Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Printable Version

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Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 (/showthread.php?tid=10430)

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Re: Das Pace: My '97 M3/4/5 - JustinG - 03-06-2017

Jake Wrote:He's got plenty of photos to share (get yer own build thread, kid) but the highlight was the dead bird falling out of the bumper and almost nailing me in the face as we removed the stock intercooler :thumbup:

All I could picture was a scene from this...

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Re: Das Pace: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-06-2017

Pretty much.

And then I put it in a bag and pretended to throw it at him. 10/10 reaction, would recommend A++.

Re: Das Pace: My '97 M3/4/5 - ScottyB - 03-06-2017

:lol:

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Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-21-2017

Changed the thread title, "Das Pace" hasn't really applied to this car in a year or so and especially won't anymore.

The car hadn't been washed since I moved in September, because my new apartment complex doesn't have any sort of hose and the car clearly can't go through an automated wash. I hit up my old neighbor Nate yesterday - he has moved out of our old townhouse community but is in an apartment with a car wash station. So, I threw a tag from the F150 on the back of the M3 and drove it over to his complex, about a mile up the road. Yay, sketchy drives. Thankfully I wasn't pulling a DJ and driving it 10+ miles in one go. :thumbup:

Got her all shined up, installed the panel that Joey made for my couple of switches, and put the three orange stripes on the back bumper for "rookie status."

Time to do this.

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Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - ViPER1313 - 03-21-2017

If you are going to go all illegal status (and I am not advocating to do so), no plate > swapped plates. Rex or Dave can explain.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-21-2017

ViPER1313 Wrote:If you are going to go all illegal status (and I am not advocating to do so), no plate > swapped plates. Rex or Dave can explain.

Oh I know the story well :lol: In hindsight, I should have just saved the time it took to bolt a plate on it and driven the car plate-less. Won't make a lick of difference given how otherwise not-street-legal it is.

That's also probably the only time it will see the street. Hoping my next place will have a hose.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - navin - 03-22-2017

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse.html">http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse.html</a>

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - ScottyB - 03-22-2017

navin Wrote:http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse.html

i just washed the RS with that on Saturday. stuff is a freakin miracle product, as long as you're not trying to wash off dried clay or tar or some other baked-on garbage. the garage always has a bottle on reserve.

i tried it out for the first time back in '07 due to my apartment shutting its car wash down for drought restrictions. can confirm, if you're living the no-garage/no-faucet life, if you have a bucket and 2 big microfibers you can wash your car with this.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-22-2017

Huh, good to know that it actually works. I should get some for the E46. I don't mind running the truck through the automated wash, but I have to think all the high-pressure stuff isn't doing good things to the soft top long-term.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - ScottyB - 03-22-2017

Jake Wrote:Huh, good to know that it actually works.

its really counter-intuitive...if you watch any how-to videos, you keep thinking, "there's no way i'm not grinding crap directly into the paint", but somehow that stuff cleans and traps the gunk in the sponge/microfiber. somehow it also leaves a great "semi-waxy" coat on the paint too, like a light quick detailer spray, so if you don't have time for a finishing coat you can get by for a while.

i realize now how much of a fanboy i sound like, but honestly i don't know anything else that you can get so much mileage out of for like $15. you can mix it as a wash, quick detailer, or clay lube and you need minimal equipment to use it. i love it in the winter - i just wash the car with it right in the garage since no hose down is necessary.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - navin - 03-22-2017

Yeah it's pretty good stuff, my link post was lacking with any info (freaking work!)..

But for the race car, just one bucket if it you aren't TOO worried about swirls, etc.. It's also nice because you also mix it as a quick detailer in a spray bottle as well if you dont want to do a complete "wash". What I usually do on the civic.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-27-2017

Comp School and First-Ever GTS2 Race Weekend at VIR
My driving progressed over the last year or so to the point where I (and others) felt that I was ready for wheel to wheel competition. I decided back in November that 2017 was the year I'd finish the car and do Comp School, and that I'd want to do it at a track where I was very comfortable, so that I could focus on the school as much as possible. I got the car prepped (ish) and headed to VIR on Thursday afternoon.

