The Cart Before the Horse: Spec 3 Build

[Senor_Taylor]

Got my new RA1s mounted and they'll be staying on the car as its "Street" tire as well as back ups at the track and for Rain. Practically new 205/50/15 RRs mounted as well and those will be my "track" tire. Picked up a new helmet and HANS at OGRacing this weekend and also snagged a wheel and hub so I could go ahead and delete my airbags.

Pulled maybe another 80+ lbs out of the car by pulling the rest of the carpet except a small patch in the drive floor area. Pulled a ton of wiring out as well as the airbags and more of the dash. The car has been sitting with a pretty steep rake so I removed the rear spring pads to try to drop it some more. Also adjusted my headlights and removed the hood insulation. Most importantly, I replaced the alternator that has been dying since I bought the car. I suspected the high pitch whine was the alternator, and that thought was confirmed last weekend when the alternator stopped charging correctly at high RPM. Popped in a Bosch unit and the car sounds much better and also doesn't have any idle dip when turning on high load electronics anymore. She's ready for Hyperfest!

[Jake]

I need to clarify that the white residue on my nose in the first photo is spray paint, and nothing else.

Car looks good! Glad we got it running after those aftermarket relays were pulled - smart to pull them as it removes a point of failure later on. You will have to drill out the steering column lock before comp school although you can do it anytime before then. Helpful if your engine dies, oh say, around Oak Tree and you have to muscle the car down the South Pit lane.

Excited to see the rest of your season!

[JPolen01]

Looks good on the new wheels

[Kaan]

looking good! burn those RRs up! no need to pawn them off...

that being said I'm looking to buy my first set of new tires lol

[Senor_Taylor]

Spent some time today fiddling with the car. Deleted the cruise control. Pulled the drive side HID setup out and popped in a stock unit with a custom intake hole I had. Cleaned the MAF and throttle body and tightened the throttle cable. Combining this with the massive weight reduction of 60-100 pounds posted above and a functional alternator, the car feels (and sounds) very nice. Final nut and bolt tomorrow before I start packing. AC delete and more weight saving may be coming after hyperfest.

If anyone has a stock passenger headlight, please let me know. I need one so I can swap it out with the other HID and sell them.

[ScottyB]

car's looking great man!

[Senor_Taylor]

First time towing the car and it was pretty nice, besides the fact that renting a uHaul for 4 days costs 20% of just buying your own trailer. Ripped off the porkchops I installed on said uHaul trailer when unloading it, but got one reattached Thursday night. I got a free set of spec wheels from Cobetto and picked up another set of RR scrubs for $60 so I had those mounted Saturday. These look much better than those ugly red things I've been running.

For anyone keeping track at home, that leaves me with
Style 29s with NEW 225/50/15 RA1s - Rain tire
Style 7s with 225/50/15 RRs with a ton of heat cycles
Style 5s painted red with 205/50/15 RRs practically new
Style 6s with Winter Tires
Style 32s with all seasons

The latter two I've had listed for sale forever.

I didn't get to drive until Sunday morning after Maeng took my car out for a session. I texted him while I was on grid and asked how the car felt and he had no issues except it was bouncy in left hand turns. I figured that was just the fact that I had swapped tires without telling him and he went out with 50 PSI in the back left. I went out and immediately discovered a loud clacking sound that got really bad under left hand turns. I pulled in and had pit out check underneath and they found nothing. I went back out and got another 2 laps in before checker and I turned in.

I hoped it was just the fire extinguisher rattling around so I cut that loose and hopped in the passenger seat to head out with Maeng at the wheel and we didn't make it out of turn 2 before hearing the racket and bringing it back in the look. I asked pit out (Brandon) to look at my rear shock mounts to see if they looked funny. He checked and came back around to inform me that there was actually no shock back there. We pulled the car in and popped the wheel off to find that the shock piston has broken through the shock mount. I found a replacement part and threw it in and headed out for my next session. Maeng left his AIM in there so I had some actual times for my first time on track. 2:27, 2:26, 2:25, 2:24.... Okay, I was picking up time, so I decided to keep pushing. Came in hot through Oak Tree and dipped a tire off... and the noise is back. I pull in and check the mount. This one is broken as well. Turns out I installed both missing a washer, so it was pure luck I hadn't blown them earlier. That was the end of my weekend.

