BMW 330CI E46 Build thread
Discussion
Mikeeb said:
Is it worth trying to disable the ABS by unplugging one front wheel sensor rather than the whole module. That way the ECU with still get road speed.
I've got a list of a few things I want to experiment with next time I'm out on track in relation to the ABS, ECU and brakes. I have ran with a rear wheel sensor unplugged which did cause the ABS to stop working as well as the speedo so in this instance I am assuming there is no speed signal going to the ECU too. Will try front right which I have seen recommended before. I also found when running the ABS completely unplugged that the car was detecting miss fire. At this moment in time I want to check if this is somehow related to the lack of wheel speed signal or down to the fact that the 99RON ECU map I am using had some pops and bags mapped into the ECU under certain conditions. I have removed all of this pops and bands rubbish from the ECU file now to see if that is somehow causing the car to detect missfire. If this is the case I will be able to run without ABS without issues. However if it is related to the missing wheel speed sensor I will have to do some more investigation. I will update more about this with what I find over the coming weeks.
Joshsl said:
Love the thread and love the car, in regards to the braking have you looked at the ABS pump/ECU from the e46 m3 or it might be from a CSL, they have a programmable ECU on them, one of the driftworks E30 build videos they discuss it. I will try and find the video and send you a link to it.
Found the link
https://youtu.be/Mlk3_P5Af50
I did have a look at the MK60 Master cylinder and ABS pumps but I think in the long term I would prefer to spend the money on simplifying the brakes on the car and moving to some form of pedal box system. I have watched that driftworks build thread week by week as they were released. I'm not ruling it out for the moment but I've got a few other things I'm going to experiment with first to try and improve the braking on the car. Obviously these cars were running well in the 330 Challenge with the standard ABS systems intact still so they've got some potential.Found the link
https://youtu.be/Mlk3_P5Af50
Edited by Joshsl on Tuesday 5th March 14:35
tombate911 said:
Mikeeb said:
Is it worth trying to disable the ABS by unplugging one front wheel sensor rather than the whole module. That way the ECU with still get road speed.
I've got a list of a few things I want to experiment with next time I'm out on track in relation to the ABS, ECU and brakes. I have ran with a rear wheel sensor unplugged which did cause the ABS to stop working as well as the speedo so in this instance I am assuming there is no speed signal going to the ECU too. Will try front right which I have seen recommended before. Mikeeb said:
Bosch ABS system usually use a rear sensor as the primary source for the speed signal (O/S from memory??) so that will relate to the loss of speedo. They can then use the opposite front to check against, so if you still have problems with the O/S/F disconnected it would be worth a second trial with the N/S/F in case it's using the N/S/R as the primary.
So a little test yesterday proved that this is probably what I'm looking for in the short term, Unplugged the front right and still maintained wheel speed. Obviously the one sensor in the past which has caused me problems was the back left which is the primary. With this causing no speed signal to the ECU I was under the presumption that if any of the wheel speed sensors weren't seeing a reading the ABS stopped and didn't output a wheel speed signal. Thanks for that.Few other little jobs achieved. Getting the car ready for an MOT on Saturday, I've now fitted a horn button to the centre of steering wheel and also the track wheels have been removed and fitted the rainsports again. While I had the car on axle standard it was a perfect chance to test fit the new Team Dynamics
Potentially a little bit of arch rolling required on the inner lip of the wing.
Little bit of clearance between the inside of the 18" wheel. In the process of having two tyres mounted up so I can test fix them with tyres now to check for clearance.
Also checked the wear of the front tyres when they were removed. Front left took a beating at Oulton with a very worn outer edge and some hot spots, Was running 3 degrees of camber and 32PSI hot.
Front right actually faired much better with it being a clockwise circuit with actually more wear on the inside edge from all the right hand bends.
While having the wheels off I've bled all the brakes and the clutch with some fresh fluid, no air in the system but a fresh fluid after 4 track days wont harm and piece of mind that the brakes are spot on for the next time out.
