[ndyvidual]

Driving home from the track, I heard a knocking sound under the hood. First thought: top nut of my front suspension. Second thought: those Fall Line endlink nuts loosened up. Nope, I cross threaded that 10mm bolt into the brass thread of the fill tank which connects is to the carbon fiber brace. Ugh.

No worries though, a simple fix using spare parts.

-Pull brass insert out.
-Find an old bolt that nearly matches the insert's diameter.
-Tap the arm that the thread was in to match the old bolt. In my case, I found an E46 M3 front control arm bushing bolt and cut it down with a grinder.
-Tap the bolt a bit so that the threads are clean.
-Open up the hole on the brace to just fit the bolt's diameter.
-Tighten....snug only.

Yes, it's overkill, but it won't become a rusty looking bolt over time since it's an OEM bolt and it's clean & secure.

[ndyvidual]

Had another track day; this time at Watkins Glen. The car is a lot of fun. I'll keep my notes brief.

Tires
-Running Nankang NS-2R 275/30/19, square, no spacers. I like them once broken in. They communicate well and are predictable. A good alternative to the Nitto NT-01's. Don't run more than -3deg of camber though.

Suspension
-TC Kline 2 ways. Comfortable and compliant. Quiet. My Fall-Line end links though are now noisy; play in the bearing when pulled by hand is magnified when loaded. Sounds like a top nut that's loose. Re-installed the OEM links to confirm the root cause is in fact the aftermarket links. Will test drive tomorrow. Fall-Line thrust bearings remain quiet.

Brakes
-I'm running Porterfield R4's in the rear, Carbotech XP12's in the front. Why different pads you ask? Because I couldn't get Porterfield's for the front in time for the event. I'm happy to report, the car was quite stable and the combination was pretty great. Huge dust so they may not last so long, but washing of my wheels revealed wheels in like new condition again.

Car Overall
-Watkins Glen is a tough track for a car, but so much fun.I did find a weakness in the chassis though: fuel starvation. Anything under 1/2 tank and I would feel throttle hiccups when exiting turn 7. Given that I'm consuming 1/2 tank/per session, I fill with one 5 gal after every session. The car only threw a check engine light (no limp mode), but reading the entire system once I got home revealed many systems were not so happy. Most DTC's (Diagnostic Trouble Code) cleared out, but DSC and primary gateway powertrain CAN DTC's remain. I'll keep sorting those out.

[bkd705]

Love the SM-10 / VS5 combo. Also the stripped bolt on the brace makes me feel better about the multiple bolts I've stripped trying to DIY stuff. ��

How often are you up here in Canada, any plans to track while here?

[ndyvidual]

Originally Posted by bkd705

Love the SM-10 / VS5 combo. Also the stripped bolt on the brace makes me feel better about the multiple bolts I've stripped trying to DIY stuff. ��

How often are you up here in Canada, any plans to track while here?

Yeah, these bolts can be temperamental at times, haha. I've got a second bolt to tend to soon. More on that later...

I'll be back at Le Circuit Mount Tremblant on the last weekend of July actually. It'll be my only event in Canada unfortunately.

[ndyvidual]

Well Mont Tremblant was great...the car did well on the track and the driving between countries.

I'm finding after the Watkins Glen event in June 2022, that I'm settling on nearly max settings of both compression and rebound. With my spring rates on the soft side, the ride remains comfortable and composed on all corners with just the right amount of body roll that communicates timely weight transfer. And my tires appreciate it.

I switched to Carbotech XP12's in the front while keeping the Porterfield R4's in the rear and my braking was firm, manageable and consistent. But man, do those XP12's turn themselves and my rotors into dust. But washes off well.

Public Service Announcement: if you chose to try out TrackArmour, install it only before you go on the track. I applied it a few days before and left it on a few days after coming back home (left on for about a week total) and it was tough to get the adhesive off in many spots... negated in any time savings on the post track cleaning process. Race rubber remover and Goo Gone was needed.

[ndyvidual]

Just attended the last event of my season at VIR [Full Course] hosted by the PCA First Settler's Region. Had a really good time as usual meeting new drivers and talking all things cars. But the real magic was behind the wheel.

Taking my Mont Tremblant formula to Virginia, the track and I became one and put down a great Personal Best (PB) on day 1: 2m16.31s. Executing the current winning formula turned that PB into an average time by day 2. Consistent laps when taking different driving lines are one of my primary objectives when at the track. It's an essential skill when in traffic and with 'passing anywhere' conditions. So mission accomplished!

But after a closer view of the VBOX CAN data, I found some lap time opportunities. For example, getting brake and throttle magnitudes more tightly coupled (no coasting moments). Tweaking that and more techniques per VBOX channel data, I bested my PB with 2m14.86s! I'm very happy with it and continue to be an advocate of gathering data if you are keen on improving your craft in this hobby.

[D_SheerDrivingPleasure]

Originally Posted by ndyvidual

Just attended the last event of my season at VIR [Full Course] hosted by the PCA First Settler's Region. Had a really good time as usual meeting new drivers and talking all things cars. But the real magic was behind the wheel.

Taking my Mont Tremblant formula to Virginia, the track and I became one and put down a great Personal Best (PB) on day 1: 2m16.31s. Executing the current winning formula turned that PB into an average time by day 2. Consistent laps when taking different driving lines are one of my primary objectives when at the track. It's an essential skill when in traffic and with 'passing anywhere' conditions. So mission accomplished!

But after a closer view of the VBOX CAN data, I some lap time opportunities. For example, getting brake and throttle magnitudes more tightly coupled (no coasting moments). Tweaking that and more techniques per VBOX channel data, I bested my PB with 2m14.86s! I'm very happy with it and continue to be an advocate of gathering data if you are keen on improving your craft in this hobby.

Awesome. There were other forum members at that event. M4 GTS. Did you say hello?

[ndyvidual]

Originally Posted by D_SheerDrivingPleasure

Awesome. There were other forum members at that event. M4 GTS. Did you say hello?

Not knowingly. I met some other BMW drivers, but none with an M4. I was in the garage, but did notice an M flag flying over a tent that I thought was really cool.

[ndyvidual]

So when I first got the car, first project was to add a hitch to it. While doing that, I noticed that the previous owner overtightened the lock nuts such that the mounts had shattered. There was enough material to still hold the lights in place, so I then decided to postpone the repair. After a year of driving, the mounts have been further compromised so I had to take care of it finally. I decided to test an approach using the right rear tail light.

So I used the following:

• one washer per mounting hole
• Fiberglas strand filler
• plastic utensils

I removed all weak material, mixed up some 'glas and laid a small layer on one side of the washer. I then sandwiched that wet layer between the remaining plastic surface and then added more 'glas all over the mount such that the backside of the mounting area was fully covered using the spoon. I kept it somewhat thick, but not enough where it was change the dimension of that area so that it wouldn't sit flat against the body. Any excess that squeezed through and onto the side of the washer where the nut would sit can be removed while still uncured can be removed with the tip of the knife.

I let it dry overnight and then re-installed. It's been two months and it remains solid, so I'll repeat this for the left light next month.

[ndyvidual]

This was to be a Winter project, but I had a free day and decided to take care of it earlier than planned since the bar arrived earlier than anticipated. This was one of the last planned modifications of my suspension. The only remaining item is refining my tire selection and making the most of pairing them with my brake compounds for optimizing braking zones.

Anyway... street impressions of the purple bar upgrade are extremely positive. The body roll is very much reduced...to the point of kart-like cornering. Completely comfortable and quiet during daily driving. Another worthwhile upgrade that was based on my previous experience with the M3.

At track speeds, I should get a very gentle roll that should maximize inner wheel grip. Will confirm next season. I have it set at the higher of the two rate settings. I'm very happy with it and it pairs very well with the TCK 2-way's I'm continuing to run.

Easy install, took about 90min. Could be done quicker if you're in a hurry. Supply chain challenges delayed sourcing a bar for 10 months.

[ndyvidual]

In post #46, I mentioned having some fuel starvation issues at Watkins Glen and codes being thrown soon after. The car still forged ahead on the track and got me 5.5hrs back to Massachusetts.

So after some digging, RaceLogic and I found the root cause: an incorrect setting in my logger's scene (my oversight). Corrective action: ensure the Send Acknowledgement is NOT set for our chassis. It throws extra bits on the bus ("talking") when it should be listening only.

[ndyvidual]

Another follow-up...

I noticed occasionally that oncoming traffic flashed me (indicating my lights my be on high), so I lowered my beams a little . Likely needed because of my suspension change... though I didn't lower the car much at all!

So a 7mm socket and an extension through the front brace was all that was needed. Something for others to look out for...

[ndyvidual]

Soon after buying the car, I had started maintenance under the hood and, with many jobs in that area, the aluminum strut brace had to come off. Being a bit impatient, I didn't hand thread all of the bolts in before I started tightening them and when I then got to to the larger 16mm bolts, the brace was slightly off-center.

Thinking that I could still get the bolt to engage, it cross threaded the bolt and when I tried to back it off, the rivet spun! Getting that and the brace back off was a bit of an ordeal, but I was successful. The air saw (in post #2 ) was needed to partition and get the failed rivet out. But I had no way to get a new M10 rivet back in and make a clean pull. So I put everything back together until I found a sustainable solution (washer and nut DIY's on YouTube did not work in practice...only producing smiling rivets). I finished 1.5 track seasons with no ill structural effects.

This weekend, I used my newest tool: a 4,700lb-f pneumatic rivet install tool. Usually used for production use, it can interchange sizes and can be adjusted quickly precisely. I spent about an hour getting it setup (it's picky about pressure while under load) and running some test pulls to get used to it: see pic below from first pull of closed end M6's to a final test pull on an OEM M10. I finalized on a pull force and length that would be appropriate for the M10 and the fender thickness.

I forgot to take a pic of the final install, but I'm happy to report that it took literally 3sec to get the rivet cleanly pulled. Actually it took longer for me to get the tool to be perfectly perpendicular in all directions before I pulled the trigger. Essentially, it came out like that M10 test rivet in the pic below; just installed.

I plan to use it for future projects so it's a good investment in my case. Another reason that it pays to have the right tools for the job!

[ndyvidual]

To follow up with my post above....

I found pics of
-The old rivet: extracted with an airsaw.
-The bits pulled out by a magnetic catch tool
-My attempt using a nut, bolt and washer to install a new rivet in metal stock (which did not go as Youtube claimed).

[ndyvidual]

During the Winter months, it's a good time to clean and service tools. Late Autumn, I noticed some weeping from the middle fitting for my QuickJack lift. More weeping than you see on an E46 M3 diff So, a quick email to QJ resulted in finding out the o-ring dimensions: 12mm ID, 16mm OD. I placed an order for a kit of o-rings (from another vendor) and was ready to resolve the issue.

1. Rotate the power unit so that the fittings point up.
2. Get a socket and ratchet and remove the fitting in question. I lost ZERO fluid so no need to top off unless the dripping was neglected for a while and the overall level has dropped. The OLD o-ring is shown in the pic below.
3. Replace the o-ring with a small pick tool and re-install the fitting. Tighten to around 12ft-lb...not more than than that. Let the o-ring do its job!
4. Reconnect the lines and after cleaning up any old fluid that's leaked out. Check for leaks after a few days.

I use pink plumber's tape (not the liquid stuff they include) for the long lines, but for these on the power unit...o-rings only. I also cleaned up the fittings' ends on the long lines as they get dirty during use and don't want that to get caught up within the connection and then into line itself.

Sorry for the rotated pictures. The site prefers landscape photos and it's forcing my portraits into that orientation.

[ndyvidual]

I wanted to remove the spoiler that the previous owner has installed. I used detail spray, fishing line and a strip wheel. It took about 15min. I used 80lb line which was overkill. I recommend others use a 20lb line as the diameter is smaller and it'll be less of a chance of marring the clear coat that would cause you to lightly compound it out.

I sprayed both sides of the spoiler with a lot of detail spray to ease the movement across the paint. Sawing back and forth while pulling up away from the paint made short work of the older adhesive.

After that, I used a strip wheel to get the adhesive off without damaging the paint....and it worked really well. A quick wipe down (and more detail spray) followed by a light polish and I'm done.

I like the look, but the spoiler should go to a new home. If anyone is interested, check it out here for details.

[ndyvidual]

Having never changed the diff oil since I've owned the car, I decided to do a quick drain and fill today. I'm at 47kmi now. A 14mm socket, short extension, ratchet and finishing up with a torque wrench set to 44ft-lbs....and I'm done.

I filled until fluid seeped out, but it took more than one bottle (P/N 83222365988 MSP/A). The pic with the two bottles indicates how much fluid my diff consumed. I pushed the excess fluid in the transfer pump's lines back into the new bottle, so the amount actually used it as accurate as possible. The drain and fill plugs (P/N 33117525064) are identical as well.

If anyone wants the remainder of this bottle, PM me. The old fluid looked really good, so I don't plan on doing this again until 100kmi.

[ndyvidual]

Today I test mounted my latest track rubber. I'm moving away from my previous square rubber 275/30/19 to a staggered set....on square wheels. So the fronts are 'snug' while the rears are just fine. Running 245/35/19's in the front and 275/35/19's in the rear. Nangkang AR-1's this season...faster rubber than the NS-2R's I was running. I'm excited and the fit just fine.

While I'm there, a little Wurth lubricant on my suspension compression and rebound screws was in order. The rest looked great (despite the rotor surface rust).

[chris719]

Looks good! Where did you get MSP/A in the US? I thought they only used SAF-XJ here because it wasn’t imported.

[ndyvidual]

Originally Posted by chris719

Looks good! Where did you get MSP/A in the US? I thought they only used SAF-XJ here because it wasn’t imported.

A quick order to schmiedmann.com took care of it just as quickly as any US parts supplier (which I did not find that carried it).

[Jamongkad]

Wow! If you don't mind me asking what are the specs (offset/width) of your square SM-10's?

[dtmurf]

Interesting thread, was an easy early morning coffee read and I like your approach! I'd be interested in see a few pics of your hitch setup, with and without the receiver installed...

Also, some info on your track trailer, maybe a pic of it loaded up for the weekend?