My e36 track car

[brian394]

Well, I've been doing this journal on another site, but it's not as busy as this. So I'll drop all my posts into this 1st one... Go grab a cuppa! (it's not actually that long, i promise...)




Well, as any good story starts, this one begins with a break-up. Broke up with my long term GF and at the time i had a van for mountain biking. Since i was single, I didn't have any need for a van anymore, and seen this thing come up for sale for £800.

Before getting the car, i knew nothing about fixing and maintaining cars and had only done minor fixes on my van before hand, but I was/am keen to learn, so I like to get my hands dirty as much as I can. Every day is a school day!

101000miles on the clock, BMW service history up till 92000miles, nothing wrong with the engine, couple little bits of rust (rear arch... surprise surprise...) and abit of damage to the front from a small bump.



This is how she looked when picked up, not very loved if I'm honest. So she was given a good scrub and started to look good.




First thing was a good service, so the oil and fuel filters and the rocker cover gasket were changed and filled with castrol oil. I also started running her soley on Shell V-Power. After running 'normal' fuel, then trying bp ultimate, it idles and pulls away better. Although, this might just be a placebo effect... who knows!



Because i was still biking at this time, i found myself a removable OEM towbar and got about fitting.



Fitted and carrying my Jump bike.



Straight away i knew i needed to change the wheels. I wasn't a massive fan of the look and ride (they were 18s). I quickly found 4 black M-Sport rep wheels and an un-refurbed wheel for a bargain price, so had them.



The brake callipers were giving a quick brush to remove rust and painted black. It's the little things...



After going for a few 'fast/spirited drives' I knew keeping the car on the road only wasn't going to be enough to 'satisfy' me and I wanted to do it safer and legal. So track car was decided.

First was the suspension and brakes. I bought new OEM discs (sprayed with zinc 182 and high heat paint to stop them rusting) and some EBC red stuff pads.



I also bought a set of BC Racing RM series coilvers. Not the most expensive, but far from the cheapest. They give adjustable dampening, ride heigh and the fronts have adjustable camber top mounts.





The discs, pads and coils being fitted. I'm wanting to learn how to do everything, so luckily the lad that sold me the car is a mechanic and happy to help teach me.



Debaged and the 'motorsport' painted white.




Next up was a trip to 'BMW enthusiast' in peterborough to have an M50 manifold fitted, ASC TB delete and remap.



When I had the ASC TB body removed, the actual 'brain' was left. As if removed the ABS and ASC light would come on. As I wasn't sure if this would affect the ABS i left it for the time being.

While going out for a quick test drive, Lewis mentioned that he had the Z3 'short shift' in stock, so when we got back it was quickly finished swell.



On the way home, I seen a scorpion back box for sale on here, less than 2months old and cheap as chips! So picked that up and fitted that night.

I finally managed to find a front grill panel in 'arctic silver' so bought it and fitted that, along with Z3 top mount reinforcements front and rear.




I picked up some black grills at the same time.



The top mounts. (don't worry, they are on correctly, not in the place they are in the pic)

After doing some reading, I decided to remove the clutch fan. While at it, I thought it would be best to change the waterpump, belts and the 2 main radiator pipes. Stupidly I never bought an aluminium thermostat housing, so that will be changed at a later date.

New pump and belts fitted and fan removed!



I finally got round to completely removing the ASC and plugged a resistor into the ABS connector. This stops the ABS light coming on and the ABS still works normally.



The resistor.



Taped up and connected in. I also taped the actual connections, will probably solder it at some point.



And the ASC completely removed.

BMW Dynamics (also in Peterborough) have started doing CAIs, so I had myself one of those. Comes with everything bar the cone filter, all for £75! When fitting, i also gave the engine bay a quick scrub.



And then it really began, I was bored so the boot interior began coming out...



A few nights later, I had a little accident. I entered a corner, not fast as I had just came off a main road onto a B road. Started accelerating and didn't see a wet patch on the exit of the corner. Managed to stop the car spinning, but collected a small rock at the side of the road.



Luckily I had the spare wheel, so that was quickly refurbed and fitted. I've not replaced the side skirt yet as it's only bodywork and clipped back on! However, my rear camber arm took a knock and is no sitting at max camber, so that'll be getting replaced soon.

The days had been rather wet, so I hadn't been getting much done on the car, but sometimes being in the army has it's advantages... Found a hanger I can work in out of the rain and wind!



Started taking everything out of the back.





Also took the CD changer wiring out.



And pretty much everything I took out that day, including removing the towbar.




Couple days later, me and one of the lads were back at it. Everything that's not needed was coming out.




Everything on the left was staying, on the right was going.



All the wiring and carpet removed that day.



Clean!



Unfortunately, do to us doing it on a spur of the moment, I had to keep a section of carpet for the drivers footwell until my footplate arrived.



I then found someone on eBay selling BBTBs for £75 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/sneakapeak99?_trksid=p20... - that's his user.

Fitted that, and along with the rest of the intake mods i've done, it really finished it off. The car revs much quicker and easier than it did before.



I then decided I needed to get on the track, so i booked a day at Castle Combe for the 5th of Sept. With that, I knew i needed to bleed the brakes. I had been finding I was getting brake fade towards the end of a hard drive (the black mountain pass in Swansea). The service history isn't the best and I have no idea when it was last done, so i bought some ATE Super R Blue fluid and also picked up some goodridge braided brake lines and braided clutch line to remove the CDV.

We got the car up on the ramps at work and set about fitting. However, upon raising the car, we realised that I had bought the wrong brake lines. I had picked up the 6-line set, when i need the 4-line set. This wasn't before we had tried to remove the rear line, found out it was completely seized and when trying to undo, twisted the copper pipe, splitting it.



My plan was to go to Merlin Motorsport to pick up a steering wheel/boss and a seat in the morning anyway. So with that and knowing we wouldn't be able to get the correct brakelines, i picked up a set of OEM brake pipes (better than the 18yr olds that were on there) and a flaring tool.

We checked all the brakelines and all bar the front offside were seized, so we decided to cut and replace all of the joints. We practiced flaring on abit of pipe that we cut for about an hour before hand, then set to flaring the pipes fitted to the car.



And one of the flared pipes.



Once fitted, we quickly found the front offside hadn't flared properly, so we sorted that. Apart from that, everything worked fine and I now have new brakelines (although only the standard pipes) and new fluid!

We also fitted my new Momo boss and model 78 wheel, sparco sprint seat (will become the passenger seat soon and i'll have a better one for the driver) and my seat mounts and foot plate from http://www.arperformance.co.uk/. I put some grip tape on top of the car footplate, as the car is still being used as my 'daily' car.




And that brings me to today.

I booked the car into http://www.aviaspeedshop.com to have the wheel alignment and corner weighting done.



Andy (the guy under the car) really knows his stuff with 30+ years or racing and car setup behind him. He explained everything to me in layman's terms so I knew what he was doing.

