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Vorshlag BMW E46: Track Car Project

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  • #31
    Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

    Originally posted by Brent 930
    ^Wow, you guys weren't kidding when you said the stock headers really suck. Very nice, a 1000 times better.
    Yep - the 330 has one of the worst exhaust manifolds I've ever seen on a modern sports/sporty car.



    Originally posted by ZHP
    What did you decide to go with?
    Well... I'm a little embarrassed, but I went with the eBay sweat shop stainless header. I looked and there's nothing else available for even 20X the price that looked much, if any, better.



    The price was so low this whole set can go straight into the trash if they don't fit or if they crack, without shedding a single tear. A local racer/friend (DaveB) has the same brand set on his E36 race car (Goldmember!), and the headers have held up well for the past year. I drove his car at Eagles Canyon recently and it had a good bit more pep than before. How bad can they be? Oh - I'm sure I'll see.

    If/when I ever get better with the TIG, and if/when these eBay headers become a limitation, maybe I'll build a real set of long tubes. Who knows.

    Got lots other parts in this week that are ready to go onto the E46: Eibach adjustable aluminum rear lower control arms and Eibach E46 non-M swaybars (we sell all of these, BTW), new front lower control arms, Goodridge brake lines (we sell these, too), the cam sensor and harness, and more. The Sparco harness bar is back from powder coat and the the Mason braces are all ready to go on as well.


    These "shop floor pics" are pretty poor - we'll take studio pics before they go on the car, to use on our website.


    The offset LCA bushings are for the $2010 E30

    Lots to do over the next week/holiday period. I'm slated to work on no less than 4 of my own cars and upwards of 4 local racer's cars, so who knows when this E46 stuff will go on the car.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

      Not much to add on the E46 this week other than some pics and OEM spring rates. I did the spring rate testing on the OEM front and rear springs from my 330Ci, before sending the entire OEM suspension to a customer (who needed them so he could do an AST swap between two E46 BMWs he owned). The rates were nearly identical to the another pair of E46 330i sedan sport front rates I had checked before, and barely softer than the ZHP rates tested (ZHP rear was a bit stiffer, though).


      The fronts have several inches of preload. Takes a l-o-n-g spring compressor to even get it off the strut.

      The 130#/in rate for the fronts is a popular OEM BMW front spring rate. The E46 ZHP had a whopping 140 #/in fronts - Woo-wee! That 10 #/in stiffer rate for the ZHP is a joke. Our softest AST spring package starts at 450 #/in and I'm running 600#/in fronts and 750 #/in rears on the 330 now. You can see all of the OEM BMW rates we've checked here: http://www.vorshlag.com/tech_springrates.php



      Last Wednesday was beautiful here in Texas with sunny skies and mid 70°F temps, so I drove the still clean 330 onto the back of my property and finally took some pics with the ASTs, 18x10s and some sunlight. Less than 24 hours later we had a freak snowstorm - it was snowing sideways, sustained 40 mph winds, several inches of accumulation. First "white Christmas" in Dallas in recorded history. "Typical Texas Weather".





      I took off the front license plate, which is a huge radar + laser reflector and eyesore, so there are a couple of holes in the front bumper cover now. Oh well, at least the plate is gone.

      Cheers,
      Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
      2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
      EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

        Update for Feb 7, 2010: Since my last update I haven't done much to the 330, except order more parts. Not a very exciting update, or a productive afternoon in the shop, but I re-learned some valuable lessons. I'll share, so maybe someone out there doesn't make the same mistakes.



        One of the many parts I ordered in December was a cheap cold air intake kit from a vendor on eBay (that should have been a red flag, right?) It was to be an interim solution until an entirely new intake manifold and throttle body system is procured and installed (at the earliest: late 2010). The stock air filter box and ducting looked pretty hideous, and the one on this car was a bit mangled (one of the retaining clips was missing so it wasn't even sealing 100&#37. I won't mention the brand name of the cold air kit I bought, as I'm hoping they will RMA this big box of crap - because it doesn't even come close to fitting the "2001-2005 E46 330" as stated in their eBay ad. I knew better than to buy a cheap cold air kit ($55 + $18 shipping) off eBay, but I figured "how bad can it be" and rolled the dice... and lost.



        I hadn't had a chance to put the car on the lift in our shop for weeks, other than a brief stint unsuccessfully trying to roll the rear fenders ("its hammer time"), but I finally got it back on the lift this past weekend. Took apart the stock airbox and various ducting from the 2001 330Ci, and it was a dirty mess under the stock bits. Of course I had to clean everything (its a sickness) then spent an hour building this block off plate from sheet aluminum, to cover a big hole in front of the radiator (to keep all of the air stream going to the radiator).



        This hole was created because this secondary factory air inlet ducting was removed. This would have left either non-functional ducting or a big gaping hole above the inlet to the radiator. The rest of the inlet air for the factory air box came from a tiny, narrow opening at the bottom of the LF corner, which is where most cold air inlet kits draw from.



        Once I got it all clean and finished the aluminum block off panel, which I spent extra time on to make it 100% SCCA/DSP legal (it replaces the factory inlet ducting and mounts with zero mods to the surrounding pieces), I took a look at installing this cold air kit - and quickly realized that this kit doesn't fit. At all.

        First issue was the 3" OD steel tubing and 3" ID conical air filter in the kit is smaller than the factory tubing and MAF by 5/8" of an inch in diameter. That's a negative for performance, but I was willing to ignore the undersized tubing for the time being if everything at least fit the MAF, and the tubing routed behind the headlight, as this was only be used temporarily.



        I next realized that the 3" to 3.5" OD silicon piping adapter included to attach to the obviously larger MAF doesn't even fit (which is actually 3.625/92mm OD), as shown above. Its off by enough that it would have to be stretched significantly, and even then might never fit. The material used is so stiff I couldn't stretch it enough without possibly marking it up, and I was hoping to send this entire order back for a refund.



        Lastly, the steel tubing included in the kit could only route one way (per their poorly translated instructions), and doesn't even come close to fitting the opening behind the factory headlight leveling motors (the tubing might fit on the cars w/o these HID lights, I suppose, but our car came with these headlights, as did many 2003+ E46 models). Its off by inches. This kit was not really made to fit this car and I can't use a single piece of it. Bleh.

