Track forum general chit chat.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by kolosy

how common are single hump dashboards on fleabay? i won't need one until february but seeing a couple for ~$400 all day. is this the going rate or should i jump now?

Keep an eye out of fb marketplace for people parting out 328’s. The dashboards are the same. They can be had for $100. That’s where I found mine, and that’s how much I paid for it. They aren’t rare.

[StripclubDJ]

I posted a car for sale in the car for sale thing on the forums.


Someone buy it .

K thanks !

[roastbeef]

thinking of a couple "while i'm in there" parts to replace... whats the consensus on silicone radiator hoses? oems seem to be doing fine, but i figured i'd at least replace them with oem as they have 80k on them.
what about those brass drain/bleeder screws for the coolant system? and problems with those? my oem plastic screws didn't break... again, 80k on them, but it was somewhat of a concern.

[omgzirra_exe]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

thinking of a couple "while i'm in there" parts to replace... whats the consensus on silicone radiator hoses? oems seem to be doing fine, but i figured i'd at least replace them with oem as they have 80k on them.
what about those brass drain/bleeder screws for the coolant system? and problems with those? my oem plastic screws didn't break... again, 80k on them, but it was somewhat of a concern.

def brass bleeder screws!

and the do88 hose kit on FCP is goated also. wouldn't hurt to change the OEM ones to silicon, factoring age, mileage and heat exposure to them.

[roastbeef]

Do you have to use clamps, or to they have the oem hose connectors?

[Redd]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

thinking of a couple "while i'm in there" parts to replace... whats the consensus on silicone radiator hoses? oems seem to be doing fine, but i figured i'd at least replace them with oem as they have 80k on them.
what about those brass drain/bleeder screws for the coolant system? and problems with those? my oem plastic screws didn't break... again, 80k on them, but it was somewhat of a concern.

Brass bleed screws - definitely! Been using one for years now. But in your particular case they do add a couple grams tho.

Silicone hoses - I recently embarked on this. Got the VTT S65 silicone hose kit. These come with with billet aluminum couplings which replace the stock plastic couplings. This was the main reason I went with the VTT kit as I did not trust hose kits like the Do88 which needed you to re-use the old plastic coupling and clamp on the silicone hose.

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...lant-hose-kit/

However the VTT hose kit only comes with 5 hoses, mainly in the front of the car. There's still a bunch of hoses at the back which are not accounted for.

For that, I found this S65 silicone hose kit on AliExpress:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_opAfyDz

This AliExpress kit has 9 hoses. Some of them overlap with the VTT kit but there's 6 hoses which the VTT kit doesn't include. So the VTT + Ali kits give you a total of 11 hoses.

PM me if you want detailed info including pics of which hoses go where. I haven't installed them yet so I don't know if there will be any fitment issues. I was going to do a dedicated forum post after I install them.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Redd

Brass bleed screws - definitely! Been using one for years now. But in your particular case they do add a couple grams tho.

Silicone hoses - I recently embarked on this. Got the VTT S65 silicone hose kit. These come with with billet aluminum couplings which replace the stock plastic couplings. This was the main reason I went with the VTT kit as I did not trust hose kits like the Do88 which needed you to re-use the old plastic coupling and clamp on the silicone hose.

https://vargasturbo.com/product/vtt-...lant-hose-kit/

However the VTT hose kit only comes with 5 hoses, mainly in the front of the car. There's still a bunch of hoses at the back which are not accounted for.

For that, I found this S65 silicone hose kit on AliExpress:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_opAfyDz

This AliExpress kit has 9 hoses. Some of them overlap with the VTT kit but there's 6 hoses which the VTT kit doesn't include. So the VTT + Ali kits give you a total of 11 hoses.

PM me if you want detailed info including pics of which hoses go where. I haven't installed them yet so I don't know if there will be any fitment issues. I was going to do a dedicated forum post after I install them.

thank you, i hadn't heard of the VTT kit and it is appealing to me. i have to say, my oem hoses and belts look great for having 80k on them. zero cracks or visible wear, and they are still flexible.
i'm not sure on the other hoses, but i might just do it since i have it apart with the coolant drained.

i know the consensus is full aluminum radiators don't add much, but my oem radiator is kinda beat up and packed with pebbles (even though it was behind the condenser). i'm kinda partial to the csf radiator and i like that its made in the usa. i haven't decided what to do yet. i still have a diff to install and i'm trying not to let costs run away like i did during the initial build phase.

[Redd]

Tbh the S65 cooling system is pretty robust, including the rads and hoses. I had a habit of changing out all hoses and rads every 100k kms from experience with previous cars. But when I changed out the M3's at 100k kms they were still in pretty good shape. I'd say they will last 200k kms easy.

