My E90 M3 Dedicated Track build (with pix!)

[StripclubDJ]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Oh man! You really ARE in a closet!!

O trust me, I checked, it's 100% a closet lmao


I asked her if I can have a game room for my rig.
And maybe I shouldn't of asked while we were in a fight lolol

[roastbeef]

can you use that with a vr headset? the problem i have with "sims" is i don't really take them seriously. i can set a pretty good lap time in gran turismo, but it doesn't quite translate in real life because i'm trying to go 10/10ths with zero consequences if i screw up.
great for learning a track, but i have a hard time putting value into most home sims.

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

can you use that with a vr headset? the problem i have with "sims" is i don't really take them seriously. i can set a pretty good lap time in gran turismo, but it doesn't quite translate in real life because i'm trying to go 10/10ths with zero consequences if i screw up.
great for learning a track, but i have a hard time putting value into most home sims.

Not sure who you’re asking, but if you’re asking me, VR headsets do an amazing job of immersing you in a driving environment, but the couple times I’ve tried them, I got totally queasy.

The last time was a couple months ago. My friend had me try his Oculus setup on Big Willow. I drove exactly one hot lap and ripped the helmet off and was thiiiis close to vomiting. Pretty wild! Hahaha

I would love to try it again but maybe work up to it slowly somehow. I’ve heard that you can build up some tolerance to it.

[StripclubDJ]

Problem with vr, is your mind is moving, not your body

[roastbeef]

i was just making a general comment. the problem i see with stripclubdj's setup is you can't look out the driver's side window to practice looking further ahead. gran turismo lets you use the right stick to turn your head in the cockpit view, but that doesn't help me build the habit of moving my head and eyes.
this is why i just play with a controller and don't invest in a seat/wheel/pedal setup. i can still focus on consistency, but i feel like there is just so much that doesn't translate.

[StripclubDJ]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i was just making a general comment. the problem i see with stripclubdj's setup is you can't look out the driver's side window to practice looking further ahead. gran turismo lets you use the right stick to turn your head in the cockpit view, but that doesn't help me build the habit of moving my head and eyes.
this is why i just play with a controller and don't invest in a seat/wheel/pedal setup. i can still focus on consistency, but i feel like there is just so much that doesn't translate.

I don't drive that view during a race, only TT
I use full cockpit durning a race, and have a have a joy stick that lets me rotate


There's is no flaws in my set up , I've been doing it for way to long lol

[Bartledoo]

Originally Posted by dogbone

Not sure who you’re asking, but if you’re asking me, VR headsets do an amazing job of immersing you in a driving environment, but the couple times I’ve tried them, I got totally queasy.

The last time was a couple months ago. My friend had me try his Oculus setup on Big Willow. I drove exactly one hot lap and ripped the helmet off and was thiiiis close to vomiting. Pretty wild! Hahaha

I would love to try it again but maybe work up to it slowly somehow. I’ve heard that you can build up some tolerance to it.

My first 5 sessions using VR in iracing induced some nausea, less and less every time until it was totally gone. My only problem with VR, because I am using an OG Oculus, is the lack of clarity when looking way down track like in real life. I didn't want to shell out a gazillion dollars on a mega PC and pimax 5/8k though. So that's on me really.

[dogbone]

So----this build thread is getting pretty long. Sometimes it's hard to remember where something was posted. People ask me questions all the time about stuff that's already posted in here.

I decided to go through it and make a general Table of Contents. I've posted it in the first post of the thread. But I figured I'd share here as well:

btw, all the latest mods on the car are updated in that first post, along with my latest PBs and current pix of the car.

