BMW's galore!

I think if I had half of the bad luck that you have experienced with your cars I would have taken up stamp collecting or another hobby a long time ago!

I am happy that you keep on it no matter what! Truly inspiring! Looking forward to videos.

It really is.

I'm on nights at the moment, so had a couple of hours for a bit of a hoon today. Now the weather has improved (a bit anyway) and ambient temperature is up I have finally been able to give the Nankang tyres a bit more of a work out. There are some pretty good roads down here and it's not too hard to have a spirited drive without being a nuisance to other road users. The tyres feel great and I'm really looking forward to getting out on track at the Goodwood Gathering (everything crossed I make the list). Initial turn in and front end grip was about as good as you could hope for and certainly gave me confidence.

The engine is still good and healthy. I've been keeping an eye on the oil colour and condition and plan on doing a change in a couple of weeks. I'll take the opportunity to send a sample of the old stuff off for analysis although I don't foresee and problems. I just want to be 100% before I head out on track.

The new brakes should be here next week and should be quite a step up from the current brakes. I've used Hawk pads before and they always proved to be consistent. I'm a decidedly average driver but I am really looking forward to learning more about my car and improving on my abilities. I only do track stuff for fun but I enjoy pushing myself and getting the best from the car. It's why I bought the E30, although I know some folk think I'm daft for taking it out on track but it's one of those corny ''always dreamed of'' moments.

There was me thinking my M3 had cost me a fortune. This certainly gives some perspective on that!

It's great to see things are finally working out and the finished project truly is something to be proud of! The look of the car is quite something!

I await a video demonstrating the new 4 branch .

Well I've put a few miles on the new brakes and took the time to bed the Hawk HPS pads in properly. I may swap out the HPS for the plus or possibly Carbotech? That said, the DS2500 have been pretty good except for the amount of dust they give off.

Although I try not to be too silly, the A39 between Newquay and Bude is good fun. Especially when the sun is out like today. What did surprise me though, was the difference in feel between the old DS2500 and the Hawk. Whilst the overall braking is definitely greater with the new set-up, that initial bite and feel seemed better with the old pads. I guess I could always go back to DS2500 and run them in the new callipers? I'll see how I get on at Goodwood in a couple of weeks.

Apart from that everything seems to be fine with the E30 and I'm just looking forward to finally getting it out on a track I know (kind of anyway) with an engine making half decent power. I also intend heading over the the 'Ring and Spa in June or July.

One problem I find with red cars is the paint bleaching down to sunlight. Well I think that's the reason anyway? I also picked up a bit of a parking ding on the rear offside corner. It's only small but it's annoying knowing it's there and I've asked ARM to sort it prior to Goodwood. If time and funds allow I may ask them to run a mop over the whole car and have a proper detail done?

Ready for Goodwood.

IMGP5330 by markbrown100, on Flickr

Might be a bit modern but if anyone fancies a 325ti mine is for sale soon. Such a fun car and sounds / handles great.

IMGP5324 by markbrown100, on Flickr

Well the journey up to Chichester on Friday evening was great and the car was running perfectly. I had a bit of fun on the A35 with an M4 and made pretty good time to Chichester. Finding the BnB was a pain though, as the dreaded satnav took me to the wrong place via about 900 speed hums. Thank you to the kind chap who saw me parked at the roadside and stopped to see if I was OK? Much appreciated - thank you!

The next morning I headed for Goodwood via the petrol station, where I checked oil and water before getting to the circuit. Being a bit of an idiot, I'd left my bloody tickets at home but the chaps soon sorted things out for me. I love Retro Rides events as there's always a great mix of cars and people. There is literally something for everyone. The morning track session had some great cars including an LS1 powered E30 M3, a classic Mini with a supercharged Honda S2000 engine, which must have been one of the quickest things there?! It was incredibly quick on the main straight. I think where cars were sent out in staggered groups of 5 worked really well, even though a few quicker cars would catch the car ahead and weren't allowed to overtake, it was still great fun.

In the afternoon it was my turn and on the familiarisation laps I saw they had added a cone chicane to the back straight. I know some people didn't like it but I quite enjoyed seeing how quickly I could get through it. Especially as it was so warm and the tyres were working really well. On my first proper 2 lap run (they were using a sprint format) I got a bit more confident in both the car and my knowledge of the corners. I have done a few sprints there in the past but the difference between the M3 and my old 325i is like night and day. I was just enjoying how much speed I could carry through the corners, especially if I short shifted so as not to unsettle the car once I had turned in. The AR-1 are great tyres and everything just seemed to really gel. I only rev'd out to 8k rpm but the engine really did sound great too.

On the second run, about 45 mins later, I pushed a little harder now I knew where I was going! Especially through Woodcote where I almost surprised myself at the speed I carried through to the exit. I'm no racing driver and only go on track for fun but I like that feeling when you know you've got a corner right. Unfortunately though, on passing the chequered flag, the dash display flashed low oil pressure and there was a clear bottom end knock from the engine. I switched it off immediately and coasted to a halt, feeling gutted. I've been here before!

We got the car back to the paddock and I scrolled through the dash display to see if there were any signs I had missed? The maximum revs were a gnats over 8k rpm and max coolant temp' was 102 degrees from memory. There was certainly nothing untoward. The coolant level was good but oil level had dropped a little bit. It was still at the top mark though. I figured I would just leave the car to cool down and come back on a transporter. If only the RAC did frequent flier rewards!

After a fitful night of replaying what had happened in my head and racking my admittedly limited brains for the possible reasons behind it, I had to risk starting the car to get it out for the transporter. Initially I disconnected the coil and wound it over to check for oil pressure, which was actually fine and healthy. Once I reconnected the coil, the engine fired and ran perfectly with no obvious knock or rattle. It was only ticking over obviously and I certainly didn't want to do anything to induce any knock, but it didn't sound as terminal as I had envisaged. Once back at ARM here in Cornwall, we got it into the workshop so we can inspect the bearings. The sump I have has a handy inspection plate so the whole sump doesn't have to be removed. The only thing the ECU showed was a momentary loss of oil pressure but the problem is not knowing why that had occurred? The sump is baffled against surge etc so I'm struggling to understand why there would be a sudden loss of oil pressure like that?

Answers on a postcard please!



I was really impressed with the Nankang AR-1 tyres. It was a warm day so they got up to temperature pretty quickly but the way the M3 could hang on through the fast corners of Goodwood was unbelievable.



Despite the engine woes it was a great event and I'll certainly be at the next one. I met some really nice people in the paddock and I always enjoy being able to let people see the M3.

I wish it had all been a bad dream chap but sadly it's a noise I know all too well.

Unfortunately BMW S14's have always had an achilles heel and that is sweeping right hand bends! As you can see from the circuit map below, just before the Chicane is Woodcote and I think I was flat in 3rd through there? The tyres were also nicely warmed by that point and I most likely pulled as much G there as at any other point on circuit. We've yet to inspect the bearings etc but I'm beginning to wonder if it might have simply been oil surge? It shouldn't be, as there's a bloody expensive, all singing and all dancing uprated oil sump fitted but it has to be a consideration.

Is there a bolt on dry sump kit available for these? Bit of a shitter if you have already spent money on a uprated sump.