My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

SYT_Shadow wrote

A friend that runs a track only Z4MC with the ESS 575 kit has seen the same oil spewing issue. He was told his oil level was too high. I'm not sure if this is still happening

I installed 14mm studs on the CS last night and I like how beefy they are.
I want to buy a F8X front bearing seat (that comes with the flage) and install it on the E90 front, that way I upgrade while switching those wheel bearings

Yeah obviously when the fluid has just been replaced and the levels are higher, it’s worse. Argh....we gotta come up with something.

I’ve heard that the spacing of the F8x M3 hub is different than the E9x M3 hub, so the rotor will sit in the wrong spot between the calipers. Or do I not understand what you’re wanting to do?

dogbone wrote

Yeah obviously when the fluid has just been replaced and the levels are higher, it’s worse. Argh....we gotta come up with something.

I’ve heard that the spacing of the F8x M3 hub is different than the E9x M3 hub, so the rotor will sit in the wrong spot between the calipers. Or do I not understand what you’re wanting to do?

I thought it was the king pin which had a different offset. As I have both cars at home I can measure a bit before pulling the trigger!

SYT_Shadow wrote

I thought it was the king pin which had a different offset. As I have both cars at home I can measure a bit before pulling the trigger!

Please do! And let us know what you find!

Went to High Plains Raceway here in CO with my E92 on Friday. There weren't very many cars so they ran open track. I like it when I can just set my own driving schedule on an open track day. Drove 6 sessions by 11:30. Was ready to go home by lunch.

This was the first time I drove hard with maximum camber. With max camber and my original suspension settings, the tail wanted to step out quite a bit with max camber. (It was much more mellow and tending to understeer with less camber.) I adjusted the suspension during the day and was able to get a neutral feel when when breaking grip and dealing with the corners.

I developed some kind of tech problem. The car got me home, but it's not driving correctly. We are guessing that one of the coil packs may have failed. I'll look into it soon. There are no error codes. The car is going to need some refreshing love. The last oil sample report from Blackstone did not look awesome. The front rotors need replacing. There's a number of things needed to get the car back running it's best.

I was able to improve with new scrubs and just being more familiar with the track. Took off over 2 seconds. Put down a 1:58.6. I'm still not driving consistently. The AIM shows I can do better (Doesn't it always?). But at least I know the track now and can concentrate on building consistency.

Anyway I'm enjoying the process of learning a new track and driving a different setup car than what I'm used to. (The difference in weight between the two cars is very noticeable. I'm used to tossing the track car into turns and it sticks......yeah.....the extra 400 lbs in the E92 makes it....uh....not stick nearly as well.....haha). The E92 won't get gutted or aero or stuff like that. It's a daily driver that has brakes and suspension and is full weight. I'll be curious to see what lap times it can put down as time goes on. But first, I need to get it back running healthy.....

Here's the video:

nice video man, car looked alittle twitchy which I personally like. Great driving.

I have the same kind of clicking in the recording.
Any chance you know where it's coming from?

nicksm3 wrote

nice video man, car looked alittle twitchy which I personally like. Great driving.

Thanks! I'm pushing to the edge of grip (and past the grip limit) in the corners so the car looks a bit lively. I had to catch the car a number of times during the day. But it's fun when I go past the grip limit with the E92 because it happens at slower speeds than the E90 and it's easy to catch.

rhyary wrote

I have the same kind of clicking in the recording.
Any chance you know where it's coming from?

If I had to guess, I think the camera is rattling just slightly in the GoPro case. I bet if you put a small piece of cloth on the backside of the camera between the camera and the case door, it would stop the rattling.

Hey dogbone,when you have a chance, could you post some photos of the underside of your splitter and fender vents?

dogbone wrote

Went to High Plains Raceway here in CO with my E92 on Friday. There weren't very many cars so they ran open track. I like it when I can just set my own driving schedule on an open track day. Drove 6 sessions by 11:30. Was ready to go home by lunch.

This was the first time I drove hard with maximum camber. With max camber and my original suspension settings, the tail wanted to step out quite a bit with max camber. (It was much more mellow and tending to understeer with less camber.) I adjusted the suspension during the day and was able to get a neutral feel when when breaking grip and dealing with the corners.

I developed some kind of tech problem. The car got me home, but it's not driving correctly. We are guessing that one of the coil packs may have failed. I'll look into it soon. There are no error codes. The car is going to need some refreshing love. The last oil sample report from Blackstone did not look awesome. The front rotors need replacing. There's a number of things needed to get the car back running it's best.