I'm looking forward to Summit where hopefully everything can finally come together. A running car without charging issues, tire issues, or other things being broken. The car felt absolutely STELLAR in the few laps between broken shock mounts. I could definitely feel the ~200 lbs of weight loss. The better ride height from lowering the rear was apparent, having balanced, good tires that were actually found inspired a lot of confidence since the car was shaking violently above 60MPH. The headlight intake and cleaned throttle body, MAF, and free spinning alternator definitely made the car feel a lot peppier. I'm very happy about the car.

To do before Summit:
Install new rear shock mounts (again, but properly)
Flip my shock mount reinforcements
Add bump stops to the rear shocks
AC delete
Pull the last bit of carpet
Swap driver seat and harnesses for the halo seat I just picked up

To do before next season:
Remove sound deadening
Install Spec Exhaust
Install ECU Chip
Sunroof delete
Rear Subframe reinforcement
Sway bar reinforcement
Subframe bushings (AKG Poly)
Diff bushings (AKG Poly)
Engine and Trans Mounts (E46 M3)
Rear control arm ball joints (OEM)

Beyond:
Source M3 Control arms, Spec Shocks, Spec Springs, Spec anit-roll kit, camber plates (This step alone will cost 25% of what I've already spent on the car)
If I come into some money or a better job, see if I can get a cage welded up. May not be feasible, but is very important.
Fire bottle
Kill Switch
Drill ignition lock
Vanos rebuild
Baffled oil pan and safety wired oil pump nut

At that point, I believe this car will be 99% of the way to being spec legal.

[Kaan]

some days... if it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all.

keep your eyes on the prize! See you at summit!

[rherold9]

A lot of bad luck from MM this weekend. The Hyperfest curse lives on lol.

It always takes time to get a car sorted, but once you do it will be a relief! Keep on progressing!

[Senor_Taylor]

Who would have thought the car would hold together better when I install parts correctly? Only casualties this weekend was a turn signal flying out somewhere on track along with a fog light blank. The car itself handled marvelously. I was able to put down consisten 1:31-1:32 laps for most of the weekend but my times continually dropped off  as these tires wore down past the last grooves and the track got hotter. Cobetto drove my car for a session and confirmed my suspicions that my suspension is far too soft and is putting a lot of heat in my front tires. Considering I'm on stock sway bars and some random combination of vogtland springs and bilsteins, Hawk HP+ pads, tires with unknown heat cycles, and being 200 pounds too heavy, being only 5-6 seconds off the Spec 3 guys doesn't feel too bad.

I don't think I'll be able to swing any event before August VIR financially so I'll try to tackle installing the Spec 3 exhaust and ECU chip, delete the AC, and maybe start to source parts for someone to weld in reinforcements and do my rear bushings this off season. Hopefully should gain a few horsepower and lose a few more pounds with those things.

[Kaan]

you looked pretty good coming through T10 when I was hanging out on the fence line. That little green hatch in your group is a fully prepped H2 car and you were able to drive right by him.

I will say looking at your video you seem to be cheating yourself in T7-T9... you are cheating to center track before committing to turning in. The car will feel more settled and you will drop some time with a little more discipline there. I had the same issue this weekend in T3... I caught myself doing it and worked most of Saturday to shake that really bad habit.

I spent most of the beast of the east race behind the 2nd/3rd place SE30 cars... they put the smack down on McCavoy that afternoon... they are pretty disciplined with their lines and are making passes only when the lead car gets pushed too hard and makes a mistake. They are doing a lot of left foot braking in T3 and T10 just FYI.

