My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[dogbone]

Regarding Hankook TD-----Someone asked me if there were any issues running them "backwards" as you rotate them side to side. I figured it was something worth mentioning in the thread:

Hankook TD's have a rotation arrow on them. However, I just ignore the arrows and rotate however I want around the car. Sometimes this means I'm running them "backwards". I've run some of my fastest TD laps with the tires going "backwards". They don't seem to care which direction they run. For several years, my friends and I have rotated them and run them backwards without any drama.

In my experience, I've found the most important thing to get max life out of these tires is to learn which corner of the car is most used and least used at a particular track. Then start by rotating the most abused tire to the least used spot and then rotate the rest in relation to that. After that, look at the wear and make the next rotation based on how the tires are looking.

As an example: For me, at Buttonwillow 13CW and Big Willow Springs (which is always CW), the front driver-side tire is the most used tire. The least used is the rear passenger-side tire. So my first rotation at these tracks is always Front Driver-to-Rear-Passenger, along with Front Passenger-to-Rear Driver. For the next swap, usually I swap the two front tires side-to-side and the two rear tires side-to-side because I feel like the tires get a better break if they get off the left side of the car. After that, its a free-for-all. I just look at the condition of the tires. With TD's it's not too hard to judge the condition of tires. With R1S's it's a lot harder to judge since they're almost slicks. I probably should mark them, but I'm lazy…..

In general, if you're trying to get max tire life, I would not run more than 3 sessions with TD's in the same position. I am finding the same to be true with the R1S's as well.

[sworks335i]

So, love your thread, this is exactly the goal I have for my E90 M.

I am at the stage of its still a DD but would like to start the conversion process. I have of course spec'd out parts here and there but where would you say you ended up in total $'s spent to take it from stock to track? Not really taking into account sets of tires and pads but just hard part conversions - IE: Suspension swap, BBK, Engine Mods, Driveline mods, Cage, Wing....

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by sworks335i

So, love your thread, this is exactly the goal I have for my E90 M.

I am at the stage of its still a DD but would like to start the conversion process. I have of course spec'd out parts here and there but where would you say you ended up in total $'s spent to take it from stock to track? Not really taking into account sets of tires and pads but just hard part conversions - IE: Suspension swap, BBK, Engine Mods, Driveline mods, Cage, Wing....

Thanks! I'm glad that my experiences can shed some light on the process for others that are interested in motorsport.

It's taken over four years to slowly mod the car. The biggest single leap was last summer when the car was gutted and caged. There's really no gradual way to introduce that alteration.

Here's a list of things. I've tried to include the brand names as much as I could so you can look up pricing.

-Racewerkz Engineering - custom 6-point full cage and gutting, plus other small fabrications like dead pedals, etc.
-Smoothing out the paint in the gutted interior and clear coating the cage
-Recaro Pro Racer halo seat
-Macht Schnell base plates and side mounts
-VAC lap belt mounts and anti-sub mounts
-Sparco 6-point harness.
-APR 67" GT-250 wing, APR front splitter, generic carbon front lip
-Sparco race suit, Sparco race shoes, race gloves
-NecksGen neck restraint
-Ultra Chiller Cooling shirt system
-JRZ RS Pro suspension
-AP Racing brakes
-VF620 supercharger
-Vorshlag camber plates
-Apex ARC-8 wheels (I have 3 sets)
-VAC Fire extinguisher/bracket
-MiniCooper battery
-RD Sport Sway bar
-Bimmerworld Premium race studs
-Vorshlag motor mounts
-AIM Solo DL with RAM suction mount
-Akra X-pipe
-Custom straight through exhaust with Vibrant resonators
-OS Giken diff, custom setup and supporting parts like tapered roller bearing, etc.
-Powerflex Front tension arm solid bushings
-Macht Schnell Solid Subframe bushings
-EAS-designed misting system
-Hood latches
-i/o Port Roll cage camera mount for GoPro

All of this is north of $50k.

