'09 Interlagos M3 Coupe Progress Thread

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by e92ben

The e39 more power itch was unexpected lol! Awesome

Yeah it was a fun project that got me out of my comfort zone and taught me a lot of things, mainly how far to go with modifications without ruining drivability and reliability, as well as time and budget management. If I had to do that one over again it would get a turbo on day 1. Once you taste LS turbo power you never go back to N/A, since a rip snorting heads/cam 450whp LS will drive like crap around town, while a 600whp turbo LS will put buslengths on the NA, while driving like a stock truck.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by Space Fox

Ya hands down my favorite thread on this forum. The velocity stacks look kick ass.

You did end up throwing the turbo LS in a Crown Vic? Was looking forward to that.

The velocity stacks are one of my favorite mods to the car. They give it so much additional character, and keep NVH/noise to an absolute minimum when cruising, unlike any exhaust modification. Quick crappy video from when I first installed them:

I drove it like that on nice days for the rest of the season in 2021. Lots of car shows with my daughter. I did actually just install some foam filters to protect the engine, will have to snag a pic of that.



While browsing old photos, I found these of when I threw on the M-Parallels around June of '21. I think these may become my new track wheels, since the usual track wheel offerings (APEX) are a bit pricey, square 18" 219s are rare to find, and I already have these.

They might even look halfway decent once I lower the car up front.



Oh, and a random shot of the M3 putting in work.



I did finish up the LS Crown Vic, enjoyed it, and no longer own it.

Bought the car in September of 2020, had it LS swapped (NA) by December, then started the turbo project in March of '21 and had it laying stripes by Spring.

Here's a brief storyline of that car:

Assemble a bunch of parts, tons of welding, voila. I have the build thread for it on LS1Tech if anyone cares to see it.



Lots of burnouts...lots and lots of tires wasted.

I had a nasty oil pan leak the could only be fixed by pulling the motor out of the car, and the body was starting to get pretty rusty around the fenders, quarters and underneath. So...cue the music...

Remove precious tasty snack on the inside...



and throw away the wrapper.



Many sawzall blades and trips to the scrapyard later, it was all gone.

This was the reasoning for the scrapper:



Some areas you could just poke your finger through.



I loved the drivetrain and power delivery, but was ready for something a little cooler and nicer to cruise around in. Hence the Jaguar! It's getting the same turbo 6.0 that was in the Vic, just cleaned up a bit.

[Space Fox]

Lol the Crown Vic is hilariously cool.

I'm intrigued by your velocity stacks project. How do they look with the filters on? Any downsides? How'd you work around the oil catch things on the sides and the intake tube, etc?

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by Space Fox

Lol the Crown Vic is hilariously cool.

I'm intrigued by your velocity stacks project. How do they look with the filters on? Any downsides? How'd you work around the oil catch things on the sides and the intake tube, etc?

They look decent with the filters on, I am actually going to reinstall them tonight and will try to remember to get some pictures. The only downside is that they may not filter out the fine dust that an OEM filter would catch. I am working on designing and 3D printing some adapters for all the PCV/vacuum pipes to install mini filters there too. Come to think of it, I just bought another spare manifold to replicate this project - I could be persuaded to make a set to sell if you're interested.

This past week I attended my first HPDE with the M3, hosted by the BMWCCA Trillium Chapter, with Genessee Valley and Allegheny chapters in attendance. It was a 3 day event run at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Although the first few sessions were slowed by heavy rain, it was still an amazing event that taught me a lot and ended safely.

We arrived on a hot sunny Monday afternoon.



Although my friends and I were in the Novice group, we wanted to settle in and try to catch some ride alongs with seasoned instructors to learn the track and get our feet wet before going on track in our own cars. I was able to ride along with the GVC Chief Instructor in his prepped Mustang GT PP2 for a session. After wandering around some more, I found this awesome C5Z sporting square Toyo 275s, Wilwood brakes, and aftermarket shocks. If I recall, the motor was nearly stock.



Rob, the owner, took me out for some hot laps but we only made it to T3 before encountering a clutch that refused to let the car go into gear with the engine running. After limping it back to the pits in 2nd gear, I recommended he let it cool off and try bleeding it to see if there was air in the system, or the fluid had been contaminated. As a prior C5 owner and having had this same issue, I knew this was common and could be easily remedied.

We woke up on Tuesday to this - tons of rain.





It rained on and off until about 1, and then the track started to slowly dry out. As my confidence and knowledge of the track and line grew, I was able to up the pace and enjoy turning laps without getting lost or holding up faster cars.





