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Thread: e36 M3 - IP Build Chronicles

  1. #251
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Posts
    13,327
    My Cars
    99 M3, 01 F350
    awesome, congrats on the new place
    "Torque is like cowbell... you can never have too much." - Michael Cervi


  2. #252
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Alllllrrighty.

    Season is on!!

    Car work started this past weekend with the repair of last season's race damage. Fortunately, the damage was not structural. For the record, I did NOT do this repair. I have a friend whose day job is restoring vintage european cars. I'll let the pix do the talking (these are not my images, but those of my friend Josh, so full credit to him). Needs another 3-4 hours of work to be fully done:









    Car being readied for the transport home.


    The rocker fix neccecitated the removal of the passenger side door. Liked the easy on/off so much I made the drivers side removable as well. This will make it a lot easier to work on the car interior at home



    Also brought my buddy Ryan's car out of storage before the rain soaked the gravel/dirt driveway that leads to the back of my building.


    Welcome to the new home. Until I figure out my driveway expansion, due to the nature of access to my property, for the immediate future I must load/unload the car in a neighborhood across the street from me. This gave me the excuse to drive the car on the road for about 50 yards with no doors.




    Now that the car is home, I have about 3 weeks working time to get it ready for GVC and Chin in mid May.

    Work list is as follows:

    Oil change
    Diff fluid change
    Engine coolant flush
    New front pads ( the pads currently in the calipers lasted a full season)
    Full nut and bolt check
    Paint rocker panel
    Weld in subframe re-enforcements (if done, re-install solid motor and tranny mounts)
    New rear lower control arm bushing
    New seat
    Apply new vinyl on pass. door
    Wash and detail

  3. #253
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    849
    My Cars
    04 e46 330i ZHP, 03 e39 525iT
    Hi Mario,

    Looking forward to catching up with you (and the reach of the BF.com peeps) at GVC in May... I'll most likely be instructing and hanging in the garage as I still haven't done anything about a new racecar and the Yukon isn't much of a track car.

    My son did really well in is first season of karting last year and is moving up a level so I think I will be crewing/coaching him which means no racing for me.

    If you need someone to give you a second opinion on the car's handling/performance, I am happy to help out
    Vince
    #997 CM

  4. #254
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Hi Vince,

    Ill be instructing as well so we will definately have to catch up. You up for all three days? If so, I'm sure we can hook up for a session on Friday.

    All in all I'll be up at the Glen for 5 days. Staying on with Chin Mon. and Tues. to get some professional counseling...er I mean coaching (xmas gift from Leann).

    Happy to hear your son's karting career is developing nicely. Just dont forget about "YOUR" needs.

  5. #255
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    406
    My Cars
    1977 E21, 1989 325is
    What seat are you thinking about?

  6. #256
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Quote Originally Posted by seatown88 View Post
    What seat are you thinking about?
    Bill,

    3 seats.

    Cobra Sebring Pro GT
    Cobra Evolution
    Racetech 4009 WHT

  7. #257
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    2,973
    My Cars
    '97 M3 GTS2#360
    Quote Originally Posted by TIATO View Post
    Bill,

    3 seats.

    Cobra Sebring Pro GT
    Cobra Evolution
    Racetech 4009 WHT
    MUST get Head Restraint
    whatchu got

  8. #258
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    This update is one that focuses on "one thing leads to another".

    Ok, with the removal of the passenger door for the rocker repair, subsequent removal of the drivers door for ease of home garage car ingress a few thoughts popped into my head.

    The doors are now fully gutted.

    The door harnesses have been pulled into the body.

    Since I set them, I have never adjusted my side mirrors.

    Why dont I remove the power mirror wires to keep the doors easily removeable.

    Great idea!!

    Enter the snowball. If I'm removing power mirror wires, since the doors are gutted, why dont I remove all the wiring left in the car for the doors - door locks, power windows, mirrors.

    Ok, lets remove the body control module.

    Hmm. I no longer have heated seats. Remove those wires.

    Airbags - who needs that airbag module and associated wires.

    Car is OBD1 - dont need the wiring in the rear of the car for the charcoal cannister, purge valve, etc.

    So one thing lead to another and one complete wiring loom was removed from the car. Certianly tidies things up and simplifies the remaining wiring.

    Have yet to weight the copper but the garbage bad feels like 10-15lbs.









    Now that I am in wire clean up mode, I am also going to redo all the wiring and power distribution for my in car accessories such as the chasecam, traqmate and coolshirt.

