Spec E46 Race @ Carolina Motorsports Park

Posted on 2015/09/21 by Chad

Note: This Event originally took place on 27-28 June 2015, sorry for the delay in posting.

Having finished the requirements for my provisional racing license, I was looking forward to the next opportunity to race my Spec E46. The upcoming NASA-SE event at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) looked very promising, with a possibility of five other SE46’s in attendance. One slight hiccup; my car was still in pieces. Several delays in parts shipping meant I was way behind my anticipated competition date.

I had already committed to this race, having already cancelled the previous Road Atlanta event due to the crash, and I really didn’t want to miss another opportunity to get some much needed track time. The week leading up to the event became a mad thrash. I was working until the wee hours of the morning right up to the day before the race. The good news: CMP is only an hour away from home, so at least the few hours of sleep I did get were in my own bed.

I also needed an annual tech inspection the morning of the event, so everything had to be just right. I escaped with a few minor discrepancies which were easily corrected and was able to make the race. I had barely got the car off the alignment rack the night before, so there was zero time to shake down the car, much less tune the chassis. I’d run what I brung as the saying goes.

I missed the first practice, fiddling with a few last minute things, but was able to go out in one of the HPDE sessions to get a feel. I knew the track was slick from my previous test day, but having an untested car made it much more of a challenge. My goal was to just keep the car on track and avoid any contact, speed was way down my list of things I was worrying with.

I qualified at the back of the SE46s, as expected given the all-star veteran competition I was up against. No big deal, I was here to learn. We, as a class, decided to start at the back of the Thunder run group in our own separate start rather than gridding on pure time. The first race started off cleanly, but I was out of it both mentally and physically. The lack of sleep had caught up with me big time, and I couldn’t maintain my concentration and felt like garbage, my times were reflecting my condition.

I continued to press on, just looking to finish when a red warning light illuminated on my AiM MXL digital dash, water temps. I was at 230F and it looked as though it would keep climbing. I had pressed my luck enough already, so I pulled off that lap and putted back to the paddock area. I couldn’t find any obvious issues with the cooling system, all signs pointed to trapped air bubbles. This is the price you pay when rushing to get a car ready at the last minute.

I decided to pack up for the day, let the car sit and cool overnight and get some rest. Another SE46 driver had already had worse luck when one of his rear shock mounts failed, resulting in a destroyed MCS shock. I left early to get caught back up on sleep and hopefully have better luck on Sunday.

The next day I jacked up the front of the car and bled the cooling system thoroughly. It looked like my suspicions were correct and the engine had some significant amount of air trapped in it. Feeling recharged from a long night of sleep I headed back on track, this time in a much better frame of mind. The car still wasn’t working as well as I had hoped, oversteering terribly on exit and pushing on entry, but it would have to do.

(Note how I was still missing the trim under the headlights and decals from the new fender)

Again I started at the back of the SE46 pack, where we started as group behind the rest of the Thunder field. This time I felt a little more confident making passes and tried my best to hang on to the back of the SE46 in front of me. I certainly wasn’t pushing for overtakes, rather waiting for the safest opportunity to get by slower traffic. Towards the end of the race I could see I was closing back up to the next SE46 up the road, but every time I tried to push, the car would just lose traction on exit. I was at opposite lock over and over, watching the Mustang and other SE46 in front grow the gap.

Despite the headaches and lack of a good setup, I still had a blast driving with other SE46s and finally getting a chance to mix it up in traffic in an actual race. This was, after all, the first race where I got beyond the first lap. It was great to meet and hangout with other racers in the paddock, gleaning knowledge wherever I could.

Finally a little video from the weekend. Due to my zombie-like state on Saturday, I neglected to bring the memory card for the camera. I made sure to get it for the Sunday race. Here’s the race in its entirety:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFrz5KTHV20

SpecE46 Wreck Repair

Posted on 2015/09/08 by Chad

After the Spec E46’s debut at Barber Motorsports Park, I was left with a crumpled and undriveable car. The initial visual inspection at the track showed that I’d be in need of the following:

Hood
Left Fender
Bumper
Left and Right headlights
Left control arm
left tie rod
Airbox
Left aluminum engine mount
Apex Wheel
Radiator core support

Once I had the car home, I immediately unloaded it directly from the trailer into the shop and up on jack stands. From there I started to dismantle the front end. With the hood, fender, and bumper off, I got a much better look at what lay ahead. I then found the following would need replaced:

Front left wheel housing
Front subframe
Left and right engine mounts
Steering rack
Power steering pump pulley
Radiator
Front bumper crash bar

The whole left front had been pushed to the right and rear, forcing the wheel well up into where the DME box and brake master cylinder/ABS/booster are located. Several welds had pulled apart, and I don’t think a simple frame pull would get it back to where it needed to be. So I opted to order brand new OEM sheet metal. BMW offers the entire wheel housing and frame horn as a replacement part, though it’s certainly a special order item.