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I already had my Annual Tech done (thanks, Deren!) so I just had to unpack, get my Annual sticker, and enjoy the sunset. Ran up to the Tavern and had dinner with Jack and one of his Corvette buddies. Stayed for another drink or two with Zach once he got in.

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Comp School
Friday morning rolled around and I was equal parts excited and nervous for the day. Is my driving really that good? Did I study enough for the written exam? Laura grabbed a shot of me checking tire pressures before the day began - after that, I handed the car off to Chris Davis (he was my crew for the day) and headed to class.

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Class was pretty interesting. We talked a lot about racecraft and how to be smart and safe in various situations. The day was structured with 45ish minutes of classroom time followed immediately by 40ish minutes of track time, running drills that we had discussed in class just before.

My car made it through the first round of drills - basic warm up, rolling start and racing - just fine. Chris filled it up with gas and I came out for the second session. Hopped in and it wouldn't hold an idle at all (it'd die if I was off the throttle). Got out on track and it could hardly crack 100 mph on the back straight. Crap. Also, I had some severe shaking from the brakes when applied. Double crap. I knew I had to just "keep moving" as coming in early from a track session could jeopardize my chances at passing the school. So, I pressed on and tried to carry momentum without using the brakes much. It worked enough to finish the session.

I came in, Chris and I got the car in the air and immediately found two cracked brake rotors. I set about replacing them (only had one spare, of course...) and he looked into the rough running issues. It threw 4 codes related to O2, fuel trim, cam angle sensor, and "multiple misfires detected" (no shit) so we figured a bad ground or vacuum leak.

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Unfortunately, time was running short over my lunch break and I only had one of two rotors swapped, with no fix for the poor drivetrain condition. With 8 minutes before class (and subsequent track time) I took off sprinting down the paddock to Jeff Hall's parking spot.

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I think I showed up looking like my ass was on fire and babbled something about "I have less than 10 minutes until I need a car and mine is broken and I have wheels that will fit yours and you're not driving it today and I'll put gas in it and we can talk money later on but can I rent it please and thank you?" He just smiled and was like "of course, bring your wheels over and we'll get them on while you're in class." Jeff and Sri are life savers.

My (new) noble steed for the day:

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So, I finished the day in a rented Spec E46 on my RS3 summer tires. Our post-lunch drills included starts (standing and rolling) as well as side-by-side and leapfrog drills - all of which were a lot of fun. I realized as I came up to the first standing start that I had no real idea where the optimal "launch RPM" was for Jeff's car, so I just picked ~4200 rpm and went for it. Laid some pretty impressive 11s but it worked.

We concluded the track portion of the day with a fun race, where all of us students mixed it up with Real Life Racers for 25 minutes or so. After the race, we got pulled in for our egress test (out the door in 7.5 seconds in a car I hadn't practiced in, booyah) and then back to the classroom for the written test.

Only ~8 of us out of the 21 ended up passing and earning our licenses, and I was one of them. This is my "hooray, where's my beer and I have to fix my car" face.

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Thankfully, I found a spare rotor (again, from Sri Racing) and the rough running/codes were all due to the ICV hose popping off of the intake boot. Quick fixes FTW.

Doing It For Real
Practice on Saturday morning was like any old HPDE, but with more speed and more talent all around. Not too bad.

Qualifying both days was like TT, except people aren't nice about "oh, I should let him get a run, he's on a flyer lap" and you really have to just say "screw it, I'm gonna get mine" while being a little nice but not too nice about it.

