Hooiser M3 Track Build

[Hoosier_M3]

Hello all,

This is my second build thread for this M3. I made another when I planned to keep it mostly stock (click here) and had absolutely no intention of tracking it. Hitting the highlights from there:

Bought the car stock in Greenwich, CT on in April 2016 and took it out to school in Indiana. Here is the dealer stock photo (when I first found the car) and another of it in front of the dealership when I took delivery. It's a 2009 car (jerez black on black novillo leather), with DCT, EDC, navigation, premium audio, and heated seats -I believe the only options not included were extended leather and a car alarm.





Not a whole lot happened when I was at school. I took care of rod bearings, throttle actuators, fuel tank breather valve, coil packs, spark plugs, and various other maintenance items. The car also underwent its first round of modifications:

-ZCP shocks and struts with Eibach springs: I was very happy with this setup. The car was noticeably lower but still retained stock ride quality.
- VRSF test pipes + ACM style muffler mod: I loved this setup when I got it (great volume/tone but relatively little drone) and still love it today. I know some folks on here talk down on this, but it is a great setup for the price and I've gotten nothing but compliments on it.
- Apex EC-7 wheels + Macht Schnell Spacers: The wheels were 19" x 9" and 19" x 10". I forget the offsets or the spacer sizes, but I worked with Cat at IND to figure out the spacers and couldn't be happier with the resulting fitment. This suspension/wheel/spacer combo was a great OEM+ look.

Obligatory rod bearing picture. This was at 60k miles with documented oil changes every 5k for the life of the car.



Here is a shot of the car with everything done to it some time around graduation (summer of 2018):



After graduating I moved to Utah, which is where things started to go off the rails. Due to logistical complications (work) I arranged for a local shop to take delivery of the car for me. They convinced me to come out to Utah Motorsports Campus for a track day in the fall of 2018 with the local NASA chapter. Other than swapping out the brake fluid for Motul RBF 600 we did not make any modifications to the car. I absolutely toasted the stock brakes (due to a combination of their inadequacy and my massive over-braking) but was hooked after that.

Here is a shot of the car in action:



Also a gratuitous Utah mountains shot (Guardsman's Pass near Park City):



Winter 2018/2019 was phase two of the build. I knew I wanted something that would perform better on track, but would also work for the occasional mount cruise or weekend grocery trip and worked with a great shop (PM me if you're looking for a good BMW shop in the Salt Lake area). Here is the plan we devised:

-Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers: I can discuss these more thoroughly in another post, but I think that despite some negative commentary around the spring rates (which is easily remedied with the Swift Spring upgrade) these are the best dual purpose shocks out there. The Ohlins valving is top notch and they can feel quite stiff at the track (low speed compression) but handle curbing and potholes really well (softer high speed compression due to the dual flow valving). I thought the range of adjustments was broad enough that they could be quite compliant driving to the track but firm nicely after a few adjustments.

-Enkei NT03 +M with Federal 595-RR followed by Nitto NT01: The wheels were not my first choice, but I got a great deal on the wheels used locally (cheaper than wholesale on ARC8s). I ended up really liking the dual valve stems. In terms of tires I started with Federal 595-RR (I think that's what they're called... the super cheap track day ones) then moved on to NT01s. Starting out I thought the Federals were great... but that was after only 4 days. NT01s (which I still love now) were a big step up from these.

-PFC01 + ECS Brass Guide Pins: I struggled with over braking early on and struggled with terrible brake fade from these, so really hard to give a good opinion here. I switched to Pagid RS-29s later in the season and experienced almost no fade over a 30 minute session, although I think this had more to do with my abilities than the pads themselves.

-OMP Champ-R + Studio RSR 4 point roll bar: It's hard to review a roll bar, but I was very happy with the build quality/fit from this. I got OMP Champ-R's from Demon Tweaks in the UK (PM me for the intricacies of OMP regional pricing, but ordering from overseas saves huge $ on anything OMP). I highly recommend these for any dual purpose build like this, they were extremely comfortable on the road (I actually prefer these to stock) but great on track.

-CSF Radiator + Oil Cooler, and Epic Diverter Valve: Fitment was great on both both CSF products and everything worked as advertised. The car ran noticeably cooler on the road (I think this had more to do with the diverter valve) and cooled down much faster on the track. I never had any overheating issues prior to these and do not have data to back this up, but I like to think these made a difference.

-General maintenance: Valve cover gaskets, oil filter housing gasket (mine was actually leaking terribly), all the fluids, spark plugs, all the fluids, etc.

Here are a few shots of the car in action at Utah Motorsports Campus. I hadn't planned on the triple black look, but it grew on me:







Around halfway through the season, I left my job in Utah to do the exact same job in New York City. I spent a week of my month off overseas and got out at Spa and the Nurburgring. This will be an annual pilgrimage going forward.





I don't have a lot of flexibility for track days during the week so I needed a solution that would give a me a lot of track time (and instruction) on weekends so I joined the Lime Rock Driver's Club last fall. For those less familiar with LRDC, it gives members 4 hours of open pit track time (usually alternating with SCDA, or another club) on almost every Saturday in the Spring/Fall and a few days per month over the Summer. At this point I was living in the city but keeping the car at my parents house and driving it to/from the track (60 mins each way). This got quite nerve wracking driving/ to/from and became a bit of a hassle to get the car to/from the shop I was using at the time during the week.

