Dj's 1999 M3 Project

[balactm]

Dj, Looks awesome, can't wait to see that headlight intake...I gotta get a ride from you too. When's the next time you'll be at summit?

[D_Eclipse9916]

Thanks Taylor and Jray, yeah excursions happen I guess lol. Didnt know there was a name for it .

Taylor, your welcome to catch a ride on track during NASA November 6/7th weekend at Summit.

[ScottyB]

car looks great. :bow: do you run an oil press gauge? how has pressure been holding up if so? that's a really neat OEM sump they did there. nothing like rushing to get stuff done for a weekend after you've already been working 8 hour days.

i really like the wrap job. most of the ones i see just surfing the internet look like someone from ancient egypt did it. did you get alot of smoke from the wrap spray on the first startup?

[xvxax]

Are you driving or working on the 6th/7th?

[D_Eclipse9916]

I am driving the 7th.

And yeah Scotty I hvaent put in my oil pressure gauge and temp gauge in yet, trying to figure out a clean mouinting solution for them first. It smokes a bit after startup and smells awful for about three days but after that you never smell it again.

Time for another update! Finally got around to swapping trunk lids with another White m3. I tried pulling off the stock spoiler off of mine but the glue they used was really strong so after some weak ass attempts with dental floss+heat, nylon wire + heat I gave up. I simply didnt want to mess up the wing too bad or the trunk.
So then I swapped trunks for a bare trunk. I was going to charge the guy for the wing, but we found a good bit of rust underneath the roundel so I just gave him a straight trade for his non-rusty trunk. (strange theres no rust anywhere else on the car, guess water got caught under the roundel).

Then it was time for big-tastic wing time. I wanted something interim that had low drag while high downforce, the OEM Hi-wing has lots of drag with its downfore and a little research about the PTG wing revealed it produced more downforce, less drag, and was higher up in cleaner air (side bonus its so high you just see under it). So at long last, here is the wing on. And yes Justin, wing pong will be in order at some point.





I also installed my Bimmerworld Race Intake and finishing up fabrication of the headlight duct (its just mocked up in this picture, not bolted, just laying there so fitment will be better).

[CaptainHenreh]

DJ: The new Mr. Spoiler

[D_Eclipse9916]

DJ: The new Mr. Spoiler

You should see the ridiculous wing I want.,..........

And then plans are already in the works for a much more aggressive splitter, im allowed up to 5 inches from the bumper :twisted:

[caa337]

Got a pic of the splitter?

[CaptainHenreh]

DJ: The new Mr. Spoiler

You should see the ridiculous wing I want.,..........

And then plans are already in the works for a much more aggressive splitter, im allowed up to 5 inches from the bumper :twisted:

Make sure your "much more aggressive splitter" is easily removable for getting on and off the scales.

[D_Eclipse9916]

^^ Didnt even think about that. The ride height I think is enough for NASA scales, as right now it gets up a steel trailer with the trailer ramps unmodified and no wood blocks. I think the ride height is higher than the scales in fact. And I cant do any lower as with an airdam as that would cost me too many points. Has to be horizontal off the stock bumper completely.

Also, got the car dynoed this past weekend on whats considered a heartbreaker dyno (I think people just think their cars make more power than in reality) and the car made 223 hp/223.2lb ft of torque (Im more than happy). Now I see why this car is good all over the powerband. Not exactly a flat torque curve but a pretty damn good one I plan on improving. Bigger maf, get rid of traction control and a good tune (hasnt been tuned for the M50 intake manifold yet) should net her pretty damn close to 230-240whp if not more. After looking at my weight, I can go up to 264 horsepower without breaking out of class using free mods or mods ive already taken. Needless to say im not very worried about breaking over that without cams.

PS- That drop off at the end is them just hitting the rev limiter at what seems a premature 6350, well I know she aint tuned yet, cause all tunes bring it out to 7 grand, I wont make any more power, but hopefully it stays the same power and extends out my powerband/gearing.

[Steve85]

If you don't mind saying, what are you taking points on?

[D_Eclipse9916]

1999 BMW M3
TTD Base with * +7 points
+10 Hoosier R6
+1 for Pulleys (went to an electric fan so it doesnt explode)
+1 for intake
+2 springs
+3 shocks
+2 Sway Bars
+3 front splitter
+4 Rear Spoiler
+2 intake manifold
+2 Cat-back
The X-Brace which normally would be on for events, will be off during time trial session so I dont take the +3

Its in TTC.

