Building a track car

[Cobra1956]

Relatively new to this forum and chassis. Sold my e36 s54 due to a project that went sideways and purchased a 135i dct. I take guests to the track and let them drive and a lot can't drive a manual or are only going to do this once so it takes the pedal work out of the equation. Thanks to all of have done work and posted it here as it is very helpful to my conversion. I did want to run my same tire setup which was 255 square on 17 inch wheels. I purchased a set of cheap aftermarket fenders that were going to be beaten on to make the tire fit. I looked at opening the holes in the fenders to move the top of the panel out as well as fabricating of a spacer for the bottom to move it out as well. I also have a few hammers and those became the tools of choice for now. But it is a good start for a track only car. I also used the sunroof delete panel from the e90 m3 as I was not going to pay for carbon fiber and the fiberglass ones are not the flavor of the day for the vendors any longer. Needs a bit of simple modification but the fit is still the same. Not sure how to get the photos up.
Will be asking dumb questions for a bit while I get familiar with the car.

[cerealwars]

Welcome dude!

Show us that sunroof delete when you can.

[Cobra1956]

Will do. I am not sure how to get photos up yet and my attempts at using the attachment manager have not been successful. Playing a bit with new phone and needed to convert to jpeg. This is the insert and where I needed to trim to fit is indicated by my finger. Front bolts in rear will be panel bond.

Photo of ebay fender, over 255 40 17 Toyo RR. Spl suspension, coilovers, 3 mm spacer. Painters tape was to help me with where I needed to shape fender. Will track on the 15th and see what else need to be adjusted and then finish and paint the fenders. Friend has an english wheel that will help take some of my carnage out but the fenders were purchased with the idea they would be smacked.

[Cobra1956]

I put the sunroof panel in this morning so you can get an idea of what was done. There are only three bolts holding the front and an additional bolt on each side as you need to remove the flange to get it to fit. The painters tape shows where fiberglass was cut. Bolts are not tight nor is there any support to the entire rear edge but you can see it fits well. Paint was just a paint match from ebay in rattle cans but if I don't like it I will wait to glue the delete in and have it painted with the fenders. Today is oil accumulator install day. I am using the Moroso 3 qt as I have had problems with Accu Sumps and after reaching out to Canton for tech help and finding out what little they know about their own product I vowed never again. Your results may vary. I'm using the info from the install thread and the unit will go in the car behind the passenger seat. I like the routing of the hose in the fender as my washer tank was a victim of weight reduction. Was too stupid to find out where the hose was going as I assumed the hose and b+ cables would go inside the car together only to find out the hose remains outside the car between the floor and underpanel.

Also will be cutting back the harnesses at a later date as the weight is surprising. When I did the e36 it was almost 100 pounds. Method I used was to start from where you pull a speaker or module and work towards the fuse box or power source. Doors are minus card, vapor barrier, speakers, and windows. The black goo was removed by rolling up a bit and sticking it to itself and I was able to get this done on both doors in less than 1/2 hour. Its sticky but surprisingly easy to do. Hardest part was as you make progress you have a handful of sticky crap so gloves are highly recommended

[Cobra1956]

Did not get much done today. Was hoping to get the oil accumulator plumbed but that has been moved to the "tomorrow" list. Did bolt in the roll bar and that took way longer than I expected. The set up I have bolts to the metal box across the lip of the rear seat. Think its stronger than bolting into the floor but hope to never find out. The down side to this bar is that you are drilling through the box frame and if not careful you bore gets canten a bit which makes threading the nuts on the backside a real joy. Blue painters tape is where I plan to mount the sump and my brain locked up today on how I want to route this. Took some shots based on Joe's photos but part of me says bust out the hole saw and cut into the inner side of the b+ channel and cary the curve through the firewall/floor and back towards the sump. Might just run like photoed as I can change it later and would like to get the wing mounted as well. As will a few things BMW I dont think the kids across the pond gave much thought to the way the floorboard stamping looks for the power cables....or maybe they did.[

[Cobra1956]

Spent the morning laying out tape on the deck lid for the rear wing. Went with the wing from Nine lives Racing. Its aluminum so a bit heavier but few bucks cheaper. I also like that they had specific brackets for the e82. I attempted to mount my wing from the e36 and too many curves to get it done so I went this route as it spreads the force over a larger area and takes advantage of the shape of the lid. Sump is mounted and primed but with have Trick or Treat here tonight so that's it for today. First photo is from yesterday's reference. Promise to figure out how to get the photos to show up in the correct orientation at some point

[spidertri]

Wasting no time! Awesome work so far. I've been thinking about getting the NLR wing, how was the install?

