I'm kind of shocked that my little E36 M3box Mazda 3 sedan could actually fit 4 wheels and 4 unmounted tires to get everything mounted at the tire shop. I still had a decent amount of room to spare.
Just about ready for track time.
The only thing I still need to do is download Protool and turn off the brake nannies.
I sent you a link for ISTA, INPA and a bunch of other BMW tools through the contact on the website here so hopefully you get that, if anyone else reading this needs it you can contact me through there and I can send you the link as well.
As far as open lapping goes, we have a track here that is open all the time and can be a gong show as well. Having said that I've probably had more track to myself time there than anywhere else. You do need to be aware of who you are sharing the track with and I have pitted before to avoid some drivers. If you're someone that gets red mist or worked up by other drivers that are being shiny happy people it's probably not the best spot to be on track. If you do a weekday session you'll likely have a better time over a Friday night or Saturday when things are busier.
roninsoldier83 said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I don't believe they ever brought the 130i here to the US.
You, of course, are correct, as it's a 128i.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:roninsoldier83 said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I don't believe they ever brought the 130i here to the US.
You, of course, are correct, as it's a 128i.
And only an intake swap and a software update away from a 130i! (Go back a few pages for the play by play).
In reply to roninsoldier83 :
The issue is people with no idea what they're doing are let free on the track, in whatever group they decide. IE, "Well, my car is fast, so I'm going in the fast group!" Then they're slow, unpredictable and dangerous. I've had friends have thousands of dollars of damage done at HPR by people like that. The cars aren't teched, so it's not unusual to see someone put fluids down, or fly off the track because of brake fade.
I like my car too much to risk it at an open day full of chowder heads.
In reply to adam525i :
Thank you, brother! I appreciate the link/tools! When I get some free time, I'll download them and I'm sure I'll put them to good use!
Note to self: if you meet adam525i in real life, buy this guy a beer!
In reply to docwyte :
Our track runs an open lapping format so no run groups which I think is actually better. It takes away that stress of my group is up, I have to get out there or I don't get my track time. You can choose when you want to be on track or off of it, when there is a driver on track I don't want to be with I just pull off and wait a few minutes until they come off. I've never left that track not satisfied with the amount of track time.
I'm not familiar with HPR but Toronto Motorsports Park is a flat track with excellent visibility of what is ahead everywhere with only one wall to hit (and people do hit it) coming out of the final corner onto the main straight. Most corners are also pretty low speed. I think that all helps along with the open track format. E36 M3 still happens though and you need to be making good choices while out there and be aware of everything (was that a puff of smoke up ahead? might be oil on the track. dust cloud? car might be off. line of cars? probably worth pulling into the pits and waiting for things to calm down etc).
In reply to roninsoldier83 :
No problem at all, if the link doesn't work just let me know.
But I'm not a drinker, so maybe a cookie or ice cream instead lol.
In reply to docwyte :
As this seems to be a recurrent theme in several of the threads I've posted in, I'm going to address this one more time and I won't be revisiting the topic: I was asked what type of track events I was taking the 128i to. I responded with my plans, which are frankly, none of your concern. I wasn't asking for advice, feedback, validation or permission. If I was asking for your advice, I would have said something to the effect of "what do you guys think about me doing XYZ?" Last I checked, I said nothing of the sort.
My level of risk assessment- none of your concern. My adult family members that asked if I would accompany them to a track day- yet again, none of your concern. Their own risk analysis, having been well-informed of the nature of track events- none of your concern. It has been explained to them that based on their performance driving experience level, they should stick to the Slow group (with me coaching them in the passenger seat for their first session), but again, that's none of your concern.
