I looked at that when it first came out. It was priced too high IMO. I see it's come down now.
N54/E90 6MT Daily Turned Dedicated Drag Build
- Thread starter SJ_1989
- Start date
I looked at that when it first came out. It was priced too high IMO. I see it's come down now.
Thanks! I would never buy a TAG trailer this large again though but got a hell of a deal on it so it was a "couldn't pass up" kind of thing.
I'm going to modify the doc race kit when we do it. It's just a huge pain to get the turbo off now the way it sits. Everything is so tight. And it'd just be cool to have the turbo poking through the headlight or kidney grille
I'm going to modify the doc race kit when we do it. It's just a huge pain to get the turbo off now the way it sits. Everything is so tight. And it'd just be cool to have the turbo poking through the headlight or kidney grille
Small update today. The brake lines are plumbed along with the hydro-brake. I'm more than happy with the results!
With my hydraulics design background (I design hydraulic systems for Articulated Dump Trucks) and the shops expertise, we are using hard lines (vs braided hose) wherever possible. Reasons being, in order of importance for this build:
Keeping with the KISS theme of the build, going from point A (master cylinders) to point B (brakes) in as straight of a line as possible keeps it simple. Simple is good. The hard lines were mounted to the chassis using threaded riv nuts. Sometimes known as blind nuts. Actually, we are using these things everywhere we can because they are badass! Makes the installation a breeze and keeps it looking clean.
The first picture below is the floor of the trunk just behind where the rear seats would be. Cut a bracket and welded to the chassis and installed a tee bulkhead fitting. From there it goes to another 90 deg bulkhead fitting (one for each rear brake). It's actually more solid than it looks in pictures, so no concerns there.
That's it for now. We'll keep chugging along
With my hydraulics design background (I design hydraulic systems for Articulated Dump Trucks) and the shops expertise, we are using hard lines (vs braided hose) wherever possible. Reasons being, in order of importance for this build:
- Up to 2X lighter
- Less pressure drop due to smoother internal finish and the use of tube nuts (vs hose ends which neck down the ID further than the actual ID of the hose)
- Best resistance to expansion when under pressure
- Can achieve a tighter bend radius
- Cost less
Keeping with the KISS theme of the build, going from point A (master cylinders) to point B (brakes) in as straight of a line as possible keeps it simple. Simple is good. The hard lines were mounted to the chassis using threaded riv nuts. Sometimes known as blind nuts. Actually, we are using these things everywhere we can because they are badass! Makes the installation a breeze and keeps it looking clean.
The first picture below is the floor of the trunk just behind where the rear seats would be. Cut a bracket and welded to the chassis and installed a tee bulkhead fitting. From there it goes to another 90 deg bulkhead fitting (one for each rear brake). It's actually more solid than it looks in pictures, so no concerns there.
That's it for now. We'll keep chugging along
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Another day another update! This time is a fuel system update and this is exciting for me because it's similar to what I do on a day to day basis, design hydraulic systems. So, it's something I actually understand and can provide valuable input into the design.
Shop has been working long and hard to get my car done....well done to a point where I can take over for a bit. Fuel cell is all mounted up. We mounted it vertically so the top and bottom are on an angle, if that makes any sense. I was concerned that by placing the tank so far back it would make it difficult to fill with fuel and see the level. With the top on an angle I think it's going to make it a lot easier to fill. With the bottom on an angle it acts like a sump. Outlets are pointed towards the rear of the car since that's direction the fuel will be going under acceleration.
Also mounted up is something that I thought was the coolest thing after the shop owner sent me a link on a review from HP Academy. The F750 fuel filter from Injector Dynamics. This is designed to meet the filtration requirements for Bosch injectors. It has a bunch of cool features like a Schrader valve and a delta P indicator for the filter. Being an engineer, I love data. Data doesn't lie. And when you don't have data, and you come across issues, troubleshooting sucks. So, I opted for the optional pressure/temp sensor so I can monitor the performance closer to the Fuel Lab LPFP I'll be using. The Fuel Lab pump can be "on/off", 2 speed, or PWM controlled. I'm starting off with the most basic "on/off". This is why I'm particularly interested in temperature since I'm only using a 3 gallon fuel cell compared to OEM. Less fuel mass means there is potential for the fuel to heat up quickly in the cell when bypassing over the FPR during say idle when the engine isn't consuming a majority of the fuel the pump is putting out (i.e in the pits or staging lanes). Heat is a function of flow and pressure drop (Heat = Flow x Delta P), so if I start to have issues I will play around with the two speed or PWM control. Science!