I was happy to know that the car (without driver and half a tank of fuel) weights 1240kg. So she's lost around 210kg and still has the OEM passenger seat!

After aligning the car, Andy took me for a quick drive to see how it feels. I've never been in a car with someone who car corner a car the way he did, which gave me even more confidence in the car and what he had done.

So my next thing is the trackday on friday, and i can not wait. I really can't.






So, yesterday (5th Sept) was my 1st ever track day and I was at Castle Combe. Short story; it was awesome.

Long Story;

I arrived just before 0730 and immediately felt abit out of place with all the properly prepped track cars, all the open tops and the Kumho Tyres BMW champs M3... But that I was wrong to feel that way as I was chatting away within a few minutes of being there!

After my 2nd session (my 1st was a novice only where myself and an ST left everyone else) I was being passed by some cars I wasn't expecting to be. But as the day went on, my confidence and driving ability grew.

It was an 'open pit' so I was doing 20min stints. After my 3rd session, I was getting some brake judder towards the end of the sessions. This turned out to be my front left brake pads pretty much disappearing in each session (by the end I just had enough to get home) and my tyres were scrubbing up nicely. I even got a few blisters on my front left (combe is 90% right handers) when I stayed out for abit too long.



I had 5 'moments' throughout the day, 3 of which were on the last corner. After the 3rd and biggest, I had a session with an instructor and he changed the track completely for me! After my session, i was carrying more speed out of majority of the corners and was no longer loosing my back end!

By the end of the day, I was keeping up with majority of people. It was only really the open top race cars and the M3 that I couldn't. I was still struggling to keep up with alot of the cars on the straights as some had 'longer legs' (bloody turbos!!!) but would reel them in on the corners!

The M3 passed me a few times, so i tried following him. My turn in points were the same as his, but he was using more of the road on the exit and was braking a hell of alot later than I was! This was defiantly to do with driving skill but also somewhat to do with car setup!

I managed to get a clip of him going for it at the end of the day!

[youtube]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IUa-WL05fvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/youtube]

The thing was on rails. Watching him go through the corners at the speed he was, was unreal. The car had no roll in it and was holding and going exactly where he wanted it.

Here's a couple pics from yesterday and a video of some of my 'moments' and a couple good laps!

[youtube]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/r3ahUX42CBc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/youtube]







So that's it so far. Got a few things i need to sort now tho;

Brake light switch (died towards end of day/on the way home)
New clutch (think mines is still the original and the bite point is very high) - any recommendations?
Sparco 2000 drivers seat
Strut and x brace
Polybush everything
M3 LSD
Cage!





So, I changed the pads back to the OEM ones that I still had and here are the EBC reds

The nearside ones -







And my offside for comparison -



Gave my calliper a good going over and the piston isn't sezied/sticking and the brake isn't dragging, so it must have been a bad pad...


While i had the car up on the jack, I gave the underneath another look. My PAS hose has a slight/slow leak (I have noticed this before) and my oil dipstick has a slight leak. Both are very minor and not leaking enough to affect levels, but I'll be sorting them as soon as I can.

Dipstick leak -


Looks like it has been going for a while, but the oil level has never dropped.



PAS leak. Again, this seems to be a common problem due to BMW using non-reusable clamps.


I then decided to tackle the sound deadening. I tried a CO2 fire extinguisher and plumper pipe freeze a couple weeks ago, but that was no use, so I got my heat gun back from my friend. Only done a couple hours tonight, but managed to remove everything in the rear. I even started removing the residue with white spirits, but it was making me high as a kite, so i stopped and had my dinner.





All the sound deadening that was removed today!



One thing that's on my mind, my coolant level has dropped a little bit, not much, only 2 fingers width under the 'cold level' line on the expansion tank. I last filled up about 4 weeks ago when i done my water pump. I have noticed some steam/water from my exhaust on startup. I've checked the oil filled cap and theres no white residue to say theres any coolant in the oil and can't see any oil in the coolant. Any ideas? worse case, I know it'll be my head gasket, but as far as I'm away, I can't see it being that. I'll pull my spark plugs off tomorrow and have a look to see if there is any oil/coolant in there...





So, I finally got the rough idle sorted out. When fitting my CAI, i accidentally crushed the ends of my MAF, so I bought an aftermarket one from ebay... So, i bought a 2nd hand OEM MAF and straight away the car was running like butter again.

I also finally got round the EBC yellowstuff pads and an oil service. Bosch filter and castrol oil, because I'm nice like that to her!



I'm currently in the Army and awaiting a medical discharge due to a back/leg injury. With this, a charity - Mission Motorsport - http://www.missionmotorsport.org - came to my attention. They help injured soldiers get someone fun/good back in their lives and can help get you into the motorsport industry when you are finally discharged. This year, along with all the other projects and days they do, they were running a MK1 MX5 in the MaX5 championship and also maintaining/supporting a MK3 in the same championship. However, the Mk1 driver, David Birrell - https://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Birrell-racin... - is a double below knee amputee. His car isn't modified to his disability in anyway. It's all standard controls and going into the last round he was sitting 4th... Ye.

So, I headed up to the workshop in Wantage to help out getting everything ready for the final race at Pembrey. Friday morning and we were at the track for a day of testing. DavieNoLegs (thats what he calls himself) had already spent sometime in the iZone simulator, so had a good idea of the track before hand.



The supported MK3 with Davies MK1 in the background.



Our pit setup. Thats Davies 14plate M135 next to my motor. On a random note, Davies car decided to die and had to be recovered by BMW... Think its been fixed now tho..

I was in luck tho, as that weekend also included the Kumho BMW championship! The M3s were incredible tho! The 2 top guys, all weekend were battling it out.



The M3s sounded incredible...



Winners of the biggest turbo/most torque...

Davie managed to pull 2nd in both races and fasted MK1 time of the weekend. With his he finished 3rd overall in his first year racing...


Over the last couple weeks, I also received the 2nd bucket seat, a set of bonnet catches, plastic door cards and an Xbrace.

First in was the 2nd bucket. Glad to have removed the OEM seat, as it weighed about 4 times (if not more) of the bucket.

I also removed the bottom of the centre console and the OBC. At the moment, the wiring is just tucked away as I need to get the dash out to remove the wiring from that and the interior lighting properly.



Finally got myself a dremel, because why not?



I fitted the door cards, using threaded rivets. I've got some black bolts coming just to make it abit more stealth.



One problem i do have, is closing the door as I have nothing to hold onto... So I have some door pulls on the way aswell.



She's staring to look like a real track car!



I set about removing the little bits of rust on the Xbrace and gave it a quick coat of paint.

I then tackled the bonnet catches. I partly got these due to my release catch starting to feel bait notchy while using and also #becasusetrackcar :wink:

However, I didnt realise until fitting that they were the underneath fitting, not the above fitting. But instead of sending them back, I fitted them anyway! I'm not afraid of people seeing my crap cutting skills!!







The latches had seen better days...



Finished!