[Cobra1956]

Install was very easy, although I did do one thing that might be sketchy. The three bolts per upright obviously need holes. The lower one comes right through. The two on the top are covered by the inner reinforcement panel. I weighed drilling a bunch of holes through that panel but opted to use M6 nutserts instead. Plan to run at CMP on the 15th and just see what does not fall off the car.
Steps I used:
Measure the distance between wing mounts
Divide by two
Find the width of car, and tape up work area
Find centerline of lid
Subtract half mount number from step 2 and make mark on lid
Put uprights on wing and check out the fitment, adjust as necessary.
I drilled the lower holes first so I could bolt it up. Bolts from the inside out. I plan to glue these with two part epoxy, jb weld, so I can take everything off the lid in a few minutes if needed.

[blnk-128]

Build is coming along great, nice progress. I'm curious to see how the sunroof delete holds up, I've been debating doing something similar. Looks like you grabbed this one off ebay?

[Cobra1956]

That is the one I have. I ran a fiberglass one in the last car but it was e36 specific. Makes some racket north of 130 mph but could not hear it over the engine screaming....
This was from @ 2015 and I do around 30 days per year. Car was not run since June of last year when I started my failed dct installation. Ended up with the new car due to my own folly. Panel was later sealed with clear silicone and painted with rattle can. Both paint and seal ho issue. Have since moved on to enclosed trailer so might not seal.

[Cobra1956]

I appreciate you looking in on my project. Please feel free to point out things you know or have learned as this is my first turbo car and I am not that familiar with the e82 chassis. Items I have done so far:
CSF radiator
Catch can
SPL front control arms and bump steer correction
17 inch wheels, modification needed due to SPL arms
Low cost coil over ST brand, removed helper spring for clearance
New brake hoses but having trouble getting the inner rear installed
Moroso oil accumulator
Planted seat brackets
Kirkey seats
Mosselman dual oil coolers
Roll bar
Nine lives racing wing
New 5 point harnesses LIFELINE, think Schroth but a little better price
Revshift motor mounts
Base front end alignment and then added more camber by loosening the top and adjusting the locking screws
3mm spacer for clearance but think I can fit wider

Pile of parts to be added:
Blanton LSD for DCT
Revshift rear bushings
rear coils
front splitter, looking for ideas
venting the hood
spall fan
oil pressure and coolant temp mechanical gauge
digital voltage gauge
AntiGravity battery

Project has been focused on the front end based on getting the wheels and tires to fit. Plan is to run two sessions on the fifteenth. Then decide if I need more spring rate or clearancing of front parts

[Cobra1956]

Opened the boxes on the new belts. They are 6 point, so a first for me. All of this hardware is standard so very nice if you are doing this for the first time. Only thing not here is any backing plates if you go that route. They do have website that has backing plates if needed:https://www.lifeline-fire.com/harnesses.aspx
Nice dealer list on the site also.
Will need to do a little work to anchor the sub belts but install on the passenger side went well and these pull like butter!

So it appears that when you pull the radio you lose the idrive so I did read where you can get oil level with a foxwell 510 but other than that, has anyone found a different solution?
Thanks!

[blnk-128]

Since you asked for input on the chassis, rear subframe bushing replacements are a must. The stock rubbers will allow the entire rear subframe to twist and make it feel like the rear is steering itself. Poly bushings have worked great for me over the past few HPDE seasons, many people run aluminum with no reported NVH problems.

