E36 s54 conversion. - Page 14 - The M3cutters

Matthead · 21st October 2017, 10:57 AM

I had another day out at snetterton yesterday. The track was soaking wet as it had been raining of and on for most of the night and kept raining throughout the day. I had collected a set of Dunlop wets from Malc (cheers dude!!) and had them rimmed up so I was excited/interested to see how they would perform, I have only heard great things about full race wets.
Oh boy are they good, sooooo much grip it's unbelievable. I hate the rain, I don't like being in it when I'm being paid at work so I hate being in it on a day off, and I've never enjoyed wet track days as I don't have much confidence track driving in the wet but these tyre have changed that. A little bit too much maybe, see this vid...............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1fHi_o8iY

Whoops.

After that little moment I got into it and enjoyed the day emmensly, the car performed well all day, no mechanical problems at all, I had raised the rear suspension 5mm and have no rubbing issues so the new wheels and tyres fit good so that's a relief!
I did notice that I had several mis-shifts during the day and every now and then it was a bit reluctant to get into gear, i noticed the clutch fluid is a very dark brown colour as aposed to the brake fluid being normal in colour, these were all done at the same time so I wonder if the fluid has gone or there is a problem with the clutch slave?

Some pics of the beast in its wet shoes,

And a vid of just being out on track,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZDfP2ssJvk

The Simps · 21st October 2017, 12:07 PM

Nice! Its a good feeling when you get these things all dialled in isn't it?!

malc · 21st October 2017, 06:18 PM

The looks of those wets on your car Matt seem that you could go off roading,
Hang on a moment you did

That's the trouble with full wets they give so must confidence, especially at the bomb hole when the N/S is fully loaded and a bit of weight transfer, the back can break away with the slightest of power.
What pressures did you run the wets at?
The car is looking fantastic, and with plenty more wet or dry track days to come the rest of the year, keep up the good work

Pdelamare · 21st October 2017, 06:51 PM

Nice.

The mini ahead of you must also have been on wets?

Ripper46 · 21st October 2017, 07:01 PM

Cars looking fantastic Matt, as Malc says the wets are awesome but can still bite you if your not careful

austracer · 17th November 2017, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthead

i noticed the clutch fluid is a very dark brown colour as aposed to the brake fluid being normal in colour, these were all done at the same time so I wonder if the fluid has gone or there is a problem with the clutch slave?

Unlike brakes, the clutch hydraulics/cylinders move a lot. That drags more dirt past piston seals so the clutch fluid gets dirty a lot quicker.

Matthead · 5th December 2017, 04:20 PM

A few pics of the old girl wobbling around silverstone a few days ago

EN9I6843 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr

IJ6A7874 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr

IJ6A7875 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr

IJ6A8214 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr

IJ6A8683 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr

'Yaws a bit of a disappointing day for me on the whole, the car ran great and I had no mechanical issues but I just couldn't get any confidence in the car, the handling seemed awful, I struggled to get heat into the front slicks all day and spent most of it understeering through every corner. I had been struggling to get tyre temps on a warmish day at snetterton so I may have to try soft slicks next year.
That's probably it for me this year, over winter I have some ideas floating around in my head so I'll either be selling up and buying an e46 or keeping and going with a different wide arch set up, better suspension, full geo set up, switchable traction control, retro fit an abs set up, wet map, rewire, etc. If anyone is genuinely interested in the car give me a shout, I'm open to offers.

billyboym3 · 5th December 2017, 06:54 PM

Mart don’t loose the will to live, it was hard to get heat into the slicks, track temps were very low. Mine didn’t dig in either, rear was struggling.

Tug it away and it will come good in March/April

Ripper46 · 5th December 2017, 07:16 PM

Agree with billy , track temps were very low and you weren't on your own struggling to get heat into the slicks , I've never experienced understeer in my car before , found myself tip toeing round most corners for much of the day , if I were you , unless you really fancy a change , put the car away till winter breaks and try it again , you'll probably find it completely different, maybe your lightweight car may prefer the soft slicks , got to be worth a try after all the hard work you've put into your car buddy

malc · 5th December 2017, 10:41 PM

Have to echo in what's been said ^^^^
I don't think you will find what you are looking for in a e46 compared to your own beast.
Get a set of softs on it in the spring and it will be a weapon, after all the hard work and doller which have gone into what's its become today.

mattpinder · 6th December 2017, 07:04 AM

As above the winter temps don't like harder tyres, do you run a fully square tyre wheel combo? If so might be worth putting the 'fronts' on the rear for a session or two to get a bit of heat into them and then swap back.

