Building a track car

[j0000stin]

It was nice meeting you today, and thanks again for the ride along!

[Cobra1956]

Well as you can see from the above posts, we had a great track weekend! Some wins and losses on my part and I found out that some of my theories are completely wrong but nothing that can't be solved. Nothing fell off the car, nothing auto cleared but the right front needs alignment work which will be done by the shop at the track. Both gauges worked fine so that issue is solved but I now have an overheating issue.
We have a introductory program during lunch and we do lead /follow with novices to get them out and see the track. I usually tag along as it gives me time to look over things as I go out in the back and can hang back and then jump on it if I need to see something at a higher speed. First run is about 60 mph so you don't even need to brake. Coolant temp was pegged right at 170 which told me the Mishimoto thermostat works as designed. Let the car heat soak prior to the second run which they get up to around 80 mph in spots. Left pit at 220 and as we ran the temp dropped down to around 200 which should have alerted me to an issue but I am too stupid.
Later in the day we have instructor lead laps and the students get to ride in our cars. Out pounding on it, 235! Oops. I think the large trans cooler mounted to the back of the radiator is messing with the airflow through the radiator. The cooler is probably too big and simply as a heat sink it should cool the DCT. So the plan is to remove the cooler, run the car and see if the temps drop back down. The coolant gauge was bad since April so I am not sure what temps I was seeing there so it might have been an issue not seen earlier. The car did not go into limp mode as it has done before so I am assuming the limp mode was caused by DCT temps.
Previous was all done on Saturday @90 degrees.

Sunday did the same program but for the instructor laps I turn the heat on full blast. Made the ride memorable. Short shifting the the car I was able to keep the temps 220 or lower so I think I am on the right track. If removing the DCT cooler brings the temps down I will purchase a Derale cooler with a fan and mount it in the trunk venting it outside.
...to be continued.

[Cobra1956]

Will be back at it next week and I am going to see if I can devise a work around to the high coolant temps. Going to get the front end aligned and match the caster or at least get it closer.
One of the things I never thought about but have stumbled upon is the orientation of the vanes in the cooler. The cooler I am using for the DCT is not only large but the fins are quite different orientation than those of the radiator. It is possible that this has created a blockage from creating blockage or high pressure due to the orientation of the vanes and the close proximity to the back of my radiator. My fab work will now need to be cut but I have plenty of hose. I should have to cut off the oem hose crimp from the heat exchanger in order to get this to work.

Nothing to worry about here as on the previous car I did this when converting to electric power steering. Carefully cutting the crimp reveals a hose barb that is easy to reuse so there should be no issue using the part and plumbing in a different style cooler. I am also going to move the different cooler off the radiator about an inch in hopes of allowing whatever airflow bending is occurring to smooth out and flow through the radiator as well as the dct cooler. Also hoping that the temps are a bit cooler but that will actually mess with trying to figure out what I have wrong here. Will update more as I get my head around what I did wrong but I think the proximity of the rear cooler is the issue.

[Cobra1956]

New cooler arrived today. Lots of things to factor, all of which I hope solve my cooling issues. First the cooler is smaller which should allow more airflow through the radiator. The orientation of the fins matches the radiator much better so hopefully that will reduce high pressure from behind the radiator. The fins are less dense than the other cooler so while it should be less effective cooling the DCT it might bring both temps into acceptable ranges.
Track the next two Friday's and contemplating moving the current cooler away from the radiator about an inch to see if coolant temps drop. Results might skew a bit since it might be a few degrees cooler but if my idiot brain is thinking this through correctly, the blockage is occurring on the top of the radiator and that is where you should have the largest difference in temps between ambient and hot coolant so I am really punishing the cooling system due to my ignorance. Last resort will be to invest in a bit more hose and move the new cooler around to the front similar to where the condenser sat.
Shooting through the new cooler. The white is the box it came out of so you can see it should flow air better but at a cost in efficiency.

[Cobra1956]

Went through three different approaches to figure out how I want to mount the new cooler. As with my last car I always like to include a bit of sketchy engineering to solve problems that most likely I have caused. A quick walk up and down a few isles at my local Ace Hardware racing supply. I came up with a few ideas. Goal is to get the cooler separated from the radiator about an inch thinking this will help with engine cooling. I have the radiator cooler straps that run through the radiator and while I have never used them I wanted the smallest amount of stress on the vanes. I cut a few pieces of hose about 2 inches in length and drilled a hole in them to use as a cushion and spread the load against the vanes. Since I do not have a fan or a shroud I have an aluminum bar across the radiator holding the current cooler. I decided between a 1 inch conduit bracket and picture hangers. The conduit has a rib in it so I used an 18mm socket as a dolly and hammered the rib flat so I could drill a hole there and mount to cooler and use the holes in the bracket to mount the bracket to the aluminum bar I currently have in there.
Conduit bracket with hose pieces in the background. Bracket would be on the cooler as pictured and provide the separation. Concern was this was too far away to use the hose.


100 pound picture hangers.


A visit with the Dremel and a small spacer and you get this. Hook goes over the bar to support all of the weight which will be way less than the fan and shroud along with how the hose pieces to be used far vibration protection along with securing the cooler a bit.

[Cobra1956]

I did not get to the cooler swap on Friday but I did stick a piece of hose between the top of the radiator and the cooler. In a non scientific test I was able to keep temps right about 200 although still short shifting and heat on. At least gives me hope that I am on the correct path. I was going to just remove the cooler but then I would have to get underneath and drain about a quart of fluid and I was not in the mood. I did get the car on the alignment rack at the track and took care of the issues. Set the toe by individual tire and running 1mm out in front and 1 mm in in the rear. Will be back at it Friday and probably swap out the cooler. I did not want to start that job and not finish it and mis the alignment app[ointment.

[Cobra1956]

Tracked two weeks ago and moved the old cooler for the DCT out and dropped in the smaller cooler and set it off the rear of the radiator a bit. Car ran a bit cooler but not where I would want to beat the snot out of it. I went to short shifting and slowed a bit and was able to control temps around 230f. I then got to thinking about the electric portion of the cooling and was wondering if anyone who has data can tell me their coolant temps are? Because the map for the thermostat includes the possibility that it opens at 225f someone probably thought we can also mess with the fan speed also in the attempt to get higher mpg. I am trying to find out how much coolant the water pump moves and if it is adjustable. A quick email to Randy at EPIC says they can program the pump to run a bit different. I did find a bit of data that gives a few maps for the cooling system and the first danger setting is at a higher than what I have seen so far, 242f! And we wonder why plastic tanks fail often. I am looking to confirm this as I cant see any reason at speed for this kind of temps sans fan. Will be back at it Friday and look at better ducting into the front of the radiator to make sure there is no air leaking around the sides or tops.

So if anyone has any track temps for coolant please let me know. My findings are said to be coupled with certain oil temps which explains why they cheaped out on real coolant gauge on tha dash as it would probably drive us nuts!

Thanks

[Cobra1956]

Making a little progress on my heating issues and would like to get this all sorted and move on to the tune. Tracked last friday and two weeks before that when I installed the smaller DCT cooler and mounted it a bit farther away from the back of the radiator. As for the heat exchanger, I had just plumbed in the first cooler with hose barbs, great idea unless you need to get it out of there. So I cut the cooler out and I removed the exit hose from the heat exchanger and cut the remaining oem hose off the fitting with a dremel. What you have left is a fitting that works with .5 inch hose or dash 8 and a somewhat quick disconnect. While its apart you can change out the o ring inside the fitting. NAPA has various sizes and can usually provide what is needed.


I still worry about coolant temps and I did see as high as 235 on the mechanical gauge. If I run the defrost cycle on the car the temps dropped to just below 230. In BMW world that may be okay but my car is not producing enough power so I know there will be more heat to address down the road. The came with a tune from MHD and they have 3 different cooling setting so I think that addresses water pump speed. Since BMW is picking up temps from the oil system, my thoughts are that adding the second oil cooler tricks the ecu into thinking things are cool enough. Would love to get under 220 if possible. Will be back at the track Thursday and plan to get the car smoke tested to check for any leaks and then tune to @350 hp. Should be fine for the weight of the car and I think with the few bolt ons the car came with I can safely go to around 400.

Here is a screen shot of the temp information I found when scrounging the web for ideas on the cooling. None of this has been confirmed so your results may very.


