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Curious what the opinion is of the MKAH splitter mount these days. I have not had the best experience with MKAH products in the past so I am hesitant to purchase from them again. My friend insists that their mount is one of the better ones as the area is larger than the Hard version and offers more range of motion up and down. Thoughts on this?
I will be making my own splitter and just need the mounts. Also looking at the Hard version except their mount doesn't seem to have as big a surface area for mounting and has slightly less up and down range.
In general I've had very good luck with Hard products.
📷: @nholmes74
MKAH stuff is for Cars and Coffee.
Look into the quick release mounts from Professional Awesome. Also, the ones from Racebred Components bend, I know two people personally that have bent them. So you probably don't want those.
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Thank you very much for the recommendations. I have not heard of those two before. How do the Professional Awesome's mount to the frame rail? Is it pretty straightforward?
I'm ultimately looking for something that will let me to cheaply make a few extra splitters in the event of damage (e.g., plywood + fiberglass).
Thanks again.
📷: @nholmes74
You will want to add a nutserts to your frame rail. That will give you some adjustability up and down as needed to get the height correct. That being said, you probably don't want to go too crazy since that will make the frame rail swiss cheese.Originally Posted by tripitz
This guy (from the E36 Track Car Facebook group) went with the medium length (which turned out to be too short) so he added some additional material for the splitter mounts. I purchased the longest length they have, so I shouldn't need to add additional material and can attach them directly to the frame rail with a few nutserts per side.
Member
I ordered the mkah splitter and found the splitter and mounts very flimsy. They were also very hard to install. I ended up shipping everything back and went with the hard motorsport mounts. These were much easier to install and much more solid. I added some sanction rods to sure everything up. This has held up very well over the last couple of years.
📷: @nholmes74
I found the Hard Motorsports products to be very hit or miss for the price. I've purchased a couple things over the years and wasn't impressed with them. I do appreciate that they are offering things for this older platform, I just wish for the cost the quality was better.
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Agreed, in general, I'm reluctant to order from HM without rave reviews from a few on here.
Member
I was looking at this setup from Turner, the instructions show a lot of detail but would like someone who actually has one to give a review.
https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1...kid-plate-kit/
[IMG][/IMG]
Member
Thanks all for the comments. I found a LOT of the aftermarket parts from a lot of companies to be hit or miss. I really feel like I wasted my money on the MKAH stuff I purchased.
Who makes the best rear window inserts for a sedan? I was looking at the HM windows. I tried the Condor ones for the front and it was a nightmare. Part of the reason I ended up with an enclosed trailer. My car is a bit on the heavy side right now (3000lbs flat with driver and 1/2 tank of fuel) so I am looking at removing the rear windows/motors/wiring (car is fully caged - not street legal with all required safety equipment).
I will probably get the HM mounts then + the supports.
Member
Bimmerworld offers their MaxVelocity E36 M3 Evo II Track Splitter and has come mounts for it as well. Ive heard some good things about it. I was going to run it but it has a small built in "diveplane" and it wasnt permitting in NASA's TT4 class at the time.
MaxV_EVO_II_WM.jpg
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Dive planes/canards will be allowed in ST4/TT4 in 2023 for a modifier
#44 BMW E36 M3
NASA ST4 Racer
#hispeedmotorsports
Member
Dive planes/canards will be allowed in ST4/TT4 in 2023 for a modifier
Yep i saw that when i posted. But if your going to take the points im not running those tiny little guys. Im gonna go as big as class allows!
Member
I've researched and read a ton on automotive aero, CFDs, etc.
Canards have lost favor; they often have an L/D ratio < 1. (Lot's of drag, very little down force.). And do the opposite to the air that you want moving down the side of the car.
If classing allows, a wide splitter with end plates and no canards is the way to go.
I'm convinced there's only about 10 people in the world that understand how this stuff actually works, and I'm not one of them.
Member
After looking at prices for all of these option, I have decided a new piece of plywood mounted as tall as necessary to be able to leave my bumper in place during loading is my goal this winter. :-)
Member
Yea, I'd love to lower the car another ~1" (many problems to solve to do this), and then get an air dam in the front as low as possible. But, even driving the car out of the paddock becomes a noisy event.
Member
What kind of mounting system are you going to use? I'm still working on figuring this all out. My car is in a bad state for BMWCCA (e.g., not really IP, not-even close to a C-mod) so I'm going the AER/WRL route I think which means I have less to worry about from a rules perspective.
Member
Post #8 here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...achine-LS1-E36
Its jankey as hell but I now own a welder so next one may be more legit...... Plywood, lawn edging, ace cables, and some L brackets made of L shaped steel.
Member
I do not have good fabrication skills (yet). That's pretty much how I want to approach it. My shop does great work except they want to move towards a "perfect" solution which is not financially viable long-term (e.g., carbon splitters). I've got the car in pieces right now so now is a good time for me to figure out the mounting setup. I plan on going with 1/2" plywood.
Reading your thread makes me somewhat happy that I rebuilt my S52 vs going LS swap. I still dream of the availability of LS related parts/engines though compared to how slim pickings are for certain E36 items these days.
Member
I think I went with 3/8 in plywood as a heads up. Update with pictures once you get something together as I will need some inspiration.
Member
Will do. I'm debating about signing up for a session with AJ Hartman and Race Louvres for a setup for the car. They've done a lot of wind tunnel testing and I wonder if it is worth it coming out of it with a view on the right size splitter for the right wing. I also know that they are fans of plywood splitters and are not pushing $2k carbon fiber ones. I'm already looking at one of AJ's wings. Would save a lot of track time and effort to try and dial the car in.
As for mount, I may go with the hard setup or something similar to that I can make myself. There are some good posts on GRM's site, especially someone who made one for his E46. I also want to get the splitter than possibly the HM mounts will let it go (still need to research this).
Fortunately my trailer was designed by a race team and has a dovetail, long extended secondary ramps, and came with race ramps so loading and unloading isn't going to be an issue with a relatively low splitter.
Are you able to stand on the 3/8 plywood? I don't remember the exact #s except I remember seeing 100lbs+ of downforce so it should be able to handle static weight around that.
Member
100# should be no problem, especially with the stanchions I fashioned out of airplane cable.
Member
Am I an idiot? Yes. Did I buy a set of these to try just because I am an idiot? Also yes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/39425806904...60d4%7Ciid%3A1
"track tested to 120 mph" :-)
📷: @nholmes74
I hope they're well designed. I have a buddy that used a similar design from Racebred Components that bent on him after a single off road excursion. While they're not meant for that, the fact that they seemed to bend so easily was enough to make me go with the ones from Professional Awesome.
$0.02
Member
Kinda counting on it being a flimsy piece of chineesium so would be expected :-). Was a few drinks in and bored, horrible time to parts shop.
Member
Kinda counting on it being a flimsy piece of chineesium so would be expected :-). Was a few drinks in and bored, horrible time to parts shop.
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