[tetsuo111]

After a long dormant period due to a busy work schedule, I've been spending some time working and playing with the car.

1) The catalyst was a recent opportunity to drive my neighbor's S2000. What a wonderfully balanced and neutral platform! It's almost as if that car is direct-wired to the cerebral cortex. Now, I get it.

2) I had tuned the E91 suspension for a slight oversteer bias on corner exit. It was very nicely balanced near the limit, so that applying throttle on corner exit kept the tail in check rather than swinging around to the front. This setup was confidence inspiring for getting to max throttle quickly. It was also faster. Terrific!

3) I took the car for a corner balance, ride height, and alignment service at Tru-Line. Now, the car tracks better in a straight line, but has lost the slight oversteer on exit bias. In fact, the car now feels like a conventional BMW, with safety understeer dialed-in. The car is easier and more relaxing in straight line, while less engaging, fun, and slower while turning. I think this could be an output of the 1.5mm rear toe in.

This isn't a ding on Tru-Line. In fact, for those in the SEA area, Tru-Line is among the top alignment shops in the region IME.

4) Corner Balance: Using 160# ballast for the driver, the car was corner balanced. Two takeaways:

a) The wagon, even with ~ 200 lbs more weight in the rear, still has a slight forward weight bias at 51.3%

b) The weight numbers add up. I use a local truck stop scale for quick and dirty weights. My last reading was ~ 3,185 lbs at the truck scale (always with half a tank and no driver). Using corner scales, the total weight reading was 3,387 lbs. Subtract 160 lbs ballast for 3,227 lbs, and adjust for fuel. The car had 3/4 tank, so estimate ~ 25 lbs more compared with a half tank - 16.1 gal fuel cell, 6 lbs/gal for gas, and you get to 3,202 lbs. The final delta between the truck scale and the corner scales is 17 lbs. This speaks well for the accuracy of the truck scale.

5) Ride Height: the suspension is full M3/Nitron R3. I use M3 ZCP suspension specs for calibration.

M3 ZCP (comp'd for 17" rims) F: 577mm / R: 561mm

The front/rear delta is 16mm. In every case, front ride height is greater than rear. But in my case, the ride height seems peculiar because the front is lower than the rear:

E91 CS F: 575mm / R: 580mm.

The appearance / stance "looks" right, but measures strangely. Need to figure out.

6) Track width:

M3 spec - F: 1539mm / R: 1539mm

E91 CS - F: 1564mm / R: 1560mm


Sweet! The wagon tracks wider than a M3, and better yet, is a bit wider in front than the rear. The wagon is a quarter ton lighter than a M3, has a near 50/50 weight distribution, and a M3 OEM+ suspension. I just need to tune for more agility in back.

This is looking like a recipe for fun and smiles!

[tetsuo111]

My toy was neglected for awhile, the sun's out (well, behind the smoke...), and it's past time to get out for a drive.

After some work and a bath, I took some pics last weekend.

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Congrats… but what year/mode is it? I’m guessing it’s an X3?

You have an eagle's eye, Al.

Yes, it's a 2015 X3. I was surprised we chose this car, mostly because I'm more of a wagon guy. If I need an SUV, I want real off-road ability, like our old Grand Cherokee.

The X3 seems to hit all our requirements, and the smaller size makes it friendlier for my wife to use and for my mother to climb up and inside.

[Biginboca]

When is this car getting a CF roof?

Btw I had a chance to drive a E91 with a 335is drivetrain swap (including DCT) last week. My first ever drive in a E91 and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

When is this car getting a CF roof?

Btw I had a chance to drive a E91 with a 335is drivetrain swap (including DCT) last week. My first ever drive in a E91 and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Your friend has the right idea - who wouldn't smile behind the wheel of an E91 335is?!

CF roof? That's crazy talk... The business completed their move to the new location. I have a work order in for CoPart to slice the roof off a wrecked E91. Need to move the roof to the fabricator, etc, etc.

The project is underway, but I expect the roof fabrication to be the easy part. I also expect this may take some time. I'll likely post all pics in one batch after crossing the finish line.

[tetsuo111]

Last summer we road tripped to the Tokeland Hotel on the Washington coast. We enjoyed the drive and the visit, and decided to return.

After the mind-numbing drive south on I-5 from Seattle to Olympia, head west to Tokeland via any one of several routes. Our preferred way is Rt 6 through Pe Ell. It's smooth, scenic, fast, and fun. On the other hand, Rt 105 takes you past the International Mermaid Museum...

Once at Tokeland, there's nothing to do besides eat, hike along the coast, and play games or relax.

The wagon feels terrific. After some recent work, including attention to suspension setup, a performance alignment, and lots of attention trimming the dampers, the car feels pretty neutral. I dialed out the safety understeer last week. In an ideal world, the car would still pivot more quickly and effortlessly, but at least the safety understeer is gone. I'll continue working on suspension setup for a bit more oversteer.

The wagon may never be super fast, but it's plenty quick after all the weight loss and most importantly, is super engaging and fun to drive with the stick shift and RWD. The car handles with confidence. The brakes are remarkable, arresting speed with authority and control. This is expected because the brakes are engineered for an M3, but have significantly work / mass to contend with in this application. The brake system still isn't finished - need to R&R the MC and DSC to wrap it up.

What an enjoyable road trip.

[tetsuo111]

I wonder how active this forum membership is in CCA? Anyone have an idea?

CCA, and the other marque car clubs, conduct drivers education courses, track days, and other events with the aim of fun and graduating better drivers. If you have completed one of these courses, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't joined your local BMW CCA and taken a class, Do It!

Where else can you go to a race track, go fast, go sideways (skid pad, NOT on track ), and get a pat on the back for great work?

The courses are so effective, they should be mandatory for all loved ones / people you care about. I know a physician who completed the class, and then registered his au pair because she drives his kids. I had my wife run the course a couple of years ago, and she will again next month.

Yesterday I coached driver skills for PCA. The weather was beautiful, the students were engaged and having fun, and there was lot's of heavy metal. The fastest cars in an absolute sense were a 911 S Turbo and a couple of Jag F-Types. The F-Types are legitimate successors to the legendary E-Types. They look fine, but that sound! They are, without a doubt, the most raucous, snarling, awesome sounding cars available to the general public. The S Turbo is simply mind-bendingly FAST. The fastest car in a relative sense may have been a Miata. Because... well, is there a better handling car in production today?

The most drool-inspiring car yesterday was a Senna. That's right. A McLaren Senna. It's the first one I've seen in the flesh. Not the most beautiful car in the world, but you have to respect the concept. Sadly I didn't capture a picture.

In any case, if you haven't done so, enroll in your local club and take a class or three. Going fast on track makes street hooliganism seem sort of... dull.

If you look carefully at the last pic, you can see the token BMW. It's an X5 on the skid pad. The driver was having a blast and was mildly successful drifting that huge thing. Smiles all around...

[tetsuo111]

A couple of clean-up projects and some more weight-removal were finished last week.

1) I noticed that after track days, there were symptoms of the exhaust tips contacting the rear bumper trim panel. I had another stainless hanger fabricated and installed furthest aft to secure the tips. The hanger is actually attached to the Burns / Coast Fabrication muffler. The hanger is mega-sturdy and secure. Inspection also revealed the rubber hanger on the forward section of the muffler was very soft, so this was replaced with a new OEM rubber hanger.

The exhaust now feels super secure, more so than the tips on my wife's X3. An added perk is the mellowing effect on the sound. The added attachment point in the rear and the new rubber hanger in the front of the muffler changed the resonant frequency (narrower BW) and amplitude (quieter), and significantly smoothed out the sometimes raucous sound. It now sounds more refined and polished, but still raucous underneath. The car feels less "aftermarket" and more "factory". When I started the motor after this work, the guy next to me, working on his GT3 track toy, mentioned how much he loves the sound.

I love this exhaust. It's nearly weightless and sounds incredible.

2) Anyone who's changed the luggage bin from the 328i to the 335i / M3 version knows that the charcoal fuel vapor canister needs to be creatively secured. On the 328i, the canister attaches to hard points beneath the storage bin. These hard points aren't present on the 335i / M3 style. I had this done last year, but wanted to triangulate my brace for greater stability. Done and fixed.

3) After the exhaust and fuel vapor canister were remedied, I simplified and slightly lightened further by replacing the storage bin, felt bin liner, and underbody heat insulation with a simple, lightweight 0.060" aluminum filler plate (from Hard Motorsport) and rubber seal. The storage bin volume is small, so there's no practical downside, but there are a few benefits: removal of several small parts resulting in a greatly simplified rear end, and some more lightness added to the car. I'm unconcerned about the sacrifice of storage volume because the rear seat delete created a huge storage cavity closer to the car's center of gravity.

Pictures:

1) Dundon exhaust on old car, showing busy OEM rear underbody

2 & 3) Exhaust on current car, showing aluminum filler plate and de-cluttered rear underbody

4 & 5) Interior view of aluminum filler plate, and stock interior appearance with trim re-installed

6) Elliott, making it look easy...

[Biginboca]

Very nice brother! I’m really envious of that super light exhaust set up you have. It sounds (no pun intended) perfect!

It seems to me like you should close up that rear cavity in front of the bumper, your rear bumper is parachuting big time judging by the size of that cavity under the HMS storage delete panel.

I closed mine off with .080” aluminum panel and it cost me probably 4lbs of added weight. Someday I’d like to redo mine with carbon but the budget didn’t allow that at the time I made mine the aluminum sheet was $60 and the carbon sheet was $400 lol

[bshambam]

I am interested in how the plate was created. Was there a weather seat?

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Very nice brother! I’m really envious of that super light exhaust set up you have. It sounds (no pun intended) perfect!

It seems to me like you should close up that rear cavity in front of the bumper, your rear bumper is parachuting big time judging by the size of that cavity under the HMS storage delete panel.

I closed mine off with .080” aluminum panel and it cost me probably 4lbs of added weight. Someday I’d like to redo mine with carbon but the budget didn’t allow that at the time I made mine the aluminum sheet was $60 and the carbon sheet was $400 lol

Ha! Great minds...

I love your setup. If I remember correctly, yours is more than a plate to cover the cavity. Didn't you install yours with a 7 deg - 11 deg up angle to do double duty as a functional diffuser?

In any case, you're right. A cover at the least, or an angled diffuser, is the finishing touch.

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by bshambam

I am interested in how the plate was created. Was there a weather seat?

Hard Motorsport E9x filler panel

The plate is just that - a filler plate. Priced under $100, it's inexpensive enough to buy, rather than fabricate from scratch (at least in my case).

The weather seal is from my local speed shop aka "Home Depot". It's a rubber seal with adhesive, intended for motor vehicle applications. Around $7. I secured the seal to the luggage floor rather than the filler plate.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

Ha! Great minds...

I love your setup. If I remember correctly, yours is more than a plate to cover the cavity. Didn't you install yours with a 7 deg - 11 deg up angle to do double duty as a functional diffuser?

In any case, you're right. A cover at the least, or an angled diffuser, is the finishing touch.

Yeah mine started as a plate but it was really easy to make it into a diffuser, just bolting vanes to the plate. I’ll post up a couple pics it was a lot of fun to make, a relaxing DIY project. The bottom of the bumper has screws all around it’s perimeter perfect to attach a plate to. And the vanes are just abs plastic cut off a generic eBay diffuser ($50 delivered).

[bshambam]

What is that device you have beneath the metal panel, next to the battery?

[Biginboca]

Scott, here’s what I did with mine…


I just ordered an aluminum panel .080” thick off Amazon for about $70 delivered. This was really easy to do just make a cardboard template and trace onto the aluminum.



Then I painted it black and screwed 4 plastic vanes onto it I cut from a cheapo ebay generic diffuser set ($50 delivered lol)



On the passenger side I just screwed my vanes directly onto the existing underbody panels.



The e92 has a natural ~7-10* angle of the rear section behind the tire, so just flat bottoming it really made it the right angle for a diffuser right from go. I wasn’t really looking for a functional diffuser more just the aesthetic but it is definitely not hurting that the angles are correct. I also got lucky this set up clears parking stops by about 1” when I back in, I can’t got forward cause my front lip crashes lol

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by bshambam

What is that device you have beneath the metal panel, next to the battery?

That is the charcoal evap canister.

[tetsuo111]

Secret spot #1.

[tetsuo111]

It had been awhile since my last visit to Secret Spot #1.

I was reminded how special and untraveled this place is, so decided to return again the next day with my wife and Momo (black dog). Momo got his name because Momo-taro is a traditional Japanese children's fairy tale, and my wife is from Tokyo. Also, his name pays homage to my steering wheel, a carbon fiber Momo Prototipo 6C. I chose this wheel because it captures a retro-modern aesthetic.

The weather wasn't as pleasant, but still miles better than spending the day at home. We made it out for a short hike as well. I'm amazed at the psychedelic mushrooms randomly sprinkled throughout the wilderness. To be clear, I don't know which mushrooms are "magic", nor am I hunting for them. I simply find them colorful and fascinating.

[tetsuo111]

Last Saturday was the last PCA Driver's Skills class of the 2021 season. I hear they go later in the year down in California, but it gets too cold and wet for that up here.

My unofficial (and unaccountable) awards follow:

1) Loudest exhaust (and substitute for strong, black coffee early in the morning): Dodge Challenger Scat Pack. I'm not a huge muscle car guy, and not very knowledgable about these. They are LOUD. And fast.

2) Luckiest driver: Father and son took the course together. Dad in his GT3R, and 16 year old son in a Volvo SUV. It wasn't long before dad gave the GT3 keys to his son. Son had talent, and enjoyed piloting the GT3 sideways and at speeds that lead to incarceration if caught on the street.

3) Anxious coach: That would be me. My epiphany the morning after the class was, "Am I faking it?" It's been years since I've driven the skid pad. I provide guidance in class, but what if someone asked me to demo a controlled drift around the circle?

Early Sunday morning I found the streets wet and oily after a rainy night. I found an empty parking lot in the industrial part of town and surreptitiously turned circles, drifting around my makeshift "skid pad". Hoping I wouldn't have to explain my behavior to the Law, I found driving sideways in circles like riding a bike. Once you get the balance, it's with you for life.

If I'm called on to demo the skid pad, it will be fine...

[xlr88r]

*Swoon*

This build - in exactly the same vein as your previous one - is an absolute masterclass in quality and attention to detail. Does the perfect daily exist? It sure does, and it's owned by tetsuo111

The diet...
The approach...
The setup...
The written detail...

All perfect.

That has been a really enjoyable read whilst sat waiting for the windscreen fitter to replace my cracked Climate Comfort 'screen. As seems to be the case, if anything unfortunate is going to happen to your car, it's either within the first few weeks of ownership or just when you've buttoned everything up. Happily though, it's sorted.

Anyway, I deviate. This is an absolutely lovely build from front to back, tetsuo111. Can't wait to see what's next, though I'm struggling to think just what that could be.

[tetsuo111]

Wow. No words. Thanks for that xlr88r.

Looking forward to following your project, too.

I'm only doing this for me, but it's always a perk to cross paths and meet another PLU (people like you).

Cheers!

Originally Posted by xlr88r

*Swoon*

This build - in exactly the same vein as your previous one - is an absolute masterclass in quality and attention to detail. Does the perfect daily exist? It sure does, and it's owned by tetsuo111

The diet...
The approach...
The setup...
The written detail...

All perfect.

That has been a really enjoyable read whilst sat waiting for the windscreen fitter to replace my cracked Climate Comfort 'screen. As seems to be the case, if anything unfortunate is going to happen to your car, it's either within the first few weeks of ownership or just when you've buttoned everything up. Happily though, it's sorted.

Anyway, I deviate. This is an absolutely lovely build from front to back, tetsuo111. Can't wait to see what's next, though I'm struggling to think just what that could be.

[tetsuo111]

I have an interest in historic, continental rally races from the 1950s - 1980s, culminating with Gruppe B. Think Panamerica, Carrera, Monaco, Dakar, etc. Early in that era, cars were often multi-functional. They could be street-legal, driven to the race, raced hard, and if they still ran afterwards, driven home. Rally timers and time/distance mechanical calculators were operated by a navigator.

Analog, mechanical, dash mounted rally timers were mandatory instruments to be competitive. Bonus points for a handy Curta mechanical calculator and Halda Twinmaster!

The market for historic Heuer rally timers is a bit frothy now. Dual and triple Rally Masters fetch north of $12k. Other Swiss, German, and British brands like Hanhart, Sinn, and Smith are historically significant but aren't priced in the stratosphere.

The last picture, a late '60s - early '70s era Heuer IFR, was my first rally timer. More accurately, the IFR wasn't really a rally timer, it was used by aviation professionals for navigation. The IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) is a 12 minute mechanical timer, similar to the rally-centric Heuer Monte Carlo.

Pretty cool stuff.

In the queue: fabricate a dual-instrument, carbon fiber, center console, resto-mod, dash mount.