My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[admranger]

Originally Posted by dogbone

hehe no, I'll be going the other direction with some sort of new tire--most likely Pirelli or Hoosier.

Once you hit the purple crack, you never go back!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by admranger

Once you hit the purple crack, you never go back!

haha! I’ve had new A7’s before. Unfortunately I used Hoosier’s recommendation on tire pressures and ran them WAAAYYY too high. I don’t understand why they give crappy advice on tire pressures. I actually called them told them my car specs and they gave me a ridiculous psi number which I followed.

Anyway, it’s probably worth giving them another try. When I was in fsmtnbiker’s car, they stuck quite nicely.

[dogbone]

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season during these crazy times.

My family will be celebrating the holiday solo. Usually, my parents spend the holidays with us, but that will not happen this year. My parents are in their 80’s so they are hunkering down until they can get vaccinated.

On a happy note, my eldest daughter turned 18 yesterday. 18 years ago she surprised us on Xmas Eve by arriving 2 weeks early. And a week ago, she found out that she got accepted to her first-choice college—-Cornell.

Looking forward to 2021, I hope the world can return to some normalcy. And I’m hoping I’ll get to see you guys out there at the track again soon!

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season during these crazy times.

My family will be celebrating the holiday solo. Usually, my parents spend the holidays with us, but that will not happen this year. My parents are in their 80’s so they are hunkering down until they can get vaccinated.

On a happy note, my eldest daughter turned 18 yesterday. 18 years ago she surprised us on Xmas Eve by arriving 2 weeks early. And a week ago, she found out that she got accepted to her first-choice college—-Cornell.

Looking forward to 2021, I hope the world can return to some normalcy. And I’m hoping I’ll get to see you guys out there at the track again soon!

Cornell is very close to Watkins Glen IIRC.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

Cornell is very close to Watkins Glen IIRC.

haha yes it is!! Only 45 minutes away! I have to admit—-I have already told the family maybe we’ll move all her stuff with the trailer—-and oh——is there a race car in the trailer too???? Might just have to head on over to WGI after we drop her off!! Hahahaha

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by dogbone

haha yes it is!! Only 45 minutes away! I have to admit—-I have already told the family maybe we’ll move all her stuff with the trailer—-and oh——is there a race car in the trailer too???? Might just have to head on over to WGI after we drop her off!! Hahahaha

"How'd that get in there?"

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

"How'd that get in there?"

"Well honey, as long as it's here and I'm here...."

Wife: "I'm flying home."

[rhyary]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

Cornell is very close to Watkins Glen IIRC.

exactly my first thought :-)

[Shmelgy]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Even though I haven't been able to engage in much Bimmer Challenge in CA this year, I'm always following what's going on with it because my friends do it.

Yesterday, several guys committed to buying fancy new tires like new A7's and new DH and came in with their guns blazing because the weather was looking to be perfect at Buttonwillow 13CW.

I have to give a shout out to a few guys who had sub-1:50 runs.

-Charbel Elian did a 1:46.9 in his crazy light, insane build E36. He was on new A7.
-Steve Lee did 1:49.6 in his E36 with E46 engine on new A7’s. His car is quite light and has a front splitter and mellow rear wing.
-Serhan Emre did a 1:49.9 in his E46 on new DH. He does not have any aero on the car!! Crazy time.

Anyway, going sub-1:50 at Buttonwillow is a solid achievement, so I have to give those guys some props.


On my end, yesterday I installed the softer 12k springs on my rear coilovers (down from 13k). The job wasn't too bad. I believe I could do it at the track if I had to. I already showed myself that I can swap front springs at the track.

I am hoping that I can get out to High Plains Raceway this week and do some more testing. In my emails with them, they said they need to plow the snow from the track so I can run it (!!!) hahahaha

I'm trying to keep driving the car so that I feel like the setup is in the right place for when the new front aero is installed----things like the ride height, rake, etc. because the aero is supposed to sit a certain height off the ground and sit at a certain angle. My understanding is that the splitter is in production now. Pretty excited about that.

After I posted some new stuff to Instagram recently, a shop I've never dealt with reached out on IG to ask me if I wanted a new splitter because "pieces were missing" from mine.......hahahaha yes yes I know.....the one on there is quite overdue for replacement. (I'm still super impressed that it lasted this long though.)

Anyway, all this is in motion with the goal of getting to COTA in Feb with MVP Track Time and March with SuperLap Battle.

Do you mind sharing who reached out on ig about a splitter? Or you can pm me

I destroyed my splitter a few weeks ago going off turn 6 at big willow after a tire blew out, and I've been thinking of going more aggressive up front.

Spoke to Casey about adding splitter diffuser channels, but haven't made a decision yet

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Shmelgy

Do you mind sharing who reached out on ig about a splitter? Or you can pm me

I destroyed my splitter a few weeks ago going off turn 6 at big willow after a tire blew out, and I've been thinking of going more aggressive up front.

Spoke to Casey about adding splitter diffuser channels, but haven't made a decision yet

I really have no idea who the shop was that reached out. If you really want to know I can look it up. I was laughing that someone noticed and was trying to do some business.

