Just dropped a deposit on some M Power - Trackday Project Car

[Gibbo]

Hi there

We all know how fast a Caterham R500 is, here is one up against my mates 996 GT3:-

GT3 is such an epic car when in the right hands, he is lapping Donny in 1:17-1:18's amongst traffic. Yes the owner of the GT3 can drive, being with him on the road and at Donnington, bit of a nutter. That is also an R500 Caterham, so its not a slow one and is on Avon race series tyre. The GT3 is on slicks, uprated pads as can be heard and power wise about 380ish.

Just impresses me so much that a car like the GT3 which is not a bad place to spend your time in on the road is hustling a well driven R500 Caterhams fastest dedicated track car. for me the GT3 has 90% of the Caterhams track performance but is 90% better on the road and in this case cost no more either.

 

[Gibbo]

Oh and the video I kept meaning to post and keep forgetting

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Well new clutch slave finally arrived, so upto now we have done:-
Oil and filter change
New flywheel, clutch kit, fork, bearings, clips, SMG springs, SMG knuckle installed
Fresh gearbox oil added
Fresh hydraulic fluid added
New engine mounts fitted
New gearbox mounts fitted
New air oil separator
New oil cap
New vanos sealing plate

All that had failed in the end was release bearing, clutch had very little wear but flywheel was not to great, but whilst the box was off it made sense to refresh everything which suffers wear and tear.


So to get car back on road get slave cylinder installed and re-run the automated bleeding programme and adaptions and hope all is well as then car is back on the road.



Then I can add this little lot:-

So there you can see slave cylinder, clutch line braided cable and following:-
BMW coolant and distiller water, gonna flush the engine and replace coolant,
Rear trailing arm bushes
Subframe bushes
Loads more bushes for rear, essentially refreshing every rear bush on the car
Centre console, I want cup holders
Carbon front grills
Carbon side grills
Plus fit new eibach rear lower ALU camber arms.

As I've got CSL front bumper with carbon splitters and carbon rear diffuser I thought I'd complete the look, especially if I end up getting a carbon roof too.

So next week will fit slave cylinder and flush engine coolant, get car back on road, test all is ok and hopefully another track day end of month.

Then in September the boot floor gets re-inforce meant kit welded in and resin injection along with all new rear bushes installed and camber arms. Once done new allignment settings will be:-

Front camber: -3:15
Front castor: +7:45
Front toe: 0:00

Rear camber: -2:15
Rear toe: +0:10 each side


It should be epic on track and for road I just undo the three top mount bolts and push wheels back in which sould reduce front camber to around -2:25 for the road.

That leaves harness bar or cage, this enabled me to have harnesses installed correctly and then I can move to slicks and as I've reinforced the suspension, subframe and new bushes the slicks will be fine as they stress the chassis a lot more.

 

[Gibbo]

Surely if your going to slicks it makes complete sense to have a roll-cage fitted? In fact I am surprised you don't have one fitted now

I just need to get the harnesses to correct level which a cage or harness bar will do. I'm not removing crash bars or changing body panels, keeping the stock ones and I don't intend to race competively. It's a fun road and track car, not dedicated track or race car.

 

[Gibbo]

Finally I have car back, slave cylinder fixed the issues and the SMG calibration passed without issue.

So along with oil change, coolant change, new engine mounts, gearbox mounts and all the other items I mentioned the car has never driven so good. Most probably just like a brand new one but better. Gear changes in a way are more brutal but are a solid shuff and not a wack which was no doubt due to the both gearbox mounts were snapped. She drives amazingly well!

Some picture of some little cosmetic upgrades I did whilst car was being worked on:-

Now I have cup holders again plus it looks much neater with no real addition in weight terms. Did I say car drives amazingly well, far better than my CSL and once all the bushes are changed out for new, well can it get any better!

 

[Gibbo]

Have you seen mwstewart's M3 thread on PH? He's basically stripped his back and rebuilt it, just thought it might be handy for you if you need to check up on something.
One thing he's done that I think looks great is the steering wheel and handbrake.

Yeah followed it closely, interested in his solid steering column for more feel. Also what I don't have photos off is like him I cleaned the entire underside of the car whilst it was on axle stands and painted some of the older brackets to freshen the under-side up. Also fitted the CSL air box with all OEM parts, so no more cherry coke oil catch can setup under the bonnet, also removed the AC fan, shrouds etc to improve engine cooling and fitted a Mishimoto electric fan.

 

[Gibbo]

Looks mint, you should get the steering wheel refurbed to finish it off

What oil you using in it? TWS?

Yes the Castrol 10-60W with M approved sticker on it.

Am thinking of sending the wheel off to Royal's for some Alcantera treatment.

The planned boot floor re-inforcement is done next month along with entire OEM bush re-newel whilst subframe is out, think I shall fit a trackday in between now and then though.

 

[Gibbo]

Forgot to post up the pictures of the engine bay as I've got OEM breather hoses for the airbox. Also removed the AC fan and viscous fan for more weight reduction along with all cowling/housing etc. to further improve airflow to the engine to keep it cooler. Then added a mishimoto fan which is wired into the AC control so kicks in automatically when required to do so.

Pictures:-

Spoiler

Pics too big - please resize.

 

[Gibbo]

You got comparison times between this and the 911 Gibbo?

If you mean lap times at Donnington, last week I did a 1:24.90 in the 911 officially timed, but I was taking it easy on the brakes (ceramics) and only revving the engine to around 6500rpm as my competition on the day was either in much slower cars or they could not drive.

The M3, I've done about a 1:22-1:23 in it, now it should be capable of around 1:21-1:22 with me driving.


If however your talking acceleration statistics, then were looking at, timed on racelogic box:-

M3 30-70mph - 3.8s-4.1s
911 C2S 30-70mph - 3.5-3.8s

M3 60-100mph - 5.5s
911 C2S 60-100mph - 5.5s


Manufacturer claims/review claims your looking at:-

M3 0-60mph - 4.8s (traction is the issue)
911 0-60mph - 3.9s (zero traction issues)

M3 0-100mph - 10s
911 0-100mph - 9.7s


Through the gears say on a 30-150mph run I think the M3 would edge it by a car length or two simply because the gear shifts take 0.08s they are lightning quick. But in-gear acceleration the 911 is faster, it has better traction, more torque and it is a far more slippery design. Beyond 150mph the 911 is no doubt quicker, the damn thing pulls to about 175mph GPS and tops out around 188mph.

Remember my 911 is not stock either, producing about 375-380BHP and 310lb/ft compared to stock 355BHP/295lb/ft which helps a little.

 

[Gibbo]

Jesus Gibbo that's a quick car! Didn't think the M3 would be anywhere near the 911.

Have you had the M3 dyno'd or is it stock power-wise?

According to the dyno the M3 is around 380ish, same dyno gives 375ish for 911. Irrelevent of final power figure the M3 is about 30-40BHP up on a stock M3, the dyno proved this. Mods are CSL airbox, underdrive pulleys, milltek 100 cel cats and an Evolve Alpha-N remap.

Plus the M3 is quite light at around 1300kg.

 

[Gibbo]

My E36 wasn't a dedicated track car, I used it on the road as well, but what you got to remember is that it doesn't matter if your in a race or just a track day rolling your car at 100mph isn't going to be fun. Especially when you are pushing your self for lap times and you do a lot of track days. End of the day its up to you, but please have a re-think

To my knowledge as long as harnesses are at correct level they are safe. A full cage is a simple no, it will be more dangerous on the road then. A rear cage is certainly an option.

If I roll the car on the road, its no different than before, except I am held in with harnesses instead of a seatbelt, which right now are not safe due to the angle but with an harness bar would be correct angle. In the event of being upside down my harnesses are FIA approved and quick release type.

If I am upside down with a seatbelt I am kind of held in but not very well, but press button and I am out. With harnesses I am secure in the seat and with twist I am out. So as long as the level is correct I can't picture how they are any more dangerous than a seat belt, infact to me they seem safer.

Harness bar is a must to get them level or a rear cage to do the same thing and add some additional structure support to the car over stock. A full cage is a full point black no, anyway saying its safer in a road car is wrong as bang your head against it and your possibly dead, has happened in the past to people with full cages in road cars who have died from a simple collision due to hitting their head on the cage.

 

[Gibbo]

planning on booking cadwell on the 1st of october if you fancy it? only £99

I shall give it some thought, do want to drive this track but at 3hr travelling time each way that's a 4am start and not getting home until 10pm. So its a lot of travelling, track does look good though even if it is quite narrow. Great price just the travelling distance/time putting me off.

What happened to testing at your local tracks, like Donnington or Oulton?


Now got the car back, just had to make it all shiny this weekend:-

Now its rained.

 

[Gibbo]

Looks like you've got slicks on Gibbo

Michelin cups for, great on track no better semi slick, but poor on road as you can't get heat into them.

Got spare wheels with slicks now all being well for track use.

So need a decent road tyre, PSS my number one choice but can't get so it's gonna be down to either F1AS2 or Advan V105.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

One of the guys over on cutters has managed a 1:17.50 in his M3 project car:-

As can be seen on the video he can clearly drive very well and is pushing the car hard. What some might find hard to believe is he is on road tyres as well posting such a quick time and it is his road legal car too.

He drove Millennium Classics at Donington Park. Qualified 1st in class and 2nd overall, which he converted into a 1st in class win and 2nd overall.

Good to know how fast these cars can go when the driver has the skill to pedal them, I've got some improving to do on my 1:22 and considering I've got better tyres too (Michelin cup) I need to pull my finger out. His car is same power as same mods though he is a bit lighter as he has removed A/C and also running a manual gearbox, he is approx. 1190kg with no fuel or driver. Whereas mine is around 1300kg with 1/4 tank fuel with A/C and SMG.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there


Just had every single bush in the rear of the car changed out, about 8-10 bushes in total. Turns out rear trailing arms had polybush units in place with limiter kit, so left those in place. Rest were to changed to BMW OEM (Lemforder) and Eibach adjust rear camber arms installed too.

New track alignment:-

On the road I am running -2.50 (-2:30) with about +0.05 toe in either side to give the car very nice road manners. Changing between track and road settings is a 1 minute job either side as I have marked up on my top mounts to make road/track changes quick and easy.

Pic to follow and report on how car drives on road with all new OEM bushes in and new aluminium camber arms installed.

 

[Gibbo]

Here is what I've done for easy camber adjustment:-

Current setting is road setting, go to track I just loosen the four screws and move to next white line for to achieve the track settings as per the allignment image above.

So how does it drive on the road, well in road setting car tramlines less, so nicer road handling characteristics and tyre wear will be even.

How has bush refresh and new lower arms changed things, an improvement for sure, car has more grip and sliding and drifting is more controllable. An improvement for sure, boot floor repair and reinforcement happens next week. Ready for slicks and lots of track work then.

 

[Gibbo]

Dropped the car off at Mprove today for Matt to carry out boot floor repair, welding in of plates and resin injection plus new OEM BMW subframe bushes. Picking up next week and no more worries of boot floor cracking.

 

[Gibbo]

love the M3!!!
the rest of your garage isn't too shabby neither haha.
are you gonna post some trackday footage?

There is already loads in this thread, read through it.

 

[Gibbo]

Picked up the car from Matt at Mprove today after it had it week long boot repair.

Here are some photos Matt took whilst performing the repair, re-inforcement plates and resin injection.


First of all how the car looks with the entire rear removed from the car:-

THE CRACKS!

The first image is the rear passenger side bush and it is common that they crack along where the body angles and as can be seen my car has a small crack there. It is easy to see this without removing the entire rear subframe and was the reason for this job being done.

The second picture is far more worrying that is the front drivers side mounting and it is severely cracked, that was a ticking time bomb as the spotweld had clearly exploded and cracked in all directions and also where the bolts goes into the body work was cracking around it too.

Needless to say this repair was needed, they have seen far worse to the point where boot floors are more or less hanging out the car as this is a design floor in the E46 chassis, yes all E46 suffer from this, but more so M3's due to more stress being put on the chassis. You boys with superchargers and turbo's on your E46 are even more prone to this damage. Get the floor re-inforced!

The cracks are repaired by drilling them at the ends to prevent them going further and then welding them back up. They are then plated with re-inforced plates and bonded into place which help to spread the stress more evenly and of course are re-inforced to prevent it from happening again.


Pictures of the plates and install:-

Matt then painted the whole underside of the car in BMW OEM Mushroom paint, to remain factory look and of course the underseal protection it gives to prevent rush etc.

Then all new subframe bushes, bolts and mounts are installed, I decided to stick with BMW OEM as I enjoy driving the car on the road so I don't want it to have loads of NVH or harshness. Pictures of bushes and subfram back on.

A nice picture of the whole rear end showing of the Eibach rear camber arms.

Then final procedure is to inject the rear end just as BMW would do with Resin to further strengthen the chassis, this stuff literally has no weight but is unbelievable strong.

They re-installed and set the GEO to the same measurements they took before they dismantled everything. Only driven the car home on motorway so can't comment too much but the car seems quieter from the rear-end which is no doubt from the fresh bushes as the old ones were not looking so great, but after 100,000 miles you can't expect so.

I now have peace of mind, I can hoon it out of junctions, even use launch control and drive the car as hard as I dare too without worry of the boot falling out. Plus the car is completely re-bushed now front to rear including engine and transmission mounts.

Driving my car compared to my old CSL and mine is just in a different league and compared to other M3's I've driven mine is just so tight and a lot lot quicker, so I've done something right.


Whats left:-
Rear harness / cage
CSL roof, maybe......

That's it, I don't want to go supercharged or cams, the car drives so nice and has so much power/torque everywhere, I'd not want to spoil that drivability or the fact that the power to weight is pretty much perfect, any more and I'd spend more time controlling wheel spin than going forwards on the road. Could certainly take more power on track though with slicks for sure.

 

[Gibbo]

Horrible horrible job to do on the floor. Had to weld my mates 328 back up as it literally tore the n/s/r mount out. Had to cut holes in the boot to gain access to the insert to weld it back in as well. Not a job im going to do again in a hurry. Looks really neat and tidy job gibbo. Did he just seal the extra plates on? No welding?

Yep they are bonded on with same stuff they bond car body panels together with.