        I realize this was a super low cost cold air kit, and cost is usually a huge clue as to the fit and finish of anything, but we were hoping that it actually would fit the 2001-2005 E46 330 as their eBay ad stated. Shame on me for thinking that cheap, imported eBay junk would actually work. I'll see what the vendor tells us before I name drop them here, but as it is this cold air kit is never going on this car. I would have had better luck and less frustration from setting fire to $73 in cash. I'll probably just chuck the entire lot in the trash and just make my own air filter solution.


        Mock-up with cardboard (left) then final aluminum (right) heat shield for a 9" K&N round filter I made for my E36 M3

        I could just acquire a longer conical or round K&N air filter with the proper 3-5/8" inlet diameter, then build a sheet aluminum heat shield around the filter and MAF, which would be semi-sealed to the underside of the hood (it doesn't have to be air tight) and allow air to flow in from behind the headlight and underneath the bumper. I've done this on previous cars (see above pics) and it works great.


        More parts to install (left) and to buy (right)

        Still had a ton of other parts to install, so after I punted on the cold air I started tackling the two cam sensor replacements next (its been throwing a CIL, and the motor is a complete DOG under 3000 rpm or so), but that quickly bogged down, too. Two cam sensors exist on the car, but I neglected to buy new bolts and O-rings, per the Bently manual instructions - poor planning strikes again! Just put in a big BMW parts order from our favorite BMW dealer, too. Oh well - another order is going to follow that for all sorts of bits and pieces for the 330 (including some E46 M3 fenders - for future use with steel flares - and a new lower K-member brace, to replace the mangled one shown above). Have to remove one of the VANOS solenoids to replace the sensor on the driver's side of the head, and I can't even see the other side. It was approaching SuperBowl kickoff time, so I pushed the install of these until another day.

        More soon....
        Last edited by Fair!; 02-09-2010, 12:10 PM.
        Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
        2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
        EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

          Quick followup from Feb 9, 2010: Well I went out and re-measured the K&N that is on my E36 M3 (that we raced in STU for years with) and it was in fact only 9" long (I had a 14" K&N on a former Mustang - it was stupid huge), so I've updated the last post above. I have always tried to fit the biggest round or conical K&N filter on whatever inlet setup I make, but it didn't look like the 9" long round filter I have on the E36 would fit the E46, either from length or inlet ID (the OD on the E46 330 MAF is MUCH bigger than the stock E36 M3 MAF).



          We needed a 92mm inlet and could fit a cylindrical or cone filter less than about 7.5" to 8" long. Matt did a few minutes of searching on K&N's website and quickly found a cylindrical round filter that would fit the MAF and the engine bay perfectly. It had a 92mm inlet, nearly a 6" Outer Diameter, and a 7.25" of filter length. K&N has an integrated store locator on their website (cool) that could search for stores with this particular part number (E-0773) in stock, and I'll be damned, the local Autozone 3 blocks away had it in stock. The funny thing was it cost the exact same ($55) as the junky, no-fittin' fleaBay cold air kit, except it wasn't padded with an overpriced shipping charge.



          5 minutes of work and it was on the MAF. It fits the confines of the engine bay perfectly, and more importantly, its not smaller than the OD of the MAF it attaches to. I'll fab up an aluminum sheet metal shield to keep hot air and fan pulses away from the inlet air stream next (MAFs don't like to see air that is pulsing, like from the exhaust of a cooling a fan) next.

          Originally posted by murph1379
          Terry, I'm not sure if you had other reasons for blocking it off, but most of the "good" intake kits are essentially a cone w/ shield like you did on your E36, but they maintain the factory ducting from the kidneys and feed it into the shielded area, as that part is apparently a pretty good design. I'm not sure if the flow from the lower left hole is enough without some other kind of ducting from the bumper.

          I don't think I've ever seen a race 330 that didn't use that stock ducting, or that did use a "cold air" intake like the ebay one you tried.
          I thought about keeping it on there, but the little exhaust port from this factory upper air scoop is no bigger than the ignition key. Its teenie tiny.



          I mean, sure... it wouldn't hurt, but I don't think it'll help much, either. I suspect the commercially available cold air kits keep the stock inlet because its easier than making the block off plate that I made (it was a little tricky). I am fairly confident that it won't matter for horsepower, one way or the other. For a true race car air inlet, sure, I'd steal as much high pressure air as possible and jam it into a sealed airbox, using a bigger opening on the bumper or grabbing more of the air from the BMW "kidney grills". Unfortunately I cannot modify the openings on the bumper or kidneys per the SCCA Street Prepared rules, and it costs points for NASA TT if I did the same. So its gotta be either drawing from the itty bitty stock air inlet above the radiator and/or just pulling from "free air" under the car and behind the headlight, of which there is quite a bit.

          It'll make more sense when I show it from underneath, with the heat shield in place. Its not going to be a sealed airbox at all, so it should allow the filter to draw from underneath, from behind the headlight, and even a little from the engine bay. This isn't a car that's going to see super high speed tracks or ever see a wind tunnel, just an autocross car (low speed) and Time Trial car. I'm trying to use the K.I.S.S. method here, for this temporary air inlet set-up. 5 minutes and $55 worth of filter, and its nearly done. It has to be better than the stock filter, which was full of dirt and sucking through a straw.

          edit: the eBay vendor that sold me the cold air kit issued a refund. They said they had some text in the ad saying it would not fit a car with HIDs. I looked and looked... and it was buried in the description, but they were right. It still doesn't explain the "too small" inlet tubing or mis-matched adapter hose, but they are issuing an RMA and I'll get some of my money back. I'm happy for that at least.

          Thanks,
          Last edited by Fair!; 02-09-2010, 06:31 PM.
          Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
          2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
          EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

            Update for Feb 18, 2010: We didn't have much time before the $2010 GRM crew arrived last night, but Matt and I managed to get the front Eibach swaybar installed onto the 330 as well as the new OEM aluminum subframe brace.



            Mangled OEM aluminum lower subframe brace being removed and replaced with a new one ($153). Looks so pretty.



            The stock 24mm front bar was replaced with a 27mm Eibach adjustable bar + Eibach poly mounts. Beautiful product that's adjustable - essential for quick trackside setup changes. We put off installing the rear bar until after the new diff arrives.

            Eibach swaybar instructions - hey, some people need all the help they can get.



            New bar in place and subframe brace as well (not shown - plastic undertray went back on, of course). Upcoming work for this weekend: front strut brace, race seat install, and more fender rolling work for 285s.

            The March NASA TT event at MSR Cresson is fast approaching, so prep on the E46 is moving into high gear. Today we ordered a full set of Powerflex poly bushings for the LCAB and rear subframe from BimmerWorld (nobody makes a poly diff mount bushing for the E46 non-M, so we ordered a stock replacement one and will model/design/build our own). Diffsonline is building a 3.38 geared, OS Giken equipped LSD differential for us already. Just scored a Cobra Suzuka Kevlar race seat, and we're mounting that this weekend (and buying another for the passenger side) with a Sparco dual locking slider. G-Force Pro 6-point camlock harnesses were just ordered (FIA + SFI approved).

            The harness bar we bought has been sold and that money is going towards a Kirk Racing 4-point roll bar. Just didn't feel safe strapping the harnesses to that single bar, so we'll just take the ~60 pound hit for the 4-point roll bar.



            Scored this Euro E36 M3 ITB intake for a song, but its likely a 2011 season part.

            More soon,
            Last edited by Fair!; 02-19-2010, 03:53 PM.
            Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
            2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
            EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

              Wasted part of the afternoon trying to install the aluminum 1-piece "race" strut tower brace Mason built for my E46 330. Its a 1-piece design that I had hoped would fit the car without having to use his adjustable width brace (which I never liked). Bought it months ago, just never got around to installing until today.

              The 3 strut top mounting holes are slotted in the top of each strut tower on an E46, so I figured I would have to slot the strut tower brace to match, to maintain full camber adjustment. To get started I had to temporarily move the remote positive battery terminal out of the way for the strut brace mock-up:



              Then I placed the brace evenly centered on top of the two strut towers. Uhh.... doesn't fit. At all.





              I have the car set at max negative camber in the strut tower holes, and on the plates themselves (-3.8°). The strut brace doesn't even come close to fitting, nor is there enough room on the main flate plate portions to slot the holes to fit.

              Anyone want to buy an E46 strut brace for cheap? It might work at full positive camber setting, but I'd never use this on an E46 that wanted an aggressive negative camber setup. Its very light, very pretty aluminum. I had one for the rear as well (adjustable length - the 1-piece brace never fit any E46 I tried them on) but sold it before I had time to install it. Id' rather make a 1-piece design for the rear anyway, too. I'll take pictures of it and put it for sale in our "clearance" section next week.


              Even the $75 Chinese/eBay hinged brace has slotted holes for camber adjustment

              I would still like to have a strut tower brace on this car one day, and I like the basic layout, but it looks like I'll have to make my own if I want it to fit and still have negative camber adjustments. The hinged crap I've seen on eBay is garbage, or attaches at one point per side and doesn't cover the top of the (weak) strut tower sheet metal. I don't like the adjustable braces I've seen, or the plethora of blinged-out carbon fiber/aluminum/unobtanium crap, either. Bleh.

              Rouge's design looks stout, but it covers up the entire top of the strut tower - and my AST's rebound adjuster knobs. Oh well, if we ever make our own line of bolt-on chassis bracing, I at least know how not to make them.
              Last edited by Fair!; 02-21-2010, 06:34 PM.
              Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
              2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
              EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                Update for March 5, 2010: Paul M came by Wednesday night to help me work on the 330. I've been so swamped with working on the GRM E30 project, other cars, and with the business in general the 330 has been ignored. Time is running out, though, as the first NASA TT race I'm going to try to make is March 13-14. So instead of our weekly work night to attack Paul's SMOD Subaru project or McCall's Z3 LS1 project, we worked on my 330 this week.



                Still have a pile of parts to put on the DSP car, as you can see above. I decided to replace the entire cooling system as a preventive measure, since the car has 100K miles and looks to have had only spotty maintenance. I'll keep all the parts we pull in the trailer, for emergency use spares.

                As soon as we got the plastic covers off this otherwise clean engine, lots of dirt was revealed. Ack! Of course I couldn't have that, so I did a little cleaning while it was apart.



                Paul started on the valve cover gasket replacement and the cam sensor swaps. Once the valve cover was off some milkshake looking gunk was spotted near the VANOS units. WTF is that? Coolant?! Hmm... its only present in this small area, and the rest of the cam/head area looked like fresh oil.



                The old gasket was of course turned to hard plastic, and part of it was stuck to the head. He dressed the area like a surgeon and pried it off, piece by crackly piece. Paul had that gasket swap wrapped up with new spark plugs by night's end, while I worked on the cooling system. I pulled the belts, water pump pulley, radiator hoses, water pump, and thermostat housing. Got the new housing and water pump installed, but we stopped before it got too late. The intake cam sensor is a b!tch to disconnect and re-route under the intake manifold, so its still partially disassembled. I have ordered new VANOS sea & O-ring repair kits, so I might put those on next week if they get here in time. We only had about 2 hours to work on the car, so it rolled off the lift incomplete so the $2010 E30 could go back on. So we made a little progress... more on Sunday.



                I'm going Saturday to PST to pick up the new Cobra GT seat, 2 pairs of Cobra side brackets, and the first set of 285 Hoosiers for the car (285/30/18 A6 for auto-x use; we'll get 285s for TT use soon), and get the tires mounted to another set of 18x10 D-Force wheels. Then I can start the work to clear the 285s... lots of rolling, maybe some hammer forming of fender lips, and as a last resort - the plasma torch.

                More soon.
                Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                  While working on the 330 this week I stumbled upon the Beisan Systems website that sells a VANOS repair kit for the M54:


                  Double vanos seals repair kit (6-cyl) (BS001) $60/each, vanos gasket (11-36-1-433-817) 6.73/each, 2 qty vanos oil hose/pipe washer (32-41-1-093-596) $.25/each

                  Their description of a failed VANOS system on the M54 sounds just like the lack of power under 3000 rpm I've been complaining about in my 330:

                  What’s wrong with my vanos?
                  If you own a BMW 6-cylinder single vanos car, engines M50TU, M52, US S50, S52, 1992-1999, or double vanos car, engines M52TU, M54, M56, 1998-2006. , then your vanos is experiencing a failure. These vanos units utilize engine oil and pistons/cylinders to manipulate the positioning of gears to facilitate variable valve timing. The seals on the pistons are leaking due to deteriorating seal O-rings. This leakage is causing the vanos to fail in its function.