The races, holy cow. Chris and Xavier talked about having a plan and being prepared to immedately change it up. My plan lasted from the start stand to about 500' past it. I didn't see the green flag on Saturday's race and just laid into the throttle when I heard the guy next to me do it. I was also in 3rd gear, which was a poor choice given my stock 3.23 rear end. Totally blew the start, lost the pack of GTS2 guys, and spent the entire 25 minute race worrying about getting in peoples' way, thinking how slow my car was out of corners, and overall just trying to keep my nose clean.

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Sunday was much, much better. I qualified ahead of the other GTS2 rookie. Made the decision to judiciously use 2nd gear to make up for my lack of corner-exit power. Also had a good chat Saturday evening with Cobetto about holding my own versus safely getting people in other classes by me.

The start on Sunday was more solid, I still couldn't quite hang in Turn 1 (everyone wants to be there and it's a total dog fight) but focused on using all of the available power and again, being clean.

Ended the race on Sunday 6th out of 8 and now have 2 of 4 clean races required to move from my provisional license to the hard card.

Paddock Fun
So much fun Saturday night!

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Brandon and Adam dove right in to helping a few friends with repairs, alongside Matt and James. Big ups to all of you, I know Tom and Roberto appreciated the help and Roberto was able to go out and perform well in his race on Sunday. Maeng and I mostly drank beer and offered moral support.

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Rides!
Got Brandon and Adam both out in Maeng's car on Saturday and in my car on Sunday afernoon. Adam wasn't working, so he was also able to hop in some other cars as various HPDE groups went out.

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Up Next
I've already got some wheels in motion (RIP Visa card) to get this car more competitive. Turns out building to the bare minimum of the rules doesn't go very far, who'dathunk that?

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In some particular form of order...

AKG poly engine and trans mounts
Solid differential mounts
DiffsOnline 3.64 LSD to replace my can't-leave-a-fucking-corner 3.23
Aero

Onward! Looking to have the mounts and diff installed before Dominion at the end of April.

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Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - D_Eclipse9916 - 03-27-2017

Great job buddy! It's so hard to explain to people the chaos of a race start until they are in one. Best I can come up with is 10 people lined up on the free throw line and given the green flag to shoot at the same time. Too fast and you lose accuracy and go wide, too slow and you get left behind (someone makes the shot first), right in the middle and your basketball is fighting others to the goal (turn 1). Videos and video games do nothing for the sensation.

You got a month to prepare for Dominion!

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - rherold9 - 03-27-2017

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Awesome job on being clean and having fun. I can't imagine what it feels like. Rookie stripes are looking good.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Senor_Taylor - 03-27-2017

They grow up so fast! I like to imagine we lost you to the dark side, buy gained Zach. Zach went from just working to driving and working. Brandon and the new guys come in to take their place. The circle of life.

Great job out there man!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - *insertusernamehere* - 03-27-2017

Senor_Taylor Wrote:They grow up so fast! I like to imagine we lost you to the dark side, buy gained Zach. Zach went from just working to driving and working. Brandon and the new guys come in to take their place. The circle of life.

Great job out there man!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Not even kidding. I thought the very same thing.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - ScottyB - 03-28-2017

great writeup Jake, i love seeing this story keep unfolding. you've really been dedicated to this and it sounds like its paying off across every facet of the journey! sorry to hear about the mechanical BS but nice work with the "hell no we won't go" attitude to salvage the weekend. making friends pays off, it seems :lol:

with the rear end, can you sell the 3.23 to help make the 3.64 an even sweeter buy or will you keep it as a spare? i guess that 3.23 might not be something that's in demand anyway.

how did you like driving the E46 compared to your 36? they seem pretty comparatively prepped and i guess weights are pretty similar too.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 03-28-2017

ScottyB Wrote:great writeup Jake, i love seeing this story keep unfolding. you've really been dedicated to this and it sounds like its paying off across every facet of the journey! sorry to hear about the mechanical BS but nice work with the "hell no we won't go" attitude to salvage the weekend. making friends pays off, it seems :lol:

with the rear end, can you sell the 3.23 to help make the 3.64 an even sweeter buy or will you keep it as a spare? i guess that 3.23 might not be something that's in demand anyway.

how did you like driving the E46 compared to your 36? they seem pretty comparatively prepped and i guess weights are pretty similar too.

