwise both wheels would be off the ground! Might soften my front tho...
Well done on the cooling improvements. Needed to be done. Your oil temps will be affected for the better by lowering the water temps so its a win win on that front.
Also good call on the steering wheel reach adjustment, it's funny how these simple but critical things become well apparent the first time you use it after the work is done ehh.
Lastly, I have to say, there is no better way to prove the argument for the rear ARB than to illustrate 10/10 on that one.
Humour
Well, i've been busy for the last couple months, but the car is getting into shape again.
First thing, it's finally off the road and will be trailered now.
Managed to pick up the L200 at a decent price, it's auto aswell to make towing and driving less of a chore. Plus the Mrs likes driving it.
After that, I started collecting more parts to fit.
First big box was from ABS - http://absmotorsport.co.uk
Inside was a fibreglass bonnet and super tourer bumper/splitter/undertray combo.
Figuring out where I would need to cut my old bumper to attach the fibreglass bumper.
and both bonnet and bumper off.
The bonnet fitted. I will have 6 pins fitted (2 more at the front closer to the arches) when I'm finished to stop any flapping when driving.
While I was doing this, I started to remove the loom completely from the car. My intention was to tidy it aswell as i could and put the ignition on a toggle and the starter on a button.
After i removed it from the car.
I did eventually get it all laid out, nice and neat. But I just didn't feel completely confident with it. I know, deep down, that if I took my time, I'm sure I could achieve what I wanted. However, there was that nagging feeling of 'if I do something wrong, i can screw the ecu or set everything on fire...'
Ye, it was abit of a mess when I removed it...
So, I got back in touch with Chris at CR M-Tech - https://www.facebook.com/pages/CR-M-Tech-BMW-Spare... - and soon had the loom sent off for them to work their magic.
While that was away, I contact Martin at RaceParts - http://raceparts.biz - and placed an order for a fibreglass boot, with spoiler supports, and a supertourer LTW rear wing.
and fitted.
.
Then, another box arrived, this time from America. Now I know some people are going to 'opinions' on what i've bought, but I'm happy and content, so thats all that matters.
From Bimmerworld, I got a Vac Motorsport sump baffle, fuel starvation kit (2 brand new m50 fuel pumps), brake hub ducts and solid brake guides.
At brands and donington, I had fuel surge. This was before I had a cage, so I expect it'll happen more often now. The train of thought on that, is, if my fuel is surging, whats my oil doing. Thus, the sump baffle.
The brake ducts make sense. I was running ducting from the bumper to 'near' the caliper, however, these ducts force the air into the centre of the disk and then out through the rotor and the solid guides will firm the brake feel up more.
Chris got back in contact when the loom was ready to return. It was less than a 5day turn around.
4.17kg, including that box, and including fuse box. Thats ridiculous.
All tidy and ready to fit.
While Chris had it, he tidied the loom up, made a few small repairs, put the ignition onto a toggle and the stater on a push button. He also extended the headlight wiring loom so I could mount the fuse box under the glove box. He also cut the fuse box, as its tiny now.
That is the fuse box. I need to add the couple relays for my windscreen and thats the box complete.
After checking the wiring loom was all good and everything was working as it should, I moved onto my front bumper.
I quickly cut my normal bumper in half, got the tiger bond out and started attaching. I also riveted the bumpers together.
Not sure what had more tiger bond on it, the bit between the 2 bumpers, the lower bumper where it wasn't needed, or me...
I cut the end of the undertray to fit around the x-brace and used 2 of the x-brace mounting bolts to hold it up.
And last thing before I finished for the evening, I got both my foglights to light up.
With the e36, only the O/S fog lights. For MSA requirements, you need either 2 fogs in place or a centre rain light.
I'm hoping to get my fuel pumps fitted tomorrow, but if not, it'll be in a few weeks time as I'm off on holiday then straight back to Mallory before the BTCC at Oulton...
Next on the list, rattle can the fibreglass bits (a top notch paint scheme doesn't make a car fast...), new tyres and it'll be ready to go!
and fitted.
First thing, it's finally off the road and will be trailered now.
Managed to pick up the L200 at a decent price, it's auto aswell to make towing and driving less of a chore. Plus the Mrs likes driving it.
After that, I started collecting more parts to fit.
First big box was from ABS - http://absmotorsport.co.uk
Inside was a fibreglass bonnet and super tourer bumper/splitter/undertray combo.
Figuring out where I would need to cut my old bumper to attach the fibreglass bumper.
and both bonnet and bumper off.
The bonnet fitted. I will have 6 pins fitted (2 more at the front closer to the arches) when I'm finished to stop any flapping when driving.
While I was doing this, I started to remove the loom completely from the car. My intention was to tidy it aswell as i could and put the ignition on a toggle and the starter on a button.
After i removed it from the car.
I did eventually get it all laid out, nice and neat. But I just didn't feel completely confident with it. I know, deep down, that if I took my time, I'm sure I could achieve what I wanted. However, there was that nagging feeling of 'if I do something wrong, i can screw the ecu or set everything on fire...'
Ye, it was abit of a mess when I removed it...
So, I got back in touch with Chris at CR M-Tech - https://www.facebook.com/pages/CR-M-Tech-BMW-Spare... - and soon had the loom sent off for them to work their magic.
While that was away, I contact Martin at RaceParts - http://raceparts.biz - and placed an order for a fibreglass boot, with spoiler supports, and a supertourer LTW rear wing.
and fitted.
.Then, another box arrived, this time from America. Now I know some people are going to 'opinions' on what i've bought, but I'm happy and content, so thats all that matters.
From Bimmerworld, I got a Vac Motorsport sump baffle, fuel starvation kit (2 brand new m50 fuel pumps), brake hub ducts and solid brake guides.
At brands and donington, I had fuel surge. This was before I had a cage, so I expect it'll happen more often now. The train of thought on that, is, if my fuel is surging, whats my oil doing. Thus, the sump baffle.
The brake ducts make sense. I was running ducting from the bumper to 'near' the caliper, however, these ducts force the air into the centre of the disk and then out through the rotor and the solid guides will firm the brake feel up more.
Chris got back in contact when the loom was ready to return. It was less than a 5day turn around.
4.17kg, including that box, and including fuse box. Thats ridiculous.
All tidy and ready to fit.
While Chris had it, he tidied the loom up, made a few small repairs, put the ignition onto a toggle and the stater on a push button. He also extended the headlight wiring loom so I could mount the fuse box under the glove box. He also cut the fuse box, as its tiny now.
That is the fuse box. I need to add the couple relays for my windscreen and thats the box complete.
After checking the wiring loom was all good and everything was working as it should, I moved onto my front bumper.
I quickly cut my normal bumper in half, got the tiger bond out and started attaching. I also riveted the bumpers together.
Not sure what had more tiger bond on it, the bit between the 2 bumpers, the lower bumper where it wasn't needed, or me...
I cut the end of the undertray to fit around the x-brace and used 2 of the x-brace mounting bolts to hold it up.
And last thing before I finished for the evening, I got both my foglights to light up.
With the e36, only the O/S fog lights. For MSA requirements, you need either 2 fogs in place or a centre rain light.
I'm hoping to get my fuel pumps fitted tomorrow, but if not, it'll be in a few weeks time as I'm off on holiday then straight back to Mallory before the BTCC at Oulton...
Next on the list, rattle can the fibreglass bits (a top notch paint scheme doesn't make a car fast...), new tyres and it'll be ready to go!
and fitted.
Brilliant work! I have to admit, I am struggling with the idea of removing and cutting things and ultimately taking it away from being a road car with ours when we reach that point.... I think it's a bit of an OCD thing I have to overcome!
Looks like you've come a really long way and it's good to know the CR-M Tech will do the loom if needed....
Looks like you've come a really long way and it's good to know the CR-M Tech will do the loom if needed....
