Building a track car

[Cobra1956]

Loading up for the track shakedown on friday. Plan is to see what rubs as there will certainly be some. I am sure I will want to stiffen the front springs but since these coils are new and the rates are softer I will just see where I want to go with this. I think the oil issue is fine. WHen I pulled the car out of the trailer this morning prior to shutting it off I charged the sump and got just north of 65 pounds so there must be a heat element involved with the dme as well as the cold oil. This ready is in line with what I used to see cold so I am good with what I have.
I decided to plan ahead a bit and equipped each fender with a blue "notepad" thinking that the area below the tape is all subject to possible weight reduction. When I get to info the cuts will be made after we get a nice arc with a flexible batten or the like. I reached out to my buddy who had the tab for his fender to bumper cover and it would be fastened to the metal fender with nutserts and then attached to the bumper with fastener of choice. The nutsert/fastener on the fender prevents the tabs from falling in the event you need to take things apart and put them back in a bit of a rush.
Final touch before it want back in the trailer was to make sure everything is out of the car and I wanted to be able to adjust the mirrors so I took the switch panel and fit it into a pocket on the door and secured it with a tie. The front of the switch is being held by the oem clip. Car will stay at the track until I run next month but will post an epilog from the track as I am heading home to see the folks next week.

[Cobra1956]

Got home last night from a trip that started right from the track last friday. The track allows us to store car and trailer right there so it saved me a bunch of extra miles.

The track day was a few successes and few fails but nothing crazy.
I only ran as fast as 100 mph. Nothing rubbed but more importantly, nothing fell off. My sunroof delete panel was rock solid at 100 so my clips worked well. Rotors all cleaned up well and the rears will stay but the fronts have slight waves in them so they will be gone soon. Will switch over to a two piece up front. Belts are very nice but I think the seat need to be moved upright one more notch. I think this is due to the difference between the e36 and e82 floor pans but no big deal.

Had a few idiot moments. First was the additional gears. Usually in the wrong gear but since performance or speed were not the goals it was no big deal other than I sucked! I also forgot the sump! No, I remembered to turn it on but forgot to close it upon leaving the track. Since I already thought I might be overfilled dropping an additional quart and a half was surely needed. I restarted the car and filled the sump and it appears no issues......but I received the yellow warning light on the next run so I thought that this was the reason but it was evident later that it was not.

I checked for codes and there were a few ranging from no fan to boost and dct issues. Cleared them and went back out for two more stints and noticed that the light went on at higher rpms. Must be vanos. Did some reading on my trip and will pull the vanos solenoids and train back valves and clean them as that is simple to do. I also remember when I changed the oil thinking it was pretty black and that this might indicate that certain assurances were inaccurate. No worries as there's a new sheriff in town and I normally change oil multiple times per year on the track car. WIll check for boost leaks and I did see a few vids on the vacuum hose onto the boost cracking so that will be checked. Next run will be on the 14th and the same plan with just a few simple changes and then off to the garage for the rear end to be done.

Side note. When I started this I chose the inexpensive AST coils and their spring rate. I know my speed was lower than normal but I was impressed on how the springs worked as I expected to have rubbing somewhere but did not.
Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[Cobra1956]

Two days at the track next week and then a short break until mid January.The plan is to do a bit of work at the track and then off to a shop for stuff I don't want to play with when it's cold. (wimp). Need to address the check engine light I got last time out. I am going to replace the vanos solenoids and the drain back valves as that can be done when I get to the track. Aslo will swap out the front rotors for the new Brembo two piece ones I pick up from Rock Auto. Will also be switching to actual track pads since I am assuming what is in there is some cheap street pad. There does not seem to be a lot of choices for this car as I wanted to go to Hawk HT10's front and back. I like these pads and they are super gentle on the rotors. I got over 13,000 track miles on a set of Wilwood rotors with the Hawks and only switched rotors when I switched to a different pad up front for more bite, Wilwood Polymatrix H. Like this pad also.
This time out I am going to go with Carbotech pads. I have no experience with these but I have heard lots of good things so I will run the xp10 up front and the xp8 in the rear.
On the last car I made my own floor pans but that was about 12 years back and I am fatter and much lazier this time around so I bought a set of pans from Rise Fab as they are much nicer than anything I would have made. Since this car is only D/E use there will be passengers so there will be a pan with a full foot rest on the other side for them. Covers the hose for the sump, wires and the many grounds located up in the right corner of the car. Hopefully these will be done by next week so I can take them with to the track.

Winter project for me is to try to shead about 100 lbs from the car from the firewall forward. A/C out, different fan, and I am either going to make my own deadlight blanks or bust out the saw and hack the oems as they weigh a ton. For the start of the blanks I purchased a set of lenses off ebay ad will see what I can come up with to secure them to the original location on the car. A guy on the Corvette forum made some real nice ones out of carbon fiber. So it can be done at home, yeah right! Anyway thats the plan near term.

[Cobra1956]

Got home last night from a trip that included the ast track event of this year. Ran last Friday and Saturday.
Installed the front rotors and the Carbotech pads on the front. Like the feel of the pads but thought they generated a lot of dust or maybe I have just not dealt with it in a long time due to my previous failed track car project. I left the car at the track from the last event so I had disconnected the battery in the event it was weak as I have not swapped out the ridiculous oem for the anti-gravity yet. Goal was to see if I can figure out why I am throwing codes and why the car gave me a low power mode last time out.
First run is just highway speeds as this is part of an intro to tracking program. Ran sport mode in engine and dct with no issues. The idiot in me forgot to close the sump, AGAIN after this run but filled it back up right away. A concern that I have is when the oil is hot the pump will only fill the sump to the extent where I get 40 psi in the sump. In this application pressure is a function of how full the sump is and I was able to get it to fill up to 85 psi saturday morning so lower pressure means more oil in the pan which could cause an issue later with more oil in the pan than desired. Might switch to a 40 weight oil to combat this.
Second run is a little faster and since I bring up the rear of the group I just lay back to allow me to reach higher speeds for testing and bedding in of the new rotors and pads. Got check engine light but no low power warning. Checked codes after this run and was surprised to see a code for high oil pressure at start up but figure the car is not used to seeing pre oiling, lol.
I get two for the trans and a few for the engine but the car runs and sounds fine. Was interesting to see that my long term fuel trims are high but the short term were not low. This could be because the ecu memory was erased due to long battery disconnect or possibly it is the tune on the car. I will have to look into that. Also appears that the check engine light comes on under heavy load and throttle application so could be tune messing with the German thought process.
In the afternoon I take my students out in my car for demonstration rides and decided to step it up a bit. I had never been full throttle in this car nor at the read line.....we can now check those two items off the list. Did not get a low power mode warning and the car ran very well. Did get the check engine light but no worries. Did not attempt to paddle shift on the higher speed runs as my coordination is off from my layoff and switching to 7 speeds from five. Was fun to see the box drop from 7th to 2nd without feeling a thing!

No rubbing on the fenders at higher speeds and while I was not at the limit I was able to keep up with the other instructors and cars ranging from a WRX to GT3rs and I could feel the effect of the 255's up front and the -4 camber. So far I am pleased with the low cost coilovers I put on. ST XTA. I world rate these as good bang for the buck as they include the camber plates and so far the spring rates do the job for a d/e drive.

Current projects being done are:
Rod bearings
Oil pan gasket
Oil pick up
Oil pan baffle
LSD install with reflash of DCT from Epic
Subframe and diff mount bushings
Rear coils
I have a good friend who is a specialty tech for Hendrick and he is doing the work over our holiday break. The floor pans arrive today. Next year's season starts in 1 month and I will pick up with the build then.



Found this later today and might be something on the oil pressure code.
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1810365

Merry Christmas to all of you!

[Cobra1956]

Nothing says Christmas like new bushings, LSD install, and finally getting at these old rubber brake lines.

[Cobra1956]

Some updates from they shop as the are buttoning up the work. One of the remaining brake hoses was seized so it needed to be cut and flared, no big deal but I would have never gotten it myself. One of the rear subframe bushings came with two tops instead of the top and bottom. The bottom has an indent for a insert on the car. No issues a drill press could not handle and the rear subframe and diff poly from RevShift is in.

Rear coils are done. I forgot to order the nut for the driveshaft as it apparently it's a one time use item also. Dealership got one for me.


Found a cut in one of the intercooler hoses, probably do to my ham fisting things back together. Oil pan baffle is done. Rod bearings are done, used ACL Race bearings for a bit more cleanace. Old number 6 bearing @75000 miles.




Did replace the plastic pickup also so things should be all done monday. Tracking on the 18th and plan to just take it easy breaking in the diff and bedding in the rear brakes.




As punishment for wimping out and having someone else to this I spent the day working on my Creeper van tow vehicle and replaced the front shocks. What an effing pain in the ass!

