Bernooo's E92 M3 Clubsport Build

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by kyippee

The weight of the car is good! I should remove my passenger seat and rear seats too!

Anything else that got you down to 3255 half tank aside from battery? I'm at 3550 with a full tank of gas, still full interior.

It's wheels, brakes, suspension, arms front/rear, interior, seats, non idrive, exhaust, and other small deletes. Much more than the battery.

[jsivadas]

Awesome build, Keep up the great work!!

[berns]

Man... Fatherhood has me slacking on the build thread updates. I guess you could also say that crashing the car into a wall at Auto Club Speedway back in June took some of the wind out of my sails, but hey, it's time to dust the M3 off and get back out there.

Just to recap a little -- I really set my sights on sticking with the '21 Bimmer Challenge series with the goal of dominating the stacked B3 class, all while balancing work and bringing a life into the world. Ambitious? Yes. Fun? Very. Craziest of all, I was doing it.. somehow. Up until Round 6 on June 6th, at ACS, I was in the lead and feeling good.

I've only been to ACS once before, and that was back around 2016 with my E90 335i. I had no idea what I was doing then. Maybe ran like, a 2:08? All while wearing a motorcycle helmet with a GoPro slung from my sunroof while i held on for dear life in stock non-M seats. Ultimate cool track guy starter pack right there. So, safe to say I had no noteworthy experience at ACS. I did feel pretty intimidated by the place; seeing cars blast by at 160+ next to a wall just made me feel unsettled for some reason. On with it.

I went out in Session 1 and got up to pace pretty quickly, finding time in the infield and finding more and more speed on the Roval. The car had SO much grip. I clocked off a 1:49.8 and came in to cool down.



Session 2 came and I didn't really think I needed to go faster, but I knew I had more time in the car. I did back to back 49's, and then ran a 1:49.024 on lap 4. Was aiming for that 48, but the infield really had no grip and I was overdriving.
While I struggled for rear grip, I can honestly say the massive rear-end overhaul had the car feeling telepathic. The rear of the vehicle finally matched the front, and steering with throttle was easier than ever. The car felt incredible to me. This lap isn't the best example, but the time was there.

Here's that lap:

I knew I could carry more speed, though, so I went for one more, and that's when I lost my front right tire. Turns out I had punctured it somewhere, as we later found a hole in it, which caused it to blow out and send me into the wall around 140mph. I should have been terrified, probably, but I think I really knew it was going to be just the side of the car. Had I been headlights toward the wall, I'm not sure what would have happened to me, or the car, but the car did it's job, as did my safety equipment. It was a fucking thing to experience, and forced some unhappy conversations at home with my wife. I've been embarrassingly bummed out not having the track in my life, and can't wait to get back out there (as long as the lady agrees..) For the record: I was wearing a hans, using my Sparco 6-pt harness, Sparco Evo-QRT seat mounted to the Macht Schnell clubsport seat mount, and I run the Pinnacle GTS-style T45 cage.



I assumed the car would be toast, and let it sit collecting dust at EAS for a good month or so before really digging into it and taking it to a body shop. Turns out the car was fixable, with no frame damage. King's Auto Body saved the day and gave me hope that the M3 could come back again, and once Ayed, the owner, told me we should fix it, I went full steam head on insuring V2 of the M3 would be faster and better than ever.

Before I go any further, I really need to give a shout out to Steve and the whole team at European Auto Source for helping me out, from sourcing replacement parts to storing the car and getting it rolling. And just always being there for me. Love those dudes.
Next big one is to Ayed at King's Auto Body. So many friends kept telling me to give him a call, and I'm glad I did. What an amazing dude, with an incredible shop and just so much love for what we do. I have never experienced service and work like this. And a body shop that keeps you informed and has reasonable timelines that they meet.

Here's what I replaced on the right side of the car:

• Front Sway Bar
• All of the SPL arms
• Full tie rod
• StopTech rotor
• Front and Rear knuckles
• Front MCS 1WNR
• Strut tower brace
• Front Fender
• Pass door & mirror
• Rear spring arm

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, but that's most of the replacement bits. King's Auto Body repaired the front bumper, the sideskirt and the rear quarter.
The Titan7 wheel that took most of the impact, did not crack, did not bend. Nothing. It's perfect. The Macht Schnell wheel studs also didn't budge. Not sure there's a better testament to the strength of these parts, and thats why I run them.

