cameras ready prepare to flash

[s14brent]

I added some racegerman rear jack points and late model front bumper plugs. Ended up washing the car on my day off and drove out to redrock to snap some pics. can't really see any purple when its not in direct sunlight (which is preferred tbh). Pretty stoked how good it looks at this stage.

[s14brent]

i guess this is one of those rare times i add on completely useless things to make the car look better. I picked up a set of smoked depot smileys locally (with a box of random parts to sweeten the deal). They actually already had LED's already in them (score!) and i actually opted to remove the high beam from the driver side again. I actually have grown to like the functionality of that duct. LED's were just +/- spades, so i cut up some old HID bulb harnesses (9005/9006) to make them plug and play.



I had to dig up a pair of spare fog light pig tails that I had kept specifically for this and spliced them to the parking lights. I tried going back to smoked turn signals but it looked cheap somehow, so i reinstalled 1157s and 194s with brand new amber bulbs.



Light output is brighter with this setup than ellipsoids+phillips LED's, but i still need to aim this against a wall. I was surprised to actually see a cut off line (which is definitely a step up over stock setup), I was wanting to go down the ESG/morimoto MLED route but it's a track car at this point and i wish the esg/morimoto combo was like $200 cheaper tbh, so this will have to work for now.. I also was tired of looking at the heavily pitted ellipsoids, really happy about the plug-and-play setup as it's easy to change back if decide to do the mled/ellipsoid combo down the line or if i'm just in need of replacements down the line.

I also threw the euro bumper trim back on and decided to massacre them as well (it got the reciprocating saw/finger sander action like the bumpers/valance did). I tried looking for a Left side headlight euro grille, and a set of usdm bumper trim so I could have driver side high beam again, but the prices were too high for used pieces.

[s14brent]

We've found with the comp E36 that with no rear sway, about 0 camber is ideal for drifting, cause when its under compression and then the car rolls over a little in the corner the tyre stays flat. Tried positive camber and with the body roll it just roached the inside edges while in drift. Man was it fast in a straight line tho.

yeah i've been running no rear sway bar and will eventually get another alignment to get it as close to 0 as possible. that has always been the plan. However I do think i'll hold off on modding the car for a bit - tax season is upon us and I kind of want to redo the rear subframe adjustment tabs OR l want those dtm tubular trailing arms (best choice to keep grip)

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finally had some time in the garage to throw the front bumper support back on and had to do some more trimming on the valance/fender/bumper cover/is lip.





I refused to cut up the euro bumper trim, so I will just rock it trim-less until I have time to throw on the aero and then wrap it to match. Due to our drift organizers insurance policy, every car has to have a bumper on them now. Apparently last year some girl had her hand out the window filming and snapped her whole arm backwards causing these changes. I just have to keep the car in a state where it passes tech!



This is the 3.46 40% lockup thats now sitting on a shelf (semi-sealed up). I'm thinking I should probably sell it to fund other parts of the car but finding another 3.46 might be impossible locally - i'll probably just hang onto it, all e30 owners are hoarders right?!

[econti]

We've found with the comp E36 that with no rear sway, about 0 camber is ideal for drifting, cause when its under compression and then the car rolls over a little in the corner the tyre stays flat. Tried positive camber and with the body roll it just roached the inside edges while in drift. Man was it fast in a straight line tho.

[s14brent]

decided to bang out the rest of the to-do list this weekend after a long work week in hopes on trying to get to the track today. that did not happen, but I finished the job.



I lowered the subframe down and removed the IE poly bushings and installed the AKG 12mm raised bushings. No issues at all with these, big fan of akg poly. I didn't use their offset diff bushing and instead went with condors 45mm extended diff studs & bolts w/spacers. I had issues getting the diff back in last time by myself so I actually ran studs up front and bolts in the rear (driveshaft side). This actually worked out great, got the diff in on the first try!!

When I had the diff out it was the perfect time to do the gear ratio swap and just install the extended studs into the 3.73 pumpkin.


Kaaz in the 3.46 pumpkin.

just my luck having a FAG bearing fall apart by looking at it wrong. It was getting late at this point and I decided to call around like a madman to see if anywhere had the part in stock locally.

