My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by Redd

Yes I have been informed that can happen. Was told to close the valve purely for noise purposes and not to do high rpms with the valve closed.

Which muffler?

[Shmelgy]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

there was an interesting scenario in the chit chat thread where someone was running at laguna seca with their valves closed for sound, and their car was going into limp mode because it was choking the car a bit. i don't think you have that problem with sound, but it sounds like these valved exhausts can have some drama.

Yeah, that was me. It was the first prototype and Brian (Bomiz) told me he didn't like the design because it looked way too restrictive. I took a chance with it after he told me and it ended up not working out. Problem should have been resolved on the production version.

But hey, I PASSED SOUND with my catless xpipe

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by Shmelgy

Yeah, that was me. It was the first prototype and Brian (Bomiz) told me he didn't like the design because it looked way too restrictive. I took a chance with it after he told me and it ended up not working out. Problem should have been resolved on the production version.

But hey, I PASSED SOUND with my catless xpipe

Passed sound at laguna, with Bomiz muffler + catless x-pipe? Wow that sounds great then. I'm running the production muffler with the rest of the exhaust stock. Trying to pass sound in late April. Sounds like I'll be fine!

[Shmelgy]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Passed sound at laguna, with Bomiz muffler + catless x-pipe? Wow that sounds great then. I'm running the production muffler with the rest of the exhaust stock. Trying to pass sound in late April. Sounds like I'll be fine!

You'll pass with flying colors!

[dogbone]

Forum member Eddybro sent me a PM, and I tried to respond, but your Inbox is full. Just trying to reach out to let you know.

[Eddybro]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Forum member Eddybro sent me a PM, and I tried to respond, but your Inbox is full. Just trying to reach out to let you know.

Cleared

[dogbone]

Let’s file this one under: $402 of labor to change two belts in the engine bay?? Plus shop supplies and parts? hmmmm

A couple weeks ago, I took my E92 to a local mechanic shop to get the oil changed. I asked them to check the car over. The main item I needed to deal with right away was the two belts in the engine bay. One was showing hundreds of cracks. The other looked fine, but I had no idea how long it had been on there. So both needed to be replaced. The shop was friendly, and charged a fair price for the oil change, but quoted over $400 in labor to replace the belts…..That just seemed like……ummmm......

I have been wanting to jump in the engine bay and learn more about doing things in there. This labor quote was the kick in the pants that I needed to get me going to look into doing it myself. So, I did some homework to see if changing the belts was something I could pull off. I talked to my shops back in LA and they were confident that I had enough technical chops to do it.

So, I decided to give it a shot. And I ordered OEM belts from FCP Euro. Belts came in. Time to dive in. I was most worried about pulling the fan.

I pulled out the airbox, and I got the fan out without too much issues, and I got the belts off without much problems. Cool!

Now that I can see the crank pulley, I’m looking at it and asking myself——why is there a logo on that pulley? Turns out the car has an Active Autowerke pulley……..argh……the belts I bought won’t be the right size. I call Active and they tell me that the shorter belt on the power steering side is a totally custom size and I have to get it from them……blah…..

So, the job got put on hold for a couple days. Finally, got all the belts in and was able to install them.

Put the car back together. And it runs great!

I do not have a background in wrenching on cars. This stuff makes me nervous. Over the last 7 years, I have learned to install BBK and suspension. But engine bay stuff has always made me cringe. This was my first dive into the engine bay. Information from this forum and talking to my shops in LA really helped so———THANKS!

And if you’ve never seen this thread, forum member Theodore made a thread that lists out common torque specs around the car. Very helpful!: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1330067

Next post: Suspension install on the E92 M3.

PS. The shop also quoted $2600 to replace both valve covers because they said they were leaking......I was like, can't we just do gaskets?....they said just doing gaskets doesn't really do the job......I talked to my shops in LA and they said, just do the gaskets. Something tells me that I won't be doing the labor on that one.....unless........... )

[dogbone]

I mentioned before that a suspension was supposed to go into the E92. I bought a used JRZ RS Pro from a forum member. I was always planning on doing that install myself. The suspension job happened at the same time as the engine belts which was good because with the airbox out, running the remote reservoir line of the JRZ on the driver side was much easier. So, while I waited for different belts to arrive due to the aftermarket pulley, I got into the suspension install.