I guess it's relevant to mention the trailer that is needed since the car is no longer street legal. (26-foot enclosed trailer.) I've duplicated most of my tools from my garage in the trailer. And something is needed to reliably tow the 9000+ lb trailer setup (Toyota Tundra). And I have to park the trailer in an RV parking facility. And the stupidest thing I've had to buy is custom Race Ramps. I had to get them made because my car can't get up my 1952-era driveway with the front splitter and I didn't have the ability to make my own ramps.

[sworks335i]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Thanks! I'm glad that my experiences can shed some light on the process for others that are interested in motorsport.

It's taken over four years to slowly mod the car. The biggest single leap was last summer when the car was gutted and caged. There's really no gradual way to introduce that alteration.

Here's a list of things. I've tried to include the brand names as much as I could so you can look up pricing.

-Racewerkz Engineering - custom 6-point full cage and gutting, plus other small fabrications like dead pedals, etc.
-Smoothing out the paint in the gutted interior and clear coating the cage
-Recaro Pro Racer halo seat
-Macht Schnell base plates and side mounts
-VAC lap belt mounts and anti-sub mounts
-Sparco 6-point harness.
-APR 67" GT-250 wing, APR front splitter, generic carbon front lip
-Sparco race suit, Sparco race shoes, race gloves
-NecksGen neck restraint
-Ultra Chiller Cooling shirt system
-JRZ RS Pro suspension
-AP Racing brakes
-VF620 supercharger
-Vorshlag camber plates
-Apex ARC-8 wheels (I have 3 sets)
-VAC Fire extinguisher/bracket
-MiniCooper battery
-RD Sport Sway bar
-Bimmerworld Premium race studs
-Vorshlag motor mounts
-AIM Solo DL with RAM suction mount
-Akra X-pipe
-Custom straight through exhaust with Vibrant resonators
-OS Giken diff, custom setup and supporting parts like tapered roller bearing, etc.
-Powerflex Front tension arm solid bushings
-Macht Schnell Solid Subframe bushings
-EAS-designed misting system
-Hood latches
-i/o Port Roll cage camera mount for GoPro

All of this is north of $50k.

I guess it's relevant to mention the trailer that is needed since the car is no longer street legal. (26-foot enclosed trailer.) I've duplicated most of my tools from my garage in the trailer. And something is needed to reliably tow the 9000+ lb trailer setup (Toyota Tundra). And I have to park the trailer in an RV parking facility. And the stupidest thing I've had to buy is custom Race Ramps. I had to get them made because my car can't get up my 1952-era driveway with the front splitter and I didn't have the ability to make my own ramps.

Thanks for the updated list of mods!! Quite a few of these I have already on the list for the process. Just taking them step by step as things are starting to need to be replaced. Just tripped 60k miles and have laid the timeline out to the better half that by 75k it will become dedicated to track duty.

Funny you mention the truck/trailer part of it. Next step for me is getting a pickup truck for the sole purpose of replacing the M as the daily and then having the ability to tow when the car gets to that point. Never really had any desire for a pickup until I realized most SUV's can't handle the towing requirements.

I wasn't really planning on going with an enclosed trailer but I could see the advantages. Do you not have room to say take your tool chest from the garage and strap it down in the trailer to limit complete duplication of tools? Assuming it has wheels? I would hate to duplicate tools as I already have tools scattered between two houses and to have an investment in another set would impact parts upgrades.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by sworks335i

Funny you mention the truck/trailer part of it. Next step for me is getting a pickup truck for the sole purpose of replacing the M as the daily and then having the ability to tow when the car gets to that point. Never really had any desire for a pickup until I realized most SUV's can't handle the towing requirements.

I wasn't really planning on going with an enclosed trailer but I could see the advantages. Do you not have room to say take your tool chest from the garage and strap it down in the trailer to limit complete duplication of tools? Assuming it has wheels? I would hate to duplicate tools as I already have tools scattered between two houses and to have an investment in another set would impact parts upgrades.

Oh boy, did you just ask me a question about trailers? hehe now you've done it….my track buddies are all running for the hills! No sir, I don't any opinions on this topic at all! Let's see where do I start?

Here's my short thought on trailers: Trailers require more work overall, but allow you to do less work at the track and just enjoy the track day more.