VF - thank you.
TS - just had a read thro your thread. Can see you are struggling with almost the idea of just having a 'track car'. I was like that at first, wanted to keep the car completely mint, but the more track days I done and more time i spent around track and race cars, you realise that the shells and body aren't mint. Spend your time and money on things that will have an impact on track and you'll have a fantastic handling car. The amount of 'bigger' cars that can't stay with mine going round track would make you laugh...
And ye, Chris at CR M-Tech was a life saver. He did say they prefer 'unmolested' wiring looms, for obvious reasons, but they can work their magic on everything.
I did forget to say, I connected the loom up and the car started straight away, not a thing wrong with it. They do bench test the looms before sending them back out aswell.
Joe - Ye, they were over half the weight of the original parts. My aim is get into the kumho cup, so I can't really go up in power as that would move me up in class, so I'm going down to the minimum weight instead.
TS - just had a read thro your thread. Can see you are struggling with almost the idea of just having a 'track car'. I was like that at first, wanted to keep the car completely mint, but the more track days I done and more time i spent around track and race cars, you realise that the shells and body aren't mint. Spend your time and money on things that will have an impact on track and you'll have a fantastic handling car. The amount of 'bigger' cars that can't stay with mine going round track would make you laugh...
And ye, Chris at CR M-Tech was a life saver. He did say they prefer 'unmolested' wiring looms, for obvious reasons, but they can work their magic on everything.
I did forget to say, I connected the loom up and the car started straight away, not a thing wrong with it. They do bench test the looms before sending them back out aswell.
Joe - Ye, they were over half the weight of the original parts. My aim is get into the kumho cup, so I can't really go up in power as that would move me up in class, so I'm going down to the minimum weight instead.
Loads of progress mate. Good to see.
I can vouch for the Cooling duct plates. We fitted the same ones back in Jan/Feb along with the brake overhaul and the brass guides and pins. The car went from 3 hot laps to over 10 hot laps with no issues. On Bedford GT circuit 10 laps with traffic here and there on the odd lap is over 45 minutes behind the seat. If it wasn't for the driver's fading after that amount of time, I bet the car would have kept on going. No more brake judder, overheating, etc. No extra torque with standard calipers, but a consistent performance with triple the endurance over the standard setup, a significant improvement overall I can confirm.
The new bumper looks trick, but no access holes for the braked ducting? More drilling required me thinks lol. I like the idea of the under tray though, if there is something that can be done at the rear end, that would be a benefit also at higher speeds.
I actually went to see Chris at CR-Mtech. Great guy, was suffering with a bad back and visibly hobbling along, but still had all the time in the world to answer stupid questions and show me tips and tricks. Well worth the drive up to meet him. His 6 puck copper ceramic clutch disk he uses for Rallying is now fitted in our car. He supplied that at a reasonable cost along with an M3 240mm pressure plate. Chris comes highly recommended.
Also good call on the oil baffle, I agree it's a necessity if you are going racing or using high grip setup. There are other ways on that front, but you are committed now, so good luck with the welding
Sorry for the dumb question, but what's special about the fog lights? You got them wired up to work in conjunction with the brake lights or something?
Hum
I can vouch for the Cooling duct plates. We fitted the same ones back in Jan/Feb along with the brake overhaul and the brass guides and pins. The car went from 3 hot laps to over 10 hot laps with no issues. On Bedford GT circuit 10 laps with traffic here and there on the odd lap is over 45 minutes behind the seat. If it wasn't for the driver's fading after that amount of time, I bet the car would have kept on going. No more brake judder, overheating, etc. No extra torque with standard calipers, but a consistent performance with triple the endurance over the standard setup, a significant improvement overall I can confirm.
The new bumper looks trick, but no access holes for the braked ducting? More drilling required me thinks lol. I like the idea of the under tray though, if there is something that can be done at the rear end, that would be a benefit also at higher speeds.
