Btw, Driven wheel and NGK quick release work great and are affordable.
2003 330i ZHP (Sold)
2013 EBII 328i M-Sport 6MT (Sold)
1999 EB1 M3
2017 Tesla Model S
2005 996 Turbo
Do safety first.
Learn to drive on whatever wheels/tires you have (so long as they aren't corded or otherwise unsafe) and get a "better" setup later on.
2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
Out Motorsports
Just as an FYI, most are running stock or no rear sway combined with a larger front sway. This is also dependent upon the rate of your rear springs.
I too would also vote safety over performance.
1995 M3...Screwed
I think a 27mm FSB is okay if running on the hardest setting. Also, 27mm FSB mounted which way? Strut or control arm?
Your rear springs are a little soft as not many run same rates F/R. But coupled with the bigger RSB you may also be able to get away with it.
I'd say just get the car out on the track and get a feel for it. It won't be undriveable.
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Well have some updates and working on uploading the pics.
In the meantime ECS had a special and I jumped on the 30 mm front sway bar. We'll see how the car feels once I get it on. And it is mounted to the strut.
Will post some pics once I get back home.
Last edited by GG Emerican; 09-13-2016 at 10:42 PM.
So haven't updated the thread in a while but a good amount of stuff has happened.. Had my first track day and got a bunch of things installed (before then). Also have had some minor issues with the car but nothing major (knock on wood).
So got my front and rear sway bar in, replaced my guibo and replaced some of the shifter bushings. Added an ebay short shifter (image below) and left the stock shift lever in. Also got my gauges in and was ready for track day!
Got my Corbeau FX1 wide installed but not ideal. Had to raise up to get it past the trans tunnel. Although wasn't ideal as my helmet was hitting the headliner I can remove it + sunroof and hopefully be good. Or get a custom fabbed seat bracket.
Morning of Oct 29 at Dominion Raceway.
Car before second day. Took a good beating and handled it. Had a PS hose bust but it fixed for day 2.
Saw this and snapped a pic for my roommate who just bought a black E30 sedan and doesn't know what to do with it.
Had a blast all weekend! Met a bunch of people and saw a bunch of awesome cars. Was my first track event and will definitely be signing up for more events at Dominion. Maybe some at VIR or Summit but don't have a truck to haul it around in.
Overall car performed really well. The brakes didn't fade, car handled awesome, no overheating. Only had one PS line come off but was fixable. Driver needs some work though! lol. Needs some better wheels/tires and I want to get another seat/4-point cage for a harness and possible delete the sunroof/cassette. Car had some minor issues but nothing that left me stranded or in need of a tow truck. All are in the process of being fixed.
Last edited by GG Emerican; 11-08-2016 at 09:34 PM.
Glad to see you're having fun!
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Some more things...
As mentioned the car has some minor issues when on the track a couple weeks ago. The main issue was the shifter. The ebay short shifter (you guess it) was crap and the C-clip on the top kept coming loose and wouldn't go in gear. So I purchased a used UUC Evo3 SSK with DSSR and will throw the junk ebay SS in the trash.
Was also experiencing a knocking noise coming from the rear of the car. Wasn’t 100% sure what it was but a few things lead me to the Drive shaft. Noticed the noise before the track but went away the day of and for a couple days. Then came back and comes and goes. So not sure what it is which sucks but there isn’t too many components it can be. But anyway will replace the D/S with the SSK at the same time.
When I was installing my suspension a while ago I briefly check the ball joints on the control arms. Drive side seemed good but there was some play in the pass side and the boot was ripped. After taking some hard left hand turns and putting the weight on the right side I noticed a vibration in the wheel but only sometimes.
Knowing the ball joint was iffy, and the LCAB should be replaced (along with wanting something stiffer in them) I purchased some PowerFlex Black LCAB and new e30 ball joints to press in rather than spending $600 on new LCA online. Also while I was at it I purchased some PowerFlex Black RTAB and will install BEFORE the D/S to see if it has any effect on the noise.
Last edited by GG Emerican; 11-08-2016 at 09:33 PM.