Long thought:

When considering trailers, I was trying to figure out what I wanted from a trailer setup. I actually bought a trailer while the car was still a street-going vehicle. The trailer was mainly for safety---a reliable way of getting home. However, the big question was: do you just get a simple open trailer for the sole purpose of transporting a car? Or can a trailer, whether enclosed or open, add to the convenience of the overall track experience?

I looked to the day when the car would no longer be a street car. I could see a future for the car when it would no longer have side windows. I could see using the trailer for multi-day trips around the Western USA which meant overnight stays in random places. I could see the trailer as being a convenient place to store all kinds of stuff like wheels, tools, fluids, nitrogen setups, etc.

So, after a long consideration process, I decided I didn't just want to toss a car up on a hunk of metal and drag it to the track. If I was going to go through the trouble of trailering, I wanted convenience.

Let me go through a laundry list of thoughts and observations that have come up over the years:

-Storage: Before I owned a trailer, I had to stuff my M3 with a crazy amount of crap when I went to the track---2 jacks, a set of wheels, full tools, all gear.... It took forever. And then once at the track, you had to unload everything, switch wheels, and then when you left you had to switch wheels again put it all back in the car, and then when you got home, you had to take all the crap out of the car and put it back in the garage….sound familiar? I made the decision that I wanted a trailer to just have ALL the stuff I needed for the track stored permanently in it. I wanted to reduce the amount of loading and unloading. Now, I just have three small bags I can carry to the trailer in one trip---they contain the race suit, shoes, helmet, cameras, etc.
-My enclosed trailer has a full set of top and bottom cabinets in the front. This makes it EXTREMELY convenient for storing everything I want to have at the track.
-I created a simple tire rack that holds two spare sets of wheels on the cabinetry's front counter top. I leave the tires in there all the time, and it's perfect because they're stored out of the sun. I love not having to move tires all the time.
-I committed to buying another set of tools. Often times, I don't bring my trailer rig home; sometimes I just take it straight to storage with the car in it. So, if I had only one set of tools on a rolling cart, I would always have to come home and get that thing out of the trailer otherwise I wouldn't have any tools at home. If the trailer had a basic set of good tools, it would save a lot carrying back and forth, and would reduce the problem of forgetting things in one place or the other. I also live on 7% grade hill. Moving a huge rolling tool chest would be a pain in my situation. I can't back my trailer onto my driveway so dealing with that monstrosity on the street and trying to get it up the driveway would suck.
-Tool duplication is only part of it. I keep all kinds of things in there: jack stands, two floor jacks, nitrogen rig, box fan, fluid pans, all kinds of batteries, lights, funnels, ground mats, fluids like oils, windex, WD40, distilled water for my misting system, brake kleener, knee pads, work gloves, ear protection, propane torch, paper towels…...the list just goes on and on….and it all sits quietly in the trailer all the time.

-I like the fact that I can leave the car in the trailer at the trailer storage place if I want to. I would never do that with an open trailer. Sometimes I plan on visiting a shop a few days after the track event. It makes life easier being able to leave the car in there, and just pick up the rig and go, instead of having to get the trailer, go home, pick up the car and then go to the shop and then come home and drop off the car and then take the trailer rig back to the parking lot and then go home……less running around.

-My car no longer has side windows. Trailering in the rain with an open trailer would require covering the car, which just sounds like a pain in the ass. An enclosed trailer makes this a non-issue. I always laugh when we get to a track after driving in the rain and my friends' cars are trashed and my car arrives shiny!

-The thought of staying overnight at random motels or anywhere for that matter with a car on an open trailer with no windows did not excite me. An enclosed trailer offers better security and lowers the risks when dealing with overnight parking.

-When doing multi-day trips at a track, I leave the car in the trailer overnight at the track. At some tracks like Laguna Seca, the dew in the morning is INCREDIBLE. Again, with no windows this would be a pain in the ass. Not with the enclosed trailer----I pull a nice dry car out and I'm ready to go.

-Great for hanging out: At certain tracks, there's not a lot of shade. Southern California can get pretty toasty. My trailer is usually set up with a number of chairs and a bunch of guys hide from the sun/wind/rain in it. We meet new people all the time at the track who come to the trailer and hang out. It's a great social tool!

-My trailer has lights in it which power off the 12-volt batteries, which is great at night. It also has a 110v connection, so if I get a generator or hook up to a 110v power source, I have fluorescent lights and power outlets. That is REALLY nice.

-I generally do not leave my race suit on all day. I definitely do not like to change wheels or work on the car with it on. The enclosed trailer gives me an easy, semi-private place to change quickly.

-On multi-day track events at the same track, everyone throws all their gear crap into my trailer at night. Super convenient.

-Everyone ignores me on the freeways. My friends with open trailers get endless looky-loos. I just want everyone to leave me alone. And they do. I could be carrying a shipment of flowers in my trailer as far as anyone is concerned.

-Open trailers don't offer anything in the way of convenience unless you start adding on a bunch of tire racks and big boxes, etc. And those add ons get expensive. And even then, it's not ideal storing tires in the sun all the time, so you're still schlepping tires around constantly. And you can't carry the amount of crap I carry in those boxes. So, then you're still jamming up your truck or SUV with gear. My friend's Silverado is always JAM PACKED FULL of track stuff. But his open trailer sure is light and clean!

Downsides:
-My rig is large/long/heavy. Too large/heavy for a regular SUV smaller than a Suburban to tow. So, it requires something with a long wheelbase that can tow 10,000lbs. For me, that was a Toyota Tundra. It does a great job. But let me tell you, it's a good bit of work for the truck to drag that whole rig over the Grapevine on I5. You go from sea level to over 4000 ft both ways.

My friends have Trailex 7541 aluminum trailers. The 7541 weighs 845lbs. If an M3 is 3700 lbs., that's a whole trailering setup that weighs less than 4600lbs. Pretty much ANY SUV can haul that. One friend hauls his Trailex 7541 with a Porsche Cayenne diesel that has air suspension. Now THAT is the luxury trailer rig. He doesn't even feel the rig back there. And he's getting like 20mpg while towing…..hehe not me. I'm getting less than 10mpg.

-Big trailer rigs can be susceptible to high winds and even buses/big rigs passing you unless you commit to setting them up properly. I use a weight distribution hitch that includes sway control. It's called "The Equalizer". That is the BEST DAMN THING for keeping the rig under control in high wind conditions. We were driving to Chuckwalla one morning and the wind was HOWLLLLLLLING. There was an 18-wheeler rig blown over on it's side because it was howling so bad. My rig shook under the force of the wind, but it was COMPLETELY 100% stable. The Equalizer is amazing. (It creaks and clicks in low speed turns, but who cares….it works awesome.)

-The trailer needs to be stored in a dedicated facility. I can't have this thing stored at my house. This costs money and increases the amount of time spent on dealing with trailer logistics. It's great if you can find a 24-hour-access facility. I wish mine was 24-hour…..Anyway, getting ready for the track day and wrapping up after the track day take more time since a special trip is required to pick it up and drop it off. Most of the times, it spills over into another day because I get home too late to drop it off. And it's not worth paying and extra $40 to do it after-hours.

-People who I don't know are constantly coming up to my trailer asking to borrow stuff……I haven't said no yet, but sometimes I have multiple tools out at the same time. I like to be helpful, but it does seem a bit much sometimes.

Couple other thoughts:
-If you get a heavy trailer, get air springs for the rear of the towing vehicle to help prevent sagging. My Tundra was sagging a lot. Firestone Ride-Rite air springs are great. They completely cured that issue. The rig sits SO much better since I put those on. I have eight wheels plus all the tools in the nose of the trailer so there's a lot of tongue weight.

-Get a strong electric tongue jack for raising and lowering the rig on the hitch. The manual spinning handle thing SUCKS. On a heavy rig it's impossible.

