E90 track rat

[MadManInTheBox]

Well, since I bought a new car back in December, I've started the process of turning my loyal and lovely E90, Artemis, into a beautiful shitbox track rat. 2009 328i sedan, 63k miles. Was stock until recently. So far, I've cut open the muffler and emptied it out, and done some Koni shocks with H&R springs, and today I finally got the proper shoes.



17x9 TR Motorsports C4s, +45 offset all around, covered in Federal RS-RR 255/40-17 tires. The 17x9 wheels wasn't available in a lower offset for the front, but a 3mm spacer and rolling the fenders fits them perfectly. The amount of grip at the moment is absolutely incredible. If you're not familiar with the RS-RR, they're a fantastic 200 treadwear tire that you can get for around $120 each. (Or less, if you have smaller wheels!) They're not necessarily better than say the RE-71R, but they're less than half the price.

I've done one autocross and one track day to get a rough list of what needs to get done.

Mods to come ASAP are going to be a half cage or harness bar of some sort, along with a good seat and racing harness, a wheel stud conversion, and brake pads and rotors. (The studs and brakes are already sitting in my living room.)

After that, and in no particular order are: a full exhaust, full poly suspension bushings, swaybar(s), quick detach steering wheel, flash tune, solid engine and trans mounts, and something to get more camber. I might do coilovers, but I'm not sure yet, I need more seat time to see how well the current shock/spring setup works with the other mods.

The only real issue is that I have the dreaded torque converter shudder. I've done the additive everyone says fixes it, and it lessened it, but it's still there. Luckily, it only happens at about 1,800 rpm, and I don't spend much time there on the track. The automatic is atrocious for real track work, but I can make it work for now. Eventually, i'm going to manual swap it, but that's going to have to wait for a while until I get a proper shop with a lift. I only have a one car garage, and I have another project car in there already.

I'm probably going to wrap the whole car at some point, but i'm not in a rush. I'm thinking a Marlboro getup reminiscent of the old Group A E24 (Number 26, if I remember correctly).

I've had this car for a while and thoroughly enjoyed it the whole time, and I'm really excited to embark on the next stage of her life.

[MadManInTheBox]

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A racecar deserves a reacecar livery.

[MadManInTheBox]

Today, got the ECS rotors and Hawk pads on, along with the new racing seats. Got a half cage by Autopower in San Diego a bit back, and some nice 5 point harnesses. 117593852_3910034692356235_2767100040659481146_n.jpg117897642_128928805574779_9160891227643796517_o.jpg117730846_3910034722356232_5779868916653144561_n.jpg117641817_128928745574785_8211575721647044563_o.jpg

[MadManInTheBox]

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Had a bit of a change of heart. Instead of going to SCCA Time Trials or autocross, as was the original goal, now I have set my sights on ChampCar endurance races. This severely limits what I can do to the car, so there probably won't be any more performance upgrades. Now, all I'm looking to do is add a transmission cooler, strip the interior, and finish the roll bar into a full cage.

I can't find any other E90s doing endurance racing with the automatic, much less a 328i with the GM trans, so it should be an enlightening experience.

[chuang2002]

Just new to the track experience here.
It's nice to see OP's track build, the wrap is beautiful!
I am still studying various track mod from other experienced guys, obviously much different from DD setup.
I would love to see more e90 non-m track build out there.
Mine is e90 330i 2005 with 6MT swap.

[Yahweh]

Sell the bolt in cage, find a NASA, BMWCCA tech shop and see who they recommend to weld a cage in there.

Not many auto's, you'll probably be paving the way.

[MadManInTheBox]

Thanks! It's actually paint, not a wrap!

- - - Updated - - -

ChampCar requires a full cage anyway, and we had been looking at getting one. However, I've decided to sell the car. Too many other projects going, and this one is just less interesting than they are.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...9-328i-racecar