I do have about 15 track days left for this year so I hope to get all this sorted by the time the car comes back home.

[Cobra1956]

Update. Smoke tested the car for leaks. None found. Purchased a MHD superlicence and flashed the car including setting the cooling to track. That's the good news. The bad news is I have no boost or am losing boost. After pulling codes and doing some research this is what I came up with.
I could have knocked the vacuum hose off the wastegate actuator. (doubt it as I should have seen smoke)
Hose could be cracked. ( possible as we did not pressurize the smoke too much)
Boost solenoid is bad. ( will test with a vac pump)
Actuator is bad (will test with vac pump).

Engaged a parts cannon as these are not expensive and from what I have been able to find are all prone to fail. If they are original to the car it would make them 13 years old at a minimum. I will be back at the track Wednesday through Sunday evening so I plan to start with the hose off the boost solenoid and check the actuator as the access is easiest. If the actuator works then I will replace the solenoid forst to see how that goes.

On the cooling side still saw temps north of 230f. No temp warnings but will try a cowl to see if that has any change. Hope to get the boost issue solved as the car might be seeing more fuel causing it to run hotter.

Codes were
2906 leaks between exhaust turbo and intake valves
2c57 Charging pressure control, pressure too low
31e9 Fan disconnected
3429 Oil pressure too high prior to start ( caused by accumulator)


Open to ideas if you have anything else.
Thanks!

[Cobra1956]

Okay, quick update. I have had to suspend my tracking for the remainder of this year due to family issues. I did get to spend a bit with the car on the 16th and still have no or limited boost. I pulled the hose to the wastegate actuator. A quick pump from a vacuum puller showed that the wastegate was functioning. So I then replace the boost solenoid. After re assembling I took it for a spin and still no joy. I did come across another e82 owner albeit the n54. He said he though the fan is the reason. I have ordered another fan shroud and will reinstall the fan. His theory was that the fan code being thrown prevents or signals the ECU to give me a time out and that is is similar to the boost solenoid malfunction. I will move the DCT cooler in front of the radiator, install the fan and go from there. I did also start the back up plan but I would like to see this project through as it should be a fun car.

[Cobra1956]

Some digging last night into the fan error code 31E9, I found this. It is a confirmation that this may be my issue and also allows for some theory testing as well as electrical shenanigans to fool the ecu in the event I choose to do so:

[Cobra1956]

Quick update. I bought a fan shroud and will install the fan and see if that does fix the lack of boost issue. I hope so as I would like to finish this car and get it doing what it' supposed to be doing.
Got the personal stuff sorted, or I should say they were sorted for me. Within the space of 11 days I lost my dad and mom. Both were 92 so good life for both, divorced in '75. My dads passing was a shit show that I would not wish on anyone. My mom, on the other hand has always been a beast and was a joy to be with at the end! We figured she held on until my dad passed as she went straight downhill after I let her know dad passed. On a lighter note we figured she knew dad was up there and needed to get there before he screwed everything up. Enjoy everyday boys and girls!
Quick shot of mom doing one of her hobbies in her 70's. She rode motorcycles and learned to scuba dive at 62. Very cool lady!



That's a Golden Eagle she caught and banded!

I managed a little me time between the parents shenanigans and bought this. Hope to pick it up early December after they give it a once over before delivery. Have options on the current car including keeping or donating to a veterans group that deals with PTSD. They have my M3 that was just sitting in the driveway.

[spidertri]

Sorry to hear about your parents, it's always rough watching people you've known forever go downhill. That's a hell of picture with your mom and the eagle though, super cool.

Love the Cayman, looks like it's extremely well sorted. What's the spec on it?

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Sorry to hear about your parents, it's always rough watching people you've known forever go downhill. That's a hell of picture with your mom and the eagle though, super cool.

Love the Cayman, looks like it's extremely well sorted. What's the spec on it?

Thank you for the kind words! The only time I get that close to a bird is Thanksgiving!

