E46 Jaffster Build

[Steve J.]

Quick Specs on the build, also can be found at www.jaffster.com :
Car: 2002 M3 Chassis
Engine: M52 2.8L w/ custom bottom mount turbo, side exhaust, Motec engine management tuned by ApexSpeedTech
Suspension: Ohlins Ext Res Double Adj. Jaffster rear control arms. RRT trailing arm bearing cups.
Chassis: Jaffster Cage
Braking: Rotora 4 piston front/rear, PFC Direct Drive rotors, Bosch Motorsport ABS M4, tilton 3 pedal floor mount assembly
Interior: Sabelt Taurus Seat, Sparco wheel
Steering: MB Electric steering pump, Woodward custom steering column, BMW Motorsport (modified) tie rod kit.
Drivetrain: 6spd M3 drivetrain, Diffsonline 3.62 REm 30/90 3 clutch race diff, Jaffster shifter assembly.
Aero/Body: Carbon Roof, Lexan windows, Jaffster end plate mounted rear wing, Jaffster splitter/diffuser/undertrays. Modified stock front fenders, stock front/rear bumpers.
Wheels/tires: Enkei Nt03+M 18x10 front and rear, Yok 280/650/18

Project started in late 2006, 2007 it was on hiatus due to lack of garage, and its now back in full swing in its new home! Here is a quick recap (some stuff not included though) from start to present day.

4x4 mode after ~1000lbs was removed from car:



Side Exh begins:



Side exh is roughed in:



Fuel Cel craddle is constructed:



Modified stock front fenders with vents:



Woodward custom steering column and Ujoint assembly:





Seat mount (to be integrated into cage as well):



Side Exh finished (primed to prevent rust):



Comparison of a quick clean to stock dirtyness:

[Steve J.]

All clean! (almost anyways)







Motorsport tie rod kit (S54 is gone):



Rear brake package:



Front wheel/brake package:





Cockpit mockup with pedal assembly:



Finished Cell cradle (minus one sheet metal peice underneath)



Jaffster Rear suspension (adjustable roll center):



Jaffster Shifter "relocation" assembly test fit:

[redefinedM3]

Very nice, cant wait to see the rest of this. Nice work!

What method did you use to remove the "dirty crap" that was left from tar removal?

[RacerX]

Why is this listed as "thumbs down?" Just curious.....

[jone30]

Where did the tie rod setup come from?

[Steve J.]

Very nice, cant wait to see the rest of this. Nice work!

What method did you use to remove the "dirty crap" that was left from tar removal?

Join the club - I can't wait either!

I wore a respirator, and sprayed a mist of mineral spirit based adhesive remover. Used a good brush and I did the entire car in under 3 hours. In person its even cleaner after I did a final wipe down. The real thick stuff I'm going take a wire wheel too for when i seam weld. For which, by the way, i just ordered my rotisserie

Why is this listed as "thumbs down?" Just curious.....

Fixed...I must have pressed tab by accident.

Where did the tie rod setup come from?

BMW Motorsports. I think they still have something like it available from the E46 WTCC cars, but i bought 3 leftover sets from Turner (thanks again). I'm actually going to be modifying them though. I might use difference rod ends and different rods, because these are some funky rod end sizes. I'll also be beefing up the tie rod slightly, as I've heard they can bend a little prematurely in some cases, and thats not necassairly a bad thing - I just have to decide which direction i want to go, small stuff.

Big thanks to the sponsors helping me out...if only I had a garage 07, this thing would be on the track by now!
Sponsors: http://www.jaffster.com/?page_id=38

Oh yea

[philsans5]

hurry up!
Rear suspension looks like it's gonna be trick!

[jayhudson]

Fixed...I must have pressed tab by accident.

Me fix. Hope you don't mind.

Jay

[Steve J.]

Me fix. Hope you don't mind.

Jay

I fixed it before, thanks though.

hurry up!
Rear suspension looks like it's gonna be trick!

I was planning on doing a tube frame rear end, eliminating the rear subframe. After some careful analysis, and compromising, I decided to modify the stock subframe very slightly and adapt my suspension into it. It will make repairs a lot easier, and the car more "modular." Plus, its less work and will let me get on the track sooner

Now if I could only track down the GTR trailing arms that won't cost me $5000....stock will do just fine though.

[jayhudson]

I fixed it before, thanks though.

I know you thought you did but you didn't. It seems only a mod can edit a thread title, which includes the title icon. Not sure why but that's the way it works.

