ER 135i debuts at Super Lap Battle!

[0002s]

/Popcorn

[Evolution Racewerks]

Unfortunately, we did not have a GPS Data Acquisition on the car for the event as we do not own one. I plan to eventually get one however I am working on a limited (tiny) budget at the moment. The company has spend a lot of money so far on the car through my urging, begging and whining. However, we've seen $0 in return at the moment so my budget keeps getting cut lower and lower. Hopefully, we get the support of the people which will allow me to further develop the car and bring cool new things out for the community. Building a race car is not cheap.

Luckily for me, this past weekend recouped the interested of the big boss lady. She finally got to see where all the money is going and seeing the car at work. So this week, I was like uh....err... we need this and that. Her response was "order it". Last week it would've been "your race program is costing too much money!!!". :biggrin:

Originally Posted by partapgti

Another question how many g's were you pulling through the corners.

[partapgti]

I know you guys built a roll cage for the race car but will there be any chassis bar to stiffen up the car. nothing as big a a full roll cage but maybe like rear strut bar. anything to stiffen up the chassis helps.

thanks

[Evolution Racewerks]

Our 135i is running Street Class right now and does not require a roll cage. We actually drive it on the street and roll cages make it a pain to get in and out of the car. Plus it's not safe to drive around in a car with a roll cage without harnesses (harnesses are a hassle to use on a daily basis). The bars of the roll cage can cause a lot of damage to your head if you're not properly secured into the seat with a harness. Plus the car is a heavy pig, if we're not required to do so, we can do without the extra 100-150 lbs a cage weighs.

Yes, we plan to make a few chassis bars in the future though it is not high on our priority list right now. The 135i chassis is rock solid from the factory. Our driver's have commented that the chassis has very little flex similar to an Evo.

So the improvements needed from the the issues we've had last week are almost done. Hope everything works :biggrin:.

Originally Posted by partapgti

I know you guys built a roll cage for the race car but will there be any chassis bar to stiffen up the car. nothing as big a a full roll cage but maybe like rear strut bar. anything to stiffen up the chassis helps.

thanks

[WAY]

Fred, I want those fenders and those wheels! I am very concerned with the G-force issue though. Are you looking at wider rear arches too?

[Charles1]

Good luck this weekend!

[Evolution Racewerks]

Originally, the plan was to widen to rear as well. However, the car is handling so well that plans may have changed. Widening the rear track would change the handling and that's the last thing we want to do with the car behaving the way we want it. RobiSpec did a great job setting up the suspension and he's confident that we can definitely win this weekend if we fought off the gremlins from last weekend. If it ain't broke...

I LOVE the Forgeline wheels. We originally were going to go with Volk RE30's and were at Mackin Industries test fitting a few months ago. The RE30's looked great on the car, but we were forced to use offsets that they made the wheel in. This would have been very difficult to get the size we wanted to fit. At the end, Monica (Big Boss Lady) overruled me and chose to go with Forgeline Wheels which I must say I am very glad she did. The finish on the wheels are spectacular (pictures do not do it justice) and the wheels are very light (ours had titanium fasteners). The best thing though is that Forgeline makes each wheel to order (custom) and I was able to pick the exact offset I wanted. An hour with a tape measure and crunching numbers paid off as fitment was perfect and we were able to squeeze 18x10 285/30/18's in the rear with no modification to the car.

Originally Posted by WAY

Fred, I want those fenders and those wheels! I am very concerned with the G-force issue though. Are you looking at wider rear arches too?

[Evolution Racewerks]

Thanks! It's a two day event, Sat & Sun (Sun Competition). $15 entry. California Speedway (Fontana). You local guys should come out.

Originally Posted by Charles1

Good luck this weekend!

[Charles1]

Fred,

How did it go?

[WAY]

Yeah Fred, update please! I was thinking about your G-force issue. Is it possible that the engine is starved of oil because of the G-force and somehow there is a sensor that detects that??? Forgive me if that is too far fetch!

[Qube]

Originally Posted by WAY

Yeah Fred, update please! I was thinking about your G-force issue. Is it possible that the engine is starved of oil because of the G-force and somehow there is a sensor that detects that??? Forgive me if that is too far fetch!

That makes sense too... why the M cars have two pumps to handle that condition. No BMW master techs to answer that riddle?

[Evolution Racewerks]

Yeah anything is possible. However, there's no way to check that unless we put some gauges in. Sucks that with BMW's, you have absolutely critical sensor outputs on the dash except oil temp.