Its a 2020 GT4 Club sport Competition. They built the track day and the comp. Believe the comp is the race version. Has the air jacks and all the bells and whistles. Been wanting one for a few years. Here is the rest of the shots:

https://autometrics.smugmug.com/ForS...Clubsport-Comp

[Cobra1956]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Got to unwind a bit and finally get to a bit of wrenching. Have the car home and safely on the lift in the garage. Need to get the fan installed and hopefully getting rid of that code solves my lack of power issues! I also am looking over the ducting around the radiator as I think this thing still runs too hot. Once I got the fan in place I noticed that there is about a 2 inch gap between the top of the radiator and the front of the car. Will take a better look at it tomorrow but if that is in fact open it would be a huge "leak" of air that should be going through the radiator that is not. I also decided that since the cooler I am using is a single finned tube, the orientation should not matter. Feel free to chime in if you think I'm missing something on that. I few months back I did install the dry break overfill fitting. It works great. You can just pump away until it (DCT) leaks out as it is going back into the bottle. Shut off the car and add additional fluid of your measurement and you are done. Really like this piece!
https://www.bimmerworld.com/Drivelin...-M2-M3-M4.html


A few photos tomorrow but had a bit of trailer maintenance to do today as I leave Thursday to head down and pick up the other car. Then off to the track for the last two days of the season. Decided to get a new set of Yokes AO52 since it is going to be cool and I do not want to mess with old race slicks and will leave that until spring. 265 fronts and 295 rears,, to me that's huge!

[Cobra1956]

Okay, one more before Christmas as it has finally been warm enough for my fat old frame to lay on the concrete floor! The fan has been in and out and looking over my handiwork I am sure that part of my overheating is due to my own stupidity. There are a few gaps that are poorly addressed by BMW and I did not put some of the gaskets back when I did things in the radiator install. I keep forgetting about high/low pressure and there was a gap above the radiator that was about an inch tall so that would equal to a few square inches for air to escape that I would prefer go through the radiator. So I looked around the rest of the plastic that hold it in place and there are a few more spots that will be addressed as I button everything up.

I use pipe insulation like you can buy at a hardware store. It comes in a few diameters and you can shape it pretty easily and there is no gap at all between the top of the radiator and front cross brace. I will address a few smaller gaps buy cutting the insulation lengthwise and folding it into the voids.
There is a bit of a crack between the fan shroud that will get closed with duct tape to insure we get as much across the vans as possible. Since the fan is going to be taking up the spot for the DCT cooler that needs to be moved so I dropped the intercooler to mock up a new position behind the ps cooler in the space vacated by removal of the ac condenser. There is about 14 inches of space top to bottom so there is plenty of room to put in the cooler. The hoses will route around to the rear of the fan shroud and fill small holes between the fan airbox and the edges of the intercooler.
I will add the hose claps and mounts once I get the hoses connected after I put the intercooler back and the fan in. Did get to drive the Porsche a bit but it was damp and cold (sub 45) so nothing spectacular. There will be other days for both cars as I think they both are going to be keepers!

[Cobra1956]

Checking notes and misc. parts in one of my tubs I came across a part that I had but had no idea of what it was. The Mickey Mouse flange, I know now but was completely ignorant on this little gem from BMW. More cheap plastic in high temp areas. Got it swapped over as it was on borrowed time.

[Cobra1956]

No pictures today but we did have a start today as I am ready to button up things in hopes that the fan addition cures my lack of boost issues. An interesting note is that after I replaced the Mickey mouse fitting, I filled the coolant and did a purge. I was unable to run it for 10 minutes due to other obligations but yesterday I had some time and was able to do it. What I found interesting in all 3 attempts is that the water pump kicked in without me engaging the pedal. If anyone knows why chime in. I though it was because a sensor was not wet somewhere but the first two try's lasted more than a few minutes so I thought this is a new issue. Yesterday, I returned to the car after 15 minutes and the pump was still running! I did not have the fan plugged in and when I did the fan shut off, so there is something to the fan affecting the ecu since if I understand correctly it is controlled by it.

No leaks but my hoses are really close to the crank pulley. I run my hoses so the cooler is being fed by the exhaust house (top) out of the heat exchanger. I think if you go the other way it is simpler. I will get back under there with the racing zip ties and see what I can come up with. If I don't get what I like I have two options. Both involve removing the hard lines off the dct. I would then cut the swage from the oem pipe to hose and plumb in new lines directly from the pipe to the cooler. The other choice is to put in an aftermarket fitting on the side of the trans which allows you to run dash 8 hoses directly from the dct all the way up to either the cooler and or heat exchanger with freedom from BMW engineering. I hope I can get what I have to work.

