E30 Track Car Driver safety Issue

[325racer]

At the Club Race this past weekend held at ButtonWillow, where temps were near 100 we had an overheating issue that resulted in a driver being pretty severely burned by coolant.

I do not know the details 100%, but what I understand is that he had an overheating issue, came into the pits, where the Heater core or lines to the core ruptured, spraying his lower legs with super heated coolant.

From what I hear there is possibly a heater core bypass valve that was a TSB that may prevent this issue??? Otherwise, if you still run a heater core, you may want to check the condition of all hosing, etc. Another racer had a suggestion that they would probably install some sort of High temp blanket between the core and driver leg area. This will not prevent a rupture, but could prevent coolant spray directly onto the drivers legs.

I personally no longer have a Heater core in my Race Car and am not familiar enough with the E30 heater core system to know if this is all cars or just M3's. So at the very least I hope this begins a discussion and everyone at least reviews this issue so we don't have any other drivers suffer this type of injury.

[thejlevie]

The is potentially a problem on any car that has the heater core in the cabin (read every car I've ever seen). Since we usually pull of the unnecessary plastic bits out there's a clear path from the heater core area to the driver's legs.

The fix for this could be to install the temp/pressure relief valve referenced in the TSB for E30's, installing a splash shield under the dash on that side, blocking off the heater hoses, or installing a pair of ball valves in the heater lines. The latter would allow the heater to be used when needed, but keep the core sealed off otherwise.

[huggybear]

I saw this post over on s14.net. This was a BMW recall issue for all e30's. You just have to call the dealer w/ your VIN and they can tell you if your car has been serviced to fix this issue.

[325racer]

I saw this post over on s14.net. This was a BMW recall issue for all e30's. You just have to call the dealer w/ your VIN and they can tell you if your car has been serviced to fix this issue.

I think it should be highly recommended that anyone tracking an E30 check on this recall. Especially those folks running in nice hot SoCal.

[kishg]

yup. this is a hot topic (literally) on the SIG list. going to check mine over the weekend.

[e30pq]

Do we know if this heater core issue is limited to E30 M3's or if this is a problem that all E30 heater cores could potential have?

Our race car doesn't have a heater core any longer but my E30 street car still has it.

[thejlevie]

The TSB applied to all E30's as far as I know. I think I saw the part listed on realoem.com, so I think it is available for a retrofit.

[FredK]

It affects all E30 heater cores. I've had a 325i and a 318is that had the recall done.

[StackTrack]

Good to know! Thanks for that!!