Advanced auto parts had ONE in stock, drove 30 min (one way) to get it.



not sure why the FAG bearing fell apart, it had less that 500 miles on it.


I then installed the diff into the housing and did the whole backlash measuring again. measured in at .007 - very happy with that!


I sealed up the diff and put the race german magnetic diff drain plug thats been sitting on my shelf for 6mo in. I used an oem gasket for the cover but I put a thin coat of RTV on there just to make sure it seals well.
^that's where I gave up and decided to call it a night.
The next morning I cleaned all 12 bolt threads for the axles & suspension/brakes that I removed. reapplied with some loctite, btw my garagistic secondary mount was the only thing out of spec i found, the nuts holding the mount to the chassis was a bit loosey goosey, i'll have to be sure to check that again after next event. I filled up the diff with some fresh Moutl 90PA (mineral based fluid for kaaz super q) - I have been in touch with Ray (owner at kaaz) and will be running either this or torco RGO 85w140+Torco type-F LSD friction modifier.

After fluids were filled I raised the rear about 3 full threads on each side. I may have done one-too many! The moment of truth came and I took the car out for a quick spin. There was kind of a high amount of traffic cops driving around so I kept it short and light. The front tires are definitely a lot grippier than i'm used too. I found myself shifting a lot quicker to keep the car quiet. The valino front tires were flinging pebbles everywhere - pretty grippy tire for the costs.. Also, after getting back into the garage, my parking brake popped, driver side for sure as it wasn't looking too good.....not sure if I will replace that anytime soon - vegas is flat. but i cant help but wonder why it wore so quickly. I only use it for parking, i have a hydraulic hand brake that i pull when needed. I'm pretty sure I replaced it when I went 5 lug but I also don't street drive often with this car anymore.


It looks like I might have a little positive camber in the rear now. I'm hoping under load its closer to 0 finally. I kind of don't love the positive camber being so visible. I may try to lower the rear like half of what I did today to see if that helps at all. All I know is that the next guy who tries to align the rear is going to have a problem getting a wrench in there at all!
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edit: a day later I decided that having two lsd diffs out on the work bench wasn't ideal and combined the best parts of both of them and I put together a 40% lock (3 clutch plate setup) into the 3.46LSD and threw the cover back on just to store it. the backlash is close but not as good as the kaaz i setup the other night. I really didn't want to spend too much time on it since I won't be running it anytime soon!

[s14brent]

finally had time to get the wheels/tires mounted today.

Unfortunately some trimming of the front valance/is front lip was required to reach full lock with the 17s. I'm running 215/45/17 up front and 235/40/17 in the rear now. Much more appropriate sizing finally, but they look huge, still not sold on 17s but the shit tire choices in 16's made it an easy choice. I'm probably not going to trim the front bumper as Id like to keep the resale value up on that for now. I will however probably be considering a bash bar setup prior to doing the cliq tuning kit. I'm currently running 17x8+20 with a 25mm spacer (-5) up front and 17x8.5+13 in the rear with a 10mm spacer (+3). I'll be raising the rear a tad after I do the subframe/diff work.

[s14brent]

Got all 6 wheels back from snail motorsports. I ended up having them refinish and powdercoat in a gloss white. I think they came out AMAZING. I'm just waiting on a pair of tires then i'll get all 6 mounted!!


I hope they get here soon, aiming for mid month i'll be dropping the rear subframe down. I'm kind of annoyed, I had some extended diff studs from garagistic ordered on 12/16 and they still haven't updated shipping info. Meanwhile I have the AKG raised subframe bushings on hand already. (if i don't get it done then it might be a mid march project unfortunately.)


i also pulled apart the 3.73 to get ready to swap in. should be a quick swap to be honest. Measuring backlash will be what takes the most time really.

---- 01/05 update -----

Randomly picked up a 3.73 LSD out of a friends back yard. It didn't have output shafts in it so it was FILTHY. (unit shown on R).