I wasn’t worried about the front suspension. But on the rear suspension, that 21mm bolt that connects the control arm to the hub was the thing I was worried about. I’ve helped friends with that in the past, and we’ve struggled like crazy getting that bolt in. I’ve watch pro mechanics have to work pretty hard to get that bolt back in——lining up the control arm and the hub is painful at best.

So, how did it go? In general, it went fine, but there were a few bumps along the way.

Fronts:

-Getting the front OEM dampers out of the uprights was quite challenging. On the driver side, I was using a screwdriver to spread the eyelets on the backside of the damper to allow the damper to release from that holder, but it was damn difficult. I suspect the damper had never been out of there in 10 years/85k miles, so it’s not too surprising that it was a bit stuck. Anyway, I got it out. But on the passenger side……no way. I could not separate those eyelets enough to free up the damper. I had to go to Home Depot and get a big solid metal pry bar. Finally, with the pry bar and quite a bit of hammering with a rubber mallet, I was able to get the passenger side damper out.

-Next challenge was that the seller of the JRZ setup disconnected the Quick Disconnect of the remote canisters while the system was under full nitrogen pressure. He was trying to be considerate so that I would not be left out in the cold with no nitrogen in the canisters. The gesture was very thoughtful, but it made it impossible to reconnect the quick disconnect connectors by hand because the damper side was still under full pressure…..With my hands, I could not generate enough force to press the connectors together. Bryan Hise (who used to be with JRZ but is now with Olsen) recommended trying to let a tiny tiny little bit of oil out from the banjo bolt at the bottom of the damper to lower the pressure on the damper side. But I was nervous to do that. So, I came up with another idea. What if I could get a table vice grip to press the two connectors together? I let the nitrogen out of the canister and was able to catch the edges of the hardware of the oil lines with the vice grip——and it worked! The vice grip pressed the connectors together without any issues. Once the connectors were together, the pressure in the line equalized and I could press the connectors together easily by hand. (I put together another nitrogen rig here in CO so I can do whatever I need to with nitrogen.)

Here's how I connected the line with the table vice grip:






And with that, the fronts were on.

Ok, onto the rears.

-The rears dampers went in quite easily, but as expected, the 21mm bolt that goes through the control arm and hub was a challenge. I finally came up with a system that allowed me to reliably get the bolt in. It still takes some patience, but I proved I could repeat what I had come up with because I had to remove the bolt on the driver side to make a huge adjustment on the spring height adjuster. (When I first installed the rear spring, I had no idea what height to put put the height adjuster at. Whatever I set it at made the car sit way too high. So I had to remove the bolt again, adjust the height and then put the bolt back in. So, what did I come up with? Look at the pic below. I jacked up the the control arm with a wood spacer. And I placed the jack pad close enough to the hub with the wood out of the way so that I could use the pry bar against the jack pad to move the hub into position to line up with the control arm (see yellow arrow in pic below). For those who have never done this, but are curious, the control arm moves in an arc. And the hub moves up and down AND in and out a little bit. With all those different planes of movement, lining up the hub and the control arm is a bit of a dance. So, you need to have the jack face close enough to the hub so you can use a pry bar. Yay pry bar that I bought from Home Depot for the stuck front damper! Man, that thing saved the day. (If you have the car on a lift, I guess this method won't work since you're not using a floor jack on the control arm.)

Here's what the jack setup looks like. You need to pry between the jack face and where the yellow arrow is pointing. This allows you to position the hub so that the hub hole lines up with the control arm holes. Once you line up the holes, you need to keep the pry bar lifting the hub so the bolt can go through the control arm hole on the other side of the hub.


Here's the magical pry bar:


Ultimately, I think the car is a bit low in the rear. (Actually, the rear springs have settled a bit lower after being pounded at the track, so it’s even lower than the pic below now.) I think I’m going to raise it just a bit. It doesn’t rub under normal driving or even track driving (with a 265), but when you load the car up to go to the track with 4 wheels/tires, two floor jacks, tools, sockets, various other things, and me…….well, it does rub occasionally on the freeway…..