The engine came out, which was in surprisingly good order, other than the torn Bimmerworld engine mounts and cracked aluminum mounts. I got lucky in that none of the bolts pulled from the block. The crash did manage to put a ding in the Y-pipe, but I decided to leave it alone.

The engine subframe was twisted at the engine mounts, so it went in the trash. I sourced one from a junk yard, as well as a used core support and crash bar. The subframe was cleaned up and a set of Turner reinforcements were welded on.

I completely cut away the original wheel well by drilling out all the factory spot welds, leaving the front left firewall completely bare. The new housing was squeezed into place, and leveled using tape measures and a plumb bob. I welded it back on using the factory spot weld locations. The interior of the transmission tunnel needed a patch plate where some original metal tore during removal.

The left control arm bushing had stripped the threads from the frame, so I ended up drilling it up a size and inserting a helicoil.

With the new metal final welded into place, I gave everything a good scuff with a 3M pad, followed by cleaning, then a coat of automotive primer. I then sealed up the gaps with some plain seam sealer before painting everything a matched 300 Alpine White and a coat of catalyzed clear.

Everything went back together as it did the first time. I did find that both frame horns slightly shifted (~1/8″) to the right when checking the frame for squareness. A little extra effort on panel gaps brought everything within factory spec and the car aligned properly as well. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Note: While everything was apart, I took the opportunity to replace the brake master cylinder and booster. These weren’t damaged in the wreck but were original to the car (~220k miles).

[foogallery id=”7886″]

First SpecE46 Race: Barber Motorsports Park

Posted on 2015/08/17 by Chad

The time had finally come to put the Spec E46 race car to the test in wheel to wheel competition. I signed up for the May 2015 BMW CCA Club Racing event at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. I had never driven the track, so there would certainly be a lot to take in.

If you haven’t been to Barber, you should really make a trip to visit it. It has to be the nicest race tracks in North America, with finely landscaped grounds, excellent facilities, and perhaps the greatest motorsports museums for the motorcycle and Lotus car enthusiast.

This event was put on by the BMW Car Club of America, so there were multiple run groups of DE in addition to the race sessions. The schedule called for three races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Two other SE46s were in attendance, so at least I would have some company in the class. The majority of the cars were I-prepared, with a smaller mix of Modified, SE36, and KP cars.

The car ran well during practice and qualifying, though I really didn’t have a good grasp of the track or the handling of the car. I had a few mental mistakes at various points, just not remembering where the track was going. Though it’s only 2.38 miles, the course has 15 turns, with a great variety to make things interesting.

Saturday Qualifying
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaxRQwBPFL4

I only ran three laps in qualifying. I had no idea what a good time was, or even really how to operate the lap timer on my MXL, so I figured no point in running more time off the tires. My time was a good bit off Damion Moses’, but enough to qualify second in class and 14/24 overall. BMWCCA club events don’t group cars by class, but by outright qualifying time. So I was sandwiched between a Super Modified and I-Prepared car.

The first race started well enough, the first few turns were without drama and I didn’t lose any positions. Then coming onto the front straight the cars pretty much went single file and relatively slow to make it through the hairpin-like turn 5. Right as I was about to hit the apex I caught a glimpse of something moving very quickly out of my left peripheral. I had nothing but grass and curbing to my left, so I knew something was wrong. It happened too fast to avoid, and I got hit hard in the front left.

The impact spun me off into the outside adjacent gravel trap. The car was still running, so I shut it down. After sitting for a bit, I cranked it again and attempted to get moving, but I was sunk up to the frame in gravel. I also had steam coming out of the engine, so better to just wait. The rest of the pack continued around for about three more laps under a full course caution (turns out another car crashed on the first lap.) They eventually black flagged the race and I was stuck waiting on the roll-back, who was tending to the other wreck. The car that hit me was able to be towed out and continued back to the pits under its own power.

Saturday Race Crash

(note: first perspective is from a car behind me, followed by my in-car)

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7vyRInVU5o

With the EMS personnel on scene, I got out to check over the damage. The hood was buckled, the fender crushed, the bumper knocked off, both headlights destroyed, the wheel cracked in several places, and after trying to turn the steering wheel I discovered that the left tie rod was also sheered.

