[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Old post, I know.

I missed your Loudon video when you posted it. It brings back fond memories of the excitement I experienced during time trials while barely under control between the exit of 6 and the exit of 10. What a dangerous track, that one is! Still, there were remarkably few incidents during the time I was running there.

I wanted to ask you about your caliper rebuild. Whose kit(s) did you use, did they include fluid seals as well as dust boots, and did you find that you had 40mm pistons on both front and rear calipers?

I'm going to have mine rebuilt and am looking for a source for more than just the dust boots sold by BMW. I looked at bimmerworld, but the front caliper rebuild kit is out of stock and they don't have a date for when it will be back in stock. They do have the rear kit, so I was thinking that if the pistons are the same size front and rear I might try buying rear kits and using them for both front and rear. There's always Zeckhausen, too, I imagine. Any thoughts you have would be most appreciated!

This thread is coming in handy today! I didn't rebuild my rears that time, so I'm not sure if the pistons are the same size. I used the centric kit from bimmerworld that you're seeing out of stock. If I can't get something from them I call my local dealer to gauge if something is a ways out. Usually my dealer can get stuff within a couple days and I get 15% off through bmwcca. It's still more expensive than bimmerworld, but it's a good backup.

I do love nhms. A lot of people don't like it because of how rough it is, but I think it's very fun because of that. Unrelated, but the e36 is now almost a club racer

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by K8_M235i

This thread is coming in handy today! I didn't rebuild my rears that time, so I'm not sure if the pistons are the same size. I used the centric kit from bimmerworld that you're seeing out of stock. If I can't get something from them I call my local dealer to gauge if something is a ways out. Usually my dealer can get stuff within a couple days and I get 15% off through bmwcca. It's still more expensive than bimmerworld, but it's a good backup.

I do love nhms. A lot of people don't like it because of how rough it is, but I think it's very fun because of that. Unrelated, but the e36 is now almost a club racer

Thanks!

Yeah, I never minded the rough surface of NHMS. The braking zone for 3 can be a bit of work if your car has unsuitable dampers, I know, and the transition through 10 can feel pretty dramatic in a really stiff car. I looked at NHMS' less-than-perfect aspects as a large part of what makes it such a challenging track to drive really quickly.

Post-up some photos of the E36 when you get a chance; I'm sure others would like to see them, too.

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Post-up some photos of the E36 when you get a chance; I'm sure others would like to see them, too.

Here it is. Dme is currently on its way back from Randy at Epic with a fresh race tune. Front bumper is off so I can mount a Bimmerworld evo track splitter. One day it will hopefully be a pretty car. (The entire livery is a joke, including its Class decals)

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by K8_M235i

Here it is. Dme is currently on its way back from Randy at Epic with a fresh race tune. Front bumper is off so I can mount a Bimmerworld evo track splitter. One day it will hopefully be a pretty car. (The entire livery is a joke, including its Class decals)

Yep, looks like a race car, all right!

[QuinnM]

I was looking into your wheel set up to help reduce tire cost and I noticed on Bimmerworld's website the TA5r 17x9 +42 aren't listed as compatible with our cars. Did you have to modify your caliper to get the 17 to fit or are they being conservative on their compatibility checker?

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by QuinnM

I was looking into your wheel set up to help reduce tire cost and I noticed on Bimmerworld's website the TA5r 17x9 +42 aren't listed as compatible with our cars. Did you have to modify your caliper to get the 17 to fit or are they being conservative on their compatibility checker?

The 17s ta5rs clear the calipers as long as you have the stock blue brakes (340mm front rotors). To fit the 9" wides you will need some negative camber though.

[QuinnM]

Originally Posted by K8_M235i

The 17s ta5rs clear the calipers as long as you have the stock blue brakes (340mm front rotors). To fit the 9" wides you will need some negative camber though.

Awesome, thanks for the fast reply. I read your previous reply and don't know why I thought our stock brakes were 370s for a bit.

I have a similar use case as you with my car being my DD but I am trying to hit as many local track days as I can afford. I am feeling like my current Dinan springs are a bit old and may need a refresh. I don't want to spend 3k on KW V3s. Any suggestion for a middle ground or are you still happy with just springs?

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by QuinnM

Awesome, thanks for the fast reply. I read your previous reply and don't know why I thought our stock brakes were 370s for a bit.

I have a similar use case as you with my car being my DD but I am trying to hit as many local track days as I can afford. I am feeling like my current Dinan springs are a bit old and may need a refresh. I don't want to spend 3k on KW V3s. Any suggestion for a middle ground or are you still happy with just springs?

I was happy with the Dinan springs for what they were. If it was my main track car I would have considered a more track focused damper. I have MCS dampers on my E36 and they are incredible.

I wouldn't swap out the springs unless going to a premium, track focused, damper like mcs, tc Kline etc. The stock adaptive suspension is pretty good for what it is.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by K8_M235i

I was happy with the Dinan springs for what they were. If it was my main track car I would have considered a more track focused damper. I have MCS dampers on my E36 and they are incredible.

I wouldn't swap out the springs unless going to a premium, track focused, damper like mcs, tc Kline etc. The stock adaptive suspension is pretty good for what it is.

Have you by any chance had the S54 dyno'd on a Dynojet 224? If so, I'm curious to hear what it's producing.

My S50B32 spit out 318/246. The 318 surprised me, but the dyno was at Granite State and he doesn't do anything to boost the numbers (which was what I needed so I would qualify under NASA & COM TT rules). That engine had help: MoTec ECU, huge BMW Motorsport carbon fiber airbox, Schrick 284s, and Supersprint headers.

I don't care how powerful my turbo'd B58 is, there is nothing like a tuned, six-throttle body NA engine when it comes to super precise throttle response and the fine control that offers the driver in a turn. I miss my race car!

/OT

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Have you by any chance had the S54 dyno'd on a Dynojet 224? If so, I'm curious to hear what it's producing.

My S50B32 spit out 318/246. The 318 surprised me, but the dyno was at Granite State and he doesn't do anything to boost the numbers (which was what I needed so I would qualify under NASA & COM TT rules). That engine had help: MoTec ECU, huge BMW Motorsport carbon fiber airbox, Schrick 284s, and Supersprint headers.

I don't care how powerful my turbo'd B58 is, there is nothing like a tuned, six-throttle body NA engine when it comes to super precise throttle response and the fine control that offers the driver in a turn. I miss my race car!

/OT

I didn't realize your car had a Euro s50, very cool.

I would guess mine makes somewhere in the 305 whp range. It is a stock s54 with stepped headers and a 3" exhaust. It's tuned by Randy Mueller. I should get it on a dyno at some point just to see.

Cmod is crazy now. The front runners have 3.4's making about 380whp and sequentials.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by K8_M235i

I didn't realize your car had a Euro s50, very cool.

I would guess mine makes somewhere in the 305 whp range. It is a stock s54 with stepped headers and a 3" exhaust. It's tuned by Randy Mueller. I should get it on a dyno at some point just to see.

Cmod is crazy now. The front runners have 3.4's making about 380whp and sequentials.

Yes, that S50 flat walked the dog. I think I've mentioned the car was driven by a pro to a 2:01 at the Glen when it was suffering from too much weight (longish story), understeering due to too much wing, semi-spanked R1s ...blah-blah-blah. On that day, it was a 1:59 car. Too bad I was so slow in it!

While that's a real cool story for this old guy, I looked at IP times for the Glen recently and was flat astounded! There's a real war going on out there; and apparently the rules have been relaxed by quite a bit.

Are top C-Mods now running 1:55s or something like that? Peter Carroll was running 1:59s in his S54-powered E36 C-Mod back in the 2010 time frame. He had a clear lead over the field in the Northeast and, IIRC, was national C-Mod champion two years in a row.

I should think that sequentials at the Glen would be good for a full second - maybe more. I recall that GT3 Cup cars' sequentials needed a $20K+ rebuild every 50 hours. That would make you think twice about taking your car out at every opportunity, wouldn't it?

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Yes, that S50 flat walked the dog. I think I've mentioned the car was driven by a pro to a 2:01 at the Glen when it was suffering from too much weight (longish story), understeering due to too much wing, semi-spanked R1s ...blah-blah-blah. On that day, it was a 1:59 car. Too bad I was so slow in it!

While that's a real cool story for this old guy, I looked at IP times for the Glen recently and was flat astounded! There's a real war going on out there; and apparently the rules have been relaxed by quite a bit.

Are top C-Mods now running 1:55s or something like that? Peter Carroll was running 1:59s in his S54-powered E36 C-Mod back in the 2010 time frame. He had a clear lead over the field in the Northeast and, IIRC, was national C-Mod champion two years in a row.

I should think that sequentials at the Glen would be good for a full second - maybe more. I recall that GT3 Cup cars' sequentials needed a $20K+ rebuild every 50 hours. That would make you think twice about taking your car out at every opportunity, wouldn't it?

It looks like the lap record at WGI is from Charles Harding with a 1:57 at the race a month ago. His car is ridiculously nice and he's a great guy too! I know that he has very high operating costs.

I did a 2:08 in the first practice session on Friday morning. If I had more time in the dry I probably could've been in the 2:05-2:06 range. There's so much I want to do over the winter.

[TIMSGT]

K8_M235i, your use case and mods are similar to my plans for next year. Now that you've been through 2ish track season with your 2'er are there any areas of concern regarding maintenance and reliability one should look into before doing 4-5 track days (let's say in a 6mo span)?

[K8_M235i]

Originally Posted by TIMSGT

K8_M235i, your use case and mods are similar to my plans for next year. Now that you've been through 2ish track season with your 2'er are there any areas of concern regarding maintenance and reliability one should look into before doing 4-5 track days (let's say in a 6mo span)?

Is it an m235 or m240? With camber and nice tires you will want to improve piling on an m235. That is the main area of concern with n55s on track.