Here's what the car looked like after the install. It's sitting lower at the moment:


So how did the track go? Next post!

[macdude357]

You should bring that out and run with us in B4!!!!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by macdude357

You should bring that out and run with us in B4!!!!

hehe----I was laughing about that with someone recently. No doubt it would be a fun challenge. But no, it's not in the cards. The gray E92 is staying in CO and gets some days at High Plains Raceway (like last Sunday).

[roastbeef]

with the benefit of hindsight, do you wish you made an e92 into a track car and saved the more "practical" e90 for a street car?

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

with the benefit of hindsight, do you wish you made an e92 into a track car and saved the more "practical" e90 for a street car?

The main benefit of building an E92 into a track car is that there are more parts readily available for the E92 vs the E90---things like body panels: carbon doors, hoods, fenders, trunks, etc. E92's also start a bit lighter than sedans. However, some say the B-pillar of the sedan makes a more rigid platform. Who knows....

At this point, it's hard to compare the "feel" of the two cars because the sedan has been lightened so much and stiffened with a cage whereas the coupe is full weight with stock interior. But if I try to remember what the sedan felt like, I think they feel similar.

If I look back to the days when I carried 4 tires in the back seat with my sedan vs. now when I carry 4 tires to the track with the coupe, the sedan was easier to put tires in it.

I don't regret making the sedan into a track car. It's what I had, so I went with it. And the infrastructure of the OEM car has been very reliable.

You would not believe how many comments I've gotten over the years.....how put-off people are that a sedan is going faster than their 2-door whatever car. Literally people I don't know will walk up and say they can't believe a sedan passed them.....

[roastbeef]

makes sense.
i'd love to get a second e90 m3 for mrs. beef, but we won't. her 335d has been a great car. i guess i'm sort of wanting an OEMish m3 around so i won't feel so bad when i start taking interior out of the e92. the e92 is my attainable dream car. i feel guilty taking the comfortable stuff out of it. i just know once i get coilovers i'm going to get stupid with the interior and that will be that.
an e90 m3 for everyday stuff and an e92 for the track seems like a great way to have your cake and eat it too.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

makes sense.
i'd love to get a second e90 m3 for mrs. beef, but we won't. her 335d has been a great car. i guess i'm sort of wanting an OEMish m3 around so i won't feel so bad when i start taking interior out of the e92. the e92 is my attainable dream car. i feel guilty taking the comfortable stuff out of it. i just know once i get coilovers i'm going to get stupid with the interior and that will be that.
an e90 m3 for everyday stuff and an e92 for the track seems like a great way to have your cake and eat it too.

I have to say that I have not had any regrets pulling 'comfort stuff' out of my e92. However I have managed to keep things looking clean and civilized inside at relatively large time and expense. I think I would be annoyed by some of the track builds that I see with wires hanging everywhere. That being said with every pound lost, enjoyment is gained. I love how this car feels at 3270. My girlfriend's opinion differs significantly but oh well.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

makes sense.
i'd love to get a second e90 m3 for mrs. beef, but we won't. her 335d has been a great car. i guess i'm sort of wanting an OEMish m3 around so i won't feel so bad when i start taking interior out of the e92. the e92 is my attainable dream car. i feel guilty taking the comfortable stuff out of it. i just know once i get coilovers i'm going to get stupid with the interior and that will be that.
an e90 m3 for everyday stuff and an e92 for the track seems like a great way to have your cake and eat it too.

Originally Posted by slicer

I have to say that I have not had any regrets pulling 'comfort stuff' out of my e92. However I have managed to keep things looking clean and civilized inside at relatively large time and expense. I think I would be annoyed by some of the track builds that I see with wires hanging everywhere. That being said with every pound lost, enjoyment is gained. I love how this car feels at 3270. My girlfriend's opinion differs significantly but oh well.

hehe---for now the E92's interior stays. The purpose of this car is to be a fun street car that sees occasional truck duty. I don't really care what my ultimate time at High Plains Raceway is in the E92. (To be clear, I will push the car in it's current state as fast as I can.) At some point, I will bring the E90 out to CO for a few months and I'll attack the tracks out here. When that happens, I WILL care what my times are, and I'll destroy anything I did with the E92.

