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Thread: 1996 328 HPDE Build on the Cheap

  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by wake74 View Post
    For me, it's a relaxing stress relief from work. I suck, but I know I suck, and try to suck a bit less each time I go out :-)
    I think we're all on the same page there.

  2. #52
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    Just finished up another weekend at VIR on the North Course. Haven't really done much to the car since the last track outing. Too busy at work, and the car really didn't need anything to run again. The limiting factor continues to be the nut behind the wheel. I rebuilt the rear calipers, out of caution due to one of the stewards after my off track excursion last time out mentioned he thought I had a sticky rear caliper. Both of them seemed fine. Also added one camber shim to get me to -3.1 degrees. That seemed to help with tire wear. I also swapped the drivers harness to a 2016 Schroth HANS six point, that fits a bit better with my old neck restraint.

    Other than the issue below, car ran flawlessly, and held it's own in C Group (which I know isn't exactly the fastest place in the world).

    One issue did arise in the last session on Sunday. The car went dead in the same spot in the right hand Turn 1. I was at about 1/2 tank of fuel. It was consistent the last three laps. As I was transitioning to fuel throttle after the Apex, power just dropped to nothing, and then immediately came back as the weight shifted back to the middle of the car. As a reminder car has 250k miles on it. Talked to previous owner today, and he remembers swapping the fuel pump at some point, but mentioned he just put in another used one. No idea as to the mileage, I suspect a lot.

    So it appears I am finally fast enough to have fuel starvation (I guess that is good).

    It looks like my options are:
    - Pick up a couple of used early E36 pumps, hose, clamps, tees, etc. Run in Parallel - $130
    - Do the same as above with new VDO pumps - $400
    - Bimmerworld Kit (2 new pumps, series) - $380
    - TRM Single pump kit - $375

    This is a low buck track rat. Am I missing any other DIY options to fix the problem?

  3. #53
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  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by vpilarry View Post
    Thanks. That's a long read and I am not sure if I am more or less confused afterward. Some people had the dual fuel pumps work, some didn't. Some fabbed up surge tanks to be able to get to the last gallon. That is beyond what I need.

    I am pondering just getting a new VDO pump and starting with that. It seems like some of the problems come from using old worn out pumps (like mine). I don't need to run it to empty but I would like to be able to get to a quarter tank.




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  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by wake74 View Post

    This is a low buck track rat. Am I missing any other DIY options to fix the problem?
    Yep, keep the gas tank filled up! I fuel starve at 5/8th of a tank and just keep it full. Grab a 5gl gas tank and fill it up on your way to the track. A full tank plus a 5gall gas can should keep you full all day.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by TXBDan View Post
    Yep, keep the gas tank filled up! I fuel starve at 5/8th of a tank and just keep it full. Grab a 5gl gas tank and fill it up on your way to the track. A full tank plus a 5gall gas can should keep you full all day.
    I should have listed the least cost solution :-)

    I always start with a full tank in the morning. This was my first time with fuel starvation problems which was after four 20 minute sessions. I was surprised I starved at more than 1/2 tank.

    It must have been my lightning fast 1:55 lap times :-(




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  7. #57
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    I think the cheapest solution (besides keeping the tank more than half full) is to put a 2nd pump in the driver's side to pump fuel to the passenger's side to keep it as full as possible. You can use a low pressure pump (like from a carbureted car) in the driver's side since you're just moving fuel from one side to the other. I put my 2nd pump on a switch so I can turn it on once I begin to get starvation.

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by vpilarry View Post
    I think the cheapest solution (besides keeping the tank more than half full) is to put a 2nd pump in the driver's side to pump fuel to the passenger's side to keep it as full as possible. You can use a low pressure pump (like from a carbureted car) in the driver's side since you're just moving fuel from one side to the other. I put my 2nd pump on a switch so I can turn it on once I begin to get starvation.
    Since now I will always question my main pumps reliability, maybe I buy a new one for the passenger side and put the old one on the drivers side, and just run a line inside the tank between the sides of the tanks off the relocated pump.


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  9. #59
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    So I pulled the old fuel pump yesterday. The sock on the bottom of the old filter was off, and just sitting on the bottom, of the yellow plastic venturi piece. I suspect that wasn't helping with starvation. I put in a new VDO pump, and swapped the filter just to be safe. Hopefully, that will fix it. Saved the old one so I could put it on the drivers side at some point.

    I'm currently in the process of swapping my Guibo. So I dropped the exhaust (stock mid-pipe and M3 muffler). I managed to break only one header stud. One stud was already missing and replaced by a bolt.