I fitted the XBrace next. Alot of guides say you only need to use 4 nut sets to hold it in place, but to be safe i went with all 6 (there are 6 holes, so why not?)







Fitting the Xbrace literally took my 10mins to do, one of the easiest things I've done so far!


This week I finally have some Msport bumpers coming! So will be getting them and a couple other little bits fitted during the week.





One of the lads at work pointed out he couldn't really close the door... So I fitted a couple door pulls to make life easier!




Also picked up a replica (i think?) AC Schnitzner gear knob as mine was falling apart.



And so I don't need to hire, got myself a good fitting helmet from Merlin Motorport. I made a 140mile round trip, to get the helmet and size I thought I needed, just to be on the safe side with the fitting!



To finish the outside of the car (for the moment) I managed to pick up some M3 bumpers.



The bumper never came with cooling ducts and my original was missing a duct, so I used some duct tubing in place until I do the fog light duct to calliper cooling 'mod' to help.


The car was then ready for a 2nd track day. This time it was at a very local to me track, Llandow Circuit. It's not by any means a big track (averaged times of 50secs for myself) but it's still a track!



Chilling between sessions.





And a couple shots from the day.

I had the same tyres as i did for my 1st track day, a set of Nankang Ultrasport NS2s, with the rear being a new set since. However, on the day, they were crap. I'

After majority of sessions (between 15-20mins), my rear tyres were still cold. My fronts would have some heat, but not compared to the tyres of the cars around me. My back end was everywhere and i couldn't find any grip. I tried decreasing and increasing pressures, but nothing. My open diff also wasn't helping and I could feel my outside wheel spinning alot more than i did at Combe.

I also, was again let down by the EBC pads. As before, I never lost power or had any fade. But by the end of the day, I had no pads left. This time I know I wasn't dragging my brakes, as there was only 2 main braking points and 1 dab of brakes on the track. The 2 main were particularly heavy (105 to 30 in 100yards and 100 to 50 in 50 yards) and I did manage 8 sessions. But I was still surprised at how quick the pads wore down.



The pad fell off the backing when I removed it from the calliper. Speaking to Tommo on here in another thread, he reckons it's not having enough cooling going to the brake that's caused this, which I partially agree on. As I've already said, I know this is an area i need to address anyway.

I have another day at Brands Hatch on the 11th of Nov, with the possibility of doing Silverstone the day after. I don't really want to be going there wandering if my pads will last, or spending £120 (if i got yellowstuff again) in 2 days. I'm tempted to try the Pagid RS19 pads as they have great reviews.



So moving forward from the weekend. I've finally got a new clutch on the way. Lighweight flywheel and sachs clutch (from http://www.bigbavarianbeauties.com), Black powerflex LCA bushes and H&R anti roll bars arriving this week, so thats this weekends job sorted!

Also, having a harness bar fitted on friday, so i can finally get my harness in for my drivers seat. Also picking up a set of Team Dynamic wheels with Toyo R888s and an M3 3.0 LSD in the the next week aswell!



Last thing, not everything costs lots of money in this game! Managed to find some squares of wood at work and made myself some ramps to help lift the front end in 1 go!







it's the little things...

[brian394]

Well it's been a while since I've updated and i've done a fair amount again!

Got myself back upto BMW Dynamics https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bmw-Dynamics/530063... and Sean made up and fitted a harness bar. This allowed me to finally get my harness installed. Got to give it to Sean, his welding is top notch! When i finally get a cage, I'll be getting him to fit it for me!

(pic to follow)

Also picked up a set of Team Dynamic 1.2 rims with a set of Toyo R888 second hand. These were owned by a couple of older gents who race an E36 M3 and my god, she was a beauty, gutted i never took a pic, but i was talking to one of the owners for so long it completely slipped my mind.

(pic to follow)

17x9j

I then got my self lots of shiny things to play with.



H&R anti-roll bars (28mm, 21mm), Sachs clutch, lightweight solid flywheel (5.5kg), flywheel bolts (http://www.bigbavarianbeauties.com), LCA black bushes, UUC clutch stop, shifter bushes, clutch pedal bushes, millers engine oil and Redline gear and diff oil.

First was the Anti-roll bars. The front came off and went on easily enough. I also changed the drop links from the anti-roll to the LCA, to the BC racing supplied Anti-roll to strut, to help stiffen the front end.

I then went to attack the rear, but found majority of the bolts and jackets were rusted beyond help, so choose to leave the OEM for the moment and ordered all new bolts and brackets from BMW. This also gave me time to order rear drop link black bushes.

So, I attacked the LCA and replaced the old bush.



Firstly cut the old bush out...



Nice and clean.

And since I don't have a vice readily available to use, my foot became the vice!





All fitted.

Also got amongst my brake cooling. I cut the fog light surround into the normal brake ducting and slotted in a couple ducts that I picked up from Merlin. I ran the duct against the anti-roll and zip tied the end to the top of the disk just in front of the calliper.





The arch is a little messy as I was playing around with ways to run the ducting. The way I have it now, the wheel doesn't touch tho.



sitting pretty.

I have bought foglight deletes that I'm going to cut to fill the rest of the hole, just need to get round to doing it!

My plan was to fit the new clutch and flywheel myself (on jackstands...). Got under the car and it started to dawn on me just how much of a job this was going to be... A quick message to Sean at BMW Dynamics again and he'd be able to fit it the following week for me, along as i got my hands dirty and helped out (which I don't mind doing, as it means i'm learning)

Also picked up an M3 3.0 LSD from drjhill on here, cheers lad.

Then I seen a z3 1.9 steering rack on eBay, so picked that up aswell. Also got some new track rods to go with it.



When the rack arrived, it had a fair amount of surface rust on it, so I got amongst removing the rust and gave it a quick coat of black spray paint. Nothing fancy.



New rack top, old rack bottom. While removing the old rack, I had abit of a brain fart and removed the cooling pipe aswell as i forgot that Id be swapping that onto my new rack. Which meant I had to cut the old 'life long' jubilee clip that BMW use. This worked in my favour tho, as the jubilee clip had started to leak. I replaced it with a new, normal jubilee clip and the leak stopped, so I was happy.

I tried to keep my track rods at the same spacing as the original ones I took off, but the alignment was slightly out. I was getting full alignment done along with my rear wheel bearings, but to get me through the weekend, I thought I'd give some string alignment ago. I've never been taught how to do it, but was hovering around while someone else was before, so i had a rough idea on what to do.



It wasn't perfect, but I wasn't far off. I was more than happy with what I managed on my first attempt. I just need to practice it more and start learning toe in/out adjustments with it aswell. I'll buy a camber tool so I can start playing with camber aswell.

I booked my car in for the following week to have the rear wheel bearings done aswell. A job, i knew i wouldn't be able to do myself easily. So, I finally ordered myself some new rear adjustable camber arms from Turner Motorsport. Also ordered a stud set and a couple tow straps, as trying to get proper screw in ones in the Uk is nails...



I had looked at the drift works camber arms, but the quality just didn't seem to be there in them. The turner ones, along with the bolt on the tow straps, are quality pieces. They are also very light. Also, posted for the USA on the wednesday, in my hands friday morning... can't complain with that!

1. becauseracecar

Headed up to BMW Dynamics to get everything fitted. Didn't get many pics as we had our hands full most of the day.

Some how we were lucky and most bolts came off easily, only having to heat up the exhaust bolts that connect to the manifold. Only 1 bolt in the gearbox housing snapped aswell and it was one of the lower and smaller ones.



New fly and bolts



New clutch fitted. The old clutch was pretty knackered with cracks appearing an burn marks from being ragged! It done well tho.



Nice shiny new camber arms fitted aswell.



Sean cutting my cat covers off as they had become loose and were rattling around.

Driving home after was an experience. The car takes off much quicker now and revs up and down much quicker, making downshifts better! The car also feels much more planted while accelerating hard. Cornering was completely different aswell. I was still getting used to the quicker rack and with the rear wheels locking slightly under cornering, I kept turning into corners far to early!

Dropped the car off on the Monday morning for rear wheel bearings and full alignment. My rear anti-roll bolts and brackets finally arrived so I picked them up.

Picked my car up and so was happy that the whirling from the rear had gone. As far as I'm aware, the rear bearings had never been done, so 17years isn't to bad.

I cut my old brackets and bolts off to save time and got amongst removing the drop link bushes.





Fitted new black bushes and got the rear anti-roll bar on.



All fitted.

I also took an arch roller to the arches. I was taking my time at first, but got bored, so just went mad on them. Managed to get some good roll onto the arches, so now I have no issues with my wheels rubbing.



With my track wheels on. I am going to drop the rear slightly aswell.

With the new anit-rolls the car felt amazing. Really stiff, but lots of grip. With it still being a daily drive this, it has made missing pot holes an absolute must... But its worth it! It will be off the road in hopefully by march when i can afford a new daily car.

A couple nights later, I went out for a quick spin. I started doing some hard starts to see how the car was feeling. After a few I heard abit of a clunk from the rear end, then what sounded like bolts rubbing. I slowly took it back to camp and jacked it up. After making sure it wasn't my wheels rubbing, I checked the diff. I had snapped the front diff bolt.



I wasn't a happy chappy. I tried with what I had to get the rest of the bolt out of the casing, but there was no way. After a quick discussion with Sean (think I may aswell move into his unit permanently...) I got the drill out and with the help of ones of the lads at work, drilled it out with the aim of fitting a new casing a few days later. To temporally get me through, we used a nut and bolt to hold the diff in place. Unfortunately the only bolts we had we long enough, but not thick enough to fill the hole we drilled, but it done its job. The diff still knocked slightly if I ragged it, which meant a weekend of driving like a gran.

A quick oil change, using Millers 5-40W oil and filter change and I headed up to Peterborough.

While I was getting the diff casing replaced, I took the opportunely to replace the diff bushes with black bushes.





From here I went straight down to Brands Hatch for another track day on the tuesday.

Woke up tuesday morning (the 11th) to blue sky and dry ground, couldn't be happier!

Got to Brands and quickly got amongst swapping my wheels to my track wheels. I was happy with my and the cars performance. I was annoying a few M3s and happy passing a few more. I kept trying to jump onto the back of another Kumho M3, which helped with line and braking.

Having the 888s along with all the stiffening i had done, really helped the car. I was getting grip where I know i wouldn't have before and was alot more confident in the corners.

Around half way through the day, I did get fuel surge on the final corner. Speaking to a couple other E36s that were there, they were all getting the same in the same place, which put me at ease.

I only had 1 'moment' of the day and that was going through paddock hill bend (the 1st corner) but I managed to control the slide, kept it straight and kept it out the gravel.







Looking at the photos from outside, I'm happy with the way the car is sitting through the corners with only a little bit of lean to the front.

http://youtu.be/s8xYSeWfXZk - a couple clean laps at the end of the day. Most of the day I was averaging 58.5secs round the track, which I was happy with.

The brake ducts made a massive difference and I only used half of my pads (still using yellows) over 165miles of track time. Thank you Tommo for recommending sorting the cooling out.



After I finished Brands, I headed up to Silverstone for another track day the day after!

Woke up on the Wednesday morning and it was soaking and heavily overcast!

Rocking up to the track, it was completely different to the other days I've done. There where a few brit car teams, caterham, radicals and a few other teams... It was also ran by RMA who run their days slightly different with the regards of overtaking. With them, if you can get past you go (unless someone is turning in for their apex), no waiting around for invitations etc.



The 'paddock'.



Managed to get myself a garage to keep out the rain...



It was that wet...

A quick swap to brand new front pads (just to be safe) and i was ready.

Having never been on the track, things were going to be interesting. I had also booked 2 half hour tuition sessions. Luckily, my 1st session was straight away, so my first laps on track were with an instructor who showed me the wet lines and got me up to a decent pace.

Silverstone, when went, is horrible (in a good way). The back end was very very loose. It all lead to a slide off the track going through vale (which is notoriously slide when wet).

a quick video of my 'moments' from the day - http://youtu.be/fNRlAb9MbFA

The slide off at vale was completely my fault. As I started to try balance the throttle, for some reason i snapped off the accelerator, which span the car round. The 3rd, was because I tried to follow the Seat race car and he has far more downforce/grip than I do.

The result of my slide off at Vale.






I was sure I was going to have bent/broken something due sliding through the row of stones sideways, but luckily there was no damage, just lots of stones stuck in the tyre and under my car. I managed to get all the stones out and cleaned out all the stones and I was good to go after lunch again!

However, by the end of the day, I was getting more and more confident. I was slightly out braking alot of the catechism and lotus's that were there (even managed to out brake a clip cup car!).

heres a clean lap, that lotus couldn't pull anymore of a gap on me... - http://youtu.be/xRUrCPhxdTE

The car performed flawlessly on another 175miles of track time. Something is a little bit loose in the front end, but was good enough to drive home with.


From the 2 days, I'm a little bit worried about the oil temp getting up to high, so after ready Foxys journal and stealing some ideas, I'm in the process of gather the bits to fit an oil temp/pressure gauge, an oil cooler and a proper temperature gauge.

I'm down at Headley court for 3 weeks from the middle of this week, so I'm hoping to get a day at Brands and possibly Snetterton within the next few weeks!

I've also been considering upgrading the front brakes. I think I'm at the limit of where I can brake with them (still running OEM calipars, OEM discs, OEM hoses with ATF blue fluid and yellowstuff pads). I haven't had any fade, but I know I could be braking later with something with abit more power. I have been thinking of getting groved discs and braided lines, but also condsidering 330mm K Sport 8 pot brakes up front... decisions, decisions...





fter thinking about it, I went with my second decision of upgrading what I have. Going to order new discs and pagid pads this week, already got braided hoses on the way.