I just don't want to drive around town in the E92 with a torn up interior----and I don't feel like spending a ton of $$$ making a torn out interior look passable. The leather still looks beautiful. I have the E90 for a nasty interior with wires and crap hanging everywhere.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by dogbone

hehe---for now the E92's interior stays. The purpose of this car is to be a fun street car that sees occasional truck duty. I don't really care what my ultimate time at High Plains Raceway is in the E92. (To be clear, I will push the car in it's current state as fast as I can.) At some point, I will bring the E90 out to CO for a few months and I'll attack the tracks out here. When that happens, I WILL care what my times are, and I'll destroy anything I did with the E92.

I just don't want to drive around town in the E92 with a torn up interior----and I don't feel like spending a ton of $$$ making a torn out interior look passable. The leather still looks beautiful. I have the E90 for a nasty interior with wires and crap hanging everywhere.

Totally understand your position - No point in having two gutted cars. Plus my recollection is that you are using your e92 as a daily. I would not go crazy on my daily either. Roast Beef though...

[dogbone]

Went to High Plains Raceway on Sunday with the E92 M3. Was worried the day would not happen because it snowed over 5" a few days before, but the snow cleared out quick, and the weather was gorgeous on Sunday---high 62ºF. (ah Denver weather---all over the place.)

I was eager to test out the JRZ RS Pro that I installed last week. I did not have an opportunity to get an alignment done. But I could tell from driving it on the street that it was generally fine----nothing funky about the alignment. I wanted to visit HPR to get a feel for the suspension and the spring rates. Also, I wanted to see how the height of the car would act on track. Obviously, settling on a height would be important before getting an alignment.

Now that it's summer schedule, the track days at HPR get going much earlier than the easy shmeasy Winter schedule (10:40AM driver meeting). The driver meeting was at 7:40AM, although if you've done recent track days there, you don't have to go to the meeting-----at least when the track is hosting the day. Track went hot at 8AM. Same structure as my first day there---two run groups---fast and slow. 30 minute sessions.

My goal for the day was to mess around with the suspension. The biggest question was: would I be happy with the 1000lbs rear springs? The used kit came with 900lbs springs, but I had 1000lbs springs sitting here from experimenting with my E90. I decided to go with 1000lbs springs. My thought process was this: my dedicated E90 track car currently has 900lbs rear springs; that's what I settled on after some experimentation, and I really like that setup (600/900) on track. I figured that the E90 is much lighter than the full weight E92. And the balance of the E92 is pretty much 50/50 OEM balance, versus the track car which lost a ton of weight in the rear. So, with a heavier rear and a heavier car overall, I figured the rear could take 1000lbs. If I didn't like it, then I already have 900lbs springs here and could switch. The feel on the 1000lbs springs on the street is obviously not super plush. And that's ok. It's not rock stiff or anything like that, but I can tell, even with the JRZ damper settings mellowed back, that the car has a bit more edge than if I went with a softer spring. (Before my E90 was track-dedicated, it was a daily driver, and I started with 450/650 in that car-----it was VERY mellow. 600/1000 on this E92 does not have that super mellow feel obviously. It's fine, but not as mellow). The question was: how would it feel on the track?

The answer is: it felt great! The car was holding the ground very nicely. And I didn't have good tires. They were quite used up. In fact, I corded the Pirellis DH set on Sunday during the 4th session, and I ran my fastest lap of the day when the tires were corded. I changed suspension settings several times throughout the day. I decided that I didn't like turning the settings up too stiff.

I also experimented with camber in my later sessions. I started the day with the most minimal camber. And then later, I dialed up max camber that the JRZ plates would allow. Very interesting. With minimum camber, the car turned in, but it was mellow. With max camber, the turn in was much more crisp, and if I got on the gas hard, the rear was more willing to step out. With minimum camber, the rear rarely wants to step out. The car was simply more mellow to drive with less camber. I didn't detect any negative side effects on braking with more camber. Braking felt fine either way.

Throughout the day, the car seemed to sit lower on the rear springs than when I first installed the suspension. I guess the springs settled a bit. There wasn't any rubbing on track. But when the car is all loaded up with wheels and jacks and tools, it was rubbing on the commute to and from the track. So the question is, should I raise the car just for the track commute? I believe I will need to raise the car a bit. The rubbing sound is annoying and unnecessary.

My times improved throughout the day. Ultimately, I picked up 3 seconds and got down to 2:00. I still don't know much about times at HPR. But I seem to hear that 2:00 is a barrier. There's more time I can pick up just with getting the braking zones down, and I'm sure my times could benefit from tires that aren't cording. Of course, this being my second time at HPR, there are plenty of things to work on. So, I'm hopeful to jump under 2:00 my next time out.

Anyway, it was a fun day out there. It was nice starting the day knowing where the heck I was going on track. This time I had a volleyball knee pad on my left knee so I wouldn't get a sore knee from bracing against the door. The engine felt good. I was proud that I had changed out the drive belts and that things ran well. No exhaust issues this time (yay). Of course, I was a bit disappointed that my day was cut short due to the corded tire. But I knew the tires were near end of life, so I wasn't surprised. I'm looking forward to my next outing when I will have better tires (and alignment won't hurt).

So, for now the plan is to keep the 1000lbs springs back there. The suspension did do a funky thing after I got back. Both rebound knobs on the front dampers froze and I couldn't turn them. After fiddling around, I was able to free up the driver side knob, but on the passenger side, it took removing the rebound knob and using a socket and a ratchet to get the rebound adjuster moving again. Not sure what was up with that.....

There was another space gray E92 M3 at the event. The driver turned out to be the chief driving instructor for BMW CCA Rocky Mountain Chapter. Enjoyed chatting with him.

Here's my fast lap:

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Went to High Plains Raceway on Sunday with the E92 M3. Was worried the day would not happen because it snowed over 5" a few days before, but the snow cleared out quick, and the weather was gorgeous on Sunday---high 62ºF. (ah Denver weather---all over the place.)

I was eager to test out the JRZ RS Pro that I installed last week. I did not have an opportunity to get an alignment done. But I could tell from driving it on the street that it was generally fine----nothing funky about the alignment. I wanted to visit HPR to get a feel for the suspension and the spring rates. Also, I wanted to see how the height of the car would act on track. Obviously, settling on a height would be important before getting an alignment.

Now that it's summer schedule, the track days at HPR get going much earlier than the easy shmeasy Winter schedule (10:40AM driver meeting). The driver meeting was at 7:40AM, although if you've done recent track days there, you don't have to go to the meeting-----at least when the track is hosting the day. Track went hot at 8AM. Same structure as my first day there---two run groups---fast and slow. 30 minute sessions.

My goal for the day was to mess around with the suspension. The biggest question was: would I be happy with the 1000lbs rear springs? The used kit came with 900lbs springs, but I had 1000lbs springs sitting here from experimenting with my E90. I decided to go with 1000lbs springs. My thought process was this: my dedicated E90 track car currently has 900lbs rear springs; that's what I settled on after some experimentation, and I really like that setup (600/900) on track. I figured that the E90 is much lighter than the full weight E92. And the balance of the E92 is pretty much 50/50 OEM balance, versus the track car which lost a ton of weight in the rear. So, with a heavier rear and a heavier car overall, I figured the rear could take 1000lbs. If I didn't like it, then I already have 900lbs springs here and could switch. The feel on the 1000lbs springs on the street is obviously not super plush. And that's ok. It's not rock stiff or anything like that, but I can tell, even with the JRZ damper settings mellowed back, that the car has a bit more edge than if I went with a softer spring. (Before my E90 was track-dedicated, it was a daily driver, and I started with 450/650 in that car-----it was VERY mellow. 600/1000 on this E92 does not have that super mellow feel obviously. It's fine, but not as mellow). The question was: how would it feel on the track?

The answer is: it felt great! The car was holding the ground very nicely. And I didn't have good tires. They were quite used up. In fact, I corded the Pirellis DH set on Sunday during the 4th session, and I ran my fastest lap of the day when the tires were corded. I changed suspension settings several times throughout the day. I decided that I didn't like turning the settings up too stiff.

