A purists nightmare - E46 drift build

patsbimmer1

Those hotel parking lots at automotion are a shit show. Id never park a car I cared about anywhere other than a condo in the dells during automotion. You are lucky there was a good samaritan!

Rekpoint

Thats crazy! Good to know there are still people around who would report something like that.

B C

Always wondered how insurance claims work with situations involving custom work like the wrap. Sorry to hear about the bump though. This is exactly why @Earl hasnt finished his black ti yet, because he knows the first time he brings it out to a show, someone will bump into him because they were distracted by a totally cute apron on pinterest.

Tkuhn

To all 3 of you Haha yes I am very happy there was a good samaritan and honestly it could be sooo much worse. I'll keep everyone updated of course. And in all honesty I've been going for 8 years now and staying at a hotel on the strip every time and this is the first time anything has happened to any cars in our group. It is what it is and it can be fixed! Working on a quote now. Luckily I have a friend that works at a body shop

Tkuhn

Been a hot minuate. Still waiting on insurance stuff but dd101 was so much fun! Killed pleanty of tires and fun was had

delaminated a tire pretty good and she marked up the side of the car, but no worries it comes off pretty well. Will post pictures once it's all off

VID_19731006_182251_775.mp4

VID_19980705_003039_654.mp4

Jdesign

Looks like an epic good time. I need to make it out there again soon!

Tkuhn

Update on the rubber covered quarter panel.

She cleaned up quite well! Some denatured alcohol to get most of it off then some light rubbing compound to get the deeper shadows out. Pretty pleased with it.

Note: wheels are extremely dirty and need to be polished I know lol

B C

Would waxing it help prevent future rubber stains?

Tkuhn

B C said:

Would waxing it help prevent future rubber stains?

I'm not sure about how well wax reacts with wrap but I was able to get the stains out. Aside from the fact that the white starts to yellow due to the heat of the tire smoke just behind the wheels. I think white paint would do the same. I have been looking into the ceramic coat that they make for wrap though.

Jdesign

Maybe try a silica spray after a nice wash?

Rekpoint

Tkuhn said:

I'm not sure about how well wax reacts with wrap but I was able to get the stains out. Aside from the fact that the white starts to yellow due to the heat of the tire smoke just behind the wheels. I think white paint would do the same. I have been looking into the ceramic coat that they make for wrap though.

Correct me if Im wrong. But I dont think there shouldn't be a difference between ceramic coating for paint or wraps.

Tkuhn

Rekpoint said:

Correct me if Im wrong. But I dont think there shouldn't be a difference between ceramic coating for paint or wraps.

I dont know if you're wrong or right Haha I just know there is "wrap ceramic coat". Indont know enough to say if its actually different or not hahah I do have a spray detailer for wrap that is supposed to keep the wrap from drying out and it seals it. Not like ceramic coat but I can feel a difference in coated vs non coated areas after a wash.

Tkuhn

Jdesign said:

Maybe try a silica spray after a nice wash?

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Tkuhn

Soooo first for the pre-drift day update I did then I will follow with the carnage from drift day lol.

Sam and I decided to add tire sprayers to out cars. In an attempt to cool down tires after each run to prolong their lives.

Ordered a $18 amazon universal windshield washer kit to get started.

Mounted the tank first.

Sorry to disappoint but I didnt go crazy with wiring until I decide if this is worth it for sure.

Then I made some brackets and mounted the sprayer nozzles.

Both are mounted behind the tires level with the bumper slides which I had off for the install.

Then came the switch, which is a bit cheap but works for now.

Now unfortunately the weather on Saturday was short of pleasant. Rain for all but 2 hours of driving meant there wasnt much need for testing the tire sprayers so this is to be determined. Also we both decided that some new sprayer nozzles that spread out the path of the water over the entire tire would be more beneficial.

Now sunday brought some beautiful weather. I started the day out on the intermediate track and got about 4 runs in. On my fifth time around I clutch kicked in a spot that I normally do and heard an odd noise, then kicked it again because I was still trying to party lmao. And the second kick she cracked harder and straightened out. This was then followed by a rotational clunking noise so I headed for the pits.

Assuming that I snapped and axle or broke the diff.

And I was kinda right...

As you can see the the stub snapped. Driver side.

Luckily I had a spare diff in Sam's trailer, unfortunately it was a 2.93 and the one that was now rendered useless for now was a 3.46. The next issue was that I needed a stub. I also lucked out and another e46 friend at the track that had an auto 330 stub and an auto 330 axle. So I had to swap in a new axle as well since the auto 330 stubs are different.

Got everything swapped back in the car and took it for a lap. Which proved to be very difficult with the 2.93 along with 3 piece 18" wheels. It required alot more clutch kicking and high high rpms, the clutch stunk a little after that run. So I decided to throw in the towel for the day in hopes to not damage more of the car including the borrowed parts.

I must say the drive home with the 2.93 was alot more comfortable though

Soooo now that I have talked to a few people and done some research the plan is to convert to auto 330 stubs with auto 330 axles. I found stubs on ebay for 50 bucks and a passenger side axle for 33 bucks lol. Now all I need is a driver side axle unless I can get my buddy to sell me this one along with another 3.46 diff.

B C

Better to toast a diff than to find out the noise is a cracked floorpan

Tkuhn

B C said:

Better to toast a diff than to find out the noise is a cracked floorpan

If my subframe mounts crack we got big problems lmao. Shouldn't happen if you saw what was done to brace the rear end earlier in this thread haha

B C

Tkuhn said:

If my subframe mounts crack we got big problems lmao. Shouldn't happen if you saw what was done to brace the rear end earlier in this thread haha

How do you like the chassis mounted shifter? What engine mounts do you have?

Tkuhn

B C said:

How do you like the chassis mounted shifter? What engine mounts do you have?

I like it alot more than stock. Although I do wish I would have saved up for one with reverse lock out as I've tried shifting from 3rd to second on track and I cant seem to find it very well. But for $130 this shifter is awesome. And I have condor engine and trans mounts which I really like. Some do like them and some dont.

Tkuhn

Got some parts in to repair the rear end situation. My auto 330 diff stubs along with both the axles I found in ebay showed up.

Unfortunately the driver side one (which has proven to be more difficult to find) isnt in the greatest of shape, it has some play but I guess we will she if she decides to leave the party at any point.

Going down to gurnee this weekend to pick up a 3.38 diff which should be fine although I would like to find another 3.46 as well. And I'll also be snagging another set of axles while i am down there as well.

Also have one more set of axles on the hook once i hear back about shipping from the guy

NO MORE BEING UN PREPARED!

In the mean time heres a few photos from in the rain at DD75