Page 1: Intro to the thread, All mods listed, all latest fastest lap times listed, latest look of the car, pix of the cage transformation.
Page 2: Show the wall mount that holds my door when I remove it.
Page 3: Front aero install, Cooling shirt install, PowerFlex from tension arm bushings, custom carbon blank panels fabricated
Page 4: First full aero trip to Buttonwillow—5 second time gain.
Page 5: Tire talk - different grip levels and how tires relate to learning DSC-off. Scrubs versus new.
Page 5: Intro the topic of carbon doors.
Page 6: Installed OS Giken diff. Halo seat installed. Rear subframe bushings installed. Rogue engineering rear toe arms. Tried a straight-through exhaust. Yuck.
Page 7: Hood latches installed. Blown top mount support cup for rear JRZ damper. Talk about true rear JRZ coilers. Last post talks about reasons behind certain mods.
Page 8: GTS DCT programming. Tire talk.
Page 8: Start of a long 3 part write up on differentials. I went with an OS Giken Superlock and used the AIM to track it's performance by looking at the wheel spins of the rear wheels.
Page 9: Wrap up Differential topic. Won 1st place in a GTA event at Buttonwillow. Stinky helmet advice.
Page 12: Trailer and towing talk.
Page 13: Overcoming fears of Auto Club Speedway and making big improvements.
Page 13: More trailer talk.
Page 15: More trailer talk. Aero versus non-aero time comparison. Canard install.
Page 16: Win at GTA event. Funny champagne spray pic. Also, canard/aero talk.
Page 18: do88 DCT cooler testing write up.
Page 19: Suspension spring rate talk. Picture of fender before fender latches with clip bending.
Page 20: Suspension talk. Braking zones.
Page 21: Rod bearing replacement
Page 22: Laguna Seca 1:34 lap. Broken Vorshlag engine mounts.
Page 24: SuperLap report: 4th place. Fender vents cut.
Page 25: Hood vents installed. Inde Motorsport Ranch. Aero talk.
Page 26-30: Brake talk. Essex AP fronts on the car, thick pads, etc.. (Upgrade from Stillen AP)
Page 28: Convex mirror install
Page 29: Braking performance data analysis.
Page 29: 1:47.2 at Buttonwillow
Page 31: Dirty Laguna Seca
Page 32: Rear Essex AP on the car. Weighed the weight loss.
Page 33: Slon Workshop DCT pan
Page 33-34: Willow Springs talk
Page 34: Write up on traction control and how it works on the E9x M3 platform. (Most people think the rear brakes, but it's the front and I show AIM data.
Page 35: Move to Titan-7 rims
Page 37: Slon pan results - yay!
Page 37: Start writing about 2018 Bimmer Challenge series (I ultimately went 7 for 7 and won the series.)
Page 38: Driving comparison looking at braking performance.
Page 39: AIM Solo2DL. Nitrogen talk.
Page 41: AIM Solo2DL wireless setup with Mac/Fusion. More AIM. Chuckwalla under water.
Page 42: VoltPhreaks battery
Page 44: Trailer drama. Wheel fell off after trailer axle service. Plus more Bimmer Challenge 2018.
Page 45: Coilovers versus divorced setup.
Page 46-47: Bimmer Challenge 2018 series win
Page 47: Ice driving in Colorado with my pickup truck
Page 48: Bimmerworld oil diverter valve install and other tech work
Page 49: Brand new coolant hose cracks and Willow Springs PB 1:25.8
Page 50: Oil diverter AIM data write up[/QUOTE]
Page 51: Nitrogen talk
Page 52: More broken studs
Page 53: High Plains Raceway in CO with E92 M3
Page 55: JRZ install on my street E92 M3.
Page 55: Install ESS bracket to make more room for big front tire.
Page 56: High Pains Raceway with E92.
Page 56: Splitter and fender vent pix
Page 57: Moving to 14mm on the front. Stud talk.
Page 57: Spring Mountain first visit.
Page 58: Bimmerworld power steering reservoir.
Page 59: E92 broken engine mounts
Page 60: Power steering reservoir results
Page 61: Pueblo Motorsport park first visit with E92.
Page 62: Matt Farah Smoking tire podcast. The owner of BBI is talking about an E90 that was flying at Willow Springs and was on the ass of his Ultima GTR…….he's talking about me. hahaha
Page 63: JRZ blown shocks. Chuckwalla tech issues—brake booster line got cut.
Page 64: Suspension rebuild with Chewerks, rebuild rotors, prepping for SuperLap. Miata bad track etiquette video.
Page 65-66: SuperLap Battle Buttonwillow 2019 podium in Unlimited
Page 68: Carbon door project.
Page 69: Carbon doors on. New PB at WSIR.
Page 70-73: COTA practice and Bimmerworld carbon headlight blanks.
Page 74: COTA prepping for SuperLap. Initial COTA results. 3rd place.
Page 75: COTA video
Page 76: 4 part write up on COTA experience. COTA video montage using livestream footage.
Page 77: AIM Solo2 DL repaired after being dropped. It forced the car into limp mode after being dropped.
Page 78-79: Driving sims. Dislike of iRacing sim.

[okusa]

That's too much work. Can't you make it searchable and add hyperlinks? 😅

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by okusa

That's too much work. Can't you make it searchable and add hyperlinks? ��

Dammmmmm......hahahaha

Just copy it and search it you lazy ass!

Don't make me do this again!:


(Can you tell this is my favorite new emoji? This is either me playing iRacing or eating beans.)

[dogbone]

I've been sitting here wondering if I should keep posting about race car stuff with all the craziness going on in the world. But then I figured, we're hunkering down and looking for things to pass the time......what's a better way to pass the time than talking about our hobby!?

As you know, I've been on the hunt for the best/strongest possible solution for attaching wheels to an E9x M3. I believe I've found the strongest solution to date: 14mm press-in studs. I asked Core4 to investigate the topic of 14mm press-ins for our platform and Tom (the owner) decided to do the homework and see if it was feasible. After a bit, he came back and said that it was possible and that he would make a set. I am very happy to tell you that I received these babies recently, and they look awesome! Check them out below!

These are F.A.G.-brand E9x M3 front hubs that have been drilled out to accept the MSI 14mm press-ins. And the rears are F80 M3 hubs that were already 14mm that have been adapted to accept press-ins. I've been using F.A.G. hubs for years. They've been great. They're the OEM supplier for front hubs for our platform.

So why press-ins? Press-ins alleviate pressure in the spot where many people break studs----inside the hub threads. A press-in doesn't have any threads in the hub, so they don't rely on thread tension in the hub to hold the whole wheel system together. They have a large flange that simply puts pressure over a large area---around the hub hole---on the back side of the hub. They don't have to reduce the thickness of the shank with threads in what appears to be the most critical spot. The shank thickness inside the hub hole of these MSI studs is 14.7mm!!! If you look at the actual shank thickness of a 14mm stud---meaning accounting for the reduction in shank thickness due to the threads, it's around 12.5mm. A 12mm stud shank is even worse at around 10.5mm......The press-in offers 40% MORE METAL DIAMETER AT THE HIGHEST STRESS POINT than a threaded 12mm stud!!!! And around 18% more metal diameter than a threaded 14mm. In my book, the more metal you throw at this, the better. The F.A.G. hubs take the drilling without issue----and if you look at the back side, you can see each hub hole is already reinforced with additional steel. The press-ins are quite happy sitting there.

And as far as cost, the whole solution with 4 hubs, MSI studs and lug nuts is less expensive than the Future Classic solution without studs/nuts.

So, there ya go----strong and reasonable cost!

I'm sticking my neck out here with my opinion------if you drive an E9x M3 hard on track with high grip tires, aero and other go fast bits, I do not think 12mm threaded studs are the correct solution for this platform. Many many people have had problems. We're not all morons. We're not all doing it wrong. Heck, the F80 M3 moved up to 14mm. Would the 12mm press-in studs from Core4 be enough to resolve the situation? Possibly. Core4 claims they have never had a customer break a 12mm press-in stud yet----even with multiple cars in 25 hour races, one of them being a big 'ol Nissan GTR. But I wanted what we could consider to be the ULTIMATE solution, and I believe this is it. (If anyone else is interested, they are available now.)

The original plan was to install these in early April and test them in Texas. (My car is sitting in Houston right now.) But, with the world in chaos, everything is up in the air, so we'll have to wait to see when is an appropriate time to put things in motion again.





Here's a quick video that shows the process of swapping press-in studs. Pretty easy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wai...vZSePwdDO/view

The last question we need to answer with this setup is with the rear hubs: Can the rear studs be swapped on an E9x M3 without removing the parking brake? Don't know yet. But given the size of these studs, I may try to go two seasons with the rears. So, it's not something that will need to be dealt with very often.

Anyway, I'm excited about these hubs/studs, but I'm not the expert. I may ask Core4 if they can come on here and clarify anything I may have goofed on.

Stay healthy everyone.

[Redd]

This is one of the best posts on this forum. Please keep the updates coming!

[dogbone]

I mentioned that I was going to post a bit more info about the oil diverter. (My main oil diverter write up is on page 50.)

(From time to time, my private messages folder gets filled up. Instead of blindly deleting everything, I try to go through and see if there's anything useful that I can put on my thread because I have interesting conversations with people who ask me questions, etc.)

Someone asked me via PM, what are my max oil and water temps? I thought this was an interesting question because the oil diverter had been on the car for awhile, but I never stopped to really compare max temps before and after the oil diverter install.

So I went through the AIM data of 11 track days at various tracks around CA before and after the BimmerWorld oil diverter was installed. Below, I've listed out the max oil temps, water temps, and what the outside air temps were. The first 5 are with the Bimmerworld oil diverter installed. The last 6 are the stock diverter. The data may be a bit random, but still, it seems to show that in general, the oil diverter is helping to keep temps down compared to the stock diverter.

I don't have as many super hot ambient air days after the oil diverter has been installed because I try not to track when its so crazy hot anymore.

Oil ºF/Water ºF Outside temp

BW oil diverter installed
266/212 90º
267/219 91º
267/210 64º
271/217 69º
269/215 74º
------------
Stock oil diverter
271/226 84º
276/231 81º
288/246 95º
282/241 96º
279/232 82º
288/243 92º

[roastbeef]

yes, please keep posting. we need this normalcy.

i'm surprised at how easy the press-in stud install is. for some reason, i was under the impression that the hub needed to be removed.

[Shmelgy]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

yes, please keep posting. we need this normalcy.

i'm surprised at how easy the press-in stud install is. for some reason, i was under the impression that the hub needed to be removed.

That install was one of the easiest things I've seen, and completely did not expect it lol

[dogbone]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

yes, please keep posting. we need this normalcy.

i'm surprised at how easy the press-in stud install is. for some reason, i was under the impression that the hub needed to be removed.

Originally Posted by Shmelgy

That install was one of the easiest things I've seen, and completely did not expect it lol

Yup, no loctite. No having to use an Allen hex key on the stud trying to get to 20 ft lbs, and then stripping it. No having to double-nut studs to 40 ft lbs.......all that stuff is history with press-ins. No waiting around for loctite to set.

[dogbone]

Let's file this one under: Make a plan so that you have something to deviate from.....?

I figured I'd post what my plans were supposed to be before Covid-19. Then I guess we can see if any of it ends up happening.

During our visit to COTA, my friend's 996 Cup Car was suffering from a very significant engine oil leak. The engine needed to be dropped to fix the issue. The question was: does the rig head back to San Diego for the fix? Or was there some other solution that could be implemented that would encourage us to continue to the East Coast? If the rig went back to CA, there was a large chance the East Coast tour would not happen. We were interested in seeing if we could get the cars fixed in Texas. (My car also needs some work.)

The guy transporting the cars is actually my friend's San Diego mechanic. And he used to live in Texas. So, we asked if there was a way to fix the Cup Car in Texas. The mechanic's father has a race shop in the Houston area. He agreed to drop the engine at his dad's shop in Texas. So, right now the trailer rig is somewhere in Texas. Maybe it's at MSR Houston? I don't exactly know where it is.....haha so sad......

Items on my car to-do list:
-alignment - after the off at COTA it needs to be reset.
-fluid changes - engine oil and maybe transmission fluid.
-install the Core4 14mm press-in stud hubs.
-install a transfer pump so that fuel can flow more effectively between the two halves of the gas tank.
-install new engine mounts. Because I've torn and broken engine mounts so badly in the past, I preemptively replace my engine mounts occasionally. I just use OEM mounts.

Once the work on both cars is completed in April, the plan is to go to MSR Houston on some random good weather day and test the cars out and make sure everything is fine.

Then the trailer rig would stay in Houston until it needed to head to the East Coast.

Here is the schedule we envisioned for the East Coast:

May 7-9: Road Atlanta - Global Time Attack competition. GTA uses May 7 as a practice day. Yay!
May 15-17: VIR - Hyperfest - NASA TT competition. NASA uses May 15 as a test and tune practice day. Yay!
June 10-14: Watkins Glen - 2 PCA non-competition events. There are two PCA events back-to-back over 5 days. I don't really need to drive WGI for 5 days, but we figured why not sign up for both events and see what days the weather works out the best.

After those three tracks, the rig would head back West---the thought being that maybe the rig might stop in Colorado at High Plains Raceway. I would love to see what my E90 can do there.

I've been practicing the driving sims to learn the East Coast tracks. I've been doing Atlanta and VIR in Assetto Corsa, and WGI in Project Cars 2 on PS4. I'm already very familiar with all of them now. I keep driving a few laps each day on each track to keep them in my head.

Will any of the plan be possible due to the virus? Who knows. If things get cancelled, we'll just leave the rig in Houston and see if events later in the year are feasible. At the moment, I don't envision bringing the rig back to the West Coast until we do the East Coast.

So, that's what we planned a couple months ago. It will be interesting to see what actually happens.

[dogbone]

Alright, let's file this one under----Online racing anyone!?

The question has come up, how do we pass the time while tracks are shut down? Why don't we online race!?

I'll start out by saying I have no prior experience with any of this online multiplayer gaming stuff. And I've never raced wheel-2-wheel in my life.

However, I'm willing to host some races and, if there's any interest, maybe even organize a small series. I have Assetto Corsa on pc. I setup an account on an Assetto Corsa game server, so I have a nice reliable server. (After a ton of trying, I could not get the built in server tool to work reliably.)

I want it to be a spec-style race, so all the cars are identical---the BMW Z4 GT3 on Medium compound slicks. It's setup for 10 cars to race. No traction control, no stability control. ABS is on. You can tweak the settings of the car with camber, suspension adjustments, aero settings, etc.

I'm open to ideas on which tracks to race. Laguna Seca is the only built-in track that I'm familiar with. So, I've loaded COTA, VIR, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Buttonwillow 13CW. Maybe we race several tracks.

The server is password protected and I'm limiting the racing to my friends and to people from the forum for now.

To race other tracks not included with the game requires additional downloading. You have to have the track on your computer beyond just the Assetto Corsa install. Some tracks like VIR and Road Atlanta are free and they just ask for donations. Buttonwillow requires you to buy it for a few bucks. I can help get those other tracks installed.

Anyway, let me know if you're interested. For the moment, my target is 10 people, but I can go as high as 16.

A couple of us may try to test this out tonight in about 30 minutes. If anyone reading this wants to jump on, let me know. We'll probably do either Laguna Seca or Buttonwillow.

[Kelse92]

I am seriously regretting my decision last year to not invest in a simRacing/Driving setup... times like these are when I want one and must resist spending money on one haha
Anyway, wish I could join and have fun!

[Ngilbe36]

All Ive got is Forza on XBOX

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by Ngilbe36

All Ive got is Forza on XBOX

Thats what I have. I also have iRacing but prefer the Xbox. LRP is my go to track to stay sharp.

[gmx]

Z4 GT3 was one of my favs. Would suggest Spa & Monza.