Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5

[Jake]

Got some work done tonight as I start to prep for Hyperfest at VIR. We have plenty of time (3.5 weeks, ish) until the event but my upcoming weekends are looking busy and if I end up needing to order parts, I'd rather know about it now versus having to rush. So, onward.

Aerocatch latches
The way one of my cage bars fits in the car means I can't re-mount the hood release, which makes opening the hood this awkward dance of grabbing each half of the hood release, twisting them in opposite directions and hoping I don't break fragile/thin ancient BMW interior plastics. Decided it was time to change that and get some hood latches. I went with the popular Aerocatch option versus cheapo hood pins as I liked the looks and stronger peace of mind they provide (latch being open is easy to see, pins not inserted - less so).

Got the pins mounted this evening and started mapping out where I'll be cutting the hood. I need to get proper discs for the Dremel before I can cut into the hood - the regular discs were just breaking so time to get something more durable.



Brake Bleed Screws
The rear caliper bleed screws were putting up a fight when we tried bleeding my brakes at Road Atlanta. Decided to replace all four screws as they were original to the car. Easy and quick job but I had to use some big ol' vice grips to get the rears off. Need to bleed the system with fresh Motul and I will be good to go there.

Pre-VIR Checklist

• Finish Aerocatch install
  
• Bleed brakes
  
• Oil change
  
• Inspect brake pad life, lube caliper guide pins
  
• Adjust sub-belt length on both seats
  
• Remove some ballast (car was 3214 at Summit Point, I can be 3180... would like to pull ~14 lbs which is two plates from the trunk)