So... I couldn't really come back out of the shop with the same car. I didn't want to wrap it again after hitting the side with fresh paint, and I've wanted to try to max out the points in B3 class and execute a bit of a Nür-spec-plus vision I've had for a while.

First, I needed new hubs and all the wheel bearings were likely tired on my 2008 with 100k on it, so I reached out to Tom from Core4 Motorsports and ordered a set of brand new hubs with fresh bearings, and press-in MSi 12mm studs.

I knew I wanted to put a diff in this thing, and with the amount of work of doing the rear knuckle and the rear hubs, I didn't want to get back in there again later, so I ordered a Drexler GT Light with the 4.10 FD from Florian at LimitedSlip.de driftflo Can't wait for that to get here!

I wanted to do some subtle aero changes that would fit into the rules for Bimmer Challenge. So, instead of some massive rear wing that would knock me into a tougher class, I opted for the 140cm GT4 wing from MK Rennsport in Germany. Ordered this through Martin at MS Motorsport. It came from the UK in 5 days and he was a pleasure to deal with. The piece itself is gorgeous and super light. There are so many threads with people wondering if this wing actually does anything, let alone a GTS wing... and I really want to know if it'll be a nice addition of rear grip with low drag. The data will tell.





As much as I love the look of the GT4 lips and canards, I don't need brake ducts to run time attack, and it kills me to see people run this lip in all of it's rep forms, from nice to shitty, and then when you get up close you just look into the brake duct holes and see concrete. So, a hole in the splitter surface area, plus it's useless. Hard pass. The canards that are paired with these lips always look a little wimpy to me too, so I reached out to Phil from BimmerWorld and was stoked to hear he had their non-ducted race splitter and canard package in stock. I ordered everything through EAS and got it in no time. I'm not sure why more people aren't running this setup.. It's fucking awesome, and it's a real carbon motorsport piece. The finish isn't show-car status kind of stuff, and it's not meant to be, but it fits great, looks killer and has way more surface area than the traditional GT4 stuff, especially on the sides. Should definitely be functional, and would also make a great base for a bigger splitter panel in the future. Here's the lip and here are the canards on the BimmerWorld site.

I'm picking the car up this week, and can't wait, but for now, here are some photos Ayed sent me. I'm in love!









You can see a new hood there too... I found a forum member selling his Motorsport24 full dry-carbon GTR vented hood. I've wanted this hood forever, but was never going to buy one new or pay for insane shipping from Germany. Once it popped up, I worked out a deal and traded my stock hood in return, and quickly resprayed the whole hood white. The vents were gloss black previously... not for me. Thanks to DRLane , it looks like I have the wrong hood hinges, causing this thing to sit way too high and close to the A-pillar. New hinges ordered, and hopefully that brings it into the right position, at which time I'll remove the stock latch system and install some aero-catches.

Hinges: 41617210677, 41617210678 (**not confirmed these solve anything yet**)

Still a lot to do with the replacement hubs, knuckles, a few arms, the diff and a full cooling system upgrade from CSF... but hopefully I'll have the car ready for its first shakedown sometime in December. New Buttonwillow goal is a 1:52.xx on Falken RT660's. If I get there in time for cool weather, it might just happen. Or, I'll be super rusty and slow and disappointed. Stoked to find the outcome either way.

I'll try my best to keep updating this thread to avoid writing a giant novel ever again. If you read through this, way to go.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by berns

Thanks to DRLane , it looks like I have the wrong hood hinges, causing this thing to sit way too high and close to the A-pillar. New hinges ordered, and hopefully that brings. it into the right position, at which time I'll remove the stock latch system and install some aero-catches.

Good to hear that the damage isn't bad and it's back on the road!

Btw my hood sits exactly as how your new M24 hood looks right now - couple of mm too high and the front body line a couple mm short of the front fender edge line. I've always thought it was just bad BMW fitment. Do you have the part # for the correct hood hinges?

