BlueBug's 2004 Daily and Track Build

[BlueBug]

Any cracks visible?

No cracks on the zhp that I can see. Will clean it up and take a closer look over the weekend.
No visible cracks around the subframe mounts either.




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[slater]

well that was unexpected.. how scary is that.. on the flipside, its good to see how well that cage protected the driver. didnt even flex or flinch.

dude... ouch.

The rcap ripped out.
These photos are from the race car in the video:

do you know what kind of RTAB the person was using?

it is very obvious (to me) that limiters and poly bushings will put undue strain on the RTAB pockets under extreme articulation. spherical RTABs should prevent, or at least lessen, the chances of this happening - and in this case, it was catastrophic.

you might want to considering placing a few rivets in the RTAB pocket alongside the factory spot welds? (i might do this as well now after seeing this.)

No cracks on the zhp that I can see. Will clean it up and take a closer look over the weekend.
No visible cracks around the subframe mounts either.

definitely check the 'kink' on the rear floor, inboard of the left rear subframe mounting point - that is where they crack first. the crack will be very small (under 30mm in length), and it may be covered in road crud, so degreasing the area to inspect is a good idea.

[Sockethead]

I knew the e36 is vulnerable at the trailing arm mount pocket and there is a reinforcement kit for that but I was unaware the e46 has the same issue.
I'm always looking through the e46 spec catalogue on different sites (VAC Bimmerworld, etc ) but I have yet to see a reinforcement kit for the e46...

[Sockethead]

BTW, if you are going to track this car long term there is a reinforcement kit for the rear swaybar mounts. Might want to consider that as long as you have the subframe out

[BlueBug]

Found a decent sized crack in the front passenger side mount area. Didn't find any other cracks.

Still have to clean the rtab pockets after the subframe reinforcements are done.




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[Vas]

Found a decent sized crack in the front passenger side mount area. Didn't find any other cracks.

Still have to clean the rtab pockets after the subframe reinforcements are done.




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Is this where the subframe bolts or where the rtab goes ?

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[BlueBug]

Is this where the subframe bolts or where the rtab goes ?

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This is where the subframe bolts.

We haven't cleaned the rtab pockets yet, but I'd be surprised if we find anything there.


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[BlueBug]

Got the car out on track with BMWCCA to see how the latest upgrades felt and the car was solid and felt nicely neutral. It was a huge difference from the stock suspension.
Actually felt like driving a totally different car... in a really good way

I was very lucky to have Bobby, Audi 0000, as my instructor for the whole weekend. I learned a lot from him and had a really great time on track. He was able to get my speed up and helped me with looking further down track.

The weather was a little on the hot side. We noticed the water temp jump up to 220f at one point, Bobby put the heat on full blast and temps dropped quickly. That was the only small 'issue' all weekend. The car felt happy and willing.

The only ick thing was that we ran over a squirrel at speed, the poor guy ran out so quickly that nothing could be done. It was a clean hit and he probably died instantly. He did get revenge by knocking out one of the fog light cover/frame things. And someone actually found it and returned it to me!

We still have to replace the trans and engine mounts. Hopefully will get around to that in the next few weeks.

Here is a video of two laps on the Jefferson circuit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_15C...ature=youtu.be

Some snap shots:



After track inspection.. nothing broken or leaking



Stock wheels back on:



So much dirt from skidpad sessions:



Waiting for skidpad behind Bobby's wife




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[BMWCurves]

Very cool

[Vas]

Open diff on the skidpad is something interesting to say the least.