I couldn't tell from the parts you listed, but camber plates are a must to get more than ~2degrees negative camber in the front. The go-tos for track use seem to be ground control and vorschlag. I run the TC Klines and would not recommend them.

Only other component I'd advise, but isn't a must at the start is the F30 brake upgrade (grey caliper, 340mm rotor) with 42mm e9x rear brake calipers to balance the bias.

Car is coming along quick and you clearly know what you're doing, love following along!

[Cobra1956]

Have the rear and dif buhings in the to do box. They will go in when I install the LSD. The coilovers came with camber plates. Have 4 degrees negative currently and can get more with the control arms also. I will have to figure out the braking as I get the car up to speed. Ran Hawk ht10 on the last car but switched to Wilwood poly h up front as I had a bit of rear brake bias. Car is track only so NVH is a non factor other than checking for loose bolts after every event. I have new bearings for it along with a sump baffle but will see how the accumulator works. My stubbornness to continue to run 17's might prevent me from going to a larger brake rotor so I will look at some compounds before rotor size and get the torque that way.
Will also look at replacing all the wheel bearings over the winter just so I know what is in there.
My biggest worry is eliminating something that prevents the transmission from working as the electrical aspect is what sunk the last project. Wont cut back any of the harness until I have tracked.

[Cobra1956]

I forgot how much I hate installing race seats in a car. Have spent the better part of the last two days getting the driver seat where I want it. Add the e82 to the long line of BMW platforms that they were not able to get the seat squarely behind the steering wheel. That has now been addressed. Thought I might get by without a removable steering wheel but my fat ass has me just on the edge. I know what the wife is getting for Christmas now, she will be thrilled.
Should have both sides done tomorrow as I needed some hardware I did not have to finish up the sub belts.
Wanted to get something completed today so I finally secured the sunroof delete. The panel came with nice hardware but since there is nothing to secure the trailing edge you need to drill up of come up with another solution.
Epoxy
Panel bond
Rivnuts
Double-sided tape all got there time whirling through my feeble brain and in the end I went completely rouge. Since the car will never see the street again most of the parts removed are being sent to our local transfer station, in the proper bin of course. I still have the sunroof here and there is an aluminum brace that runs across the panel and give some reinforcement. Few minutes with a drill and all of the rivets were defeated and I began to try to come up with some type of really stupid solution to my fear of running a drill bit through the roof. At the end of the day I have a solution I can live with. I cut the ends off the panel and bolted the end into one of the holes that is now empty. It is still on the side but the piece is about 4 inches long and when bolted in it holds the panel tight and isn't going anywhere.
Few pics of my folly. Will dress it up a bit but calling it a win

[Cobra1956]

Not sleeping well so having trouble getting going but progress is continuing. Sump is primed and in but not pressurized. Waiting for a clamp I forgot to order. Got the side skirts back on and they snapped right into the aftermarket fenders. Both seat back braces are on. Sun shade and numbers. When everything gets painted the numbers will move down to fit the 1 on the fender and the 61 on the door.Items left:
fan if I decide to run one
oil change
bumper cover
screens for oil coolers
under trays
Most of that tomorrow.
Getting excited about next friday even though it wont be at high speed. Been a few since I have driven my car at the track.

[cerealwars]

Making awesome progress! Me and my ten-year projects could learn a thing or two from you there.

Honestly kind of love how it looks right now. I'd be so stoked if I saw this at a local track day. Can't wait to hear how the first outing goes.

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by cerealwars

Making awesome progress! Me and my ten-year projects could learn a thing or two from you there.

Honestly kind of love how it looks right now. I'd be so stoked if I saw this at a local track day. Can't wait to hear how the first outing goes.

Thanks for following the progress!

Clamps came in today's mail for the push lok fittings so I was able to plumb the hose. I charged the sump with 2 quarts of oil when I put it in but no pressure added. No leaks. After hooking the hose to the sump I brought the pressure up to about 60 psi and again no leaks. I then got the other end of the hose ready and filled the hose with oil. From past experience I find just a bit over 1 ounce of fluid per foot will get you close. I use an oil Lucas bottle as it has the ounces marked on it. This also prevent you from blowing a bunch of air at the bearings as well as keeps the oil level very close to normal for the initial run.Then had the wife turn the car over while I engaged the valve on the sump and it dropped down to about 20 psi and then when the car started went up to 80 psi with no leaks anywhere.