[Cobra1956]

Picking the car up on Friday in Charlotte and then heading down to CMP for instructor training. Looks like rain and cold so it will be perfect, if you're a duck!
Epic has the tune done for the DCT with the ratio change and they are going to walk me through the programming. To be honest I don't know exactly how/what it does but I am sure they play with line pressures a bit and let the ecu know it will be getting different info from the wheel sensors when coupled with rpm and speed sensors. Will also be breaking in new diff as well as the first miles on the new bearings. Most likely be on street tires as the drill is to be mimicking a new student while training instructor candidates. For those in the area that are interested in instructing you now have another option of training as TurnOne at CMP is now qualified to hold instructor training. I think we will hold schools at least twice a year.

Items for me on the agenda are to replace the fan with a hardwired unit and have a switch on the dash. Will have the new floorboards with me and it the weather and time permit will try to mount them.
Have grandpa duties Saturday night through Monday so will try to get a post as to how things go with the new bits.

[Cobra1956]

Day did not go as planned. Missed connection with the tuner as he was traveling to Colorado. Wish he would have explained his schedule better as I would have gone to the car a day earlier but we will get it next time.
Finished the day up with this. Noise changes with speed but no vibration. Will have the shop at track look into it while I source some bits to send down.

Jacked up, in gear

[Cobra1956]

I will have a little down time until I get back to the car. Scheduled the tuning of the DCT for Feb 27 so hopefully that gets done this time. The shop will get to the mystery noise and as a precaution I ordered all the bolts, nuts, rubber collar, flex disc, center brace and rear coupling nut and had them shipped down to the shop. I did not realize that when the diff would be swapped out that the driveshaft would have to come out, or at least that was how it was done. I should have thought about it a bit more and had all of these parts ready to go the first time as most likely they are 13 plus years old. (idiot)

I am hoping that the noise is a failed flex disc or possibly a bolt/nut combination that was not torqued properly and caused some destruction. Another possibility is flex disc not secured to the flange and the location sleeves are not in the holes on the flange. This was a new finding to me when moving up from the e36/e46 chassis and could also be a factor for the shop that installed. The lack of vibration coupled with the noise really has me guessing until we get the exhaust off and drop the insulation to see. It is interesting that in my shopping there is a kit to address the "clicking noise" incurred after a driveshaft installation so maybe this is something that has been seen before or why would they sell something like that?

So little projects to attack and gauges is next on the list. I will use the open space in the dash where the radio was and put in an oil pressure and coolant temp gauge. I like mechanical gauges as I am stupid when it come to electrical stuff although the electric install might be easier.

Picked up a couple of inexpensive gauges from Speedway, 2 and 5/8 inch and will mount them in a piece of aluminum and then angle it a bit towards the driver seat. Once I have them in I will run the car, find out what the "normal reading is and then clock the gauges so normal will have the indicator pointing straight up to the 12 o'clock position. Makes it easy to determine if things are okay without actually reading the gauge.

I will pick up the oil pressure by using an adapter of ebay that allows you to still use the oem sensor and plumb in a npt line. The smaller piece was from my stash.


As for the coolant I ordered another top radiator hose and will cut and insert an adapter allowing the mechanical probe for the gauge. On the s54's I used the block drain located under the front header but with the turbo and various plumbing on that side of the n55 I opted for this route.

You can order the pressure gauge with a metal line so I opted for that and it includes the collets and various fittings. I also have a box of old stuff collect over the last 20 years.


As a side note this is why I am not a fan of Accusump. I use the Moroso product. This is a valve from an accusump. Years back when I called Canton with problems of the sump burping itself in my engine bay, they told me that the valve was not on the fluid side of the unit. It is and to make matter worse it is not the correct valve as when I looked up the MFGR it stated not to be used with liquids. Out of curiosity I thought I would look at the MFGR website to see it the information was still the same. Info now states the valve is for "vent to atmosphere". No issue with the valve rather the application. Your results may vary. Another thing I found odd is that Canton was unable to tell me to what pressure their product was tested to where Moroso could. Was not inspired by Canton tech at the time. Things may have changed.

[Cobra1956]

Today is arts and crafts day. I have decided that I am going to bite the bullet and replace the valvetronic motor and shaft as I think I have an issue based on the chatter the car wakes up to. At the least we are going to pull the cover off and see what lurks beneath and since this car is going to take a beating on the track, probably money well spent. I plan to drive back down to the track and move the car to an independant shop, owned by a friend and get the work done. Since I will be at the car 5 weeks earlier than planned I spent a bit of time with the gauges and a shoe box and made a rough dash mock up. I can see what need to change before I transfer it to something a bit stronger. I canted the gauges to where I think they might be assuming readings to be in the 12 area.