-Don't run a trailer tire that is more than 5 years old. You CANNOT judge the condition of a trailer tire by looking at the tread. Trailer tires NEVER wear out the treads within 5 years. But after 5 years, they can start to bubble. You don't want that. The trailer I bought was 5 years old. I took it straight to the tire shop after I bought it. The tire guys showed me that 2 of the tires were bubbling.

-Trailers need annual maintenance if you want them to run properly. The brakes wear out, things need grease and tweaking.

-Reliable high volume compressed air setups can be a nice addition. I have yet to do this, although I'll probably pull the trigger soon. For 4+ years at the track I have used a simple Craftsman C2 battery powered air tool. It works great for a few psi on race tires. But it's not ideal for filling trailer tires or pickup truck tires that need large amounts of air.

Anyway, the topic of reliable air setups is probably the BIGGEST running joke that me and my track buddies have. My little $40 air gun is the CAN-DO air gun. It just keeps working and working flawlessly year after year. And my buddies who have dedicated air systems are always putting the hate on that little air gun----BUTTTTTTT----THEY ALWAYS NEED TO BORROW IT BECAUSE THEIR FANCY SETUPS NEVER EVER WORK! AND I MEAN EVER!!!!! Holy shit. It just happened this past Sunday. My buddy's air rig didn't work because his 12-volt battery died. There he was, borrowing my air gun. This is the longest running joke we have. I am merciless about it too! They have these tanks and compressor units and for a variety reasons, they NEVER work. And then the next thing I see, they just sneak in and take the air gun and use it with their heads hanging in shame because they were just making fun of my air gun. They don't even ask because they know I'll just be merciless about making fun of them. I even take pictures of them using my air gun with their non-working air setups in the background just to shame them as much as possible! hahahahahaha I am sitting here laughing my ass off while I write this!! Good times!

Anyway, their air rigs are on their open trailers. For an open trailer, I don't think this is the best setup for a variety of reasons. Even though I have an enclosed trailer, I plan on putting my Firestone air compressor rig on my pickup so that it ties into the Firestone air springs and can inflate and deflate them as needed. And then I'll always have air with me, and then I'll run a fixed air line under my trailer so I just connect it to the truck and then I'll have a quick disconnect at the back of the trailer so I can just run a short air hose to the car. I'm trying to avoid the hassle of having to wrestle a 70 foot-long air hose from the back of the pickup truck all the way to the rear tires of the car. I measured it one day. It's like 65 feet when you take into account the trailer, the rear trailer door, race ramps and length of car sitting way back there. Honestly, sometimes I think I'll just keep using the air gun on the race tires because it's so easy and I never need much air volume and just use the pickup's air system for truck and trailer tires and air springs.

[xchosun1x]

Awesome information and write up. your experience is super helpful!

[redpriest]

Thanks for the trailer information - it's super helpful. I will probably be taking this next step within a year or so

[roastbeef]

does your new differential trip your euro MDM any more or less? i'm curious if the tighter differential causes less cut-in because of the less difference in wheel speed.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

does your new differential trip your euro MDM any more or less?

Interesting question. Sunday was the first time I drove with Euro MDM on and the new diff. All my days at Buttonwillow with the new diff were with DSC-off. In looking at the AIM data, my conclusion is that MDM in general allows the wheels to spin different speeds in turns. The stock diff is a speed sensing unit, so it relies on different wheel speeds to transfer power. In my AIM data, with MDM on and stock diff, I can still see the inside wheel spinning up quite similarly to when DSC is off.

My understanding is that MDM kicks in when the car is sensing a slide from accelerometers, yaw angle, etc. I'm guessing that it understands that the wheels need to spin at different rates for the diff to be able to do it's thing. As long as the car isn't going sideways, or at a funky angle, it seems that MDM stays out of the way. So, I don't see MDM doing much to stop the wheels from spinning different speeds.

