Scum class 318 + Mtech + vortech v2 + unicorns - vortech + Turrrrbo

[pandaboo911]

So last trackday my turbo melted a bunch of stuff in the engine bay again.

✔ Valve cover melted
✔ Ignition harness melted
✔ Strut tower melted
✔ Wastegate pressure lines melted



I replaced all that shit, and covered most of it with heat wrap or heat shielding like dis



and dis



then I did a thing





I replaced the crappy camber plates and rear strut mounts.

I decided on GC front and rear because they seemed to have the best design. Vorshlag looked like a good design as well but the weight of the car was supported by the spherical bearing.
The GC plates have a needle bearing and the weight of the car is supported by the aluminum plate, not the spherical bearing, which I though was better. The rear strut mounts were a bit dissapointing tho.

I have extended rear strut mounts on my miata as well and they add a lot of rear bump travel. These GC mounts don't allow the shock to travel inside the mount, and the bump stops dont fit properly, so instead of gaining 2 inches of bump travel I gained maybe 1cm. at the cost of 2 inches of droop.

The main reason I wanted extended rear mounts was so I wouldn't need suspension limit straps.


Anyway pics



nifty conical bearing surface on the GC plates allowing the plates to pivot relative to the shock shaft.



They also added an o-ring in there to keep shit out of the needle bearing. My old IE plates didn't have this and the needle bearings were absolutely fucked from water and dirt ingress. A bit off that the front plate is so well executed but the rear is useless.



old plates on the right. They had no bearing, so springs were binding up causing steering to pull to either side. If anyone wants these for their shitty drift car hit me up. $20 takes em






I've been real bored during this COVID-19 shit. Don't really have anything to do for work.
I took a seat out of my e30 and built an office chair out of it to lounge around at home.



Don't have pics of the process but its just a basic frame made up of 1" square tube stock and some thick 90 degree angled steel.
I got the seat base from an old broken chair.



It sits a little too high so rev2 will do away with the 1" tube stock and I'll try to find a shorter seat base.


I also started building a diff. I scored a z3 motorsport diff at the junkyard some time ago and it's been sitting around. I took it apart and replaced the cluthces. It's got 4 clutches and 4 dog ear plates stock!

It's also has assymetrical ramps. 40% acceleration and 25% deceleration.





The clutches that came out were in pretty good shape, so I'll take 3 of them and throw them in my 635 diff.

[pandaboo911]

I did another track day at thunderhill west and managed a 1:27.That's on 4 year old Hankook RS3s so there's definitely more in it, I think it could manage a 1:21 and 1:22 with the right setup changes.

I'm pleased to say this time it went much more smoothly. The coolant temps stayed right at 200-210 and oil temps 220-240. Last time out cooland would creep up to 240-250 after 2-3 laps and oil was solid at 260. Coolant temps measured at the head. Must've been the timing.Towards the end of the day boost was creeping up to 11-12 instead of the 8psi it was supposed to be set to. Seems like there's something broken with the boost controller.

I definitely need to add more front camber and do something about the understeer. Also the car has bad oversteer on corner entry, and the brakes are bad all around. The jetta brake booster doesn't provide nearly enough assist, Im having to really put weight into the pedal to get the car to slow down, even with Hawk HT-10 pads, which are pretty aggressive pads.

I'm pretty bad about updating this thread even though there's a lot going on. I blame the tapatalk app being trash now and this dumb forum update.

Here's some pics of new axle going in. Still need to do the other side, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.



New vs old



It was a bitch to get out the old one. It had totally seized and a 5lb sledge didn't even touch it. Ended up using a big 3 jaw puller to press it out.







Had a small fire under the turbo. I installed some DEI fire sleeve around the turbo drain to keep it from melting again. Unfortunately the tape it comes with is flammable, so that burned off quick. Luckily I had a fire extinguisher handy.



You can see the paint has been thoroughly roasted.



Here's a short track session. Not going for laptimes here, just having fun.

[pandaboo911]

IIRC it should be around 20 with vanos off, 45 with vanos on. I think the numbers change a few degrees depending on which cam/engine variant, but the important thing is that the cam angle is steady at one value when vanos is off, and then ~25deg advanced when vanos is on.

Car is idling around 10-12 degrees advanced, but it jumps up when it misfires to 14-15. Sometimes hovers around 17 randomly for a minute before coming down to 10-12.
It rises to ~40 under throttle at low rpm, then back down to 10 under boost, which seems to be as expected.

The CEL for mechanically jammed hasn't come back, so that's good. There's still the constant misfire at idle though. The misfire goes away when the car is idling rich, which happens sometimes when stopping at a red light after driving. AFRs hover around 12-13 until coming back up to 14.5 and the misfire returns.

Maybe it's just a side effect of having a headgasket spacer? Jordan from RK tunes told me to open up the spark plug gap

So far I've replaced spark plugs, spark plug boots, coil packs, cam sensor, vanos solenoid, new o2 sensor, and re-timed the engine. :(

[Northern]

IIRC it should be around 20 with vanos off, 45 with vanos on. I think the numbers change a few degrees depending on which cam/engine variant, but the important thing is that the cam angle is steady at one value when vanos is off, and then ~25deg advanced when vanos is on.

[pandaboo911]

Do you have a copy of INPA or any logger that spits out cam angle? You could 100% rule out a bad new sensor or upstream wiring issue that way.

Yeah I have INPA and the last time I looked at it the cam angle was all wonky. It was going all over the place at idle. I'm not sure what angle or number to look for at idle though. Any idea what the expected behavior should be? Should the cam angle be stable at idle?
I recall it went to around 10 degrees on throttle but at idle would occasionally jump to 60 something and misfire.

I'll take another look once I get the new turbo oil drain and PCV system sorted out.

[Northern]

Do you have a copy of INPA or any logger that spits out cam angle? You could 100% rule out a bad new sensor or upstream wiring issue that way.

[pandaboo911]

Check your cam sensor wiring under the boot at the connector. It'll throw this code if the insulation rots off and they ground out. The ECU gets gibberish for a cam signal and thinks the cam isn't advancing

I replaced the cam sensor with a genuine bmw sensor, cost me like $130 lol. Still getting the same thing.

[Northern]

still chasing this vanos issue. I'm getting a CEL and code for vanos mechanically stuck.

Check your cam sensor wiring under the boot at the connector. It'll throw this code if the insulation rots off and they ground out. The ECU gets gibberish for a cam signal and thinks the cam isn't advancing

[pandaboo911]

FWIW I've never been able to duplicate the image in the Bentley manual or TIS for the cam timing. I've always been off just a bit. I think there's some way to rotate it and check that you have full travel. It's fairly obvious when you don't. Have you tried the compressed air method to check travel? Or swapped in a known good solenoid?

Do you follow the Dr Vanos guide for the exhaust sprocket? Their procedure uses the arrow on the sprocket to get the initial position, threaded holes on the very left end of the slot.
I did verify full travel using the sprocket tool and made sure to catch the first tooth on the intake cam. I haven't checked with compressed air yet since I don't have the necessary adapter fitting, but I will try that next. I suspected the solenoid was an issue, so I got a used one from ebay, but I don't know if either of them are good. I've read they can look fine on a bench test, but fail to actuate the vanos spool valve when installed.

Do you happen to know where to get the banjo / milton quick connect fitting?
Edit: I found the fitting. it's BMW Ref# 113450, Vanos air connection fitting

Also the engine idle does not change when the vanos connector is disconnected. Seems like either something is funky with the m52 wiring harness adapter or the solenoid isn't actually working.

Not sure I have ever heard of it happening to m52's but my LS motor dealt with oil pressure issues and it was because I had a tiny nick in the oil pickup tube o ring might be something to check/replace

I'm thinking the same thing. I remember banging around on the dipstick tube when I last installed the oil pan so the gasket may have lifted or the pickup cracked.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Unfortunately on the way back home one of the eccentric bolts on the trailing arm came loose, the nut and washer fell off somewhere, and the bolt was backing out. This led to some really bad shimmy in the rear end so I had to pull over. I guess the alignment shop didn't tighten up the eccentric bolt and it worked loose on the really bumpy road coming out of Thunderhill. Didn't notice anything strange on the track.

I thought the repair would be as simple as buying a new washer and nut, but the adjustment slot was bent by the suspension banging around. What's up with alignment shops sucking ass at their job? This is probably the 3rd time I've had stuff break because of the work done at an alignment shop.

Really frustrating since this was the only thing I didn't do myself. Time to buy some alignment tools I guess.

Same happened to me. Standard alignment shops don't know how to deal with the rear adjustment. I have the posi lock style and they tightened it down with the posi lock plates at 45* angles... nearly completely ruined them. I've gone to a bmw shop that specializes in race prepping e30s to have it handled correctly. And since then started doing my own alignments as well. Now the only thing I pay for is having tires mounted and balanced... though that's also starting to get irritating

still chasing this vanos issue. I'm getting a CEL and code for vanos mechanically stuck.
I did encounter something strange on my engine. when I tension the chain the exhaust sprocket doesn't move as much as the in the BMW instructions. According to instructions, the exhaust sprocket should be lined up with the threaded holes biased to the left of the slot, and the holes should move to the center when the chain is tensioned. On mine, when I line up the threaded holes to the left of the slots, the holes only move 1-2mm, and don't reach the center of the slot. I moved the exhaust sprocket 1 tooth over, such that the holes and very slightly right of center of the slots when the chain is tensioned.