    I wanted a solution where I have one main hot lead in with one ground. Then have the incoming power distributed via a common bus for each and be able to select switching options for each accesory (always hot or switched).

    Some research yielded a neat product made by Fuzeblocks.com.




    Since Im neck deep into this stuff, I also decided to finally retire my autometer gauge panel. I have always wanted all my gauges right in front of me as I did not like looking to the right and down to look at my gauges. So this week I will be wiring in a Racepak IQ3 Data logging dash with their USM to reuse my existing autometer senders. For the immediate future I will be running Data for both the IQ3 and Traqmate.

    Lastly, my Cobra Suzuka drivers seat is being retired in favor of a Racetech 4009 WHT. This decision was made last year when I was hit in the side at NJMP. Granted it wasnt a t-bone but the hit was hard enough to make my head snap to one side hard and far enough to make my neck sore for a afterwards (despite a having a center net).

    Speaking of safety equipment, as a result of the rule change pertaining to SFI certification, I now have to change a perfectly good center and window net. Thankfully, I still have another 2 years on my FIA belts and HANS tether.
    Last edited by TIATO; 04-08-2010 at 10:02 AM.

  9. #259
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Posts
    13,327
    My Cars
    99 M3, 01 F350
    WOW.... great update.... nice to see the wiring finally come out
    "Torque is like cowbell... you can never have too much." - Michael Cervi


  10. #260
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Had a chance to weigh the removed wiring, connectors and tape.

    10.15 lbs.

    If I were to get REALLY into it, Im sure I could pull another 10lbs of wiring out of the car. However for now, Im happy.

  11. #261
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    478
    My Cars
    IS#911, '04 325it, '08 5.7 crew, '07 Barbiemobile
    making a W.A.G. here based on the build... but isn't that already 10 more lbs of ballast you have to add?

    Shizer, I'm need 85lbs of ballast and my car doesn't look as pretty as yours without the wiring on the floor, full tank of gas, and has ~30 feet of extra cage! I'm running out of room for ballast
    - 'cursed' Chris
    ...Someone has to finish last...

    For Sale: Interior Goodies! for SALE

  12. #262
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Quote Originally Posted by warptkid View Post
    making a W.A.G. here based on the build... but isn't that already 10 more lbs of ballast you have to add?

    Shizer, I'm need 85lbs of ballast and my car doesn't look as pretty as yours without the wiring on the floor, full tank of gas, and has ~30 feet of extra cage! I'm running out of room for ballast
    85Lbs! You must be much thinner than I am. A loooong time ago I also would have had to add that much weight. LOL

    True. I will have to add that 10lbs back somewhere. However, now I can place it where I need it.

    I believe the Racetech seat weighs 2lbs more than my cobra. So I can add 8lbs somewhere else. I have been thinking of going back to a larger battery to add weight. I'm going to have to fabricate a weight plate where the passenger seat is, but make it in a way so that I can still use a passenger seat when I instruct.

  13. #263
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Came back from nearly 2 weeks in Germany last weekend. Boy was I glad to get home. A Icelandic volcano shut down european airspace for 5 straight days. If my return flight were to have been cancelled, it would have seriously compromised my ability to have the car ready for an event at the Glen early May.

    Anyway, got back and back into the car work the following day.

    All the excess wire is gone. Now it was time to clean it up, and get the dash back in. After about 8 hours of work over 2 days the dash went back in. With my changes I had to re-wire the wires for the traqmate, chasecam, cool shirt and wire in the terminations for a Racepak IQ3.



    New accessory power distribution - Fuzeblock. It can be set up to power everything always on, switched or a combination of both. Neat device.



    In my visulization of my dash and the function of my new dash, I was going to replace the center vent and center pod mounted autometer gauges, install a new panel and set it up for switches. Well the plastic panel I bought had a less than ideal fit, so I made a better fitting one out of .060" thick architectual grade aluminum.



    It fits well and looks good. I tried to mount it to tabs bonded to the back side of the dash, but that solution did not work out well so rather than fiddle with a solution I decided to put that project aside for now in order to focus on getting the car done.

    The new seat has been decided upon. The big boy version of ther Racetech 4009. Damn nice comfortable seat.


  14. #264
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    609
    My Cars
    E60 M5/#315 IP/GTS3
    Quote Originally Posted by TIATO View Post
    The new seat has been decided upon. The big boy version of ther Racetech 4009. Damn nice comfortable seat.

    Good choice!

