My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[dogbone]

No problem.

I called Metromile. One of their policies is a showstopper in my case----they require a residential address. My pickup truck is set to live in an RV parking facility, so they refuse to insure it.

However, I was still curious about their rates, so I had them quote me based on my Los Angeles home address and 8000 miles per year. It was about $200/year cheaper than the rate from USAA. Since Metromile is per-mile, then obviously driving less than 8000 would reduce the rate further.

Even if it were available, I'm not sure I would switch. The cost difference wasn't huge and USAA has been very good over the years.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out.

Interesting about the tough on towing tickets. I do try to tow responsibly. I have air springs on the Tundra to keep it from sagging. I have a weight distribution hitch that evens out the load. The sway control feature of the Equalizer hitch is awesome and keeps the rig steady---no wagging trailer. I have an air compressor on my truck, so it's easy to keep the trailer tires at the proper pressures and change pressure in the air springs. I have red and white reflector tape on three sides even though someone told me the law says it's not necessary for my length trailer. I installed a rear-facing camera on the back of the trailer so I can see what's going on behind me. I maintain the trailer regularly at a trailer shop to keep the brakes in good shape and the axles greased. I make sure not to let the tires age and risk bubbling. I carry a spare tire and know how to jack up the the fully loaded trailer with my floor jacks if I get a flat. ah well. Live and learn.

Lol I was driving next to an RV yesterday and the baby trailer the had on the back (well the size that can carry around four tires standing up) was just waving back and forth so fast like a metronome on allegro

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Lol I was driving next to an RV yesterday and the baby trailer the had on the back (well the size that can carry around four tires standing up) was just waving back and forth so fast like a metronome on allegro

Hehe yeah those baby trailers can dance around and twitch something awful.

With my setup, huge coach buses blow past me at 85 mph—basically, they’re bigass walls pushing massive air, but no wagging with the Equalizer. The whole rig moves over a few inches from the enormous wall of air. But it’s no drama all. Very nice hitch.

[dapopa9]

So how is the emergency break away cable supposed to be attached? (want to make sure mine is connected correctly!!)

Is it the safety chains you are referring to? Or the emergency brake system?

[Exclusivs]

Car looking good as always! Glad no major mechanical issues from water spill. GL with the move up to CO! Happy to see the era is not ending, and an e92 has found its way into your path that will be modified and driven as well!

On the sway bar tidbit ; spot on. Car can benefit from a stiffer front bar on softer springs. Yet negligible as iterated when running greater rates.

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by Exclusivs

Car looking good as always! Glad no major mechanical issues from water spill. GL with the move up to CO! Happy to see the era is not ending, and an e92 has found its way into your path that will be modified and driven as well!

On the sway bar tidbit ; spot on. Car can benefit from a stiffer front bar on softer springs. Yet negligible as iterated when running greater rates.

Can you share more info on the sway bar topic? I currently have stock ZCP/EDC suspension with monoballs, Dinan front sway bar in middle setting, and Dinan camber plates. Currently at -2.2 front camber, I understand more camber is ideal due to how our Macpherson struts are design and lose camber under load. Currently using 275 square tires on 18x10 wheels on track days.

Would I benefit from setting the front sway bar to its stiffest setting, in order to reduce front roll? I recently had a better driver try out several laps in my car, and the comment was that the car felt very balanced as it currently is. Would I ruin things by going stiffer on the front bar?

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by dapopa9

So how is the emergency break away cable supposed to be attached? (want to make sure mine is connected correctly!!)

Is it the safety chains you are referring to? Or the emergency brake system?

It was the emergency brake system wire. That wire needs to be independently hooked to the truck completely separate from the safety chains.

Clip a carabiner onto one side of the hitch receiver of the truck and then hook the emergency brake wire onto the carabiner. Mine was hooked into the safety chain hook. But did that really deserve a point on my license and many thousands of dollars of insurance rate hikes over 3 years?? I fixed it while he was still there. Sheesh.

[dapopa9]

Originally Posted by dogbone

It was the emergency brake system wire. That wire needs to be independently hooked to the truck completely separate from the safety chains.

Clip a carabiner onto one side of the hitch receiver of the truck and then hook the emergency brake wire onto the carabiner. Mine was hooked into the safety chain hook. But did that really deserve a point on my license and many thousands of dollars of insurance rate hikes over 3 years?? I fixed it while he was still there. Sheesh.

Wow that's a ridiculous ticket. I always have my emergency break wire on the safety chain hook also...guess I will be changing that asap!

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

Can you share more info on the sway bar topic? I currently have stock ZCP/EDC suspension with monoballs, Dinan front sway bar in middle setting, and Dinan camber plates. Currently at -2.2 front camber, I understand more camber is ideal due to how our Macpherson struts are design and lose camber under load. Currently using 275 square tires on 18x10 wheels on track days.

Would I benefit from setting the front sway bar to its stiffest setting, in order to reduce front roll? I recently had a better driver try out several laps in my car, and the comment was that the car felt very balanced as it currently is. Would I ruin things by going stiffer on the front bar?

In this post on page 37 of this thread, I responded to someone's question about sway bars:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=808

[aswy6]

How many miles does your car has? I am almost at 81k and just now starting to visit autocross/track events. Wondering how much time do i actually have to play around before engine will need to be rebuilt. RB changed by the way.
Thanks

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by aswy6

How many miles does your car has? I am almost at 81k and just now starting to visit autocross/track events. Wondering how much time do i actually have to play around before engine will need to be rebuilt. RB changed by the way.
Thanks

My car has 51000 miles on it. My friend bought a used one and was tracking it with original internals with around 100k miles on it.

Rod bearings and throttle actuators seem to be the generic main problems with this model. Aside from that, my understanding is that the engine internals are pretty solid.

A rebuild on these engines is in there neighborhood of $15k with parts and labor. These days, you can find a running used engine for less than that.

[dogbone]

We arrived in CO, and---big surprise---the mover was delayed, so our days have been pretty mellow. So I did what any self-respecting track junkie would do. I immediately ran out to High Plains Raceway to check it out!!

The track frequently puts on open track track days. Last Friday they had one, so I went to check it out. I drove my street E92 M3 out there. I promised myself that I wouldn't go on track with my street tires because they're in excellent shape and I don't want to ruin them. (dang it! Why couldn't my street tires have been more worn down?)

Driving up to the facility, I was fascinated to see that the track is so close to the highway. No other track that I've ever visited is so visible to passers-by. The barrier wall is probably less than 100 feet from the public highway.

I took this from the highway as I was leaving:


My entry to the facilities was pretty funny. I rolled up to the little entry shack, and the older dude that was tending to the entrance was sitting outside the shack in a chair sleeping....hehe I wasn't sure what to do. The active track was only a couple hundred feet away and there were very loud cars going by, but he was snoozing away. I could see the waiver clipboard in the shack. So I decided to just sign the thing and let him keep sleeping. As soon as I opened my car door, he woke up. Very nice guy. Was sort of laughing at himself for falling asleep.

The track looks to be in really good shape. They repaved the turns late last year. Looks challenging with the elevation changes.

I chatted with the track manager for a couple minutes. Nice guy.

The track puts on quite a few open lapping days. The cost is very reasonable. The format on Friday was simply open track all day. They seem to decide the format based on who comes. There were not very many cars. I would guess less than 25.

The track facilities are a bit basic. All the track buildings are trailers. The food is from a trailer. The bathrooms are a trailer. The office is a trailer. There is one small row of covered awnings. No garages.

I chatted with a couple drivers. Everyone was pretty relaxed and mellow. Nice vibe.

hehe----I could have rented a helmet, paid the fee and gone out and done some parade laps. I was reallllllly tempted. But, I decided to wait.

Anyway, the movers had a cancellation and were able to fit us in yesterday. Now the house has like 18 billion boxes that need to be unpacked, plus I have to put my music studio back together, so I'll be busy for awhile.

My plan for this street car is to put the old AP Racing brakes on it. I have a set of 9.5" Apex ARC-8 wheels with scrub 265 Pirelli DH. EAS wired the AIM harness into the CAN bus, so that's good to go. So, once the brakes are on, I'm eager to go check out High Plains Raceway!

I gotta say that the CO sunsets are pretty awesome on most evenings. And every day, the clouds are just so dramatic looking.

[SYT_Shadow]

Denver is a really nice place, I enjoy it every time I'm there!

Glad you have a racetrack so close.

A couple weekends ago I tracked an E92 that was stock other than pads and camber plates. I was surprised at how much fun it was! I love these cars

Good luck with the rest of the move. Unpacking is a nightmare that frequently wakes me up!

[admranger]

Which suburb did you end up in?

Also, if you're near Broomfield, CO at some point, drop by BimmerHaus and say hello to multi-time national champion autocrossers Bob and Patty Tunnell (if they aren't in Afghanistan doing charity work -- seriously). Great shop.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by admranger

Which suburb did you end up in?

Also, if you're near Broomfield, CO at some point, drop by BimmerHaus and say hello to multi-time national champion autocrossers Bob and Patty Tunnell (if they aren't in Afghanistan doing charity work -- seriously). Great shop.

Thanks for the heads up on BimmerHaus.

We’re in the Castle Pines area, about 25 miles south of Denver.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Thanks for the heads up on BimmerHaus.

We’re in the Castle Pines area, about 25 miles south of Denver.

Nice! Enjoy!

[Rassilon]

Hi I am curious if you have experience with DCT fault codes 5a41 5a43 5a44 5a45. I saw your post about the new DCT pan helping with starvation and double shift.

I was autoxing today and DCT went into limp mode after a hard 1to2 shift when turning. Restarting the car seems to have addressed the limp mode, but 1to2 shift sometimes still feel weird and car sometimes directly shift to 3rd, which sounds similar to the "double shift" you have experienced.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by edwardgtxy

Hi I am curious if you have experience with DCT fault codes 5a41 5a43 5a44 5a45. I saw your post about the new DCT pan helping with starvation and double shift.

I was autoxing today and DCT went into limp mode after a hard 1to2 shift when turning. Restarting the car seems to have addressed the limp mode, but 1to2 shift sometimes still feel weird and car sometimes directly shift to 3rd, which sounds similar to the "double shift" you have experienced.

Sorry, I don't know any specific error codes from miss-shifts. I wasn't reading codes after the miss-shifts.

All I can tell you is that the issue was happening on the first hot lap, so it couldn't be overheating. And it's been gone on the three track days since the Slon pan has been on the car. And that includes a day with brand new Pirelli slicks----the highest grip I've seen on the car.

[kyippee]

Originally Posted by edwardgtxy

Hi I am curious if you have experience with DCT fault codes 5a41 5a43 5a44 5a45. I saw your post about the new DCT pan helping with starvation and double shift.

I was autoxing today and DCT went into limp mode after a hard 1to2 shift when turning. Restarting the car seems to have addressed the limp mode, but 1to2 shift sometimes still feel weird and car sometimes directly shift to 3rd, which sounds similar to the "double shift" you have experienced.

I am not dogbone, but... 5a41 is what I got for loss of pressure, and the pan solved it.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=161

[Rassilon]

Originally Posted by kpewpew

I am not dogbone, but... 5a41 is what I got for loss of pressure, and the pan solved it.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=161

Interesting. Were you low on fluid? I am curious whether the pan fixed the issue, or adding more fluid during the installation fixed the issue.

[kyippee]

edwardgtxy Don't know if I was low on fluid. Could've been that, but my DCT pan was replaced by previous owner in late 2016. (have records) I doubt it could have leaked out so fast.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by edwardgtxy

Interesting. Were you low on fluid? I am curious whether the pan fixed the issue, or adding more fluid during the installation fixed the issue.

I think it's a bit tough to know what your exact DCT fluid levels are.

I know I sound like a broken record, but remember, it's not just a pan. There's a second piece---the lowering spacer. The deeper pan and the spacer work together.