All the info you need to race E30's
Moderator: martauto
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Lloydie38
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Location: Douglas, Isle of Man
Post
Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:14 am
Hi,
Fuel Starvation on sweping long bends
Yesterday I went to the track day here on the Isle of Man. The track was run clockwise to on sweeping right-handers with 4 progressice sweeps right and with 1/3 tank of fuel the car was spluttering. Once more fuel was added it stopped but obviously it would be nice to go run it on minimum fuel - nice and light.
What options have I got on track use fuel tanks, adjusting the existing?
Map of 1.5 mile track below..
[img][img]
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r117 ... dTrack.jpg[/img][/img]
3 Hours open pit lane for £60 - bargain
The Isle of Man: No National Speed Limit, No Gatso's, No Nanny State, a disused airfield track 1.5 miles long, the best mountain road to drive on...Come and Play!
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shorty73
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:51 am
Fill it with a foam baffle. Try Demon tweeks or GPR.
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JimmyC
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:57 am
We have had untold problems with this in PBMW
2 options:
1) Swirl pot- allyproducts on here does them at a great price
2) We have been experimenting with fitting a golf pump, with integrated catch tank. Seems to have done the trick and a very easy fitment apparently. Will dig out the part numbers etc and post detail next week
Dont think a foam baffle will do the trick, thats more of a safety thing to remove vapour in the tanks- but not seen anyone try this so only guesswork on my part
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shorty73
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:08 am
Your probably right but in the tweeks book is does say it reduces fuel slosh and aids fuel pick up. I've got it in my tank and have had no problems but my mate with a Lotus Sunbeam hasn't and he has to run at least half a tank. That said I do have a swirl pot as well!
Try here;
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... =ATLSF103Y
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M3GTR
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:23 pm
Hi - A foam baffle won't work on all circuits. You need to fit a swirl pot seperate to the tank. Fit it with a second pump too (Facet red top) to fill the swirl pot then a high pressure injection pump to send the fuel to the engine. I fitted this setup to my car (now owned by Shorty) and it ran without a single hitch ever since.
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shorty73
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:24 pm
That'll be why I've had no problems then!
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UweM3
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:07 pm
JimmyC wrote:We have had untold problems with this in PBMW
2 options:
1) Swirl pot- allyproducts on here does them at a great price
2) We have been experimenting with fitting a golf pump, with integrated catch tank. Seems to have done the trick and a very easy fitment apparently. Will dig out the part numbers etc and post detail next week
Dont think a foam baffle will do the trick, thats more of a safety thing to remove vapour in the tanks- but not seen anyone try this so only guesswork on my part
I have problems with that as well. Can't really go under 1/4 of a tank.
Can I hassle you for the part numbers please. I have almost started to fabricate a swirl pot, but if the Golf pump does the trick I wouldn't mind to give that a go first.
I still have the 55ltr tank fitted (deleted the Aux tank in the boot) and might go for a 62ltr over the winter.
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M3GTR
- E30 Zone Regular

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Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:02 pm
Found this on my PC if it helps at all!

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Lloydie38
- E30 Zone Regular

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Post
Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:10 pm
Fcuk me - it's like track day porn
Need more info, prices etc ...EVERYTHING really to get me running without fuel starvation.
I think it could be my new screen saver pic - sorry kids your orphens

The Isle of Man: No National Speed Limit, No Gatso's, No Nanny State, a disused airfield track 1.5 miles long, the best mountain road to drive on...Come and Play!
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shorty73
- E30 Zone Regular

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:46 am
Lloydie38 wrote:**** me - it's like track day porn
Hey that's my rear end your talking about!
I suppose I could send you some expicit close up's for a fee!!

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agreen
- E30 Zone Addict

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:56 am
what are all those pic in the pic above its all so confusing to me
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JimmyC
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:02 am
That pic shows the fuel tank, the big box
The swirl pot, the smaller ally cylinder
2 pumps and a filter
All you need to stop fuel starvation is the swirlpot one pump (your tank already has one) and a filter
The tank is not needed to stop the fuel starvation
I'll chase up the golf part numbers as thats the simplest fix for fuel starvation we've found- Robin Welsch tested it and run the car empty with no starvation- empty as in he had to coast into the pit lane
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agreen
- E30 Zone Addict

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:07 am
ohh so a swirl post can be fitted witha normall tank and pump ??? why are there two pumps above who makes these swirl ports ???sorry for all the questions matey thanks
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JimmyC
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:12 am
Theres 2 pumps above as the original tank with built in pump has been removed from the car, you need one pump to pump fuel into the swirl pot (the one in your original tank will do this), then another one to pump from the swirl pot to the engine.
Allyproducts on here does swirl pots at a good price, think a pump recommendation is above in this thread somewhere.
The fuel starvation occurs when the fuel in the original tank moves away from the pick up on cornering, due to the size, shape and pick position, means that when this surge happens the swirl pot keeps a constant supply, then after the surge the pick up continues to fill the sswirl pot
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agreen
- E30 Zone Addict

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:15 am
ohh cool so is it recommended an uprated fuel pump or nt then fella thanks for the helpp
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JimmyC
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:22 am
Keep the standard pump in the tank to feed the swirl pot then a hi pressure injection pump to fuel the engine
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agreen
- E30 Zone Addict

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:25 am
cool i have spoken top a guy at alloy place from here about a swirl port but he is out so gonna call him back so now i need to find a hi ressure pump for the engine side of things
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pdd144c
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:54 pm
I can confirm that the Golf kit solves all the problems, did John send you the part numbers Jimmy? It's Paul from Xsport by the way! I'll be joining you all out in PBMW next year...
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JimmyC
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:04 pm
Hi Paul, be good to have you on board next year! Not got the part numbers yet from old man Willcocks, but seeing him tomorrow so he may have them then.
Unless you know them and fancy telling us how simple the install is?? If you do i'll copy and paste it all over to SELOC as I think a number of them are looking at this for the winter
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pdd144c
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:14 pm
Not off the top of my head, I'll try and send them across later. Very simple to install, we fitted Rob's in a few hours, it's just a case of re-routing a few fuel lines, running an electrical feed to the Golf pump, and attaching it all where the spare wheel used to be. May well be able to get some kind of group buy going on these kits...
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agreen
- E30 Zone Addict

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Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:31 pm
yeh a group buy would be a good i dea i am very interested
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Lloydie38
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Location: Douglas, Isle of Man
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Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:22 pm
This is looking like a plan!
Thanks to all on this it's been a learning curve for me

The Isle of Man: No National Speed Limit, No Gatso's, No Nanny State, a disused airfield track 1.5 miles long, the best mountain road to drive on...Come and Play!
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buster
- E30 Zone Addict

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Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:10 pm
Hi guys,
After just doing my first track day at croft yesturday,i also experienced this as its mostly right hand bends.Mine only has the small 45 ltr tank and my engine is a thirsty bugger needing 5 bar pressure.Thats probably why my e30 was getting fuel starvation on long right hand bends with anything less than half a tank of fuel.
After reading this thread it seems i need a swirl pot.
My fuel pump pumps at 5 bar,will i need another pump to pump at 5 bar from the swirl pot ? If so any recommendations ? also im up for a group buy on a swirl pot.
cheers,
andy
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shorty73
- E30 Zone Regular

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Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:28 pm
Speak to Nigel (alloyraceproducts) a
www.carreracdh.co.uk about a group buy. He was willing to do one on the catch tanks and he's a really nice bloke!
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Silverfang
- E30 Zone Regular

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Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:46 pm
buster wrote:Hi guys,
After just doing my first track day at croft yesturday,i also experienced this as its mostly right hand bends.Mine only has the small 45 ltr tank and my engine is a thirsty bugger needing 5 bar pressure.Thats probably why my e30 was getting fuel starvation on long right hand bends with anything less than half a tank of fuel.
After reading this thread it seems i need a swirl pot.
My fuel pump pumps at 5 bar,will i need another pump to pump at 5 bar from the swirl pot ? If so any recommendations ? also im up for a group buy on a swirl pot.
cheers,
andy
No you'd need a low pressure pump feeding the swirl pot and the 5 bar pump running from the swirl pot to the engine. The Swirl tank doesn't need a high pressure to maintain the head of fuel in it, 5 bar would probably make it explode!

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buster
- E30 Zone Addict

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Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:37 pm
so the standard 3 bar one to feed the swirl pot would be ok ?
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Tom944
- E30 Zone Newbie

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- Location: Netherlands
Post
Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:15 pm
After having the same problems yesterday at the tracktest, we're going for the catchtank option also. As we've got the fuelsupply system of a pre-facelift e30, the lowpressure pump located inside of the tank should be enough to fill a swirlpot with the external fuel pump pumping it thru to the engine.
E30 M50B25 racer soon-to-be E30 S50B30 racer
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alloyproducts
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:21 pm
hi guys, i wil offer you lot a group buy if theres enough of you. i can offer 15% on upto 5 people and 20% for 6 or more. i would need to know what sizes to put on them, i think the 1.5litre capacity push on would be best. i do do a 1/4bsp on, but that would need extra fittings, which can then get costly. the swirl pots normally have 8mm feed in, return from engine, and return to tank, and 15mm outlet. i can do these to indivial sizes if people are running different pressure pumps.
if i could put pics up i would post one up now.
i will offer a group buy on the oil seperator catch tanks if theres enough interest.

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Tom944
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:33 pm
alloyproducts wrote:hi guys, i wil offer you lot a group buy if theres enough of you. i can offer 15% on upto 5 people and 20% for 6 or more. i would need to know what sizes to put on them, i think the 1.5litre capacity push on would be best. i do do a 1/4bsp on, but that would need extra fittings, which can then get costly. the swirl pots normally have 8mm feed in, return from engine, and return to tank, and 15mm outlet. i can do these to indivial sizes if people are running different pressure pumps.
if i could put pics up i would post one up now.
i will offer a group buy on the oil seperator catch tanks if theres enough interest.

Mail me the picture at -- and I'll post it here.
Last edited by Tom944 on Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
E30 M50B25 racer soon-to-be E30 S50B30 racer
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fuzzy
- He who sleeps with "Gingers"
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Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:39 pm
i used to use a swirl pot located in the boot with 2 external pumps. 1 low pressure pump to feed the swirl pot from the custom spare wheel well fuel cell and another high pressure pump feeding the fuel to the engine. no problems other than when i split the swirl pot and fuel cell in a heavy rear end hit causing petrol to spray around inside the totally stripped out cabin. only then did i learn that the plumbed in fire system that was meant to spray foam over me and the fuel cell in situations like this had an extra safety catch on it that hadnt been disconnected.
god bless the quick reactions of the fire brigade and my 'good fortune' to crash 100 metres away from the fire station and also the passing motorists that stopped to pull me from the wreckage after the rear end impact threw me and my harnessed up bucket seat into the back beside the split fuel system.
moral of this tale is if you are going to use fuel systems like this dont scrimp on the fire safety devices

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Tom944
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:49 pm
fuzzy wrote:i used to use a swirl pot located in the boot with 2 external pumps. 1 low pressure pump to feed the swirl pot from the custom spare wheel well fuel cell and another high pressure pump feeding the fuel to the engine. no problems other than when i split the swirl pot and fuel cell in a heavy rear end hit causing petrol to spray around inside the totally stripped out cabin. only then did i learn that the plumbed in fire system that was meant to spray foam over me and the fuel cell in situations like this had an extra safety catch on it that hadnt been disconnected.
god bless the quick reactions of the fire brigade and my 'good fortune' to crash 100 metres away from the fire station and also the passing motorists that stopped to pull me from the wreckage after the rear end impact threw me and my harnessed up bucket seat into the back beside the split fuel system.
moral of this tale is if you are going to use fuel systems like this dont scrimp on the fire safety devices

True, and never ever have the fuelsystem or any hoses in your cockpit, unless it's an uninterupted hose. When you put a swirlpot in the trunk, completely cover the cockpit side of the "backseatrest" and board above your trunk with at least metal, aluminium or some sort of fireproof material.
Last edited by Tom944 on Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
E30 M50B25 racer soon-to-be E30 S50B30 racer
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alloyproducts
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Lloydie38
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Location: Douglas, Isle of Man
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Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:47 am
Cheers Boys for the advice on the safety side - sometimes the keenness to get the car going with the new 'Bits' fitted, can cause safety matters to sometimes get forgotton or pushed aside...
Alloyproducts - PM for you - Cheque book ready

- love to get this sorted for the next track day in Nov and then fly through the sweeping bends with not a splutter in sight!!

The Isle of Man: No National Speed Limit, No Gatso's, No Nanny State, a disused airfield track 1.5 miles long, the best mountain road to drive on...Come and Play!
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oldroydsr4
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:26 pm
Very interested to,
it would be good to get more than 6
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Lloydie38
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sat Oct 13, 2007 3:34 pm
Swirl pot and pump ordered to get fitted for next track day

The Isle of Man: No National Speed Limit, No Gatso's, No Nanny State, a disused airfield track 1.5 miles long, the best mountain road to drive on...Come and Play!