Final job achieved was updating the ECU map with one with less pops and bangs on overrun if the speed signal from the ECU isn't detected, set all the overrun related maps back to standard.
Looks like a nice build, and you're clearly having fun.
I'd make two suggestions though if that's okay. First is to add a support to your oil temp sensor housing. That's a fair amount of mass levering the AN fitting and cooler, it would be disastrous for it to fatigue and break. Second would be to add a little dead travel to the top of your pedal map. It's not unusual for throttle pedals to report 5-95% travel, so with no dead travel at the top end you could be missing out on a bit of the performance. Of course you can check this with INPA or whatever - if it's reporting 100% with the pedal down you're all good.
Just need to justify an LSD for my 330i touring now....
I'd make two suggestions though if that's okay. First is to add a support to your oil temp sensor housing. That's a fair amount of mass levering the AN fitting and cooler, it would be disastrous for it to fatigue and break. Second would be to add a little dead travel to the top of your pedal map. It's not unusual for throttle pedals to report 5-95% travel, so with no dead travel at the top end you could be missing out on a bit of the performance. Of course you can check this with INPA or whatever - if it's reporting 100% with the pedal down you're all good.
Just need to justify an LSD for my 330i touring now....
ndg said:
Looks like a nice build, and you're clearly having fun.
I'd make two suggestions though if that's okay. First is to add a support to your oil temp sensor housing. That's a fair amount of mass levering the AN fitting and cooler, it would be disastrous for it to fatigue and break. Second would be to add a little dead travel to the top of your pedal map. It's not unusual for throttle pedals to report 5-95% travel, so with no dead travel at the top end you could be missing out on a bit of the performance. Of course you can check this with INPA or whatever - if it's reporting 100% with the pedal down you're all good.
Just need to justify an LSD for my 330i touring now....
Of course you can, I appreciate any comments along the way, the hose with the temp sensor in it is now fixed to the AN fitting on the right to support the weight of it, it’s surprisingly light but at least being supported it can’t move around on track like you say. I'd make two suggestions though if that's okay. First is to add a support to your oil temp sensor housing. That's a fair amount of mass levering the AN fitting and cooler, it would be disastrous for it to fatigue and break. Second would be to add a little dead travel to the top of your pedal map. It's not unusual for throttle pedals to report 5-95% travel, so with no dead travel at the top end you could be missing out on a bit of the performance. Of course you can check this with INPA or whatever - if it's reporting 100% with the pedal down you're all good.
Just need to justify an LSD for my 330i touring now....
That’s a good point regarding the throttle map, the throttle only runs between 0-81% which you can probably see on the graph. I actually copied the top section of the graph from a standard BMW none tuned file, next time I have the computer out i’ll Just take a measurement like you say of the throttle pedal reading and also see if I can see the actual position % of the throttle body.
The diff was great at Oulton, shame I only got one session in the wet to test it. For a helical diff at the moment i’m happy but more test driving with it is required.
330ti said:
Coolant temp high ? Can oil temp ever be lower then coolant temp ? Mine runs at steady 95 deg C on road and actually drops a little on track , about 86 deg C. ???
Never had any sign of overheating or low oil pressure during long track stints.
Coolent temp runs between 100-110 on track over a 40 minute stint, that’s watching the temps on the hidden menu. Off the back of that i’m going to remove the Air Con and condenser from in front of the rad to get better flow directly to the radiator.Never had any sign of overheating or low oil pressure during long track stints.
Also in the process of making a little splitter that comes back as far as the front of the subframe to the bottom of the radiator to box in the air that comes through the kidneys and the bottom bumper grill. Currently there’s a massive gap under the radiator. This should force more air through the two oil coolers and the radiator.