In the picture below, we're back at the Sunrise and Off Ramp corners at Buttonwillow. MDM is on. Stock diff. This is a 1:51.5 lap, so we're on it pretty hard here. The Pink and Gray lines are the wheel speeds. The Orange and black lines would be the two rear calipers. You can see the Orange and Black lines are working from 375-775ft as I slow for Sunrise. Then as I accelerate at 800ft, you can see the wheels drift apart in speed. If you look at the calipers at 800ft, they are completely inactive. MDM is doing nothing to prevent the wheels from spinning different speeds. About the most I could see MDM intruding on the whole lap on acceleration as far as self-activating the rear calipers is at Off Ramp at 1850 ft. You can see a slight touch of caliper around 1850ft. But even that is quite a small activation and doesn't do anything to prevent the spin up at 1900 ft. Throughout the rest of the lap, I don't see the rear calipers activated by MDM. (I can tell what is MDM braking and what is me braking because I can show the brake press parameter, and if I'm not pressing the brake, but the brake is activating, then MDM is doing that.

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'm curious if the tighter differential causes less cut-in because of the less difference in wheel speed.

Again, I think MDM is looking at other things. So it doesn't seem to care that much about the wheel spins if the car isn't getting crazy.

The OS Giken can send the car sideways quicker than the stock diff if I mash the gas, so in theory, the new diff could trip MDM quicker. But that's because the car is going sideways at that moment.

[sworks335i]

So, without quoting your feedback on trailers, thanks a lot for that information! Really great feedback and insight from your experience. I will research the couple trailers you called out.

I like you would have an issue at our current house with keeping the trailer here as we have no space. Hopefully our next house allows for more toys to be kept on the property.

What are the specs on your Tundra? I am torn between it and the F150. I like the Tundra for the simple V8 but really like all the nice things built into the Ford.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by sworks335i

What are the specs on your Tundra? I am torn between it and the F150. I like the Tundra for the simple V8 but really like all the nice things built into the Ford.

My Tundra is a 2013 5.7Liter SR5 with CrewMax cab. Mechanically, this is the exact same truck as the one in the commercials pulling the Space Shuttle across that bridge. Oh yeah!! I liked the simplicity of the Tundra. And the amenities inside were fine for me. I didn't do much research on the F-150. In 2013, I went to a Ford dealer, and all the F-150's on the lot only had a towing capacity of 7500lbs which was not enough. I definitely did not want an F-250. Later I saw guys showing up with Eco-boost Fords that supposedly could tow a lot. I don't know----my Tundra is simple. It has the towing package; tows a lot of weight and the temperature gauges for trans and oil temp NEVER EVER MOVE. I could be pushing hard up the steep Grapevine pass and the engine is revving pretty good and the needles don't move at all. Sometimes I wonder if they're broken.

I like the setup inside my 2013 better than the new version. The dealer offered to take my Tundra back and lease me a current truck with the exact same specs for no money down and a slightly lower monthly. I declined. I like what I have. I actually bought it off the lease early. Nothing, not one thing, has gone wrong with it yet. And I tow 9000+lbs with it on a regular basis. The truck just crossed 40,000 miles last week.

[Richbot]

I have a '14 tundra too. Hated the pre-2014 interior so it was not an option for me until then. Also mine is a double cab which still has 4 real doors unlike the suicide doors on the Ford you can't open without opening fronts first. Ram and now GM have come to their senses on that stupid feature but Ford has not yet. Double cab is plenty of interior space, lighter and can therefore haul and tow a little more and you get 12" more bed space, none of which matters much if you have an enclosed but bed space is at a premium of you pull open

Had a Ram 2500 gas truck before that. Tundra is worlds better in every way with the exception that it needs airbags to handle significant tongue weights. They seem to not break really, ever. Which is nice. 2016's now get a 36 gallon fuel tank which is my only complaint as towing range with a 26' box is lousy with the stock 26.5 gallon tank. You want the 5.7 obviously, all newer 5.7 trucks come with all of the towing gear standard.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by Richbot

2016's now get a 36 gallon fuel tank which is my only complaint as towing range with a 26' box is lousy with the stock 26.5 gallon tank. You want the 5.7 obviously, all newer 5.7 trucks come with all of the towing gear standard.

