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

[Gibbo]

Seems the car is not too happy about being sat un-used for several months, I am getting clunking from the rear under light acceleration at low rpm, thought it was just brakes at first but after a few drives it is still present though calmed down a little.

Symptons are, when cold knocking from rear under light acceleration even in a straight line, which after ten minutes or so driving gets quieter.
Turning right there is no noise.
Turning left the noise is loudest, doing circles in a car park in 2nd gear at around 5-10mph makes it very audible.

As everything in the rear is brand new, except the half shafts my guess is either a dry inner or out CV joint due to the car being stood for months.

All the other things I can think of which could cause this are new, diff, subframe, bushes, rtabs, boot floor are all brand new, like I say only items not done on half shafts which would be CV joints either inner or outer and the wheel bearings I've not changed but I've never experienced a wheel bearing making this noise, so ruled it out.

Drove slow with handbrake on just in case it was stuck or corroded, given the brakes some good use and torqued wheels. So can only conclude CV joints, hoping one can repair or replace them without having to buy new half shafts?

 

[Gibbo]

If it's all quite new perhaps it's just settled and needs re-tightening?

Edit - oh, it's constant?

Yes the knock is speed / rotation related under gentle acceleration, gonna jack rear up and put it in drive and hope can hear it with wheels turning, but am thinking CV joint / axle shaft dried up.

 

[Gibbo]

You say it's orange peel free but that looks pretty bad

I guess one persons bad is another persons OK, I've seen far worse on new cars. Next weekend its going for polishing treatment so which will of course reduce peel in the clearcoat.


Just got back from garage, confirmed my suspicion and it is the outer CV joint on rear drivers side is dry, they are seeing if repair kits are available otherwise its a new half shaft.

 

[Gibbo]

Yeah I figured you’d get it corrected after going to all this trouble. You gonna PPF the front as well?

Would be a very good idea and something I had not considered, you know anyone who does it and does not charge thousands?
The M3 gets them most on front bumper and around the front bonnet grills.

Though saying that even after all track days was not so bad, it was the NC500 trips with all the Mustangs which destroyed front end as they showered the car in stones, my own fault for pushing some of them so hard on those roads.

 

[Gibbo]

Fine for a track car really and also not that bad considering the price!

I wouldn't even bother painting a track car unless it was really bad.

Unfortunately the car was very rashed on the front and lower sides from 15 years of driving, track days so it was looking tatty.
Also the paint went a bit funky along the sides, it became spotty and no amount of polishing or cleaning could remove what look like some kind of water spotting though it was not water spotting, maybe just an age thing as the car is 15 years old.
So it was very much needed and for a grand an absolute bargain as though its not a perfectionist job it has also not cost that kind of money and the only areas it needs to perfect it is a good polishing, good glossy wax and a couple of areas where orange peel is a little more evident on rear quarters. This gets done next weekend by a friend who has all the equipment to do it.

Still saying that I had it parked up at OcUK yesterday and I was outside talking with a guy from DELL who has a Lotus and a customer, both of them were saying they'd not seen a cleaner or better looking E46 M3 and to them that the paint job looked incredible, the E46 M3 is a cult car that is becoming a classic so it really does no harm to keep it perfect. If I stone chip and it starts looking tatty again in 5 years time, well it can just go have another respray. I want to enjoy it, I also want it to look good whilst doing so as well.

It makes sense to not only enjoy it, but also too look after it because its only appreciating in value as though I say it myself its one of the better M3's out there. Trust me I drove loads with a mate searching for a car for him recently, in the end we had to buy two, one at 10k and one at 13k to make one good one and then were still spending to put them both right. Most of these cars for sale now are absolutely poor examples, even some of the more higher priced ones.

 

[Gibbo]

Gave it a good clean over the weekend, got rid of most of the white dust/compound in the panel edges and put a coat of sealant on it, then stupidly forgot to take photos.

So grabbed a photo this morning as it just looked so damn good, real nice deep gloss which the camera does not portray so well in the shade, excuse the fact its frozen and some snow flakes over it:

Just had a price from BMW for a new half shaft, £487+VAT, oh my days, M ownership, it does not come cheap.