[Senor_Taylor]

Yup, I watched Cobetto's feet when he was driving my car. Left foot braking in 3, 6, 10. Not sure if I'm there yet or if I want to do that. I guess it may be necessary eventually?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Kaan]

Yup, I watched Cobetto's feet when he was driving my car. Left foot braking in 3, 6, 10. Not sure if I'm there yet or if I want to do that. I guess it may be necessary eventually?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

its going to allow you to balance the car better and get those last tenths. start practicing now... I'm late to the game as far as that goes.

[D_Eclipse9916]

1. Get data, it will help. Buy that AIM already.

2. Commitment, your turn in is slow and it is causing you to miss your entry. You should be "turning in" before what the grip suggests. That is, when you turn in, the car will understeer just a tad off what you are doing. If you are turning in at what you think you should be turning in; you are late and will miss the apex. If you turn in before you think you need to and COMMIT, the car will slightly 4-wheel drift or understeer and you will be hitting apex right on point. I watched a couple laps and it was pretty consistent with almost every corner. There is a couple seconds from that alone.

3. Your exit of 5-6-7 is fantastic, but you are mid-track at 8 (what kaan said) and pinching off one of the most important corners on track. Get back more left for preparation of 9, even if it means you have to compromise 8 (you shouldn't, the way the car was reacting it had a lot left in it on 8 to go tighter).

4. Turn 1 you are trying to turn in and brake at the same time and it is cooking those fronts. Get 90% of your braking done, then trail off brake while turning in. You are currently at full braking and trying to turn in which is why it doesn't turn in with authority.

5. Keep your eyes up. You will battle this your entire road racing career. It will help with T3 and T10 in your video especially.


Those are 5 actions you can work on, any more and you will overwhelm yourself. For HPDE, you are doing well; don't focus on the lap times too much compared to your racing brethren; you WILL pick up 2-3 seconds alone when you go racing from using people as rabbits. Focus on learning "grip" vs the perfect line. #2 and #4 suggestions are crutches you learned from driving a car with a lot of aides in HPDE 1/2 that you will 100% need to break by the time you go racing.

[Senor_Taylor]

1. Get data, it will help.  Buy that AIM already.

2. Commitment, your turn in is slow and it is causing you to miss your entry.  You should be "turning in" before what the grip suggests.  That is, when you turn in, the car will understeer just a tad off what you are doing.  If you are turning in at what you think you should be turning in; you are late and will miss the apex.  If you turn in before you think you need to and COMMIT, the car will slightly 4-wheel drift or understeer and you will be hitting apex right on point.  I watched a couple laps and it was pretty consistent with almost every corner.  There is a couple seconds from that alone.

3.  Your exit of 5-6-7 is fantastic, but you are mid-track at 8 (what kaan said) and pinching off one of the most important corners on track. Get back more left for preparation of 9, even if it means you have to compromise 8 (you shouldn't, the way the car was reacting it had a lot left in it on 8 to go tighter).

4.  Turn 1 you are trying to turn in and brake at the same time and it is cooking those fronts.  Get 90% of your braking done, then trail off brake while turning in.  You are currently at full braking and trying to turn in which is why it doesn't turn in with authority.  

5.  Keep your eyes up.  You will battle this your entire road racing career.  It will help with T3 and T10 in your video especially.


Those are 5 actions you can work on, any more and you will overwhelm yourself.  For HPDE, you are doing well; don't focus on the lap times too much compared to your racing brethren; you WILL pick up 2-3 seconds alone when you go racing from using people as rabbits.  Focus on learning "grip" vs the perfect line.  #2 and #4 suggestions are crutches you learned from driving a car with a lot of aides in HPDE 1/2 that you will 100% need to break by the time you go racing.

Wow, awesome. Thank you for taking the time to watch and coach. Can't wait to work on all of this.

