RE: PH Fleet: BMW 328i (E36)

RE: PH Fleet: BMW 328i (E36)

Tuesday 13th November 2012

PH Fleet: BMW 328i (E36)

What doesn't kill a car makes it stronger, or at least that's the hope



It's been a hectic month with the BMW. Since my first instalment the car has broken down. Three times.

The first to fail was the alternator, a whopping 80 miles from home. To be precise, the red 'not charging' lamp actually illuminated at around 110mph on the way down to Eau Rouge. By 80 miles from home, I do mean whilst lapping Spa Francorchamps.

Enlisting E36 expertise from Jaco's Paddock
Enlisting E36 expertise from Jaco's Paddock
A look under the bonnet confirmed the belt was still attached, and the problem was the alternator itself. I had actually just finished instructing some of the Mission Motorsports chaps, and it was gutting to do only a few laps before heading home for an early bath.

So then imagine my disappointment doubling when the E36 threw up another problem as we limped back home on the remaining battery power. Over a bump whilst overtaking a truck and the car made a bang and steered itself towards the truck, and then away, and then towards and then ... you get the idea.

A change of pants later it appears that there were some rather important washers missing from those "ready-built" H&R suspension units I'd bought.

Dale's E36 and friend chill out at the 'ring
Dale's E36 and friend chill out at the 'ring
The rubber bushing on top of the damper had severed neatly into two pieces, and the damper was totally free. It was a slow, scary and dangerous drive back to the shop. On extension (rebound) the damper was held by the top washer, so the wishbone couldn't open up enough to let the spring escape. But due to a missing washer below the bush, every compression stroke jammed the damper into the rear shelf speaker with a wince-inducing crunch.

A day later and I'd fitted new BMW rear-shock-mount bushes (upgraded RSMs would be nice, but they were a week away) and a new alternator, but then the power steering started to sound funny. In a fit of denial, I ignored it. Bad idea. Half way around a lap of the Nordschleife and the steering went heavy. Pump dead!

By this time I was pretty sick of failures, so I decided to try and find some E36 experts. Not a problem when you live next to the 'ring. Every week I go through the village of Barweiler and see a bunch of orange and silver E36 325i racecars parked in a lot. What I'd seen was Dutchman Jaco Velders' racecar fleet for VLN and RCN at the Nordschleife. He runs a little one-man business called Jaco's Paddock and has been racing E36s at the 'ring for nearly 10 years.

Jacos recommended beefing up bushings
Jacos recommended beefing up bushings
After knocking on his door, my first question was obvious: "Do you have any spare steering pumps?" My second question maintained the trend: "What's going to break next?"

The answers to both questions were surprisingly positive. Yes, he had a steering pump and a deal was struck. And what did he expect to break next?

"Not much, they're very reliable track cars," was his curt reply. "But there's a few things that I recommend replacing as a precaution, based on my own experience. Lots of standard bushes will need replacing with upgraded items if you want the car to do lots of laps."

So that's exactly what I did, ordering a complete rear axle's-worth of purple and black poly bushes directly from Powerflex. And while the back end was apart, I finally managed to coerce my buddy John Moffatt from Ohlins to 'lend' me his built 3.23 ratio LSD.

'Borrowed' limited-slip diff installed
'Borrowed' limited-slip diff installed
Well, I bought it actually (don't tell the Mrs) and, boy, that livened up the car a treat! John had built the diff himself and reckons the LSD effect is slightly stronger than normal, at about 30 per cent (ie, in wheelspin about 30 per cent of the torque is transferred to the wheel that's gripping from the wheel that's spinning). Being shorter in ratio means I've got more effective torque at the wheels in every gear. That's good, but puts more emphasis on the power delivery of the motor closer to the redline, which is rubbish. The 2.8 is all torque right now, power above 5,000rpm is strangled by the unusually narrow diameter intake manifold. So the next instalment here on PH will include a 325 M50 inlet manifold swap and (hopefully) the arrival of my rollcage I blogged about before. Can't wait.

Until then, this is what my 328 looks like with an LSD fitted on a wet track either onboard or shot on chase cam by my buddy Dave in his E36 compact.

Lead pic: Martin Stollenwerk (www.tourifotos.de)


Fact sheet
Car:
1997 BMW 328i SE
Run by: Dale Lomas
Bought: September 2012
Purchase price: £950
Second month: Thrashed it, broke it, repaired it. Three times. Also added LSD and some polybushes.

Previous reports:
Dale gets over the loss of his RX-8 by buying a new car

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

Dazed & Confused

Original Poster:

202 posts

203 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Maybe you should invest in some rabbits' feet, four leaf clovers and horse-shoes....

Robmarriott

2,633 posts

157 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Dale, do you ever miss your PS13? Have you been out in John's Compact?

dapearson

4,252 posts

223 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Note to self: avoid driving near this car on track

If i was doing the speeds you're doing on track in a shed, i'd be paying more attention to warning lights, and investing in a little more prep work!!

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
DazedConfused said:
Maybe you should invest in some rabbits' feet, four leaf clovers and horse-shoes....
Get some Z3 reinforcement plates for the rear top mounts as well perhaps

Dale Lomas

218 posts

154 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
I do miss my PS13, but I bought it and sold it at the right prices. It was a lot of car for the money, but I will consider that itch scratched.

And there are some Z3 reinforcement plates in one of the photos above... wink

Antj

1,041 posts

199 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
dapearson said:
Note to self: avoid driving near this car on track

If i was doing the speeds you're doing on track in a shed, i'd be paying more attention to warning lights, and investing in a little more prep work!!
Honestly its not that bad, its a car that looks like its had a very easy life but age is catching up on it, that is all. The interior is spotless and i have to say i was impressed with it and was expecting a banger but its a car you would be happy to have as a daily driver. its not a shed. I've seen 5 year old brit cars in worse shape than that on the ring.

Oh and if it was too dangerous to be on track Dale would be the first person to leave it in the garage so enough of the preaching about prep work.

BMWill

447 posts

178 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
The standard bushes are very soft... Even with the M tech under pinnings....
I bought my 325i last month as well and have gone for a full powerflex upgrade among a few other things. A dodgy ECU and issues with my LCA's means it's been parked for about 4 days now, but the bushes do a world of difference.

_Batty_

12,268 posts

249 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Had a fab time at the 'ring in Sniffdiesels caged 328i. He always seems to have bits of E36 about and lives close to the track.
Nice chap as well smile

Dale Lomas

218 posts

154 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
_Batty_ said:
Had a fab time at the 'ring in Sniffdiesels caged 328i. He always seems to have bits of E36 about and lives close to the track.
Nice chap as well smile
Sniffdiesel is exactly who did the engine swap in this car and sold it to me. Top bloke!

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Dale Lomas said:
And there are some Z3 reinforcement plates in one of the photos above... wink
Ah sorry Dale, I only saw the weld in repair panels, I meant the
top mount plates



May as well get these as well though



The Z3 rack and LSD were the best things I did to mine

Dale Lomas

218 posts

154 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Yes, I need all those bits :-D

ExPat2B

2,157 posts

199 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Having driven a wet lap, hat off, to get that level of dritf on takes a lot of skill and commitment ! Particularly impressed with the hatzenback, to get your drift on that left hander dropping away sharply was impressive - I could see you had to get it under control as you were heading for the curb rather quickly.

For those of you that have not been, there is a lot of standing water, and the apexes ( apexii ? ) are covered with a heavy layer of rubber that goes oil slippery when wet. It is MUCH harder than normal road in the rain.


dapearson

4,252 posts

223 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Antj said:
...I've seen 5 year old brit cars in worse shape than that on the ring.

Oh and if it was too dangerous to be on track Dale would be the first person to leave it in the garage so enough of the preaching about prep work.
Fair enough. I didn't mean to appear to be: soapbox

_Batty_

12,268 posts

249 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Dale Lomas said:
_Batty_ said:
Had a fab time at the 'ring in Sniffdiesels caged 328i. He always seems to have bits of E36 about and lives close to the track.
Nice chap as well smile
Sniffdiesel is exactly who did the engine swap in this car and sold it to me. Top bloke!
That's why it broke down so many times then! hehe
Least he'll always have bits!

sniff diesel

13,107 posts

211 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
_Batty_ said:
That's why it broke down so many times then! hehe
Least he'll always have bits!
Dale's managing to break things that I've not managed to in over 300 laps in my 328! His is only a low mileage one too - mine's on 174k!

Everytime something breaks, it's the chance to upgrade to something stronger so that hopefully it won't go again. I'd keep my eye on the engine mounts Dale, especially as you have the viscous fan still(?) worth going for M3 mounts, or some nice aftermarket ones, as when they let go the engine will surge forward upder braking and the fan can chop into the radiator - could be a disaster on the Ring. You could remove the viscous completely, worth it for a couple of BHP and the lighter flywheel effect. Just wire in an override switch on the electric fan for when you're stuck in a queue in traffic.

Antj

1,041 posts

199 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
sniff diesel said:
Dale's managing to break things that I've not managed to in over 300 laps in my 328! His is only a low mileage one too - mine's on 174k!
thats because you have a weak right foot....lol

mrhaitchbee

13 posts

148 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Antj said:
thats because you have a weak right foot....lol
I don't!

TheEnd

15,370 posts

187 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Keep an eye out for the front X brace, usually reported as far more beneficial than a regular strut top version.

Martian O

2,734 posts

161 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
ExPat2B said:
Having driven a wet lap, hat off, to get that level of dritf on takes a lot of skill and commitment !
yes Was good fun sitting in the back though! biggrin

andrewpg

60 posts

150 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Dale, which cage have you chosen for the Saloon? There doesn't seem to be a great deal of choice for the 4 door/Touring E36s...