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Thread: I bought another car...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    Lakeland Florida
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    1999 328ic , 2002 325xi

    Baller parts on a hooptie

    Yeah, I know I haven't finished my other build thread... I mean I haven't even updated it in what two years? Long story short I'm tired of fiddling with trying to get my black coupe running and I'm tired of full race car and yadda yadda I just want to drive again.

    Its been like more than 3 years since the last time I've driven my own car on a track in an event because I thought I'd be cool and turbo my heap.

    Well I bought this...




    I happened to come across a deal that was too hard to pass up. Its a 99 328ic Individual Vert. It's the most boring color in the world but the stuff that it already has in it it was more than worth what I paid for it.



    List of Goodies:

    - SLR V2 Adjustable track control arms (As far as I can figure they are longest arms we have ever made. (Check out the no spacer fitment on those +46 offset wheels)
    - E46 M3 6spd 420g trans swapped in.
    - 10lb flywheel with some sort of after market clutch
    - 3.91 diff
    - Hardtop
    - Ebay headers of some sort
    - Solid motor/ trans mounts
    - AST 5100 coilovers
    - SLR Camber plates
    - E46 knuckles
    - Running M52

    What it needs:

    - New steering rack (works just no power steering) The pump might be in working order? Idk
    - My LSD center swapped in or I can just weld this 3.91 (yeah all that other stuff and it has an open diff)
    - Swap my Recaro in
    - A roll bar (buying a bender soon to try my hand in building one myself)
    - Swap my Dual caliper setup in from the black car
    - Make an exhaust for it (its open header right now)
    - Get a door without a huge dent
    - Then.... Paint?

    And just for fun we tried to put some 18X12 BBS center locks on it.


    They don't actually fit lol, we needed like every wheel spacer we had to make the center lock hubs stick out far enough since there is no where near enough internal room for them. They we laying around so why not.

    Oh and I'll be parting out the black coupe and probably selling it as a caged shell. I have a lot of goodies that will probably end up in the classifieds. Keep and eye out for those.

    I have a sort of interesting engine swap idea that I may pursue if I can raise the funds to do it
    Last edited by Piner; 10-02-2018 at 12:28 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    fairfax,va, usa
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    2 E30s and a maxima
    Why... E46 knuckles? Sean told me to use E36 knuckles on my E46 lol.

    Status: Someone put glitter in my oil. Wait. Why's all my oil outside the engine? What's that knocking?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    socal
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    My Cars
    330i, 323i
    picture and price please
    none

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    ^ of and for what?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    tampa, FL
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    19
    My Cars
    1995 325i
    If you swap it can I get dibs on the trans setup

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    ^ I am planning on using that for the swap in question with an adapter plate.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
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    My Cars
    e36 325ic
    looks pretty clean!

    i need to get me a hardtop, I just would rather use the 1000+ on functional mods

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    ^ Thanks, Im excited about it. I probably wouldn't have bought the hard top if it didn't already come with it. Im not a huge fan of vert's but hardtop being included made the deal just that much harder to pass up.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
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    Denver, Colorado
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    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    Why... E46 knuckles? Sean told me to use E36 knuckles on my E46 lol.
    x2, I know Chelsea ran E36 knuckles on his 46 as well

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Lakeland Florida
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    1999 328ic , 2002 325xi
    From what I understand it was due to the fact that the previous owner got a deal on the AST 5100 dampers on this car, but they were for an E46 so he swapped knuckles in order to use them. I'd most likely do the same if I were in that situation. These dampers are worth the hassle for that. I have a set on my black car and they are pretty much magic for lack of a better term.
    Last edited by Piner; 07-19-2018 at 01:39 AM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    1999 328ic , 2002 325xi
    So I edited together a vlog style video of the car when I first got it. I might be sticking to this format for updates in the future.


  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    Lakeland Florida
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    1999 328ic , 2002 325xi
    Not really good at this updating thing.