The flap of the box gets an additional bend that should allow the panel favored towards me and secured to anchor points made available from removing the radio. That fold would most likely be trimmed to for tabs to fit.

[Cobra1956]

Killing a bit of time waiting for the shop to finish the valvetronic work, I clean out and throw away the old parts. I did post a shot of the bearing shells for cylinder 6. I think I indicated that I went with ACL race bearings as I was paranoid after reading the horror stories about rod bearings. Interesting that Matt Armstrong is rebuilding a GT3 rs that was submerged and replace the bearings and then went back in to use oem Porsche shells only to find there was only about a thousand difference so we are not the only ones who deal with this issue. Before I checked the old bearings and I laid them out to see how they all looked.
These are stamped BMW on one side of the bearing so I am guessing that they are the original ones. At least 3 owners and 75k on the clock. To be honest after checking all of them I would have no issue having them in the car but from my experience BMW runs really tight clearances. If you check with various engine shops to gather what they would build, none of them would be as tight as the oem set up. Along with running oil slightly thicker than water for mpg efforts, it would not take much to spin a bearing if the change interval was neglected or the oil not sufficiently warmed up. Here are the shots. Any of the blemishes that you see, cannot be felt and I am assuming that this is the type of bearing that absorbs the punishment to a point. Bearing issues for BMW date all the way back to the S54 and maybe earlier but it is interesting that that engine was originally specd with a multi weight 30 oil until BMW finally discovered that their supplier had bad bearings and then they supplied the oil in a 10w 60 format that I have yet to be able to find an actual spec sheet of what was in it. My suspicions are it was a high zinc/phosphorus blend as they figured cats were cheaper than replacing blocks with new picture windows in them. I have always run at least a 40w on the track and ran a 50w in the S54 motors. I also change my oil every 6 track days which I know is excessive but I use it in my tow vehicle so it is not getting thrown out that soon.
Bearings running l-r are 6-1. You can clearly see that number 3 ate something it did not like but you can't feel anything despite how these look. I normally swap bearings out at @15k track miles. Between the pan baffle, the slightly larger bearings, and the pre oiler, I am hoping that I have done what is necessary to insure no issues.

[j0000stin]

Amazing build so far! Do you have and side photos with the 9L wing installed?

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by j0000stin

Amazing build so far! Do you have and side photos with the 9L wing installed?

I posted a few but maybe this will help. The endplates are the wooden ones the have on for shipping in the box. The car is currently in the shop in Rock Hill so if there is a particular shot you need let me know. I go back on the 26th for the transmission tune and then 3 days at CMP

[j0000stin]

Sick! I was actually trying to get a pic of the full side profile of the car to see how well it lines up with the roof line and how far back the wing sits.

I’m around the charlotte area so maybe I’ll see you at CMP some time this summe! Going to be taking the beginners course though lol

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by j0000stin

Sick! I was actually trying to get a pic of the full side profile of the car to see how well it lines up with the roof line and how far back the wing sits.

I’m around the charlotte area so maybe I’ll see you at CMP some time this summe! Going to be taking the beginners course though lol

I think the wing is just slightly above the roof line and will confirm that for you when I go back down. If you notice their upright bolts to the vertical portion of the deck lid so it's back pretty far unless you would go to a swan type of mount. I was trying to use the wing off my e36 but the decks are not similar enough and when I saw that 9L had mounts for the car it made the decision easy.

[spidertri]

I've been thinking about doing the NLR wing and a front splitter for way too long now, seeing pictures of it on your car is not helping me resist that want.

Is your car currently at Big Dog in Rock Hill?

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by spidertri

I've been thinking about doing the NLR wing and a front splitter for way too long now, seeing pictures of it on your car is not helping me resist that want.

Is your car currently at Big Dog in Rock Hill?

yes, Jack is doing the valvetronics and sorting the driveline noise. The front aero will be addressed this spring. The first goals were to get the car to the track. I have a set of vents for the hood and will fashion a splitter for the front as the weather get better. I have only driving the car to about 100 mph as I sort things out slowly as it will be driven about 40 days per year. Feel free to stop by the shop and gather any information. One of the struggles has been the lack of stuff available for the e82 chassis. E36 was a simple project.

