This will be the ongoing build journal for my M3, been quite a fun process so far. To get straight to the pictures, skip the next few paragraphs. If you have nothing better to do, read on.
I started out in October of 2018 by buying a new Charger Scat Pack. I didn't even know that "track days" were a thing, so I bought the car because I wanted a fast, comfortable daily driver and road tripper. To that end, that was an amazing car. 2 months later, a good friend of mine, who had just done his first HPDE himself, tells the tale of these "track days" and how damn awesome it was. He asks if I want to take my 4500lb land yacht to the next one.
Of course, I agreed. Having been driving a few different American performance cars over the last decade, I could immediately see how much fun potential there was. Probably one of the best things was the looks of disbelief that I got as I numbered up my hippo on wheels and got ready to take it out onto the track. And, while you could absolutely feel every bit of the 4500lbs, it handled much better than I had expected. I was hooked.
Over the next year, I did 6 track events spread between Roebling Road and Road Atlanta. The only thing I did to the car was lowering springs (because most American performance cars come from the factory with the ride height of a Jeep Wrangler), stainless steel brake lines and DOT4 brake fluid. I had been fighting the itch to get rid of this new car that I had just bought for a better, more focused track car, because I did really like the Charger.
Eventually, I gave in. I took my wife to the track for her first time as a driver, with every intention of getting her to see how much I NEEDED a different track car. I had always had my sights set on a Chevy Camaro SS 1LE, as they could be had for a reasonable price in the 2-3 years old market. Well, fate had different plans. Her instructor drove a gutted, caged, full aero, F/R BBK E92 M3. He took her for a ride as a passenger and she got out and immediately told me that we needed one of those, not a Camaro. I scoffed. No way could a BMW that probably had a 6 cylinder engine be better than the 1LE.
Later that day, they convinced me to ride along with him as passenger. I remember the first thing I said as he accelerated out of turn 9 onto the straight at Roebling Road: "DOES THIS THING HAVE A V8?!?!". Being a huge V8 fan, this was a very interesting discovery. I didn't have much time to think, because as we entered the braking zone prior to turn 1, I was hoping that my eye sockets could keep my eyes from ejecting due to the braking force. Unreal.
Now convinced, I quickly find an E92 M3 for sale. 6 days after my ride as passenger, we fly from Charleston, SC to Michigan and drive home the new track toy. The first time I opened that thing up, I knew I had made the right choice.
to this:
The car:
2011 E92 M3 DCT ZCP
EDC
Single hump
92k miles, but with paperwork to show that the engine was replaced at 60k miles under warranty. (Anyone care to guess why the engine was replaced???)
First action:
Fluid changes! Nothing like the peace of mind that comes from knowing you've got fresh fluids in your used car prior to tracking it. Couple of thoughts after I changed them:
This thing has 2 drain plugs?!
This thing takes 9 liters of oil?!?!
THIS THING DOESN'T HAVE A DIPSTICK?!?!?!
Everything else was obviously pretty straightforward.
Before I mention the first round of mods, I can't give enough thanks to SYT_Shadow for answering I don't even know how many questions.
First round of mods:
PFC Z54 Front BBK with stainless steel lines all around
PFC 11 pads front and rear
Wheel stud conversion
Apex Arc 8 ET25 18x10 wrapped in 275 squared Nitto NT01
Ground Control Camber Plates
First time out on the track after the first mods, I was loving it. Wheel changes at the track were so much better with studs vice bolts, brakes felt incredible, car was obviously much faster than the Charger.
But, all was not well. First session of day 2, I experienced the simultaneous failure of all 5 studs on the driver front wheel. The silver lining was that by the time the wheel finally worked its way out of the wheel well, the rotor was now over the grass and not asphalt, which absolutely saved the rotors. Amazingly, the rotor and caliper were in great shape.
Typical of other reported stud failures, all of mine sheared off inside of the hub.
Spent the next few hours in the paddock extracting what little was left of the sheared studs. Took some very tedious turning of some vice grips but was able to get 4 of them out, and limp the car home with 4 new studs and lugs. I was very nervous on that drive home.
Now, to the failure of the studs. There were 3 things that I think contributed:
1) Its very possible that I overtorqued them (hex key heads)
2) I don't think these cheaper studs were created with heavy tracking in mind
3) after speaking with some folks at BimmerWorld, 10mm spacers, by their design, can be problematic on tracked vehicles. I don't remember the specifics but I still have the emails with the details
That said, I can't speak highly enough about the company I bought the studs from. After everything was said and done, they paid for the new fender, the new wheel (old one got some seriously deep gouges on its way out), refunded the cost of the studs, and sent me a new splitter. Won't buy their studs again, but I have the utmost respect for their customer service.
Now with the car back together, and Road Atlanta coming up, I began to feel the paranoia of the dreaded rod bearings. I decided I couldn't wait until after the event, and got my hands on some BE bearings and BE-ARP rod bolts. Pretty straightforward process, and glad I got the old ones out.
At Road Atlanta, one of my more experienced track acquaintances pulls me aside and tells me that it would be a good idea to put at least a half cage in the car and get some harnesses, especially as the lap times get lower and lower. This is something thats been nagging at me recently anyways, so I decide its time. On top of the safety aspect, I'm very much looking forward to not having to exert energy to keep my body in place, and being able to focus more on driving.
Being a DIY masochist, I decided I'd work with a close friend of mine (excellent welder) and get this back half cage (roll bar) made since we had so much time away from the track, thanks to COVID-19. I've never built a cage, never bent a tube, but I don't think its rocket science. Plus, we've got all the time in the world to be picky about the details.
Time to strip the interior!
Test fitting the new seat, should pass tech
Parts of the cage coming together!
Took me some time to find a seat big enough for me. I think Roastbeef might be a long lost relative.
5/18:
Progress from last weekend. The plates for the rear shock reinforcement are the biggest PITA ever. Being DIY guys, we don't have expensive fab tools, so lots of hammering and shaping of the plates by hand. Got one of them welded in, and the other plate is formed and will go into the car next time we work on it. After that, all that will be left is the rear braces and the X inside of it, in addition to finish welding the main hoop
Cut out the shelf below the rear window. Weighed a few lbs, but the real benefit is the significant improvement in room to work back there! Plus, its gonna look cleaner when its all said and done
Main hoop all tack welded together. Very pleased with how it turned out!
My buddy welding the shock reinforcement plate/rear brace mounting plate on. On the passenger side, we started by welding the bottom of the plate to the flat lower part of the fender, then hammering it into shape. Took forever, and we had to make some relief cuts and pie cuts to get the plate to cooperate. For the driver side plate, we did all of the shaping outside of the car, which took just as long, but at least the hammering wasn't done while laying on my side in the car.
Huge thanks to tsk94 for answering some questions about his own project car's cage.