Do you have any way of monitoring oil temp? I wouldn’t know it was that high if I didn’t have the gauge in front of my face. Wouldn’t see any oil pressure loss at those temps unless there is something wrong with the oil pump/sprocket. Few little modifications with it should get another ten degrees out of the oil temps next time out.
330ti said:
Also using hidden menu for coolant temp. I haven’t checked oil temp on track as I’ve had no concerns but I’m going to use my diagnostics to flight record oil temp next time I get a chance. Also thinking of going from 5w40 to 10w60 for summer track days.
Be interesting to see what you find with your temps when you actually log them on track. Everyone I've spoken that's used a M54 on track has found they run hot on track,Couple of mid week mods on the go....
Mounted up a set of old 255's onto the Team Dynamics for the purpose of test fitting and checking clearances
Shows the difference between the 225 and 255, an additional 60mm of tyre contact width on the floor on the front axle should be interesting.
Delivery of some fresh RSR's for mounting to the new rims, will only do this when I've test fitted the fronts and made sure there's suitable clearance on the shock, will need to do a little bit of rolling of the arches but will only know when they're fitted.
Wheel weighing
Cracked out the bathroom scales to give everything a quick weigh in. Not the most accurate but gives a good indication.
10kg Bare TD 9J
12.5kg 255 RSR
12.7kg Bare Mv2 (Had two of these hanging around so thought I'd measure them too)
Rears
24.7kg MV1 with RSR 8.5J
23.0kg TD1.2 with RSR 9J
Fronts
23.4kg MV1 with RSR 8J
23.0kg TD1.2 with RSR 9J
Not a much weight saying as I originally thought but at least I've managed to move to wider wheels on the front and maintain the same overall weight and reduced a few kilos of rotational mass on the rear wheels.
andyjmak said:
hi moving your oil cooler from infront of your radiator should help with coolant temps, as heat from oil cooler will be getting push through rad
i have a 3.0 compact but have never monitered water temp other than dash gauge need to have a look next time out
nice car by the way
Thanks! Mounting them at the sides in the arches would give better cooling but they're a bit less protected and harder to mount there so for the moment I am focusing on improving the airflow through the front, i have a 3.0 compact but have never monitered water temp other than dash gauge need to have a look next time out
nice car by the way
Starting off by removing the AC and with that goes the condenser which sits in front of the radiator.
With that out of the way there should be improved air flow, I was always planning on keeping aircon on this car buy after it throwing the AC belt off at Oulton and it luckily not getting caught in anything I'm taking the usual approach to this now that simpler the better!
As I thought the radiator is looking a little bit worst for wear so that's been ripped out and a new replacement ordered while I'm at it.
Aesthetics and Cooling.
So looking back through some track day videos I've noticed the car doesn't look as aggressive from the front as I'd like it so. So I've mocked up a plywood splitter for the front, made from marine plywood, 3 coats of varnish and 3 coats of satin outdoor paint should protect it from the elements, at this stage I am no way thinking about aero on the car mainly aesthetics and cooling. I've never ran the under tray on the car as it was oily and battered when I got it so threw it away in the bin. With the additional changes above I want to try and force more air through the coolers and the rad especially for warmer days, the plan with this is the splitter goes back as far as the subframe at the moment pretty close to the bottom of the radiator and the lower oil cooler. The remaining gap I will box in stopping the air going around and under the coolers/radiator. The sides are well boxed in it's mainly under which is wide open.
I've also made up two chassis leg mounts for the splitter to make sure it is held in place securely and not able to bounce around in the wind at over 100mph!
This is prototype V1 for me to get an idea of what I want it to look like and how it can be developed further in the future.
Today I have been busying removing the existing power steering return line cooler loop, mounting up a 10 row oil cooler and making new lines from the power steering rack through the cooler and back to the PAS reservoir. With that done I am just waiting on the splitter legs and the new radiator to get it built back up. Ready for Cadwell in April.
Good update OP!
