'94 S52 6-Speed Track/Race Car

[dannyzabolotny]

Glad to see this car thriving, can't wait to see it on the track at Buttonwillow in a week!

[danespann]

1) The absolute trash droop travel I have on these BC's. This is a compromise, the dampers probably have only about 4" total travel, so with me giving each corner about 2-2.5" of bump travel, that leaves droop look like this sorry state. But hey, it's a $1300 coilover that doesn't need rebuilding every year.

2) Seems like the car is a tick heavier than I thought. Taking out driver weight, fuel weight and the 10-20lbs of crap I left in the spare tire well, the car is about 3200lbs empty. Without cutting the frame (rules compliance) I think the last easy places to look for weight are going to be the bumpers and hood.

3) The alignment kinda worries me. I max out at -3.5 camber in front now, after all the work making camber plates and pulling the frame with a strut bar??? Totally NG, not sure if I've bent the spindles. At least it's symmetrical? I am looking into longer control and thrust arms already to try for more camber and caster (bonus, the weight distribution will shift rearwards a bit if I push the front wheels forward).

CamScanner 12-01-2021 10.18_2 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

1. Droop travel isn't great but sure beats having 8.5" droop travel and 0.5 inches of bump travel with a setup like H&R race springs. BC's work well for what is used most, although maybe some more travel could be achieved through custom ordering them with longer-stroke shocks. We all know we don't need them to go as max-low as they do.

2. 3200 isn't too bad for an e34. There's a ton of weight in the trunk and trunk-lid supports that could probably be removed, but looks like you need to find mostly front-end weight to remove.

3. The uneven caster seems a bit strange, even if slight. We've seen that the old shock tube inside the coilover bends before the coilover housing and that these subframes are pretty soft. Wonder if some hard driving has shifted/bent things a bit in those areas. Could just be strut towers though.

As always, appreciate the regular updates on here and good luck with the wheel-bearing chase.

[circuit.heart]

1. Droop travel isn't great but sure beats having 8.5" droop travel and 0.5 inches of bump travel with a setup like H&R race springs. BC's work well for what is used most, although maybe some more travel could be achieved through custom ordering them with longer-stroke shocks. We all know we don't need them to go as max-low as they do.

Agreed. The rear (drive) wheels have a lot of space to use a longer damper, and I happen to have some helper springs with a decent rate that would be able to utilize more droop travel. Could be a 2022 development, but it's not really holding the car back right now.

2. 3200 isn't too bad for an e34. There's a ton of weight in the trunk and trunk-lid supports that could probably be removed, but looks like you need to find mostly front-end weight to remove.

Yup. Without involving carbon fiber/non-factory body panels, I can still cut the hood, replace bumper dampers with aluminum, and delete the sunroof mechanism. The steel pivot bar that holds the front of the hood is also looking mighty tempting to replace with aluminum. Just little things that could potentially be productized for any E34 owner.

3. The uneven caster seems a bit strange, even if slight. We've seen that the old shock tube inside the coilover bends before the coilover housing and that these subframes are pretty soft. Wonder if some hard driving has shifted/bent things a bit in those areas. Could just be strut towers though.

I definitely ruled out strut towers at this point, I'm pulling them in so hard the hood's almost touching the fenders. Something down below has to be bent, buuuuut screw it I ain't got time for this lol.

[circuit.heart]

Another week, another rear wheel bearing job.

20211204_170940 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

This time however, no more FAG. I went hunting for the old SKF part number on genuine BMW bearings and actually found it, it's SKF 309946AC for the older 525i (carryover from E28 I think). Found one NOS unit, and ordered another one from an industrial automation supplier in France. But (nothing ever goes smoothly) they sent me a 309946AD instead! Little bit of investigation and measurements later, I've been convinced that AD is probably just a newer revision of the same fitting part, so I went for it. Disassemble rear brakes, knock out stub axle nut, 3-jaw puller on drive flange, slide hammer stub axles, extract 1000mi old dead FAG bearings, press in two SKFs.

20211204_192733(0) by Brian Ma, on Flickr
20211204_192708 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Putting stub axles back in, I had some questions on the rear left stub axle (is it bent?) so I sourced a NOS unit off eBay. I've never seen one of these without lightening holes between the threads, apparently this is how the older cars were? It's about 180g heavier than the newer ones. Not that I expect to notice anything driving it (contributes almost nothing to rotational mass).

20211204_194809 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

The Angry Ass tool for pressing stub axle and drive flange together simultaneously works great. Zero drama.

