BMW's galore!

Blue stuff arrived from EBC. I've not been their greatest fan in the past but heard good things about these. I may well be working with TAROX soon and installing their latest kit though.



The pod is all done and I really like the look. I've also got a spare bonnet for the summer though.

Dunno about the pod making it safer to drive in Cornwall at night, looks like you'll be illuminating half of Devon as well!

Inspirational as always, do you still have the compomotives? as they were my personal favourites.

Sorry it's a rubbish pic but you get the idea.

As always it's great to see the update on your M3.

I'll have to keep an eye open for you tomorrow at the BMW HQ.

Love the light pod Mark, a brave choice but it looks great.

Looks superb. But needs rally style wheels to compliment the light pod. The current wheels look like touring car wheels.😀😀😀

Where did 3 months go? I knew I hadn't posted in a while but didn't think it was quite so long!

Unfortunately my first post back isn't a good one either. The M3 has been back in the workshop after a pretty major engine failure back in late October or early November. Unfortunately, there were some accumulative issues, like the overheat when the alternator mounting bush failed and it threw the water pump belt, and on route to Silverstone the engine span a big end shell. There is also some suspicion surrounding the aftermarket con rods but it was no single problem that caused the failure. Obviously I was absolutely gutted at the time, having just spent about 6 months wages on the s14, only to now be looking at doing so all over again! I've just had to get my head down and work as many hours as I can, so as to try and save as much as possible. I also need to learn from the mistakes I made and be sure not to repeat them this time around.

One thing of note was the increased engine oil temperature when driving on track. The stock s14 temperatures didn't budge but the rebuilt engine was considerably hotter, despite running a larger capacity sump. It seems this is pretty common and ex works race cars ran a modified 635 cooler, which was also mounted to enable greater air flow. This time I plan to fit a Mocal 12 or 14 row cooler where it can get a constant air flow. I'm also fitting a BMW Motorsport spec' oil pump. Hopefully that should get the temperatures back down to where they should be.

The crankshaft has had to be reground and I have opted to replace all main and big end bearings. I intended using the OE con rods, as per the old Group A cars, but with them having been shot peened and balanced by JC Racing up in Thirsk. They run some ex works cars and certainly know their stuff. Whilst they were at it, I had them refurbish the ITB's. Unfortunately the con rods were lost by DHL and have never been found. As a result I had to go with a trusted brand of aftermarket rods and they're bloody expensive. (No surprise there!) I know Arrow are about as good as they get though so worth the added expense. I had planned on claiming the cost from DHL but an oversight by JCR meant they weren't insured. I'm just glad the ITB weren't posted at the same time! The pistons also had to be replaced. I could have possibly got away with cleaning up the old ones but with the cost of failure being so high, it was just a risk I couldn't take.

As it stands today, the bottom end is all back together. The head needs a couple of new inlet valves, which arrived yesterday along with the newly refurbished ITB's from JC Racing. They did a great job and they really are like new again. In fact, with the ports all matched they're better! As usual, the holiday period has got in the way and delayed the final part of the engine build but I need to do some more overtime anyway. All being well though, the engine should be back together within a week or two.

One of the most important things is knowing what exactly is happening in relation to oil and coolant temperatures. Oil and fuel pressure are also crucial but much as I loved the look of my analogue gauges, they simply weren't accurate enough. I had no real warning that there were problems until it was too late and I simply cannot afford for that to happen again. As a result, I emailed STACK Ltd to see what they could suggest. A couple of weeks and a months wages later and a box arrived with their UK model ST8100 rev counter and LCD dash display arrived. It also came with the wiring loom and all the required sensors. Best of all it has both visual and audible alarms that are easily set to whichever parameters I require. It looks great and the quality is just about as good as it gets.

So there we are. I've got an all too rare day off today and then it's back to working as many hours as I can. All being well though, it'll be up and running in time for some of next years events and I've already paid for the tickets to Goodwood.











Much as I like 3 piece alloys, they're a PITA to keep clean and I've always loved the look of the Compomotive TH. I'm still undecided re tyres, although I'm looking at Nankang AR-1 if the price is right.

Thanks for heads up re Mocal. The market just seems to be flooded with curse word quality parts nowadays. I'll check out Setrab or possibly as AH Fabrications, who did some stuff for my old E21.

I take your point but I've run a STACK display in the past and always been very happy with the clarity. I'm setting 2 stage warning lights though, just to be sure.

I'm also looking at Accusump although space might be tight. I know of someone who boot mounted theirs but that'll mean running some really long oil lines.