As well as getting rid of the A/C components for the improved airflow you’ve saved a little bit of weight there too and some drag from the bottom pulley!
Splitter makes the car look a lot more purposeful, will it have to be removeable for when you’re putting it on a trailer or will it go on with it fitted?
As well as getting rid of the A/C components for the improved airflow you’ve saved a little bit of weight there too and some drag from the bottom pulley!
Splitter makes the car look a lot more purposeful, will it have to be removeable for when you’re putting it on a trailer or will it go on with it fitted?
Another Saturday obviously means another update, the weather was great today and I had everything I needed to get the car back together so ended up spending all day on it.
During the week I spent a little bit of time making up some brackets that will mount the splitter to the chassis. I didn't want this just hanging off the bottom of the bumper when it's going to be used on track only, you can imagine the force from the wind on it at 100mph. Thick wall tubing welded to 6mm plate with nuts welded on to easy of fitting. Kept it nice a simple with some slots where it mounts to the front of the chassis legs should I need to be able to adjust them up or down.
Coat of primer and a couple of coats of black paint
First job on the cards was the replacement of the radiator and putting back together the front end.
Putting the front end back together with all of the AC condenser removed as well as the old power steering cooler loop. Power steering cooling now taken car by a 10 row cooler at the bottom in the low pressure return line. New lines have been made from the power steering rack to the cooler and then back up to the PAS Reservoir. Splitter brackets set to the right height and bolted into position.
While the front end was off I did look at alternative ways of mounting the coolers, mainly considering rotating the oil cooler so the main body of the cooler was more in the air flow behind the kidney grills. This made the mounting of the coolers a little more difficult with the fittings at the bottom and would require new mounting brackets made. Rather than doing this I decided I would drill some holes in the bumper behind where the reg plate is normally. Started by drawing out different diameters and placements before drilling into the bumper. Settled on the red markings
With the hole drilled I painted the back of the bumper and the crash bar which is part of the bumper and normally bright silver. While that was drying I had an hour to mess with the wheels. Fitted the fronts to check the clearances against the shock and also see if I would need to start messing, rolling or cutting the front arches
Fitment on the front is perfect.
Front end all put back together with the bumper and splitter, looks a lot more purposeful now and you can see from the photos how much more exposed the radiator is, combined with the splitter running close to the bottom of the coolers/rad and the holes in the bumper it'll be interesting to see if the temps are further reduced at Cadwell in April.
Did a little bit of work on the interior too. Decided to finally make a plate for the drivers footwell. The bumpy standard floor didn't bother me when I was driving but the mixture of painted floor and strips of grip tape was annoying me as it didn't look at good as it could. I also ripped out all the USB wires for the cameras ready to rerun them with some velcro fasteners I've got rather than having them looped around the bars like they are currently.
Final couple of things to sort out now is the radiator fan is running at 100% all the time from when the car is started. Obviously related the AC being removed/unplugged as I've double checked everything has gone back together correctly on the cooling side of things. Will have a look at this in a bit more detail tomorrow and I also still need to swap the tyres over onto the TD's so I've got 4 new tyres fitted for the next track day.
During the week I spent a little bit of time making up some brackets that will mount the splitter to the chassis. I didn't want this just hanging off the bottom of the bumper when it's going to be used on track only, you can imagine the force from the wind on it at 100mph. Thick wall tubing welded to 6mm plate with nuts welded on to easy of fitting. Kept it nice a simple with some slots where it mounts to the front of the chassis legs should I need to be able to adjust them up or down.
Coat of primer and a couple of coats of black paint
First job on the cards was the replacement of the radiator and putting back together the front end.
Putting the front end back together with all of the AC condenser removed as well as the old power steering cooler loop. Power steering cooling now taken car by a 10 row cooler at the bottom in the low pressure return line. New lines have been made from the power steering rack to the cooler and then back up to the PAS Reservoir. Splitter brackets set to the right height and bolted into position.