What's on my to-do list when I get the car back is to plumb the fuel system. So, in-between the fuel filter and cell with be a fuel pump and suction screen. I'm still TBD on the screen whether or not I'll use it. I don't think I need to but doing my research beforehand. More to come later!
And if you're wondering how I'm going to be reading the data from the LPFP pressure and temperature sensor....that's the beauty of a standalone
Shop has been working long and hard to get my car done....well done to a point where I can take over for a bit. Fuel cell is all mounted up. We mounted it vertically so the top and bottom are on an angle, if that makes any sense. I was concerned that by placing the tank so far back it would make it difficult to fill with fuel and see the level. With the top on an angle I think it's going to make it a lot easier to fill. With the bottom on an angle it acts like a sump. Outlets are pointed towards the rear of the car since that's direction the fuel will be going under acceleration.
Also mounted up is something that I thought was the coolest thing after the shop owner sent me a link on a review from HP Academy. The F750 fuel filter from Injector Dynamics. This is designed to meet the filtration requirements for Bosch injectors. It has a bunch of cool features like a Schrader valve and a delta P indicator for the filter. Being an engineer, I love data. Data doesn't lie. And when you don't have data, and you come across issues, troubleshooting sucks. So, I opted for the optional pressure/temp sensor so I can monitor the performance closer to the Fuel Lab LPFP I'll be using. The Fuel Lab pump can be "on/off", 2 speed, or PWM controlled. I'm starting off with the most basic "on/off". This is why I'm particularly interested in temperature since I'm only using a 3 gallon fuel cell compared to OEM. Less fuel mass means there is potential for the fuel to heat up quickly in the cell when bypassing over the FPR during say idle when the engine isn't consuming a majority of the fuel the pump is putting out (i.e in the pits or staging lanes). Heat is a function of flow and pressure drop (Heat = Flow x Delta P), so if I start to have issues I will play around with the two speed or PWM control. Science!
What's on my to-do list when I get the car back is to plumb the fuel system. So, in-between the fuel filter and cell with be a fuel pump and suction screen. I'm still TBD on the screen whether or not I'll use it. I don't think I need to but doing my research beforehand. More to come later!
And if you're wondering how I'm going to be reading the data from the LPFP pressure and temperature sensor....that's the beauty of a standalone
No teardrop shaped exit?
I decided against it. This looks cleaner IMO and I have a cap made that goes on it just in case the car gets stuck outside in the rain at the track.
I looked into the F750 a while back and was particularly interested in the pressure indicator.
But this explains that it is not very useful in a returnless system.
How do you plan to make best use of it?
But this explains that it is not very useful in a returnless system.
How do you plan to make best use of it?
You should add a hinge so it's a flapper like a semi
It'll be set up as a return style system. I'm ditching the DME as well and going standalone over the winter. I bought it more for the optional integrated sensor (and it looks cool) more than the dP indicator.
Starting to get all the little things buttoned up. Finished mounting the driver seat to the cage for added safety. Ended up adding an additional bar to the main hoop to do it, which added weight 
, but it was the best way to do it in our opinion.
Another area we tackled was rear tire clearance. As you can see in the picture below, the 28x10 Hoosier bias ply interfere's with this subframe brace and makes it difficult to put the tire on. Preloading the suspension was the only way to mount the wheel to the car, even with a spacer.
It's a decent size tire for this car really.
One approach is to just remove this subframe brace altogether and run without it. In our minds we didn't want to remove this piece as it's structural and ties the subframe in with the chassis. So, the shop made a custom brace. Not only should this stiffen the car up even more, should have no problem fitting this tire or even a 10.5".
, but it was the best way to do it in our opinion.Another area we tackled was rear tire clearance. As you can see in the picture below, the 28x10 Hoosier bias ply interfere's with this subframe brace and makes it difficult to put the tire on. Preloading the suspension was the only way to mount the wheel to the car, even with a spacer.
It's a decent size tire for this car really.
One approach is to just remove this subframe brace altogether and run without it. In our minds we didn't want to remove this piece as it's structural and ties the subframe in with the chassis. So, the shop made a custom brace. Not only should this stiffen the car up even more, should have no problem fitting this tire or even a 10.5".
**** LONG UPDATE ****
Well, the car is officially home and I can now say phase 1 of the build is complete! It took a lot longer to get to this point than originally expected but plans had drastically changed over the 8 months it was there. When I dropped the car off in March of this year I was only getting a roll cage, that's it. Then as we started getting into fabrication of the cage, and after many phone calls, texts, and visits to the shop, we really took a step back and asked ourselves "what is our ultimate goal for this car?"
Here is a throwback to the day I dropped it off back in March.
And here she is at the end of phase 1.
Now that all the fab work is done the car was weighed and is coming in at 2570 lbs! That's WITH a 10 point cage, unibody, and factory body panels. I started a separate weight reduction thread here where I'll be posting more updates to the weight as time goes on. Here is a pic of the scale that reflects what you see in the above picture.
To answer my "what is our ultimate goal for this car?" question above. Reason why it's taken 8 months instead of a few months as originally planned is because we worked hard to develop a good foundation to build off of in the future. No cutting corners, following the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method, and "do it right or don't do it at all" approach. The goal originally started out as 9's with a manual trans and IRS using BMW drivetrain. I'm confident the car will meet that without a hiccup. Next year we will hopefully push this stock motor and trans as far into the 9's as possible until something gives. Once this is done we will be keeping the N54 but ditching the BMW manual trans and rear end in favor of something else that's a bit more 8's friendly. All I will say at this point until things are a bit more clear is the intent is to stay manual trans and IRS. With discussions I've already had with companies of interest things are looking promising.
Racing season is done for 2019 here in Illinois. We've had single digit temps already and a few snow storms which is a bit weird for this time of year. So, next steps....there are a ton of things left to button up over the winter before the car is even able to make a pass down the track next year. Fuel system needs plumbed, intercooler piping needs plumbed, more weight reduction, paint, but most importantly the standalone needs installed.
I've previously shown a pic of the DME area in the engine bay being cut out and hinted at a standalone but never really discussed what I will actually be running. I've spent hours upon hours researching all the standalone systems, poking around in their tuning software, discussing with my shop, discussing with other shops, discussing with tuners outside of the BMW community, etc. After processing all the info I had absorbed it became clear that MoTeC is going to help get this car into the 8's.
Hope everyone has enjoyed all the updates up to this point. It's been a lot of fun building this car and planning out the next phases. It's even caught the attention of a few companies *cough* sponsorship *cough* so feel free to follow my Instagram @waffles_bmw for more announcements regarding that!
Well, the car is officially home and I can now say phase 1 of the build is complete! It took a lot longer to get to this point than originally expected but plans had drastically changed over the 8 months it was there. When I dropped the car off in March of this year I was only getting a roll cage, that's it. Then as we started getting into fabrication of the cage, and after many phone calls, texts, and visits to the shop, we really took a step back and asked ourselves "what is our ultimate goal for this car?"
Here is a throwback to the day I dropped it off back in March.
And here she is at the end of phase 1.
Now that all the fab work is done the car was weighed and is coming in at 2570 lbs! That's WITH a 10 point cage, unibody, and factory body panels. I started a separate weight reduction thread here where I'll be posting more updates to the weight as time goes on. Here is a pic of the scale that reflects what you see in the above picture.
To answer my "what is our ultimate goal for this car?" question above. Reason why it's taken 8 months instead of a few months as originally planned is because we worked hard to develop a good foundation to build off of in the future. No cutting corners, following the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method, and "do it right or don't do it at all" approach. The goal originally started out as 9's with a manual trans and IRS using BMW drivetrain. I'm confident the car will meet that without a hiccup. Next year we will hopefully push this stock motor and trans as far into the 9's as possible until something gives. Once this is done we will be keeping the N54 but ditching the BMW manual trans and rear end in favor of something else that's a bit more 8's friendly
. All I will say at this point until things are a bit more clear is the intent is to stay manual trans and IRS. With discussions I've already had with companies of interest things are looking promising.Racing season is done for 2019 here in Illinois. We've had single digit temps already and a few snow storms which is a bit weird for this time of year. So, next steps....there are a ton of things left to button up over the winter before the car is even able to make a pass down the track next year. Fuel system needs plumbed, intercooler piping needs plumbed, more weight reduction, paint, but most importantly the standalone needs installed.
I've previously shown a pic of the DME area in the engine bay being cut out and hinted at a standalone but never really discussed what I will actually be running. I've spent hours upon hours researching all the standalone systems, poking around in their tuning software, discussing with my shop, discussing with other shops, discussing with tuners outside of the BMW community, etc. After processing all the info I had absorbed it became clear that MoTeC is going to help get this car into the 8's.
Hope everyone has enjoyed all the updates up to this point. It's been a lot of fun building this car and planning out the next phases. It's even caught the attention of a few companies *cough* sponsorship *cough* so feel free to follow my Instagram @waffles_bmw for more announcements regarding that!
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I talked with a few tuners and shops who build and tune legit race cars, both BMW specific and other platforms, and the common answer was MoTeC or Bosch when it comes to running DI.