                  What are the symptoms of a failing vanos?
                  Overall loss of torque and power, particularly in the lower RPM range, < 3k. Bogging then surging at 3k RPM. Uneven power distribution and RPM transition. Engine hesitations in the lower RPM range, < 3k. Louder idle and intermittent idle RPM hiccups. Difficult takeoffs. Loss of power and bogging when AC on. Increased fuel consumption.


                  So I ordered their $60 repair kit and I'll slap those bits in after the NASA event, hopefully before the SCCA National Tour here in Texas at the end of March. This could potentially make a huge difference in low end power, which is especially important for autocross use.

                  Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                  2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                  EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                    Update for March 7, 2010: Went to PST yesterday and picked up the new Cobra Suzuka Pro seat, brackets, and the first set of Hoosiers. Had these 285/30/18 A6 autocross compound tires mounted by the guys at PST onto another set of lightweight D-Force 18x10" wheels. Man, these tires look big...



                    I just slapped these on the 330 for an initial look, and so far, so good. I started by removing the E46 length front swaybar end links, as this would free up about 2mm of inboard tire room, as the AST swaybar bracket was pretty high on the strut. Using an E36 length front end link will allow the adjustable AST bracket to sit below the tire, so the same 12mm spacer I used in front before on the 265s cleared with ample room on the 285s. I might even go with a 10mm to gain a tick more room on the outside, to the fender lips. No spacer was used in the rear.



                    Its going to take some serious fender massaging at both ends, but hopefully not flares. That was a job I was dreading. I will work on getting the fenders rolled, hammered and pulled this week, and if they are ready in time I will test this set of 285s out at MSR at the NASA TT race next weekend.



                    I plan on primarily running the 265/35/18 Yokohama A032s (shown above) for the TT event, but I will run the A6s for a couple of laps, just to see how well they fit under racing conditions (I can run either set and still fit within TTD class points). The real test for these A6 Hoosiers is the following 2 weekends, at an SCCA Regional autocross then an SCCA National Tour autocross event. My first autocross in the car! I'll pick up another set of 285/30/18 Hoosiers in the R6 road race compound before the next NASA Time Trial event, for some extra speed out there, and keep the 265mm Yokohama A032s as rain tires for track or autocross use.

                    Back to work...
                    Last edited by Fair!; 03-07-2010, 04:05 PM.
                    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                      NASA Classing & Points: NASA Time Trial is a type of competition that bridges the gap between HPDE lapping events (where you are never timed, have to get point-bys to pass, and safety items are lax) and wheel to wheel club racing. TT is more like qualifying... your laps are all timed, you have open passing but aren't racing to the checkered flag so there's no need to make dangerous passes, and only your single fastest lap of the day counts towards the competition. You might make 40 or 50 laps during your 4+ sessions that day, but you only need one fast lap to win. There's also real contingencies and payouts (you can win up to 4 Hoosiers per NASA weekend, if your class is big enough)



                      I'm a long time autocrosser and was doing track events as far back as the 1980s, but have only been doing NASA TT since early 2008. I'm no TT expert, hardly, but I'm definitely hooked. The main thing about doing "Driving Events" that bugged me was... there were no prep rules, no times, no competition. It quickly becomes a contest of "who can outspend who". That's OK, and can still be a lotta fun, but for an old autocrosser I was jonesing for the competitive element. TT gives you that, without the sheet metal risks, without the safety prep costs, and without much of the costs associated with club racing.

                      We wrote a little article on NASA TT back in 2008 that's worth a read if you've never heard of this event style. SCCA is (slowly) trying to get on the bandwagon with their PDX events (they used to have Solo I, but the safety gear needed matched that of club racing).

                      So once you've become a "DE Champion", and if you get signed off for your NASA Time Trial license and pay your $10 (cheap!), what's next? You have to figure out what class your car runs in for a TT event, you have to get a transponder (AMB is the only game), and slap on some class and number decals or magnetics. That's it. No HANs, no mega-cage or fire system, no driving suit are needed. It doesn't hurt to have these safety items, of course, and safety upgrades are never a points mod in NASA TT.



                      The classing for NASA Time Trials is very different than what you see in SCCA Solo, which I come from. Instead of putting all cars in Stock class groups, then allowing a certain allotment of mods for everyone, and having categories where you advance the car as you advance to the next level of preparation, NASA TT is a points based deal.

                      For NASA Time trials every car is given a "Base Class". Any mod you do is ranked with points (some are 0 points), so you can pick and choose the modifications you want to do for each advancement in class you make. Say you want to concentrate on suspension and tires, so you avoid the "power" mods. Or you want to do power and brakes, but keep the tires and suspension nearly stock. There's so many different ways to build up a car, even within the same class, This is half the fun of running TT: configuring your car for a class your way.

                      There's TTA (Corvette Z06) at the top and TTF (some E30s) at the bottom of the TT ladder. Lower performance sedans and coupes start out towards the bottom, and the faster sports cars are classed higher and higher. If your car starts in TTA and you bump up a class with mods, of start in a lower class and you do a LOT of mods, you can go into the top TTS-> TTU -> TTR classes. These 3 classes are (mostly) not mod/point based, so you can go mod crazy and just class the car on the power to weight ratio (based on a real dyno test at a registered facility, which is required for these and all TT classes). There are some tire size/compound associated points for these 3 classes, but that's about it.

                      You can do up to 19 points worth of mods and stay within your same base class. If you do +20 to +39 points worth of mods, you bump up one class level. Each base class has a base tire width, so every +10mm you run wider gains you points, but if you run narrower then you get points back. There's also a power-to-weight limit for each class you have to keep an eye on, too. Lastly, the base class assigned to each car can sometimes include handicapping "base points". Like if a particular model of car is a bit faster than the other cars in that same base class, they will add +7 or +14 base points to it right off the bat. The "number of stars" equates to added base class points. One star is +7, two stars is +14. So if your car is based classed as TTC**, then you get to start off in TTC with +14 base points, and only have 5 points worth of mods left before bumping to TTB.