[gmx]

Don't do silicone. The more plys, the less pliable and you'll spring leaks.
See this so many times esp on JDM cars where yes, the OE stuff is so old/EOL that they're silicone kits (even supposed decent quality like mx5mania) just leaks even if they replace the rad. Rubber conforms better to the surface, that's just the nature of the two materials.

[roastbeef]

thats kinda what i'm leaning towards... replacing the upper and lower with oem. like i've stated, i'm impressed with how well they're showing.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by gmx

Don't do silicone. The more plys, the less pliable and you'll spring leaks.
See this so many times esp on JDM cars where yes, the OE stuff is so old/EOL that they're silicone kits (even supposed decent quality like mx5mania) just leaks even if they replace the rad. Rubber conforms better to the surface, that's just the nature of the two materials.

Interesting. I've used silicone hoses before in many cars and never had issues. Where do they leak? Do they crack/break in the middle of the hose, or leak at the clamps?

[Redd]

Anyone running D4 ATF for power steering fluid instead of CHF11S? Apparently Bimmerworld recommends D4 ATF for track cars.

[roastbeef]

anyone have experience with both do88 and csf radiators? they are comparable in price.

i assembled the radiator support with the radiator off of the car to examine the potential gaps. when it was oem with the a/c condenser, it was pretty sealed off. now there is a pretty good gap where the condenser tube passthrough was, as well as the power steering cooler. i want to seal these gaps for obvious reasons and i'm thinking the smooth sides of an all aluminum radiator might make that a bit easier.

[Cmassey3]

When I found out that my truck needed to be repowered, I debated stepping down into an older MX5. I found a way to get it covered without selling the M3, but while I was shopping around, I kept coming back to this platform. It's really good value/livability level for me and it's hard to find much older DCT cars that allow LFB.

I don't think I'm ever going to be able to commit to 25-30 track weekends a year, more like 3-5, so stepping down in vehicle isn't going to be a massive cost saving measure.


The dually is getting a 525hp/550tq crate 454 and it's going to be a riot: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/94-c3...d.68007/page-3

[amg6975]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

anyone have experience with both do88 and csf radiators? they are comparable in price.

i assembled the radiator support with the radiator off of the car to examine the potential gaps. when it was oem with the a/c condenser, it was pretty sealed off. now there is a pretty good gap where the condenser tube passthrough was, as well as the power steering cooler. i want to seal these gaps for obvious reasons and i'm thinking the smooth sides of an all aluminum radiator might make that a bit easier.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-Ki...EF41/310655227

Works absolutely mint for sealing the radiator. If you put it in the fridge it'll expand slower so you can stick it to the rad, slide it in place, and then it expands to fill the gaps.

[mikerunt]

Can anyone share images of a properly sealed off radiator area?

[omgzirra_exe]

Originally Posted by mikerunt

Can anyone share images of a properly sealed off radiator area?

i think DRLane sealed off his radiator with a custom shroud

[DRLane]

I previously used silicone foam of varying thickness around the radiator to seal it. I think a proper aluminum constructed shroud is the only way. There are too many paths for airflow.

[mikerunt]

Originally Posted by DRLane

I previously used silicone foam of varying thickness around the radiator to seal it. I think a proper aluminum constructed shroud is the only way. There are too many paths for airflow.

Is the intent seal all possible areas air can escape from the top and sides of the radiator forcing air to push straight through the radiator a vs being diverted around it?

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by mikerunt

Is the intent seal all possible areas air can escape from the top and sides of the radiator forcing air to push straight through the radiator a vs being diverted around it?

Yes! Especially for your application (non street car) id ditch the oem fan & assembly. Go with a single fan but not I think it throws a code with oem ECU. Likely a way to code around it but haven’t heard.

[mikerunt]

Originally Posted by DRLane

Yes! Especially for your application (non street car) id ditch the oem fan & assembly. Go with a single fan but not I think it throws a code with oem ECU. Likely a way to code around it but haven’t heard.

Appreciate this very much.

I’ve had some early conversations around standalone but have been scared off that path 😂

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by mikerunt

Is the intent seal all possible areas air can escape from the top and sides of the radiator forcing air to push straight through the radiator a vs being diverted around it?

yes. it doesn't have to be completely air tight, but you don't want three square inches of gap in several areas like what i have now.
an example would be when people typically have cooling issues on these cars, it is almost always the lower undertray missing. without it, air hits the face of the oil cooler and simply goes around the cooler, rather than forced through it. when the air is properly directed and has nowhere else to go, air pressure builds. the space on the other side of the cooler has less pressure and air more easily flows through the cooler.