[Senor_Taylor]

Oh hey.

Installed my Spec 3 Exhaust and DME Chip. It's loud, it's smelly, it crackles and pops, it's awesome. The exhaust itself is a pile of trash though. Terrible welds, poorly fitting, and cheaply made. Oh well, it was only $300. I have a week off before Pitt Race so I think I'm going to tear my car apart and remove the sound deadening and delete the AC components if possible. Does anyone know a good place to get dry ice around Tysons?

On non M E36 cars, the sway bar end links attach to the control arm. On the M cars, they use a smaller sway bar, but attach the links to the strut housing. This effectively is stiffer than the larger bar mounted to control arms. My Bilstein shocks have the tab to mount my front sway bar links to it and I already have the thickest E36 sway bar (sport 22.5 mm). The car doesn't oversteer presently, if anything, it understeers, so that would probably make it worse right? The car rolls a lot of dives hard in the front and I'd like to remedy that with a something while I save up for the actual Spec 3 suspension.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Oh hey.

Installed my Spec 3 Exhaust and DME Chip. It's loud, it's smelly, it crackles and pops, it's awesome. The exhaust itself is a pile of trash though. Terrible welds, poorly fitting, and cheaply made. Oh well, it was only $300. I have a week off before Pitt Race so I think I'm going to tear my car apart and remove the sound deadening and delete the AC components if possible. Does anyone know a good place to get dry ice around Tysons?

On non M E36 cars, the sway bar end links attach to the control arm. On the M cars, they use a smaller sway bar, but attach the links to the strut housing. This effectively is stiffer than the larger bar mounted to control arms. My Bilstein shocks have the tab to mount my front sway bar links to it and I already have the thickest E36 sway bar (sport 22.5 mm). The car doesn't oversteer presently, if anything, it understeers, so that would probably make it worse right? The car rolls a lot of dives hard in the front and I'd like to remedy that with a something while I save up for the actual Spec 3 suspension.

Soft suspension on E36 requires more front bar to tame understeer (yes backwards from logical thought).  The bigger the front bar the less understeer you'll get.

[JPolen01]

I think some Safeway locations sell dry ice

[Jake]

I used a heat gun and plastic paint scraper to remove all my sound deadening, and it came off in big sheets. May be easier, I dunno.

[Senor_Taylor]

Had the week off from work and did a sunroof delete and an AC delete. The AC delete was fairly straight forward. Disconnect the AC lines from the firewall, pull the front clip of the car off and disconnect the lines to the condenser. Remove the condenser, unbolt the compressor, and pull those items as well. Also deleted the horns and the washer fluid. The sunroof delete involved unbolting the entire cassette, measuring, cutting and drilling pieces of metal to hold the sunroof panel into the roof skin, and then sealing with caulk and taping the top of the roof to keep water out. The whole process took probably 6-8 hours for both things.

Towed the car to Pitt Race and was met with rain the first morning so I switched to my RA1 rain tires. I ended up leaving those on all weekend as I didn't feel I was being help back by tire at all. DE2 with Great Lakes is a lot different and consisted of almost 2 hour classroom sessions, drills in every other session, and passing anywhere except braking zones. I've been solo for a while now, but apparently that is not a thing with this region and even DE3 has instructors. Picked up a lot of speed as I learned the track on the first day and ran at 2:14. Race pace for Spec 3 seemed to be 2:04-2:06 so I had a long way to go, but I was gaining confidence. Near the end of the day I started working on left foot braking as I got the line down and really enjoyed the smoothness it added. This video here is from the reverse gridding drill where the "faster" people were gridded in the rear and slower people were in the front to encourage passing. I ended up being second from the back and struggled more than I expected since my car lacked the straight line speed of most of the cars, but absolutely ate them up in the turns. The car ended up developing a miss down low due to a valve cover gasket failure flooding my spark plug wells with oil, so that's another thing to work on before VIR.