                      If this sounds confusing, don't worry - it is. I wish there was an online NASA TT "configurator" (its a word, trust me), that had base classes for each car, the mods you wanted as check boxes, and added it up for you. note: there used to be a TT class configurator, but it hasn't worked the past 2 years. There is going to be some interpretation for some mods, of course, so it helps to have someone experienced to help you class your car. The NASA forums are a place to ask for classing help, but those guys go a little off the deep end sometimes and start coming up with points for silly stuff that shouldn't be points, so you don't want to "overshare" on there.



                      It also pays to plan ahead. If you know you're going to add some whiz-bang part later in the season, and it might bump you up to the next class and you want to run the same TT class for the year (for Regional champion points), you might step up to the next class up the ladder early so you don't amass points in 2 classes for the season.

                      OK, here's the 2010 NASA TT PDF of the rules: http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/time_trial_rules.pdf

                      Let me go over a classing example: my 2001 BMW 330Ci. This car starts in TTE with no base points, so I can get the full 19 points worth of mods and stay within TTE, or 19-39 points worth of mods and stay within TTD (one class up). Those are both relatively "slow" classes, and I think this car could do well in either with the right choice of modifications. My very first NASA race in this E46 is this weekend, and here's 2 configurations I could run, both well within TTD class points:

                      265mm Yokohama config for 3/13/10:
                      • TTE Base Points: 0
                      • 265 Tires 7
                      • Yokohama A048 7
                      • Air Intake 1
                      • AST 4200s 3
                      • Springs 2
                      • Sway Bars 2
                      • Spherical RSM 0
                      • Camber Plates 0
                      • Motor and Transmission Mounts 0
                      • Rolled fender lips/Fender Flares 0
                      • Lightweight Battery 0
                      • Non-metallic Replacement Suspension Bushings 0
                      • Race Brake Pads 0
                      • Total = 22 points (just 3 points out of TTE!)


                      285mm Hoosier A6 config for 3/13/10:
                      • Same as above except....
                      • 285 Tires 13
                      • Hoosier A6 13
                      • Total = 34 points (can go to +39 and stay within TTD)


                      I won't run many laps at the TT event on the A6 Hoosiers this weekend, as these are really my autocross tires, and there won't even be enough cars in TTD class to be eligible for Hoosier contingency. I just want to run a lap or two on them, to scrub them in before an autocross event next weekend and a National Tour the following week. I also want to see if the fender mods we've done are going to cause the 285mm tires to rub. Once we get the fenders right for these bigger tires on track I'll get some 285 Hoosier R6s coming for use at the rest of the track events for this car this year. This season the Hoosier A6 compound has heinous mod points (+13) vs the R6 (+10) road race compound, and the wear is worse.

                      Future TTD config:
                      • TTE Base Points: 0
                      • 285 Tires 13
                      • Hoosier R6 10
                      • Air Intake 1
                      • Headers+Cat+Catback 5
                      • AST 4200s 3
                      • Springs 2
                      • Sway Bars 2
                      • Added OS Giken LSD 3
                      • Final Drive Ratio Change 0
                      • Spherical RSM 0
                      • Camber Plates 0
                      • Motor and Transmission Mounts 0
                      • COBRA Suzuka Race Seats 0
                      • 6-point FIA/SFI Racing Harnesses 0
                      • 4-Point Competition Roll Bar 0
                      • Rolled fender lips/Fender Flares 0
                      • Lightweight Battery 0
                      • Sunroof removal and cover roof hole 0
                      • Lightweight Flywheel 0
                      • Non-metallic Replacement Suspension Bushings 0
                      • Race Brake Pads 0
                      • Total = 39 points (the limit for TTD)


                      That's the setup (above) that we're aiming for for later in 2010, just within the limit of TTD. Can't do any aero, suspension or power mods to the car without moving up to TTC from there, of course.

                      Cheers,
                      Last edited by Fair!; 03-11-2010, 12:30 PM.
                      Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                      2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                      EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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                      • #41
                        Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                        A small update on the DSP car's progress: Matt and I worked on the car Tuesday night and got the rear bar installed and started on the LCA bushings. Pulled the alternator and had it tested, because I heard a crazy loud bearing noise. Turned out to test perfect, and silent, and both idler pulley bearings were shot. Got those yesterday from the dealer; easy fix.



                        Paul came by last night and we finished the LCA bushing install, and the old control arms were swapped out for new stock pieces. Good thing - the ball joints on the old LCAs were totally shot. Clunk-clunk... lots of up/down movement. Installed E36 length end links as well, and adjusted the mounts on the AST struts lower, to clear the 285mm tires. Lots more inboard room now.



                        We also modified the existing Eibach poly front swaybar bushings (chamfered the edges, which were digging into the bend radius of the swaybar) and spaced the mounts down about 2mm, due to inherent bind that was in the setup after we installed it a week ago. This is something I've seen many times on poly swaybar bushings, and I used the same fix that has worked in the past. A swaybar should rotate freely with almost no resistance, with the end links disconnected. As installed, the front bar was totally locked up, which can add a lot of effective front spring rate. Its all fixed now. (I'll do a tech article on this someday, because its happened too many times).

                        Originally posted by Aarodynamics
                        Terry, did you get the PowerFlex Purple + Black design for your E46? ...Because that is the old design that PowerFlex has supposedly discontinued according to Bimmerworld (due to problems with it cracking). They sent me the stiffer, all black ones as a result.
                        Fantastic! :confused


                        As you can see we have the black & purple poly LCA bushings


                        Getting the old bushings out & new ones in was a breeze, with a 12 ton press and the right cylinder diameter

                        Originally posted by murph1379
                        Terry please tell me you'll have the diff in before the Tour!


                        I'm hoping these will make up for the lack of a real diff this weekend, but Dan from DiffsOnline shipped our OS Giken 3.38 diff out yesterday, so it should be installed before the Tour (along with a suite of poly bushings on the rear subframe; there is no diff mount poly bushing available, though)

                        Cheers,
                        Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                        2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                        EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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                        • #42
                          Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                          Update for Friday March 12, 2010: Last week's thrash before the NASA event included a lot of late nights to complete the following work:

                          You can click on each subsection and see the work done in each. Some of it has step by step instructions or tips, most of it is pretty boring...


