E36 cheap track day toy
Discussion
So Monday came and we made a triumphant return to Brandshatch.
The new brakes were great. Yes there is a bit more pedal travel than I would like. It's still usable but I had to get used to it at the start of the day. I will get an M3 master cylinder sooner or later. Particularly now as I have plans on upgrading the rear brakes too.
We were very lucky with the weather, even getting some sun around lunch time. As usual the car really was faultless. Not blowing my own trumpet. I'm as surprised as anyone that this now 21 year old still keeps going after the hammering I give it.
So now I have Snetterton in just over a week. Time for some maintenance.
As we had been talking about them I thought I better get round to fitting the strut strengthening plates.
Fitting gave me the chance to strengthen up the front end as a whole. I refitted the struts with more marine grade bolts like I had on the touring. Also with a bit more camber dialled in on the bottom. The only downside to the plates I can see is it restricts the movement of the camber plates. We will see if this causes any problems when I do another geo.
The rear needs some attention too.
The bump stops are falling to pieces, shock covers cracked and the top mounts quite squashed. So replaced the lot with standard Sachs products. I should probably have bought sports mounts but I am spending a bit too much on her at the moment.
After Brands the rear pads were virtually gone and squeaking like mad. Time to get some PF back in the rear too. I used the design911 page shared on here. Good value and very quick delivery. I'm not upgrading the rear brakes yet but the calipers I'm going to fit use the same pads. So it's not a problem for the future. Speaking of which my new rear calipers have turned up.
Very tired they are, but I will breathe new life into them like I did with the fronts. They are e46 328. This appears to be the best choice. 330 and both e36 and e46 M3 require hubs, trailing arms etc. The 328 disc is slightly bigger in radius but importantly twice as thick and vented. The hand brake shoes should fit inside and work normally. Also apparently the mix of 330 front and 328 rear disc sizes gives very well balanced bias.
Lastly the tyres. They have been used very hard. I must admit I have flat spotted one of the fronts. They are getting thin particularly on the inner halfs. So for now I have swapped front to rear and rotated the tyres on the wheels.
Not as easy to see in the photo, but you can clearly see the angle worn into the tread. They will definitely last for Snett but I may need some more soon. They have lasted very well but I could do without having to buy some just as I want to start building the new engine.
For which I have had bearings, piston rings, assembly grease and a new honing tool turn up!
The new brakes were great. Yes there is a bit more pedal travel than I would like. It's still usable but I had to get used to it at the start of the day. I will get an M3 master cylinder sooner or later. Particularly now as I have plans on upgrading the rear brakes too.
We were very lucky with the weather, even getting some sun around lunch time. As usual the car really was faultless. Not blowing my own trumpet. I'm as surprised as anyone that this now 21 year old still keeps going after the hammering I give it.
So now I have Snetterton in just over a week. Time for some maintenance.
As we had been talking about them I thought I better get round to fitting the strut strengthening plates.
Fitting gave me the chance to strengthen up the front end as a whole. I refitted the struts with more marine grade bolts like I had on the touring. Also with a bit more camber dialled in on the bottom. The only downside to the plates I can see is it restricts the movement of the camber plates. We will see if this causes any problems when I do another geo.
The rear needs some attention too.
The bump stops are falling to pieces, shock covers cracked and the top mounts quite squashed. So replaced the lot with standard Sachs products. I should probably have bought sports mounts but I am spending a bit too much on her at the moment.
After Brands the rear pads were virtually gone and squeaking like mad. Time to get some PF back in the rear too. I used the design911 page shared on here. Good value and very quick delivery. I'm not upgrading the rear brakes yet but the calipers I'm going to fit use the same pads. So it's not a problem for the future. Speaking of which my new rear calipers have turned up.
Very tired they are, but I will breathe new life into them like I did with the fronts. They are e46 328. This appears to be the best choice. 330 and both e36 and e46 M3 require hubs, trailing arms etc. The 328 disc is slightly bigger in radius but importantly twice as thick and vented. The hand brake shoes should fit inside and work normally. Also apparently the mix of 330 front and 328 rear disc sizes gives very well balanced bias.
Lastly the tyres. They have been used very hard. I must admit I have flat spotted one of the fronts. They are getting thin particularly on the inner halfs. So for now I have swapped front to rear and rotated the tyres on the wheels.
Not as easy to see in the photo, but you can clearly see the angle worn into the tread. They will definitely last for Snett but I may need some more soon. They have lasted very well but I could do without having to buy some just as I want to start building the new engine.
For which I have had bearings, piston rings, assembly grease and a new honing tool turn up!
Thanks for the information. I may look into that washer. As far as the master cylinder goes, it definitely needs doing. I have gone from a 54mm front piston to a 57mm and already have quite a spongy pedal. If I also convert the rears from 36mm to 40mm I can see it going to the floor!
Looks like you had a good day out! Have you tried braided lines on the brakes? I found it made quite a bit of difference on mine along with some good fluid it's helped the brakes no end.
The 330 rear brake conversion is a pain, new rear trailing arms are needed and turned into an expensive conversion for what they are in my case.
The 330 rear brake conversion is a pain, new rear trailing arms are needed and turned into an expensive conversion for what they are in my case.
I don't think the master cylinder will change the spongy pedal feel by any significant amount.
I too went from one single piston each corner to a total of 12 pisons with a total of well over double the CSA and had no discernible additional sponginess, no matter what abuse I gave the brakes, even 20+ laps of Cadwell Park at a time.