I had an incident where I ran over something driving home that necessitated 2 new tires and made the mistake of pairing 2 new NT01s up front with my dying Federals in the back. The PFCs were also on their way out and I think the alignment needed some adjustments. This made for a car that didn't like to stop and loved to oversteer. I've now been through every corner at Lime Rock sideways. At this point was consistently running 1:02s with a car that was in shambles and realized I needed to make some changes for next season.

Here are a few shots of the car out at Lime Rock:






At the end of last season I de-registered the car and it moved in to a shop near the track in CT that takes care of it during the week and will bring it to the track. They are also handling the third phase of this build:

- 6 point roll cage: The full interior is now removed and the car is with the fabricator getting a full 6 point cage. I will post up pictures once it's done (should be this week) but this was designed as a hybrid of Turner's cage from their grand am car and the factory cage in the M3 GT4.

- Penske race shocks: I was fortunate enough to get a deal on a used set (off a former Turner car) and send them to Penske for a fresh rebuild. Getting these properly dialed in will be a very interesting learning experience for me and I will share the various adjustments as we make them. Obviously adjustable sway bars as well.

- Solid everything: With out going piece by piece we are swapping out the various bushings/mounts for solid alternatives from Turner/Bimmerworld.

- KMP steering wheel: I ordered this directly from KMP in the Netherlands. It took some time to ship (about a month) but pricing was well below the various services that re-sell these in the US and ordering was incredibly easy.

- Do88 DCT and power steering coolers: I ordered both of these from Burkhart Engineering in Germany. Their customer service is great (email responses within 24 hours) and shipping was extremely fast. Both coolers arrived in CT within a week of me ordering. Pricing was very fair, even including the overseas shipping. I would note that if you are ordering from them, the prices on their site include VAT so you can actually deduct around 20% from that.

- AP Racing Radi-Cal Pro 5000r: This is self explanatory, we will run these with another set of Pagid RS-29s.

- Bimmerworld TA16 18" x 10" ET25: These are also pretty standard. I was agnostic between these, Titan, and Apex ARC8-R but got the best price here. Maybe Forgelines or E88s next winter. R comps while I get used to the car, but hopefully slicks later in the season.

- Burkhart Engineering GT4 MKII Wing: This is the larger (second generation) GT4 wing with custom high mounts. I think a few folks here in the US have them but they are more broadly used in Germany. Once again, great customer service and rapid shipping.

- Bimmerworld Splitter: This is their slightly modded GT4 lip. It is a little wider and attaches into the cooling openings (intake on the driver side and PS/DCT on the passenger side) as opposed to just mounting to the bottom of the bumper. I like this design a lot and think it will match the larger rear wing nicely, but time will tell.

Interior (before wiring/clips came out and the car left for cage):



75k mile subframe with a fresh coat of paint and solid bushings:





KMP steering wheel



Shocks back from Penske





My car is in good company (and yes, there's a car that goes to that steering wheel)






I will try to keep this thread more updated than my last one as we finish this build and start testing it on track. The goal for this winter was to create something safe and reliable with parts that we will not replace as this car gets faster and I start to get competitive. This is going to be a quantum leap from my setup exiting last season, so in the near term I just want to re-learn the car and experience all the local tracks.

[shootnjunky]

nice work

[slowcar]

This is great. Are you actually living in nyc? Trying to figure out logistically how to move to and from various nearby tracks, but it always ends up stifling me.

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by slowcar

This is great. Are you actually living in nyc? Trying to figure out logistically how to move to and from various nearby tracks, but it always ends up stifling me.

Yes, I live in NYC but the car lives at the shop in CT. They trailer it to the track and I meet it there. This necessitates a second vehicle to get to/from the tracks but avoids all the stress of driving a track car in and out of the city and eliminates the risk of a breakdown en route that results in a lost day. This seems to work best for me, but a few other options are:

- Renting garage space at or near a track
- Keeping the car in storage or with a shop near a metro north stop, so you can just take a commuter train to get to it
- Driving the car in/out with a set of track wheels in the back
- Renting a car. I like the idea of having/building my own car, but this can also be a great idea. There's a local company that rents a very nicely set up E92 M3 track car for most tracks around here.

Happy to share what I've found for pricing and shop recommendations if you shoot me a PM. Anyone else on here from the city doing this?

[SYT_Shadow]

If you make it to watkins glen for any PCA events we may run into each other! Cool build!

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

If you make it to watkins glen for any PCA events we may run into each other! Cool build!

Thanks! Big fan of your E90 and stroker build... I've already watched some of your watkins glen footage. I have not signed up for anything yet, but once the tracks open up and I get this car somewhat sorted out I am planning to head up there. I well definitely PM if I'll be at a PCA day.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Hoosier_M3

Thanks! Big fan of your E90 and stroker build... I've already watched some of your watkins glen footage. I have not signed up for anything yet, but once the tracks open up and I get this car somewhat sorted out I am planning to head up there. I well definitely PM if I'll be at a PCA day.

I can't wait... it's bad enough we have to wait for spring to arrive but now we're waiting even longer!!

[Richbot]

Holy balls I don't think I've seen a set of Penskes on an E9x yet rad

I almost used Anze for a set back when MCS was first becoming a thing, but decided to take a chance on Lex at 2/3 the cost, which I never regretted but damn, that's a nice setup

The TA16 wheelset I have now is the nicest set of wheels I have ever owned. Good choice. Wish I had gotten 10.5's sometimes

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Richbot

The TA16 wheelset I have now is the nicest set of wheels I have ever owned. Good choice. Wish I had gotten 10.5's sometimes

It's a really nice wheel. Even the guy who mounts them, a Porsche indy shop, says he's impressed.
I got two sets of the 10.5s and then four of the TA5R 10.5s as backups

[Richbot]

I have to keep repeating to myself it's a street car it's a street car you go to walmart in this car it's a street car you don't need 295's it's a street car it'll just make it worse what are you doing put your credit card away street car stop it

Threads like these help relieve the tension, lol

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

It's a really nice wheel. Even the guy who mounts them, a Porsche indy shop, says he's impressed.
I got two sets of the 10.5s and then four of the TA5R 10.5s as backups

This makes me really want 10.5s! I've always gone with 18x10 and 275s but maybe time reconsider.

Also to Richbot's point on the Penske's I think I am the first person to run these on an E9x in at least 5 years per conversations with Turner, who has most of the hardware needed to mount these on their shelves.

If anyone is in the market. Penske has a brand new set sitting in inventory now (which they've had for years). Retail is astronomical, but they were hinting at a nice discount when we spoke with them --would probably be in line with a similar setup from Moton or JRZ.

[Richbot]

I am sorely tempted to buy an old GAGS E92 to build into a TT car, there are like half a dozen running around on various classifieds/for sale sections off and on, did Turner try to sell you one?

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Hoosier_M3

This makes me really want 10.5s! I've always gone with 18x10 and 275s but maybe time reconsider.

Also to Richbot's point on the Penske's I think I am the first person to run these on an E9x in at least 5 years per conversations with Turner, who has most of the hardware needed to mount these on their shelves.

If anyone is in the market. Penske has a brand new set sitting in inventory now (which they've had for years). Retail is astronomical, but they were hinting at a nice discount when we spoke with them --would probably be in line with a similar setup from Moton or JRZ.

I use all the sets of 10.5s with 275 or 285 tires indistinctly

275 fits better on the 10.5 than the 10, you get a little extra free effective tire width from them

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by Richbot

I am sorely tempted to buy an old GAGS E92 to build into a TT car, there are like half a dozen running around on various classifieds/for sale sections off and on, did Turner try to sell you one?

Turner did not, but I have seen a few floating around as well. They actually had a caged E92 M3 tub that was scrapped a couple weeks before my build started, which could have been quite the project for someone. FWIW my car is not with Turner but the shop it's at has done a lot of work with them over the years and now owns the 96 car pictured above so that's been our guide for a lot of this build.

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

I use all the sets of 10.5s with 275 or 285 tires indistinctly

275 fits better on the 10.5 than the 10, you get a little extra free effective tire width from them

Sounds like it's time for 10.5s next. I have to see if the Enkeis I had last year clear the front brakes... if they don't we might be twinning very soon.

[Hoosier_M3]

Not the most exciting update, but I ordered the Do88 radiator hoses and we'll be installing them along with the coolers and front aero when the car gets back from the cage fabricator.

One a more interesting note, what color does everyone think I should paint the cage? I was planning to go black but starting to get second thoughts and want something more colorful

[StripclubDJ]

Jerez ftmw

[StripclubDJ]

Originally Posted by Hoosier_M3

Not the most exciting update, but I ordered the Do88 radiator hoses and we'll be installing them along with the coolers and front aero when the car gets back from the cage fabricator.

One a more interesting note, what color does everyone think I should paint the cage? I was planning to go black but starting to get second thoughts and want something more colorful

Go white
Makes shit easy to see and work on

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by StripclubDJ

Go white
Makes shit easy to see and work on

White cage on Jerez though?! I'm not a huge fan of that combo. I feel like it's got to be black or some obnoxious blue/purple

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by Hoosier_M3

White cage on Jerez though?! I'm not a huge fan of that combo. I feel like it's got to be black or some obnoxious blue/purple

I vote for blue

[rTrackM3]

+1 Blue! Sweet build thread, can't wait to see the progress!

[Hoosier_M3]

Originally Posted by ryanosiecki

+1 Blue! Sweet build thread, can't wait to see the progress!

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I vote for blue

Thanks! That's what I am leaning towards. Maybe something along the lines of Laguna Seca blue? Could also do purple...

[Richbot]

White cage bars in a not-white car = racecar

Not a white car? Not a racecar? No white cage bars for you or you're that guy who wears his fire suit to the iracing driver's meeting

Especially egregious if white applied to a roll hoop/half-cage in a non-white car. -10,000 cred points

My vote is wrap it in purple chrome vinyl