    I have since done a lot to the car. I swapped my wheels and tires from my previous car onto this one and took some photos at how ridiculous the steering lock this thing has. Specs on the wheel is just 17x8 +20 offset style 32 wheels with 215/40/17 feddy RS-RR. No rubbing no clearance issues anywhere.
    38151858_10212748962735831_497710564131209216_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr

    38138930_10212748963095840_483000984042209280_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr

    Now I wouldn't ordinarily put such sticky tires up front on a low powered car like this since I won't be using anywhere near as sticky a tire out back but I am looking at this from a slightly different angle. I am going to use these to help dial in the grip balance of the car since I figure you can't really lower front tire pressure very far below 32psi to gain grip before sidewall flex starts ruining your day on a cheap low grip tire so I plan to take a high grip tire and increase tire pressure until it starts understeering bad on me then simply back it off a few PSI till I feel like there is a good balance. This way I can really dial in the front grip to the minimal needed for the track or conditions.

    I then started working on swapping stuff over from the black car and one of those things was my ASD/Wilwood/massive brakes dual caliper setup. I didn't like how I had mounted the handbrake itself in the black car. Having improved at fabrication and welding since the last go around I decided to cannibalize the factory handbrake and use some scrap rectangular tubing to make a pedestal that bolts to the oem position. Now this only works because I am one of those weirdo's that prefers a horizontal pull up style handbrake. Obviously this bracket wouldn't work for a vertical handbrake. I like how it came out much better than the last mount plus it looks pretty good for being made from scrap I think and it is nothing if not solid.
    40936016_10212973858718090_6815651741954998272_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr
    40810546_10212973857318055_7265589814349529088_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr
    40815583_10212973857918070_1733451673998721024_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr
    40875917_10212977877858566_960146652054683648_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr
    40854063_10212977879138598_1268180259119824896_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr
    41040162_10212982311409402_3876747131884666880_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr

    Made some new hardlines and reminded myself how much I detest flaring hardlines. Broke a couple faring tools and cursed a lot. Hooked up my power bleeder and got it knocked out.
    41155376_10212982311009392_4287426153766977536_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr

    I also bought a "New" steering rack for a 325 on ebay. It was really cheap and well it looked new out of the box but also it didn't look like my old one. When Sean saw it he was like "Thats a Z3 rack" and I professed that I didn't purchase one on purpose. Got it installed with an all new pump, lines and res. New belt and pulley on bled the system out and it all works great but after driving it the first time I've concluded... It's a Z3 rack for sure, the ratio with the SLR kit is already really fast but this is unreal. It is crazy quick, twitchy even. Not sure if I like it be to be honest. I thought the 325 rack with the SLR setup was perfect this is just nuts. Also I had to put rack spacers on it since the Z3 rack doesn't have as much travel so that I don't lose any of that glorious lock the car has.

    I've slid the car a little bit around in mexico so far and well it feels like cheating. I am signed up for an event at PBIR this Saturday and I am really excited to flog this thing out on the kart track/road course. It's going to take some attention to get it all dialed in around how I want it to drive but I have a feeling it won't take long. By the end of the day I hope I'll have some reverse entries to show for it.

    41124558_10212984168495828_6252171364367597568_o by Paul Otlewski, on Flickr

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    What's the part number on those wilwood calipers and how much did they run you?

    Status: Someone put glitter in my oil. Wait. Why's all my oil outside the engine? What's that knocking?

  14. #14
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    Jan 2014
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    San Antonio
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    your idea on front tires/grip/air pressure....... i like it.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    What's the part number on those wilwood calipers and how much did they run you?
    I honestly don't remember the part number, I'll have to go look at them. Its been more than 4 years since I bought them but I think they cost me $300 for the pair loaded with pads. Now wilwood makes a handbrake specific pad for them but im just using their street pad on it. I also think i want to move down in master cyl size. I have a 3/4 on there right now but its low travel/ high effort to lock the rear up. I feel like the 5/8 would be too easy to pull with more travel than I want. Looking on Wilwoods site they do sell that same style master in a 0.7 inch piston. Just a tad smaller than the 3/4 that I have which should be a perfect middle ground. I am going to play around and see how this event goes and then maybe I'll swap out for a .7 master as its only about $66.

    Quote Originally Posted by RandomHero27 View Post
    your idea on front tires/grip/air pressure....... i like it.
    I've had it in my head to use low grip front tires up front for years but there has been times where it's bit me and I push around too much without much of an option to gain more front grip. I Typically like a car to push a bit at the limit as I can simply drive around it with weight shifting but if it gets too bad its a pain. I'm excited to try this strategy out and see how well it works, If I'm not able to throw the car in at 90* or beyond this weekend I'll have to spend some more time trying to dial it in.
    Last edited by Piner; 09-13-2018 at 01:37 PM.