                          Of course I didn't replace that sensor, and it leaked





                          Everything was wrapped up by 9:30 pm the Friday night before the race. Then I had to wash the car, apply decals, and load the trailer with the 330 and Amy's M3. We lacked 4" to get the 2nd car into the trailer (doh!) so she drove out to the event, following me in the trailer. Reconfiguration of the trailer is coming to allow the E36 and E46 to both fit.

                          I'll talk about the NASA event in a separate post...
                          Last edited by Fair!; 03-21-2010, 03:31 PM.
                          Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                          2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                          EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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                          • #43
                            Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                            Update from the first NASA event in the E46, March 13, 2010: This was the first NASA Texas event that I could make this season, and the only 2nd time to have this car on track since purchasing it late last year. The first time it was run on the same AST 4200s and the same 18x10 wheels & 265mm Yokohama tires, but without any fender rolling so I had lots of tire rub out back, and it was raining. Since then we'd installed a few more go fast goodies, clearenced the fenders, and performed lots of preventative maintenance and repair work.

                            First off, let's start with the gallery of photos: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Racing-E...11524828_ffSQp - 168 some odd pictures from Saturday



                            The E46 ran flawlessly, other than feeling down on power, as usual. I'm used to running Amy's E36 M3 on track, which has only "15 more hp" but feels more like +75. The 265/35/18 Yokohama A032 tires on the D-Force 18x10's were the only saving grace on the E46, making plenty of grip.

                            My biggest concern was the tire clearancing done the night before, as well as the completely untested cooling system upgrades. Before putting the car onto the trailer the night before I drove around the block and immediately noticed a significant leak from the lower radiator hose. When I installed the new hose I forgot to order a new coolant sensor, which clips into place in the hose. Just as it did when I did the same hose swap on the '99 323i a couple of months ago, the re-use of the old sensor (and O-ring) in a new hose caused an identical leak on the 330Ci. Stupid mistake - not learning from a previous mistake. There was no solution to be found at 10 pm at night other than a bit of RTV around the O-ring, which somehow actually worked, and even lasted the weekend.


                            Of course in Time Trials there was open passing, but this is the track we ran, in a Clockwise direction

                            The fender rolling in the rear seemed to be adequate. With a stock exhaust the car was deathly quiet on track, the only noise coming from the tires. So it was obvious that the tires were clearing the fenders, and a quick check after each session proved this out. I only noticed a slight tire noise when I clipped the inside curbing when entering Little Bend, coming from the left rear. It proved to be a non-issue, and I could avoid the curbing with no impact on lap times.

                            I struggled a bit on my first session, exploring the limit of the tires in the cool morning air and finding the proper gear changes on the MSR 1.7 mile course. I missed my 1st of 4 sessions, due to an exceedingly long tech line where I shuffled the E46 and the M3 through simultaneously. I quickly realized that my car and TTD in general was going to be in the slower half of the cars in the Time Trial group. But oddly enough, the 330 was only really losing ground on the straights (power), and keeping up with or passing the majority of the TT cars in the big corners like Big Bend and into heaving braking, entering Rattlesnake and Little Bend. The tires, a year old set of well used Yokohama A032 medium-hard compound 265/35/18s, worked great after a barely a few turns, and were well up to operating temps within 2 laps. My fastest laps in the 3 sessions coming on my 3rd, 4th or 5th laps. By days end I had picked up more rubber than had been used - literally.

                            The Hawk HP+ front pads proved to be a good improvement from the old stock pads used at ECR in December, but the car still had stock replacement pads on the rear, old fluid, stock rubber brake lines, and since we didn't change those we didn't bleed the system. The pedal was unsurprisingly mushy, but overall the brakes proved to be still very effective. The only cars out-braking the E46 were KenO's E46 M3 on Stop Techs and a few of the faster TTU Corvettes. I hope with new lines, fluid and upgraded Hawk rear pads it will be even better.

                            The handling was quite good straight off, with the compression on the AST 4200 shocks set at full soft (0) and the rebound started at +6 from full soft all around, -3.9&#176; front camber, and 1/4" of front toe out. We had no time to schedule a proper alignment, thrashing to finish the other repairs the week before, so I checked and adjusted the front toe in the pits before my first (which was the 2nd TT) session.

                            Brian Hanchey of AST-USA was there offering track side support to AST customers, and was kind enough to pass along some outside observations. He noticed a bit of front wheel bouncing going into the bumpier sections of the track, so I upper the rebound +2 and +3 clicks at each end, which really smoothed things out. He was watching all of the cars, and noted that the AST equipped cars all looked VERY composed than the rest in the bumpy sections and through the tight bits like Rattlesnake. Many other racers were bouncing about the track, as we normally see.

                            After my first session (Group C, Trial 2) my fastest lap was in the 1:33's... yeesh. That looked pretty bad on the results sheet from that session, with only 2 cars running slower. I recall Hanchey running 1:24's last year on street tires in the TTA EVO X, and we both ran quicker than that in the TTU V8 E36 (of course). I had never driven a car this slow at MSR, and the only gauge I had at the time were the other competitors in TT. The car felt SO SLOW on the straights, and I was trying pretty hard to keep out of everyone's way. The next 7 closest cars faster than me were running 1:29-1:30 fastest times, so I pushed harder in Trial 3 to catch that little group. In Trial 3 I manged a 1:29.811 fast lap. Not really what I'd call fast, but it was still a TTD track record, and I was now passing a few TTC cars, even one TTA car, and the car was keeping up with almost everything in the corners.

                            In this session on most corners I was previously doing a check-up or even considerable braking into, I realized could be taken flat out in the 330. It was a total momentum car now, with so little power. I suspect there was another 1-2 seconds in just deeper braking as well, which we'll see with a proper flush and real pads. I've got to get the VANOS repair done, get the bigger Hoosiers on, and the headers/exhaust installed!