  15. #265
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    500
    My Cars
    SE36 #206
    Just installed the same seat, Mario. It's a monster and so comfortable!
    Brian
    SE36 #206

  16. #266
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    176
    My Cars
    '88 M3 '95 M3 '03 Dodge 2500 4x4 Cummins
    Quote Originally Posted by TIATO View Post
    When I installed the AA race exhaust, I noticed that under some circumstances the tip would shift enough to touch and melt some of the diffuser plastic. Went to the depot picked up some mill grade aluminum and fabricated this heat shield. Took no more than 30 minutes. Vinniemac - you were right about the tip Regardless, absolutely love the exhaust.



    I just bought an AA race exhaust from a friend, a question on mounting it. For the rear section, did you just use the tabs on the muffler bolted to the stock exhaust hangers(the funky trapezoidal rubber dealies)? Mine seems to sit really high mounted that way.

    Included in the bag o'parts I received with the exhaust are two 90 degree hanger brackets with a bullet on one end, and slots on the other. I assume these are for the muffler, but am not sure. To use these you would need a different type of connection to the car than the stock trapezoids. What did you use at this location?

    The tip on this muffler is missing too, it separated at the back of the oval, so I have a round pipe coming from the muffler with a flat oval on the end. Haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet.

    Thanks, and awesome job on the build thread.
    Brian Beckett
    '95 M3(Racecar) '11 1M(Streetcar) '05 Ram 2500 4X4(Tow Vehicle)

  17. #267
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Maple Grove, MN
    Posts
    287
    My Cars
    95 M3 // 08 X3
    let me know what you do for the tip. mine has done the same thing. does the metal shield get really hot against the plastic diffuser?
    95 M3 Alpine White - http://firstgeargarage.com/

    SCCA and BMWCCA Member - 2009


  18. #268
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Quote Originally Posted by red88M3 View Post
    I just bought an AA race exhaust from a friend, a question on mounting it. For the rear section, did you just use the tabs on the muffler bolted to the stock exhaust hangers(the funky trapezoidal rubber dealies)? Mine seems to sit really high mounted that way.

    Included in the bag o'parts I received with the exhaust are two 90 degree hanger brackets with a bullet on one end, and slots on the other. I assume these are for the muffler, but am not sure. To use these you would need a different type of connection to the car than the stock trapezoids. What did you use at this location?

    The tip on this muffler is missing too, it separated at the back of the oval, so I have a round pipe coming from the muffler with a flat oval on the end. Haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet.

    Thanks, and awesome job on the build thread.
    The long brackets with the bullet on one end and slot on the other are for the exhaust. They bolt to the tabs on the exhaust body. Then you have to slide these square-ish rubber insulated mounts with hole in it over the bullet end. Once on, bolt the assembly to the factory studs that held the trapezoidal stock bracket to the chassis. As you look up you will see 2 studs to the right and 2 studs to the left. Choose which ever fits your car the best.

    2 identical mounts are attached to the straight center section. Tabs facing outward.

    Do not torque any of the bolts, nuts and screws yet. Get the entire exhaust up and attached to the car. Tighten the hardware gradually, constantly checking for alignment and clearance before torquing it down completely. Pay close attention to exhaust to diff carrier clearance.

    Regarding the tip, cut off the flange at the weld line. Go to your local speed shop, autozone or whatever and find a stainless steel tip that you can bolt to the exhaust. IIRC i bought a 3" Vibrant SS tip. Measure your exhaust tip stub for a dimension though.

    Right now my tip sits about 1.5" below my heatshield. That SS tip gets hot and in the event the exhaust ever dislocated I got something protecting the plastic. Also, the shield covers the tip and protects leg skin and hair.

    HTH

    Quote Originally Posted by BIRracer View Post
    let me know what you do for the tip. mine has done the same thing. does the metal shield get really hot against the plastic diffuser?
    The heat shield gets warm but not hot enough to melt any further plastic.
    Last edited by TIATO; 10-12-2010 at 11:17 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  19. #269
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    388
    My Cars
    95 Avus M3
    I am very interested in the rear section of your cage and was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to either post up or PM/email me some pictures. I would greatly appreciate it.
    -Clark
    2001 4Runner (DD)
    95 Avus M3 (Track Car in Progress)

  20. #270
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    133
    My Cars
    94 325is
    Just read your build and I am amazed/inspired at the same time. Hope you come back swinging after this winters hiatus!

  21. #271
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Holy smokes!! I'm a season behind in updating this build.

    Quote Originally Posted by clarkkey594 View Post
    I am very interested in the rear section of your cage and was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to either post up or PM/email me some pictures. I would greatly appreciate it.
    I was wondering why you were asking to see the cage when I posted pix earlier in the documentation process. So I went back and I noticed the broken links that at one point had some nice pix of the cage. Ill fix those so you can see.