So, I finally 'finished' my brake ducts. Not the prettiest, but who cares? I bought foglight deletes and cut them of behind the ducts and simply bolted them in place.

I also added an extra duct running to below the air filter. I know it won't add masses of air, but extra cold air is better than nothing. Plus, it looks cool...







All fitted!

I then started gathering bits for my next venture with the car.

First, I picked up a new dashboard



It was tan colour and the lad looked at me with a funny look when I told him it was going in my car...

Well, I dropped it with The Flock Shop and collected it a week later (yesterday!)





Only cost me £90 to have done aswell...




Managed to pick this lot up for the low sum of £250... My plan was to fit new black bushes to the subframe, so finding this, I couldn't say no.

Thats a powder coated subframe, spring cups, callipers (new seals fitted aswell) with brackets and RTA brackets, new bushes in the spring cup/subframe joint and new bushes for my rear hubs. All brand new bolts, unused. I also got a spare set (although unpainted, which i will get done before fitting) RTA.

The lad did have polybushes already fitted to go onto his project car, but i'm going with power flex black where I can, so i have a set of them on the way.



Since I'm tracking, I want to keep my temps in check and after reading f0xys blog, I'm fitting an M3 oil filter housing so i can run a cooler. I have pretty much copied f0xys way of fitting as finding a better guide online is almost impossible. So in that collection i have an innovate gauge (I did look at the others, but as with f0xys, being able to set the temperature and also the way everything is displayed, i also prefer), a local 13row cooler and hose and fittings from Torques Uk. I have a filter housing on the way and I'm also looking at installing an aftermarket water gauge. But before i order anything, I've got a bit of reading to do to make sure I know where and how I'm going to fit that for best use.

I also picked up some solid rubber engine mounts and new exhaust mounts as mine were shot. I considered solid engine mounts, but with that, i know I'll need to get some strengthening done aswell, so the rubber will be more than good enough for the moment.

Because I'm at Headley Court on a 'spine rehab course' at the moment, I've only fitted the engine and exhaust mounts.



My old engine mounts compared to a new one.

However, the best thing I've bought and fitted to the car was this;





Makes life so much nicer and keeps my lap and legs bit dryer!



How it's looking now.


I was going to wait until the 27th Dec for my next track day (donnington) but I cannot wait that long! So, I'm currently in south wales to collect all my 'track equipment' so I can do a day at Snetterton next weekend.

Everything I've bought and waiting to arrive will be fitted my 1st week of xmas leave (from the 13th onwards).

The short list is as follows;

[list]fit new dash
cut down wiring loom
remove digital heating and fit manual heater box and controls
fit oil filter housing
fit oil cooler
fit oil sensors
swap rear subframe
and other bits and bobs[/list]

Going to be a busy week that one!





Ok here goes.

Alot of the information I've gained, is from f0xy - http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&a... However, I'm adding links to where I bought things from to help everyone.

Oil filter housing from an e36 M3
If you have an M52 engine, you will need spacers between the PAS pump and the filter housing. However, an M50 PAS pump (according to F0xy) is the same as an M3, or buy an M3 PAS pump so it's a straight bolt on.

If running OEM lines from the housing to the cooler, get them.

If you want to run braided, you need an AN10 adaptor - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E36-Euro-E82-E9X-135...

30degree (f0xy showed why in his thread) AN10 connectors (attached to filter housing) -

Braided hose, an10 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-AN10-Stainless-Braide...

AN10 connector for cooler (which ever degree you decide to mount the cooler etc) - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Torques-U-K/AN-10-FastFlo...

Oil cooler - What ever you want really... I've went with a Mocal, 13row, 10 JIC (iirc) which takes the an10 connector.



So thats the cooler done.

For oil pressure/temp gauge.

Again, i've taken f0xys approach.

the innovate gauge - http://shop.grahamgoode.com/mtx-d-innovate-motorsp...

So, I am fitting the pressure gauge onto the vans line from the filter housing. So we need to replace the vanos line;

M12x1.5 to an4 adapter (m14 if you're using the standard filter housing)- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-AN4-4AN-M12x1-5-Metric...

An4 with 1/8NPT take off adapter - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-AN4-Male-Female-Union-...

An4 120 degree fitting - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AN-4-AN4-BLACK-JIC-120-D...

braided hose an4 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AN-4-4AN-3-16-Stainless-...

AN4 - m14 banjo - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-AN4-04-14-5mm-Eye-Banj...

Now, you can screw the pressure sensor into the an4 - 1/8npt take off, or add a male 1/8npt - male AN4 adapter (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-AN4-04-1-8-NPT-Straight-Adapter-Stainless-Steel-/380654654824?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item58a0c91568), then using a AN4 straight connector (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-AN4-STRAIGHT-Stealth-Black-Teflon-Hose-Fitting-/160541138205?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2560ff5d1d) - braided hose - an4 connector, you can remote the pressure gauge.


The temp sensor, you can either go with the same point as foxy (and where I'm going aswell) or into the sump. either way, both are the same thread.

For this, you need a M12x1.5 to 1/8npt adapter - http://automech-uk.com/index.php?page=shop.product...

For the temp sensor, i bought a few and used the smallest adapter so i can get the sensor properly into the oil stream without disturbing.



Some pics (thanks foxy ) to help;



The replacement vanos line.



In the background,

M12x1.5 to an4 adapter ---> An4 with 1/8NPT take off adapter (with 1/8npt to an4 adapter fitted)

m12x1.5 adapter at front.


When I do mine in next weekend, I'll take pics and number them to help with identifying.



So, in the run up to Snetteron, I tried to get my brakes sorted. No-where had any paid RS29s instock, so I'm on back order for them. To do me tho, I ordered new front discs, EBC ultimax groved discs and a set of EBC blues (needed a set to do the day anyway...)




So, Snetterton happened. My girlfriend also came along (was her first ever track day) and she even drove!

The day started off rather frosty and slidey in most places but as the day went on, it started to dry out and alot more grip appeared. The Mrs managed 2 sessions and I 6.

Now, before we got there, i bedded the brakes in (high speed hard stops, cool off, few times etc) but I'm not convinced by the pads. Even with lots of heat in them, they always felt as if the ABS was fighting and I wasn't slowing quick enough... In my opinion the yellows were much better than the blues... Can't wait for the Pagids now!

As the day was going on, I started having some steering issues. Going thro 2 fast left handers, my steering was feeling as if it was locking up. I checked what I thought was all the usual things (pump, rack, wheels for rubbing) and couldn't find anything wrong. However, 2 days later when I had time, i quickly checked under the bonnet and noticed this.



So new mounts were ordered. I also ordered new poly transmission mounts while I was at it.

Also, at Snetterton, mid right hand corner, this happened.



So Autoglass are coming out to replace it this weekend.


So, new mounts arrived, I jacked the car up, propped the engine and popped the offending mount out.



Well then, that certainly is interesting isn't it...