I was able to improve with new scrubs and just being more familiar with the track. Took off over 2 seconds. Put down a 1:58.6. I'm still not driving consistently. The AIM shows I can do better (Doesn't it always?). But at least I know the track now and can concentrate on building consistency.

Anyway I'm enjoying the process of learning a new track and driving a different setup car than what I'm used to. (The difference in weight between the two cars is very noticeable. I'm used to tossing the track car into turns and it sticks......yeah.....the extra 400 lbs in the E92 makes it....uh....not stick nearly as well.....haha). The E92 won't get gutted or aero or stuff like that. It's a daily driver that has brakes and suspension and is full weight. I'll be curious to see what lap times it can put down as time goes on. But first, I need to get it back running healthy.....

Here's the video:

I love it! I bet in your E90 you'd probably hit 150-160 on that loooooong straight.

davidwarren wrote

Hey dogbone,when you have a chance, could you post some photos of the underside of your splitter and fender vents?

There's nothing special or custom about the splitter shape. It's the standard offering from APR for the E9x M3. The spitter sticks out about 5" from the OEM nose of the car. Here it is:


As far as the fender vents, I do not have any pictures of them from the bottom-side. Honestly, there's nothing to see. I have lots of pics from the top though: As far as sizing the vents, one of the main considerations is the windshield reservoir on the passenger side. If you go back too far, you'll expose it. I never planned on covering the vent----I was going for Viper ACR style. If you were going to put some kind of mesh or vent louvers, I guess you have more flexibility with the shape. Forum member Warp 10 had some very fancy-shaped cuts done and covered them with mesh. You can see them on his build thread in this sub-forum. Hope that helps.

Do the whole inner fender liners have to be removed or can one just cut out an area below the hole, keep the rest intact? Curious minds want to know...

redpriest wrote

I love it! I bet in your E90 you'd probably hit 150-160 on that loooooong straight.

hehe yeah, I've been looking at other M3 vids from High Plains trying to get an idea of how other cars accelerate. I do believe you're right that I could get over 150mph at the end of that back straight with my E90. Some day I'll tow the E90 out to CO during the summer and visit the local tracks for a couple months with it. It won't be this year. Perhaps next year. I would like to get familiar with all the CO tracks before I bring the crazy car here.

You know what cracks me up the most about tracking the E92? How low commitment it is to take it to the track. On Friday, I left at 6:45AM. Got to the track 1 hour later. Drove on track until 12PM. Was home by 1:15PM! Done in half a day! hahaha! Compare that to a 45 minute drive to the airport. 2 hour flight to LA. Uber to the storage. Pick up the rig and head straight to a race shop for necessary maintenance. Then drive between 1-8 hours to a track somewhere in CA the day before the event. Sleep in a hotel. Do the track event---usually multi-day (more hotel). Then drive back to LA. Drop off rig in storage. Uber to LAX. Take the latest flight I can find----fly 2 hours back to CO---usually land around 12AM. And then drive 45 minutes home. That's like a 3-4 day journey. Don't get me wrong---I'm not complaining about tracking in CA and I don't regret doing it at all. I'm just laughing at the difference in commitment between the two.

kpewpew wrote

Do the whole inner fender liners have to be removed or can one just cut out an area below the hole, keep the rest intact? Curious minds want to know...

We ditched the fender liners, but I don't see why you couldn't keep the fender liners and cut a hole in them too.

I can't remember where all the screws are located that hold the fender liner in place. But I would say that part of the process would be considering where they are.

I would also guess that the fender liner would trap a bunch of stuff like track rubber and dirt/rocks on it's top side if it was in place with a hole in it.

Thank you! Yea, tough one... hm maybe I'll stay away from this fun mod. More things to figure out.

dogbone wrote

redpriest wrote

I love it! I bet in your E90 you'd probably hit 150-160 on that loooooong straight.

hehe yeah, I've been looking at other M3 vids from High Plains trying to get an idea of how other cars accelerate. I do believe you're right that I could get over 150mph at the end of that back straight with my E90. Some day I'll tow the E90 out to CO during the summer and visit the local tracks for a couple months with it. It won't be this year. Perhaps next year. I would like to get familiar with all the CO tracks before I bring the crazy car here.