Eventually we got the car loaded on the roll back and back to the paddock. There I discovered the damage was a bit worse than I initially thought. The engine mount arms were both cracked and separated, the lower control arm was twisted, the steering rack was shattered, the airbox was cracked, the power steering pump pulley cracked, and the core support was twisted. It was certainly nothing that could be repaired in the paddock, even if I had all the parts on hand.

Thankfully I had recently installed a winch on the trailer, so getting the damaged car loaded wasn’t too difficult. I stayed the night rather than driving back home in a bad mood and sore from the impact. The group of racers were all very considerate and sympathetic to my situation. And eventually the driver who hit me came over to apologize. I have to say he was very humble and sincere, and I know that this could have happened to any of us. I was lucky that he hit me where he did, rather then in the door, which could have been much more dangerous and damaging. Unfortunately his car didn’t fare so well. The whole right side was crushed in, pushing the door bars, main hoop, and rocker panel inward.

It was an unfortunate experience, made worse that it was my very first race in a recently completed car, but everyone walked away without any injuries, so I can be thankful for that.

Spec E46 Build Part VII: Roll Cage

Posted on 2015/06/18 by Chad

The Spec E46 cage must adhere to the minimum safety rules outlined in the NASA CCRs (or BMW Club Racing or SCCA rules if you run those). Essentially a generic 6-point (+2) cage will be legal. Refer to the CCRs for specifics on wall thickness vs. OD, which depends on running weight. The cage can’t pass though the firewall or be attached to any points other than where the tube terminates on the floor. So tying the strut towers into the cage or welding the A or B pillars to the cage is not allowed.

Another Spec E46 driver pointed me to SPF Racing in Lugoff, SC, who had just done the cage on his 330Ci. I was impressed with the photos of the work done and decided to give him a call. He (I say he, because SPF is a one man at home operation) was booked up for a month, so I took care of almost all the other items before getting the car caged.

I mounted the seats where I wanted them so SPF could build the cage around them and set the height of the harness bar properly. I did place two seats, just in case I ever want to run the car at an HPDE and have a passenger. The door bars are the X type, sometimes referred to as FIA cage bars (vs. the NASCAR style bars.)

I also had center jack points added, which are tied into the door bars. These are a huge help in quickly getting one whole side of the car up in the air and on jack stands. Since the rules don’t allow for anymore attachment points, the tube just goes straight through the floor but is not welded to the surrounding sheet metal.

Another request was a floor pan for the driver’s side. Since the thick OEM insulation and carpet were removed, the floor was now well below the pivot point of the gas pedal. A simple aluminum floor pan raises it up to the normal height and makes it both easier to operate the pedals and get in and out of the car. I ended up reworking the floor out of a single piece of aluminum, strengthened with some U-channel aluminum on the bottom. I added grip tape from a skateboard on the topside to prevent any slipping. The pan is held in place with large Dzus style fasteners.

Window net mounts were also welded in place. I used a Joe’s Racing rod to mount the upper side and the lower portion it held in place with steel chain link and a bracket. The window net is a mesh style from Teamtech.

The stock dash bar was removed, but SPF was able to reattach the fuse box to the dash bar so that it operates normally. You can still close it in the up position, hidden behind the dash. The dash itself is secured with a bolt on the left and right side by the A-pillar. I added an additional aluminum support off the transmission tunnel to keep the dash from moving while driving.

Another feature to the cage was a dead pedal welded to the foot protection bars. It was a little hazardous to my ankles so I smoothed out the corners and then welded on a piece of sheet metal behind the foot rest to keep my left foot from becoming trapped underneath.

The following are just additional photos of the cage work. I find it helpful to review what others have done on their cages when starting a new build.

[foogallery id=”7642″]

Spec E46 Build Part VI: Engine

Posted on 2015/06/17 by Chad

The Spec E46 rules are purposefully limited to keep competition tight and cost down, so the engine doesn’t receive much work except for mods which help it survive track duty.

9. Engine

1. Regardless of factory specification or procedure, no oversize pistons are permitted.
2. Compression ratio may be changed only within the tolerances affected by resurfacing for trueness and within factory tolerances, and shall not exceed 10.5:1 [exact value TBD] as measured by a whistler device.
3. Time-Sert or similar product may be used with threaded components.
4. Oil pan baffle may be added.
5. Spark plugs may be replaced.
6. Head gasket may be replaced with any gasket having the same or greater compression thickness as stock. Other engine gaskets and seals may be replaced.
7. Stock oil pump assembly may be modified.
8. Oil separator (CCV system) may be replaced.
9. Oil filter housing may be replaced with the E46 M3 part number 11 42 7 839 858.
10. Engine must be controlled by the stock ECU flashed with the Epic Motorsports Spec E46 tune. The Epic tamper proof seal must be intact.
11. Emissions related equipment may be removed.
12. Horsepower or other engine checks may be performed to ensure compliance.

The first decision was whether or not I should continue with the original engine or find a fresher donor. The original mill had over 220k miles, had a Vanos that sounded like bolts in a coffee can, and was clearly down on power. I hit up the junk yards and found an M54 out of a Z4 automatic with only 70k miles on the clock. It had sat idle in the yard for over a year, so it was in need of a quality refresh.

I got it on the stand and begin taking it down to a bare long block. All the original rubber was mostly dry rotted, some falling apart as it was removed. The engine got all new CCV plumbing, new cooling lines, new valve cover gasket, and a thorough cleaning.

I went through the normal upgrades that my M3 has also received. On the bottom end I replaced the standard oil pump with the Greg Smith Racing (GSR) four bolt pump. This eliminates the weak splined shaft and nut with a much beefier shaft end and sprocket.

With the oil pan off I also installed a baffle from Achilles Motorsports. I have the same one on my E36 and was pleased with the results. Since I can’t weld aluminum I took it too a local fabricator to permanently burn it in.

The Vanos (BMW speak for variable valve timing) system is known to wear out overtime, the usual symptoms are noise (like metal rattling in a can) coming from the unit and dead spots in the power curve. Luckily Dr. Vanos offers rebuilt units with upgraded seals. I picked up a complete unit and slapped it on the front of the engine. The old one went back as a core.

You can see the photo above and to the left that the Secondary Air Pump (SAP) flange has a blocking plate covering it. All emissions and HVAC equipment has been removed, and SAP flange is one of the spots that needs plugged. The others are the few vacuum ports on the plastic intake manifold that lead to the fuel evap tank.

The cooling system also requires a bit of attention to survive life almost exclusively at the upper end of the RPM range. One common upgrade is ditching the plastic impeller water pump for a Stewart high flow all metal pump. These pumps are significantly beefier than the stock components and eliminate the risk of a plastic pump exploding. I also replaced the weak plastic pulley with an OEM equivalent aluminum pulley.

Another upgrade is the thermostat. The M54 engine has a electrically actuated thermostat, controlled by the DME. There is a fail-safe designed into the system, but it can still result in a catastrophic over heating. A solution was developed by Zionsville Autosport which uses a modified stock housing, an aluminum plate, and a traditional mechanical thermostat.

The exhaust side of the engine must adhere to the Spec E46 rules, so off came the restrictive M54 headers and on went a secondhand set of S52 manifolds. I picked up this pair for $50, and after a few minutes with the sand blaster they looked brand new. They went on with new studs, nuts, and gaskets.

The DISA valve is another area of concern on these engines. This valve is found on the intake manifold and opens and closes to adjust intake track length for different loads. The valves are known to fail early due to weak plastic. Best case scenario is you lose some power, worst case is the engine ingests some broken parts. The DISA valve on my 70k mile junk yard engine was completely shot, just flapping around freely. Fortunately none of the parts were missing.

Good news is that German Auto Solutions makes a very nice upgrade kit that replaces the flimsy plastic flapper and bell-crank with machined and anodized aluminum parts that pivot on a titanium shaft. The kit comes complete with a new gasket (unavailable from BMW) and all the other necessary parts. G.A.S. also provides very detailed instructions on whole procedure.

Since the entire HVAC system was removed, I needed to plug the heater port in the block. There are several different ways of doing this, but Bimmerworld has produced a very nice kit which plugs the block using a machine aluminum piece with an o-ring and also includes a plug for the expansion tank.

A oil distribution block, also from Bimmerworld, was added to the filter housing. This provides a means of adding an external oil pressure sensor for the AiM data loger.

The remainder of the work to the engine was focused on reliability. New spark plugs, new crank case vent plumbing, and a good flushing of all the years of sludge.

Eat, Sleep, Tinker.

No, it's not done yet…

Tag Archives: specE46

Spec E46 Race @ Carolina Motorsports Park

SpecE46 Wreck Repair

First SpecE46 Race: Barber Motorsports Park

Saturday Qualifying
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaxRQwBPFL4

Saturday Race Crash

(note: first perspective is from a car behind me, followed by my in-car)

Spec E46 Build Part VII: Roll Cage

Spec E46 Build Part VI: Engine

Saturday Qualifying httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaxRQwBPFL4

Saturday Race Crash

(note: first perspective is from a car behind me, followed by my in-car)

Saturday Qualifying
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaxRQwBPFL4