BMW Compact Build

Looked at the bits a bit closer. Couldn't really determine anything conclusively. There are some scratch marks on the ID of the retainer.

Sounded like the retainers on the S50 were the same ones used on all the BMW motors at the time, but the S50 was got the higher revving motor and after 10 months of production, BMW re-spec'd the harness of the retainers so everything after 10/1995 got the newer parts.

I'm an 'overkill' kinda guy and since R&R'ing the head is something I don't want to do again, I ordered up a set of Supertech dual valve springs with new retainers & collets. Cost was ~$500, which is $330 more than just ordering up fresh OEM retainers & collets. Hopefully won't have to worry about this kind of failure again.

Now just need to see if I can get all the parts back and re-assembled in time to actually make a race in 2011.

Dave

Not many events left in 2011 to aim for Dave.
100AW would be a decent goal. Gives you some more time to prep. I kinda was thinking about setting that as my goal for the Merkur.

Plus 100AW will be a pick up point for people that want to race in WRC Mexico. After the rally just load your car on the transporter and it will be waiting for you in Mexico for the WRC event.

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NoCoast
Not many events left in 2011 to aim for Dave.
100AW would be a decent goal. Gives you some more time to prep. I kinda was thinking about setting that as my goal for the Merkur.

100AW and SnoDrift are tough to pull off with the short BWDS season. Big White was a consideration, but I still don't have a passport, and that's the weekend before the driving school kicks off for the year, so likely tough to spend that much time away from my cubicle.

I'm thinking about doing Seed 9. We're headed to SEMA and the fact the event happens the day after makes it seem like a logical fit. Since rallying is more than just trying to go fast on stage, we figured getting a rally with time controls and such under our belts would be a good idea before we're at an event where taking a time penalty could have real consequences (MaxAttack round for instance). Allison and I have never done a real rally together, and the one stage event I did was way back in 2007 and I had an experienced co-driver who did all that other stuff.

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Andrew_Frick
Plus 100AW will be a pick up point for people that want to race in WRC Mexico. After the rally just load your car on the transporter and it will be waiting for you in Mexico for the WRC event.

Would love to, but I think to do that I'd need to cut out my door bars and do them again. They're a fraction out of spec on FIA rules (front bar terminates a few MM above the half way point), but I've been given the OK to use the car in RA events based on the design reasons for having the bar terminate where it does (its ending at a node, rather than mid-bar).

Dave



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2011 04:44PM by DaveK.

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DaveK

Would love to, but I think to do that I'd need to cut out my door bars and do them again. They're a fraction out of spec on FIA rules (front bar terminates a few MM above the half way point), but I've been given the OK to use the car in RA events based on the design reasons for having the bar terminate where it does (its ending at a node, rather than mid-bar).

Dave

This is not an issue in Mexico. Keep in mind you are entering the Mexican national event and not the FIA event. It is run on the same roads at the same time but is a separate rally. You would not be eligible for the FIA event anyway since the homologation for your car has definitely expired.

They DID NOT check cage design at all in Mexico. All they did was checked the integrity of the welding. That was checked very thoroughly with dentist mirrors and flash lights But they were not looking at bar layout.

Some of the Mexicans had cages with one door bar and only only one diagonal in the main hoop and went right through tech.

And for the homologated cars all they do is check that the cage matches the homologated drawing that they are handed when it comes into tech. And then check to make sure it was welded together properly.

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DaveK
I'm thinking about doing Seed 9. We're headed to SEMA and the fact the event happens the day after makes it seem like a logical fit. Since rallying is more than just trying to go fast on stage, we figured getting a rally with time controls and such under our belts would be a good idea before we're at an event where taking a time penalty could have real consequences (MaxAttack round for instance). Allison and I have never done a real rally together, and the one stage event I did was way back in 2007 and I had an experienced co-driver who did all that other stuff.

Now I do like this WRC Mexico from 100AW idea...

Little update and a question:

New parts for the head arrived and its been carted off to the machine shop to make sure that new valve will seal.

Now, onto the question - which is about lights:

I've got a pod coming from Harry Hockly in the UK and need to make a selection on lights. There's another good thread on the topic, but figured for someone looking to build a BMW, it'd be good to have this info in here as well.

HIDs are out of the question and I've heard that with traditional halogens PIAAs are the way to go. Since the car is RWD, I'm likely to spend more time sideways than pointed straight, so a suggestion was made to skip the pencil beams and consider driving beam patterns.

So, if you were choosing between the 80 Racing and 80XT lights, which would you go with and why?

80 Racing (8" + H4 bulbs (bigger and 135/90w beam))
80XT (6.75" H3 120w bulbs)

The bigger lights are ~$30 more each once lights & mounts are factored in.

Thanks!

Dave



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2011 06:58PM by DaveK.

Guy pulling the valves and valve springs out found a crack in the head under the spring seat. Looked like the valve getting hit and torqued sideways was the cause.

Dave

Well, long time no update. As mentioned in the post above, the head got cracked so figured I'd be patient and keep an eye out for a good cheap used head.

While I was waiting, I picked up a set of Supertech dual valve springs and retainers. I don't plan on revving it higher than 7k, but having parts in the car that could handle more stress than I plan to put them through seems like a smart move.

I had also considered picking up another used S50, but couldn't find one for a good deal, and also realized I'd have to address the valve retainer issue, and do the oil-pump nut fix as well. After 6 weeks of craigslist and BFC classifieds searching with no good leads, I finally gave up. I decided to bite the bullet and pick up a head that's been rebuilt.

So, with that decided, it's time to dig the rest of the way into the block and get the damaged parts out of there. I borrowed an engine holder thing, and strapped the front of the block to it then got to work.

Next up was to drop the sub-frame and unbolt the power steering pump. Luckily with my revamped power steering lines, I was able to drop the sub-frame far enough out of the way without having to un-do any of the fittings. Pulled all of the bolts out of the oil pan. FWIW, there are two hidden bolts inside the transmission. Once I found those, the pan came off nice & easy:



Removed the baffle to reveal the crank & rods:



Two more bolts, and the rod & piston are out:



Next up is to figure out what bearings I need and meet up with a buddy who's got a spare stock piston.

Dave

Still looking for a head?

Not my advert - just passing it along....
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http://www.casc.on.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=24385

Parting out an S50B30 Euro M3 motor
That's correct! A 3.0 litre Euro M3 engine with individual throttle bodies.
Cylinder #1 is damaged - therefore the block is toast. The head is ported and the intake and exhaust are a work of art. However, the dome of cylinder #1 needs to be fixed (I'll take some close up pictures).

I have parted all the remaining good engine components. Coils were purchased new last summer. The alternator was re-built last summer. Intake rubber boot is brand new, have OEM headers and also a set of Supersprints.

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bean
Still looking for a head?

That'd be a really cool find if I had a Euro motor. From what I've read, the US spec motor was basically a hotted up M50, whereas the Euro M3 was a completely different motor with nothing much in the way of parts swappability between the normal M50 motor. Thanks for keeping an eye out though!

In other news, the car is back together and running. I'll try to get some pics from this past weekend up in the next day or two.

Dave

Well, I certainly missed out on the action at SnoDrift, but had a chance to get some slideways action this past weekend:

http://racekern.com/Kernracing/2012/02/318ti-bwds-shakedown/

Dave

BMW is done playing on the ice for the year. Loaded it up last night and towed it back to Denver. I'm a little bit sad, but looking forward to getting it back on some grippy stuff. Here was a video my buddy put together from the play day last weekend:





Found out I've got some more work ahead of me. The LSD I got from the junkyard doesn't limit anything. I need to tear into it to see what's going on, but 1wd on the ice is s l o w coming out of the corners. Sorta kicking around the idea of finding a 3.9 supra diff instead of the 4.3. With the torques of the inline 6, I don't think I'll hamper the performance much by gearing it back down...and it should help with the massive amounts of shifting I've been doing. Most of the time on the ice, I just put the car in 3rd and left it there. Torque is fun!

In addition, the throw out bearing is making all sorts of terrible noises, so I'll need to tear the tranmission off the car shortly and figure I'll drop a new clutch disk in there, as the one in there currently was a used unit. Good enough for goofing around, but not something I'd trust to an $800 entry fee, 4 days off work, and 1500 miles of towing.

Dave

Time to look into options for rebuilding the Supra diff. Curious if you guys have any thoughts on this stuff (http://www.weirperformance.com/maxgriplsdkits.html). I've heard good reviews from some guys on Evo boards about the upgraded plates.

Supra 1986.5-92 MAXGRIP KIT #1 (Street/track upgrade) $45.00 ea.
Kit comes with a full set of 8 shims thickness’ from .005”, .008”, .010”, .015”. Also comes with a heavy duty spring used in conjunction with the O.E.M. spring to increase the spring load from 550lbs. to 790lbs. Using this kit we have reached a breakaway torque of 100 ft.lbs.

Supra 1986.5-92 MAXGRIP KIT #2 (competition/truck upgrade) $75.00 ea.

Kit comes with a full set of 8 shims thicknesses from .005”, .008”, .010”, .015”. Also comes with steel spacer ring and two disc springs. These parts replace the O.E.M. spring and increases spring load from 550lbs. to 1500lbs. using this kit we have reached a breakaway torque of 250 ft.lbs. This kit is not for the timid, serious competition use only.

Supra 1986.5-92 MAXGRIP KIT #3 (full lock drift and drag only) $180.00

This is our full locking kit. It has all the benefits of a spool for drift and drag racing without the need for special tools or welding to install. It is by far the simplest of all our MAXGRIP kits. Kit comes with 8 lock plates, heat treated steel, will withstand high HP and hard launches. Can be installed in an afternoon, no measuring required. Not for use on street vehicles for racing only.

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?430339-How-To-A-few-tricks-to-beef-up-the-rearend-carrier#

I wouldn't go to the full locking plates but the 250 ft lbs one would be nice.
If the clutch plates are really around $200 at dealer, it might be nice to use new plates and their kit and have a decent locking diff for around $300.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?100618-LSD-Rebuild&p=1362460&viewfull=1#post1362460

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Grant Hughes



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2012 01:29PM by NoCoast.