Long term non BMW project teaser

[Emre]

Photos from Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant

I had the car up at Tremblant last weekend with the BMW Club of Quebec. It was Canadian Grand Prix weekend, so attendance was pretty light and everyone had plenty of track time. The weather was gorgeous: sunny, dry, and not too hot.

Anyway, here's the 16v in action at my favorite track:





















You'll notice in some shots it looks like the car is smoking a bit. That's because I hadn't seated the dipstick properly and some oil was splashing onto the headers in left-hand corners. Unfortunately, that session was the one where the track photographer took the coolest pics!

Also, in a few of the pics it looks like the car is squatting hard under acceleration and rolling quite a bit. It's funny, but it feels good from the driver's seat, so I was pretty surprised when I saw the pics. I'll have to check in with the guys from Ground Control to see what they think. May need to reconsider my spring rates.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I drove 450 miles to the track, did 7 or 8 hard sessions on the track over the course of 2 days, then drove the 450 miles back home. The car ran like a top, despite the oil leak for that one session (totally my fault).

[leegf]

awesome shots. glad to hear the car is finally sorted!

[Emre]

Couple of fun events this weekend: car show yesterday; NY BMW CCA track day today

Just had the wheels refinished in GT3 orange and added some cheesy graphics. These were taken this past Sunday at GFest '12:




My ridiculous vanity plate:




Today, I had the car on the track (NJMP--Lightning) with the NY BMW CCA. The car is FINALLY running right! We were able to pass most of the early M3's (E30 and E36) running in the instructor group...except for one guy with an insanely fast E30 M3 2.5L stroker. Not bad, considering I've got a bone stock (165 hp) engine under the hood. With twice the HP and 25% more rubber on the ground, the race-prepped E46 M3's were out of reach.

Found a fellow lunatic to play with:








Dicing with the Bimmers:








Look, ma ... no body roll!




Well, that's it for now. After two years of work, things have finally started coming together on this project. The suspension and tires are working beautifully. The engine is strong. The car feels great!

[Eric]

I gave up trying to make 17" wheels work for now. The combination of Evo II brakes (300mm rotors; 4-piston Brembo calipers) and stock fenders is simply causing too much headache.

why not look into CCW wheels custom made for your specs?

Also toyo makes the R888 in 225/45/16 I believe.

[slammin.e28]

Stikrz!

[stikrz]

I am in LOVE!

[Emre]

Time for an update...

Just did some head work. Replaced the timing chain and guides. Had the valve timing adjusted, which meant all new shims. Some of the shims had to be machined down to the perfect size:





Had the valve cover powder-coated. They managed to match the factory paint color:



Also, I bought another set of Evo I alloys (16x8" ET34). I gave up trying to make 17" wheels work for now. The combination of Evo II brakes (300mm rotors; 4-piston Brembo calipers) and stock fenders is simply causing too much headache. That really limits my tire choices: not much available in 225/45-R16 these days. I picked up a set of Yoko A048 tires. I know these are hardly the best R-comps around, but they're the best I can do for now. I'll revisit 17x9" wheels after the season is over.

Finally, I've started working on fabbing some plates to mount my SPA GT mirrors. I'll admit this is race-car bling, but I like the look!

[Emre]

Hi, Drew.

thanks for the hot laps at lightning.

My pleasure. It's too bad that the car wasn't running right. You didn't really get the full experience.

I'd be happy to do a proper shoot of your car anytime :up:

That would be awesome. I'd definitely take you up on that.

[leegf]

emre,

thanks for the hot laps at lightning. i'd be happy to do a proper shoot of your car anytime :up:

drew

[achtunge30]

Parked next to it at the gathering last night outside - absolutely epic!

[kingston]

Soooooo psyched to see updates on this! Much basaddery!

[rstimpreza]

Nice build.... im waiting for my 16v to arrive.

[nespo_e30is]

Nice work - those rims with the raised yellow letter tires are cool!

I 2nd that!!! #SAPPHIRE

[markseven]

Nice work - those rims with the raised yellow letter tires are cool!

[Emre]

Quick update

I've had a very difficult time finding a wheel and tire package that does what I need it to do for this project. The W201 chassis has tiny wheel wells to start with, and things have gotten even tighter after swapping in the coilovers. Since we're building the car for vintage racing, we can't just cut out the fenders to make room. On top of that, I'm running the Evo II Brembos, which adds yet another dimensional constraint to the picture.

After trying out a whole bunch of different wheel/tire combos and spending literally thousands on wheels that didn't quite work, we've finally found a combo that looks promising:



These are 2-piece BBS RX II 503 alloys in 17x8" ET35. They're a bit heavier than I would have liked, but at least they fit properly. The tires are 225/45-R17 Continental Challenge semi-slicks, which are rebadged Hoosier endurance racing tires (basically R5's with a harder rubber compound). They should hold up well for HPDE and amateur racing.