    I have a set of aftermarket / no-name SS headers that I picked up for cheap cheap sitting in the garage. They are the ones from here:

    xs-power.com/bmw-nonturbo-headers-2.htm

    No-one needs to state the obvious, I know these are not top quality :-) Trying to figure out if I want to pull the broken stud out of my current stock headers, and use another bolt, or just bolt on the generic SS headers. That would get rid of the SAP system as well.

    Not concerned about HP gains, but don't want to lose power over the M52 manifold. Thoughts?

    f7bd7755deb629df6dc833d05332f82e.jpg
    Last edited by wake74; 07-02-2017 at 04:51 PM.

  10. #60
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    VIR - October BMWCCA

    The final BMWCCA HPDE weekend at VIR was two weekends ago. It doesn't get any better than this. Crystal blue skies, highs in the mid-70s, lows around 50. I am finally starting to "get it", and made significant progress especially through the uphill esses and hog-pen. Without traffic, I was consistently running 2.26 to 2.28 y the end of the weekend. Not front of the pack, but a huge improvement in comparison to my previous outages, where my laps where in the 2.31-2.32 range. Oh, and my instructor wants me to go into B next year :-)

    My fastest lap video is attached, it's fun to watch the cars pull away from me on the straights. A '96 328 with 250k isn't going to win any Hp battles.

    A couple of topics of conversation:

    1. The old girl is going through oil. Some (small) amount is leaking out, but most of it is being used. It could be a bad CCV, but CCV or not, an engine shouldn't use pushing a quart of oil over 4 ea. 20 minute sessions. The engine has 250k miles on it, and I'm abusing it with 6,500 RPM shifts. I'm guessing blow-by. I will eventually run compression, and leak-down tests on her this fall. I'm already looking for a used S52.

    2. I'm running on old Toyo RA1s (16"). This was my last planned weekend on them, and that is definitely the case now that I flat spotted the left front horribly. Feels like I was driving on an octagon at paddock speeds. My instructor (whom I trust), suggests going from R-comp back to an extreme summer tire, something like a Bridgestone RE-71. His logic is that he wants to focus on induced over-steer, and getting used to rotating the car with the throttle. I'm getting more comfortable managing under-steer (unwinding the wheel etc), but not as experienced.

    Over-all the old girl keeps giving and giving. Always fun running with the 70-80k new cars in my beater :-)

    https://1drv.ms/v/s!AnbiC_HKFaw_g697K9t7szz74Y-Puw

  11. #61
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    Feb 2018 Update

    It's been a while since I posted. Most of the big car projects this winter were focused on my DD E46 M3 convertible. However, a few projects were completed on the track rat in preparation for the first weekend at VIR with the THSCC (Full and Grand Courses).

    A few of the winter projects:
    • Removed AC
    • Installed Spal Fan
    • Fabbed up some radiator inlet ducting
    • Replaced the front rotors (starting to show some heat cracks)
    • Replaced the clutch pedal bushings
    • Purchased some used 17x8.5 Kosei Rims
    • Purchased new 235/45/17 RS4 Tires
    • Wired a camera switch and a fan over-ride switch


    The car ran flawlessly again this weekend at VIR. Grand Course is an absolute blast. She is leaking a bit of oil, but it appears my new CCV hose from the valve cover to the CCV doesn't fit the CCV very well, so it has now been replaced with 1" hose.

    I picked up a very inexpensive set of Ground Control coil-overs and camber plates. Those will go on before the next weekend outing. Those should be better than the Bilsten sports with a solid 100-150k miles on them.

    Came back and performed compression and leak down checks. The results seem a bit unusual. With 246k miles, is it really possible I'm getting 200-205 psi compression, and 5-7% leak down?

    - - - Updated - - -

    Last session on Grand on Sunday.

    Last edited by wake74; 03-03-2018 at 08:49 PM.

  12. #62
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    Still plugging away on the car slowly, picking up parts cheap, and generally continuing the low budget track rat vibe. As mentioned above I picked up a Ground Control Coil-over kit, including GC race camber plates for the tidy sum of $250. I knew the rears were weaping when I bought them, so I went ahead and replaced them. Still, a GC kit, all in for $650 is pretty cheap.

    Installation was straight forward, but then I got to the corner weighting part, my first attempt. It was very easy to corner weight when I disconnected the sway bars, but of course, given that I don't have adjustable end-links, things went all cattywampus when I reconnected them.