I suspect you may have an as yet undiagnosed issue from what you say.
The master cylinder just compresses the contents of the brake lines and contributes/takes away nothing to do with sponginess assuming it is working correctly.
I too went from one single piston each corner to a total of 12 pisons with a total of well over double the CSA and had no discernible additional sponginess, no matter what abuse I gave the brakes, even 20+ laps of Cadwell Park at a time.
I suspect you may have an as yet undiagnosed issue from what you say.
The master cylinder just compresses the contents of the brake lines and contributes/takes away nothing to do with sponginess assuming it is working correctly.
Hamster69 said:
Yes you did and many other people. I'm not surprised by it, I'm agreeing with you and answering E-bmw.
I fitted the E31 4-pot Brembos and E46 320d rears without upgrading my master cylinder/servo.It was not a good idea.
I very quickly changed it out! They're getting quite difficult to find. German eBay has them from time to time.
Started the rear window install today. The old window is easy enough to get out with no interior. Then I pulled up the lower trim.
I covered the window hole while I used a toffee wheel to remove the old trim adhesive. It's hard enough to clean inside the car without getting it filthy.
I had a measure up, worked out where I wanted the rivets to go. Roughly 10cm apart around the sides and 5cm apart round the rear corner. I had an idea I wish I had when I did the sun roof and wheel arches. I drilled a few holes in the corners of the lexen sheet. Marked them on the car with a pen then drilled smaller holes into the frame. I then held the window in place with some selftappers.
This meant I could then drill all the remaining holes in place. Finally with all the rivets fitting it was ready for some tigerseal.
Little bit messy, especially where the window sits higher on the B pillar. I had to fill the gaps with a bit more sealant after it was fitted. But it should be water tight. As I did with the sunroof I filled the centre of the rivets with sealant.
It really isn't perfect, I struggled getting to some of the top rivets because of the overhang the trim mounts on. I think when I do the other side I may cut them back over each rivet. Then paint it before refitting the trim. The sealant does look a mess through the transparent lexen. Once I have finished both windows and the rear screen I may paint a black edge round them covering the sealant and the rivets.
I covered the window hole while I used a toffee wheel to remove the old trim adhesive. It's hard enough to clean inside the car without getting it filthy.
I had a measure up, worked out where I wanted the rivets to go. Roughly 10cm apart around the sides and 5cm apart round the rear corner. I had an idea I wish I had when I did the sun roof and wheel arches. I drilled a few holes in the corners of the lexen sheet. Marked them on the car with a pen then drilled smaller holes into the frame. I then held the window in place with some selftappers.
This meant I could then drill all the remaining holes in place. Finally with all the rivets fitting it was ready for some tigerseal.
Little bit messy, especially where the window sits higher on the B pillar. I had to fill the gaps with a bit more sealant after it was fitted. But it should be water tight. As I did with the sunroof I filled the centre of the rivets with sealant.
It really isn't perfect, I struggled getting to some of the top rivets because of the overhang the trim mounts on. I think when I do the other side I may cut them back over each rivet. Then paint it before refitting the trim. The sealant does look a mess through the transparent lexen. Once I have finished both windows and the rear screen I may paint a black edge round them covering the sealant and the rivets.
New job for the car, the rear brakes started squealing straight after Snetterton. I looked at the discs, although I intend to replace them soon I'm not there yet. So a skim and deglaze I think.
The discs were looking quite tired. Not worn out, but a bit rusty in places with quite a rippled surface.
They came up quite nicely and still with a bit of meat to the wear maker. While stripped I rubbed down the pads.
Looking at the tyres I could just about keep two. These have now gone on the back, with some new rubber up at the front.
Finally I got the second window in. Changed my process slightly. It definitely went in quicker. But I'm still not over the moon about the results.
The eventual plan is to paint round the edges so you can't see the sealant etc. But for now they will do.
Bedford on Monday!
The discs were looking quite tired. Not worn out, but a bit rusty in places with quite a rippled surface.
They came up quite nicely and still with a bit of meat to the wear maker. While stripped I rubbed down the pads.
Looking at the tyres I could just about keep two. These have now gone on the back, with some new rubber up at the front.
Finally I got the second window in. Changed my process slightly. It definitely went in quicker. But I'm still not over the moon about the results.
The eventual plan is to paint round the edges so you can't see the sealant etc. But for now they will do.
Bedford on Monday!
Edited by Hamster69 on Monday 3rd April 22:08
Finally the new block arrived today. I can after all this time start my new engine build.
Oh no actually I can throw the new block in the bin, thanks DHL!
Yes they dropped it so hard they cracked it. In fact inside you can see the whole corner of the engine is about to come off!
Back to the drawing board. I'm going to start stripping the original engine and go from there.
To try and cheer myself up, here is a pic from Bedford last week.
Annoyingly misty for most of the morning but the sun came out in the afternoon. The new tyres were great. Had some stonking laps.
Oh no actually I can throw the new block in the bin, thanks DHL!
Yes they dropped it so hard they cracked it. In fact inside you can see the whole corner of the engine is about to come off!
Back to the drawing board. I'm going to start stripping the original engine and go from there.
To try and cheer myself up, here is a pic from Bedford last week.
Annoyingly misty for most of the morning but the sun came out in the afternoon. The new tyres were great. Had some stonking laps.
t happens. 
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