There is inherent risk in this type of activity. You can't guarantee an outcome and there are a myriad of ways that something can go wrong. I've been to a plethora of open lapping days at multiple tracks- and while I've seen plenty of offs (had a couple myself!) and seen plenty of drivers doing some things I might consider questionable, I've never experienced anything that I would consider a problem I wasn't able to manage- and that goes for any of the tracks in the state that I've ran on- HPR, PPIR, PMP or La Junta. I've also been to several high performance driving schools, more autoX events than I can count, quite a few TT events, some rallyX and even a bit of ice racing at Georgetown Lake- pretty much all of which start with some type of safety briefing (as they should). Making an assumption that you need to be my benevolent source of safety information, to assume that I couldn't possibly fathom the nature of risk is condescending, demeaning and unwarranted. Not to mention, completely unsolicited.
This is the issue: based on your own experiences, you don't feel comfortable taking part in opening lapping days. Great. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. I could care less, as, you guessed it- it's none of my concern. I'm not going to try and tell you how to live your life or persuade you to take on a different level of risk management- it's your life, and I'm not your nanny or your judgement-making-overlord. You're a free American citizen that can do whatever it is you please. So, do it. Follow your own pursuit of happiness, whatever that looks like to you. In the meantime, I'll be doing the same.
If, Lord forbid, something bad happens at a fun open lapping day, well, you can smugly say "I told you so" and feel good about yourself. Pat yourself on the back and continue to feel like a superior being. Spoiler alert: I still won't care and will still live my life in a way I see fit.
TL;DR- there's no need to follow me around like a lost puppy and constantly try to share your contrarian opinions, they're surely not needed and I suspect you have better ways of expending your energy than attempting to lecture strangers on the Internet. Best of luck to you, sir.
OHSCrifle said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:roninsoldier83 said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I don't believe they ever brought the 130i here to the US.
You, of course, are correct, as it's a 128i.
And only an intake swap and a software update away from a 130i! (Go back a few pages for the play by play).
It's a California emissions car, so wouldn't it have that already?
I drove it today, the first time I ever drove a 1 series. Yes, this is the droid I'm looking for. It feels waaaay better than the 3er that it shares major components with (E90?). It's amazing what losing a little weight and wheelbase does for a car.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I have read that the N51 has 3SIM with two DISA valves - but I believe it may be tuned differently. Not certain however. What other specs does this droid have?
If you like it already - wait til you refresh the suspension!
In reply to OHSCrifle :
Suspension is already in good nick, it's a fairly low miles estate sale car from a state where the roads are smooth. The only bad besides the horrendous oil leaks (now repaired) is that someone put four rear sized tires on it. I did verify that it has the correct staggered wheels, so that's an easy fix. Tires are cheap allseasons anyway so they'd have to go no matter what.
It's not MY droid, as they are repairing it and it's a convertible anyway. I told my boss, if this was six months from now I'd make an offer if they didn't want to repair it, even though it's a convertible. He said, no you don't, I get first dibs and I've always wanted a 1 series 
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
If you want to check to see if it has the DISA manifold on it, it's pretty easy to see. One of the DISA valves is right above the throttle body opening; it's pretty hard to miss. Just see if it has a DISA or not.
The DISA manifold is on the left and the "base" (128i N52) manifold is one the right:
^^^Just look and see if that giant plastic valve/sensor is sticking out or not.
Finally, after talking about it for quite a while, I downloaded Bimmergeeks ProTool and started coding things out. I turned off the brake nannies that seek to neuter these cars on track and also coded out the fog lights (I removed them when I installed the oil cooler), as well as the TPMS system (I'll never have to look at that annoying little yellow light again!).
Honestly, ProTool is awesome. Extremely user friendly. You don't have to learn to code- ProTool essentially does the coding for you. All you have to do is toggle the features you want on or off.
This is one of the first "projects" I've done to the car where the DIY blog I wrote afterwards took considerably longer to write than actually doing the work on the car. Feel free to check out the blog:
I might be taking a bit of a hiatus for a while.
Yesterday, I mounted up my new wheels and tires. Visually, this is probably the best thing I've done to the car. I'm very happy with how they look.
I've got a set of BMW center caps on the way to complete the look of the wheels.