It's actually a 38 gallon tank on the 2016's. Man, I would love that. I could drive to and from Buttonwillow on 1 tank……

Yeah, the 26 gallon tank is a bummer. But the MOST annoying thing about the Tundra is that the gas needle reaches Empty when the truck has only consumed 20 gallons. It leaves 6 gallons in the nebulous mystery reserve zone. That is the single most annoying feature----the needle hitting "E" and you know you have 6 more gallons. Then begins the guessing game! How far can I go? I'm chicken. I don't wait much after it hits E. I don't think I've EVER put more than 23 gallons in it.

My friend has the 38 gallon tank, and his gas needle also hits Empty with 6 gallons in reserve.

[DB]

Originally Posted by Richbot

Also mine is a double cab which still has 4 real doors unlike the suicide doors on the Ford you can't open without opening fronts first. Ram and now GM have come to their senses on that stupid feature but Ford has not yet.

I have an F150 with 4 real doors and lots of interior space. I wouldn't have bought it without that. I'm on my second one of those actually, so they've been around for a while. Not pushing one truck over the other...and I don't think I actually have the best truck if towing is the main purpose (although it tows a 24' enclosed trailer with my m3 very well)...but 4 real doors is available on a Ford.

[///Mobbin]

I just bought this Master Flow battery-powered compressor and it works great: Master Flow MF-1045. I also have two MF-1035's that I keep in our vehicles and they've always worked well (much better prices out there than MSRP BTW).

That said I also have a Craftsman C3 heavy duty impact wrench and wish I had thought to buy the compressor tool to go with it, looking at it I thought it was just for bike tires but now I see it's rated up to 200 psi, nice. Craftsman C3 cordless inflator Thanks for the tip.

And if no one else is going to ask, Trailer pics please!!! I often frequent the rennlist trailer section, some amazing setups out there and sounds like you did some research putting yours together.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

I just bought this Master Flow battery-powered compressor and it works great: Master Flow MF-1045. I also have two MF-1035's that I keep in our vehicles and they've always worked well (much better prices out there than MSRP BTW).

That said I also have a Craftsman C3 heavy duty impact wrench and wish I had thought to buy the compressor tool to go with it, looking at it I thought it was just for bike tires but now I see it's rated up to 200 psi, nice. Craftsman C3 cordless inflator Thanks for the tip.

And if no one else is going to ask, Trailer pics please!!! I often frequent the rennlist trailer section, some amazing setups out there and sounds like you did some research putting yours together.

You need to check the CFM rating on your compressor vs the CFM requirements of whatever tool you want to hook up to it. I'm confident if you do you'll find that your compressor isn't capable of powering any tools. I have a heavier duty one on my trailer with an external tank and to power an impact gun I would need a second compressor.

[///Mobbin]

Originally Posted by okusa

You need to check the CFM rating on your compressor vs the CFM requirements of whatever tool you want to hook up to it. I'm confident if you do you'll find that your compressor isn't capable of powering any tools. I have a heavier duty one on my trailer with an external tank and to power an impact gun I would need a second compressor.

Sorry for any confusion, the Craftsman C3 heavy duty impact wrench is their lithium ion cordless offering, just talking tire inflators off battery powered sources. As I already have the largest C3 battery I could easily plug it into their C3 cordless tire inflator.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Sorry for any confusion, the Craftsman C3 heavy duty impact wrench is their lithium ion cordless offering, just talking tire inflators off battery powered sources. As I already have the largest C3 battery I could easily plug it into their C3 cordless tire inflator.

Ah makes sense.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by okusa

You need to check the CFM rating on your compressor vs the CFM requirements of whatever tool you want to hook up to it. I'm confident if you do you'll find that your compressor isn't capable of powering any tools. I have a heavier duty one on my trailer with an external tank and to power an impact gun I would need a second compressor.

(I don't think he was talking about using the compressor for tools. I think he just meant for filling air. He uses the same Craftsman C3 impact gun as me.) EDIT --- Ahh whoops, you guys sorted it out already.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

I just bought this Master Flow battery-powered compressor and it works great: Master Flow MF-1045. I also have two MF-1035's that I keep in our vehicles and they've always worked well (much better prices out there than MSRP BTW).

That said I also have a Craftsman C3 heavy duty impact wrench and wish I had thought to buy the compressor tool to go with it, looking at it I thought it was just for bike tires but now I see it's rated up to 200 psi, nice. Craftsman C3 cordless inflator Thanks for the tip.

And if no one else is going to ask, Trailer pics please!!! I often frequent the rennlist trailer section, some amazing setups out there and sounds like you did some research putting yours together.

Yeah the C3 Cordless Inflator really has been super handy. If you use the C3 Impact gun, then it's SUPER easy and cheap to use the Inflator. I think it's like $40 without the battery. btw, if you haven't tried the high capacity Lithium Ion XCP battery, it's AWESOME! It's expensive, but damn worth it. The regular cheap-o battery can't even get through two wheel swaps before dying. The XCP battery can literally do 10+ wheel swaps with higher torque. It's bigger, heavier and cost $90, but WHO CARES. It's awesome. It gives the tools more torque, more air flow and lasts FOREVER.

Here's a few random trailer pix. The trailer is fairly modest---it has no bling factor whatsoever, but it is very handy. It's a Haulmark Edge. I found mine used on racingjunk.com.

Picture 1: shows how level the rig sits with the air springs in the truck. This car is in the trailer in this pic. Without the air springs, the truck really sagged in the back. And I'm not pumping up the air springs very hard at all. I could go much firmer. I don't feel it's necessary.



Picture 2: This was taken a few years ago. It's a bit different in there now, but you can see the metal pole that goes across the front of the trailer that's holding 4 tires that are sitting on top of the cabinetry. These days, there's 8 tires across the front. I didn't car about trashing the counter top or the wall with gritty tires. I don't use the counter tops much. So, holding tires 8 tires was way more useful. If I need counter top space, it's hard to tell, but the cabinetry is in an "L" shape so there is a square of free counter top, even if all 8 tires are sitting there. 2 floor jack sit vertically along the left wall. The nitrogen rig has a custom holder that is different than is shown. And my driver door sits on the wall which you'll see later. Anyway, the rubber coin floor is nice---it's easy to sweep out, although it does shift around under the car's weight a bit. The finished walls and cabinetry is nice. I put in the paper towel/fluid holder. Of course in this pic the trailer is connected to 110v power so the fluorescents are working which is great.



Picture 3: Car in the trailer. Shows the driver door on the wall. With the cage, if a driver door is in place, it is VERY VERY difficult to get out of the car inside the trailer. Yes, I have a winch, but driving it in is SO much faster. Removing the door makes it very easy. Of course, a trailer shop had to make that as a custom piece. They made it so both hooks on the hinge side sit in a mount and the latch end of the door latches onto a mount they created. So as far as the door is concerned, it's exactly like being connected to the car.



Picture 4: One more shot of the car in the trailer. Again, you see the door mounted.



Picture 5: A typical look while in the middle of a track day. It's just a nice simple home base. This was taken at Chuckwalla. That track has very little amenities, so having a place to hide from the sun is nice.



My friends are always joking about putting a satellite dish and tv. They also want a tv to hook up their GoPros and watch their videos…..then we talk about couches and A/C….hehe……I tell them if they want to pay for it, we can do it!! Sometimes I think a generator and some A/C might be nice, but that would be something down the road.

You know who has a brand new kickass looking trailer? Casey at Racewerkz…..damn…..that thing is MEAN looking-----matte black and ALL business. I've never seen a trailer with so much attitude! You know----my trailer is so dirty because I've NEVER washed it in 3 years that it's basically matte black. Does that count?

[///Mobbin]

Thanks for the trailer pics and write-up, very nice setup!

Re the C3, couldn't agree more, best battery powered tool I've purchased and battery goes and goes. I got a good deal and think I paid ~$160 for the impact wrench, XCP battery, and charger:

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Thanks for the trailer pics and write-up, very nice setup!

Re the C3, couldn't agree more, best battery powered tool I've purchased and battery goes and goes. I got a good deal and think I paid ~$160 for the impact wrench, XCP battery, and charger:

Thanks!

Glad to hear you're using an XCP. It's a great upgrade over the NiCd batteries.