What mount did you use for the FX1? I was considering the same seat- ended up going with a Sparco R100. Also built my own seat bracket to drop my low enough to fit in the car with a helmet on.
1993 E36 325is
2003 E46 325iT
SpeedHunters feature: http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/04/...t-dtm-tribute/
APEX feature: https://www.apexraceparts.com/blog/m...-arc-8-wheels/
Glad you had a fun time at Dominion with us! Sorry I didn't get to find you or say hi - next time for sure.
Definitely get that driver's seat where you want it - your comfort will let you focus on actually driving and learning, versus "ugh my head is hitting here" or whatever. Also, make sure you have equivalent safety for your instructor. Many won't ride shotgun unless you've got the same setup as on your side.
Do come to Summit and VIR, plenty of people drive their cars down and back - a truck and trailer are not necessary for HPDE at all. Bring some tools and spares with you and if you need anything more, then congrats - you picked one of the most popular cars in the paddock and I bet someone will have what you need, if anything goes sour.
What are your plans for the off-season?
2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
Out Motorsports
Over the weekend I replaced my RTAB along with the FCAB/LCA ball joints a little earlier.
Stock bushing.. no cracks
Although the center carrier sleeve literally came out with a screw driver.
Didn't have a tool to press the bushing out. But saw a few people use this method.
tools of choice
Although the drilling/cutting wasn't that bad, getting the RTA back into place and getting the bolts back in was a PITA! after hours of messing with it I got everything back in and buttoned up.
Next is to test drive it, see about the rear knocking noise, then install the new D/S, Evo3 SSK, and DSSR.
Plans for the off-season are as follows.. not sure if i'll get around to everything.
1) wheel/tires - Likely Kosei k1's with 255/40 tires along with wheel studs (looking for a set of track wheels if anyone is getting rid of any)
2) 4-point roll bar and second Corbeau seat.. along with fixing my seat - ordered a Motion Motorsport variable side mount bracket. If that doesn't work then I will have one custom fabbed.
3) Removing sunroof and cassette. Either run the fiberglass option or have it welded in
4) Continue to remove unneeded items - interior, AC, cruise control, SAP, etc.
5) get a welder and learn to weld! Not car related but a good skill to know.. Especially fix or create misc parts like brackets or supports, etc.
Care to elaborate on the knocking? I had some knocking coming from the upper control arm to trailing arm bearing. After I fixed that, I found that my exhaust was moving around enough over harsh bumps that it would hit the sway bar.
It was a clunking/knocking noise coming from what sounded like the middle rear area under the rear seats. So the Diff or driveshaft area is my guess. Gets louder as the car goes faster and doesn’t change with braking, throttle %, turning, etc. However more recently I noticed it would go away and come back.
I bought another new/remanufactured driveshaft online and haven’t installed it yet. Came with a new center support bearing and I recently replaced my guibo with the ebay shifter. So it should still be good.
Come to think might do it this weekend as it’ll be a long one off work. Also the UUC ssk + dssr since I’ll be right there.
Few other things. Bought some Motion Motorsport variable side mount brackets. Going to see if I can remove the spacer I had to make and use these to lower the height.
Also purchased a set of used 17x9 +41 silver D-Force LTW5 wheels from a member – Scott from NoVa. Was cool seeing his cars and gave me some inspiration!
One wheel was damaged so I’ll have to buy another. But still got them for a pretty good deal! To anyone wondering carb cleaner and acetone does wonders getting rid of tire marks!
(note no tires)
Last edited by GG Emerican; 11-21-2016 at 08:38 PM.
More (small) updates...
Getting the car prepped for a 4-point cage welded in. Found the company http://www.rollcagecomponents.com/ that sells weld-in cages already made. Figured it would be worth a shot to inquire and found they are out of Richmond, VA. So I set-up a time to get one welded in. Ended up being less than most bolt-in options these days (after you factor in shipping and wait time). I will also have him weld tabs for sunroof and seal it with silicone. He said he is familiar with E30s and E36s and has welded cages in them before. Their facebook has some pictures and it looks to be pretty decent. https://www.facebook.com/Roll-Cage-C...4778876604678/
Sunroof out along with most trim. I was hitting me head on the sun-roof cassette last time at the track. After adding the side mount brackets and removing the cassette I should be good.