Regardless the car is going down to GMP in Charlotte for a once over as I am sure I have something screwed up somehwere and maybe I should get some adult supervision.

[Cobra1956]

I don't sleep well. Wake up in the middle of the night, start thinking about something and then don't get back to sleep until around 6. Last nights thought process might have sent me down the path to solve my lack of boost issue. It might not be a lock of boost rather a lack of throttle.

This is my first turbo car and I am not much into the tunning aspect and the nuances needed. While I was starting to put the car on track I never ran full throttle as I had no idea of the tune on the car or the mechanical condition of the car as I proceeded. I do know that as I drove it more the driving became a bit more spirited and then I started developing a few other issues that were sorted.

As some point I did get the DCT tuned and I did purchase MHD software. Computers and software aren't my thing and I struggle just to spell MHD. While playing with the program, focusing on the fan speed, I vaguely remember playing around with throttle inputs for various gears. (Idiot light goes on in my head)

Car currently has no omph. It will accelerate but not even as fast as a Miata. I think I am going to just go in and load up a stock program. Car had a stage 2+ from the previous owner. I have confirmed that so I know I have all the parts needed for that plus things I have done.

If any of you are familiar with the MHD stuff please chime in with any advice but I remember thinking that since I had no idea what I had I wanted to error on the side of safety and probably neutered that car in the process. Everything else seems to check out and the only code I throw now is for high oil pressure and I believe that is because I pre oil. I hope I am on the correct path and will proudly display my dumbass medal as required.

[Cobra1956]

Quick update. Yesterday was opening day. Was planning to get both cars to the track but the weather has put me behind. I have to disclose that weather the last few weeks was my fault. All of the snow and ice started the moment I put a set of street tires on the car to road test it. So that never happened but I figured I would test it yesterday so left the streets on and headed down to the track.
Items I had mess with.
Replaced the belly pan
Sealed off the top of the radiator
Moved the DCT cooler to the front of the radiator
Overfilled DCT by 3/4 quart
Reflashed the car
Installed the fan

Sketchy part is my plumbing for the DCT cooler required me to align the hose clamps so I could use the indentation of the crank pulley for clearance. I might revisit this during summer break and run the aftermarket fitting on the trans that allows you to run an hoses. Gives me a bit more options when running the hose. I am running the hot side into the heat exchanger and then up to the aftermarket cooler versus the other way around.
We have boost! I don't now which item fixed it but putting the fan back in did remove a code that code put the car in reduced throttle.
Few weeks back I woke up in the middle of the night and it came to me that when I flashed the car with the MHD software I limited the throttle in 1-3 gear! DUH! I did this because I had not ever driven the car at full throttle and had no idea of what the lag or torque would be like and .......forgot about it as I got distracted but the high temps. So excited about remembering that I woke my wife up to tell her! She's still pissed about that.
Temps, much better. After sealing off the top of the radiator completely I came off a full out session where I did the passing and no one ran us down and the car was about 180 when we got back and parked. Last time out it was similar temps and I had to run the heater to keep the car under 230.

Two new lights on the dash. Brake and I get the car on lift signal. A little research and the brake could be triggered by milage as I think there is a 30000 mile trigger. No worries as pads and fluids are new and res is full. No leaks firm pedal. I also removed the pad sensor wires to could be something there. Lift light refers to suspension? Guessing that was caused but the sensors not hooked up on the ride height and the headlights unplugged. Have 5 days coming up starting on the 6th and will get to look into it a little more but right now much happier than I have been with this car since some of these self inflected issue came about.

[blnk-128]

Quick question, I'm going to be installing my Accusump in the same location as yours. I can see how the top half of you're bracket was secured, and I'm wondering what you did for the lower bolt hole. Did you drill into the metal and use a rivnut? I'm hesitant to do so with the gas tank being behind there.

[Cobra1956]

Rivnut. I will see if I can find the post on here. I used M5 I think. Will get back to you. Just got home from 5 day trackapoluza. My old, fat ass, is dragging. Both cars ran great!