The mk60 can be wired as standalone abs, got a friend who does this to other cars as a kit incase you want details?

PolarisCSL · 6th December 2017, 09:10 AM

As others have said it seems a shame to give up on the e36 given they are still an extremely competitive platform. The cold weather won’t have helped for sure but I think there is a lot to work on your suspension/ wheel setup. E36er on here is extremely quick in his car despite running on 225 road legal tyres. Personally I think yours either needs more work to get it to a viable ride height and roll centre on the tyres you have or to revert to proven e36 territory with smaller wheels. Basically you need to get it a lot lower so the suspension works for you and not against, and then set it up properly - no need for tc, wet maps or anything else. Sorry to sound harsh but somebody needed to say it 👍

billyboym3 · 6th December 2017, 11:15 AM

Lets book a day at Snett end of March. Id leave car as it is, maybe get it set up at Spires, fit some soft compound slicks. Its a weapon Matt and silverstone was really cold.

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billyboym3

Mart don’t loose the will to live, it was hard to get heat into the slicks, track temps were very low. Mine didn’t dig in either, rear was struggling.

Tug it away and it will come good in March/April

Yup, I think you may be right Billy, I was really disappointed with the car all day, it wasn't until I spoke to Ray and he mentioned he couldn't get the slicks hot, and I seem to recall you were doing big lap stints to get the heat up? I think I need to get some softs on and try again next year

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripper46

Agree with billy , track temps were very low and you weren't on your own struggling to get heat into the slicks , I've never experienced understeer in my car before , found myself tip toeing round most corners for much of the day , if I were you , unless you really fancy a change , put the car away till winter breaks and try it again , you'll probably find it completely different, maybe your lightweight car may prefer the soft slicks , got to be worth a try after all the hard work you've put into your car buddy

Thanks Ray, I think you and all the boys are right, it was fecking cold wasn't it? I don't think I was in the right frame of mind all day to be honest, I was suffering from man flu which didn't help. Weak excuse I know, but hey!!
You car was looking awesome as usual, would really love to get some passenger laps in it one day mate

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malc

Have to echo in what's been said ^^^^
I don't think you will find what you are looking for in a e46 compared to your own beast.
Get a set of softs on it in the spring and it will be a weapon, after all the hard work and doller which have gone into what's its become today.

Cheers Malc, you know me, I've been having a bit of a wobble with the car for a while! I'll get some softs on and see what's what

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattpinder

As above the winter temps don't like harder tyres, do you run a fully square tyre wheel combo? If so might be worth putting the 'fronts' on the rear for a session or two to get a bit of heat into them and then swap back.

The mk60 can be wired as standalone abs, got a friend who does this to other cars as a kit incase you want details?

Yup, full square set up, probably tyre rotation would hurt. Good call.
I'd be very interested to here about the mk60 retrofit, I have no abs at all, no sensors, pump, ecu etc so I'd like to hear what can be done and costs

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PolarisCSL

As others have said it seems a shame to give up on the e36 given they are still an extremely competitive platform. The cold weather won’t have helped for sure but I think there is a lot to work on your suspension/ wheel setup. E36er on here is extremely quick in his car despite running on 225 road legal tyres. Personally I think yours either needs more work to get it to a viable ride height and roll centre on the tyres you have or to revert to proven e36 territory with smaller wheels. Basically you need to get it a lot lower so the suspension works for you and not against, and then set it up properly - no need for tc, wet maps or anything else. Sorry to sound harsh but somebody needed to say it 👍

Not harsh at all mate, I'm always open to hear what people have to say, especially racers, you are not wrong about Owen, (e36er) he can certainly get an e36 to shift!
I think you are 100% right in your comments, I'd forgotten that I had altered the suspension to aid with wheel/tyre fitment so it's all over the place. You are correct that the suspension needs work and it need to be A LOT lower for better handling, probably needs wider bodywork to raise the wheelarch's to get it lower. A better quality suspension than my hsd's would probably help too.
My only reason for an e46 is that I'm a big guy, 6'4, large (read fat!!) frame and the e36 does seem a small fit on me, I find some of the e46's I've been in including my own old road car feel a better fit for me, I'm not sure if this is purely a mind trick, I'm not sure how much bigger a 46 cockpit is compared to a 36.
Thanks for the comments though mate, it's all good to hear!

