Progress is a Slow Process e36 Track/Autocross Build

[Jfriday11]

After slowly adding parts to my car over the past 5 years, I think it's finally about time to make a build thread.

The idea for this car is to make it a fun and worthy dual purpose street/track car until I convert it to a 100% track car in a year or two.

The car is a 1999 323is. When I first got it back in 2008 it had 142,000 miles and was bone stock except for some dark tinted windows. It came all the way from Las Vegas so the body was in impeccable shape with virtually no rust and the mechanicals all checked out.

This is a crappy cell phone pic taken a few days after getting it.


I started Autocrossing and doing HPDE's at the beginning of this season and have, of course, fallen in love. Some of the things I had already done to my car before deciding to prepare it for the track are as follows:
- Active Autowerkes Cold Air Intake
- M3 Front Bumper
- H&R Sport Cup Kit
- Meyle HD Rear Shock Mounts
- DDM Cat Back Exhaust
- M3 Midpipe
- Clear corners and Tail Lights
- Apexcone HID Headlights w/ Angel Eyes & 50watt Ballast
and some other small things here and there






After I decided I was going to slowly turn my car into a track car over the next couple years, the money started to pour out of my pockets and an endless amount of maintenance items, common wear components, and other goodies started showing up at my doorstep in preparation for the 2013 season. They were as follows:

Suspension/wheels:
- Turner Motorsport Sway Bar
- Meyle HD Control Arms
- Meyle Front Sway Bar Links
- Meyle Offset Control Arm Bushings
- Meyle Rear Trailing Arm Bushings
- Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Limiters
- Lemforder Rear Sway Bar Links
- Turner MotorSport Rear Camber Arms
- OEM Front Shock Mounts
- H&R 5mm Spacer
- Team Dynamics 17x9 wheels
- Hankook RS3 255/40/17

Driveline:
- e46 M3 Transmission Mounts
- Jafster Shift Knob
- OEM Pilot Bearing
- New Pivot Pin
- JB Racing 11lbs Aluminum Flywheel
- Clutchmasters Stage 1 Clutch Kit
- Timken Output Shaft Seal
- OEM Guibo Disc
- OEM Slave Cylinder
- Turner Stainless Steel Clutch Line

Engine:
- OEM Valve Cover Gasket
- OEM Spark Plug Grommets
- NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
- Mann Oil Filter
- Magnetic Oil Drain Plug
- Bher Radiator
- 88 Degree thermostat
- Aluminum Thermostat Housing
- Metal Water Pump
- OEM Rubber Radiator Hoses
- OEM Clutch Fan
- Continental Serpentine Belt
- Continental AC Belt
- OEM Fuel Filter
- Bosch o2 Sensors

Brakes:
- Hawk HP Plus Brake Pads
- Brembo Blank Rotors
- OEM ATE Front Brake Calipers
- BavAuto stainless steel brake lines

Fluids:
- ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid
- Redline 75w-90 Gear Oil
- Redline DT4-ATF Trans Fluid
- Mobil 5w-30 Motor Oil
- Redline Water Wetter
- BMW Antifreeze

Body:
- SSI Under Panel
- ECS Tuning Drivers Side Fender Liner

Interior/Safety:
- Sparco EvoII Fiber Glass Seats
- VAC Superior Floor Mounts
- VAC Anti-Sub Harness Bar
- VAC Side Harness Loop
- Sparco Side Mounts
- Sparco 323 Steering Wheel
- Sparco Steering Wheel Adaptor
- Copper Horn Contact Pin
- G-Force 6 point Harness





The car had a bad flywheel that would spin under heavy torque so that got replaced as well as the clutch and other related components.




The Guibo was torn to shreds and hanging on for dear life, so that quickly got replaced.














I realized after a couple of track days and autocrosses that being 6'4" in a small BMW doesn't allow for much headroom and also that the stock seats were like driving on a table coated in butter, so I got fixed back seats and some top notch mounting hardware...





The seats are great! I can feel the road so much better, I'm held in place, and I no longer have to duck down and set my seat to a gangster lean while driving with a helmet. However, I still had problems with my leg hitting the steering wheel so I got a new, smaller steering wheel to fix that problem.


I think it's worth mentioning for anyone bought a Sparco steering wheel with a horn that I did have trouble with getting the horn to work with all the recommended parts. The way I got it to work was by grounding the second pin on the Sparco horn to the metal part of the wheel. I had to wire up my own parts to get it to work as they were not provided (white wire in the picture below)


I just bought and installed a thicker sway bar to try and combat the body roll and understeer that I've been experiencing.

From what I've felt on the street so far the car feels a lot more responsive and planted with the new sway bar, but the real test will be at the autocross this weekend.


Things I still have to install:
- UUC EvoIII Short Shift Kit
- UUC Double Sheer Selector Rod
- Lemforder Tie Rods
- Elring Shift Shaft Seal
- Rogue Engineering Derlin Carrier Bushings
- OEM Selector Rod Joint
- Conforti Shark Injector
- Custom Roll Bar



Also in the near future I plan on getting an m50 intake manifold, removing the tint, removing the rear seat, and going back to stock headlights. Until then, here are a few pics from some events this season...










- Jason

[stealthbeam]

very nice! Its coming together

[jhott66]

How do you like the EVO2 seats? Are they comfortable?

[Jfriday11]

How do you like the EVO2 seats? Are they comfortable?

I love them! I do get some complaints from passengers that the sides force your shoulders forward which makes it a bit uncomfortable, but as a driver with your hands on the wheel it feels fine. I've driven a couple hours in them without complaint.

[Jfriday11]

Last night I got around to installing my Shark Injector before my autocross today and I must say, I really like it! The car feels more sure of itself when I put the throttle down, it's more responsive, and perhaps more importantly, it does feel a bit more powerful. Usually I'm skeptical about chips, but I can definitely feel a bit of a difference with this one.



Today was my first autocross since I installed the TMS sway bar and obviously the shark injector and I was quite pleased with the results. I think I might try going full stiff on the sway bar at the next event to see if that makes even more of a difference. I'm just not sure if it will be too stiff for the H&R sport springs so any input would be appreciated!

Anyways, I finally broke the top 10 in the STX class to the number 7 spot which I was super pumped about despite going off course the first 2 runs and going slow on the 3rd I'm optimistic for the next event when I have the m50 manifold and short shifter installed. Hopefully my driving continues to improve because the car is more than capable of being top 6. Also I have a GoPro coming in tomorrow so I can finally have good footage of the nut behind the wheel to help further improve my driving.

Here are a couple of pics from today...

[stealthbeam]

Very nice! i like the 1st pic of the body roll and tire lift

[Jfriday11]

Very nice! i like the 1st pic of the body roll and tire lift

Thanks man! That's one my favorite as well.


Today I went through the long process of installing the UUC Evo3 Short shift kit with the DSSR as well as replacing the shift shaft seal that was slow leaking. It took me much much longer than I had anticipated and was really just a huge pain in the ass having to remove the exhaust and driveshaft, but it payed off in the end. Also there are 6 2.5mm screws that come with the kit that screw into the carrier arm to hold the shift bushing in place. These screws were too short to go into the bushing so I had to go to Home Depot to find some in the proper 1/4in length. I'm not sure why I didn't get the right size screws with the kit, but I think it's something to lookout for if anyone gets this kit.




When I pulled out the stock shift components they were in rough shape. The ball cup was deteriorating and everything was just completely covered in gunk.






Luckily everything sans the carrier arm got replaced and feels nice and tight now. The throws are super short compared to stock and the shifter doesn't wiggle around all over the place.

I did a quick comparison video between the stock and the evo3 kit to show the difference.

[stealthbeam]

Nice, I was thinking of getting something a bit stronger my Z3 shifter is about to take a crap

[Jfriday11]

Nice, I was thinking of getting something a bit stronger my Z3 shifter is about to take a crap

Haha yeah my stock shifter was super rough, but after driving with this shifter for a couple days I'd definitely recommend it. The throws are much much shorter, a lot more precise, and it just feels a lot more solid.
I can't really comment on the durability of it, but it seems like a solid design especially with the dssr and it hasn't fallen apart yet *knock on wood* which is always a plus!

[KlausH79]

Awesome build! Great timing on getting this thread up and running. I am new to the forum (second post) and I am looking to make a track day car from a 323 like yours although probably a sedan due to cost reasons. I notice that you are running the engine pretty much stock, which was also my plan as I'm not making a racer as such. How do you find the power of the B25 for the autoX you do? I've only just begun looking for a car so I haven't tested any 323, but have driven a 328 which had more than enough umph for my use.

Also now that you're a bit into your upgrades do you have anything you would have preferred to do differently?

Keep us updated :o)

Klaus

[Jfriday11]

Awesome build! Great timing on getting this thread up and running. I am new to the forum (second post) and I am looking to make a track day car from a 323 like yours although probably a sedan due to cost reasons. I notice that you are running the engine pretty much stock, which was also my plan as I'm not making a racer as such. How do you find the power of the B25 for the autoX you do? I've only just begun looking for a car so I haven't tested any 323, but have driven a 328 which had more than enough umph for my use.