I'll try to sell the 3.23. It's not really worth much to M3 owners, but non-M's can use it if they want to limit their slips. I think it's a drop-in for a 328i and mayyybe a 325 if the driveshaft has the right bolt pattern. Only worth a few hundred dollars, but that will offset a (very small) portion of the cost of the 3.64. I'm getting the new hotness diff for about half of new retail and it's still painful :vomit:

The SE46's are faster in a straight line, no contest. I thought it was predictable everywhere, easy to drive fast, and whatever ratio of diff it had made it a (relative) rocket. I think they dyno around 220 whp, and the spec diff is a 3.64 LSD, and minimum weight is 2,850 with driver. My car weighs a bit more (a hair over 3k with driver) so even with the new diff, it will feel a little slower but not much. SE46 definitely needs aero, I was heading toward the top of 5th on the back straight (125-130?) and it was becoming unpleasant. Same under heavy braking from that kind of speed.

Both cars/classes are piles of fun. Well-prepped examples of each, with quality drivers and open track ahead of them, can lay down 2:10s at VIR. The GTS2 E36 M3s have been nudging down into the 2:08-2:09's lately though.

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Maengelito - 03-29-2017

Jake Wrote:

awwww, that's adorable!

Jake Wrote:Maeng and I mostly drank beer and offered moral support.

I don't remember offering any moral support... :wink: :wink:

Jake Wrote:Rides!
Got Brandon and Adam both out in Maeng's car on Saturday and in my car on Sunday afernoon. Adam wasn't working, so he was also able to hop in some other cars as various HPDE groups went out.

I had a busted communicator on Saturday so I couldn't really hear anything that my passengers were saying. When its quiet like that, I just assume that they're bored or they're scared. Regardless, I'm glad we were able to get the noobs out on track.

Jake Wrote:Ended the race on Sunday 6th out of 8 and now have 2 of 4 clean races required to move from my provisional license to the hard card.

Good job surviving the weekend especially with the car issues on Friday. I never doubted that you'd be able to do it, but now that you've made it, I'm really excited for you!

Re: Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5 - Jake - 04-09-2017

Taylor was in town Friday for an interview, so he crashed at my place and got a taste of NoVA between going out in Clarendon Friday night and Katie's Cars & Coffee on Saturday morning. He stuck around to help spin some wrenches, and Tom came over as well.

The highlight of going out with Taylor was meeting these four women who were all married, slightly older than they first appeared, and on their way to being heavily intoxicated. Our favorite kept trying to dance/twerk with the DJ.

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Tom basically single-handedly pulled my old diff while Taylor and I removed the busted VANOS unit. A few of the axle bolts' heads look pretty crappy so I will likely order some new ones as replacement. Otherwise, the old diff came out easily. Chris Davis came by to grab the set of M-Parallel wheels I had sold him a while back, and we talked through the bushing removal. I don't have the new bushings yet but should get them early this week.

The old 3.23 diff is already sold to my friend Jake, who texted me asking if it was available after seeing the photo on Facebook. Easiest sale ever and at full asking price, even.

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The VANOS replacement was pretty easy (thank you DJ for the tools!). I threw a new valve cover gasket on the engine while we had it all apart. The shaft of the VANOS gear(?) thing had quite a bit of play, whereas the rebuilt unit had none. I'm excited to see how much better this makes the car drive.

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Chris is coming back over next Saturday to help with the diff bushings and the reinstall. We also talked about the merits of installing my front splitter without installing a wing, since I have one but not the other, for Dominion. I've already sold the Motion Motorsport undertray to Joey so I would like to get it off the car and stop kicking this giant piece of plywood around my garage. I have been working to reduce some front-end push, so the splitter alone may be useful there.

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