You know what cracks me up the most about tracking the E92? How low commitment it is to take it to the track. On Friday, I left at 6:45AM. Got to the track 1 hour later. Drove on track until 12PM. Was home by 1:15PM! Done in half a day! hahaha! Compare that to a 45 minute drive to the airport. 2 hour flight to LA. Uber to the storage. Pick up the rig and head straight to a race shop for necessary maintenance. Then drive between 1-8 hours to a track somewhere in CA the day before the event. Sleep in a hotel. Do the track event---usually multi-day (more hotel). Then drive back to LA. Drop off rig in storage. Uber to LAX. Take the latest flight I can find----fly 2 hours back to CO---usually land around 12AM. And then drive 45 minutes home. That's like a 3-4 day journey. Don't get me wrong---I'm not complaining about tracking in CA and I don't regret doing it at all. I'm just laughing at the difference in commitment between the two.

I did something similar last year keeping my car at VIR. Truck was at storage place near Raleigh airport which is an hour from the track. I didn't have a shop that I used so I would fly in a day early if I needed to do maintenance.

That being said, even with NOLA less than an hour from my house, I still did more track days last year than I have this year at same point in time.

I will probably move my car back to VIR next year as it gave me better access to tracks than what I have in Louisiana.

ThunderMoose wrote

I did something similar last year keeping my car at VIR. Truck was at storage place near Raleigh airport which is an hour from the track. I didn't have a shop that I used so I would fly in a day early if I needed to do maintenance.

That being said, even with NOLA less than an hour from my house, I still did more track days last year than I have this year at same point in time.

I will probably move my car back to VIR next year as it gave me better access to tracks than what I have in Louisiana.

Yup, for me it was about my friends and the tracks available in CA---7 regular track facilities, plus other things like private motorsport clubs, etc. Plus, you can track all year-round in CA. Good excuse to run away from the winter weather!

dogbone wrote

W The last oil sample report from Blackstone did not look awesome. The front rotors need replacing. There's a number of things needed to get the car back running it's best.

I need to stay in DEN over a weekend and do your rod bearings


How is that oil diverter valve going?

dogbone wrote

The main benefit of building an E92 into a track car is that there are more parts readily available for the E92 vs the E90---things like body panels: carbon doors, hoods, fenders, trunks, etc. E92's also start a bit lighter than sedans. However, some say the B-pillar of the sedan makes a more rigid platform. Who knows....

At this point, it's hard to compare the "feel" of the two cars because the sedan has been lightened so much and stiffened with a cage whereas the coupe is full weight with stock interior. But if I try to remember what the sedan felt like, I think they feel similar.

If I look back to the days when I carried 4 tires in the back seat with my sedan vs. now when I carry 4 tires to the track with the coupe, the sedan was easier to put tires in it.

I don't regret making the sedan into a track car. It's what I had, so I went with it. And the infrastructure of the OEM car has been very reliable.

You would not believe how many comments I've gotten over the years.....how put-off people are that a sedan is going faster than their 2-door whatever car. Literally people I don't know will walk up and say they can't believe a sedan passed them.....

I was always intrigued when I heard that the instructor's at BMW's school at the Nurburgring said they preferred the sedans. You can even see this if you watch the lead-follow videos.

SYT_Shadow wrote

I need to stay in DEN over a weekend and do your rod bearings


How is that oil diverter valve going?

Hehe don’t joke about that. I’m getting quotes for getting it done on the E92 now here in CO. I watched part of your DIY vid.....there’s no way I’m pulling that off.....I was cringing most of the time while watching it—“oooh that looks scary.....ooooh! THAT looks SCAARY!!!!” Something is up with the E92. Gonna take it to someone to see if they can figure out what it is.

On the E90, I like the oil diverter valve. It’s not a night and day thing. But I truly believe that it is doing something.

dogbone wrote

Hehe don’t joke about that. I’m getting quotes for getting it done on the E92 now here in CO. I watched part of your DIY vid.....there’s no way I’m pulling that off.....I was cringing most of the time while watching it—“oooh that looks scary.....ooooh! THAT looks SCAARY!!!!” Something is up with the E92. Gonna take it to someone to see if they can figure out what it is.

On the E90, I like the oil diverter valve. It’s not a night and day thing. But I truly believe that it is doing something.

It's super cool to be there under the car while it's done, you really see its guts.

If you have a lift or access to one we could arrange something for sure

SYT_Shadow wrote

It's super cool to be there under the car while it's done, you really see its guts.

If you have a lift or access to one we could arrange something for sure

I saw the guts when my E90 had the rod bearings done at EAS. hehe I wasn't too eager to hang around while they were doing it. Usually I want to watch and learn......on that one, I ran away like a big chicken! hahaha

Your offer is extremely generous! My neighbor next door has a lift.....hmmmm hahahaha

But first I need to find out why my E92 is acting funky. I confirmed that all 8 spark plugs are firing, so it's not a bad coil pack.....next step is probably going to a shop and seeing if someone can diagnose what's going on.