Jay

[Steve J.]

Ah, yea its like the title...only mod. Thanks!

Here is part of the project as well. 3D model of M3 for CFD analysis, hopefully will have some data this coming week. I'm working on getting some wind tunnel data to correlate with, and then once the car is done, correlate with real data.

[szed]

Hey Steve, what are you using to plug up the sunroof?

[tfro]

Hey Steve, what are you using to plug up the sunroof?

Something tells me the carbon roof he's buying won't be the one with the sunroof in it.

[Steve J.]

Ding ding CSL style carbon roof...it beter not have a sunroof lol

[tynashracing]

Steve, awesome amount of fabrication! Looks great. Can't wait to see this car in action
Will you be ready for VIR in April?

[Steve J.]

Thanks, but fabrication hs barely begun These are all just small projects. Cage is where the time will be spent.

No way it'll be done for April. Maybe July. This year a lot of stuff is getting in the way of letting me get it done, but I'm trying to get a lot of testing done this year, at the least. The engine is fairly simple too, so that helps. Other than electronics (and the engine which is 3-4 weeks from being here, minus turbo components), I have all the components to build the car (minus small stuff like window net, fire bottle, etc).

I can start seam welding in a couple weeks once the rotisserie gets here...plus I have to order that new millermatic 212 mig welder.

Lots of small fabrication spots are left, I am working on the wing mounts this week. I'm about 25% there, design is done though.

I might post pics of that, but we'll see. I will say its very batmobile-esk. It looks like the Maserati Trofeo GT from Rolex Euro Superstar series also has some 5 series with almost an identical setup. I'm starting with a single element, and at a later time will be adding a second element...just too much going on to have to worry about that now. Element design I went with lends itself to adding a flap very well. Plus, if the single element works well, saved me $1k and some time.

[S.Lang]

No way it'll be done for April. Maybe July.

2008? (ducks)

Kidding....looking forward to seeing it progress, Steve!

[Steve J.]

Trying for 2008.

2007 flew by without having a garage to work on it...depressing.

I'm not even 25 yet, so I have some things in life taking priority, but its a PROJECT, i'm not a pro team trying to make a debut season. Whenever it gets done, it gets done. I enjoy the design/building process. I'd rather spend more time getting a "simpler" design than just ending up with a more complex design with compromises.

But, i'm getting antsy to get back on track in a BMW. 2005 I had my E36 out a couple times, but I sold it to get the E46 going. 06 I was busy with work and was not on track at all. 07 I had some of my dads toys, and I'll prob run them this year too, as I'm doing ohlins on one of them and will need to 'test' them

[jdholder]

Good luck Steve!! Get it on track bud!

[Steve J.]

Thanks.

I'm actually trying to remove some stuff from the project that can be done easily at a later time (Carbon doors for example). It'll allow the funds to be used for stuff thats required to get the car on track and testing, and easily swappable in the near future. As of now I think i'm good to go with all the necessities that would be a bitch to do at a later time. The car will have so much potential, I just want it reliable when it really comes down to it. All the fabrication projects are to have fun and make the car for me

Another thing is the two element wing. Saves me $1k, and i'm configuring the wing so I could add the flap at a later time.

Motor is staying very simple for now, I'll see how the turbo route goes, can always change it in the future, have a full motor built and then just swap the turbo system over.

[mad]

Are you going to weld in an aluminum panel in place of the rear bulkhead?

[Steve J.]

Are you going to weld in an aluminum panel in place of the rear bulkhead?

Huh? Unless there is a new AlumaSteel filler rod, no.

I'll just bolt in a thin carbon shear panel.

[SlammedE30]

AlumaSteel filler rod

For some reason that just cracked me up!

Good luck with the build Steve, I enjoy watching it!
-Ted

[jonmacs22]

steve, it is about that time to deal with the cage. you know everyone will be gunning for you when the design comes out. it had better live up to the hype.

[txse46m3]

Huh? Unless there is a new AlumaSteel filler rod, no.

I'll just bolt in a thin carbon shear panel.

12. LKHEAD - A sealed metal bulkhead between the passenger
REAR BU
compartment and the compartment containing the fuel tank is required on
cars using a fuel cell or where the fuel tank is not totally under the car floor
(i.e., is required in 1600/2002 models). A bulkhead is highly recommended
on cars where the fuel tank is under the body (i.e., E36).

NASA folks got a little testy when I asked about using CF for that. NASA and SCCA specifically require metal too. Just a note.