20211206_205729 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Ready to go this weekend! I got some fresh A052's to do the car some justice. Not sure if I'm tripping or not but the grooves in late-2021 A052's are spaced out further than the grooves in my early-2018 ones. The tire itself seems about 1cm wider! Same 265/35/18. When the tires up top were mounted to the wheels on the bottom, they looked stretched. These new ones actually cover the inner and outer barrel/lip edges. Looks like I got a little extra rubber than planned.

20211206_164442 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

[dannyzabolotny]

Mmm, those new tires look very girthy, love it.

Also, thanks for doing the research on the SKF bearings, it's always good to know where to get parts from when official BMW stuff starts to dry up. I'm glad the rear wheel bearings are a fairly simple design and aren't some insanely complicated integrated hub system like on the newer BMW's... those will be lots of fun to source when those cars are 20+ years old.

[circuit.heart]

Buttonwillow recap!

Friday night I finally figured out why I was losing clutch fluid, turns out my neighbor (I've been teaching him to work on cars) somehow yanked the clutch reservoir line and that damaged the angle fitting that goes into the clutch master cylinder. Well ain't that a party, pulled it out real quick and replaced the old BMW line and fitting with a new fitting and a beefy Tilton line. No more excuses!

20211210_115651 by Brian Ma, on Flickr
20211210_181632 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Drove down Saturday afternoon, met up with Dane, Danny and Cole at their hotel in Bakersfield to get a quick few hours of sleep before heading to the track. Had to go early too! Super packed day and finding pit space for four longbois isn't easy. Thank Dane for the next three pics btw.

IMG_3101 by Dane Spannaus, on Flickr

Dane makes these pics look gorgeous but it masks how utterly freezing and damp it was in the morning.

2021-12-05 Buttonwillow revised_2 by Dane Spannaus, on Flickr

I came ready with new A052's to scrub in, but otherwise just an open mind and ready to see what the car was good at, and where it needed work.

2021-12-05 Buttonwillow_59 by Dane Spannaus, on Flickr

Right at the start it was obvious to me that the track was slow, so I would not be setting any personal records today. So.... screw it! Mission changed, take everyone out for ridealongs every session and have as much fun as we can while bringing the car home at the end of the day.

Group 4 - 105pm (Off Ramp) - BW3_0791_Dec1221_202PM_CaliPhoto by Brian Ma, on Flickr

I took Cole, Danny, and Dane out one after another along with a few other friends not on this forum. Lots of awesome driving ensued:



As well as bad driving!



The car understeered a lot more than it has ever historically - since Sonoma the car has gotten less rear camber, extra preload on the front strut bar, and a working LSD, which all contribute to that I suppose. It was annoying, corners that I'm used to hitting at 100mph couldn't be taken faster than 92 or so. You could feel the front tires transition from "holding on for dear life" to "I give up, just gonna scrub speed". From pictures, it looks like the front end is rolling even more than the no-sway-bar rear, so that looks like the culprit to me. The front control arms are simply too low and winds up rolling the tire off the tread and onto the sidewall at peak G's. Will talk about mitigating this at the end of the post.

Group 4 - 1040am (Apex) - BW3_8813_Dec1221_1149AM_CaliPhoto by Brian Ma, on Flickr
Group 4 - 1040am (Panning) - BW3_8740_Dec1221_1145AM_CaliPhoto by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Besides the understeer, the car has amazing rear traction - I can mat the gas in pretty much any corner and the rear at most just slaps you on the wrist lightly. Because of that I was still putting up respectable times compared to peer S2K/E36/E46/Miata/Toyobaru drivers. If I can get the front end to bite, we are absolutely going Sub-2 at Buttonwillow.

Group 4 - 1040am (Grapevine) - BW3_8543_Dec1221_1138AM_CaliPhoto by Brian Ma, on Flickr
Group 4 - 820am (Speed Shots) - BW3_6697_Dec1221_935AM_CaliPhoto by Brian Ma, on Flickr

I traded driving with a friend of mine who has MUCH more seat time at this track, within laps he's already schooling me on how to find time. So I'm super stoked to come back here and shave seconds!

Me:


Stubz:


So, about that understeer. Taking a look at the front tires:

20211214_205306 by Brian Ma, on Flickr
20211214_205315 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

It looks like I just don't have enough camber. Now there's several ways to address that, either jack up the static camber, reduce front body roll, or do something about dynamic camber such that the strut isn't losing so much camber upon roll. Since I don't really have rules to abide by, I'm going with option #3. Currently I have a 1" AKG roll center correction puck in the front strut, but a buddy of mine has made a 2" version As long as it fits inside the front wheels, I'll 1) actually gain camber upon compression/roll, and 2) the new angle of the lower control arms will actually reduce some degree of roll in the first place. Most strut suspension cars will be happier like this - even if I am putting more/all load on the outside front tire, having that tire be happier (correct camber) will be better for overall front grip than having two unhappy tires. Super looking forward to this.

In the rear, it looks like the left rear might benefit from a little more camber as well:

20211214_205323 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

But the right rear looks pretty bang on:

20211214_205334 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Ignore the inside feathering at the edges of the tread blocks, that's from spinning the right rear a LOT over curb jumps. Anyways, the story is similar here, tire utilization is quite decent overall, but increasing static rear camber is a no-go as that will sacrifice forward traction. I am going to limit body roll a little more to keep that left (outside) rear happier. Since I haven't been running a rear sway bar for years, now is the time I get to throw it back on. Bonus points, the rear sway will bump a little grip back towards the front end so it should be a double-whammy for improved steering without noticeable sacrifice in the rear.

I cannot freaking wait to dial this car in and make it awesome as it deserves to be.

[BleedsBlue]

Awesome update (and good photos/video by yourself and Dane), and glad to hear all made it out of there in one piece. That's a great victory for your car especially, after the recent trials and tribulations (at least represented on the forum), but definitely for the high mileage guys that had to drive back to AZ as well.

Your car is also looking aces on the current setup, and it's great to have folks getting into, analyzing, and developing E34s for the track. Love it and please keep sharing.

Edit: and it may be too big for your goal, but we have a Nurburgring pack M5 Touring rear bar (20mm) on the shelf here, ready to go - just no bushings. BMW have been out of the bushings for a while but Powerflex et al have poly in stock.

[circuit.heart]

Awesome update (and good photos/video by yourself and Dane), and glad to hear all made it out of there in one piece. That's a great victory for your car especially, after the recent trials and tribulations (at least represented on the forum), but definitely for the high mileage guys that had to drive back to AZ as well.

Oh dude, I haven't even complained about the failed front FAG bearings yet. They're getting yeeted while we wait out rain in NorCal, to be replaced by genuine BMW. The failed bearings caused insane brake knockback so I just had to stomp on the brakes and react quickly if there was more or less braking force than expected.

Your car is also looking aces on the current setup, and it's great to have folks getting into, analyzing, and developing E34s for the track. Love it and please keep sharing.

It feels too low lol, also dangerously close to rubbing tire on a lot of places. But I guess that just means it's well optimized.

and it may be too big for your goal, but we have a Nurburgring pack M5 Touring rear bar (20mm) on the shelf here, ready to go - just no bushings. BMW have been out of the bushings for a while but Powerflex et al have poly in stock.

Yeah, that's too much, but thank you. I picked up a spare subframe that has the puny stock 525i rear sway attached to it, that's exactly what I want and I might even grind it down as needed to balance the car.

Need to ship you guys back your rear wheel bearing tool, the SKFs have survived Buttonwillow abuse so I think they get to stay for a while. Thanks again to you and Greg for the save.

[danespann]

Buttonwillow recap!

In the rear, it looks like the left rear might benefit from a little more camber as well:

20211214_205323 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

But the right rear looks pretty bang on:

20211214_205334 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

I cannot freaking wait to dial this car in and make it awesome as it deserves to be.

Buttonwillow was super fun! Glad I was able to get a ride-along.
My left rear tire also saw more use so maybe that's partially buttonwillow being clockwise? I was also much less aggressive so not great comparison.
Can't wait to see you dial this thing in some more and find the fast surface day to get sub-2

[BleedsBlue]

Oh dude, I haven't even complained about the failed front FAG bearings yet. They're getting yeeted while we wait out rain in NorCal, to be replaced by genuine BMW. The failed bearings caused insane brake knockback so I just had to stomp on the brakes and react quickly if there was more or less braking force than expected.

This is super helpful to the community that you're pushing the envelope on bearings lol, at your expense! It's one of the many reasons we appreciate you documenting and sharing.

It'll be applicable to me before long, since my wheel bearings are unknown mileage (at least 116k in the rear axle) and I've started riding the curbs pretty hard at track days. It's too fun once you start down that path

It feels too low lol, also dangerously close to rubbing tire on a lot of places. But I guess that just means it's well optimized.