Most of the sound deadening material gone
Working on skinning the sunroof panel - is the only way to do this by grinding/dremeling it off?
[img]http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj138/Emerican07/BMW%20M3%20Track/20170105_211556.jpg[img]
wheels patiently waiting to get mounted to some 255/40/17 Federal RS-R tires (to be ordered)
Also got a set of 78 mm wheel studs, black lug nuts, and 10 mm spacers from Ryan @ Motorsports Hardware. Their stuff looks awesome! 10 mm spacers were recommended to help the tire fit in the fronts. Going to wait to install them with the wheels. Once I get the tires mounted/balanced it's off to have the studs put in, wheels installed, alignment, and fenders rolled.
Rear brakes to be refreshed as well
Jim does a nice job, he's rather particular too! Did great on my setup(green car on his fbook).
Back into a BMW, this time a track rat....and it won't be BMW powered and no, not a V8 either!
Couldn't help myself, boosted e36 m52 street car in progress also!
Do those spacers have a lip on them to extend the hub? If not, you'll need to get hub extenders.
Exciting stuff with the cage! Never heard of this guy but so long as the cage meets NASA standards, you'll be golden. Make sure to get the larger diameter tubing (1.75 vs 1.50). Get foot protection. Gusset stuff. Do it right the first time
Why the Federal tires?
Also - stud installation is one of the easiest DIYs, save your money and do that at home!
Last edited by Brake_L8; 01-07-2017 at 10:16 AM.
2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
Out Motorsports
Studs will be installed at home. Tires mounted/balanced and alignment done at my buddies shop. He also has a fender roller so we'll massage the fenders as well.
Spacers do have a small lip on them so hopefully I don't need the extenders. but will look into them.
And as far as the Federals... They're cheap. And anything right now is better than the crappy, staggered all seasons on there now. Consensus on the Federals is theyre not bad, will do well on the track (dry only), but not record setting which is understandable considering they are around $100 each.
I don't plan on running them long term, just initially.
Cool, if you have any sort of lip on the spacer then it should be okay. Check it against the hub of the car to see how much difference there is. One of my friends managed to snap a bunch of studs a few years back (while racing) because his spacers didn't let the wheel seat against the hub properly.
2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
Out Motorsports
Question: Reading the tech inspection form for NASA HPDE/TT it lists a spot for "No exposed wiring". What does this mean? I removed the rear seats and rear fabric/foam below the rear windshield so there are some exposed wiring. Does this need to be hidden or covered?
Hmm, not sure. I suspect it means "frayed wiring" more than anything else. My car ran TT for three years with almost no interior and exposed wiring all over. Just zip tie stuff so it's tidy and tape off exposed ends so nothing will accidentally ground out or whatever.
2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
Out Motorsports
"exposed wiring" means not shielded. You can have wiring, as long as it's not frayed or unshielded.
Which one of these is not like the other?
About to order 255/40/17 tires and haven't found a sure-shot set to go with. I was going to go with the Federal 595 RS-R (140 treadwear, street legal, non-r compond) but found the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires for cheaper but 340 treadwear. Tirerack did a review on them and they seem to be pretty good all around tires. So yeah.. need to order some this weekend so looks like I'll be researching a lot and just have to make a decision. Any insight would be good.
I don't think that the Firestones are on the same performance class as the Federals you're considering.
Have you considered the Nexen tires at $120/ea? Been reading that they aren't too bad (similar to worn RE-71 levels) when new, but I'm not sure about how long they last. They won't beat the sub-$100 Federal tire in price, but I'm pretty sure they will out grip and out last them.
They're not in the same class which is why I'm not sure if I should go with the more aggressive tire or just a "standard" summer tire that does decent on the track.
Honestly at my level the tire doesn't matter. But if I'm going to order tires I want to get something that should hopefully last while my skill level increases. And not "handicap" me as I have heard some R-compounds (and similar) do with novice drivers.
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