[Kaan]

spend a lot of time thinking about how you want to mount that splitter because if it takes you too long to it off... I'll be really pissed off... and you dont want to hear my mouth run in the tech shed. I can promise that

[Mike]

i've found a single beer can get kaan to stfu

[Kaan]

only after business hours

[D_Eclipse9916]

Just an update. Car is seeming VERY well setup right now. Almost had FTD (still got 2nd and was 4.5 seconds faster than 2nd place in my class) last autocross until the single last run my friend pulled out a winner, but considering my car is on small street tires and his is a monster powered and monster tired STi, I cant complain. (although I still contend that if I hadnt left the traction control on accidently for the last run itd be way less time than that ). The car just seems willing albeit I didnt have very much front end grip, and in these picture below I think I know why.

As you can see in the below picture the front tire is deforming under the load. Too low of pressures is my first guess as to the reason. Since getting the dunlops they liked lower pressures in what I perceived as "more grip" to the butt dyno. In pictures I didnt see much deformation so I assumed it was fine. But im wondering after 10+ autocrosses, some daily driving, 4 track days with 2 hours each day, and pace car duty has softened up the sidewall? I think I really need to move to some data acquisition equipment at this point, cars set up fairly well even on crappy off the shelf bilsteins and H+R springs, im afraid to ruin it.

Anyone have any opinions other than air pressures why it may be deforming more than when they were new?

[ScottyB]

how much caster are you running? did the surface feel much grippier than usual?

there's also the possibility something in the suspension is deforming more than usual. i don't know what you bushing situation is, though.

[DLingenfelter]

Anyone have any opinions other than air pressures why it may be deforming more than when they were new?

Normal, you're just driving it harder and on a more grippy surface than previously. There was a wicked video on miata.net a year or so ago of a nationally prepped STS miata's Kumho XS sidewalls flexing so much the owner thought the thing would pop right off the rim. The new ST tires are just that much softer and grippier, I'll hunt down a few pics of my sidewall flex for you one of these days.
I was at VMP a week before you guys and Gary K. (badass blue M3) noted that he needed to add air to his dunlops so VMP might require a different setup. Heck even my car needed a different setup as my normally neutral Miata was oversteering all over the place.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Anyone have any opinions other than air pressures why it may be deforming more than when they were new?

Normal, you're just driving it harder and on a more grippy surface than previously. There was a wicked video on miata.net a year or so ago of a nationally prepped STS miata's Kumho XS sidewalls flexing so much the owner thought the thing would pop right off the rim. The new ST tires are just that much softer and grippier, I'll hunt down a few pics of my sidewall flex for you one of these days.
I was at VMP a week before you guys and Gary K. (badass blue M3) noted that he needed to add air to his dunlops so VMP might require a different setup. Heck even my car needed a different setup as my normally neutral Miata was oversteering all over the place.

You might be right, it may just be the surface. I am not so keen on agreeing that softer and grippier equals a weaker sidewall, if you look closely at the picture, its rolling almost halfway over the goddamn sidewall, and I noticed in a few other pictures of other people's cars its doing the same. For VMP I will definitely have the tire pressures up, and was hoping to play with STU this weekend but my codriver is having issues with his vehicle so ill be driving my friends car in C-stock albiet on streets.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Small Update: Car is in the garage sitting getting ready for some upgrades/maintenance. Car finished out fairly strong with a few hiccups at the last two events.

Grabbed the Drivers Championship witih CDC (15 events, 6 drops, grabbed 897 points)
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2nd to last event at VMP, as many of you know, I experienced a failure. But I had fun before it broke!




This is the result of my shenanigans as I launched for my afternoon runs. This is what happened to my front rear differential bolt (mine):


This is a common issue on these cars as the bushings age and lots of repeated hard launches (autocross and wayyy too much fun slideways action around town.) Pulled the rear diff and then headed down to Harrisonburg to help out Pete Denbigh get a few things installed. Luckily he was also there to help me get the rest of the bolt out of the diff and tap it. Thank god for drill presses!

Pictures below of pulling rear diff with Jason and then day after with Pete.

[

Got this all done and threw up the differential so I could finsih out my season with Capital Driving Club. Spent from after work til 11pm the friday night before the event getting the diff in there and didnt check things out. Well when I get to the autocross, I discover the rear upper cointrol arm blal joints are toast, and when im talking toast, there is approximately 1/4 play in both. All that abuse destroyed these ball joints along with 150k miles, they were done. But I drove an hour/hour and half up to this autox so I said f it, ill at least do 3 runs. So thats what I did.... Only got one clean run in but managed 2nd in PAX for the day.


So this winter's main project will be overhauling the rear suspension (over $500 in bushings/balljoints in the rear alone ...)