Using my cheap bathroom scale, I weighed the stock staggered setup:
Stock front wheels (17x7) & 205 wide tires: 44.8 lbs
Stock rear wheels (17x7.5) & 225 wide tires: 46.2 lbs
Total= 182 lbs
Apex 17x8.5 wheels & 235 tires (on all four corners): 41.8 lbs , for a total of 167.2 lbs
Total rotating mass saved: 14.2 lbs
Now, I went with this setup because it was the largest setup Apex says you can run without any modification needed. I suspect they might have been right if the car hadn't previously been in an accident on the right rear side. Driving around, guess where I heard a bit of rubbing coming from? Yep, the right rear side. Sigh.
Sure enough, upon closer inspection, the fender on the right rear side didn't seem to quite stick out as far as it did on the other side. I've owned the car for 2 years now and never noticed, but when I was really inspecting it, it appears to be inset by an extra few millimeters.
I pulled out the fender roller, the heat gun and the temperature gun and got to work.
We've already been over my frustrations at the previous owner(s). They've nearly driven me mad more times than I can count. Well, add another frustration to the list.
While rolling the right rear fender, I noticed the paint on the inner lip looked different than the paint on the rest of the fender (not as smooth). While trying to clean the inside of the lip (to get rid of dirt and rocks before I started rolling), I discovered they sprayed some sort of sticky goup on the inside of the fender. I grabbed a magnet- sure enough, it's metal. There's no sign of Bondo. The only thing I could think of is the goup was used to prevent rust or something?!? Either way, I started rolling the fender...
To be clear, this isn't my first time rolling fenders. I've shockingly never had a problem before. As soon as I started the slightest roll, not only did the paint start to crack, a small portion of it started to break off. Only it wasn't just paint, it was a smoothing/filler/finishing product underneath the paint.
Now, I've done a bit of body/Bondo work in the past. For the life of me, I can't understand why they used filler on the paint inside the fender. I ran a magnet over the whole lip of the fender- it's all metal. There's no bondo. I can clearly feel a lip throughout the entire fender liner. I can't understand why they wouldn't just paint it?
Either way. Some of the gunk on the inside of the fender lip wasn't helpful. It's hard to see it, but when rolling, I ended up with a very small dent in the fender as a result.
I will try to use a dolly and hammer to see if I can get the fender back to perfect. Even if no one else will notice, I'll notice.
I could probably throw on some touch-up paint on the fender lip and no one would be the wiser... but with the way the product started cracking, I will probably end up doing the right thing- sanding it down smoothly and repainting it.
All I can say is: I'm tired. This past month has worn me out. In the past month, I've done the following:
-Dropped the front subframe to install the baffled oil pan, new motor mounts, etc.
-Removed the entire front end of the car to install the 135i oil cooler.
-Taken the car to the shop to have the A/C refilled (after my oil cooler install mishap).
-Installed the Dinan camber plates.
-Taken the car to another shop to have it aligned.
-Installed new brake pads, rotors, stainless steel lines (they were a pain in the neck!) and fluid. I went through a few rounds of bleeding them before I got the pedal feeling perfect.
-Did a ton of research on figuring out everything I needed to code things out, learned ProTool and coded it all out.
That's on top of spending countless hours watching YoutTube videos, scouring FB/forums for minimal amounts of information scattered all over and writing 5 full-length DIY blog posts (6 if you count one I did on the NC Miata) with photos and all the instructions I could muster to help anyone reading them. As it turns out, doing DIY write-ups is very time consuming, with the average one taking me 3-7 hours to put together. Hopefully they at least help someone who finds them in the future.
In the past month, I've easily put 80+ hours of time (it's probably 100+, but I've stopped counting) into this hobby, on top of working a demanding full time 40+ hour a week job/career and raising a family. I'm worn out.
Want to know what the funny thing is? I finished the last of the things I needed to do to feel comfortable putting the 128i on track... and I honestly don't even want to track the car. I've told some people I would go with them, but it doesn't even sound terribly appealing/fun- two of them I would more or less be acting as an instructor (they should know better than to trust a dunce like me!), teaching a bit of car control, track etiquette and some semblance of finding the proper braking zones/driving lines so they can have fun without hurting themselves.