Here’s what I would advise. If you want a bumper mounted splitter like APR or something cut from Alumalite, Casey/Racewerkz is great for all that. And you already have a good relationship with him.

However, if you want something chassis mounted and more crazy, then I recommend you consider the Zebulon route that I’m going. This is a custom piece that you choose the sizing and options you want. If you’re not familiar with Zebulon, we talked about it on pages 90 and 91 of my thread: Zebulon talk You can stand on this thing without issue. It’s an inch thick with shaping to it. Pretty cool stuff. Mine should be done in a couple weeks. I spoke to Ryan, the owner of Zebulon recently. He said that after Chris has been showing the production prototype in person and I’ve been blabbing about it on the forum, he’s got a bunch of orders lined up for the E9x M3 platform. So, it looks like other guys are jumping in too.

[Shmelgy]

Originally Posted by dogbone

I really have no idea who the shop was that reached out. If you really want to know I can look it up. I was laughing that someone noticed and was trying to do some business.

Here’s what I would advise. If you want a bumper mounted splitter like APR or something cut from Alumalite, Casey/Racewerkz is great for all that. And you already have a good relationship with him.

However, if you want something chassis mounted and more crazy, then I recommend you consider the Zebulon route that I’m going. This is a custom piece that you choose the sizing and options you want. If you’re not familiar with Zebulon, we talked about it on pages 90 and 91 of my thread: Zebulon talk You can stand on this thing without issue. It’s an inch thick with shaping to it. Pretty cool stuff. Mine should be done in a couple weeks. I spoke to Ryan, the owner of Zebulon recently. He said that after Chris has been showing the production prototype in person and I’ve been blabbing about it on the forum, he’s got a bunch of orders lined up for the E9x M3 platform. So, it looks like other guys are jumping in too.

Yeah I remember reading about it when you posted that. Mine was alumalite, chassis mounted, and you could stand on it. I figured now that we're redoing it, I might as well add some more downforce components to it rather than just go the same route as before. Need to brainstorm more with Casey

[slcook54]

I spy a blue grocery getter at 8:45

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by slcook54

I spy a blue grocery getter at 8:45

Hehe, all these jokes about the E90 being a grocery getter are funny - especially from the commentators. Half the cars (more actually) at these GTA events are more of a grocery getter then the E90 M3, especially things like the Evo, S2K, STI/WRX, Civics and so on

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by slcook54

I spy a blue grocery getter at 8:45

haha yes! Peaking my nose in!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by tsk94

Hehe, all these jokes about the E90 being a grocery getter are funny - especially from the commentators. Half the cars (more actually) at these GTA events are more of a grocery getter then the E90 M3, especially things like the Evo, S2K, STI/WRX, Civics and so on

hehe I know.....no one ever calls the Evo and STI grocery getters.....that’s ok. At this point, it’s our friendly running joke. It’s actually nice to have a little catch phrase done in fun.

Hey, I’m heading out. Does anyone need eggs? Milk maybe?

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by dogbone

hehe I know.....no one ever calls the Evo and STI grocery getters.....that’s ok. At this point, it’s our friendly running joke. It’s actually nice to have a little catch phrase done in fun.

Hey, I’m heading out. Does anyone need eggs? Milk maybe?

Or Modelos to fix his front splitter.

[roastbeef]

Need this sponsor stack...

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Need this sponsor stack...

hahaha! I DO need that!!

[dogbone]

Let's file this one under: MaxJax!

For quite some time, I've been wanting some way of easily lifting a whole car in my garage. For some reason, I find myself jacking up the whole car more often than I would expect. And using floor jacks and jack stands for 9 years has gotten a bit old. And now that my E90 is here in CO until probably the Fall, I have even more reason to be lifting cars. I also switch wheels on my wife's X5 around the snow season. There's always some dang reason to raise a car around here....

Previous to this house, I didn't really have the room to consider a lift without inconveniencing my wife and booting her from the garage. For those of you who aren't married yet, a little advice: booting the wife from the garage is never a good idea. But this house has a 3-car fully open garage that can handle it. I could put a car on a lift and leave it there for 2 weeks in the middle of winter and no one would care. BendPak does have a traditional 2-post lift with a top brace that can fit under a 9ft ceiling, but I was hesitant to put a permanent installation in.

Ultimately, here's what I wanted:
-something that was safe and solid that could lift several feet in the air.
-something that was portable in case the lift was in the way and I wanted to remove it.
-If possible, I wanted to not have to spend the $$$ to modify my ceiling or my garage door opener mechanism.

MaxJax fit all those requirements. It's a 2-post lift that can lift 6000lbs up to 48". The columns have wheels and can be stored out of the way and then rolled into place and bolted into the floor as needed (90 ft lbs). The installation uses recessed threads in the floor so when the lift is not in place, there aren't any bolts sticking up to trip you. The hydraulic motor and fluid reservoir reside on a small wheeled hand truck. After some calculations, I figured I could place the lift in a spot where I could lift the car 48" and not have to alter my garage door opener mechanism. And the price was less expensive than a traditional 2-post lift.

BendPak had a sale on Black Friday, so I ordered one with a package that included a rolling oil receptacle, a flat-on-your-back creeper and some truck risers.

It took awhile to receive, but it finally arrived on Monday. The box is 980 lbs plus pallet. They offer free shipping, but then they charge $70 for residential delivery......and then $100 for lift gate service.......So, my free shipping cost $170.....Luckily the FedEx delivery guy used his pallet jack to drag the 1000lbs box and pallet all the way into my garage into a convenient spot.

I'll start the process of talking about the MaxJax with this: DON'T BE IN A HURRY WHEN DOING THE INSTALL. If you're short on time, don't start the project. This thing is not a toy. If you hurry, I think there's a high chance you could hurt yourself. The columns are 300 lbs. It took me several days to ultimately get it installed and up and running.

Unboxing the system was a pretty solid task. Everything in the box is heavy, so it's strapped down, screwed down or nailed down. And getting it all out safely takes awhile. But everything showed up in good condition.





The instruction manual for installation is not super fantastic. And it's not up to date either.....Luckily they have a good phone tech support system. I called tech support several times during the installation. The most glaring difference between the instructions and the actual install involved a flow diverter. The instructions say to install it in a certain orientation, and the actual way is a totally different orientation. And the lift won't work if you orient the flow diverter incorrectly. BendPak knows it's wrong but they haven't updated their manual. Even the December 2020 online version has it wrong.

Anyway, the biggest problem I had during the installation was installing the recessed threads into the floor. You have to drill 10 holes into the concrete and then hammer threads into the floor and then back the threads out to tension them into the floor. I hired someone to drill the holes. Unfortunately, one the holes wasn't straight up and down....And I suspect three of the holes weren't drilled deep enough because three of the threads didn't end up fully tensioning correctly.....I'm going to have to use an epoxy solution on those last three holes for a permanent solution. Even with the three holes out of 10 not being perfectly installed, the lift works fine. I'm only lifting 50% capacity and I'm not lifting very high. And I won't go under it until the epoxy solution has been implemented.

The other nagging issue I had was that BendPak pre-assembles some pipe fitting pieces that flow the hydraulic fluid into the lifting cylinder. I was told they do it to save you some time......uh huh.....I was suspicious that the pieces may not have any thread sealant, and that I still needed some kind of thread sealant or teflon tape. I asked tech support if I needed to take the assembly apart and seal it, and they said no. So, on one column, I listened to them and just used the pieces as is. On the other column, I decided to take the assembly apart and seal the pieces. Yeah.......the ones I left alone leaked a ton of fluid as soon as I lifted the car. I had to disassemble the column and put teflon tape on the threads.....pain in the ass. But I'm an expert now!

So, how's the lift now that it's installed? Man it's awesome! Really nice piece of hardware. The mechanism is smooth and strong. It lifts and lowers in a very nicely controlled manner. I am very impressed with how well it works. And the quick release hydraulic lines that plug into the bottom of each column don't leak a single drop when connecting/disconnecting. In fact, there's no fluids dripping at all. My first task---I swapped brake pads on my E92. I also bought a rolling stool and it was great to not be on my knees! Went great!

And my fears of a permanent install may have been unfounded. The garage seems to have enough room to accommodate the lift full-time. Now that it's in place, my plan is to just leave it there all the time---unless the wife says to move it. Anyway, I think the setup looks great in the garage! (Also, if/when we move, this lift will be easier to transport somewhere else. Just drill 10 holes and it's good to go.)

In the future, I may get some new hydraulic lines made that are longer than the ones provided. That way I can put the motor/cart where I want. It might even be nice to run the lines along the ceiling to keep them entirely out of the way.

So far, I am very happy with the purchase, although I'm not sure my time was best spent doing the install because it took me several days. And their literature says that an installer could probably do the install for under $200. I don't know.....that may have been the better way to go. But I guess I am glad that I know the hardware backwards and forwards now......I gotta tell ya though, my muscles were damn sore after several days of wrestling with this heavy-ass crap.

[b4hand]

Now you just need this https://www.amazon.com/LiftMaster-85.../dp/B00BS28SP8

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by b4hand

Now you just need this https://www.amazon.com/LiftMaster-85.../dp/B00BS28SP8

Yeah I researched that opener. It's a great solution for clearing up the ceiling. I was ready to buy it if needed. But it turns out where the lift was placed and if you back the car in, it's not required. I might still get that opener later if I want to use the lift with the car parked head-in.

I placed the columns on the far side of the cement joint from the garage door because the cement of the garage gains a noticeable slope toward the door on the other side of the joint. The lift sits level where it is without shims.

[b4hand]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Yeah I researched that opener. It's a great solution for clearing up the ceiling. I was ready to buy it if needed. But it turns out where the lift was placed and if you back the car in, it's not required. I might still get that opener later if I want to use the lift with the car parked head-in.

I placed the columns on the far side of the cement joint from the garage door because the cement of the garage gains a noticeable slope toward the door on the other side of the joint. The lift sits level where it is without shims.

Nice job! I do dream of a 3-car garage some day