Shawn's track car project (e36 M52 325i) - Page 11

bmwconnect · 08-15-2011, 10:04 AM

Enjoyed the run

Thanks kindly!

everlast · 08-15-2011, 10:20 AM

I love your driving style, conservative and fast. The only fail: www.eurotrashmotorsports.c... at the end lol.

Barrie, we gonna see the new whip out there?

sb_600 · 08-15-2011, 11:08 AM

haha yeah... got a new computer and had to redownload the software - my template got screwed up and i didn't notice

on a plus note though - what used to take 2+hours to upload, now takes 20 min

Some people have mentionned I'm too agressive on the throttle, and it's costing me time. I'm not sure if I 100% agree, but I do definitely see that I'm not driving the car to its full potential. That thing is an animal and it's definitely me that's the limiter on it!

everlast · 08-15-2011, 11:13 AM

There was that one oversteer that looked throttle induced, and it sounded like rev limiter action at some points, but at times like corner entry and exit, it seems you use the throttle to help aim the car and steering to position it. A1 in my books.

But what do I know, lol. All I know is it looks fast and smooth.

sb_600 · 08-15-2011, 12:09 PM

yup - that's my style. point the wheels, and then play with the throttle to fine tune. Unfortunately i'm still dialing out some balance (understeer) issues, so I can't do it as well as I'd like and I have to wait a bit longer to get on throttle, but it still seems to work for the most part.

I was bouncing off the rev-limiter like crazy on saturday - but that was just the nature of the course. If I had shifted, it would have been a quick upshift, then a downshift 1-2 seconds later... not worth it, especially because it would have upset the balance of the car. Different gearing may have helped a bit, but I like the torque I have with the 3.91LSD.

Thanks for the compliments though

I'm glad my driving "looks" smooth, cuz the track sure isn't, and Barrie's kidneys can confirm that!

everlast · 08-15-2011, 01:27 PM

Smooth is avoiding unnecessary weight transfer.

Looking smooth != being comfortable.

sb_600 · 08-16-2011, 02:06 PM

Photoshoot after last week's race:

sb_600 · 08-29-2011, 01:45 PM

Finally got the head pulled yesterday afternoon - the gasket seemed fine and there were no signs of cracking.

I did find out my oil consumption problem though - I'm throwing a LOT of oil into the intake manifold from my crank case vent. Time to run a catch can with an air-oil separator and a drain tube back into the oil pan!

Got the head back on with the new bolts & gasket. Just have to reinstall the VANOS system, set the timing, and then the intake & exhaust. Should be good to go for this weekend!

sb_600 · 08-31-2011, 10:36 AM

VANOS & timing are done - should be ready for this weekend

George77 · 08-31-2011, 08:48 PM

Hi, why did you open the engine?blown head gasket??

sb_600 · 09-01-2011, 07:35 AM

Hey George, I opened it up because after a track day, the cooling system would be pressurized. This indicated a leak between the combustion chamber and a cooling passage. A compression test revealed nothing, so I think it was very small, and/or only occured when the engine was hot.

sb_600 · 09-02-2011, 09:55 AM

Picked this up yesterday - it should "solve" my oil burning issues:

George77 · 09-02-2011, 07:59 PM

How did you have the crankcase vent set up when it was burning oil?

sb_600 · 09-02-2011, 08:55 PM

it was set up as an OBDI.... i had just plugged the drain back to the dipstick. Now, i'm going to plug all the vaccuum lines, run the vent into the catchcan, and the drain back into the OBDII dipstick

sb_600 · 09-08-2011, 09:46 AM

Had a busy weekend!

Saturday: install headers, exhaust, intake manifold, oil catch can, fill with water, start it up!
Sunday: AutoX - finished 2nd in A-class and 3rd overall (FTD was a B-class driver - Kevin in his 240sx... that car & driver are nuts!)

Monday: Lapping at CMP - noticed the car was runnning lean at WOT, call Barrie, he shows up within 1.5hours (now that is service), works his magic, car seems better, go back on track, good for a bit then leans out again... crap, now what? reset battery, car seems better again, then leans out again. something is wrong, which is why I'm not doing the gentlemen's race tonight

However, i did manage to get a [stopwatch timed] 2:19 on the long track! Here's a video of me chasing down Klaus (e30 M50) in the last session: