Obioban's Long Term e46 M3 build

Installed a bucket seat in the M3 wagon 

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SYT Shadow and his brother came down for the weekend, and we did rod bearings on the wagon's S54 and some projects on their F80 M3 CS. 

The bearings only have 50,000-60,000 miles on them, and only one track event AFAIK, but oil analysis said they were due. 





...And it looks like oil analysis did not lie. 

These bearings were WPC treated. I haven't seen any cars with WPC treated bearings with even half this mileage, so I think it's possible (but in no way guaranteed) that this shorter life is a result of the WPC treatment. 

I put in new, OE, untreated bearings with OE bolts. 

Thanks again, Nick/Danny, for coming down!

4 track events coming up in the next 4 weeks! New tires (NT01s in 17x275 square), as well  

Just going to leave the car in track mode between events :P

Rear of the car is low because it's full of all my track stuff.

_________________

Installed the SS heat shield on my section 2. That was a PITA with the section 2 on the car!

I keep getting questions about how my harnesses are mounted, so here she is... 

Harnesses are Profi 3x2s. I like the 3" shoulder straps to minimize stretching over the distance I'm running them, if they should need to really be used (crash). 

Sub straps are mounted under the seats using the BK R-9228/R-9229 sub strap mounts. When not in use, I tuck them under the cushion, out of sight-- but leave them installed. 



I have (manual) sedan sliders in my car. This means they have an outboard lap belt mount point built into them from the factory. I make this into a clip in point using the clip in point in the BK R-9225.



For my inboard lap belt mounts I have harness attached to the factory 3 point receiver using the Schroth quick fit part built for this purpose. This has a number of benefits: 
1) no seat belt light
2) lap belt pretensioner remains functional in a crash
3) quickly installs/removes if I need to, say, get gas mid day. 





Lastly, my shoulder harnesses clip into the rear deck shoulder harness mount points created by the BK R-1246. These mounts attach to the factory back seat shoulder harness mount points. In this picture, only the drivers side harnesses are installed-- so you can see the ring where one of the passenger harnesses would clip in if I had them installed: 



In total, it takes me ~3 minutes to install or remove my harnesses per seat. Between events, the back seat remains 100% functional and I can use the factory 3 point belt as if I had a stock seat. There's also no danger in street (helmetless) driving like with a roll bar. 

I completely understand that this setup is not as safe on track as a fully caged/fire suppressed/etc car, but it's significantly more safe than a stock, 3 point car. It also means I never think about holding myself in place, at all, while driving on track. 

My goal was to make it as safe as possible on the track without compromising the safety or practicality on the street. I think this is about the ideal setup for that goal.

The Avin really saved my ass this weekend. I don't know if it would have been from a ruined tire or a full on crash, but either way it would have ended my track weekend. 

Friday was all day open track. ~1 hour in a siren went off in my car. I glanced at the nav screen, and a warning as displayed that my driver rear was low. I switched over to TPMS view and could watch the pressure ticking down at ~1 psi/5 seconds. As I pitted in it was down to 20 psi, by the time I was able to stop it was down to 10. 

It looks like someone lost one of those brake line retaining clips on track. 



Inside of my tire:







I caught it early enough that the tire didn't get ruined. So, I borrowed a street wheel from another e46 m3 owner, drove into town, had it patched, and was back on track ~1.5 hours later. Don't know if I would have been comfortable with the patch, if I didn't have the tire pressure monitoring running with audible siren! 

Great weekend, overall. Got to meet a bunch of M3Fers, and pretty much no traffic issues. BMWCCA puts on a good, if pricey, event.

How the car looks with the brake ducts installed:

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Back from Lime Rock. The track was okay, the surrounding area is completely awesome. Great scenery, amazing driving roads. 

I sat in a 3 hour traffic jam on the way home, for a 6 hour long total drive, and can confirm the Nogaros remain comfortable 

Also, heated bucket seats are great on 40 degree mornings with the windows required to be down. 

Those bearings... Wow. 

Lime Rock is definitely in a beautiful area, but yeah - the traffic heading home can be brutal.  I came up with all sorts of whacky routes to get home from that area when I was working in NH - generally avoiding CT as much as possible. 

I have some serious reservations about your harness setup.  Simply put, I find it highly unlikely that its safer than the stock 3 point and there's no way I'd run a sub strap harness without a rollbar and HANS.  I also don't like your rear harness tail mounts or the quick fit in board lap belt mount.  Have you cotter pinned the outboard lap buckle too?

Unfortunately there's really no middle ground here, either use stock or go to a proper rollbar/6 point/HANS setup.  The schroth quick fit/quick fit pro's are the closest setup and they do make one for your car but its not meant to be used with a fixed back seat.

docwyte said:

I have some serious reservations about your harness setup.  Simply put, I find it highly unlikely that its safer than the stock 3 point and there's no way I'd run a sub strap harness without a rollbar and HANS.  I also don't like your rear harness tail mounts or the quick fit in board lap belt mount.  Have you cotter pinned the outboard lap buckle too?

Unfortunately there's really no middle ground here, either use stock or go to a proper rollbar/6 point/HANS setup.  The schroth quick fit/quick fit pro's are the closest setup and they do make one for your car but its not meant to be used with a fixed back seat.

I do run a HANS. The clips are always pinned when in use. They're not in the picture because I just clipped them into place for the sake of the picture. 

While your statement is generally true about the quickfit and aftermarket bucket seats, it will soon specifically not be true for the Cobra Nogaro (the seats I'm running). Schroth is in the process of certifying that specific seat, and only that seat, for use with the quickfits.

This nonsense about harnesses being unsafe without a roll bar/cage has been perpetuated for years, but it's just false. From Schroth, who has easily done more testing on this than anyone else: 

"Aftermarket harnesses and racing seats ARE safer in the majority of incidents in vehivles with OR WITHTOUT a rollbar-- INCLUDING ROLLOVERS"

also:

"Vehicle safety systems are designed for 99 percentile accidents. Properly certified and installed 4-5-6 point harnessbelts significantly increase vehicle saety in 99% of likely accidents including rollovers."

Seems silly, to me, to make the car less safe 99% percent of the time so that it's safer 1% of the time, eh?

In full context: 

Great stuff, amigo!

Any track video to share?

I had that same Britax seat for my two kids- I loved it. Handy, light, and really seemed to fit the kids nice and snug.

Bummer about the tire flat, but nice turnaround time to get back! I tracked a tire with a plug until it was bald, no issues. Other than everyone telling me I was gonna die.

Thanks for sharing those slides about harness safety. @docwyte made a similar appearance in my thread to tell me I was gonna die, too. I'm running a harness bar, Sparco Evo Pro 2000's, FIA 6-point, and a HANS, but according to him, I should ditch all that and run the stock seat with a 3 point for better safety. I respectfully agreed to disagree.

Cheers-

damen

In reply to badwaytolive :

Since you posted a link to your thread I had to go take a peek. I've gotta say, at least Obi is mounting his belts to factory seatbelt anchor points that are designed for some load. You're putting all of your occupant restraint on a couple tack welds  on the seat bracket and a harness bar with more pivot points than the average suspension.

My hope is that nobody ever needs to rely on their safety equipment, but spend enough time on track pushing the limits and accidents are bound to happen. Whether that's another car, or a flat tire like OP almost experienced or any number of things. 

I've seen enough pictures like this on track forums to be leery of any harness bar but especially ones that bolt together in multiple pieces.

Now, back to track posts instead of fighting about safety gear!

For clarification, please note I have no intention of changing Badwaytolives mind, but in my neck of the woods harness bars have been banned from most of the major HPDE groups, I'd expect this will only become more prevelant as cars continue to leave the factory faster and faster. Harness bars can be designed to be safe enough, but it's too hard for tech guys to evaluate them car by car so clubs are just blanket banning them.

In reply to klodkrawler05 :

I have to admit, I PMed him that exact same picture (in an effort to not further derail the thread), after looking through his thread! Harness bars are sometimes fine, but none of those straight tube across the cabin solutions (sparco) are ever going to work out-- they need direct load paths from the inside harness mounts to the harness bar mount points, and the mount points need to be designed for seat belt loads. 

klodkrawler05 said:

Since you posted a link to your thread I had to go take a peek. I've gotta say,

You "gotta say"? Okay, but maybe next time you want to talk E36 M3 about my stuff, do it in my thread rather than clutter up another. Unfortunately, since you've libeled me here, we can go through this now.

at least Obi is mounting his belts to factory seatbelt anchor points that are designed for some load.

My lap belts are bolted directly into the factory mount points with factory hardware. The harness bar is mounted to the factory belt mount points as well.

You're putting all of your occupant restraint

... as long as we ignore the lap belts, right?

on a couple tack welds

Not sure if this is hyperbole or laziness, but I'm sure if you look a little harder, you might be able to determine that the system doesn't rely "on a couple tack welds".

and a harness bar with more pivot points than the average suspension.

Are you saying that suspensions can't take load? Or are you saying that pivot points can't exist in a rigid system? Either way, I'll take the other side of that.

My hope is that nobody ever needs to rely on their safety equipment,

I agree with that.

but spend enough time on track pushing the limits and accidents are bound to happen. Whether that's another car, or a flat tire like OP almost experienced or any number of things. 

How long is "enough time"? I think everyone knows that abstinence is the only 100% fool-proof safety measure for racing. Once you've accepted that there's risk, it's up to you to decide how many sigmas of accident probability you're going to cover. Unfortunately, a complete dataset doesn't exist to accurately determine the frequency of each type of occurrence, so we rely on our own (flawed) understanding of physics, the (flawed) knowledge and experience of others, random anecdotes from forums, and good ol' pictures from the internet.

Staking a flag saying you know better than [somebody you don't know] is a textbook example of Dunning-Kruger, and does a great disservice to anyone that comes across this corner of the internet.

I've seen enough pictures like this on track forums to be leery of any harness bar but especially ones that bolt together in multiple pieces.

Will my position be more legitimate if I post up some dead people in crashed cars that relied on the OEM 3-point? How about some "roll cage failure" photos? If photos on the internet are how we're deciding which position is better, I like my odds.

Additionally, all the features you mentioned not liking in this particular harness bar (tack welds, pivot points) performed as designed in the photo you posted, and held up properly. The failure point here was the straight piece of bar being too weak for the implementation.

As Obioban mentioned, he PM'd me that exact photo as well, and I'd never seen it. It is concerning, so I've already ordered stuff to tie the center of my bar to the rear seatbelt mounting points. I appreciate him sending that to me, I didn't know that.

Now, back to track posts instead of fighting about safety gear!

Pretty ironic statement at the end of a post that is literally "fighting about safety gear", don't you think?

I'm sorry, Obioban, to muck up your lovely thread with this, but then, not sorry enough to not do it I guess?

Cheers folks!

damen

I've got a lot of respect for HMS Motorsport but the reality is there are no aggregated statistics for DE type event crashes.  So I'd really like to see what research they're using to base what seems like an opinion on.  

What I see is a multi point harness being used with a fixed back seat with zero roll over protection.  That right there keeps you from passing any PCA Tech to get on track with PCA plus it won't pass at our local track.  Take that for what it's worth.

I'd also like to see a much shorter run for your shoulder harness tails due to stretch and more solid mounting points.  Ideally a 2" harness is better for use with a HANS, as it sits in the HANS much better.  

The use of the Schroth quick fit on the inner lap belt is handy but not legal for your seat (yet at least).  To my knowledge all of the quick fits are meant to be used with factory stock seats. 

Given that this is mostly your track toy and you're using fixed back seats that basically negate the utility of carrying people in the back seat why not put in a rollbar?

docwyte said:

I've got a lot of respect for HMS Motorsport but the reality is there are no aggregated statistics for DE type event crashes.  So I'd really like to see what research they're using to base what seems like an opinion on.  

What I see is a multi point harness being used with a fixed back seat with zero roll over protection.  That right there keeps you from passing any PCA Tech to get on track with PCA plus it won't pass at our local track.  Take that for what it's worth.

I'd also like to see a much shorter run for your shoulder harness tails due to stretch and more solid mounting points.  Ideally a 2" harness is better for use with a HANS, as it sits in the HANS much better.  

The use of the Schroth quick fit on the inner lap belt is handy but not legal for your seat (yet at least).  To my knowledge all of the quick fits are meant to be used with factory stock seats. 

Given that this is mostly your track toy and you're using fixed back seats that basically negate the utility of carrying people in the back seat why not put in a rollbar?

To be clear, the slides above were not just HMS's posistion. That's why they're prefaced with, "A world-renowned panel of SAE vehicle safety experts from GM, Daimler-Chrysler, For, University of Michigan, and a leading harness belt manufacturer, addressed this issue"

Since last fall, I have done 8 different PCA events with 3 different PCA clubs on 5 different track an nobody has batted an eye or said anything. I was at a PCA event as recently as yesterday, and will be back there again today :). 

Shorter belts would be better. BUT, these are shorter than the quick fits. If you find the length of the quick fits acceptable (which it seems like you do), you should find the length of these acceptable. 

Inside lap belt mounts. Two points: 

1) The parts I'm clipping into is 100% the stock seat. The factory 3 point receiver is part of the factory BMW slider, which bolts to the floor. I am running the factory slider with the factory 3 point receiver. So, from a lap belt mounting perspective, there is no difference in my setup vs the quickfit. 

2) When Schroth tests a seat, to see if it can be approved to be used with the quickfits, what they're testing for is to see if it can take the downward load of the harness on the back rest (as the ~45% downward angle of the quickfits places a large load on them in a crash). They're not testing anything to do with the lap belts.

This car is not mostly a track toy. It's my weekend car that I track sometimes. Nothing about the utility of my back seat is compromised by the fixed back seats-- using the OE sliders (tons of travel) means people can still get in the back with ease, and I can still load tires/large objects back there. If anything, the fixed back seats have made the back seat MORE useable, by increasing the leg room by 2-3". Certainly more space for me (6'4) back there! On the flip side, roll bars are incredibly dangerous on the street, and would 100% ruin most of what I use the car for. 

Back seat access: 

In reply to docwyte :

Serious question: what benefit is it that you think the quickfits provide over my setup in a roll over? 

... and I mean that before you factor in the extra 4" of headroom (crumple zone) I have with these seats over the stock seat (where I have to recline the seat to fit in the car with a helmet).

Had a couple hours to work on the wagon yesterday, so I got some stuff done...
-new OEM hood struts (didn't take any pictures)
-new OEM warning triangle with OE mounting bracket. Didn't actually look like it would fit, but it did 

-put an oil pan back on. This ended up being a bigger project than I expected. One of the POs had stripped the drain plug hole, so I wanted to replace it. I bought a new (used) one off an engine that TTFS blew up with garbage tuning. It was a new design than mine (came off an 06), so I ended up having to go back to get the pickup tubes, too. Then it turned out that BMW had changed the oil temp/level sensor from being mounted with bolts to mounted with studs, so had to get some hardware for that, too. Anyway, that's done now 

-replaced the engine mounts and steering guibo. No pics
-revalved the power steering pump to decrease the assistance by 25%. No pics 
-replaced the passenger front control arm with OEM (Lemforder) because I noticed it wasn't OEM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ifIha9vAc

I found this video enjoyable, since my car is CSL weight (lighter than a CSL with AC) and has CSL sound (airbox), etc

I bought a car today. 

-carbon fiber monocoque
-<2800 lbs 
-rear wheel drive
-rear engined
-no turbos 
-no automatic trans
-super low COG
-seats 4 adults 

Guesses? 

Obioban said:

I bought a car today. 

-carbon fiber monocoque
-<2800 lbs 
-rear wheel drive
-rear engined
-no turbos 
-no automatic trans
-super low COG
-seats 4 adults 

Guesses? 

BMW i3?

Technically not an auto trans because single speed...

thewheelman said:

Obioban said:

I bought a car today. 

-carbon fiber monocoque
-<2800 lbs 
-rear wheel drive
-rear engined
-no turbos 
-no automatic trans
-super low COG
-seats 4 adults 

Guesses? 

BMW i3?

Technically not an auto trans because single speed...

Yep!

Whoever let you run at PCA is completely unaware of the PCA-NA rules.  No multi point harnesses are allowed without roll over protection.  I believe this is a change they made this off season, I know I went over it with our local PCA leadership as I'm the Tech Chair for Rocky Mtn region.

Schroth quick fits are allowed in certain cars and I think the E46 M3 is on that list but I can't be certain.

The quick fits mount to the lower seat belt mounts, not sure if that's longer or not, I've never measured.  Been a long time since I've had an E46 M3 in my garage.  However it was a system designed specifically for that car and those stock seats.  That's what's more important in my eyes.

docwyte said:

Whoever let you run at PCA is completely unaware of the PCA-NA rules.  No multi point harnesses are allowed without roll over protection.  I believe this is a change they made this off season, I know I went over it with our local PCA leadership as I'm the Tech Chair for Rocky Mtn region.

Schroth quick fits are allowed in certain cars and I think the E46 M3 is on that list but I can't be certain.

The quick fits mount to the lower seat belt mounts, not sure if that's longer or not, I've never measured.  Been a long time since I've had an E46 M3 in my garage.  However it was a system designed specifically for that car and those stock seats.  That's what's more important in my eyes.

I don't know how to word my response, other than... you're wrong. Feels like a PCA Tech Chair should be more aware of PCA policy.

PCA-NA requirements, on their site: https://www.pca.org/drivers-education-minimum-standards

Harness portion: 

Harness Systems

If the participant chooses to install a five, six, or seven point driving harness, several changes to the automobile must be made to create a safe occupant restraint system. Harnesses must:

• Include an antisubmarine strap.
• Five, six or seven point SFI or FIA approved competition harnesses are required and must be properly mounted in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. Belts must be replaced no later than five years after the date of manufacture. It is left to the owners discretion as to whether the belts should be replaced more frequently than required.
• Have all harness attachment points secured/mounted in an approved manner consistent with the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Be used in conjunction with a seat that has the supplied routing holes for the shoulder and antisubmarine belts.
• Have the shoulder straps mounted in an approved manner consistent with the manufacturer’s instructions.
• The participant should BE AWARE that the addition of such a seat and harness system results in the occupant being fastened upright in the vehicle. Therefore, in order to have a COMPLETE SYSTEM, a properly padded roll bar or roll cage is recommended, and an approved head and neck restraint device is required. A head and neck restraint device certified as meeting the standards of either SFI 38.1 or FIA 8858 or its successor is required.  The use of such a harness system without roll protection and a head and neck restraint device may result in an unsafe environment and is not a COMPLETE SYSTEM. Roll bars or cages and their installation must meet PCA Club Racing Standards.

When using a head and neck restraint device, it is recommended that one follow the SFI Recertification process for the head and neck restraint device. The instructions for this can be found on the device. Additionally, it is recommended that the straps be replaced every five years.

The SFI standard requires seat belt to be replaced every two years based on date of manufacture. The FIA standard requires the seat belt to be replaced every five years based on date of manufacture. It is left to the driver’s  discretion as to whether the belts should be replaced more frequently than required.

Four-point systems are not allowed, EXCEPT as noted below, in Porsches because of the integrated headrest supplied by the factory. In addition to the standard SFI and/or FIA-approved five- and/or six-point system, a four-point system is allowed in non-Porsches that meet the following requirements:

• Meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209.
• Attaches to the factory seat belt mounting points.
• Each belt is designed to work in a specific vehicle and that vehicle tag must be attached to the belt system.

Four Point Belt Exception: Schroth has developed a four point harness for specific newer Porsche models only. These models are the 918 Spyder, 2015 GT3, 2016 Cayman GT4, 2016 Boxster Spyder, and 2015 GT3RS, and these models must also be fitted with the Full Bucket Seat Option P11 as provided by Porsche. The belts are Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 209, and as such they are deemed street legal and approved by federal seat belt safety regulations.  These belts also have labeling confirming the intended use for these specified Porsche models.

So, boiling that down to the most relevant line: 

a properly padded roll bar or roll cage is recommended, and an approved head and neck restraint device is required

Roll bar recommended. Helmet/hans required.

Seats are certified for use the the quickfit, because what they're testing is the strength of the back rest (whether it can take the load of the belts applied on them by the ~45 degree angle of the belts to the lower lap belt mount points). The e46 M3 stock seats (and therefore the car) are on the approved list. HMS is working with Cobra to get the seats I'm running also certified for use with the quickfits. They are doing this because the newer BMW's have integrated headrests, so there's no longer any way to safely run something like a quickfit with the stock seats. 

The quickfits in the e46 attach to the rear factory lap belt mount points. My harnesses attach to the rear factory shoulder harness retractor mount points. Both points are rated to the same load. The mounts I'm running place less load on the seat and driver than the quickfits because of the angle the belts approach my shoulders.