And the new transmission mounts, from here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191391698749



The mounts changed the feel of the car. There is alot more vibration in 1st and 2nd gear, but when travelling at speed, the car feels and changes gear alot smoother than it did before. It might be in my head, but it defiantly feels as if the power is being put down alot firmer aswell.

So, thats it for the moment. I've also booked the car in for the 2nd week of January to have a full custom cage installed and uprated front subframe bar fitted!

[brian394]

So, last Friday (12th dec), Mission Motorsport had abit of an Xmas present for us with a day at Donington Park. The day was predominately a day of being driven in and driving 'supercars' that they brought along (R8s, Porsche GT3 and a turbo, a Vantage, a Maserati, a Lambo, a couple caterhams and their own MX-5 race car). However, they were happy for us to use our own cars on track.

During the saftey brief, it came quickly obvious that I was the only one planning on really taking my car on the track... So I managed to use it as a normal track day for myself!

The morning started off very damp and most corners were outrageously slippy. Which did mean for some good fun sliding now that I'm used to the LSD. As the day went on, the 'race' line dryer out. I was catching alot of the cars, mainly due to most of the drivers having never been on a track before and they were driving a car that wasn't theirs.

One of the instructors did bring his 58plate, 420bhp M3 onto the track during my last session which gave a good little race. I managed to catch and pass him. After that, he was all over me on the straights (unsurprisingly) but going through the corners, his car just couldn't grip where mine was. His main point to me was going through Craner Curves. I was going 115mph+ with him following, as I turned for the left, i was powering, where he had to brake to keep on his line. As i was doing this, my front near side wheel was off the ground (in the video, its at 5min). All in, it was a awesome day and going through Craner Curves at full tilt is something else...

Video from the day - http://youtu.be/8ZTugse0mls?list=UUfVTdiJ14U7e_sMv...



So following on from that, I'm not on leave. My 1st week off was devoted to doing work on the car. The main thing was remove the AC, cut down the wiring loom as much as I could, at oil temp/pressure and water gauges, change oil filter housing and fit oil cooler. If I had time, I also wanted to change the rear subframe and fit the rear black bushes and also fit my braided brake lines.


1st thing I did was remove the AC. I was worried it was going to be a hard task, but was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.



All that weight gone...

I removed the AC pump and the belt tensioner, but had to leave the last bracket on as both bolts are behind the crank. I'll get it another time.



Stupid bolts!

I had planned on running the Aux fan as stand-alone on a switch, but I hadn't considered it's size and with an Oil cooler, I wouldn't be able to fit the Aux fan and cooler. So a quick eBay buy with next day delivery and I had a 14" electric fan on it's way.


Next thing for me, was inside the car. I've already cut wiring out before, but never anything from behind the dashboard. I had thought about swapping the heater for a manual heater for 2 reasons. 1, getting rid of lots of wiring, 2, I've realized my heater matrix is leaking and thats where I'm loosing fluid. Quickly speaking to Sean at BMW Dynamics, when he's fitting my cage, he'll be removing the windscreen, so perfect time to fit a heater windscreen, so I'm having that done instead.



I removed the dash, then started getting into the wiring.



Most of the wiring I was removing was from the OBC, interior lights and other comforts I no-longer have. I didn't go as far as pulling anything out of the fusebox, just to the harnesses before you get to the fusebox.

As i've never done this before, I'm not going to lie, it was bloody stressful. I'm sure it could have been done alot quicker that I did, but it's all a learning process.

I broke the day up by removing my sunroof.





Again, all that weight...

So in it's place I had a fibreglass/carbon skin delete. I bought it from here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381073926502



It was a straight fit and fit in snug aswell. The holes were pre-drilled for the holes where the sunroof used to mount, so it only took 10mins to remove the old sunroof and fit the delete. I haven't used any sealeant yet, to make it easier for Sean when he is fitting the cage.





After that, I got back to the wiring loom. Once I had removed all the wiring I wanted/could, I got about fitting my gauges and the the wiring for it. I used the remote switch wire for the radio to power the gauges and the constant power wire for my fan. So the fan is on it's own circuit with a fuse in the fusebox.

Finally I finished and tidied up the wiring and fitted my dash back in.



My new and old dashes.



ooooo, flocked...



All the wiring I removed from behind the dash.

My fan arrived so I got that fitted. My plan was to run to metal strips across the front of my radiator and fit the fan to that, buuuuuuut my grinder died before I could get the strips finished. With no-way to get anywhere to get strips or a new grinder (as i think, i may be the only person camp...), I choose to mount the fan in a slighly crap way. I want to change the radiator for an alloy one in a few months away, so I got about sticking some cable-ties through the radiator...





I know, it's horrible, but it's only for a couple months.

Because I still have my heating, I only have a radio blanking plate to mount my hazard light switch, electric window switches, fan switch and gauges. Because of this, I got some small toggle switches from maplin and swapped the hazard and window switches over.



My 'control panel'.

Day 3 and I finally got back under the bonnet. I set about removing the manifold, alternator and oil filter housing.





M3 filter housing (thermostat removed so it's 'open' all the time. New bolts, gasket and filter.



All fitted. My plan was to fit an M50 PAS pump to avoid having to space the PAS pump out, but the one I bought uses 2 hard lines, where as the one on my car had 1 hard, 1 flex hose. So with no-way to connect the new PAS pump to the reservoir (the seller of the pump had cut the pipe), I used a 15mm spacer to keep the pulleys all in-line.

My water temp gauge, I decided to fit it straight in the head of the engine. The throttle body coolant pipes use an M12x1.5 thread, so with an adaptor in place to 1/8NPT, i had a mounting point.



The TB coolant pipe take off.



My water temp sensor fitted (middle) and oil temp sensor fitted (lower left).

The other side of the TB coolant pipes is a flexi pipe in to a small hard pipe. I cut the flexi back as far as I could, then screwed in an old sump plug (just bigger than the pipes inner width) coated in silicone gasket and tightened a jubilee clip around it.



Nice and tight and doesn't leak!

Next was the oil cooler. I sorted out the hose lengths and figured out the routing of the hoses. Straight away the alternator cooling duct and the heat shield was going to be in the way, so I cut a nice hole in the bottom of the heat shield to feed the hoses through and cut the top of the alternator cooling duct back.









I mounted the oil cooler to slam panel. I will get a couple brackets for the bottom, but it's not moving or going anywhere with the 2 bolts holding it on at the moment.



With everything mounted, I put everything else back together and started the car up. Quickly realised i hadn't tightened the oil cooler pipes on the cooler end and my pressure sensor was leaking. Tightened the cooler pipes and went to tighten the pressure sensor. It was then obvious that the connector had stripped it's threads. I then took the decision and mounted the pressure sensor on the take off adaptor on the oil filter housing.



Once everything was tight and secure, I ran the engine up to running temp, gave it some big revs then checked everything over. I was happy to see that NOTHING was leaking, happy days!



Everything I removed from the car. All that weight...