[Cobra1956]

Finishing up the oil system meant I could finally put the fender liners back in to see if anything needs to be trimmed or adjusted. I know the portion of the liner that used to sit inside the top lip needs to find a new home as the lip is pounded completely over. I read in another post that someone removed the grate behind to oil cooler and got lower oil temps so since I needed to come up with something for the additional cooler on the driver side I went to Ace Hardware and looked for ideas. I have 1/4 mesh but I was worried about something puncturing one of the coolers. I went with the mesh in the end but have a couple of go to's in the event I am not happy. The first is these
They are aluminum filters for range hoods, great for keeping the debris down but $20 a piece.
The second idea is a large scotch brite pad. I have found them before and used them for paint work. They also let tons of air through and have enough structure that you can fasten with a body panel screw. Used the mesh and a few small zip ties and will look for aluminum screen material to sandwich it in the future.

[Cobra1956]

Today should be the last day for the first phase of the build. Putting the bumper cover back on and securing the under panels and just a general clean up of portions of the wiring harness that are in various spots of the car. (zip ties engaged) The harnesses will be a next year project. Before the bumper cover came out of the basement I took a few shots of how the outline of the bumper compared to the e36 chassis. The difference is striking considering the cars are very similar in size and you appreciate the transition from the box like front end of the great looking e36 to the curved good looks of the e82 chassis. I drew a few lines to outline the footprint of the e82 for a splitter project that will be done shortly. For those of you that like to DIY, a good source of alumalite is a commercial sign company. I have one locally that throws the stuff away and have gotten sheets as large as 4x8 on multiple occasions, free.

Projects on the to do list are the rear suspension and bushings, lsd installed at that time, wheel bearings, rod bearings, harness thinning, ac delete, battery conversion, headlight elimination, spal fan adaptation, front fender rework and paint, DCT service with new clutches, and whatever else comes up that warrants the work.

[Cobra1956]

Ready for friday. Bumper and pans are back on. I mentioned that I did the SPL arms and don't think I covered that you need to do a little bit of grinding to get them to work with 17 inch wheels. While under the car screwing in the pans I shot these. You can see when the nut was ground down a bit and in the next shot how tight the clearance is. Last shot shows how much or little the fender has to be moved to get the tires to fit. Will get these worked with an english wheel and then paint. If some of the area where the fender attaches to the cover need to be ground down or off I will make small aluminum plates that will tie the two pieces together. A friend of mine did this with his race car and they work out well.

[Cobra1956]

I posted on a thread about oil gauge today as my sump reads low. My first thought is that I underfilled the oil when I did the change the other day. Hard to tell if I did but here is why I think so. I read that we need 6.9 qts with filter.
I only put in 7.5 but I did drain both of the coolers up front. The oil pressure on the sump read about 25 psi when done with pulling the car out today. I added oil in 1/2 qt increments. Oil gauge has not moved and I added 1.75 qts. This is the first time in years that I have used anything as thin as 5w30 in an engine so I might be overreacting. To be sure I pressurized the sump to 60 psi and bled it off and then verified the pressure in the sump against my tire gauge. They were on and I was a bit high on the air charge so I bled back down to 7 psi and started the car, no throttle for a bit as if the pan is too full I don't need to whip up the oil. I could feel the sump filling and after it stopped I upped the rpm to about 3k and closed the valve. Only had about 40 psi which I thought was low. My level indicator has not moved so I am done putting oil in this thing just need to know what the new normal is. I ran 20w50 in the s54 and cold it was 60 psi and that would go all the way down to about 18 at idle when hot. Sump now shows about 40 which might be correct. I do understand that the dme is controlling the pump so there are lots of things I dont have a grasp of yet. Any help is appreciated