    So I picked up a set of used bimmerworld front end links for $70. Since I have the a stock rear-bar, I left the stock rear end links in for now. The front bar is a Hotchkiss. I was able to get 49.6% corner weighting, and stopped at that point (close enough for how I play). I am around 3155 lbs, with 1/2 tank of fuel and 175 lb driver, so 2980 lbs. Certainly more easy weight to be removed if I decide to strip more of the interior. If I ever find a cheap Hotchkiss rear bar, I'll get adjustable rear end links, and corner weight again.

    And because the steering rack boots were ripped, went ahead and did inner and outer tie-rods as well.







    Next up is to install the used set of gauges I just picked up. Actual Oil Temp, Water Temp and Oil Pressure. No more guessing based upon the stock gauge set-up.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  13. #63
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    mslevin is offline Have you checked RealOEM? BMW CCA Member
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    What spring rates are you running? I also have a GC setup, really like it. I'm running 650/800#, and removed the rear sway bar.

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by mslevin View Post
    What spring rates are you running? I also have a GC setup, really like it. I'm running 650/800#, and removed the rear sway bar.
    I believe I am running the springs that originally came in the kit, 525 lb front and 650 lb rears.

  15. #65
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    mslevin is offline Have you checked RealOEM? BMW CCA Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by wake74 View Post
    I believe I am running the springs that originally came in the kit, 525 lb front and 650 lb rears.
    Once you go above 650# is when people start talking about removing the rear bar. You can try it sometime if you're seeing oversteer on corner exit and transitions. I found that it made the car very neutral- I might put it back in because I like to get a little sideways

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by mslevin View Post
    Once you go above 650# is when people start talking about removing the rear bar. You can try it sometime if you're seeing oversteer on corner exit and transitions. I found that it made the car very neutral- I might put it back in because I like to get a little sideways
    Thanks for taking the time to respond. I suspect I'm going to find this suspension so much different than the old worn out Billy Sports that I'll be a bit overwhelmed with options. Initially I suspect I'll run with these springs for a while to get some sort of new baseline feeling.

  17. #67
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    mslevin is offline Have you checked RealOEM? BMW CCA Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by wake74 View Post
    Thanks for taking the time to respond. I suspect I'm going to find this suspension so much different than the old worn out Billy Sports that I'll be a bit overwhelmed with options. Initially I suspect I'll run with these springs for a while to get some sort of new baseline feeling.
    Definitely a good idea. Any time I make a change I try to not change anything else for a while just to get used to it and really pinpoint the difference it made. I should really get my car corner balanced at some point.

    How're your alignment specs? Sorry if I missed that somewhere else.

  18. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by mslevin View Post
    Definitely a good idea. Any time I make a change I try to not change anything else for a while just to get used to it and really pinpoint the difference it made. I should really get my car corner balanced at some point.

    How're your alignment specs? Sorry if I missed that somewhere else.
    Haven't had it aligned yet since putting on the GC coilovers and putting on new tie-rods. But after a short drive tonight, the front definitely needs and alignment. I'll take it in the next couple of weeks for an alignment at my local performance shop.

    With the Billy Sports I was running two camber shims, and swapped M3 top hats, and getting about -3.3 degrees in the front, and -2 in the rear. Zero toe in the front.

    I'll probably shoot for something similar with this set-up. Not sure how much camber I will be able to get with the GC camber plates.

  19. #69
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    New (well new to me) gauge cluster is installed. I need to get out my trusty vintage Dymo and label my camera and fan over-ride switches, and find a black plug for the cigarette light hole.

    On a leisurely drive around this evening (70 degF ambient), I was running about 205 water temp, and 200 oil temp. At speed I was about 50 psig of oil pressure, and at idle, it was pretty low, 10 psig? I can see why the some track guys mount them up in the center HVAC vents, these are pretty low. They'll work for now, until I find a good deal on a used HVAC blank-off panel.


  20. #70
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    i took the car up to a local BMW performance shop that was having an open house / Dyno day. I've been curious as to how much power it would put down given it's mileage and age. I was very presently surprised.



    - - - Updated - - -

    I was pretty happy for an M52 with 247k on the clock. 201 HP, and 195 ft-lbs of torque. Two pulls were almost identical.


  21. #71
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    Gauge Relocation

    And I relocated the gauges I just installed up to where the radio was. No way I was going to see those with my HANS on. Much better site lines to the new location. Odd that I've got two orange bulbs and one white one. I don't think it's noticeable during the day.

    Used one of those generic DIN, 3 gauge pods from Amazon for $13. Just needed a bit of tweaking to the radio opening to make it fit.


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