I won't be using any of the components from this diff, but I will keep it on the side for parts - mainly the ring and pinion as they are surprisingly in good shape. I actually took the back cap off the lsd core and found out that the preload shims, dog ear plates clutch discs, and pressure plates are all very worn. I removed the pinion from the housing because the housing is pretty disgusting looking and I don't plan on keeping the housing in the garage as it needs to probably air out a bit.
I'm not sure how people machine the pressure plates while they're replacing the clutch discs but I do know racingdiffs has a pressure plate ramp saver-shim which also increases the pre-load if i were ever wanting to rebuild this one. Basically moving forward with this differential, it would need at least a good $450-700 dumped into it for a sold diy rebuild. So I think shelfing the core and keeping the ring and pinion on the side as a spare is the route I'll take!

Still waiting for two Kenda KR20a's in 235/40/17 to show up. Hopefully I'll be able to get those wheels/tires mounted soon, as i'm dying to see what it looks like on the car.

[s14brent]

Shame you have to go 17s. You guys really get fucked on tyre prices.

yeah...it sucks but i think i found my new set of rear wheels!! I've been looking around like crazy the past few days and a local buddy has been sitting on these to get refinished.




They are rondal 0063's in 17x8.5+13 The plan would to be to just get 17x8+20 style 32's for the front and refinish/powdercoat all 6 white. I got a quote already on the 4 wheels for refinish/powdercoating for $500.

The other local guy with the 3.73 lsd has decided to keep all parts and finish his build (which is great), so I think i'll disassemble my 3.73 on the shelf and plan to go ahead with the diff swap when I have the time. I don't want to pay for another event on this 3.46 and I can always refresh/find another diff down the line (will gauge this with magnetic drain plug i guess LOL)

also.....I ordered some AKG 75D raised subframe bushings to replace the IE 80a ones currently in the car in hopes to get at least .5 degree of camber correction. I also decided to get the garagistic extended diff stud/spacer kit, because if not i'd have to get two offset diff bushings (secondary diff bushing). I really hope this all of this works together as planned (3.73, raised subframe bushings, 235/40's out back), it should make seat time much more enjoyable not having to worry about tires every other hotlap session.

and here are some more pics that have trickled in




----edit-----
found a set of style 32's (17x8+20/17x9+26) in chrome (again) I picked them up kinda late at night. going to check them out tomorrow, weird that they have no face stamping, wonder if they are replicas?

They came with some weird 245/35 china tires......Guess I have 4 burners ready to go! I really want to get the rondal's refinished/powdercoated, same with the 17x8 pair of style 32s but I have a feeling I shouldnt waste my money.....big sigh

[econti]

Shame you have to go 17s. You guys really get fucked on tyre prices.

[s14brent]

more pics from the event trickled in!!



^rome cp checking out the car!







i also bit the bullet on the carbon kevlar cliq tuning kit. I'll probably sit on this for a while. I want to move to 17s first and then fit it/wrap it. I gotta make sure I like the way everything feels on track first! The chances of another one of these kits showing up locally is very slim.


Theres a square set of bbs rc302's locally in 17x8.5+15 that would be perfect, but his price is over my budget for 6 wheels and tires, so I don't think that'll happen. Will probably be hitting the junkyards again soon while the weathers cool!

----------edit 12/09 -----------

Here's my old e39 wagon spare (style 81 17x8+20 w/235/40/17) not gonna lie, not super enthusiastic about going back to 17s. I think i need to get a set of these wheels and tires and just test fit/set ride height. I have to see if i still have those spacers that went from 72.56 to 74.1 hub size. Low key, I really want to just order a set of 225/45/16s and let the 16s live a bit longer.....we'll see how much time I have before the next March event! It will be the outside road course, so the good thing about that is its much easier on the tires there so I really only need 2 spares (i think). I'm also going to check out another 3.73 diff locally to see if the ring gear is in better shape than the one on my shelf. I dont know why its bugging me so much, but I don't want to throw my kaaz into that one unless theres no other option.

[s14brent]

so sunday was pretty amazing all around. got some gas and headed to the local track.





I went out there with 4 brand new tires (did not use the 2 rears used to drive there) 2x accelleras//2x achilles both in 205/45/16 all tires were set to about 25psi (cold) prior to heading to the track.


interesting that the Accelera Phi-R lasted about 9-10 laps total. (3 hot lap sessions of 3 laps each) wear was much better than the achilles.


the achilles atr-sport 2s on the other hand.......6 laps did this.....brutal (est about 5 laps and flipping i would probably get 10 laps out of these but cost me extra time and money IF* theres a tire changer on site)


I started sweating because I was out of tires at this point..... luckily a friend on site gave me a pair of take off Nitto NeoGens in the same size!! - these actually wore down the best IMHO I did about 14 laps with these (and these were used and i'm pretty sure old!)

There hasn't been a ton of photos yet, but here are some of my favorites so far!




The take-away from this event is as much as I don't want to....I need to go to 17" wheels sooner than later. I basically burned through $600 of tires for 30 laps. I think 215/45/17 and 235/40/17s will be the ticket. The brand selection/compound options are much better and there were some guys getting over 20 laps on kendas in that rear size and they were closer to 300hp range.
The problem for me is that the car will be about an inch taller at that point....so I'm thinking about running an early 2000s snow-plow style kit to compensate some of the gap. Not stoked about the idea, but there is a carbon-kevlar lined one here locally so shipping and waiting for one from lativa wouldn't be an issue.

I also have 2 events on this KAAZ LSD and its time to change the oil. I think I'm going to drop it out and install it into my 3.73 case. I'm still fighting in gearing out there. but 0 complaints with the car, it felt absolutely amazing and the cooling wasnt an issue at all - probably due to it being about 60 degrees out.

[s14brent]

Found out the next few vegasdrift event dates and it turns out they're on saturdays weekend of CES and the day before the superbowl here in town......the next one i can actually make will be in March, so i better really enjoy this event on the third!

been super busy and barely have had time in the garage, fluid check and nut and bolt torque checks are complete and ready to rock.

one of the the weirdest things is the seat belt receptacle bolt holes are m11x1.25 - i'm currently using this as a grounding point for the battery (which is temporary and can easily change) but i wanted the best connection i could which required a retap to get the coating off the threads

I also threw the back seats back in. I don't have the time to do the rear seat delete without rushing so i'd rather have the -an bulkhead fittings protected while transporting wheels/tires to the event. I'm thinking about getting an early model deck lid (i actually have a buddy who's willing to get rid of his but i need to look into the whole dying process). I see no point in not having speakers (creature comforts) but i do not want to reinstall the 3rd brake light. I just hate those things for some reason. Anyone got tips on dying - i know there are a few guys here who have covered it in their threads.

this is an upgrade i should have not waited so long to do. I absolutely hate the rubber covers on the pedals and actually had skateboard grip tape on them but because of all the clutch kicks it seemed like i had to replace the grip tape annually. really liking the feel now.


friend sent me these random test shots he took on film.




^ that one is of me wondering if i've made a HUGE mistake.

here's just some random shots i've taken over the past week.

[s14brent]

Looks cool as hell with those wheels now, solid work

Thanks man! it took way longer than I wanted but should look good at next event!

It has come together nicely, good job!

Thanks! I follow your cage-work. Wish I was closer!! Cage plans got pushed til probably next year. I just want to enjoy it until it gets unbearably hot here again!

Dang, when you can rock this sexy color!

I'm trying to find time to take it out for photos in the sun. Should look really good in both settings!!
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I already registered for IFO/vegasdrift on 12/03. Next plans for the car will be new fuel tank, replace all the hoses and probably do a -6 feed/ with a stainless mesh fuel filter setup..I actually don't think I need to overbuild (accusump+surge tank) for my local events. I just overfill the oil a bit and go on a full tank and have 0 issues (keep it simple stupid). When I drop the fuel tank I might take it to a local fabricator to do the half cage/strut tower reinforcements as I don't plan to put the rear seats back in at this point.
Also....need to make a rear seat delete (lower half only for now) so I can store the drift spares in the back (I'd use the roof rack for that but if I end up cording tires it will be a huge PITA to load and strap up there for the return drive home. Thinking about getting some 1/8" ply but kind of wanting to go ABS for looks. Pretty sure the plywood would take the tire loading better.

[2mAn]

Dang, when you can rock this sexy color!

[Chilezen]

It has come together nicely, good job!