For a track car - absolutely. I think a lot of track guys even put up with varying amounts of rub, so the fact that you are not rubbing chunky 265s is a win.

Yeah, that's too much, but thank you. I picked up a spare subframe that has the puny stock 525i rear sway attached to it, that's exactly what I want and I might even grind it down as needed to balance the car.

Need to ship you guys back your rear wheel bearing tool, the SKFs have survived Buttonwillow abuse so I think they get to stay for a while. Thanks again to you and Greg for the save.

Coolio, I figured - if you're not even running a rear bar now, best not to start at the biggest possible OEM rear bar, lol.

We're glad to help, and will continue loaning those things out for this awesome community!

[dannyzabolotny]

I rode along in Brian's car at Buttonwillow, and to say it was insane would be an understatement. It was like a rollercoaster of full, no-lift send. It's truly amazing to me what an E34 is capable of with a good setup and a good driver. I have no doubt that Brian will be able to smash the 2's next time he comes out to Buttonwillow.

I loved the time when Brian let his friend Stubz drive the car, and when they pulled into the paddocks, I heard him exclaim "now I get it!" Brian's out here, converting everyone to the church of tracking an old 5 series

[circuit.heart]

This is super helpful to the community that you're pushing the envelope on bearings lol, at your expense! It's one of the many reasons we appreciate you documenting and sharing.

Thanks, I hate it I just received German FAGs in the mail (supposedly genuine BMW, I paid genuine price!) so I guess these will go in and we see if the car likes it. I am picking up some genuine M5 NOS bearings as well, that'll be the backup plan if I break these I guess?

20211222_114338 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

For a track car - absolutely. I think a lot of track guys even put up with varying amounts of rub, so the fact that you are not rubbing chunky 265s is a win.

I wouldn't say it's acceptable no, rubbing tires is how you damage the sidewall, and that's how you have a really bad day lol. I found a small ring of hot sidewall on the rear left tire that had clearly touched the quarter panel for a few revolutions, not enough to blue/purple the rubber but enough to make it black. Fender rollers don't work on my car anymore so I'm just going to have to sledgehammer it.

It's been raining here so I haven't bothered working on the car, but I am planning. I've been wondering if it would help my car to have a shorter 3rd gear. With minimum speeds of 40mph in Off-Ramp, ~55 out of Cotton Corners and Sweeper, it makes me want to try changing gearing for an advantage here. Moving 4th's effective gearing to 3rd gear, (S4.10 rear end -> S3.15) would accomplish this.

Disclaimer: I'm definitely motivated by the promise of highway rpm's as well.

Screenshot from 2021-12-20 15-06-00 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

The mechanical advantage coming out of the slowest corner (Off-Ramp) should be obvious. 2(new) becomes shorter than 3(old) while 3(new) stays the same as 4(old), so net acceleration from 40-106mph will be faster. Because of the way the S52 dynos, not only will 2nd be faster but 3rd will be as well once in gear - 4622rpm is right around peak torque. Big, big win here.

(Ignore the 250whp, this was an old dyno of the engine when it was OBD2. I'm OBD1 so it's probably down 10-15)

123489235_414262096405386_2664219736193633063_n by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Due to a peculiarity of Cotton Corners/Grapevine, Stubz found time short-shifting 3-4 before the long sweeper sequence leading to Bus Stop. With a short 2, this wouldn't need to be a short-shift, it would just be a hard pull to redline and a shift into peak-torque 3 right before the sequence. Big win again.

In contrast, I'd lose time after Riverside with 4(new) being taller than 5(old). Some quick maths says I'd effectively be losing 10 ft-lbs of engine torque for the one quick left before braking for Phil Hill.

Sweeper might be a toss-up, it depends whether the car has the grip at the exit to lay down the extra 2nd-gear torque. If it does, it'll be just like Cotton Corners again where the advantage carries through 3rd gear. If it's doesn't, I'll try leaving it in 3rd as well and see if I can keep the engine above 4000.

Either way, the two remaining uses of 4th gear (before Sunset and before Sunrise) are very short and will lose negligible time. With two wins, one loss and one toss-up, I figure this is worth a shot. Dropping the diff off today along with Danny's!

[circuit.heart]

Haven't done the wheel bearings yet (probably going to swap the engine in my E39 first) but I've been solving more little things on the E34 and preparing for some meaningful improvements.

1) Fixed my wipers. I noticed after Sonoma that my wipers stopped working as soon as the interior got warm, but ONLY my wipers. Fusible link and GM ruled out, I started taking apart my steering column to try a new wiper stalk switch. Annnnnd discovered that it wasn't even plugged into the wiper control computer. That'd do it, partial contact only when the car's cold. I guess Sonoma was just that jostling?