 

[Gibbo]

BMW trackdays started again for £595

Book now

Tempting. In other news i've just ordered some carbon corner splitters to make the front meaner

Oh no, I started with a carbon bit, then got a whole lot more, thankfully your roof is at least carbon to begin with.

For whatever reason BMW's work so well with both full and side splitters, really makes the front-end look finished.

 

[Gibbo]

Just had the car professional detail and paint enhanced by Driveby Detailing in Stoke:

Over the moon with results.

 

[Gibbo]

Nice would be interesting to see the side-by-side comparison of the orange peel pre and post-detail.

The peel was quite bad under his lights on the rear quarters and above windows. He has got rid of 80% of it and I’d say it’s no worse than a new BMW for peel maybe slightly better.

He said he would be happy with it and he spent about 16 hours polishing using various compounds and pads to remove the peel and swirls.

Th biggest issue was swirls and holograms from the body shop using a rotary to quickly for go over it, he says he sees it all time on fresh respray cars as body shops will do a great paint job but then fly over it too quick with a rotary causing more damage which was reason for lack of gloss.

He said to completely remove peel and he said all cars have it to an extent and mine is now at good level and not to worry but a wet sanding and about 3-4 days work can remove peel 100% and give you perfect glass look but we both agreed it’s not needed as you can see from the bonnet reflection it is now very clear and mirror like.

Scared to drive it now.

 

[Gibbo]

Collected these from BMW today:

The offside driveshaft has failed, but it simply makes sense to change the pair of them as at nearly 120k miles, I am sure the other side will go soon.
So pair of new rear drive shafts, including all the fixings, bolts etc and a new rear boot badge.

Another £1300 on it, though I get £250 back when I hand in the old drive shafts.

 

[Gibbo]

Sensible, get the running gear ready for this seasons track days!

R8 goes in next week for a service and brake fluid and some other checks. It needs neither service or brake fluid, but after 3 hard track days and high speed events it makes sense to get it done (less than 500 quid which I though reasonable for a V10). Also need some MORE noises checking into and considering some a geo at Centre Gravity and then some rectification of the stone chips and a detail

Yep decided to also get the HG replaced and also the Vanos overhauled and refreshed, car drives fine but in my mind with this amount of miles and them never being done previously they are simply just waiting to go wrong. So plan on getting those sorted also, it really does never end.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Well this year with very little use the car has cost £5000 in maintenance, consumables and upgrades.

- Alcon Front outer disc and pads: £1000
- Alcon rear disc with bells, shoes and pads: £2000
- BMW original half shafts: £1100
- Detail: £200
- Custom rear seat delete: £300


Pretty much 5k near as dammit, still got to fit rear disc and pads, its on the list to get done one sunny dry warm weekend.

Anyway I collected the car today after having the custom rear seat delete done, as the car is looking so clean and such a good example I've moved my attention over to the interior and the cheap rear seat delete I had done was looking tatty and the plastic they used was no longer flat but had become wavy, no doubt due to heat etc.

This is how it was when first fitted (obviously it was looking worse for wear now):

Here is how it looks now, also have the ability now to fasten down a fire extinguisher too, probably a good idea considering the cars use and it gives that proper race car vibe.

Very happy with the results of that, much tidier, next job on the interior is to grab a pair of new buckets, was going to get the Recaro Pole Position 2018 limited edition seats, but the green side strip would not work in my car, only if it was yellow, so am thinking regular Pole Position or ABE version in cloth/suede or maybe a custom made Pole Position seat in my own finish to really finish the interior off.

Not needed but also to do is the Vanos and head gasket. Just make sense now considering the rest of the car is all new and updated, so might as well perfect it and it be one of the very best E46 M3's left on the road condition and upgrades wise, as very few clean track cars about using quality parts and not cheap tat.

 

[Gibbo]

Pole Positions seats are fantastic.

Yeah they are what I want in the cloth/suede, another £1500 but I think that will perfect interior, if they did those 2018 limited editions with yellow strip and not green I'd get those, even though they are £3000 as would look epic. Just need to sit in regular Pole Position and the ABE bigger boy version as I probably am ever slightly too big for normal seat or it will be to tight across my back and slightly bigger version might be a bit too big but very comfy and give me room to get fatter.

 

[Gibbo]

Few more years they be worth a fortune I reckon for good clean examples.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there


So a few weeks back I took a trip to Spires tuning to get the car setup properly as he comes highly recommended in BMW and Jaguar suspension tuning.
Upon getting my car on the ramps, first thing we spot is an issue on rear brakes, no inside pad material on rear offside.
Second thing he notices he the height adjusters seem to be set a bit odd, upon removing rear springs he can see why this is, both rear springs have lost a lot of their spring rate and there is over half an inch height difference between the two.
Needless to say the rear springs were knackered. :lol:


So to be on the safe side, a complete set of new clubsport springs front and rear along with helper springs were ordered from KW:

So got these fitted and fast forward to last Friday I return to Spires with new brake pads installed and new springs installed, it looks like the rear disc has cleaned up nicely so looks like we got away with that, so the £1500 expense for rear disc can be delayed until a later date. He is happy with the spring install and he proceeded to set my car up to his club sport settings as I informed him I use my car on both road and track, for track days it shall be on road tyres or a semi slick, but never a slick tyre as such he gave me an aggressive setup, but not stupidly aggressive.

So here is the car on his very fancy ramps, work of art and when he aligns a car he uses his adjustable scale platforms to ensure everything is perfectly flat to ensure as perfect alignment setup and correct weight:

So here is the weight of the car after he has got corner weights spot on:

1382kg with a tank of fuel, original exhaust, door cards, fully carpeted, car mats, rear seat delete and rear cage, so very happy with the weight. As door card, carpet and lighter exhaust setup would yield close to another 50kg weight reduction but this car is setup to be extremely capable on track but also capable of doing weekends away, European road trips, NC500 in comfort.

Here is the final alignment, adjusted ride height, corner weighting all complete:

I then asked him about KW damper settings and asked if I should run the ring dry settings, he informed me every driver is different but he always found from his own experience and his customers with KW's they are always too high on rebound and that he has some customers with KW in time attack who are winning with his own custom settings which technically are way way out from what the manual recommends but in short:

Rebound: Wind all the way out to soft, then go 3-4 clicks from soft to hard depending on spring rate. We are at 3 clicks from max soft all round.
Compression: Again wind out to full soft, then go one full turn (6 clicks) back to stiff from full soft.


Now the last time I ran -3.00 and over -2.00 rear camber on this car it handled quite edgy and not very confident inspiring, however lets also remember the rear springs have no doubt not been at their best for some time.
Lets just say the car is transformed, of course I suspect a lot comes from having springs that are brand new, but even with this amount of camber the car drives beautiful, its direct, very planted but over bumps and rough surfaces it is so compliant, the wheels refuse to leave the ground and the grip in the rear is incredible, before I could kick the rear out without too much issue in the dry to get a little sideways drama, but now it really wants to grip but when it does let go is very progressive and controllable with an immediate return to centre if you lift off with no tank slapper syndrome.

In short it drives incredible, if anything the weakness of the car now is the front-end, though it has got good turn in it does seem to be lacking front-end grip, which was an even bigger issue before, so its improved for sure but the balance is still under steer.
I am putting that down to either old tyres, they are 3-4yr super sports or I need an adjustable or larger rear anti-roll bar, as I am currently running factory CSL anti-roll bars all round which are not adjustable. First thing I shall try is adjusting tyre pressures, but maybe I need an adjustable rear anti-roll bar in the car to try and aid handling balance a bit more.

Hoping to get Donnington this Friday evening to see how it drives as a shakedown test, might be a case on track the understeer is less an issue as on road it does only seem to be tighter corners, long sweepers the balance seems fine on, could maybe also just be the fact I have the uprated CSL LSD in the car maybe giving a touch more push in lower speed corners. We shall see.

 

[Gibbo]

That setup is awesome for the alignment. As for someone who has done a driveway alignment with string and jack's I cannot imagine how much quicker that must have been for him to align!

Yeah incredible good and its just enough of the deck for him to be able to get underneath and make live adjustments as he just puts the monitor on the floor, he was quite the perfectionist too trying to get side to side perfectly equally. Though he did like the fact I had the fully adjustable rear arms and KW top mounts, so it made it very easy for him to make adjustments, infact he had the cars ride height set, corner weight done and alignment all boxed off within 3 hours.

He had to raise my car up a bit as he said because the car is quite lightweight and the springs are designed for both CSL and regular E46 KW have them with about 1500kg in mind, but as my car is probably around 1300kg dry means setting it too low would not utilise the spring correctly, hence he had to raise the car a little, of course on his alignment sheet it shows he raised the car only 2-3mm, but with the new springs installed its quite a bit higher than it was on failed springs, particular in the rear.

But saying that combination of working springs, correct ride heights fronts to rear, corner weighted, new damper settings the way it handles on road is incredible the spring/damper completely absorb even the roughest surfaces and the wheel refuses to leave the ground, so I can see why these kind of settings work so well in time attack as on a British road the grip and handling impressive and its got a really fun sporty feel to it, be interesting how it performs on track and if the low speed understeer raises its head, but thats whole reason for doing an evening session and not a full day just in case I get an issue with the car, as this Friday is only £150 for evening session and weather looks good. So looking forward to getting out on a proper fast track again as the car has only done road trips and sprint days in past couple of years.

 

[Gibbo]

Are those corner mass settings without a driver?
I'm just thinking that it would be better to have the car set up to be slightly heavier on the nearside rather than the offside so it evens out more when you are sat in the drivers seat.

Either way bet you can't wait to get it on track, such a good feeling when everything is all adjusted and set up.

Without could have done it with for perfection but my weight changes, the amount of fuel in the tank changes and the passenger can change a lot, I am not competing so happy with way its been done and it drives lovely on the road, looking really forward to Donnington, praying forecast is correct though I won't book it until night before just in case rain comes.

 

[Gibbo]

Nothing worse than a bit of drizzle. Binned it at Craner curves before but luckily the only thing damaged was my pride as I went into the gravel!

When I first got this car, before I did a thing to it and it was a wet day at Donnington I booted it off the old hairpin exit to see how it handled expecting a progressive slide but the car was not the car it is today it just snapped and I spun several times and parked where the marshal box is on that bit of tarmac at the top of hill, amazing how you seem to go even faster once you go on wet grass, thankfully nothing hit and no damage was done. What it informed me was how bad the car was setup when I got it and secondly in a car you don't know maybe don't be so lead footed in the wet.

 

[Gibbo]

Donnington tonight, looking forward to getting it out on track.

 

[Gibbo]

WOW WOW WOW, the car handles like an absolute dream, it is so adjustable and the rear end has so much grip, you can put in too much steering lock and the rear stays planted within reason.
Brakes actually felt incredible, just wished top of pedal was a bit more firm but the stopping power was pretty incredible.
Engine and gearbox performed flawless and oh my having the 3.91 diff transforms acceleration out of corners especially as I always drive Donnington in 3rd and 4th meaning before out the Chicane really needed 2nd but then you were on limiter, now just pullls hard in 3rd and I now need 5th on the two straights as hitting limiter in 4th.

Only issue on track was craners curves where you go over the slight rise and then steering left it felt like the rear was too soft, felt it again as you power up the hill after old hairpin in the past i've stayed flat up that section but the rear felt like it was compressing too much.

Spire tuning told me leave rebound where it is and focus on compression unfortunately I could not adjust rear compression as too hard to get too, so I dialled in one more click of rebound which did seem to help a little.
Also should note I am on 255/40/18 MPSS which are not as direct or as grippy as the 265/35/18 cups I used to run.

But I had to say I think the car is more fun on MPSS it moves around more and is more progressive, I used to find the cups were good for 2-3s around Donnington though.

Also my car has been plagued by a clunk/click for months which no one can find, but it started to happen frequent towards end of evening and done it most the way home when steering or driving over uneven surfaces, something is loose in the rear for sure and just hoping it is now loose enough to actually detect and resolve.

In short apart from clunk and need some damper adjustment the car simply feels incredible and really so much fun to drive and it feels insanely well balanced.

Also Mac in his Mustang set of the noise meters towards end of the day by going flat out for a lap, they did not black flag him, the caused a red flag and closed the circuit for been beyond 105db driveby, we did not even know that if you trip over 105db they throw reds, but yeah its loud, also handles and stops incredibly well too.

I forgot to record most the time, but did get a couple will post up later but quite scruffy and I am having fun so don't judge me. For now a of picture.