Matthead · 6th December 2017, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billyboym3

Lets book a day at Snett end of March. Id leave car as it is, maybe get it set up at Spires, fit some soft compound slicks. Its a weapon Matt and silverstone was really cold.

Always up for that Billy

I think silverstone was bad cos peppa wasn't in the house

billyboym3 · 7th December 2017, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthead

Always up for that Billy

I think silverstone was bad cos peppa wasn't in the house

Deffo, I couldn’t bring it as it’s worth a extra 50bhp and you boys would be jealous.

Seriously Matt, your car is awesome. Get some softs fitted. I’d love to see what it’s got round snett.

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21st October 2017, 10:57 AM	#261
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	I had another day out at snetterton yesterday. The track was soaking wet as it had been raining of and on for most of the night and kept raining throughout the day. I had collected a set of Dunlop wets from Malc (cheers dude!!) and had them rimmed up so I was excited/interested to see how they would perform, I have only heard great things about full race wets. Oh boy are they good, sooooo much grip it's unbelievable. I hate the rain, I don't like being in it when I'm being paid at work so I hate being in it on a day off, and I've never enjoyed wet track days as I don't have much confidence track driving in the wet but these tyre have changed that. A little bit too much maybe, see this vid............... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1fHi_o8iY Whoops. After that little moment I got into it and enjoyed the day emmensly, the car performed well all day, no mechanical problems at all, I had raised the rear suspension 5mm and have no rubbing issues so the new wheels and tyres fit good so that's a relief! I did notice that I had several mis-shifts during the day and every now and then it was a bit reluctant to get into gear, i noticed the clutch fluid is a very dark brown colour as aposed to the brake fluid being normal in colour, these were all done at the same time so I wonder if the fluid has gone or there is a problem with the clutch slave? Some pics of the beast in its wet shoes, And a vid of just being out on track, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZDfP2ssJvk

21st October 2017, 12:07 PM	#262
The Simps Rocking a new hat Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Norwich Posts: 532 Car: 2003 BMW M3	Nice! Its a good feeling when you get these things all dialled in isn't it?!

21st October 2017, 06:18 PM	#263
malc Achieved official socks Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: suffolk Posts: 2,896 Car: 2001 bmw e46 m3	The looks of those wets on your car Matt seem that you could go off roading, Hang on a moment you did That's the trouble with full wets they give so must confidence, especially at the bomb hole when the N/S is fully loaded and a bit of weight transfer, the back can break away with the slightest of power. What pressures did you run the wets at? The car is looking fantastic, and with plenty more wet or dry track days to come the rest of the year, keep up the good work

21st October 2017, 06:51 PM	#264
Pdelamare Achieved official socks Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Milton Keynes Posts: 1,587 Car: E92 M3, Mercedes E63 5.5, Caterham Levante, Smart Prime	Nice. The mini ahead of you must also have been on wets?

21st October 2017, 07:01 PM	#265
Ripper46 Achieved official socks Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: wolverhampton Posts: 2,827 Car: E46 M3 track car Colour Combo: White, with spires colours and logos	Cars looking fantastic Matt, as Malc says the wets are awesome but can still bite you if your not careful

17th November 2017, 05:30 AM	#266
austracer A mere Chipper Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 30 Car: 1996 M3 3.2L Evo	Quote: Originally Posted by Matthead i noticed the clutch fluid is a very dark brown colour as aposed to the brake fluid being normal in colour, these were all done at the same time so I wonder if the fluid has gone or there is a problem with the clutch slave? Unlike brakes, the clutch hydraulics/cylinders move a lot. That drags more dirt past piston seals so the clutch fluid gets dirty a lot quicker.

5th December 2017, 04:20 PM	#267
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	A few pics of the old girl wobbling around silverstone a few days ago EN9I6843 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr IJ6A7874 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr IJ6A7875 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr IJ6A8214 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr IJ6A8683 by Opentrack Track Days, on Flickr 'Yaws a bit of a disappointing day for me on the whole, the car ran great and I had no mechanical issues but I just couldn't get any confidence in the car, the handling seemed awful, I struggled to get heat into the front slicks all day and spent most of it understeering through every corner. I had been struggling to get tyre temps on a warmish day at snetterton so I may have to try soft slicks next year. That's probably it for me this year, over winter I have some ideas floating around in my head so I'll either be selling up and buying an e46 or keeping and going with a different wide arch set up, better suspension, full geo set up, switchable traction control, retro fit an abs set up, wet map, rewire, etc. If anyone is genuinely interested in the car give me a shout, I'm open to offers.

5th December 2017, 06:54 PM	#268
billyboym3 Achieved official socks Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cambridge Posts: 4,130 Car: 2004 BMW M3 Colour Combo: E46 M3	Mart don’t loose the will to live, it was hard to get heat into the slicks, track temps were very low. Mine didn’t dig in either, rear was struggling. Tug it away and it will come good in March/April

5th December 2017, 07:16 PM	#269
Ripper46 Achieved official socks Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: wolverhampton Posts: 2,827 Car: E46 M3 track car Colour Combo: White, with spires colours and logos	Agree with billy , track temps were very low and you weren't on your own struggling to get heat into the slicks , I've never experienced understeer in my car before , found myself tip toeing round most corners for much of the day , if I were you , unless you really fancy a change , put the car away till winter breaks and try it again , you'll probably find it completely different, maybe your lightweight car may prefer the soft slicks , got to be worth a try after all the hard work you've put into your car buddy

5th December 2017, 10:41 PM	#270
malc Achieved official socks Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: suffolk Posts: 2,896 Car: 2001 bmw e46 m3	Have to echo in what's been said ^^^^ I don't think you will find what you are looking for in a e46 compared to your own beast. Get a set of softs on it in the spring and it will be a weapon, after all the hard work and doller which have gone into what's its become today.

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6th December 2017, 07:04 AM	#271
mattpinder On the path Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 55 Car: 1998 E36 328i	As above the winter temps don't like harder tyres, do you run a fully square tyre wheel combo? If so might be worth putting the 'fronts' on the rear for a session or two to get a bit of heat into them and then swap back. The mk60 can be wired as standalone abs, got a friend who does this to other cars as a kit incase you want details?

6th December 2017, 09:10 AM	#272
PolarisCSL Achieved official socks Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Solihull Posts: 858 Car: E46 M3 Race Car & 3.0 CSL Colour Combo: White & Silver	As others have said it seems a shame to give up on the e36 given they are still an extremely competitive platform. The cold weather won’t have helped for sure but I think there is a lot to work on your suspension/ wheel setup. E36er on here is extremely quick in his car despite running on 225 road legal tyres. Personally I think yours either needs more work to get it to a viable ride height and roll centre on the tyres you have or to revert to proven e36 territory with smaller wheels. Basically you need to get it a lot lower so the suspension works for you and not against, and then set it up properly - no need for tc, wet maps or anything else. Sorry to sound harsh but somebody needed to say it 👍

6th December 2017, 11:15 AM	#273
billyboym3 Achieved official socks Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cambridge Posts: 4,130 Car: 2004 BMW M3 Colour Combo: E46 M3	Lets book a day at Snett end of March. Id leave car as it is, maybe get it set up at Spires, fit some soft compound slicks. Its a weapon Matt and silverstone was really cold.