20211225_165243 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

2) Got rid of the TE's. The photoshoot with them on was hot, but IRL the red's too bright.

20220109_221426 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

That leaves my car looking like ass at the moment. These wheels need to be straightened a bit, need some free time to leave the car on stands and take the wheels to the shop.

20220108_142350 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

3) Modernization of powerplant. Apparently Kassel Performance is still around, so I've shot them an email about making an OBD2/MS41 harness for E34. Being able to use the MS41 will not only be safer for me on track (factory failsafe behaviors) but should give me the full 251whp I was promised on that dyno sheet.

4) Modernization and lightweighting. I only recently learned that Hella makes a 5.75" sealed-beam LED conversion kit. It might not be as performant as a HID retrofit, but it's small and light. Really looking forward to figuring this out, I picked up two sets of spare headlights to play with fitting the sealed beam unit.

20220105_210136 by Brian Ma, on Flickr
20220119_134752 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

With bi-LEDs in the low beam sockets, it also leaves the high beams open for some intakes. The right side will go to the engine oil cooler; the left side can duct directly into the M50 airbox for cold air/ram air intake. Between this and removing the fog lights, if it saves 5-10lbs off the extreme nose of the car I'll be happy.

Much more to come, especially in the lightweighting department.

[BleedsBlue]

Cool stuff!

[circuit.heart]

Hella LED lamps arrived! Previous post updated, they look sick and I can't wait.

Few more small things. I'd been running around with no horn and no airbag for the longest time, finally fixed that. My buddy @ Sweidit hooked me up with this very well-done reupholstered E36 wheel and a fresh-looking airbag.

20220115_140831 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

To which, I learned that BMW clock springs suck. In one sentence: I chopped the shit out of the stock '94 4-spoke clock spring, drilled a hole in the steering wheel for the airbag wire, and used the 3-spoke wheel's hardware to clamp down on the clock spring with the help of some JB Weld. Trim and resolder a wire to the horn ring so the ring doesn't contact the wheel (constant horn lol), trim the black plastic to clear the screws, and finally clip that back into the clock spring and I have horn and airbag leads. Never again.

20220115_193649 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Installed in the car, looks nice and factory. It actually feels lighter than the E46 wheel I was using which is a good thing, I'm looking forward to sussing out any real differences on track.

20220115_215557 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Lastly, got those Style 5's straightened out and received 4x Conti DWS06+ in 245/45/17 for extra cushy road trips. I'm accidentally starting to collect wheels again... I have a set of 219M's that get whored around all my cars as rollers, if anyone is interested (cosmetically imperfect, but they're all straight and have nearly new 245/275 BFG Comp-2's on them) I need to start emptying my garage of this stuff.

20220119_134136 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

[moroza]

Impressive work and documentation, especially getting into the nitty-gritty of optimizing gear ratios. As with several subprojects on your car, I did something similar with very different intentions.

Why all the bother with 525i sedan rear wheelbearings, when every other E34 and E32's trailing arms would get you bigger ones?

Lightening holes? I thought those were for handbrake shoe adjustment?

[circuit.heart]

Impressive work and documentation, especially getting into the nitty-gritty of optimizing gear ratios. As with several subprojects on your car, I did something similar with very different intentions.

Yeah, if I were purely doing highway miles with my car I'd love a 2.xx diff. 3.15 with a 6th gear is a compromise I can live with, keeps the car peppy for messing with supercar owners but miles better than the 4.10 for driving to further event venues.

Why all the bother with 525i sedan rear wheelbearings, when every other E34 and E32's trailing arms would get you bigger ones?

Lightening holes? I thought those were for handbrake shoe adjustment?

There's nothing wrong with factory wheel bearings, I was racing 220k-mile units from the time I got the car. My trailing arms are physically stuck in the subframe btw, unless I cut the subframe I can't switch. So it's a big job I don't feel like mucking with. As long as good OEM quality bearings go back in, those SKF's have done me two days now without a peep.

Forgot if I even took a picture of them but I've got some modified M5 front wheel bearings (genuine BMW) to go in front as soon as my new set of wheels arrives. I expect these to handle more abuse like the rears.

The holes in the stubs don't really ease e-brake adjustment for me (flathead behind hub) but they do make it easier to access the sprung "arrow" thing that holes the shoes in. /shrug

[circuit.heart]

Oh man, I haven't been so excited in a while!