I finally removed the last of the sound deadening aswell from the drivers side of the car.





Although I've still got to remove the residue.

And how it looked all finished on the inside





I never got round to doing the rear bushes or the brake lines, so they will be done next week hopefully.

[jaggafeen]

nice build mate well done

[HeftyDanielson]

Love a good detailed write up, keep it going.

This is making me want to take me bm to a few more track days, shame about being a poor student. ha

[V8mate]

Good effort and nice report.

Reminds me of taking a similar journey a couple of years back.

[Humour]

Excellent blog Brian! You have obviously invested allot of time and plenty of funds to get the car to its current state of tune.

It was an enjoyable read for me. Keep it going please

A couple of friends and I have also recently invested in an E36 328 coupe for the same purpose, so I can relate to allot of the things you have done. We don't have anywhere near your level of budget/spend on parts, but nonetheless we are addressing the critical upgrades and refreshes required to use the cars as intended and it is useful to see that decisions taken are along the lines of what you have discovered through experience/trial and error.

I would like to point out that going with a big brake setup will do two things that you should consider carefully, first of course is increased unsprung weight with the addition of bigger discs, etc. secondly and more importantly however is your OEM brake bias will be affected if you go big brakes up front and leave the rears OEM. Messing up the brake bias can actually reduce braking performance/efficiency and your braking performance might actually be reduced so you should consider this before diving in. Caliper piston size is also critical if you don't want to have to change master cylinders after an upgrade.

We are currently going through selecting the next set of upgrade parts in our braking system having first fitted braided lines all around and ATE super blue flush, then took the car to our first track day/shakedown with standard discs and unknown pads. We noted the passenger front pad leaving material on the disk which is a tell tell sign of the pad overheating. We also experienced brake judder after a few hot laps, but to some degree we expected to suffer with the brakes given that we didn't completely overhaul the OEM setup.

As you have discovered, we also concluded that improving cooling efficiency is a must with the OEM setup, so we are looking to source cooling duct plates that will replace the OEM dust plates on the front, and perhaps the rear too, similar to what you have done at the front but a slightly different approach. Something you might wish to consider adding to your OEM system is replacing the floating calipers "rubber" guides with Bronze guides http://store.bimmerworld.com/bimmerworld-solid-bra... as the OEM items besides being long in the tooth will simply flex when under strain which I feel will contribute to an inconsistent feel, poor brake modulation, and also known to be the cause of uneven pad wear.

I personally feel that the OEM setup is not bad taking into account the weight loss and considering that its a single piston caliper setup, so with a few choice mods we feel it will be adequate for some time, albeit we are not yet running semi slicks as you are. If you are experiencing ABS interruption, perhaps try removing the ABS relay for 1 track session as a comparison to how the brakes will perform without ABS, obviously it would make sense to do so mid way through a track day to get a good comparison. We are well behind you in terms of getting to that point, but this will be tested in due course and it wont cost you anything to try and test

Would love to speak in person about these things, perhaps one day......

Thanks again for the useful info on mods and taking the time to post links. Much appreciated fella.

My thread on my car is here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... not quite a blog like yours, instead more a discussion on the topic of the E36 as a track toy.

regards, Humour

Edited by Humour on Saturday 27th December 16:21

[dsme94]

Absolute awesome read!!! Looking forward tI your updates!

[brian394]

Thanks lads! It's good to know I'm not just talking to blank wall


Humour, funnily, it was after reading your thread, that made me decide to bring mine here aswell...

Ye, the BBK was an option, but as you pointed out, the bias would be off which was off putting. I also did have a few people say to me how good the OEM system is with a few choice changes and the fact that I havn't had any issues with them, there was no-need for a BBk yet...

Regarding the ABS, I've never really felt it kick-in on track and as you'll read in this update, it's probably coming out soon anyway.

I really like the look of them solid sliders. I'm going to give the front brakes a rebuild within the next month (since I've just fitted a recently rebuilt rear set) and I'll probably get the sliders at the same time (I'm going to order a fuel starvation kit from BW aswell, as I keep getting fuel starvation on fast right handers on track).

As a car in general, I love it. It handles so well and gives me so much confidence when pushing on track. The handful of spins I've had, have all been my fault (well, I am the driver) but i know why i spun. It's never been something the car has done, just been down to my lack of practice/skill. But with each spin, I learn what the car can/can't/won't do for me. Marjoity of my 'changes' have been to help with the handling. The fact that I managed to go through craners curves at Doninington (check my last update for the video) at over 115mph, with a passenger, and pull away from a 58plate m3...

I'll be heading over to Bedford at some point, so I'm sure I'll see you around!

Anyway...




Well, I bought myself an Xmas gift in the form of an OMP front strut brace.

Since I'm getting the cage fitted and already have the X-Brace, I felt it was a good investment to help stop any flex.



After Xmas day, I headed back to camp for a few days to get some more stuff down to the car. The aim was swap the subframe and fit my braided brake lines.

I set about doing the subframe swap first. The few days before, I read as many DIYs as I could to make sure I was happy. The main problem I was having, was majority of DIYs go on about dropping the RTAs aswell, but since I still need to get my spare set powder coated, I wasn't dropping mine.

So, I jacked the car as high as I could to give myself some space and set about undoing what I needed to under the car.





I was surprised/relieved to find that it was alot simpler than I thought it would be. Majority if the bolts came out easily, with only the OS spring cup - RTA being a arse to remove, but I eventually got it off by hammering a 17mm socket (it started life as a 18mm nut and bolt).



New subframe top, with Powerflex Black bushes, and all new bolts! The only old bolts I hard to reuse where for the Lower control arms/camber arms since they are aftermarket (but they are rather new anyway).



And to give an idea of the condition of the old subframe bushes, but they are 17years old...



Going back in... I've got to say, it was a proper pain to get the driveshafts between the lower and upper camber arms, I can see why people just remove the full thing...





All back on and torqued up properly!

The RTA will be replaced by mid-january. Hopefully getting them to the powdercoaters next week.



Yep, defo need to replace those bushes aswell...

Also quickly removed my instrument cluster and took out all but a few bulbs.



Although, just released I never took the dummy oil pressure bulb out...


I then set about fitting my braided hoses and powder coated rear pads.

The rear brakelines came off easily, so i fitted my new ones and the new callipers that I had.

I then went to do the fronts and the only one that hadn't seized when i replaced the hoses back in August, has seized. I couldn't be bothered cutting and flaring my brake line today, so I stopped there. I bled the rears, gave them a good squeeze and went for a blast.

Even tho I havn't done the RTAs yet, the car feels much stiffer and more responsive already (could be a placebo effect...). Even with my really crap road tyres on, it feels like the rear end is trying to come underneath the car when I floor it...


Next major thing is the cage. One problem Sean has pointed out, is the brake booster being in the way (as the cage is going all the way to the front struts). We had discussed a smaller booster, but I had already talked about getting a pedal box, as left foot braking is a killer with the positioning of the OEM pedals.