                            Flat-out in Big Bend, after passing a TTA C5 Z06 (who followed me for a few laps and repassed me)

                            The open diff and the crazy tall rear gearing wasn't hurting me as much on this 1.7 mile track, but it sure wasn't helping, either. I did most of the course in 3rd gear, only touching 4th in 2 places, but I couldn't use 2nd gear in the tighter "Rattlesnake" (?) complex of turns at all, as it would just ignite the inside rear tire in plumes of smoke, so I lugged around there in 3rd... still catching most of the non-autocrossers in this section (plus in Big Bend, which the car could take flat). I was getting killed on the power sections and spent plenty of time giving point-bys to the faster cars, though. It felt "RX8 weak".

                            I drove offline into the klag more than a few times trying to give some faster folks room to go around, and actually GAINED considerable rubber on the tires after the event was over. These Yokohamas wear like stone but make GREAT grip. I cannot count how many track laps we've done on this set of tires on the EVO X, Amy's M3 and my E46: Its in the hundreds over the past 12+ months.



                            Ken O was flying on Saturday and ripped off a new TTA track record in his AST 4200 equipped E46 M3, to the tune of a 1:22.8. Wow. I tried to follow him in 2 different sessions and didn't hang with him for long, as you could imagine with an 8 second difference in lap times. That car had power, brakes, and grip galore. He was hustling around the track looking for more Hoosier contingency in the larger TTA class, and getting it done once again in a TTB car, as he did at the last NASA race at MSR-Houston. The new 18x10" D-Force wheels and 285 Hoosier R6 rubber made for some phenomenal cornering speeds, and he's still learning the setup on his ASTs. Dave B's E36 325i (aka: Goldmember) was into the 1:28's on Saturday and 1:27s on Sunday, also on AST4200s, and moved up from HPDE4 to TT in the 4th run group after a checkout ride from Ken. He was super-psyched to be moved up to TTS, and the flares we both worked so hard on in previous weeks looked good over the fat 18x10" D-Force wheels and 285mm R1 rubber, and most importantly: they didn't rub. There's more time on track easily available for Dave once he gets a proper tune on his very recent (first fired last week!) S50 swap.

                            MER hosted a GREAT party Saturday after the day of races. They served up some badass Texas chili and lots of ICE cold beer. After being dehydrated that cold beer went down fast! Great bash - thanks to all the folks at MER for opening their doors and serving the grub and drinks.

                            At the end of the day its hard to be proud of a 1:29 lap time at MSR on the 1.7, which is the slowest I can ever remember recording here, but its at least a good starting point to build upon with the 330. Sliding around in stock seats/belts all day really sucked, and my back and arms were really sore the next day. The new OS Giken-equipped 3.38 rear end arrived the following Monday morning, so we've got a lot of work to do to get that in, the poly diff bushings installed, and the fenders clearanced for the 285mm tires before the SCCA Regional/Pennington Field auto-x next weekend, and the National Tour the week after that. A new employee is starting tomorrow to help turn wrenches around here, so hopefully we don't get so backed up working on our shop cars.

                            Until next time...
                            Last edited by Fair!; 03-21-2010, 03:24 PM.
                            Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                            2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                            EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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                            • #44
                              Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                              Update for Friday March 19, 2010: We didn't get a chance to install a lot of the parts we had before the NASA TT event last weekend, and the new diff had arrived from DiffsOnline Monday, so we had a lot to do this week. On Monday I interviewed a guy and hired him on Tuesday, with a ton of work for him on the shop E46. Matt and I pitched in as well, and I spent a couple of nights pounding away at work with some of the GRM E30 V8 Project team also. Here's what we got accomplished on the 330 this week:


                              The rear subframe came out on Sean's first day, and the fun really began. He and Matt spent the better part of a day removing the old subframe, RTAB and rear diff mount bushings and installing poly bushing replacements, and they had proper tools. This is not a procedure for the faint of heart, but I'm glad its done. Of course we should have aligned the car after this, as the rear toe is likely way off now, and the rear camber has never been checked or tweaked. Oh well, after the next autocross...







                              Once that was wrapped up the rear brake pads, all of the flex lines and the brake fluid were swapped and bled, and the e-brake was adjusted back into a working state. Thursday night me, Derek and Chris from the GRM team knocked out the majority of the "fender flaring" needed to clear the bigger autocross rubber. The rolled rear fenders and flattened inner lips on the front, which were adequate to clear the 265/35/18s, were not enough for the big 285/30/18 Hoosiers. The front fenders could have been heavily rolled/messaged to "kind of clear" the 285s, but not with any real bump travel. The rear looked like they would HAVE to be cut to have any clearance, but Derek and Chris convinced me to at least try to push them out to test. I have a lot of hammers, so why not?



                              After a good 4 hours they had the front fenders on and partially aligned and I had the rear fenders beat to absolute pulp, but they cleared the tires. This is how the E46 DSP winner from 2008 had done it, and I really didn't want to fire up the plasma cutter and make a huge mess and get into flares. Buying 2 front E46 M3 fenders was already expensive enough ($600) and I didn't want to go through the cost and hassle of grafting another pair to the rear.





                              Now I wasn't sure the M3 front fenders would even fit, but I had a pretty good idea. They were perfect - every bodyline and trim recess lines up perfectly with the E46 non-M Coupe. This was the single best, sexiest mod we've done to the car to date. Wow... it really makes the car look like an M3, and clears the 285mm tires with ease. Now I really wonder: How do people have ANY trouble clearing 285s on an E46 M3??? These flares are freagin HUGE!!!

                              The M3 and non-M Coupe front fenders are a direct copy of each other, except for the flare section and the little "m3 side gill" insert holes. These fenders, even though they bolt on, are not technically legal for a 330 in DSP. I will graft these to a pair of stock 330 front fenders, and they will be legit, soon. This was just a test fit, to check tire clearance. To that end it was a successful test.



                              We all wailed on the rear fenders, for hours, both Thursday night and Friday morning. We'd periodically stick a wheel on there and compress the suspension with the rear springs removed. Once the rear shock was into the bump stop, we'd check for clearance. With enough hammering, and the right backspace, its possible to get 18x10s and 285s to clear on an E46 coupe rear. Lots and lots of hammering. The front fender lips were even flattened in, with the poly hammer. That takes no time at all - like 2 minutes each. The rears take hours.