[tsk94]

Looks great! My favorite combo of aero pieces for this chassis.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Redd

Good to hear that the damage isn't bad and it's back on the road!

Btw my hood sits exactly as how your new M24 hood looks right now - couple of mm too high and the front body line a couple mm short of the front fender edge line. I've always thought it was just bad BMW fitment. Do you have the part # for the correct hood hinges?

It's speculative, but Berns is on the prelci hinges which like mine were different as we're '08s.

The newer hinge is 41617210677, 41617210678.

I can't be sure it'll fix it but it's $100 refundable test…

[Redd]

Originally Posted by DRLane

It's speculative, but Berns is on the prelci hinges which like mine were different as we're '08s.

The newer hinge is 41617210677, 41617210678.

I can't be sure it'll fix it but it's $100 refundable test…

Hmm... Mine is a 2010 car. Maybe I'll let berns try it first. I'm overseas and I don't get to refund parts if they don't fit.

[911r]

Props for keeping the aero super tasteful.

Looking forward to hearing your impressions re: diff.

[berns]

Originally Posted by Redd

Good to hear that the damage isn't bad and it's back on the road!

Btw my hood sits exactly as how your new M24 hood looks right now - couple of mm too high and the front body line a couple mm short of the front fender edge line. I've always thought it was just bad BMW fitment. Do you have the part # for the correct hood hinges?

Ah, interesting. Gotta say... Yes it's an awesome looking piece, but for the best of the best, I'd expect it to fit better than the garbage out there, and I'm not sure it does... I've reached out to M24 to see what they have to say. Either the new hinges will help, or I'll modify them a bit to help. That, paired with the aero catch closing the hood tighter toward the grille, and it should be passible. The whole thing does seem a bit warped though, yeah? Odd.

Originally Posted by tsk94

Looks great! My favorite combo of aero pieces for this chassis.

Thanks man! I was VERY close to doing the BW Ultra Light wing... but in the end, I just wanted to love the way the car looked still and didn't want to punt myself into a different race class, which would only make me want to gut the car and slap a blower on it.

Originally Posted by 911r

Props for keeping the aero super tasteful.

Looking forward to hearing your impressions re: diff.

Thanks! Yeah I'm excited to try out the mythical Drexler GT4 setup with the 4.10. I didn't hate the stock diff. I didn't love it. Felt better than the Wavetrac I had in my 135i TA car. And I managed to be pretty quick with it, so the Drexler will really have to be a night and day impact for it to be worth it. While I'd like to run the car with just the diff and no aero, or just the aero and no diff, I'm not positive that'll happen, however, the two should pick up time in different areas at Buttonwillow, so I think it'll be obvious what's doing what.

[omgzirra_exe]

Originally Posted by berns

Ah, interesting. Gotta say... Yes it's an awesome looking piece, but for the best of the best, I'd expect it to fit better than the garbage out there, and I'm not sure it does... I've reached out to M24 to see what they have to say. Either the new hinges will help, or I'll modify them a bit to help. That, paired with the aero catch closing the hood tighter toward the grille, and it should be passible. The whole thing does seem a bit warped though, yeah? Odd.



Thanks man! I was VERY close to doing the BW Ultra Light wing... but in the end, I just wanted to love the way the car looked still and didn't want to punt myself into a different race class, which would only make me want to gut the car and slap a blower on it.



Thanks! Yeah I'm excited to try out the mythical Drexler GT4 setup with the 4.10. I didn't hate the stock diff. I didn't love it. Felt better than the Wavetrac I had in my 135i TA car. And I managed to be pretty quick with it, so the Drexler will really have to be a night and day impact for it to be worth it. While I'd like to run the car with just the diff and no aero, or just the aero and no diff, I'm not positive that'll happen, however, the two should pick up time in different areas at Buttonwillow, so I think it'll be obvious what's doing what.

i can also state that my hood sits like yours as well, not crazy above the fender line but it can be noticeable.

if anything you will have to run thinner bump stops on the hood or remove it all together like i did. i also suggest getting some hood pins as well for safety.. i get worried when im at 120+.

the GT4 wing smaller version has noticeable rear grip differences for me. cause i took mine off last year and have noticed a difference. so hopefully you can return some results with the much larger version.

glad to see you back buddy~

[Lienrocs]

I've got a driftlo drexler diff in my car. It's a really nice upgrade. The car does exactly what you tell it to do on corner exit.

