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BMW is almost ready for the first race. We had a trackday friday to shake it down and the car performed well. It started out really wet which exposed just how badly it needs a limited slip. Tires were not getting up to temp at all. It was very slidey and interesting to drive in, but it was great for exposing errors. It dried out after lunch and we got some hot laps in. I did a 2:06.51 after about 5 laps but then a bad ball joint showed up so we called it a day. There's still a decent amount of time left in the car, but I was pretty happy with that for a first time out with it.
All in all, the car came together well. It's just a touch under 2600lb as it sits currently. We've still got a bit more weight to pull and I'm confident in us being under 2500lb all said and done. I feel pretty good about that.
Main problems that showed up: car won't take fuel like we need. Took about 7 minutes to fill 5 gallons. Sounds like we need to modify the filler a little and get rid of the evap **** under the car from what another LD e46 team said. Also our windshield wipers weren't working. My teammate pulled about 40lb of wiring out of the car and at some point we lost the wiper stalk. He's re-doing it so that it's just a high/low switch which is all we really need. Plus, if we have working windshield wipers, it's guaranteed not to rain! Last problem, that we already had the solution to but hadn't finished was fuel starvation. We had already gotten the second pump kit but hadn't fully installed it and we learned why it's needed lol. We figured the car would be too slow in the first race to need it, but we were wrong.
Overall, good results and I'm much happier with the car than I thought I was going to be.
Well, we finally made it to a race! Practice Friday went well, we messed with pressures and tried to get those somewhat dialed in. The front wants way more camber and the rears want a touch less. I started dropping some more time as well as I got more used to the car. We found a warped rotor towards the end of the day and so we did both front rotors that evening. We also applied the 100 stickers required for LD. That took way longer than expected.
The first day I started, was a bit crazy at the start and a little overwhelming since fast cars were very mixed in with slow cars. But after a little bit, cars moved towards their natural positions in the field and things were a little less chaotic. I got some good passes in and we got up to around 17th overall before I came in to switch drivers. The plan for Saturday was to run 1-hour stints and work our way into things, then moving to two hours stints on Sunday. Us pitting a lot obviously drove us down in the field, but it's not like we were there planning to win our first race. So many things to learn.
In my second stint I got a 2:02.5 in, which I was really pleased with. The day went largely well, until about 30mins from the end, our driver came in with a bunch of tire smoke. Apparently the locking nuts on the struts were no longer doing locking nut things and had come loose. The strut came out and smoked a tire as well as lost some of the tophat and spring perch pieces.
We got a plan to put stuff back together, but we knew the set up was going to be on limited time since we lost a steel sleeve that held the shock in its correct location on the tophat. We were also down a tire. Since this was our first race, we didn't have any spares or anything to throw in. Luckily the guys at AR Motorsport came to our rescue and just lent us a set of tires and wheels. Really really nice of them, and I can't thank them enough. They were a bit larger (255 vs 245) and we had some worries about them on the front when we tested at full bump, so we ran a staggered setup. Not the ideal setup, but neither is running on a tire with the sidewall taken out lol.
We got through about 3 hours on Sunday when a wheel bearing decided to crack at which point we just called it. I was able to slip in a 2:01.769 in during my session in the morning which I was super happy about. For stock shocks, some random lowering springs, and an open diff, the car is way quicker than I expected. We're really really pleased with it.
Takeaways from the weekend are: we need to get our pit stops faster and more consistent. The car really ******* needs an lsd. We need more spares. The car is a really good platform and I think with some small upgrades, we should be able to run near the top of B class if we can be more consistent and have a clean race. We were originally planning on buying some 2-way rr MCS this year, but honestly, I don't think the car really needs that to be competitive and I'm worried about it getting bumped into the low end of A if we do that. B seems like a good place to be for us.
Overall, I really liked LD. Way less bullshit than lemons and I had a really fun time. The failures were a bummer, but it was such a great weekend and they didn't seem to set the mood back.
Also @smote , we'll have to chat at some point next race!
Good stuff! Sounds like despite the problems you still got plenty of miles in. Get that slippery diff. You gonna just chase down a stock M3 unit or chase something different like a KAAZ/OS-G?
The m3 diff comes in a totally different housing, so you have to swap the entire rear subframe/suspension. I had planned on doing it about a year ago, but one of my teammates who left was against it due to money. So something aftermarket, we haven't totally made up our mind at this point though. I did find a rare zhp auto diff yesterday which came in a 3.64 flavor instead of 3.07 stock. That and a limited-slip is going to make one hell of a difference
Sounds like a good first weekend out for a new enduro car and team. A few years from now you'll have it all covered and wonder why it was so hard in the beginning. I think we've talked about this before, but assigning tasks for pit stops really helps. I see so many teams just wandering around the car with people trying to do the same tasks. Having a dedicated crew/non-drivers helps a lot too. Drivers tend to get caught up in the driving and not as much on everything else.
You guys looked really clean and fast on track. Too bad about the failures, but that comes with a new car. With your speed, I was certain you were an A class car. That's a good lap time, best we could manage was a 2:03.something.
Sorry I never managed to come find you, we obviously had our issues with the car to sort out. We were battling lack of traction out of the slower corners (I did manage to get sideways out of five a couple times, though), and an LSD is on the list before ORP. I look forward to that race, and hopefully will find you there.
Originally Posted by Midtenn
A few years from now you'll have it all covered and wonder why it was so hard in the beginning.
Ah **** I forgot you were there, I was standing at the pit wall all weekend and never said hi, sorry. Race Invaders/AR Motorsports kept me busy, but we had some decent results to show for it. I drove the second half of the first sprint and stayed in the car for the start of the 2nd, managed a 1:58 I think, our fastest was Martin with a 1:56 IIRC.
As for the suspension and diff, I wouldn't necessarily suggest the 2-way remotes, they add a lot of cost and complication with the reservoirs, I'd go with just the singles. Just talk to Martin at AR first to make sure you DON'T get the Spec E46 shocks, the valving isn't ideal for our purposes. As for the diff, we always use Diffsonline, again ask Martin for the appropriate one for your car and thank me later.
Saturday's grid was ridiculous, we've talked to Cathy and I don't think that'll happen again. The A-B-C lineup they did Sunday worked much better.
@smote No worries, hopefully, we'll be able to find some time to chat at ORP!
@curly Agreed on the grid on Sunday haha, made a lot more sense.
We're probably just going to stay on a stock style suspension for right now, as much as I'd love the adjustability, I'm worried about getting bumped into A, I'd much rather stay in B. I think we need to work more on everything else right now. I'd like to get a diff partially just for tire wear since it constantly lights up the inside tire and re-gearing it isn't going to make it better. But I think with the diff, doing the exhaust, and pulling a little more weight out of the car, we'll be done (for now) with any upgrades and we can just focus on the other aspects of racing.
I bolted the starter to the bellhousing this weekend while re-organizing the shop. And here's some 2.73 gears sitting on my desk at work next to @concealer404's bushings.
06-15-2020, 04:49 PM
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