E46 Things
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I'm glad to see Stroopwafels!
Your AFR is pretty darn lean also... -
You may want to check out your roof condition if that much snow is entering your garage...
I accidentally left the sunroof open on the garage.
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Pulled the car out of the garage for a rinse and re-installed the spoiler because it is very tricky to get the placement correct. I wasn’t satisfied with my first two attempts but it’s all good now.
I was able to try out the new parkIng brake components and can now finally hold the car on a hill in neutral! A functioning park brake is underrated.
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People pay a lot of money for that feature on Jeeps!
Stock sway bar?
The entire suspension setup is Ground Control Race. The sway bars are about the diameter of a Cholula bottle
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Car up in the air and taken apart.
The drivers side sway bar mount is perfectly intact. The passenger side not so much.
The ends of the cracks were drilled. Metal pounded/pulled flat, welded, ground, and prepped for a reinforcement plate.
I had ordered some pre-made reinforcement plates and was surprised when they were only 0.114” thick (11 ga.) Then I measured the chassis sheetmetal. It comes in at a measly 0.053” (17 ga.).
Massive thanks to @Bassboy3313 for coming over and welding, can’t thank him enough for his help.
Grade 8.8 screws were preheated to 300 F, welded, then slow cooled.
Since the drivers side was intact, that reinforcement plate was welded in as-is. Once both reinforcements were welded in they were painted. I am making this post while waiting for the paint to dry. I should have things buttoned up, re-grease the sway bar, and be back in action later today.
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More than happy to help! Was a tight fit to get the mig gun in there, but got the job done. Welding upside down is never the easiest thing either, lol.
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This car’s setup is at home and in its element while on the smooth pavement of the track. I consider it a streetable track car when I need it to be a trackable street car.
I started down the path of shopping more street oriented coilover setups but was persuaded by Ground Control to try a “proven setup” by going from the 6” 525 lb/in front, 6” 650 lb/in rear springs, to some 6” 375 lb/in front/ 7” 430 lb/in rear.
For reference, VAC Motorsports classifies the following spring rate combinations:
Performance with Comfort 300/450
Aggressive Street Car 450/500
Track days (minimal street use) 550/600
the 375 springs were unavailable and I felt that the rear to front spring rate ratios were a bit too close so I chose 350/430 as it matches the proportion of the current spring rates better.
I was concerned that the 6” fronts were going to be too low and ordered some urethane spring pads to add compliance and 3/4” of material to help with the ride height.
The pads ended up not fitting as nicely as hoped on the front but I am running 1 on the rear springs. (Old 6” 650 lb/in rear spring on left, new 7” 430 lb/in rear spring on right)
old 6” 525 lb/in front spring on left, new 6” 350 lb/in spring on right
The new spring rates are almost smack dab in the middle of stock rates and the previous rates.
with everything together the rear sits 7/8” higher than before and the front sits 1/2” to 3/4” lower than before with no ability to adjust it any higher.
I welcome a slightly higher ride height for practicality but am targeting 1/2” higher overall from before as a starting point before getting it dialed in, mainly to provide more suspension travel before contacting the bump stops. Right now there is about 1”, which is what GC suggested. (For comparison, Stock E90 M3 has 1/2” of travel before hitting bump stops according to a bump stop article I was reading by Dinan).
My test drive was limited because there was some rubbing on harder turns from how low the front is. Hopefully not speaking too soon, but the ride quality is still firm. It feels like a lowered car. I definitely need to lower the rebound damping in the rear. The best way I can describe the ride quality difference is there are certain bumps that make you clench, but hitting them now was not a clench-worthy moment.
Turn in is no longer razor sharp, but compromises have to be made.
I ordered some 7” long front springs which will actually allow for some height adjustability and wont clank around when the car is in the air.
Hoping by next weekend ~ May 1st I can have things sorted and ready to take to Big Bear for the final touches
it's a painful ethos because it would be a blast.
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