While the front end was off I did look at alternative ways of mounting the coolers, mainly considering rotating the oil cooler so the main body of the cooler was more in the air flow behind the kidney grills. This made the mounting of the coolers a little more difficult with the fittings at the bottom and would require new mounting brackets made. Rather than doing this I decided I would drill some holes in the bumper behind where the reg plate is normally. Started by drawing out different diameters and placements before drilling into the bumper. Settled on the red markings
With the hole drilled I painted the back of the bumper and the crash bar which is part of the bumper and normally bright silver. While that was drying I had an hour to mess with the wheels. Fitted the fronts to check the clearances against the shock and also see if I would need to start messing, rolling or cutting the front arches
Fitment on the front is perfect.
Front end all put back together with the bumper and splitter, looks a lot more purposeful now and you can see from the photos how much more exposed the radiator is, combined with the splitter running close to the bottom of the coolers/rad and the holes in the bumper it'll be interesting to see if the temps are further reduced at Cadwell in April.
Did a little bit of work on the interior too. Decided to finally make a plate for the drivers footwell. The bumpy standard floor didn't bother me when I was driving but the mixture of painted floor and strips of grip tape was annoying me as it didn't look at good as it could. I also ripped out all the USB wires for the cameras ready to rerun them with some velcro fasteners I've got rather than having them looped around the bars like they are currently.
Final couple of things to sort out now is the radiator fan is running at 100% all the time from when the car is started. Obviously related the AC being removed/unplugged as I've double checked everything has gone back together correctly on the cooling side of things. Will have a look at this in a bit more detail tomorrow and I also still need to swap the tyres over onto the TD's so I've got 4 new tyres fitted for the next track day.
Edited by tombate911 on Saturday 23 March 22:27
I know how to fix the rad fan on full speed with the ac removed, I had the same problem and it annoyed me for ages.
You need to fit the AC pressure switch back into the loom, it’s just behind the drivers side headlight.
I connected it back in and run some black tape over the sensor and left it connected.
Problem solved.
You need to fit the AC pressure switch back into the loom, it’s just behind the drivers side headlight.
I connected it back in and run some black tape over the sensor and left it connected.
Problem solved.
Mgd_uk said:
I know how to fix the rad fan on full speed with the ac removed, I had the same problem and it annoyed me for ages.
You need to fit the AC pressure switch back into the loom, it’s just behind the drivers side headlight.
I connected it back in and run some black tape over the sensor and left it connected.
Problem solved.
Cheers! I actually didn't check on here this morning and thought back over what I unplugged to remove the AC. It was only the feed to the compressor and the sensor so assumed it was something to do with that, removed it from the pile of junk about to go to the tip, refitted it to the loom behind the headlight, started it and all sorted, nice and simple! You need to fit the AC pressure switch back into the loom, it’s just behind the drivers side headlight.
I connected it back in and run some black tape over the sensor and left it connected.
Problem solved.
Come back to check the build thread and you've posted the answer for me as I found out. Cheers!
While messing this afternoon I had the car jacked up and thought after talking with friends today about wheel bearings I'd check the how the front left wheel bearing was after having to replace it before the last track day after it failing after 2 days on circuit and yep, it's failed once again after only one day on track!
Checked the hub nut torque and that's fine at 300nm. I've been using Meyle wheel bearings. Both fronts were replaced at the same time but the front left wheel bearing has failed twice in 3 track days! Going to see if they'll replace it again under warranty but it's slightly annoying changing wheel bearings after each track day at the moment.
helix402 said:
Meyle parts are a bit rubbish. FAG are the best for BMW bearings if you don’t want gen BMW parts.
That appears to be what I've found out here, know some people who have run the same bearings on E36's for years without issues. Heard nothing back today regarding the 2 year warranty they're supposed to come with so I think i'm going to order a FAG one to replace it with, wheel bearings only lasting one day on the 225 front tyres is shocking! Something else to strip down and replace.Dropped 6 wheels off at the tyre centre this evening on the way home from work so will have a full set of Tead Dynamics now mounted up, can't wait to see what it looks like with them fitted on all corners. Also looking forward to getting this final jobs finished then I can leave it parked up for a few weeks without having to touch it or work on it knowing everything is done ready to run.
Here's another weekend update with the final few jobs needed to get it ready to go to Cadwell at Easter.
Removed the tyres I was using for test fitting the wheels originally and replaced them with some brand new tyres 255/35/18 Federal RSR's
Before finally fitting them I spent an hour yesterday sealing the wheels, putting that bit of extra work in to try and keep the brake dust off them from the RC5+ brake pads
Also replaced the old Meyle wheel bearing with a Fag replacement, ready to send back under warranty once again.
Drift works wheel studs transferred over to the new hub and the front left of the car bolted back together, hopefully for the last time, it's been stripped apart after every track day recently with this wheel bearing issue.
As it stands now, due a good wash but i'm going to leave that till a little closer to the track day and do it the week before.
In other news....
About 6 weeks ago I took my van for mapping but never posted about it on here but thought I would add it to the build thread while I'm rambling away.
2018 VW Transporter T6 with a 7 speed DSG Gearbox.
Took it to Celtic Tuning who did the mapping on my previous van and was very happy with the results so decided to use the same people for the new van, they had the van for a full day while I hung around and watched, took longer than expected due to the van having a brand new version of software on the ECU they hadn't seen before which had a lot more limiters set in the map preventing the engine making the power it was capable of at the higher RPM, quite a few hours later data logging and mapping it was left at a safe 194bhp & 335ftlb/455NM.
Not only did they map the engine they also did their usual adjustments to the gearbox map and it's made a very noticeable difference, shift points are earlier when on part throttle, it no longer holds on to gears longer than required under heavy loads/full throttle, full throttle in sport mode used to be pathetic with the standard engine and gearbox map, gear changes are slightly faster and the sport mode down shifts are noticeably smoother. Worth while upgrade to the van especially when towing the E46 as rough calculations show the trailer weighing in around 2.2t fully loaded, the extra torque with the DSG makes towing much easier and without the trailer it's safe to say it also flies (for a van)
![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/46784642084_2a0bebf989.jpg")
Removed the tyres I was using for test fitting the wheels originally and replaced them with some brand new tyres 255/35/18 Federal RSR's
Before finally fitting them I spent an hour yesterday sealing the wheels, putting that bit of extra work in to try and keep the brake dust off them from the RC5+ brake pads
Also replaced the old Meyle wheel bearing with a Fag replacement, ready to send back under warranty once again.
Drift works wheel studs transferred over to the new hub and the front left of the car bolted back together, hopefully for the last time, it's been stripped apart after every track day recently with this wheel bearing issue.
As it stands now, due a good wash but i'm going to leave that till a little closer to the track day and do it the week before.
In other news....
About 6 weeks ago I took my van for mapping but never posted about it on here but thought I would add it to the build thread while I'm rambling away.
2018 VW Transporter T6 with a 7 speed DSG Gearbox.
Took it to Celtic Tuning who did the mapping on my previous van and was very happy with the results so decided to use the same people for the new van, they had the van for a full day while I hung around and watched, took longer than expected due to the van having a brand new version of software on the ECU they hadn't seen before which had a lot more limiters set in the map preventing the engine making the power it was capable of at the higher RPM, quite a few hours later data logging and mapping it was left at a safe 194bhp & 335ftlb/455NM.