I also experimented with camber in my later sessions. I started the day with the most minimal camber. And then later, I dialed up max camber that the JRZ plates would allow. Very interesting. With minimum camber, the car turned in, but it was mellow. With max camber, the turn in was much more crisp, and if I got on the gas hard, the rear was more willing to step out. With minimum camber, the rear rarely wants to step out. The car was simply more mellow to drive with less camber. I didn't detect any negative side effects on braking with more camber. Braking felt fine either way.

Throughout the day, the car seemed to sit lower on the rear springs than when I first installed the suspension. I guess the springs settled a bit. There wasn't any rubbing on track. But when the car is all loaded up with wheels and jacks and tools, it was rubbing on the commute to and from the track. So the question is, should I raise the car just for the track commute? I believe I will need to raise the car a bit. The rubbing sound is annoying and unnecessary.

My times improved throughout the day. Ultimately, I picked up 3 seconds and got down to 2:00. I still don't know much about times at HPR. But I seem to hear that 2:00 is a barrier. There's more time I can pick up just with getting the braking zones down, and I'm sure my times could benefit from tires that aren't cording. Of course, this being my second time at HPR, there are plenty of things to work on. So, I'm hopeful to jump under 2:00 my next time out.

Anyway, it was a fun day out there. It was nice starting the day knowing where the heck I was going on track. This time I had a volleyball knee pad on my left knee so I wouldn't get a sore knee from bracing against the door. The engine felt good. I was proud that I had changed out the drive belts and that things ran well. No exhaust issues this time (yay). Of course, I was a bit disappointed that my day was cut short due to the corded tire. But I knew the tires were near end of life, so I wasn't surprised. I'm looking forward to my next outing when I will have better tires (and alignment won't hurt).

So, for now the plan is to keep the 1000lbs springs back there. The suspension did do a funky thing after I got back. Both rebound knobs on the front dampers froze and I couldn't turn them. After fiddling around, I was able to free up the driver side knob, but on the passenger side, it took removing the rebound knob and using a socket and a ratchet to get the rebound adjuster moving again. Not sure what was up with that.....

There was another space gray E92 M3 at the event. The driver turned out to be the chief driving instructor for BMW CCA Rocky Mountain Chapter. Enjoyed chatting with him.

Here's my fast lap:

Maybe good time to try NASA Time Trials in your region.

https://nasaproracing.com/events?region_id=19

Track records as a reference. You'd probably be in TT2 or TT3.

https://www.nasarockymountain.com/track-records-2/

[Richbot]

JRZ's still up to their old tricks sounds like

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Richbot

JRZ's still up to their old tricks sounds like

Odd that I have never seen that behavior on my other car in seven years, but on this setup, it happened on both dampers after one track day.....guess I’ll just have to watch it.....

[dogbone]

Let's file this one under: Cool Hybrid system? Or Frankenstein monster? You decide!

It's been an adventurous few days dealing with my E90 track car. As I have mentioned in the past, I have been having air intake issues for a long time----my fat tires were rubbing through the VF air intake and dirt was getting into the blower and engine. The question was----what do we do about? First, I want to thank the guys at EAS for diving into this one-off, yucky problem.

The VF Engineering intake system was simply never designed to be used with crazy fat front tires (305 Pirellis, 285 R1S, etc.) without fender liners on track. It was designed to run with fender liners and "regular-sized" tires. So, to be clear, I'm not blaming them for my intake problems. I know I'm pushing far beyond what was intended. And the rest of the kit---the tune, injectors, manifold, blowoff valve, intercooler, etc. have run solid for 150 track days. So, completely switching kits was not my favorite option----it's expensive and I'd be facing a bunch of unknowns with a new kit.

But I HAD to do something about the intake. I could not keep sucking dirt into the engine. The impeller blades are marred from the dirt. So frustrating.

So-----how do I fix my intake problems? My friend has an ESS VT-625 kit. He's running the same tires and isn't having rubbing problems. The ESS design of the air intake is quite different than VF. I wondered----VF and ESS use the exact same Vortech blower unit. Could I use the ESS bracket to hold my Vortech and use the ESS air intake, and then just feed the air into the rest of my VF system? This would not change anything as far as the VF kit and tune were concerned. So, that was the lovely job I asked EAS to figure out.

After considering all the parts and pieces, we decided the job was most likely doable. We ordered the parts, I gave the car to EAS and------in less than a day, they had it all sorted out! It was going to work. They actually had it all mocked up within a few hours. Amazing. The blower needed to be "reclocked" (which basically means rotated) to work with the ESS bracket. And there were some considerations for some of the air hoses, but they had it up and running very quickly.

I spaced out and didn't get a pic of the job all tidied up, but this is an in-process pic that shows the major stuff in place:


So, how does it run? Fricking amazing. I asked them to dyno the car afterwards. The car put down 575hp two runs in a row (STD Correction). The car picked up 25hp from last year. Isn't it lovely what a car can do when it can breathe?.......



I took it to Buttonwillow on Tuesday. The engine ran great. Felt very powerful. Wish I had better tires. The tail was stepping out quite easily. The toughest turn I know of in terms of the tire rubbing the intake is Off-Ramp at Buttonwillow. With my old setup, I could rub through the intake in a single session. On Tuesday, the first two sessions were good. No rubbing. So then I really was slamming it into that corner, and I got it to just graze the intake. I moved from a 3mm spacer to a 5mm spacer, and it was fine the rest of the day. I'm quite happy with this fix.

There is another issue that has existed since day 1 of the supercharger that hasn't been dealt with yet. When the Vortech gets hot, it vents blower oil from a vented screw. The stuff goes all over. It's always been like that. Now that I have hood vents, sometimes it blows up onto the windshield. I am going to see if there is SOME damn way to capture that vented oil. I am so sick of that crap spewing everywhere......ugh.

There was another minorly interesting mod: Moving to 14mm studs on the front hubs. Rogue Engineering sells a kit for drilling an E9x M3 OEM hub to 14mm. I bought new front hubs and had a machine shop do the drilling/tapping work. (I'm still using 12mm studs on the rear hubs. The rear hub flange is a smaller diameter than the fronts. If you drill out the rears, the hole edges are really close to the edge of the flange......too scary for me. People say you can do it.....no thanks.) Anyway, EAS sourced some 14mm studs for me and I'm very happy to have such beefy studs on the car now. I really do believe that broken studs are a thing of the past now with those babies on there.

We also weighed the car. No fuel, no driver, the car weighs 3212 lbs.


When considering doing the intake job, there were a number of unknowns. I was worried that something unexpected would come up that would drag out the process. No one could say how long it would take which is tough for me because I don't live CA anymore. A friend came to my rescue and took my rig to EAS so they could have the car for the time they needed it. That took a lot of pressure off. But in the end, EAS made it look easy. No snags. Yay!

PS. The Tuesday track day was with a new event organizer: Turn8 Track Days. This was their first event. I enjoyed the event. They were eager to please and ran a nice day. We talked to one of the owners for awhile. Really nice guy. Very passionate about motorsport.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by dogbone

There is another issue that has existed since day 1 of the supercharger that hasn't been dealt with yet. When the Vortech gets hot, it vents blower oil from a vented screw. The stuff goes all over. It's always been like that. Now that I have hood vents, sometimes it blows up onto the windshield. I am going to see if there is SOME damn way to capture that vented oil. I am so sick of that crap spewing everywhere......ugh.

There was another minorly interesting mod: Moving to 14mm studs on the front hubs. Rogue Engineering sells a kit for drilling an E9x M3 OEM hub to 14mm. I bought new front hubs and had a machine shop do the drilling/tapping work. (I'm still using 12mm studs on the rear hubs. The rear hub flange is a smaller diameter than the fronts. If you drill out the rears, the hole edges are really close to the edge of the flange......too scary for me. People say you can do it.....no thanks.) Anyway, EAS sourced some 14mm studs for me and I'm very happy to have such beefy studs on the car now. I really do believe that broken studs are a thing of the past now with those babies on there.
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A friend that runs a track only Z4MC with the ESS 575 kit has seen the same oil spewing issue. He was told his oil level was too high. I'm not sure if this is still happening

I installed 14mm studs on the CS last night and I like how beefy they are.
I want to buy a F8X front bearing seat (that comes with the flage) and install it on the E90 front, that way I upgrade while switching those wheel bearings