                              Once we had the front fenders on (Thursday night) we spent a little time re-aligning the fenders and then the front bumper cover to get it all to square up perfectly on Friday. McCall stopped by around 2 pm to help and we slid the front bumper cover forward 1/4" and pulled it outwards about the same amount and it lined up with the wider outside edges and larger wheel arch diameters of the M3 fenders. Did the same tweaks on the rear bumper cover as well. No paint was harmed on either cover.



                              We got it all wrapped up, Hoosier decals applied, and a quick test drive with the Hoosiers by 5 pm, McCall riding shotgun. Did one test launch with a 5000 rpm clutch dump - wow, it hooked hard. Loaded the car and everything in the trailer, ready to race by 6pm.



                              There was a test session/annual SCCA tech/beginner's solo school the next day and we needed the brief testing we could get between student classroom sessions to dial in some semblance of an autocross setting before the Texas National Tour the next week. It was not to be... Saturday morning it was pouring rain, and all but the classroom sessions were canceled. No worry, we'll get some seat time at the autocross Sunday? Nope - six inches of snow dumped in a freak Spring time Texas winter storm Saturday night, and the event was pushed. So I guess the first autocross laps we'll turn will be at the National Tour. Great. We'll get it aligned this week, modify the inner fender panels so they fit better, and make the front fenders 100&#37; DSP legal before then, at least.

                              More soon.
                              Last edited by Fair!; 03-21-2010, 05:56 PM.
                              Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                              2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                              EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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                              • #45
                                Re: Vorshlag BMW E46: DSP Auto-x Project

                                Project Update for April 1, 2010: Well after getting snowed out on our SCCA region's first event of the year March 21st, we finally got to get the E46 DSP car to an autocross event last weekend - at the 2010 SCCA Texas National Tour and Test-N-Tune. But first, here's what we did to the 330 last week...



                                Vorshlag was a sponsor of this event (the Friday night food, beer, drinks and festivities) so we had to be there all weekend - Friday through Sunday. It was good, though, as Friday had hours of testing available on a small ~30 second Andy Hollis prepared course, where we made upwards of 14 runs. Amy and I had never autocrossed the 330 yet so we used this time to get familiar with the car, make some shock and tire pressure adjustments, and see where the performance was compared to other cars testing. The car came out of the trailer quick, and we were happy with the overall feel of the car straight away.


                                The Texas Tour had more BMW E46 models than I've ever seen at one SCCA event

                                From driving it the handling on the E46 felt great, but after looking at photos I can see a lot more body roll than I like. The GTR spring rates (600F/750R) we started with worked great on the 265mm Yokohamas on track, but now seem a tad soft for the 285mm Hoosier A6 grip levels, so we'll likely be stepping up the spring rates both front and rear and playing with the front bar settings.

                                Once again I left the event battered and sore from hanging on - the slick leather seats and old 3-point belts do nothing to hold my butt in place. My seating position just flat out SUCKED and really made it a challenge to drive and look ahead. My tall torso (6'3") coupled with the stock seat, a new helmet purchased at the event (thanks SPS!) and the stock sunroof headliner jammed my head squarely into the roof. I ended up sitting with the seat leaned WAAAY back and my head cocked sideways to fit inside the sunroof pocket, now moving the COBRA seat install way up the priority list.



                                The 330 slalomed very well, and the new OS Giken diff and 3.38 rear gearing were a huge improvement, not to mention the now functional dual VANOS system, after some quick repairs back at the shop last week. The tires and diff were working SO well in fact that I smoked the stock 100K mile clutch. 4000 rpm launches and it was hooking up hard! It got pretty bad on Day 1 and we had to lower our launch to 2500 rpm, and baby the (many) 2-3 shifts. The stock "CDV" (clutch delay valve) is still in place (doh!), so that's causing more clutch slip than necessary. Oh well, we were going to slip in this Aluminum Fidanza flywheel soon, as well as a new shifter and clutch/pp. Tire rub was nonexistent, so I guess our extra testing in the shop paid off.

                                The course was long and hard... wow, that sounded too graphic. 90 second course with tons of slaloms and tricky offsets, but these played well to the strengths of the ASTs and BMW overall. We did outrun the power steering a couple of times (mostly during the tighter slalom at Friday's TNT), and could use more power of course. My driving was "meh" and I PAXed poorly as a result, but we were glad just to get through this monster course with minimal cone carnage. The larger course put our straight away speeds right beyond the limit of 2nd gear and the engine rpm limit (7000), so Amy spent a lot of time on the limiter, and I spent a lot of time shifting (like a lot of racers, she's still hit-or-miss on busy heel-toe downshifts). On my fastest runs I did a total of 6 up and down shifts between 2nd and 3rd. Busy busy! Made for a lot of fancy footwork, switching between left foot braking and right foot braking/heel-toe downshifting.



                                There's still some suspension tuning to do, at a proper all day autox test session, but overall we were happy. My poor PAX result means I have a lot of work left to do, on the car and on the driver. The 330 passed the sound regs with flying colors, only registering 78 dB - one of the lowest at the event! I guess the stock exhaust is choking both sound levels and power potential. There were several ST cars in the 101 dB range.

                                With 2 drivers pounding on the car for 3 days at THE absolute most abrasive event site in all of Dallas/Ft. Worth, the new set of sticker Hoosier A6s took a massive beating. We might get 2-3 more "little site" autox events out of this set, but they're pretty used up. We did a lot of Test runs Friday, which we needed to learn the car, but it was a costly event. Luckily we had 3 in class so I won 2 new Hoosiers for the weekend (Amy would have won another tire for 2nd place if we would have had 5). I'll probably get some 285 R6 tires coming for use at the April 24-25th NASA TT event at Texas World Speedway, and get some more A6s coming later in April. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of tire purchasing.... this ain't as cheap as STU, that's for sure!



                                The new BMW roof and headliner are flying here from Germany now, and the 4-point Kirk Racing roll bar are inbound on a freight truck. I'll order some stainless mandrel 3" bends for the exhaust and slap the headers in at the same time. Lots to do in the coming weeks.

                                Still pondering 3" (quiet) muffler and single disc clutch choices - any suggestions are appreciated. We'll add a 3" catalyst to cut down on the sound, and to keep it a little more earth friendly.

                                Until next time...
                                Last edited by Fair!; 04-01-2010, 01:47 PM.
                                Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                                2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                                EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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