Not only did they map the engine they also did their usual adjustments to the gearbox map and it's made a very noticeable difference, shift points are earlier when on part throttle, it no longer holds on to gears longer than required under heavy loads/full throttle, full throttle in sport mode used to be pathetic with the standard engine and gearbox map, gear changes are slightly faster and the sport mode down shifts are noticeably smoother. Worth while upgrade to the van especially when towing the E46 as rough calculations show the trailer weighing in around 2.2t fully loaded, the extra torque with the DSG makes towing much easier and without the trailer it's safe to say it also flies (for a van)
Cadwell Update - 18th April 2019
As usual the week before a track day the track car gets a good wash ready to be thrown around a race track once again. Love how the car is looking and sitting now with the changes that have been made over the past few months.
While being off work this week I loaded up for the track day and drove over to Cadwell Park the day before the track day, arriving at the circuit at 5pm it was nice to get everything unloaded and set up the night before the track day, also meant I could have a lie in till 7am.
It also meant I had a a couple of hours to kill in the evening so took a walk around the circuit while it was closed (with permission from security of course)
Entry to Hall Bends
Park Straight
Looking back up Park Straight
It was a damp and misty start to the morning but the track was bone dry, sighting laps we well under way at 9am and the track opened nice and swiftly in the morning and the car noise tested at 96db static
This was the first time I'd driven the BMW at Cadwell and only the second time I've ever been there so the first few sessions in the morning were taken quite easily and building up the pace, getting used to the new wheel set up with 255 tyres all around, with that the car feels much more neutral and turns in a lot more but with that the car also feels a little bit easier to slide having more grip on the front which I did find out at the end of Park straight mid morning having a little spin off there onto the grass, spinning around more than 720 degrees. I'll add a video of that to end of the compilation video i'll get around to over the new week.
Parked up ready to go along side my mates E36.
The car was running well but I still wasn't feeling confident in the brakes to be able to push on as hard as I'd like to especially under braking.
With ABS on (Traction Control unplugged) you can constantly feel the ABS kicking in to prevent the rear wheels from locking, every time you're braking heavy the traction control is kicking in, this is running RC5 front pads and standard Brembo road pads in the rear, it is also the same with RC5 pads all around which I what I ran for the afternoon session for comparison.
I did a little more experimentation.
ABS on - As above.
Front wheel speed sensor unplugged - Started to get a weird inconsistent pedal feel sometimes it was really hard sometimes fine.
ABS pump unplugged - Ran fine as it did at Oulton Park however with more mechanical grip from the front 255 tyres under heavy braking the rear just locked up far too easily so the bias is well off in that situation.
In the end I settled back to running with ABS and just taking it easy on the brakes and letting the ABS sort out the rear wheels.
Off the back of this though due to not feeling confident in the brakes from the last few track days I've decided I'm going to completely remove the ABS brake lines and replumb the car running a bias valve inside the car but for the moment keeping the ABS pump in place. More to come on this over the next week, I've already started removing the existing brake lines from the car this morning.
Aside from the brakes not being as good as they could be the car performed amazingly out on track and it was actually my bravery through the circuit that was holding the car back, partly down to it being the first time their in that car but also because it's such a high risk track to really be pushing it too hard especially in a RWD car.
The changes I made to the front end with cooling set up saw the engine temps reduced dramatically, oil temps were down to a solid 100 degrees over a 30-40 minute session, I didn't get to log the coolant temps like I did at Oulton but I would imagine that have dropped considerably as well with the oil temps. Also no more breathing from the PAS reservoir with the 10 row cooler fitted into the return line, especially with the 255 front tyres.
Had some really good afternoon sessions in the car though throughout the afternoon.
One was with a Peugeot 106 with a GTI 16V Engine who i stumbled across out on track which was lapping at a similar pace. Ended having a really good 20 minute stint out on track with the owner, after chatting to him in the paddock he sent over the footage from inside his car so I've put the two videos together this morning to make something a little more interesting that your usual track day video.
BMW E46 330ci vs Peugeot 106 16V GTI Engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjX7W461cek&fe...