With the G-sensor, the car does not go into limp mode. It just activates the traction control, even when it's turned off.

However, we are having a limp mode issue that I cannot figure out. At first, we believe it's oil temps going too high as our drivers can only see that 1 sensor and that was what they were reporting back. However, I've been suspecting that something is wrong with the car.

Originally Posted by Qube

That makes sense too... why the M cars have two pumps to handle that condition. No BMW master techs to answer that riddle?

[E82tt6]

Originally Posted by Evolution Racewerks

Yeah anything is possible. However, there's no way to check that unless we put some gauges in. Sucks that with BMW's, you have absolutely critical sensor outputs on the dash except oil temp.

With the G-sensor, the car does not go into limp mode. It just activates the traction control, even when it's turned off.

However, we are having a limp mode issue that I cannot figure out. At first, we believe it's oil temps going too high as our drivers can only see that 1 sensor and that was what they were reporting back. However, I've been suspecting that something is wrong with the car.

How high are your oil temps gettings?

[Evolution Racewerks]

260

Originally Posted by E82TT6

How high are your oil temps gettings?

[mikeo]

Fred, if oil temps aren't getting over 260 that would be the lowest 'oil temp related' limp mode I've ever heard of. Maybe you're on the right track thinking there is something else wrong throwing the limps.

[E82tt6]

Originally Posted by mikeo

Fred, if oil temps aren't getting over 260 that would be the lowest 'oil temp related' limp mode I've ever heard of. Maybe you're on the right track thinking there is something else wrong throwing the limps.

Agreed. I'd check for a faulty connection with the sstt.

[Evolution Racewerks]

At first, when it first reared up as a problem, it seemed logical that this was the issue. But then after putting in 2 big oil coolers and the problem still persisted, it just didn't seem right and I started suspecting something else is wrong. We then installed methanol injection from Snow Performance in an attempt to cool the motor and started spraying the oil cooler with methanol as well. Problem still persisted, though it helped a little bit.

I believe now that the oil temp is not the problem, but an indication of something else is wrong. I think it's just a coincidence that the limp mode would kick in around 260 oil temp. I spoke more in detail with our drivers Robert Fuller and Stephan Verdier on what actually happens when it goes into limp mode to try to figure out what is going on. The car would lose power, but the intervals between when the car got power back was inconsistent. Sometimes it would come back on right away and sometimes it would not come back on the entire lap.

My new theory is the fuel pump. I had read here about this issue and it never occurred to me that this could be our problem as everyone's symptoms seems to be a hard time starting, which we do not have. However I did read a post that said another symptom was limp mode when in high load/high rpm. The light bulb flashed in my head then and there. Our drivers all started shifting at 5,000 rpm and this seemed to help fight off our limp mode issue. We had assumed that it was the oil temp as when we shift at 5,000 rpm, it never reached 260 (but now I think it's just a coincidence). Now a failing fuel pump would explain the high oil temps as well though as it would be causing a lean issue, causing the motor to run even more hotter than normal. The addition of the meth injection helped as it would add extra octane to the mix and help fight off detonation.

If anyone knows more detail about this fuel pump issue that BMW is plagued with lately, please chime in. If you don't think it's the fuel pump, please chime in as well. Thanks!

Originally Posted by mikeo

Fred, if oil temps aren't getting over 260 that would be the lowest 'oil temp related' limp mode I've ever heard of. Maybe you're on the right track thinking there is something else wrong throwing the limps.

[Evolution Racewerks]

That was one of th first things I suspected and was one the first things I tried as it was quick and easy to take out. It did help fight off the limp mode a little bit, but I believe that has more to do with running less boost/fuel. We have been running all our events without the SSTT.

Originally Posted by E82TT6

Agreed. I'd check for a faulty connection with the sstt.

[E82tt6]

I know there was at least one guy who had his limp diagnosed as HPFP and his main complaint was limps at WOT over 5000rpms in 4th/5th.

[Evolution Racewerks]

Looks like we're gonna need to make a trip to the dealer. I wonder if they'll warranty our car the way it is. Damn....

[EspressoBoy]

All the best, and I love this read! Fred U rock!

[WAY]

Fred, please tell me more about your Meth injection and oil cooler. Any pics of the meth injector install? Are the oil coolers your own or made by someone else? If it's yours, are you selling it?