6th December 2017, 03:52 PM	#274
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by billyboym3 Mart don’t loose the will to live, it was hard to get heat into the slicks, track temps were very low. Mine didn’t dig in either, rear was struggling. Tug it away and it will come good in March/April Yup, I think you may be right Billy, I was really disappointed with the car all day, it wasn't until I spoke to Ray and he mentioned he couldn't get the slicks hot, and I seem to recall you were doing big lap stints to get the heat up? I think I need to get some softs on and try again next year

6th December 2017, 03:54 PM	#275
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by Ripper46 Agree with billy , track temps were very low and you weren't on your own struggling to get heat into the slicks , I've never experienced understeer in my car before , found myself tip toeing round most corners for much of the day , if I were you , unless you really fancy a change , put the car away till winter breaks and try it again , you'll probably find it completely different, maybe your lightweight car may prefer the soft slicks , got to be worth a try after all the hard work you've put into your car buddy Thanks Ray, I think you and all the boys are right, it was fecking cold wasn't it? I don't think I was in the right frame of mind all day to be honest, I was suffering from man flu which didn't help. Weak excuse I know, but hey!! You car was looking awesome as usual, would really love to get some passenger laps in it one day mate

6th December 2017, 03:55 PM	#276
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by malc Have to echo in what's been said ^^^^ I don't think you will find what you are looking for in a e46 compared to your own beast. Get a set of softs on it in the spring and it will be a weapon, after all the hard work and doller which have gone into what's its become today. Cheers Malc, you know me, I've been having a bit of a wobble with the car for a while! I'll get some softs on and see what's what

6th December 2017, 03:57 PM	#277
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by mattpinder As above the winter temps don't like harder tyres, do you run a fully square tyre wheel combo? If so might be worth putting the 'fronts' on the rear for a session or two to get a bit of heat into them and then swap back. The mk60 can be wired as standalone abs, got a friend who does this to other cars as a kit incase you want details? Yup, full square set up, probably tyre rotation would hurt. Good call. I'd be very interested to here about the mk60 retrofit, I have no abs at all, no sensors, pump, ecu etc so I'd like to hear what can be done and costs

6th December 2017, 04:05 PM	#278
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by PolarisCSL As others have said it seems a shame to give up on the e36 given they are still an extremely competitive platform. The cold weather won’t have helped for sure but I think there is a lot to work on your suspension/ wheel setup. E36er on here is extremely quick in his car despite running on 225 road legal tyres. Personally I think yours either needs more work to get it to a viable ride height and roll centre on the tyres you have or to revert to proven e36 territory with smaller wheels. Basically you need to get it a lot lower so the suspension works for you and not against, and then set it up properly - no need for tc, wet maps or anything else. Sorry to sound harsh but somebody needed to say it 👍 Not harsh at all mate, I'm always open to hear what people have to say, especially racers, you are not wrong about Owen, (e36er) he can certainly get an e36 to shift! I think you are 100% right in your comments, I'd forgotten that I had altered the suspension to aid with wheel/tyre fitment so it's all over the place. You are correct that the suspension needs work and it need to be A LOT lower for better handling, probably needs wider bodywork to raise the wheelarch's to get it lower. A better quality suspension than my hsd's would probably help too. My only reason for an e46 is that I'm a big guy, 6'4, large (read fat!!) frame and the e36 does seem a small fit on me, I find some of the e46's I've been in including my own old road car feel a better fit for me, I'm not sure if this is purely a mind trick, I'm not sure how much bigger a 46 cockpit is compared to a 36. Thanks for the comments though mate, it's all good to hear!

6th December 2017, 04:06 PM	#279
Matthead Achieved official socks Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Norwich Posts: 632 Car: E36 328 S54 Colour Combo: White/black	Quote: Originally Posted by billyboym3 Lets book a day at Snett end of March. Id leave car as it is, maybe get it set up at Spires, fit some soft compound slicks. Its a weapon Matt and silverstone was really cold. Always up for that Billy I think silverstone was bad cos peppa wasn't in the house

7th December 2017, 08:58 AM	#280
billyboym3 Achieved official socks Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cambridge Posts: 4,130 Car: 2004 BMW M3 Colour Combo: E46 M3	Quote: Originally Posted by Matthead Always up for that Billy I think silverstone was bad cos peppa wasn't in the house Deffo, I couldn’t bring it as it’s worth a extra 50bhp and you boys would be jealous. Seriously Matt, your car is awesome. Get some softs fitted. I’d love to see what it’s got round snett.