  16. #16
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    I will always preach the gospel of the Mastercool Hydra Flare kit for anyone that flares lines even semi-often. It's not cheap but after a few on car flares it becomes so worth it.

    After watching your grip balance videos I did the same thing. I still run stickys up front (rt615k+) but was running them at around 28psi. I bumped them up to 42 and what a difference. They still don't push but I don't spin as much and the car just feels better.

  17. #17
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    Im looking it up now and that is a really nice piece of kit. Maybe I can convince Sean to go halves on it when it comes time to do all the hardlines in on of the projects out in the shop if it ever gets to the point of needing brakes haha. For the price it seems like a great buy. Just Im done with lines for the foreseeable future and can't really justify it at the moment.

    So I let the previous owner drove the Vert and wants to buy it back now haha

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
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    Quote Originally Posted by Piner View Post
    I honestly don't remember the part number, I'll have to go look at them. Its been more than 4 years since I bought them but I think they cost me $300 for the pair loaded with pads. Now wilwood makes a handbrake specific pad for them but im just using their street pad on it. I also think i want to move down in master cyl size. I have a 3/4 on there right now but its low travel/ high effort to lock the rear up. I feel like the 5/8 would be too easy to pull with more travel than I want. Looking on Wilwoods site they do sell that same style master in a 0.7 inch piston. Just a tad smaller than the 3/4 that I have which should be a perfect middle ground. I am going to play around and see how this event goes and then maybe I'll swap out for a .7 master as its only about $66.



    I've had it in my head to use low grip front tires up front for years but there has been times where it's bit me and I push around too much without much of an option to gain more front grip. I Typically like a car to push a bit at the limit as I can simply drive around it with weight shifting but if it gets too bad its a pain. I'm excited to try this strategy out and see how well it works, If I'm not able to throw the car in at 90* or beyond this weekend I'll have to spend some more time trying to dial it in.
    last season i ran some 215/40/17 Feddy RSR up front at 28psi. there was times where id be mid drift and it would bite and i would spin. One time was a violent spin too. I switched to Michilen HXs that i got from a dealership buddy that couldnt use them on a Certified Acura and it was a world of difference. i prefer to be able to push and steer with the ass of the car.

    keep us posted on the hand brake too. seems like me and you are on the same page as far as what we want from our cars.

  19. #19
    Join Date
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    LS E46
    Hell I used to run 195’s on the front but that was on 16’s. I run 205 17’s now.

  20. #20
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    The event went well. The car handled amazing except for the fact the car wouldn't let me rev past 5200 rpms for the entire event. After some reading and consulting others I think it has something to do with the rear ABS sensors being removed when I installed the dual caliper setup. Seems I have to get my DME reflashed to delete the ABS signal. Extra money I wasn't planning on spending *sigh*

    I have to say though despite the lame low rev limit the car is insanely easy to drive. I ended up with 55 psi in the front tires and out on PBIR's road course though the switch back I pulled off 4 consecutive backies lap after lap. Incredibly confidence inspiring. I seemed to be entering the fastest out of everyone in my run group despite being very unfamiliar with the car. The steering is ridiculously fast and hard to make small adjustments but I don't have to shuffle the wheel around as much in fast transitions but it still is going to take some getting used to.

    Oh and my go pro being reliably unreliable only captured this one run on the go kart track (And none of the sweet 90mph 4th gear reverse entries I did on the road course) where my tires were corded and just about the let go (spin was due to them falling off hard) Ecuse the limiter bashing but the 5200 rpm limit plus the 3.91 rear made 2nd too short and 3rd too long.


  21. #21
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    Sounds like mindless self indulgence

    Status: Someone put glitter in my oil. Wait. Why's all my oil outside the engine? What's that knocking?

  22. #22
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    ^ You are correct sir

  23. #23
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    I had the same problem with the 5200 intermittently. I pulled the ABS relay and its never happened since.

  24. #24
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    Hmm I just tried that and its still doing it. I went ahead and ordered a cheap tuned dme from ebay. Hope that doesn't bite me in the ass

  25. #25
    Join Date
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    Just remove the ABS and DSC relays.

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