Production BMW Build 320 - RACING!

[jmc330i]

Nice one Miles
Can't wait for a race report

[DanThe]

Good news

[milescook]

Nice one Miles
Can't wait for a race report

.... it will be 5 years in the writing!!!

[milescook]

Video update time...probably the last before Oulton

[milescook]

SUCCESS! Two finishes, off the pace but happy! 20th and 20th (out of 22 and 21 starters, ahead of retirements) . Did some testing so here's that update



Race footage SOON

[milescook]

Race 1 - no it's NOT slowed down footage :p https://t.co/Ue9my1KVaH

Race 2



Will write up the weekend soon.

[andysheep]

Great!subscribed bit of grass time there,keep going!im thing of upping my game and trying local avents maybe next year now!wow wow,i need a m2o b25,iv be head that way i guess but after seeing you,iv got to try and get my three year old boy involved,this is the way,great inspertion,cheers

[milescook]

Great!subscribed bit of grass time there,keep going!im thing of upping my game and trying local avents maybe next year now!wow wow,i need a m2o b25,iv be head that way i guess but after seeing you,iv got to try and get my three year old boy involved,this is the way,great inspertion,cheers

All youtube subs and likes, and website views greatly appreciated as they all help the racing budget!

[milescook]

FINALLY! About 6 years after the first entry on this blog was written, we've gone racing and this time finished some races. Really, really chuffed!



We went up for a few days camping before and after, to make a bit of a mini family holiday out of it. Had some difficulty getting the car over the speed bumps in the campsite (we have no trailer yet so it's taxed mot'd and insured, and drove it around!), but other than that the logistics kind of worked ok. I went for the Friday morning testing session so I could learn the track, and wow the car felt good! These guys specialise in racing E30's (they had loads in the garage!) http://www.garyfeakinsracing.co.uk/ and identified an urgent need to change the top mounts front and rear. They tracked and aligned the car, fitted better spacers, balanced the wheels and a few other bits. Well well worth it. The car didn't feel nervous as hell any more! I had a nervous morning after getting to bed late, one of the kids had bad diarrhea through the night, and we got there later than planned. I still had to fit the fire extinguisher, and doing so realised the pull handle was completely seized, and needing replacing. Fortunately I checked with race control officials and on that day weren't running to MSA regs, so I was ok.

After the test I did a quick update which does a decent job of showing my apprehension. The car felt brilliant - that was a massive confidence boost and something out of the way, but I was still bricking myself. I'd put in times in the 2.30's to 2.40's, after working out my lap timer wasn't showing the first 2. I had a scary moment on the last lap of my first practice session, spinning at Druids partly down to tyre pressures being too high, partly down to indecisiveness which is NOT a good thing on that corner. That shook me up I needed to get back and chill for a bit! 2nd session was interrupted, 3rd session I cut short at the end of my first flying lap as the engine went dead. This happened a few times after a long corner it would go flat then suddenly come back to life. I diagnosed this later as a fuel pickup issues, having no swirl pot, so had to brim the tank. I'd never had this issue before - that said I'd never gone this quick around corners before!

Testing summary

Qualifying

Was pleased it looked like I'd go out near the back of the pack onto the pitlane, then horrified to see I'd go out 3rd on track of 22 cars... Had a brainwave to ask one of the marshals to hold me until the field had set off. I didn't want to spend the first few corners trying to get out of the way. I really carried on where I left off and improved probably a good 6 seconds on testing times:

2:26.8
2:24.3
2:24.4
2:24.0

So getting quicker and more confident. The session was red flagged annoyingly, as a car broke down on circuit. But I was happy to get some times on the board.





Race 1

I was pretty nervous. Now I think back it was nothing to worry about, but everything is fine in hindsight! I got a tardy start, too the first few corners very cautiously, made a mistake coming out of Lodge and everyone was gone. A highlight was passing a still spinning Rob Cooper but he got passed me the following lap. But I was happy to just plug away and finish. One car retired on he inside of Druids (a bit distracting) so I finished ahead of someone! My times were getting better on the whole:

1: 2:40.7
2: 2:26:3
3: 2:27.2
4: 2:24.4
5: 2:23.1
6: 2:21.6
7: 2:22.0

I found some grass a few times, nowhere near as much as the second race though! Was pretty ecstatic to finish the race, drained after boiling away in full nomex on a hot day, but very happy.

Race 1 onboard footage




Race 2

Much more relaxed, I was actually looking forward to this! I was going to push more and ended up taking more grass but was developing more and more confidence in the car. There was a bit less grip this race, I still should have got a faster lap time but happier that I was improving on corners. I got along side Maciek after an ok start (despite missing 2nd gear first attempt), and decided to ease off an let the pack go! I did not want to get involved in any squabbles or accidents, not now! I kept them in sight for longer, and overall my pace was better even though the laptimes don't tell that story.

Last lap but one would have been decent if I hadn't gone way off into the grass. The last lap should have been decent except for slowing through Cascades for Josh Watts stuck in the gravel. I even ended up hitting the outside of the kerb so hard my cut-off switch engaged, so I was definitely testing the limits.