Anyone know of a definitive way of setting cam timing on the exhaust sprocket from scratch? Does the exhaust sprocket actually rotate slightly until the sprocket bolts hit the end of the slot? I'm trying to wrap my head around why the exhaust sprocket is slotted at all...

FWIW I've never been able to duplicate the image in the Bentley manual or TIS for the cam timing. I've always been off just a bit. I think there's some way to rotate it and check that you have full travel. It's fairly obvious when you don't. Have you tried the compressed air method to check travel? Or swapped in a known good solenoid?

[Pootis]

Not sure I have ever heard of it happening to m52's but my LS motor dealt with oil pressure issues and it was because I had a tiny nick in the oil pickup tube o ring might be something to check/replace

[pandaboo911]

still chasing this vanos issue. I'm getting a CEL and code for vanos mechanically stuck.

I've taken the vanos out and re-timed the engine twice, still getting a code and misfire at idle when the engine warms up.
I think it may have something to do with the m52 crank sensor adapter harness I installed.

I did encounter something strange on my engine. when I tension the chain the exhaust sprocket doesn't move as much as the in the BMW instructions. According to instructions, the exhaust sprocket should be lined up with the threaded holes biased to the left of the slot, and the holes should move to the center when the chain is tensioned. On mine, when I line up the threaded holes to the left of the slots, the holes only move 1-2mm, and don't reach the center of the slot. I moved the exhaust sprocket 1 tooth over, such that the holes and very slightly right of center of the slots when the chain is tensioned.

Anyone know of a definitive way of setting cam timing on the exhaust sprocket from scratch? Does the exhaust sprocket actually rotate slightly until the sprocket bolts hit the end of the slot? I'm trying to wrap my head around why the exhaust sprocket is slotted at all...

In other news, I'm currently replacing a turbo oil drain which melted, and a pair of axles that exploded. Yay turbos! :)

[pandaboo911]

Did a trackday at Thunderhill west, no problems during the trackday apart from the paint burning off the strut tower from heat.

Gonna have to get some of that gold foil or something. Unfortunately on the way back home one of the eccentric bolts on the trailing arm came loose, the nut and washer fell off somewhere, and the bolt was backing out. This led to some really bad shimmy in the rear end so I had to pull over. I guess the alignment shop didn't tighten up the eccentric bolt and it worked loose on the really bumpy road coming out of Thunderhill. Didn't notice anything strange on the track.

I thought the repair would be as simple as buying a new washer and nut, but the adjustment slot was bent by the suspension banging around. What's up with alignment shops sucking ass at their job? This is probably the 3rd time I've had stuff break because of the work done at an alignment shop.

Really frustrating since this was the only thing I didn't do myself. Time to buy some alignment tools I guess.

I noticed that after reviewing some track footage that there was some pretty bad oil starvation happening under braking and cornering. Oil pressure was dropping from 50-60 psi to 30-40 under braking and cornering. On the last run the oil level was about half a quart down and it was dropping down to 20psi. I installed an achilles motorsport oil pan baffle, guess it doesn't work super well?

There is another possibility that the oil pickup is cracked or not sealed and sucking air when the oil sloshes, this could be the same reason why my oil light comes on at idle. I REALLY dont wanna drop the pan though since it was a PITA last time.

[pandaboo911]

I’ve come across an annoying problem, my oil pressure light comes on at idle when the oil is up to temp. I figured it might be a bad oil pressure switch so I changed that, also changed to 10w60 oil from 15w50. It still comes on at 210F oil temp. It’s strange because my oil pressure gauge is showing a solid 12-15psi, reading from the vanos oil feed port, right next to the oil pressure switch. This sucks because my wideband is switched on by the oil pressure switch, so it’s constantly shutting off at idle. I noticed the oil pressure switch port runs perpendicular to the oil cooler thermostat. Is it possible the oil cooler is creating a pressure drop at that port since there’s no resistance to flow? Kinda stumped

[pandaboo911]

Really great build, video sounds awesome. But, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pressing out old ball joints on control arms and pressing new ones in. There is no milling required. I've done it so many times on my IXs throughout the years because IX control arms are really hard to find and new ones are really expensive. They withstood 2 years of hard rallycrossing so I don't think there is any truth to replacing balljoints compromising control arm strength. I would go back to the m3 control arms and replace the ball joints. If you have a press and the right arbors it doesn't take any time at all.

The m3 control arms use a different balljoint from standard e30 steel arms. They have an aluminum cap welded on underneath preventing them from being pressed out. That cap has to be cut or milled off. The issue is the new press-in style balljoints could expand the cast aluminum and crack it. Even new arms have been known to bend. If they had the same style balljoint as the steel arms I would’ve definitely done it.