Since I bought it, I've easily put hundreds of hours of labor into the 128i and that's not counting the hundreds more I've done researching and documenting everything. Even though N52's are cheap and plentiful, I'm not sure I want to go beating the hell out of the car, risking a money shift and another countless number of hours in the garage. And that's to say nothing of money. I've dropped far more money into this car than it will ever be worth. I'm just not sure if I want to do something that could result in the car being towed home on the back of a trailer. Oh the irony.
Unrelated: the new wider, much stickier tires ROTATE! The square setup was a great idea. I was playing around in an empty parking lot... this thing is a lot of fun!
Speaking of parking lots: I recently discovered that I accidentally built the 128i to the hilt of the rules for a local BMW CCA autocross class. I couldn't help but laugh. I'll be trying to run as many BMW CCA autoX events as I can manage this year (I think they only scheduled 5 for the entire season). This is a pro and a con: technically, since I'm already maxed out on points for the class I think would fit best, that means no more mods. Technically, since I'm already taking a hit for springs and shocks, I can swap in a set of coilovers if I so desired, but I can't do anything else to the car in order to not get bumped up into a much faster class.
Honestly, I'm burnt out on working on cars in general. And I need to take a break and let my wallet recover before I even think about ordering anything else.
Plans for the car:
-Put a set of OEM brake pads back on the car until a track day is actually scheduled. These Hawk ER-1's are driving me nuts (they're LOUD!!).
-Make the fender look pretty again.
-Maybe tint the windows with something ceramic to help with not sweating like a whore in church this summer (the A/C works, but black leather is less than pleasant in July).
-Maybe throw in a set of brighter LED headlight bulbs (she could use a bit more light at night- I'm spoiled by modern cars).
-Run some autocross events with the BMW CCA and see if I get back into it.
-Rather than initiating track days, put the onus on family/friends. If they want to go that bad, they can get the ball rolling and I'll attend, but only because I told them I would.
-Enjoy the car as is.
If I enjoy autocross and want to make the car a bit more competitive:
-Swap out the Bilstein B12 setup for a set of Ohlins coilovers (substantially higher spring rates while maintaining ride comfort).
If I decide I don't want to continue autoXing, or don't care about getting bumped into a higher class:
-Swap over to a 3.73 rear diff and likely swap in a Wavetrac LSD.
I've considered a set of headers, but with our current emissions laws (we essentially adopted CARB standards), I don't want to swap them back and forth every two years. Right now, they don't seem to be enforcing the CARB standards to the same extent as California, but I'm not convinced I want the hassle if they start pushing in the future.
For giggles and noise, I might consider a tasteful cat-back exhaust at some point. Maybe.
For the most part though, the car is pretty much done. And I'm pretty much burnt out for the foreseeable future.
Take a break, you've earned it and it seems like the car is in a place where you can just drive it and enjoy it how it sits. It sounds like the current setup is really playful, I hope that translates to the autocross course and puts a smile on your face there.
I wouldn't worry about hurting it on track when you get there, just take it easy on the shifts to make sure you hit the proper gear and enjoy it. You've got all the proper mods to keep the N52 happy, I'd just stay on top of oil level throughout the day/weekend and let it eat!
I've kind of put my car projects a bit on the back burner for this year too, I was planning on doing a B12 setup in the E90 and there are always things to do on the E28 but just am not that motivated to take those on or spend the money. The E90 is doing great as a daily and the E28 in its current form is ready to go for the track. Are either perfect and what I'd like them to be, nope but they are good enough. I also bought a snowmobile that is going to need some attention before winter comes again so that has my attention now. The E90 even got a hitch to pull it (which it has done quite well at bringing it home).
The Apex Arx8 look good on any BMW. Good choice.
Definitely take a break if need be. Its a hobby, its suppose to be fun.
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