1: 2:34.0
2: 2:25.0
3: 2:22.8
4: 2:22.5
5: 2:24.1
6: 2:24.4


Race 2 onboard footage



Summary

Overall just massively pleased to finish the weekend intact. The officials seemed very surprised how overweight the car is, but that's mostly down to a comprehensive cage (that save the car's shell at Brands!). Plus I was having to run a lot of fuel and still managed to have pickup problems near the end of race 2. Just hugely relieved it's over (strangely!) but instead of being fearful of the whole weekend next time, I'll be massively looking forward to it all.

I've also got to thank Byron (E30 specialist in Monmouthshire) who sorted out the engine and mounts and several jobs in pretty quick time, Gary Feakins Racing and his guys for a superb job under time pressure and went the extra mile, Karl Graves and family for their really useful help with some kit, Andy Gay, Maciek Kaszczuk and Owen Darch for their help in the paddock. Oulton Park itself, is a fantastic circuit as well as a great venue. The staff seem extra friendly, the food and drink is superb in Chequers, and a lovely park for the kids to play in. A fantastic weekend in all!

[milescook]

Weight saving time!

I'm around 50-60kg over the minimum with half a tank of fuel. Call that 25kg of petrol, (but adding 3kg for swirl pot and fuel lines) I still have around 30kg to shed.

So! Here's a breakdown of cost and weight savings:

Boot mechanism approx 2kg (complete guess) http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... -fasteners
£100 for 2
£50 per kg

Team dynamic wheels £400 new, 1kg saving x 4
£100 per kg

Swirl pot approx £200 for pot and fuel lines, saves 25kg of fuel

£8 per kg

Braille battery http://www.braillebattery.co.uk/index.p ... teries/g20 5kg saving over the Odyssey 25
£250

£50 per kg

------

If anyone has more suggestions with a better spend per kg ratio I'm all ears Looks like the swirl pot is a no brainer... any tips? All the swirl pot threads are ancient history...

[DanThe]

Im not sure if you still have a heater box, but if you do there is a huge lump of weight there and its completely free! A page or two back I can see sound deadening!!
At least a couple of KG's in un-needed wires too, doesn't look like you have thinned the loom down. If you want any mates rates help with it give me a shout

[milescook]

Heater box part of regs sadly, (and handily for the vents if pissing down) where was the sound deadening? Engine bulkhead maybe...? Thinning the loom down would be a pita but free I guess

Cheers!

[DanThe]

Rear quarter panel

How much panel work can you remove?

Lightened flywheel?

Removing weight from the front of the car is the best way to go, even if you relocate it to the rear lower down, battery location for example

[milescook]

No panels sadly. Flywheel can be lightened to a certain weight need to check but that will help acceleration too.battery location has to stay where it is.

[rix313]

I never had a problem with my standard fuel tank and I run 15 litres for a 15minute race and pump out 5/6 afterwards. That Braille battery although it says G20 is different spec to mine and may not have the grunt to power hour engine. Mine was double that £££. TD wheel set is £330 last time I bought a set direct at the special rate they do for competitors. FYI 25litres if fuel is about 20kg

[DanThe]

Personally id rip the flywheel down to as little as possible, can't see them asking you to remove the flywheel for them to check the weight, especially if your not winning every race

[Auroan]

Great read ! I'm joining the series next year in Matt Wilemans old car. I've done track days but no racing, so seeing what you've done makes me feel a little less nervous.

[milescook]

Good to hear Will see you at a couple of races next year.

Have a look through the website and youtube videos (keep those ad revenue coming in )

[milescook]

UPDATE!

So we're planning on Cadwell Park end of April for the first round of the season! I've decided to do:

injectors clean,
install swirl pot,
power steering delete (maybe, depends on hassle)
Assortment of weight reduction

I'll take the plunge as we got the new car fitted with a tow bar, and will keep the race car off the road - no more driving to circuits. This means I should take off the steering lock (More weight reduction!).


Pics and videos soon

[milescook]

So a new season kicks off in a few months, and a plan is emerging for tackling this year! Work is well underway on a swirl pot setup and an intake / injector refurb. I've decided also to have a big push on the site and to get more content up too, as Google ads and Youtube revenue could be made to work a bit harder - the better they do, the more funds we have for racing!

The calendar for PBMWC looks great as ever:

1. 22/23 April ”“ Cadwell Park
2. 20/21 May ”“ Brands Hatch GP
3. 3/4 June ”“ Silverstone National
4. 29/30 July ”“ Silverstone GP
5. 19/20 August ”“ Brands Hatch Indy (German Festival)
6. 23/24 September ”“ Donington Park GP
7. 14/15 October ”“ Snetterton 300

However, the jobs list is a bit demanding on budget to get ready for Cadwell (especially after family winter holidays!) so it looks like we'll start at brands in May. Hopefully I'll finish some races this time.

Here's a start....

[milescook]

Back again! Straight from but just to keep the thread current...

(BTW the ads are bringing in a dribble of evenue for race budget, so would really appreciate zoner help from time to time check:

http://cookracing.co.uk for latest updates



--


Being around 60 kgs overweight (mostly the car, honest!) is something I can do plenty about, so that's the main winter job - more later. The inlet manifold came off so the injectors could be sent to injectortune.co.uk for a fast efficient service. Before they were sent off:



The nozzles are now very clean as seen below!







Hopefully that will give the engine a bit of a fairer fight. I game it a good clean with brake cleaner and a couple of new body gaskets. Its all back on now.



I've just got to get another replacement hose (this time a crankcase vent hose that goes under the inlet manifold to the throttle body) and connect it all back up again. Getting there...


I've also been sorting out a swirl pot - I noticed a really bad case of fuel starvation at Oulton especially coming out of Druids, even with half a tank of fuel (there's a dent in my fuel tank which probably doesn't help). That's 25 or so kilos we can get rid of. Downside is it's lots of fiddling around with the fuel system... so I took the plunge!



It took some fettling after this, because it just has to be at the right height so the sock is submerged in fuel without being flattened. Fingers crossed...





Here is a low pressure lift pump attached to my existing cradle. So gone are the old grotty fuel lines:



The last one here it turns out was the vent pipe - seemed odd at the time it went all the way up the car passed the engine to a rubber hose to nowhere. In the bottom picture it's the most left hose connected to the steel one - now it isn't. The fuel filter needs replacing anyway, that will probably relocate too.



The hoses here now have to be directed to the boot where this is now waiting... that's for the next update!



--

Also, a couple of more pics and progress:

[Motorhole]

Re. weight reduction - do you still have the front and rear bumper weights & shock absorbers fitted? They are pretty easy to remove and collectively will come to about 12-15kg imo. Little plastic rivets hold them to the bumper skins and can be popped out with a small screwdriver and some pliers. New mounts can be knocked up with some threaded bar and fittings. Car won't be particularly contact resistant afterwards mind.

I'm thinning my loom down now. It's a long and painful process - central locking wiring and solenoids add up to a good 3kg or so alone though.

Edit: I spotted the sound deadening too. It's on the heater panel under the bonnet. It's dense stuff too, you'll save another kg if you take off the heater panel, remove that sh*te and refit.

[milescook]

Cheers Motorhole! I don't think I can touch any bodywork including bumper shock absorbers. Shame as it's an easy win as you say! I didn't think about the bulkhead sound deadening - I'll sort that cheers!

[rix313]

Just looking at the picture of the pump in the tank miles. I'd drop it down a little bit. Otherwise you've got a good few litres in the bottom that will be totally useless and extra weight!

[milescook]

Just looking at the picture of the pump in the tank miles. I'd drop it down a little bit. Otherwise you've got a good few litres in the bottom that will be totally useless and extra weight!

Ah really? The picture may be deceptive... probably best I check though cheers. Meanwhile here's an update...



I've also got the pump bracket and pump (tomorrow)... nearly there! Also will need 4 new style Toyo 888R tyres which I wasn't budgeting pants...

[milescook]

We have ignition!

https://t.co/j9lOOgWIAg

[milescook]

and......

[jmc330i]

Good work Miles (I have no idea about swill pots and stuff) but good work none the less

First race this year at Brands in may?

[Motorhole]

Nice work. That's a smooth running M20

[milescook]

Good work Miles (I have no idea about swill pots and stuff) but good work none the less

First race this year at Brands in may?

Hi mate long time no see! First race looking like 4th June at Silverstone Still need to get tyres before that though... that will hammer the budget!

Cheers MH appreciate that coming from your expertise

Mind you the comment on the m20 running smooth... hope that's not sarcastic if so maggspower sold me the lump

Seemed to pull well enough at Oulton mind you I was 50 odd kg overweight hence the swirl pot to avoid having to run loads of fuel - had starvation issues.

Have now removed the power steering pump and reservoir, if anyone wants to buy a working one! Need to get the pipes out apparently raising the engine a touch will clear room We'll see...

Full youtube and site due in a week or so keep an eye on the channel but will obviously post there for the zone bubble

[milescook]

Very happy today!



Swirl pot system works lovely, engine sounds great with those refurbed injectors and new hoses, and the power steering system has been removed.

...and if anyone wants to make an offer for a working power steering setup give me a shout

[milescook]

We're racing this weekend at Silverstone! Any zoners want to take a look at the car come and find my amongst the E30s!

[milescook]

No dramas this weekend

Finished 25th in race 1, 23rd in race two. Lots of time to get after though

My fastest lap all weekend



Swirl pot setup was faultless, so really pleased. I did have to seal the well with a sheet of aluminium, and seal the gap between the hoses with silicone sealant. I also had to cut my passenger seat fuel pump plate cover, again seal it up, to prevent fuel leaking into the cockpit (you need a 'firewall').

Still though with not much fuel left at the weighbridge me and the car are still 40kg over weight. Admitedly around 7 of that is down to me (up from last time - my race suit didn't fit!). So, back to the weight saving page... hoping to get out art Brands Hatch in August

[milescook]

Still haven't done a write up of the weekend, but here's a summary video instead...

[milescook]

A (brief) writeup of the weekend

http://cookracing.co.uk/index.php/8-rac ... e-national