BMW GTR e36 Build TT1

[BigHungry]

And "invested" should surely be in quotes.

 

Invested = piled it up in the driveway and set it on fire

 

 

OK OK....I got it. Please forgive me I'm new to the car build thing. I will remember next time.

 

I changed it to "Spent an insane amount of money to go stupid fast."

 

Mark you're an idiot, you broke the golden rule, you never add up the receipts

 

Maybe so...but I know you wouldn't turn down a DE4 check ride in Sept @ RA

[Vettedoctor]

I wish I would have stopped over and looked it over - you were right next to us at Putnam!

I was with Geff Sawtelle in the blue #222 Vette just down the paddock from you.

I heard the thing go by but I never made the connection - great looking car!

It has quite a stance to it!

[BigHungry]

I had a cooling issue at Putnam in May. I installed a 3 core radiator and boxed in the front of the radiator. I was getting 250+deg water temp at any speed w/75 deg air temp. With the new setup the water temp never got above 210 deg while running some test sessions last weekend at Road Atlanta with MVP w/90 deg air temp. I also removed the cooling fan automatically coming on at 208. it now is only manually switched on/off for use while on grid or when not moving. The fan was rubbing the fan bracket when running while going 100+mph. It now doesn't need to run while moving. Found a new used for the auto temp fan relay.

 

 

I also had an oil tank breather issue and a center o-ring seal tank leak. The air/oil catch can in the trunk was nearly filling up after every session. I decided to get a new dry sump oil tank w/o a center seal and with a breather that had an oil drain return line. I went with a Coleman Racing 3 gal tank with an intercooler. I welded on a 12an fitting to the tank breather to run a vent hose to the original catch vent can in the trunk. It worked very well. I ended up with less than a teaspoon of oil in the final catch can after 4 full sessions.

 

I installed a 3in blower fan to the new tank intercooler. I hooked this fan up to the auto water temp relay that I had unhooked from the radiator fan circuit. The oil intercooler fan now comes on automatically if engine reaches 208+ degs.

 

 

I went down to RA with MVP and ran Sat only. My Dad was in Atlanta for business that weekend and invited him to spend the day at the track and take him for a ride along. I also wanted to test out my new cooling and oil systems. The water temp never got above 210 and the oil stayed at 230 with running the rpm's to 5-6k. I was very pleased with the results. I never pushed the car too hard and ran about 6-7 10ths. I did find an issue with a tire/fender rub in turn1 and turn 6. I'm going to redo the rear fenders and paint the whole car a bit different.

 

Here is a few laps from a session at RA with MVP on Jun22.

 

http://youtu.be/27vebDtOUr8

 

I will post an update when finished with rear fender fix and repaint.

[Maynor]

Mark,

 

Which 3-core radiator are you using and which fan? I'm in the middle of the same process with heating issues and don't want to waste time with the little fixes.

[BigHungry]

John,

 

The 3 core radiator is just an all aluminum Ebay generic for 180-220 bucks. I found some info that the 2001-02 Z3 M Roadster M Coupe used a 3 core and fits an e36 chassis if still using the original radiator attachment points. The 3 core is an inch thicker than the 2 core. I had to refit the hoses a little bit.

 

The fan is a single 16 inch curved blade that came with my 2 core. I had to modify the fan bracket to attach to the new radiator and I swiss cheesed the aluminum plate the fan was on to allow more air flow. I only run the fan if not moving.

 

The top, bottom, and sides around the 2 kidney holes and bottom opening of the front bumper are 90-95% sealed all the way to the radiator. I have to thank Chris Griswold for the advise of boxing in the radiator. This alone probably would have solved the cooling issue but I decided to go ahead with the 3 core also.

 

To compare....At Putnam driving at 35 mph (orientation laps) at 3-4k I was getting 210-220 w/fan running. After changes I took a 20 min drive near the house at 35-45 mph at 3-4k and stayed at 180 deg w/o fan. At RA the new cooling system proved to work well at speed 180-210 deg w/ 70-90 air temp.

 

Hope this helps,

Mark

[BlueBeemer]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! You are truly talented. Wanna do some work on a GTS3/4 build in Ohio? I will be incorporating some of those cage ideas in my build.

[Acree]

I love the build. I've been eyeballing this motor for my daily driver. Was the use of an Accusump system not an option?

[BigHungry]

Here is an update on a few changes I made during my summer break.

 

Add 3 inch straight thru MagnaFlow SS mufflers. It sounds even better and you can now hear yourself think.

 

 

Installed a progressive shift light and removed speedo.

 

 

Moved the fire bottle from between the battery and oil tank to just in front of pass seat. Re-route cable pulls.

 

 

Built better underpan/rear diffuser out of aluminum. It's a little lighter and should be more effective than the ABS version.

 

 

I had a fender rub at RA in turn 1 and 6. I never like the rear fenders. I did them in a rush to get to the track back in May. I was able to add about 3 inches of clearance underneath the fender and made it a much better shape. It now looks how I wanted it look.

 

Old fenders

 

 

New Fenders

 

 

 

Of course I now had to repaint. Decided to go with a sorta satin black.

 

 

 

 

I will be at Road Atl this weekend Sept 14-15. Stop by and take look if you can find me in the super stuffed paddock area. I will be arriving Fri afternoon. Hope I can find a spot.

[Cobra4B]

Nice work as always....

[BigHungry]

Here's a couple vids of my Sat DE3/4 sessions. This was my third track weekend with my new car build. Had no engine cooling or oil issues. All temps and pressures were good. Finally got some heat in the tires to take some temp readings. The issue I had this weekend was with the brake fluid turning to gel.

 

Sat Session 1 DE 3/4 -http://youtu.be/pAX-S2sRLgM

 

Sat Session 2 DE3 -

 

In the first session DE3/4, the brakes felt ok but I never really got to work them hard because of traffic. The 2nd session i notice the rear brakes starting to fade and the pedal going a bit deeper. Check it over in the paddock and found the rear master was not returning. Thought broken spring, trash stuck in cyl? Bled the brakes but the rears won't firm up til about halfway. OK not a total loss...the next few sessions I worked on no-brake and offline drills at slow pace but then realized my brake light sensor was tied into my rear brake pressure and my front brake were now fading. I decided to end weekend early on Sun. This last week I tore down the master cylinders to find out what the issue was. Found the brake fluid turned to gel between the master cyl and reservoirs. A little web research and I found that the brake fluid can react with the hose if the wrong type of is used like 5/16 fuel line. I notice some fluid on the hose but at the time I thought it was condensation.

 

Lesson learned--just bc the hose works for fuel doesn't mean it will work for brake fluid.

 

I never like having the remote reservoirs but my thinking was to keep them out of the engine bay and above the calipers. I am now going to install a firewall mounted hanging pedal assembly with the reservoirs directly on top and add a heat shield between them and the engine.