After my 2nd session on Day 1, I noticed a distinct metal on metal sound coming from the rear of the sound, increasing in frequency with vehicle speed. I suspected a brake issue but was skeptical of a pad wearing out as I had installed brand new Power Stop Track Day pads for this event.

Up we go for inspection:





The culprit was a heat shield that was rubbing on the rotor hat. I pulled off the caliper and bent it away from the hat, which resolved the noise. I'm guessing a slightly loose/stressed wheel bearing allowed the contact, or maybe some debris got in there and started rubbing.



After putting everything back together the car was ready for the next couple of sessions. My instructor kept providing tips on turn in points (especially for the tricky blind corners), where to late apex, and when to hold off on braking so as not to unsettle the rear end. I ended up getting point bys from pretty much everyone in the Novice group until I came up on this guy:



Both drivers and cars were very well matched, with the E92 having a little bit more agility and the M2 having gobs more torque pulling out of corners. He could never quite get away, but I never was able to sit directly on him for long enough to warrant a point by. After about 4 laps, I was able to make up enough ground by braking later and later on the straights and got the point by. Very rewarding session, and I was exhausted from hustling between classroom sessions, track time, and getting the brake noise fixed. We ended the day with some decent BBQ and great local brews at the 5th Ave Taphouse down the road in New Brighton.

Day 2 started with lots of hope as the forecast was calling for clear skies and sunshine all day. In reality, we awoke to this:



We discussed the altered schedule at the safety meeting and determined next steps.



Ultimately there was a weather delay of about an hour as we waited for the fog to burn off. While I waited for my session, I wandered around and snapped some photos of cool rigs:



Loved this setup - daily driver SUV pulling a light trailer. I will be looking to replicate this setup with my F15 X5 in the future.


Finally the skies cleared up and the remainder of the day was beautiful. I checked in again with Rob and learned that bleeding the clutch thoroughly cured his problem and he took me for some hot laps. We passed a couple of heavily prepared E46 M3s - caged, gutted, slicks, etc - all in a relatively stock horsepower, full interior, no cage C5Z with some suspension, tires and brakes. Definitely planted some ideas in my head to pick up another C5 if I ever decide to field a dedicated track car. Long live the LS.





As my sessions progressed, I felt much more comfortable on track and had the line mostly figured out; I still need to fine tune a few apexes and turn in/braking points, but my instructor agreed that I had come incredibly far since the beginning of the first day. He mentioned that he was comfortable signing off for me to move out of Novice and into Intermediate, and also said he would make a note recommending that I was ready for Solo on this track specifically. I'm thinking I'll need some more time under my belt before that happens, but it was awesome hearing that.

We ended the day on a high note - tons of track time, nobody's car broke, nobody (in our group) went off or wrecked, and everyone had fun and learned a ton. I packed up my tools and supplies and got ready for the 3 hour trek to Buffalo.



I ended up spending almost as much on gas as I did for the event admission. The car used a little over a half tank for 2x 25 minute sessions, so I would normally run to the gas station on lunch to top it off and prevent fuel starvation. I didn't encounter any fuel issues, but wanted to make sure the pump didn't suck air.



In regards to times: I downloaded RaceChrono just to get an idea of where I was timewise. Although the learning curve is steepest for someone learning a track for the first time, the ability to improve and knock seconds off is also the highest.

My quickest lap was a 2:14.06. The time itself is not that relevant (yet), but I was very pleased to see that my PB in each session was within tenths of that (2:14.19 and 2:14.1), which speaks to the consistency of my technique over a session. I would be curious to see where other stockish M3s fall in comparison to that time on this track.

Lessons learned:

Next time I will be bringing some more tools and a jack. I was able to borrow a jack from a friend and had all the tools I needed for a basic repair, but you never know when you're going to need an E-Torx bit or a ratcheting wrench.

I'm also going to buy a small air compressor. I was able to air down from 40 something PSI to 34 or so, but had to borrow one the next morning to air up since the car was telling me I had low pressure.

A 5 gal gas can would be nice to be able to fill up between sessions.

Stock sized tires on the M3 make for a bunch of understeer if you start to push the car. You can drive around it by slowing down and giving the front end some more bite with the brakes but it really needs more grip up front.

Power Stop Track Day pads and RBF600 worked awesome with no fade just like they did when I had them on my C5, although by the end of the day I had some severe pulsation under braking. I'm wondering if the rotor holes are packed with pad material. Going to investigate today when I swap the OEM pads back on.