This would also mean removing the ABS, but from reading alot of peoples opinions, the E36 ABS isn't the best on the track. I'm going to drive around the next few days with the ABS relay removed to see how I get along (I know it's not track, but I don't have that option before she goes in for the cage...)

So, it's looking like the ABS will also be coming out, along with the fitting of a pedal box...

[AM7]

Fantastic write up, enjoyed reading the whole thing start to finish! The car seemed a good clean base to begin with and especially for the money you paid, I will be looking for the exact same thing come next year.

Just one question: what are the levels of flywheel/clutch chatter like, if any? Given you're using a solid flywheel with the OEM unsprung clutch, I've read on other threads and forums that the noises from that combination can be quite excessive? The other well known way is the E30 325i solid flywheel and sprung clutch, however that means a smaller diameter clutch, but I'm sure you already know this!

Looking forward to future updates

[Evo]

Absolutely blinding read, I want to "doff" it all to you for such an epic built not bought blog, for saying you "were" someone who had no/limited mechanical knowledge your thread has blown me away.

Easily without doubt the best readers car thread I've read in over 10 years of being on PH.

You can tell I liked it Please keep us updated.

Apart from the epic write up the videos just made it even better watching you develop your skill as a driver, your certainly not afraid of getting It out of shape Yet you can see how both car and driver got it all together at the Donnington track day, you were properly flying (save for the one mis-shift lol)

Just bloody awesome, you should feel properly proud and you are far from talking to a blank wall.

This should be posted as a built not bought main article to any PH editor personage

[lloydmartin1991]

I don't normally post however I really enjoyed reading that, thank you for sharing that!

[brian394]

AM7 - thank you!

I have no noise or chatter from the flywheel/clutch. I do have some, that i assume, is gearbox noise from a bearing going. I've had no vibration either. Even with my AC going, I had no problems.

I had looked at getting the E20 flywheel, but getting it skimmed, changing the started etc etc, I didn't see a point. Plus that fly that i got form bigbavarianbeauties was lighter!



Evo - thank you aswell, words like that are appreciated. I have had a few people say/ask/tell me that I should have just bought a fully prept track/race car, but I wouldn't have learnt how to change/maintain the car myself.

Although I'm not a mechanic, I'm brave enough to get my hands dirty. I've been lucky to have good mates who had been happy to help and teach me. Youtube and finding good DIYs online have also been a great help. The sense of pride from doing it myself then noticing the improvements on track make it all worth while.




lloyd - not a problem lad!

[Humour]

The rear end looks like it is coming together nicely. I can't wait until we are under ours doing the same.

The RTA's from what I have read can be a weak point if the RTA bushes have worn to the point where the arm can move around in the pocket, this in turn can damage the RTA pocket which is effectively the chassis and will be a PITA and expensive to fix. Now that you have stiffened everything else up at the rear, those old bushes might be put under a higher level of stress, so I would advise caution and keeping an eye on that area if you are going to be doing more hard driving before the RTA's are re-bushed.

The OMP brace looks very nice, and more importantly, sturdy/stiff. I would like to know where you bought that from as we may follow suit

One thing I am VERY interested in seeing is the Oil temperatures after a couple of sessions on track. I have read conflicting stories about this, so it would be great to see factual numbers when the engine is pushed hard. If its not too much trouble of course.

Lastly, be careful if you use the car without ABS at this time of year, road conditions can be tricky at the best of times and we wouldn't want to read about an early retirement

Hum

P.S. If the old rear end parts are available for beer tokens, I would be interested P.P.S. The downhill vids on you tube were cool, I bet that keeps you fit lol

Edited by Humour on Tuesday 6th January 19:28

[f0xy]

Humour said:

One thing I am VERY interested in seeing is the Oil temperatures after a couple of sessions on track. I have read conflicting stories about this, so it would be great to see factual numbers when the engine is pushed hard. If its not too much trouble of course.

On M52B28 I saw consistent 95-100C, never any more, and 60psi from approx 3k at those temperatures. Thats in the middle of summer, with a 19row cooler, standard M3 filter housing

[Humour]

f0xy said:

On M52B28 I saw consistent 95-100C, never any more, and 60psi from approx 3k at those temperatures. Thats in the middle of summer, with a 19row cooler, standard M3 filter housing

That's interesting, still seems quite high to me. Presumably then, without an oil cooler the Oil temps when the engine is under load could be running in the 120C+ range (as would be the case with our nearly OEM M52B28 engine)?

In my experience with another car, I was able to drop the water temps by 10C and oil temps by 10-20C by simply having the 4-branch stainless manifold heat wrapped all the way down to the Cat (the end of the downpipe). I appreciate that this is a different engine configuration to the M52, but I'm wondering if the heat can be managed in a different way with the M52 without going as far as an oil cooler setup.

Hum

Edited by Humour on Wednesday 7th January 15:35

[f0xy]

Not sure on standard, as I only had the gauge after fitting the M3 housing. I would imagine it would go that high with a decent length session though. You also have to bear in mind the oil never flows fully through the cooler, its restricted by the thermostat. You could probably drop the temperature more with a thermostat mod as a lot in the US do.

I run a 42mm core radiator with an 85C thermostat, with a seperate header tank as per the M3. I did notice a drop in the temps overall after moving to M3 manifolds and a single 2.5" back system, but its now a 3.0L so it may run cooler for other reasons just being a different engine anyway.

[Ferosferio]

Blinding thread, what a great build. The fact you're pretty much self taught is even more reason to celebrate, well played.

Oh, almost forgot, love the E36 too - had an M3 of the same vintage 5/6 years ago so I've got a bit of a soft spot for them

[BGarside]

Great write-up! Wish I had your skills.

Giving me some ideas for my 325i. Like the inducttion kit.

I see your 328 has the M50 intake manifold fitted. Did the big bore throttle body make any difference, and was a remap required for this?

Did the X-brace make any difference to the handling?

Cheers,

Ben

[SebringMan]

This has been a great read, and it is always lovely to see how a car evolves. Whilst my E30 may see the occasional trackday threads like these provide a very handy reference point even if like myself one will not be going all of the way (my car is a daily driver, I have the Escort for that ).

However I do have a few questions and comments:

The rear adjustable lower arms, how did you make them fit without dropping the subframe? Or did you drop the subframe and diff down? How much of a difference did the front cross brace make to the handling of the car?

Have you tried other brands of pads. On the two occasions I have experienced EBC (as well as a friend's car) they have never inspired confidence in me if I am honest (my Mondeo didn't brake with them at all (on Reg 90s) and the Spitfire required me to ride the brake pedal only for them to fade not long after (Greenstuff)! I have had better experience with other brands included the Mintex M1144s (these were superb on my 205) and M1155s (which are more track biased) along with Hawk pads (these are superb in my Escort) and PF. I hear Pagid Blues (possibly better than what I have listed) are also superb but expensive.

Keep the updates coming .