    Quote Originally Posted by iDOwork View Post
    Just read your build and I am amazed/inspired at the same time. Hope you come back swinging after this winters hiatus!
    Yeah, Im way behind. Hiatus is done and batteries are recharged. Got a few more things planned in prep for this season.

    Quote Originally Posted by clarkkey594 View Post
    I am very interested in the rear section of your cage and was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to either post up or PM/email me some pictures. I would greatly appreciate it.
    Fixed broken links....

    Here ya go.











    Last edited by TIATO; 02-25-2011 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  22. #272
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Too much to update if I have to include 2010. Sooo,Im going to start off with 2011.

    Off season work performed:

    Front subframe re-enforce
    Diff carrier removed to press in solid BW bushings (5)
    BW Strapless clutch
    New drive shaft center support bearing
    Diff carrier and ENTIRE rear suspension re-assembled with new OEM hardware
    BW Trailing arm pocket re-enforcements
    BW Solid motor mounts
    BW Solid transmission mounts
    BW shifter
    AKG motorsport double shear selector rod
    BW Delrin front lower control arm bushings
    New front control arms
    Rebuilt halfshafts
    New rear wheel bearings
    BW front swaybar links
    17x9 Wheels with 245 Hoosiers
    Brooks Motorsport Rear Wing (to retire the Pennon)
    Testing GoPro Hero HD camera to determine retirement of chasecam system.

    Spent last weekend at the Glen instructing and shaking down the car and by god, the suspension, driveline and aero is amazing. I can honestly say that this is the best the car has ever felt. Unfortunately, a DE environment is not ideal for race pace laps (due to the traffic, personal restraint, and rules, even in the instructor group) so the best I could pull out of the car was a 2:12 (with a passenger). As expected, there were a few fellow club racers in attendance (Cookson, Karamat, Coker, Atkinson, Wolman) who were also shaking down their cars or just instructing. A friend and fellow IP spec class member, Scott Reiman had some issues, but the with the support of our racing brethren and Josh Jenny (loaning spares such injectors, MAf's, ECU's, log books, expertise) he got out on track by the end of the weekend for an extended 30-40 minute session and to get data for Josh's trick new front spoiler. Interestingly enough, there were enough IP cars in attendance to have a fun race.

    ALSO SPOTTED were 2 JP cars (ex Clark and Micare) with their new owners. Had to get used to them being driven by others, but the new owners will soon to be joining the CR ranks.

    Mid-Ohio is two weeks away, so the car will get a mechanical check this weekend to get it ready for that event.

    In the meantime, here's 2 videos from the event at Watkins Glen.

    [ame]http://www.vimeo.com/23606017[/ame]

    [ame]http://www.vimeo.com/23662390[/ame]
    Last edited by TIATO; 05-13-2011 at 10:51 AM.

  23. #273
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    fairfield, nj
    Posts
    3,965
    My Cars
    M3/4/5
    yay updates!!!
    good stuff mario can't wait to see how the car looks now!
    did you notice a difference between the pennon wing and the brooks one?

  24. #274
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    coffs harbour australia
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    bmw328i coupe
    How did u trim down the wires? Like how did You test to see which ones weren't in use and more?
    Cheers
    Jonny

  25. #275
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Flemington, NJ, USA
    Posts
    1,860
    My Cars
    Too many.
    Quote Originally Posted by jonnypage View Post
    How did u trim down the wires? Like how did You test to see which ones weren't in use and more?
    Cheers
    Jonny
    Here's what I did. Going into that part of the project I knew certain stock features such as: power windows, seat heaters, all interior lights, cruise control, BMW phone power, power/heated mirrors, power door locks, door sensors, liscense plate lights, hazard lights. In other words all comfort and convenience features no longer in the car or not necessary for a race car.

    That said, since I had to install a new seat anyway and wanted to rework the power distribution to the traqmate, chasecam and prep for the IQ3 dash, I removed the seats and dash.

    Then referring to my list of non essential function I got reeeaall comfortable and intimate with the e36 factory wiring manual.

    Found each feature termination point by wire color and many times down to the connector pin number. Worked backwards to the point where the wire ends at its module connector (such as the comfort and body control module or cruise control module) at it's connector, ground terminations and vehicle power distribution. Once sure it was the right lead, I cut the wire.

    The physical work was rather simple but the research for each wire and plug pin was very tedious.

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