The car was pretty quiet on track; all stock other than test pipes. This was nice as you could hear your instructor through the communicator and reduced fatigue, but was sometimes hard to hear the engine when heel-toeing, requiring me to glance down at the tach.

A parting shot after an amazing couple of days. Can't recommend the track highly enough, and can't wait to go back!

[ilove90m3]

Love this thread
enjoy S65 V8

[GeorgeA]

Maybe I missed it in the article, but how many mm spacers are you running? Looks great with stock height.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by GeorgeA

Maybe I missed it in the article, but how many mm spacers are you running? Looks great with stock height.

They are KSP Spacers, 15mm with extended bolts on Amazon. Made in USA, nice black anodized finish. I'm also happy with the look, but am still debating on lowering the front to remove some of the gap up there.

[GeorgeA]

Originally Posted by nsogiba

They are KSP Spacers, 15mm with extended bolts on Amazon. Made in USA, nice black anodized finish. I'm also happy with the look, but am still debating on lowering the front to remove some of the gap up there.

Looks great with that wide stance.

You’re currently on factory springs?

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by GeorgeA

Looks great with that wide stance.

You’re currently on factory springs?

Yes. I have a KW HAS kit that has been sitting unopened in a box for over a year. Not sure why I keep putting off installing it. Maybe I want to get to know the car at a couple of track days this summer before starting to modify it.

[nsogiba]

Added a bunch of cheap horsepower over the weekend.





Toronto Motorsports Park
Watkins Glen International
PittRace
NCM Motorsports Park
Nurburgring
Tail of the Dragon

[nsogiba]

A year ago MPizza gave me an axleback exhaust that he no longer wanted. Recently I was looking for a quick weekend project and wanted to whip up a new exhaust for primarily track use that was much lighter and louder than the stocker. Time to get out the cutoff wheels.





Obviously someone had been inside the can before, and also had hacked off/rewelded the can to the connecting pipes. No clue why someone would do this but it made for a good candidate to be chopped up.





Inside was a rather mediocre 2 pipe mod done, with tons of gaps in the welds and some sections entirely missing weld around the perimeter of the pipe.



The mythical see-through E92 M3 exhaust.



Originally I wanted to just do the ACM mod on this exhaust for full volume, but once I realized how much additional work I'd have to put into welding up all the connecting pipes from the crappy 2 pipe mod I realized it was just easier to cut out everything that wasn't a straight pipe, including the main case of the muffler.

I cut everything else off, leaving only the OEM tips and the seam connecting them as well as the rear central hanger. No sense in adding more bracing if the OEM hangers work fine. The purpose of leaving the seam connecting the 2 pairs of pipes also served as a perfect jig for making sure the tips fit like OEM within the bumper. Since the tip assembly was a bit front heavy, I cut up some plywood shims for placement and temporarily zip tied it in place so I could start the straight pipe portion.



Time to connect the dots.





I used leftover 2.5" piping from other projects to connect the front section to the tips and welded everything up. It was getting late on a Saturday at this point and I was working on my back in the driveway, so no photos. Really need to finish up the LS Jag which has been tying up my lift for the better part of a year.

Final product all welded up and ready for paint:


With a couple coats of high temp paint, ready for track work. I didn't weigh the final product but it's in the neighborhood of 10-15 lbs, which saves quite a bit over the stock 55lb axleback while providing a nice shriek on track. The OEM tips are a nice touch as well IMO.

[nsogiba]

Track day bro!

Earlier this month I attended an HPDE at Watkins Glen hosted by the BMW CCA GVC Chapter. Great, friendly, motivated group of people. The theme of the weekend was endurance - managing the intense heat (85 in the shade) and preventing it from doing damage to my body and the cars.

I took Friday off work and grabbed a U-Haul trailer. With a bit of planning and wood blocks it was loaded up. It was under 3 hours to get there; the X5 felt happiest around 70-73 mph. Pushing it a little further to get around slower traffic was easy but being my first time pulling a car this far, I set it at 70 and enjoyed the ride.



I had installed a set of helper airbags just to help with the tongue weight but still had a little more squat than desired. More on that later.