[Cobra1956]

With a little downtime I am trying to figure out aero for the front end to balance the wing. Will probably do the splitter out of plywood 1/2 or 3/8. I would like to make a template so I can cut these out quickly. I had picked up an old e36 splitter that was made out of plastic and used that on the other car. With the router I could cut and bevel the edges and have it ready to go in under 10 minutes so I would like to be able to do that again. I have posted a few shots of me setting the bumper cover on this template to get the inner and outer edge of the cover and then can extend it out to the desired lip desired. I think this attempt will also include fences on the ends. I am trying to decide if I will cut the fenders to help the air around the tires. I will be venting the hood so I need to decide how big and where to locate the hole. I also would like to make some canards out of abs or aluminum probably depending on my skill or lack thereof. If you are into that kind of stuff I have found great information from AJ Hartman and Kyle Engineering online. An interesting find was a wind tunnel test where they covered the cowel to the windshield and got an additional amount of downforce. Was 12-14 pounds. I usually dont run in the rain and use RainX when I do so the last car did not have wipers or any of the motors. I might leave the motors or at least the posts to aide in attaching the covers if I go that route so grocery list is something like this:
Splitter with fences
Venting hood
Wheel spats for bumper cover ties to the splitter
Cowell cover
Fender venting

[Cobra1956]

It's not a true track car build without some sketchy fabrication. Nothing too bad but I finally got my adapter from China to plumb in the coolant gauge. It seems that there were few options for a 1/2 npt 38mm hose adapter. So I get it and find that the threads are slightly smaller than 1/2 npt. The adapter is correct. What I assumed I have was incorrect as it is about 1/16 smaller. ONWARD!
Cut the new top hose I picked up. Cut out a piece to facilitate the adapter and a quick soak in hot water with a little Dawn and the hose is ready....only to find the bung does not fit in tightly!


Since both sides are threaded I put out a call to JB Weld and will use his mad skills to cover my lack thereof. Since both surfaces are threaded this should work fine. Rather than wait for another adapter I will pick up the one with a 1/4 npt hole and take it to a friend that owns a machine shop and have him drill and tap to what I need.


Apparently I left my idiot light on! On a positive note, I think I finally have a post with picture in the correct orientation...

[j0000stin]

for the front splitter, are you planning on making your own custom mounts or something off the shelf?

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by j0000stin

for the front splitter, are you planning on making your own custom mounts or something off the shelf?

Ha, today's schedule took me to Home Depot racing supply. Picked up a sheet of birch plywood. I had them cut it for me to 66x35 inches. This is a bit wider than the bumper so if I run spats or fences they will tie in there. If not it will meet the router. I bought a splitter for the other car but I thought the plastic to light for track abuse and not stiff enough so I could cut them out using the plastic one as a template. I am not sure if I will cut the plastic one to use just on the 1 series or just use it to get the wood down to size quicker with the router. I do have the outline of the bumper cover on the one series drawn on the black so I plan to go about 4 inches from there. I am also planning to carve out some of the top side of the wood to reduce weight but leave it full thickness where I will attach to the car frame. The first spletter I put on the e36 was from a NASCAR COT and made out of tegris. Got that for $50 which was killer. When I put the dct in the car I opted for a better splitter and removed the aluminum belly pan. First one used threaded rod from the hardware store. The plywood one I used some e36 mount from Hard Motorsport. I will most likely bend either steel or aluminum flat stock to make supports to the frame. If you look at the Turner site they have a metal belly pan and they use nutserts to the frame. If mine goes in deep enough I might use the same idea as I bought a kit from Harbor Freight that works great for nutserts. Home Depot will cut this for you:


On the e36 you end up cutting off everything behind the slot designed for the sway bar. You can see the e82 outline drawn on it. The leading edge of the slitter should be rounded a bit between the ground and the bottom. I cut that last with the router. This helps the air flow and eliminates some turbulence.


For reference post 20 has pictures of the bumper cover with the plastic splitter

[Cobra1956]

Originally Posted by j0000stin

Sick! I was actually trying to get a pic of the full side profile of the car to see how well it lines up with the roof line and how far back the wing sits.

I’m around the charlotte area so maybe I’ll see you at CMP some time this summe! Going to be taking the beginners course though lol

Here you go. Too much rake in the car but that is on the to do list. Not too scientific and assuming I held the camera level, if you move the picture so the top of the car is level with the top of your frame it appears the wing is just slightly lower than the top of the car. My granddaughter taught me to rotate my phone when I take pictures! yay!