1) Super mundane: Garage is clean! My E39 wagon is getting a new heart this weekend, so yeah, I had to make the operating room ready lol.

20220205_174930 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

I should have taken a before picture, but trust me when I say I was tiptoeing around piles of tools and parts and it just sucked. All of the hardware/fasteners are in a corner now, fab materials in another corner, tools in a corner, bikes in a corner... can't wait till the engine swap is done and we put two cars back in the garage like a normal family!

20220205_175505 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

2) Super not mundane: I am working with Gangl Motorsport on some amazing products for the E34. Although the specifics will wait till Dave (owner/designer) is ready, I don't think he'll be mad if I start hyping up his work. For starters, you know how lowered E34's never have the wheel centered in the wheel well?

20220205_112929 by Brian Ma, on Flickr

Yeah, we brainstormed a little bit and have an answer for that, three in fact! Here's a peek of the front lower control arms announced recently:



Two more related products are coming in soon, as soon as they're here I'll be scheduling track time to give them a good shakedown!

[BleedsBlue]

Well color me interested

[a777fan]

Nice on the garage front. Always more appealing to step into a clean workspace.

On the lower control arms…. is the benefit of centering the wheel within the arch purely cosmetic? Or is there a suspension geometry benefit to be had?

[762Armo]

Great job on everything, really. Haven't touched my 540 in a while, and you've given me some inspiration.
You probably mentioned this and I missed it, but what suspension are you running?

[circuit.heart]

On the lower control arms…. is the benefit of centering the wheel within the arch purely cosmetic? Or is there a suspension geometry benefit to be had?

On some competition E36's you'll notice the wheel is pushed hella forward in the wheel well - part of that is to get more caster, part of it is actually to put the front axle centerline farther forward in the car, aka, moving the weight distribution towards the rear tires. Every bit of weight that an FR layout car can move back, is good for racing.

Along those lines, I've just sourced a spare HVAC box so I can start investigating electric A/C (moving the condenser and compressor to the back of the car). Not that this is a necessary modification for track use at all! But having electric A/C and electric P/S makes engine swaps easy, and I am eyeing a 300whp K24 after this S52 gives out...

Great job on everything, really. Haven't touched my 540 in a while, and you've given me some inspiration.
You probably mentioned this and I missed it, but what suspension are you running?

Almost the most basic BC coilovers you can get. I swapped out the springs for different-spec Swifts and made front camber plates to shove more tire under the fenders, that's it.

[Johal E32]

Brian, how is your ATI damper holding up? Be sure to triple check the bolts..

I was at Sonoma last weekend in my stroker S52 E36 and the bloody ATI damper failed. It had roughly 3500 miles on it and was less than 5 years old

IMG_1520.jpg

IMG_1521.jpg

[93FIM5]

On some competition E36's you'll notice the wheel is pushed hella forward in the wheel well - part of that is to get more caster, part of it is actually to put the front axle centerline farther forward in the car, aka, moving the weight distribution towards the rear tires. Every bit of weight that an FR layout car can move back, is good for racing.

Along those lines, I've just sourced a spare HVAC box so I can start investigating electric A/C (moving the condenser and compressor to the back of the car). Not that this is a necessary modification for track use at all! But having electric A/C and electric P/S makes engine swaps easy, and I am eyeing a 300whp K24 after this S52 gives out...

What AC compressor are you looking at currently? Most used on hybrids and electric cars run at a much higher voltage (200V+) than the standard 12V in a E34 to reduce the current draw and associated cable size. Even the 12V units I’ve seen are in the ~40 amp range for what accounts to a asthmatic squirrel blowing on a ice cube through a straw. Interested to see what you come up with.

[circuit.heart]

Brian, how is your ATI damper holding up? Be sure to triple check the bolts..
IMG_1520.jpg

Who installed it? ATI themselves warn about threadlock and all that, I'll check mine again but it didn't move after two days Sonoma/Buttonwillow.

What AC compressor are you looking at currently? Most used on hybrids and electric cars run at a much higher voltage (200V+) than the standard 12V in a E34 to reduce the current draw and associated cable size. Even the 12V units I’ve seen are in the ~40 amp range for what accounts to a asthmatic squirrel blowing on a ice cube through a straw. Interested to see what you come up with.

I was thinking the compressor from this, or similar:

https://www.classicretrofit.com/coll...al-condenser-1

No, it's not going to be BMW's normal frigid cold, but I don't need it to be as the worst this car will see is a Los Angeles dry summer.