Loadout included the M3, and packed inside of it was the stock wheelset (245/265 Hankooks) in case of rain, tools, pop up tent, coolers, helmet, jackstands, spare brake pads and fluid, 10 spare gallson of fuel for top offs, overnight bags, water, food...you know how it goes. In the future I'll probably load the car facing backwards and measure tongue weight instead of winging it. My wife went along with me for the trip on the condition that she could take the X5 out in wine country and to the State Park/Gorge for sightseeing/hiking, so once we arrived at the track we pulled the M3 off the trailer, unhooked the trailer, chained it up, and hit the Seneca Lodge for their famous beer brewed in house and salad bar.

[nsogiba]

Day 1 started with Driver's meeting at 7:30, and before I went out on track I took some time to be a total tourist and take it all in.















My buddy and his wife joined us in his 330K mile E39 M5. Unfortunately he blew a clutch slave cylinder literally pulling into the complex on Day 1, but was able to find a replacement part an hour away and had it ready to go by lunch, so he only missed 2 sessions out of the 8.



Remember the thing about heat management? It was already 80+ in the morning, so it wasn't pleasant bleeding the clutch in the stagnant air. We were very lucky to have been able to borrow a garage bay from his instructor as well as a big box fan to cool off.

[nsogiba]

As the day got hotter I just relaxed between sessions and enjoyed the cool A/C in the classroom. Since I am still relatively new to this chassis and setup on track, I checked tire pressures after every session to get an idea of how much pressure they were gaining. Saw this little guy stuck to the tire - luckily it wasn't mine.





Since it was my first time running at any actual speed on this track, I spent the majority of the first day with my instructor learning the track, understanding my line, and beginning to see my mistakes as they happened. As a result I didn't spend a whole lot of time paying attention to the mechanicals, which I suppose is a good thing since the car didn't complain much. The only issue I had on Day 1 was oil temps exceeding 275F and the iDrive yelling at me. It worked out will since I was ready to back off for a few laps to collect my thoughts and process how things were going.







My instructor and I discussed ways for me to improve, which mainly included not trying to correct my line mid-turn, braking later and more aggressively, and focusing on the apex rather than the turn in point. By the end of Day 1 he was comfortable with my progress and put me in the next run group (2) and signed off for me to go solo.

[nsogiba]

Day 1 concluded with the track walk, which was by far the most useful event of the weekend in terms of instruction. We spent about 10 minutes at each key corner discussing the ideal line, visual cues for when to brake and turn in, and how much of the track to use. I was blown away at how sticky the track was (kind of like the floor in your favorite dive bar), the differences in types of curbing, and how steep much of the banking/camber was. I ended Day 1 running about 2:25s, and was ready to apply everything I had learned the next day.































Right as we were finishing up Turn 11 the skies opened up and we had a torrential downpour come down. Ah yes, the amazing feeling of just cooling off after a sweltering day...

...and then realizing you left your car in the pits with the windows open.

[nsogiba]

I spent Day 2 fully solo and just grinded out laps getting a feel for the car and pushing my braking further while trying to string the line together. The day started off relatively cool but quickly moved into the low 90s in the shade...heat index was in the 100s in the direct sunlight.

Oil temps stayed at about 275F. After session 2, the ambient temp and brakes got hot enough that the glue on the wheel weights melted and weights started getting chucked off. After pulling the wheels off, I put most of them back on and taped them on with aluminum tape. Since my pop up tent had broken when the wind blew it over, it was not fun pulling 4 wheels off on your knees in the direct sun.



Ended up turning my best times before lunch...PB of 2:20.63, with a bunch of times within 3-4 tenths to back it up. As I got faster I realized how nice it was to be in the Upper Intermediate Group - people were just generally way more aware and able to give point bys ahead of time so that you didn't have to let off and give up momentum. Lower Intermediate was frustrating because you'd come up behind someone with a bunch of speed off a corner and sit behind them at 25% throttle waiting for them to point you by.

On the last session I was definitely getting worn out and frustrated because the car wouldn't go any faster...hard braking at 140+ on the back straight into the bus stop, my foot slipped off the brake while going 5-4-3 and I ended up going 4-off lightly into the bus stop. I went through the grass doing about 30 and was able to get right back on track without disrupting anything. Made for a hell of a show for the guy in the 135is behind me since he was giving me a bunch of thumbs up after he passed me. I took it as a sign to give myself and the car a cool down and take it easy for the rest of the day.



Pulling into the pits, my wife showed up in my X5 and we called it a day.









Loaded all the junk back up, enjoyed a nice uneventful ride home with the AC blasting.





Next day - back to street mode. Oil change, put the stock wheels back on, and put the street pads back on.