[Exclusivs]

Nice update Berns. Coming back stronger and better.

[derbo]

berns great update! I dig the name: Nur+ spec.

[StripclubDJ]

Meh

[cremem3]

Caught your build on the gram.. gotta love the functional beauty. GT4 lips are sweet but it's great to see something different and highly functional every once in a while. Congrats on getting her back on the road!

[berns]

Originally Posted by StripclubDJ

Meh

Exactly how I feel when I see you for the first time in a long time. <3

Well, I picked up my car today. Cannot believe how it turned out. Ayed and the whole crew at King's Auto Body killed it. And that's putting it lightly. They did a TREMENDOUS amount of work in a short time. Hard to believe this E92 is just about 14 years old, has 100k on it, and has hit a wall. Really can't say thank you enough.



A few things I decided after my drive home.

1. The Akra exhaust is just too quiet. The glorious sound this car should make, should match how it looks, and the exhaust note to me is just such a bummer. This will be remedied with something custom at some point, since there are no other 25lb exhausts on the market, and all the nice sounds come at a 50lb cost.
   
2. Driving around with mismatched stock and SPL arms up front feels very weird.
   
3. I have really, really missed driving this car. Cruising home on the freeway with the windows down was honestly a vacation for me. Probably because work has slowed down a bit and my wife started working, and I've been a stay at home dad for the last two months. Today was the best.

So, next things to do:

• Waiting on the Core4 hubs/studs and the new pumpkin with Drexler/4.10
• Also waiting on a rear knuckle, backordered, coming from Germany
• CSF Radiator, Oil Cooler and PS Cooler are here and ready to go in
• Replacement SPL tie rod and endlink showed up today, those were the last of the arms needed for the front end, and I already have a new knuckle here.
• Wonder if I can find a CF driveshaft to drop in while we're in there... or if it's even worth it.
• Car will go down to EAS to have the above addressed, and then go to Mike Essa for a good look at the chassis, then final setup, corner balance & alignment. Mike (Pro Formula Drift Mike...) knows a thing or two about smashing BMWs into walls and also knows how to set a track car up. Looking forward to his feedback.
• Also going to go through the car while it's home with me for the next few weeks and pull out any other weight items I don't need. Not sure how much is there, and don't think I want to pull the carpet yet.

More soon. Till then, here are some photos from todays pickup. Can't get over this car. Oh, about those hood hinges... Ayed said they won't work on this hood. And, that the previous owner of the hood had to backdate his hinges work properly. So, cancelling that order. Hopefully the aerocatch latches will help.

[StripclubDJ]

I can't wait to see you Alex

I miss feeling my pants get tight when you walk through the shop door

[omgzirra_exe]

Originally Posted by berns

Exactly how I feel when I see you for the first time in a long time. <3

Well, I picked up my car today. Cannot believe how it turned out. Ayed and the whole crew at King's Auto Body killed it. And that's putting it lightly. They did a TREMENDOUS amount of work in a short time. Hard to believe this E92 is just about 14 years old, has 100k on it, and has hit a wall. Really can't say thank you enough.



A few things I decided after my drive home.

1. The Akra exhaust is just too quiet. The glorious sound this car should make, should match how it looks, and the exhaust note to me is just such a bummer. This will be remedied with something custom at some point, since there are no other 25lb exhausts on the market, and all the nice sounds come at a 50lb cost.
   
2. Driving around with mismatched stock and SPL arms up front feels very weird.
   
3. I have really, really missed driving this car. Cruising home on the freeway with the windows down was honestly a vacation for me. Probably because work has slowed down a bit and my wife started working, and I've been a stay at home dad for the last two months. Today was the best.