I actually went to see Chris at CR-Mtech. Great guy, was suffering with a bad back and visibly hobbling along, but still had all the time in the world to answer stupid questions and show me tips and tricks. Well worth the drive up to meet him. His 6 puck copper ceramic clutch disk he uses for Rallying is now fitted in our car. He supplied that at a reasonable cost along with an M3 240mm pressure plate. Chris comes highly recommended.
Also good call on the oil baffle, I agree it's a necessity if you are going racing or using high grip setup. There are other ways on that front, but you are committed now, so good luck with the welding
Sorry for the dumb question, but what's special about the fog lights? You got them wired up to work in conjunction with the brake lights or something?
Hum
Hum,
That's good to hear. With how I was running it before, the air was just going everywhere, but that did make a difference already, so this should be even better (as you've found). I also got the solid guides after speaking to you about them.
Well, the regs for kumho say I'm not allowed to run a rear diffuser, so that's out. However, I'm not expecting a massive improvement on downforce or aero upgrade, but hoping I'll gain more air moving across my sump instead of down onto the ground. So hopefully it'll help keep my oil temps lower.
Yer, I can't fault Chris either. If I had had the time, I'd have went up aswell. However, the same thing for me, but over Facebook, he was more than happy to answer daft questions. He really knows his stuff. Have you gitted and lightened fly yet?
Worth the sump, I had thought about an m3 Evo pump and oil pickup, but the cost was so high I couldn't justify it. What other methods are you talking about?
And the fogs, nothing special really. The N/S light doesn't have a power feed for the fog light, even tho it and the bulb are already there (saving money when converting from left to right hand drive?) so I just joined into the O/S fog light feed. As I said, it's either that or buying a rain light for the middle of the window...
Brian
That's good to hear. With how I was running it before, the air was just going everywhere, but that did make a difference already, so this should be even better (as you've found). I also got the solid guides after speaking to you about them.
Well, the regs for kumho say I'm not allowed to run a rear diffuser, so that's out. However, I'm not expecting a massive improvement on downforce or aero upgrade, but hoping I'll gain more air moving across my sump instead of down onto the ground. So hopefully it'll help keep my oil temps lower.
Yer, I can't fault Chris either. If I had had the time, I'd have went up aswell. However, the same thing for me, but over Facebook, he was more than happy to answer daft questions. He really knows his stuff. Have you gitted and lightened fly yet?
Worth the sump, I had thought about an m3 Evo pump and oil pickup, but the cost was so high I couldn't justify it. What other methods are you talking about?
And the fogs, nothing special really. The N/S light doesn't have a power feed for the fog light, even tho it and the bulb are already there (saving money when converting from left to right hand drive?) so I just joined into the O/S fog light feed. As I said, it's either that or buying a rain light for the middle of the window...
Brian
Ts, with the standard brakes and disc sizes, it's got to be the most efficient way to Coll the discs.
With normal ducting pointing towards the brake, it only cools 1 spot. But with the ducts, the air has to come out through the discs, this cooling them all over. The best thing you can do without the ducts, is have the ducting pointing towards the hub/centre of the disc to try make the air go through the disc.
With normal ducting pointing towards the brake, it only cools 1 spot. But with the ducts, the air has to come out through the discs, this cooling them all over. The best thing you can do without the ducts, is have the ducting pointing towards the hub/centre of the disc to try make the air go through the disc.
brian394 said:
Ts, with the standard brakes and disc sizes, it's got to be the most efficient way to Coll the discs.
With normal ducting pointing towards the brake, it only cools 1 spot. But with the ducts, the air has to come out through the discs, this cooling them all over. The best thing you can do without the ducts, is have the ducting pointing towards the hub/centre of the disc to try make the air go through the disc.
Ah yes that makes sense. Very good product, it must be said. Looks like removing the dust shields is worthwhile. With normal ducting pointing towards the brake, it only cools 1 spot. But with the ducts, the air has to come out through the discs, this cooling them all over. The best thing you can do without the ducts, is have the ducting pointing towards the hub/centre of the disc to try make the air go through the disc.
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