Final thoughts:

M3:
-Tracking this car is awesome, it's extremely capable out of the box
-I pulled the front alignment pins for this event and am considering adding even more front camber because the outer fronts were still wearing more quickly than the insides
-Front pads were pretty much done after 2 HPDE events (WGI and Pittrace).
-Bigger oil cooler would be nice...do88 unit looking good.
-Square 275s are key for ability to be rotated, better turn in, understeer reduction, and confidence under braking.
-5 year old Federals did awesome and wore pretty well considering the heat

X5:
-Could use some more power as it worked hard on a very steep hill but then again I was close to or over the rated capacity. Currently running MHD Stage 1 with a BMS intake, otherwise bone stock. Hesitant to go Stage 2 with a catless downpipe as this is my daily and my 2 young kids wouldn't enjoy the smell. Plus I love how quiet it is now.
-Found a broken rear spring which contributed to rear sag.



Next up: Toronto Motorsports Park maybe in September?

[SalimM3]

Love the progression and the track day updates. In the 2nd to the last pic with the car on jack stands, are your tires mounted in the wrong direction? The tread pattern looks like it should be rotating the other way, just something I noticed.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by SalimM3

Love the progression and the track day updates. In the 2nd to the last pic with the car on jack stands, are your tires mounted in the wrong direction? The tread pattern looks like it should be rotating the other way, just something I noticed.

Sharp eye. I rotated the tires based on wear. The left side gets punished more on a clockwise track like Watkins Glen, so I put the lefts on the right and rights on the left. The fronts didn't seem to wear any differently than the rears. The grooves are there for water evacuation which is irrelevant for a dry weekend like we had. These tires are so worn that they're not suitable for rain use anyhow, so I had my spare Hankooks on the stock wheels loaded up as spares. Once these Federals wear some more, they're pretty much slicks anyways, so direction of rotation is irrelevant.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by nsogiba

Next up: Toronto Motorsports Park maybe in September?

Growing up in Toronto, TMP was my least favorite track in the area. Flat and fairly tight corners. Good for beginners I guess and track days were much cheaper there, but I quickly got bored of it.

Highly suggest you make it out to Mosport (now known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), The GP track is awesome, lots of elevation changes and fast sweepers mostly blind. The development track is also pretty good, either way can't go wrong but probably another 2hr drive for you.

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by tdott

Growing up in Toronto, TMP was my least favorite track in the area. Flat and fairly tight corners. Good for beginners I guess and track days were much cheaper there, but I quickly got bored of it.

Highly suggest you make it out to Mosport (now known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), The GP track is awesome, lots of elevation changes and fast sweepers mostly blind. The development track is also pretty good, either way can't go wrong but probably another 2hr drive for you.

Thanks for the tip. I like TMP because of the dirt cheap seat time, and the fact that it's "simple" allows you to focus on basics of braking points, turn in points, apex and throttle control without worry about camber changes, elevation, blind turns, no runoff, etc.

I will have to make it up to Mosport next year.

[nsogiba]

My latest project was refurbing my trailer. Bought it new in 2016 and it has been incredibly useful as mostly a utility trailer but also a track day tool. The deck was rotten in one place (painted regular plywood) but the frame was salvageable despite having some rust/scale.

Back when it was new and nice:



Chinesium paint oxidized quickly and turned pink.



This was a bit on the heavier side for the C5, but just had to take it slow.





M3 putting in work too



Ok, damage report:






Bye Bye deck





The extent of the rust:





The insides of the tires were rough. Somehow outer sidewalls weren't so bad



The cost to buy/mount 2 new tires as well time to sand and repaint the old rims came out the same as brand new ones, so I picked up a set and will keep the old ones as spares.

As further rust prevention I painted the rims (also change up the color a bit from boring Trailer White).



Heavy wire wheel and needle scaler were essential for removing rust and scale. I also put in new hub seals and regreased the bearings since they were in good shape.






Primer and Black Gloss brushed on from Tractor Supply






That's as far as I am today. It has been a challenge getting the paint to dry with the very cold temps, but it's getting there when I run the heater for a bit. More to come.

[nsogiba]

I put together a quick video of an oil change for my '16 35i as I've been wanting to get into filming a bit more. No clickbait, no flashy captions, no commentary actually. Feel free to leave feedback and let me know what else you want to see - I also have an E92 M3 and an LS turbo vintage Jaguar that I am constantly working on so I will make some content with those once they come out of storage.

What do you want to see more of? ASMR/no commentary? More POV/headcam gopro stuff? Voiceovers? Driving videos?