So, next things to do:

• Waiting on the Core4 hubs/studs and the new pumpkin with Drexler/4.10
• Also waiting on a rear knuckle, backordered, coming from Germany
• CSF Radiator, Oil Cooler and PS Cooler are here and ready to go in
• Replacement SPL tie rod and endlink showed up today, those were the last of the arms needed for the front end, and I already have a new knuckle here.
• Wonder if I can find a CF driveshaft to drop in while we're in there... or if it's even worth it.
• Car will go down to EAS to have the above addressed, and then go to Mike Essa for a good look at the chassis, then final setup, corner balance & alignment. Mike (Pro Formula Drift Mike...) knows a thing or two about smashing BMWs into walls and also knows how to set a track car up. Looking forward to his feedback.
• Also going to go through the car while it's home with me for the next few weeks and pull out any other weight items I don't need. Not sure how much is there, and don't think I want to pull the carpet yet.

More soon. Till then, here are some photos from todays pickup. Can't get over this car. Oh, about those hood hinges... Ayed said they won't work on this hood. And, that the previous owner of the hood had to backdate his hinges work properly. So, cancelling that order. Hopefully the aerocatch latches will help.

your car is exactly how i wanted it last year. it is so beautiful. I suggest hitting up an old friend at @wisecraft_fabrication for that custom titanium exhaust, midpipe included.

side note: any particular reason for CSF? it seems Do88 is the superior option here as CSF hasn't been as good, at least maybe the DCT cooler on the Do88 was better but your 6spd so iono.

sorry lots of questions.

how many points do you think you'll have in B3?

[StripclubDJ]

Csf cuz he's getting it for free

[berns]

Originally Posted by omgzirra_exe

your car is exactly how i wanted it last year. it is so beautiful. I suggest hitting up an old friend at @wisecraft_fabrication for that custom titanium exhaust, midpipe included.

side note: any particular reason for CSF? it seems Do88 is the superior option here as CSF hasn't been as good, at least maybe the DCT cooler on the Do88 was better but your 6spd so iono.

sorry lots of questions.

how many points do you think you'll have in B3?

Yeah I've heard of Wisecraft. I have some other fab buddies nearby too, the biggest thing is just taking a gamble on sound. I don't think Titanium is really a good fit for this motor. Maybe some thinwall stainless would be light still, but sound proper. We'll see.

I've run CSF on my last 3 BMW builds and never had an issue. I busted my trans cooler in the crash and actually ordered the whole 4-piece kit from CSF, but the trans cooler was out of stock and still is, so I put a used stock one in, and kept the other 3. I've heard good things about Do88, too, but honestly, this car barely had temp issues before, and with a vented hood now, it'll be even cooler. The CSF should definitely work. They make a great product and I feel like they sell SO much, that people are more vocal when the have an issue. I'll post up once everything is out of the boxes and being installed.

As for points in B3. All of them.

Originally Posted by StripclubDJ

Csf cuz he's getting it for free

I paid for the coolers, pinky promise.

[omgzirra_exe]

Originally Posted by berns

Yeah I've heard of Wisecraft. I have some other fab buddies nearby too, the biggest thing is just taking a gamble on sound. I don't think Titanium is really a good fit for this motor. Maybe some thinwall stainless would be light still, but sound proper. We'll see.

I've run CSF on my last 3 BMW builds and never had an issue. I busted my trans cooler in the crash and actually ordered the whole 4-piece kit from CSF, but the trans cooler was out of stock and still is, so I put a used stock one in, and kept the other 3. I've heard good things about Do88, too, but honestly, this car barely had temp issues before, and with a vented hood now, it'll be even cooler. The CSF should definitely work. They make a great product and I feel like they sell SO much, that people are more vocal when the have an issue. I'll post up once everything is out of the boxes and being installed.

As for points in B3. All of them.



I paid for the coolers, pinky promise.

haha no worries i dont care if youre sponsored or not i just wanted to know. i had CSF on my s2k back then, but i come here and it seems like people just go with Do88.

all the points? (proceeds to avoid b3)

I also agree with you, Titanium IMO is not a good sound for this engine.

i really enjoy my eRace even if its 40 something lbs.. even with oem xpipe.

im happy your back and i cant wait to run into you at one of the events in 2022~

[Rochen_00]

berns I'm glad nothing happened to you in the track crash and the car is already repaired.

Very interested in that point you mention about the exhaust, I feel that the akrapovic lacks a bit of volume. I like that exotic tone it has but I would like it to sound stronger, I will be attentive to your thread