Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5

[Jake]

I had that setup on my avus. Good idea for street or limited dual duty. Too soft for track.

So what's a better idea, then?

[getfast]

Koni/GC with slightly softer spring rates? (Plus camber plates of course, and big adjustable swaybars.)

[getfast]

Dunno. Just don't buy ISC N1's like my sedan came with. They are simultaneously too stiff for street AND too soft for track/autox.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Koni/GC with slightly softer spring rates? (Plus camber plates of course, and big adjustable swaybars.)

Now you are talking a lot more money....

Koni + H+R work with stock camber plates flipped and can be sold all day long for not much depreciation = ~$600

Koni + Ground Controls = $700 + having to buy camber plates ($3-400) + buying another set of springs possibly to get the right rates ($300)

H+R Race is just too low and bottoms out non-shortened shocks.

I did a 2:11.1 at VIR my first time on Hoosiers in TTC with bilstein + H+R sport combo. Great drive to the track suspension. My LS1/M3 is Ohlins + H+R Sports.

If he didnt need the money from the TCKlines being sold, I would say send those shocks out to get rebuilt for $500 and run that setup.

[getfast]

Well if he goes that route at least he can add "my springs are too soft" to his list of excuses. "My coiloverz are chinese junk" is certainly on my list!

[.RJ]

I'm just going to leave this here

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[getfast]

Presumably you mean just the M50 manifold swap? If he has +2 TT points and $350 (with the Turner kit anyway) to spare... and doesn't care about the car "feeling slower" on the street... dooooo it. :thumbup:

[SlimKlim]

Presumably you mean just the M50 manifold swap? If he has +2 TT points and $350 (with the Turner kit anyway) to spare... and doesn't care about the car "feeling slower" on the street... dooooo it. :thumbup:

I think I saw a spare one on DJ's shelf. And you can make your own block off plates. Jus' Sayin.

[D_Eclipse9916]

If he wants the M50 kit, do the "eric kit" which is about $200 shipped.

With a tune you dont lose any torque.. That dyno graph kind of looks like their VANOS needs refreshing. If you got the +2, do it! A healthy motor should make more than the one posted above. A full bolt-on m3 (header to cat-back exhaust, m50 manifold, decent intake and power pulleys with a tune) should makke 240-250rwhp.

Edit: and yes I probably have one lying around somewhere, but get eric's kit and a tune.

Hmm, wonder how fast an m3 setup like...
+7 for star
+10 for R6s
-4 for 225s
+3 Motons/Ohlins
+2 Srpings (700F/800R)
+1 catback (I need sound for shifting, dont hate)

[Sully]

I always planned to get the Eurosport kit to clean mine up. It looks so pretty. http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com/intakes.html

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Jake]

Alright, got the Bimmerworld seat rails last night and a few of us (thank you Joey and my buddy Alex) got the seat positioned where I want it. It's not entirely bolted down yet, because I need to drill for harnesses and didn't have all the right hardware to install them last night. Oops. But at least I know where the seat goes. I kept the headliner in the car, and even with the seat basically on the floor, I need to have the butt padding out of it, or else my head touches the roof with a helmet on.

Good news is, I can drive to the track with the seat foam in place, because I fit sans-helmet.

Also changed diff and trans fluids last night - replaced with Redline stuff. Had to shampoo my hair twice to get all the damn gear oil out after rolling around in it on the garage floor.

Harnesses - and maybe shifter bushings - are all that's left to do before I consider the car ready for the NASA Chillycross on Feb. 2. Woot.

[Jake]

Done for now.

Spent last Friday with some NASA people at my house, drilling holes in the floor. And, great news! The seat and harnesses are installed and I didn't drill through any fuel lines (thanks, Simon!).