Overall, such a good circuit and I absolutely love driving this car, it feels amazing when you get it right as well as giving you a great feeling of excitement with all the drama of rear wheel drive. Few changes to iron out over the next two weeks and then it's back to Anglesey for the bank holiday weekend.
As usual the week before a track day the track car gets a good wash ready to be thrown around a race track once again. Love how the car is looking and sitting now with the changes that have been made over the past few months.
While being off work this week I loaded up for the track day and drove over to Cadwell Park the day before the track day, arriving at the circuit at 5pm it was nice to get everything unloaded and set up the night before the track day, also meant I could have a lie in till 7am.
It also meant I had a a couple of hours to kill in the evening so took a walk around the circuit while it was closed (with permission from security of course)
Entry to Hall Bends
Park Straight
Looking back up Park Straight
It was a damp and misty start to the morning but the track was bone dry, sighting laps we well under way at 9am and the track opened nice and swiftly in the morning and the car noise tested at 96db static
This was the first time I'd driven the BMW at Cadwell and only the second time I've ever been there so the first few sessions in the morning were taken quite easily and building up the pace, getting used to the new wheel set up with 255 tyres all around, with that the car feels much more neutral and turns in a lot more but with that the car also feels a little bit easier to slide having more grip on the front which I did find out at the end of Park straight mid morning having a little spin off there onto the grass, spinning around more than 720 degrees. I'll add a video of that to end of the compilation video i'll get around to over the new week.
Parked up ready to go along side my mates E36.
The car was running well but I still wasn't feeling confident in the brakes to be able to push on as hard as I'd like to especially under braking.
With ABS on (Traction Control unplugged) you can constantly feel the ABS kicking in to prevent the rear wheels from locking, every time you're braking heavy the traction control is kicking in, this is running RC5 front pads and standard Brembo road pads in the rear, it is also the same with RC5 pads all around which I what I ran for the afternoon session for comparison.
I did a little more experimentation.
ABS on - As above.
Front wheel speed sensor unplugged - Started to get a weird inconsistent pedal feel sometimes it was really hard sometimes fine.
ABS pump unplugged - Ran fine as it did at Oulton Park however with more mechanical grip from the front 255 tyres under heavy braking the rear just locked up far too easily so the bias is well off in that situation.
In the end I settled back to running with ABS and just taking it easy on the brakes and letting the ABS sort out the rear wheels.
Off the back of this though due to not feeling confident in the brakes from the last few track days I've decided I'm going to completely remove the ABS brake lines and replumb the car running a bias valve inside the car but for the moment keeping the ABS pump in place. More to come on this over the next week, I've already started removing the existing brake lines from the car this morning.
Aside from the brakes not being as good as they could be the car performed amazingly out on track and it was actually my bravery through the circuit that was holding the car back, partly down to it being the first time their in that car but also because it's such a high risk track to really be pushing it too hard especially in a RWD car.
The changes I made to the front end with cooling set up saw the engine temps reduced dramatically, oil temps were down to a solid 100 degrees over a 30-40 minute session, I didn't get to log the coolant temps like I did at Oulton but I would imagine that have dropped considerably as well with the oil temps. Also no more breathing from the PAS reservoir with the 10 row cooler fitted into the return line, especially with the 255 front tyres.
Had some really good afternoon sessions in the car though throughout the afternoon.
One was with a Peugeot 106 with a GTI 16V Engine who i stumbled across out on track which was lapping at a similar pace. Ended having a really good 20 minute stint out on track with the owner, after chatting to him in the paddock he sent over the footage from inside his car so I've put the two videos together this morning to make something a little more interesting that your usual track day video.
BMW E46 330ci vs Peugeot 106 16V GTI Engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjX7W461cek&fe...
Overall, such a good circuit and I absolutely love driving this car, it feels amazing when you get it right as well as giving you a great feeling of excitement with all the drama of rear wheel drive. Few changes to iron out over the next two weeks and then it's back to Anglesey for the bank holiday weekend.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff