Originally posted by 2mAn
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mostly luck! -
I've been experiencing fuel starvation on track about 5 seconds after a highly loaded right hand corner (ex: lift, turn-in, on the gas 20ft before the apex). This can happen with as much as 3/4 full rank of gas!
A few weeks ago, I took the fuel pump out of the tank and noticed the rubber reducer/expander was cracked on the large end, see the photo below. This reducer cannot be purchased separately from the dealer, is it a common part in another vehicle I could scavenge? Any ideas on a way to replace it with items sourced locally?
Untitled by ericandshovin, on Flickr
Since I couldn't find a early E30 locally to snatch that rubber piece, I had to improvise a bit...
1st step was to use a special type of teflon tape used on fuel systems & wrap the split part of the reducer to the tube. This took a few tries as there isn't much room around the other pipes, and teflon likes to fold over on itself:
2nd step was to heat shrink the reducer/teflon combo onto the fuel pump:
shrunk
3rd step was raiding the spare parts bin for some small hose clamps and clamping the heat shrink on either end for good measure. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this step.
And the result? Two friday's ago I went to a local open lapping day and used an entire tank of fuel with zero starvation! In fact, it wasn't until the light went on that I even had a second thought about it. This is on 235/40/17 Nitto NT01's too, so no shortage of grip to slosh the fuel away from the pickup point.
My guess is that the split in the reducer either allowed air to enter the system when fuel was sloshed to the left side of the tank, or that fuel was pushed out of the split, either way, creating a bit of a gap between the in tank lift pump and the external main pump.Comment
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Of course when you fix one thing, something else breaks...
While at the track mentioned in the post above, I noticed a weird vibration on braking in the 50ish mph range during my second session in the morning. The vibration got worse as the session went on, and after about 5 laps, I pulled in to the pits to investigate (side note, my HF infrared temp gun measured 570°F brake rotors!). After a bit of poking around, I noticed one of the bolts that hold the strut to the control arm/tie rod "dogbone" was loose! These bolts were torqued to spec (28-30ft/lbs) with red loctite, and even a bit of nail polish applied to the bolt heads for quick checks to see if they loosened.
Out came the toolbox, and the 13mm wrench & sockets. I found all four bolts to be some degree of loose, but the bolt most inboard and to the rear sheared off when I applied about 20ft/lb (elbow torque wrench) of force...hmmm, that's not good
In a decision of acceptable risk, I decided that since the 2002 and E28 and the much heavier than my E30 M3, E34/E32/E31 came with a 3 bolt setup from the factory, I could tighten the 3 good bolts and drive a bit less than flat out until I felt the vibration again, which would result in me pitting for the session. Not the most advisable, especially to internet lawyers, but it worked. I'd last an average of 5 laps before the vibration returned and I'd have to pit to remove the wheel and re-tighten the 3 bolts.
Obviously this was not a long term solution! I decided to fix it by being as german as possible... over engineer the shit out of the fix.
So, the fix action would be:
- New 10.9 grade bolts
- bolt threads cleaned with a die
- Tapped hole threads cleaned of old loctite
- Red Loctite
- Torqued to 30ft/lbs
- Safety wired (lock wire)
But of course I don't have any safety wire laying around, and I haven't safety wired a nut since being in A&P school 13 years ago! This can only mean one thing, a trip to harbor freight...
DSC_0192 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
If you'd like to make your own drilled head bolts, I'd recommend buying one of these:
or these:
But if you want to do it the hard way, all you need are these few items
- Drill press vice ($12 HF)
- 1/16th" cobalt drill bit, buy more than one
- Oil to lubricate the drill
- Drill press (handheld would be incredibly difficult)
- good dikes
- good needle nose pliers
- flat head screwdriver
- SAFETY GLASSES
Drilling the hole (pretty self explanatory)
DSC_0198 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
End result. The dogbones take 4 bolts that are 3 different sizes.
DSC_0209 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
Here I did a quick practice run. The keen reader might notice this bolt is different that the ones above. On my last bolt, I broke the 1/16th bit off inside the bolt head. The tip of the bit was literally about to poke through, you could see it bulging! So I had to make a trip to ACE (their nut/bolt selection kills Lowe Depot's) to grab new drill bits (buy Cobalt ones) and I ended picking up all new hardware as I liked it better.
DSC_0201 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
If your interested, I made a little video pretty much explaining everything I just said above, and showing how I safety wired the bolts on the car. My apologies in advance for blocking some of the key moments with my hands accidentally in front of the camera! I'd recommend watching in 720p for the clearest picture.
And here is the final result.
Untitled by ericandshovin, on Flickr
We have our last autocross of the season tomorrow, so hopefully it all holds together!Comment
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winter project: fit 255/40/17's square...Comment
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Finally read through this thread. Sweet build dude! I like the direction it's going :up:
I'm sure you've done your home work, but i think you may have some challenges fitting 255/40/17's mainly due to the diameter and the e30's limited wheel well space. 245/40/17's may be a good compromise.
OT but what do you do now if you attended A&P school but don't safety wire on a regular basis? I think i saw reference to airforce in the thread so you'll understand when i say i work on gucci jets :)
Oh and nice safety wire job btw.Last edited by tinkerputzer; 09-14-2014, 11:09 PM.Comment
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I got 265/35/18 Dunlop Direzza (1st gen I think)to fit in the back Eric. They only rubbed on big dips on the highway. They were rubbing on the inside of the tub though, not the fenders. I think those wheels were 18x9.5, I'd have to check to be sure though.
The fronts are gonna be tough to fit 255s into. I had alot of cutting/heat molding done on the fender liners and things still rub plastic upfront.
side note: I have the exact same issue w/ fuel starvation on right handers. Going to have to look into your fix!Comment
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Thanks dude!:up:Originally posted by tinkerputzer View Post
Short answer about the A&P gig. I went through all the pre-req's and started looking for work. At the time it was $12 starting off at Skywest's locally, or maybe $15 up at united in San Francisco, or work at a mom & pop place for peanuts. I figured working on AF planes at the local guard base would be cooler (they have F16's) than a flying bus, so I started looking into joining the ANG. A girl and I broke off a 3 year relationship at this time, so I figured joining the real AF and trying to get stationed in germany would be cooler than staying in Fresno. Ended up joining as AMMO, did that for 6 years, then in 2011 retrained to be a 9S100 (google it, pretty neat job).
So I never took my oral & practical, which is one of the dumbest decisions I made in my early 20's, and have never wrenched on a plane, haha!
As for the 255's vs. 245's, I have been reading up on this Hyboost's success at running 255 NT01, which I'm guessing is fatter than a street tire. 255 seam to be a favorite with the E36 M3 guys, and next year I'll probably be driving against a pair of E46 M3's on 285/30's.
Yes, the back can swallow a lot more tire than the front! I'm hopping I don't have to swap the fenders out for the higher EVO ones, but it would allow me to lower the car a bit more. I'll probably have to remove the fender liners, or just trim the tops out so it is only blocking all the rocks from collecting in that nook between the firewall and the side skirt/fender.Originally posted by Hansel View Post
I think I have 3 options for tires.
Toyo R1R in 245/35/17. Best option for fitment, best tire for SCCA SOLO nationals only when shaved. Worst tire in the "extreme summer" class. They are slow, chunk, and get hard after runs if ran at full tread. I honestly don't think these would be faster at full tread depth than my 225/45/16 ZII's.
Bridgestone RE11 in 255/40/17. Free because I won the autocross at this years BMW CCA Oktoberfest (how cool is that!), but not the top tire in the category. I LOVED running the ZII's this year, and I'm afraid that these might be a let down. They are free though...
Dunlop ZII Star Spec in 255/40/17. I had great success with the ZII's in 225/45/16 this year, but buying a set of these is another $800... hmmm...
Eddy's 17x8.5 would be a great wheel to mimic Hyboost's setup.
Here is an online calculator showing the difference between my current auto-x setup, 16x7.5/225/45/16 vs. the 17x8.5/255/40/17 setup hyboost describes in the S14.net link above.
and here is the same calculator showing the difference between my track setup, 17x8/235/40/17 vs Hyboost's setup
And Apex's 17x9 might be a good option as well.
I would absolutely love to run Apex's concave 17x9 et30 wheel, but I'll probably run into clearance problems with the willwood calipers.:big cry:
Here is a online calculator showing the difference between Hyboost's 8.5/255 setup and his new 9/255 setup. I'm really hoping 15mm spacers will clear my willwoods so I can run that great concave and big fat wheels!
Alex(cloudbase) has both of the last two wheels with BFG R1's, so I need to make a trip up north and do a bit of experimenting!Last edited by Eric; 09-15-2014, 07:40 PM.Comment
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I know the feeling of being offered penuts to work on airplanes. It really takes the wind out of your sails when trying to get your start in the field. Anyways you've made the most of your situation and had some great experiences. I googled 9S100, sounds like a pretty sweet gig!Short answer about the A&P gig. I went through all the pre-req's and started looking for work. At the time it was $12 starting off at Skywest's locally, or maybe $15 up at united in San Francisco, or work at a mom & pop place for peanuts. I figured working on AF planes at the local guard base would be cooler (they have F16's) than a flying bus, so I started looking into joining the ANG. A girl and I broke off a 3 year relationship at this time, so I figured joining the real AF and trying to get stationed in germany would be cooler than staying in Fresno. Ended up joining as AMMO, did that for 6 years, then in 2011 retrained to be a 9S100 (google it, pretty neat job).
So I never took my oral & practical, which is one of the dumbest decisions I made in my early 20's, and have never wrenched on a plane, haha!
Back on topic: something to keep in mind is you are lighter then those other cars you are competing against so matching them in tire size isn't quite necessary. I'd be willing to bet 245's would do the trick. If you decide on 255's or 245's definitely put them on a 9" wheel. The concave arc 8's would look sick and are a nice light wheel. 245/35/17 R1R's can be good but don't like heat. Couple of the top local guys in str run them religiously. RS3 v2's had a great showing at nationals this year. I run them myself and can't say enough good things about them. I'd be tempted to try the zll star specs though. Either route you choose i think you're on the path to a great wheel tire setup.Last edited by tinkerputzer; 09-16-2014, 07:57 AM.Comment
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R1R's are a great size, but they seam to be one hit wonders. You have to shave them to make them perform, and at full tread they overheat and chunk. I need a tire that performs for more than a few runs! The ZII's were awesome this year, and will work for next year too, but I want to go faster, and I think wider tires might help a little!Originally posted by tinkerputzer View Post
Hopefully I can try on some 17x9's in the next week or two.
In the mean time, here is my fast run from the last auto-x of our season. The M3 is awesome to drive, and makes me look like a hero, haha!
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The R1R's are funny. Some people love them and some people hate them. I've not had the opportunity myself but this guy has nothing but good things to say about them. He ran them on his STR MX5 and consistently has his best time of day on his first run.R1R's are a great size, but they seam to be one hit wonders. You have to shave them to make them perform, and at full tread they overheat and chunk. I need a tire that performs for more than a few runs!
They'll definitely help. I was in same boat awhile back. There are a several well driven cars here with with similar power to weight ratio that i was always trying to catch and was consistently 2-3 seconds slower. Finally it dawned on me, they are all on 255's and here i am running 225's. After fitting 245/40/17 rs3 v2's i'm with in .5-1 second of them and if i was a better driver it would probably be less.The ZII's were awesome this year, and will work for next year too, but I want to go faster, and I think wider tires might help a little!
Get on it!!1 Looking forward to the result.Hopefully I can try on some 17x9's in the next week or two.
That was a freekin awesome run! You killed the slaloms :up:In the mean time, here is my fast run from the last auto-x of our season. The M3 is awesome to drive, and makes me look like a hero, haha!Comment
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Alright, so yesterday I made a quick drive up north for a bit of wheel measuring.
DSC_3520 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
We test fit two wheels:
-Black 17.8lbs 17x9 et42 (flat) with puffy BFG R1's 255/40/17
-silver 16.9lbs 17x9.5 et35 (concave) with Dunlop ZII's 255/40/17.
Various spacers were used to line everything up.
As I guessed, the calipers caused a bit of trouble. On the concave wheel, I had to run 25mm of spacer to clear the caliper.Originally posted by Eric View Post
DSC_3535 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
The caliper clearance interference can be solved in a few ways:
1. run the non concave wheels
2. steal the larger brake kit off my 325 track car. This will move the caliper outboard 10-13mm and give the spokes more space to move away from the caliper. Check out the profile differences Rallye vs. Race
3. Ditch the E30 M3 suspension in favor of E36 M3 suspension. With the deeper mounting depth of the caliper, I will have more room between the spokes and the caliper. E30 M3 vs. E36 M3
4. replace the SL6R with the thinner SL6R14. This caliper is no longer being made by wilwood, so it would require finding it NOS from a vender or used on the internet.
So, overall how did they fit? Surprisingly pretty good!
Untitled by ericandshovin, on Flickr
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Untitled by ericandshovin, on Flickr
DSC_3531 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
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Untitled by ericandshovin, on Flickr
Pro's & Cons:
17x9.5 et35 concave wheel:
DSC_3526 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
+ Fit with a 25mm spacer to clear the wilwoods on the front side and less than a pinky finger width between the strut and the wheel. A phone call into apex revealed that the 1/2" difference between two concave wheels is all on the back, so I could possibly run 20mm spacer to sink the wheel in a little bit, but this would require a change in brake kits (I have them already, no cost change)
+ Prefer the look. Really really really prefer the look!
+ the concave 17x9 wheel weigh's 1.3lbs less per corner than the flat faced wheel. Maximum weight loss is not my end goal, but every little bit helps.
- These will stick out 13mm more than the proven setup Hyboost is running. I don't want to pay for respraying the fenders after a bad bump!
- Apex only has the anthracite version in stock. I think it will look good against the orange, but it would look better in silver, like the ones test fit on the car
- With the wheel sticking out 10+mm further, I might be limited to only a 245/40/17 square tire instead of a 255/40/17.
- Didn't actually fit the 17x9 et30 wheel, so I have to take what I learned from the 17x9.5 et35 wheel and make a good educated guess. :ohsnap:
17x9 et42 flat wheel
DSC_3528 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
+ Proven to work, both with Hyboost's information on S14.net and with yesterday's test fit.
+ less spacer needed to make the wheel fit
+ No brake caliper clearance problems
+ No need to change brake kits, suspension setups or even spacers... just bolt on and go!
+ I can run 255/40/17's no problem.
- I've alway thought the flat face ones were boring. This is a decade of disliking the look of this wheel (BBS RC then Apex). Might seam stupid, but this is a big big deal to me! On the other hand the black wheel with the huge tire did look pretty good and I think it might grow on me.
- Not concave
With either wheel setup, these steps will be performed to maximize potential & minimize risk...
- Roll all fenders flat
- Increase camber in the front as much as possible, up to -3.5deg
- Increase rear camber by TA adjustments, and lower ride height
- Lower front ride height to sink wheel into wheel well
- remove fender liners
- Turner motorsports steering stops
As always, your opinions are greatly appreciated! What do you think I should do???
DSC_3524 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
Last edited by Eric; 11-17-2014, 01:20 PM.Comment
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Really tough call man. Those concaves look freekin sweet, but i'd probably go with et42 17x9 unless you feel like compomising and running more spacer or less brake.Comment
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Congrats Eric! Nice to see you got a M3. I bet it feels like train on rails vs the e28 M5...that's what happen to me when I switch between the e34 M5 and the M3;)
Henna is one of my favorites colors as well. If I would own another M3 I would like to be henna.Euro M3'87 NogaroSilver/Euro E34 M5 '93/Porsche 993 TT 97' Euro/Porsche 993 Carrera 95' Euro/Skyline R33 GT-R
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Yesterday I found out this girl used to own my car...
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