Also now that you're a bit into your upgrades do you have anything you would have preferred to do differently?

Keep us updated :o)

Klaus

Thanks! 323's have a pretty decent power output for autocrosses because you can slam down the throttle in the middle of a turn and the car wont loose much grip and bite you; it's a very manageable car, however for track days it does feel underpowered in turn exits and straights. Once it gets up to 90mph it seems like it takes an eternity for it to climb any higher. I'm hoping that once I get the M50 manifold installed it will help the engine breathe better and accelerate faster, but I guess I'll have to wait to find out!

Depending on what class you want to race in, I would try to find a 328. I've spent a lot of money trying to get my car to stock 328 power between replacing the restrictive single midpipe with an m3 midpipe, cold air intake, chip, the m50 manifold, and other little things here and there, the costs add up.

As far as upgrades go, I've loved everything I've done to the car, but I wish I had saved up more money 3 years ago when I bought my suspension and got some quality, fully adjustable coilovers with camber plates and aggressive spring rates because now I'm looking to go in that direction for next season and I don't like having to do things over. Also I probably would have gone with the motion motorsport underpanel instead of the SSI one because I think that mounting the panel to the frame rails and bumper studs rather than the bumper cover itself is a far superior design and they sell a front splitter that it's compatible with which would have been a nice option to have down the road when I look to do some aero upgrades.


--UPDATE--

This past weekend I took my car to Summit Point Motorsports Park for an HPDE and it handled beautifully. I didn't set my sway bar to full stiff again because it was suppose to rain and I didn't want the car to be too stiff, but it still felt much more tight and responsive than last time I was out there with the stock sway bar. Also the short shifter made it much easier to bang through the gears and heel toe. I did miss a few shifts, but that was more my fault than the shifters fault.

Overall my times improved and I'm continuing to get better along with the car. My instructor gave me the go-ahead to move up to HPDE2 so I'm looking forward to that for the next track day and learning more technical driving skills to get faster

Here's a video of some of my fastest and most interesting laps


And as always, some pictures from the event

[stealthbeam]

Very cool! I can see your driving skills improve with each lap. As for the M50 manifold, its totally worth it, much more mid range torque/power definitely worth the investment. Keep up the good work!

[Jfriday11]

Thanks! I already got a manifold off craigslist so now I'm just waiting on the adapter kit to come in. Is there a noticeable difference in low-end torque/power with the m50 manifold? I know I've read a bunch of accounts that say it's amazing in the mid to high range, but isn't too great down low.

[stealthbeam]

yeah that's what I noticed when I changed mine, it has a better powerband around 3-4k depending on your mods, I suggest getting a better throttle body as well, definitely helps for the low end torque and launch. I have a video on my blog, but the sound quality is crap, need to invest on a better camera to make this happen. Might go with a gopro hero3 with a add-on external mic.

[jimgood]

I'm a little envious. I was supposed to be at that SP event with my 98 323is. Before I left for the morning to take the dog to the sitter, he chased down a skunk and got sprayed. The sitter wouldn't take him and it was too late to find another one. Damn the luck! NASA has not responded yet as to whether they'll let me transfer my registration to the November event.

[Jfriday11]

yeah that's what I noticed when I changed mine, it has a better powerband around 3-4k depending on your mods, I suggest getting a better throttle body as well, definitely helps for the low end torque and launch. I have a video on my blog, but the sound quality is crap, need to invest on a better camera to make this happen. Might go with a gopro hero3 with a add-on external mic.

What throttle body would you suggest? And wouldn't I need a tune if I did swap to a larger diameter throttle body? As for a better camera, I went with the Hero 2 because all the reviews I saw said it was the same quality as the hero 3 silver, but you're able to get it for much cheaper and I wasn't about to dish out the cash for a black edition. I'm pretty happy with it so far and the sound quality ain't too shabby either.

I'm a little envious. I was supposed to be at that SP event with my 98 323is. Before I left for the morning to take the dog to the sitter, he chased down a skunk and got sprayed. The sitter wouldn't take him and it was too late to find another one. Damn the luck! NASA has not responded yet as to whether they'll let me transfer my registration to the November event.

Ah that's a bummer! Hopefully you're able to get it credited towards the event in November, I should be there as well! I never see any other 323's at any events. I guess they're just way too awesome and rare

[stealthbeam]

I went with this one: http://www.westcoastriots.com/obd1.html I know its kind of pricey and there's a ton of them out there, but I like this one because it has Great throttle response and I didn't have to tune, I did have to spray WD40 on the tension spring, but that was about it. Other than that, its a flawless product never had a problem with it and it runs great

[Brake_L8]

Nice little build so far! I think I remember seeing you at Summit. I'm one of the two pace car drivers - the August SP weekend, I was leading pace laps in one of two different Miatas. Come say hi. I'll be the tall goofy one, either with a black E36 M3 or yellow Focus ST, depending on the event, at the front of grid.

And Jimgood, PM me and I'll find out about transferring registration.

[Inv3ctiv3]

Great build!

[Jfriday11]

I went with this one: http://www.westcoastriots.com/obd1.html I know its kind of pricey and there's a ton of them out there, but I like this one because it has Great throttle response and I didn't have to tune, I did have to spray WD40 on the tension spring, but that was about it. Other than that, its a flawless product never had a problem with it and it runs great

That's less expensive than some of the other throttle bodies that I've seen so I guess I'll have to keep that one in my back pocket for after I address my current laundry list of things I need to get lol

Nice little build so far! I think I remember seeing you at Summit. I'm one of the two pace car drivers - the August SP weekend, I was leading pace laps in one of two different Miatas. Come say hi. I'll be the tall goofy one, either with a black E36 M3 or yellow Focus ST, depending on the event, at the front of grid.

And Jimgood, PM me and I'll find out about transferring registration.

Yeah I remember seeing you. I was first on grid a couple times right behind you wondering how you get the job of driving a pace car but yeah I'll definitely say hello next time. Your m3 wouldn't happen to have a ptg spoiler on it, would it?

Great build!

Thanks!

[wwBRww]

I love this thread. Great Build!!!! Love the videos too. Watch out for that green car!!! Did he try and accelerate through that turn or something? It didn't seem serious enough for him to spin out like that. Of course I'm speaking from an outside perspective, I'm sure when you are in the car it is MUCH MUCH MUCH more difficult than it looks. Seats look really good by the way!!

[Jfriday11]

I love this thread. Great Build!!!! Love the videos too. Watch out for that green car!!! Did he try and accelerate through that turn or something? It didn't seem serious enough for him to spin out like that. Of course I'm speaking from an outside perspective, I'm sure when you are in the car it is MUCH MUCH MUCH more difficult than it looks. Seats look really good by the way!!

Thanks man! I can't truly speak for s2k, but my guess is that he got a rush of power from his turbo spooling up in the later part of the turn exit causing the wheels to spin. Luckily he was good at getting out of the way and not hitting anything or anyone.

[Jfriday11]

--Update--

This past weekend I had an autocross at FedEx field through SCCA. I set the sway bar to full stiff and I don't know if it's for that reason or the fact that it was in the mid-low 70's, but I couldn't find grip. I have a sneaking suspicion that my sway bar was too stiff for the sport springs, but that could just be an excuse. At any rate, I had a good time sliding around and doing a solid 360 around one of the turns



I just removed the back seats and will be getting rid of most of the sound deadening material over the weekend in preparation for the 4 point roll bar that should be going in later this month. I will also be fabricating an aluminum trunk block off plate.



Also the AKG Motorsport tow hooks came in last week. Seem to be well made, although they are surprisingly light.



After a month of waiting, I finally got the Turner Motorsport M50 adaptor kit so the m50 manifold will be going in this weekend as well. Of course the aluminum adaptor bit is blue in true TMS fashion.




I also picked up some free headlights from one of the members on here to replace the bigger and heavier HID headlights that I currently have on there.
After some toothpaste scrubbing, more scrubbing, and some waxing, they're looking almost brand new… kinda.
Before:


After:


- Jason

[stealthbeam]

Nice!! Keep it coming!

[Jfriday11]

This weekend I got around to doing a few things to the e36 including making a trunk back off plate, switching back to the stock headlights and installing the m50 manifold with the turner motorsport adaptor kit.



Comparison of stock vs depo HID's. Since the stock headlights dont go as deep as the HID's, I was able to put the air funnel going from the grill to the airbox back in so hopefully that'll allow more air to flow into the intake.



I got a 3'x3' .018 aluminum sheet from home depot to make the back off plate. I cut it and sanded it to make it fit nice and snug, so now I just have to paint it, and wait for the sound deadening material to come in so I can mount it.




Yesterday I spent way too long installing the m50 manifold, but it was well worth it. When the car gets to about 3.5k rpm, the rpm's climb super quick compared to the m52 manifold. Definitely well worth the money.


Also I was very impressed with the quality and extensiveness of the TMS adaptor kit. Everything fit perfectly


and the final product