In tidying up wiring, I figured out the car had a hot-shit-in-1997 Clifford alarm system, the same system that Joey had some fun with last year. Clearly, I needed to rip the sucker out. Mine had the same ignition interrupt wiring, except unlike Joey's car, mine was run to a scary-looking relay. Ooh. No matter, same snip/twist/solder/heat shrink procedure - except this time, I used wire cutters and a soldering pen instead of scissors and Scotch tape.

The M3 is sitting on my 128i wheels with summer tires (because hey, they have tread) and Dan and I will be autocrossing the snot out of it on the mostly-bald Star Specs this coming Sunday. The 128 wheels are all of 7" wide, and they look so silly on the car with no spacer or anything. I'll snap a photo later.

Anyway, hooray. She gets a new suspension in a few weeks and then the "big stuff" is mostly sorted.

[JustinG]

**APPROVED** see you this weekend.

[Jake]

**APPROVED** see you this weekend.

Plz bring jack/stands so I can swap wheels, I'll have impact, sockets and torque wrench but no room in the car for more thanks to Navin's Honda cylinder head in the trunk :lol:

[navin]

^save the hoon'n for the autox course, and save my head

I owe you some beers.

[Jake]

Post-NASAcross Update

The car drove to/from Richmond with no hassle at all. My right buttcheck turned numb from holding the throttle for 2 hours straight. I need to re-connect the cruise control cable under the hood and hopefully regain that functionality. The Corbeau seat is pretty comfy, but then again, I also don't commute in it.



Dan and I both had a blast at the autocross! The car did really well, although my right rear shock mount is almost certainly busted. Every load/unload of that corner resulted in some knocking and, after the big slalom, it upset the car so much that I was getting what felt like axle hop -- was probably just the right rear effectively riding on the spring for a second. In any case, I'm putting new pimpy suspension bits on it next weekend, so that issue should be no more.

Someone's hooked:



Can't wait to get back to the track in a few weeks. VIR, here I come.

The to-do list grows again, though. Pre-VIR:

• Swap suspension
• Lower control arms + tie rods replacement
• Alignment
• Re-align steering wheel (it's one tooth off, and I hate it)
• Shifter bushings?
• Tires? The Star Specs aren't showing cord yet, so...
• Move brake rotors left-to-right so the angled fins actually provide cooling benefits
• Probably more things that I'll remember later

Oh! Almost forgot. I need to do a wheel stud conversion now. It's a royal pain in the ass to swap wheels around.

[JPolen01]

Wheel stud conversion ftw.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I know you are going to hate to hear this, but Bimmerworld Premium studs at 6.99 each are straight balling (nice). I tried different ones and have worked on many cars with different ones. The 6.99 ones are the ones to get. No rusting of threads, they dont seem to get brittle like other ones, and haven't galled. Considering I swap wheels at least 3 times a weekend, mine get a lot of abuse.

Oh and forgot to mention. I looked at your cruise control and the bracket is busted. Luckily you have friends (okay maybe I went too far ) that have extra obd2 throttle bodies with good cruise control brackets on the throttle body.

For free, well, if you ever get me that IPOD cable I was promised a while ago :lol:

[premiershine9]

Count I've read this thread over....... meh maybe a dozen.

Amount of times over the last week I've contemplated dumping 8 grand from the savings and buying an E36.......tooooo many.

AutoX was insanely fun with you Jake.....i'm happy I put consistent and decently good times down, and didn't spin. Driving rwd again after so many years was also a joy.





I'll be your co pilot any day maverick.

[RawrImAMonster]

Count I've read this thread over....... meh maybe a dozen.

Amount of times over the last week I've contemplated dumping 8 grand from the savings and buying an E36.......tooooo many.

AutoX was insanely fun with you Jake.....i'm happy I put consistent and decently good times down, and didn't spin. Driving rwd again after so many years was also a joy.


I'll be your co pilot any day maverick.

I might have a clean example for sale coming up this summer. Just depends on whether or not I move somewhere where I have parking for two cars.

If I don't I'm selling both my current ones and getting something else.