E34 535i Sport Track car build- Shocks and Brakes 02/11/11:)

[320Touring]

Bmw 535I Sport Track Car Project

This is a shared project between myself and my brother- We’ve been on a few Track Scotland Trackdays (in a Saab 9-3, my 318iS and the 320..) and have quite the taste for it, so decided to get ourselves a dedicated track beast”¦

The search was on for a cheap base car, so we could keep the build relatively inexpensive

Enter G775 CWK- forever known as the Five Shree Five..

This optionmeister came with the following delights:
3.5 m30 6cyl coupled to a manual box
LSD
Full Sport bodykit
Full Leather Sports Interior
540i Wheels
Air Conditioning
And a ”aGhetto Drop”a

As we got it






Progress so far:
Initial inspection shows that the Suspension and brakes are in decent condition- We’ve added ATE superblue and bled through. Car came with EBC Pads and grooved discs that were about a worn.

We think the suspension is too low, but we’ll see how it fares on the next trackday..

We swapped out the 540i wheels (they went to a mate to keep his 520i off of bricks..) for a set of 15”a BBS we already had. Decent tyres all round so should at least get a wearing out them.

Interior stripped out, ready for punting on for money for brakes/suspension/servicing



Once stripped out, it became apparent that we had the classic e34 problem- Rusty Sills!

The problem:


The solution:
Shiny new 1mm steel!


The repairs are underway, but then we ran out of gas- so time to get re-stocked

Quick ”a launch test”a with my brother driving:
[youtube][/youtube]

So now we know a brakelight needs fixed too..

Things to Do

Finish Welding
Mount Bucket seats
Finish Sill welding
Diff Oil
Gearbox oil
Engine Service
Further weight reduction
Suspension check (bushes etc)
Exhaust Check
Sort some bodywork issues

Should have an update on Sunday evening after the weekend

[Jhonno]

[320Touring]

[Jhonno]

It was just the decent tyres bit.. I thought you were making a joke as they are crap tyres with lots of tread maybe?

[320Touring]

It was just the decent tyres bit.. I thought you were making a joke as they are crap tyres with lots of tread maybe?

In so far as they grip fairly well in the dry and dont look like Telly Savalas

[Kos]

nexens dont grip on the road let alone trying hold 1500kg of e34 to the track !

then again has the m30 got enough power to break traction

[m8782538]

nexxan tyres are ok, just depends which ones you go for. Get some R888 on there for dry track use and have a right laugh.

[retroboyo]

i did manage to spin a 535 when it lost traction, ooops

[MJJ_ZX6RR]

I am quite keen to see what you think of it on track.

I have an E30 with the same engine and box in it. I found the combination of power tailing off at 5,500rpm and the yawning chasm between 2nd and 3rd gears annoying out on track. I often found that I was having to take many corners too far down the rev range in 3rd.

My car does have a comically tall diff ratio however, with 5,500 in 3rd being 105 mph.

Very interested to hear how you find yours.

Martin

[bss325i]

nexxan tyres are ok, just depends which ones you go for.

And you think continentals are crap?!

[320Touring]

nexens dont grip on the road let alone trying hold 1500kg of e34 to the track !

then again has the m30 got enough power to break traction

To be honest, it'll be at knockhill, so grip wont be an issue,as it'll be raining

[Kos]

nexxan tyres are ok, just depends which ones you go for. .

no they are not

they are rubbish full stop

[DanThe]

nexxan tyres are ok, just depends which ones you go for. .

no they are not

they are rubbish full stop

225/60/15? Good luck!

[320Touring]

nexxan tyres are ok, just depends which ones you go for. .

no they are not

they are rubbish full stop

225/60/15? Good luck!

If it passes an MOT, then it will get new boots- probably R888's

[320Touring]

Right, Quick Update”¦

After much to-ing, fro-ing and grinding, We now have something approaching sills..
I’ve only recently learned to weld, so it may not be too pretty, but the metal is firmly joined all the way round, and is a damn sight more solid than previous.
The welds have been seam sealed and primed/painted.

As can be seen, there appeared another hole in the passenger side- looks a fairly straightforward patch job- a lot less forming required than the interior stuff so far..








Does anyone know the part number for the floor bungs? Reckon they need replacing..

my bro stripped and lightened the front bumper- removing the side brackets. One was broken and the bumper was hanging down, so a ”aless than elegant”a mounting solution was devised. Now no dropped bumper! :razz:


The fog lights have been removed too- and will probably be up for sale shortly- think we’ll use the gaps to duct air to the front brakes.
I’ll need to get a gold account and get some stuff up for sale.

Brake light issue has been resolved, so just the Rear Lights left to fix

Additionally, We received some bloody good news..

The previous owner contacted me via email after he saw the interior up for sale..
In summary (he was on the phone for 25 mins!), The car had a coolant leak recently, so he replaced the following items just prior to deciding to trade the car in:
Headgasket
Head bolts
Water Pump
Chain Tensioner
Chain
Thermostat

This is indeed good news- means its all the more fit for tracking!

We now have 1 weekend left prior to the track day on the 21st July..

Things to Do
Finish Welding (Small patch in Passenger Floor)
Diff Oil (level check and top-up in the LSD if required)
Gearbox oil (level check and top up (ATF FTW!)
Engine Service (New oil, air filter, oil filter,Plugs)
Further weight reduction (Engine bay, boot, further interior stripping)
Suspension check (bushes etc)
Sort some bodywork issues (some rust and painting needing done)
Rear Lights

All in all, still plenty to do!

[e21Jason]

Neil

You will want Johns number for a track slag friendly MOT, and you really want some better rubber for the track day those tires are comical.

Might try for the 21st myself but I have sold the e30 so need something else to use.

Jason

[nickso]

wheres the track day? knockhill?

[320Touring]

Neil

You will want Johns number for a track slag friendly MOT, and you really want some better rubber for the track day those tires are comical.

Might try for the 21st myself but I have sold the e30 so need something else to use.

Jason

MOT'd til Aug at the moment

As for the tyres, We'll get some when we have the cashola..unless you have a set we could blag?

Good work on the e30 sale!

Nick, trackday is at knockhill

[nickso]

hmm, i'm off that week.

[320Touring]

hmm, i'm off that week.

PM me and I'll drop you the details..

Assuming you dont buy my space;)

[nickso]

hmm, i'm off that week.

PM me and I'll drop you the details..

Assuming you dont buy my space;)

need to get a car on the road first

pm'd though.

[320Touring]

Had a proper weekend at this old bus!

First things first.. invent new and interesting ways to get to the diff for an oil change and level check..

Certainly more of a beast than the small case diff on my 320!

Plenty oil over the diff (hence cleaning product in Bro’s hand..)

Topped up with LSD oil. Reckon it may need a touch more..and possibly the speedo feed replacing to stop the leak





Next up was a service, so it got nice new 10w40 semi synth, new oil filter, and an Air filter fitted (car was missing the air filter box). We just fitted a universal one until we’re able to track down an m30 one. Carried out a coolant/ Clutch/ Brake Fluid check and topped up as required

I got tore into the bodywork- Essentially only trying to make the car look decent from 10ft- less likely to attract any unwanted attention from law types..

The painting is not superb- rattle canned FTW.. but it does (almost) match, and makes the car slightly less ”aratty”a looking.. Up close its still a bit ropey, but more than serviceable for track work

Rear Quarter



Bottoms of the doors



Bootlid/Spoiler




Bonnet




Lots of Loom tidying was then carried out- getting everything tidied out the way, battery clamp fitted etc.. My brother did this as he’s more patient with cable ties than I! Additionally, the headlining and sunroof motor/switch was also removed.

And finally a paint of the interior floor, then re-fit the front seats. The bucket seats will have to wait until we get a set of e34 mounts to fit them to.



As it stands, the old girl is ready for a trackday.. 21st July will see her out at knockhill

Cant wait ! (apart from the £100+ to fill the tank..)

[320Touring]

So the 21st came, and we brimmed the tank and set off for Knockhill..
Total mileage travelled 129.4
Total Laps done 34- Track length 1.3 miles
Fastest Lap (timed using ”aye oldie stop watch”a method) 1.15 at average speed of 62.5MPH

Car ran for a total of approx. 1hr 20 mins out a 2 hr session. There was lots of traffic as we were probably the 2nd slowest car there (faster than Nickso!) so spent a lot of time getting out of folks way. As per usual, the driving standard was high, with everyone being courteous
Mechanical Maladies
Wobble from front under braking early on- a trip to the pits and some wiggling/re seating of wheels seemed to cure it-very odd. Other than that, it was well behaved!

Videos




Pictures










All Flat out images courtesy of JohnS at
http://www.flatoutphotography.com/gallery3/TSJ11

All other pics from Smabo at http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d100/ ... ?start=all

A couple of pics of Nickso in his e36 318iS




All in all, an awesome evening out, and less than a a tank used!

Things to do for next trackday:

MOT...
Suspension Refresh (dampers appear to be mismatched to springs)
More weight reduction (interior)
Weight Reduction (engine Bay)
Driver weight reduction
Possibly get more track orientated tyres (depending on budget)
Datalogger?

[Andy325i]

Excellent Nice to see something a bit different, keep up the good work!

Andy

[320Touring]

Excellent Nice to see something a bit different, keep up the good work!

Andy

Cheers!

It was a bargain, and has been plenty good fun so far- also suprisingly good on track once you adjust to the weight- slowing it is a bit like trying to stop an elephant that's charging..

[nickso]

Good stuff Neil.

The little iS was doing alright until it lunched it's balljoint. Enjoyed the evening a lot despite being the slowest car there by some way. Track car next time.

[320Touring]

Good stuff Neil.

The little iS was doing alright until it lunched it's balljoint. Enjoyed the evening a lot despite being the slowest car there by some way. Track car next time.

Aye my wee iS suffered a similar fate- but they aint too bad on track..

Was a hoot catching up! maybe see you at another one?

[nickso]

aye the e30 looks to be fixed now so if it stays that way I'll come down again.

[320Touring]

This tyre was on the rear of the 535i at the Last trackday we did..

Started with 4mm of tread, did 34 laps in 2hrs and then promptly failed an MOT..

seems that 1500kg Plus fatpie driver= Lots of load on the tyres

Scary bit is its a nexxen- renound for their plastic like complexion and lack of grip- still managed to melt and marble it!

The mud is from moving the car in and out the unit..



Now replaced with 16" new tyres, so back on the way to more track action!

Its in having an MOT after :

new (to us) front struts

Rear Pitman arms
Handbrake shoes
Rear lights fixed


Next track outing looking like 12th Nov

[fuzzy]

hi neil, are you sure thats knockhill? it doesnt seem to be raining...are you still down at the unit off the a1?

[bss325i]

Neil, im fragging a granite silver 535i sport if you need any thing.

[320Touring]

hi neil, are you sure thats knockhill? it doesnt seem to be raining...are you still down at the unit off the a1?

It is indeed the Hill of Knock..yep still in the same place!

Neil, im fragging a granite silver 535i sport if you need any thing.

thanks Barry,

TBH the car is pretty sound- unless it has decent Lowering springs?

[bss325i]

No, just the 535i sport ones.

[320Touring]

No, just the 535i sport ones.

shame,

nevermind-I'll give you a shout if anything is needed

[320Touring]

By a freak of nature we stumbled across these



KW Coilovers!Look scabby but just need a clean and surface rust removing, plus new Topmounts

even better

Fitted with e34 m5 Calipers/Discs

Plus new bearings and braided front lines

also looks like the bearings are new..

we'll get them cleaned up and possibly change the fluid/seals then we're onto a winner..

now to figure out how to fit them