Dino D's Z3 2.8 Custom build. '98 Montreal Blue

[Dino D]

Crossed 136k today:

The other style 194 arrived so test fitted on one side with 25mm spacer at the rear.
The Falken 453 in 255/40 that they are fitted with actually measure 266wide so poke at the front. With the 245 (which measure 249) that I’ll fit to them it should be spot on.
The looks are growing on me - they look better in the flesh than pics, they have quite a bit going on with the design. Has quite a meaty look, not what I’d run all the time but good look for track.

Left side with wider wheel and right side with its usual 235 on a 7,5j

 

[Scooblitz]

Looking great @Dino D. Never looked into 194s but it certainly works under the arches.

Really interestimg to see that the 255/40 measures more of a 266. I've see. Some 265/40 available for decent money. Could be assumed that these could end up 275 wide...

That's some pretty serious negative camber on the rear. They are effectively et 8.5j et 12 on the rear. What's the idea behind the chunky spacers?

 

[Dino D]

T

Looking great @Dino D. Never looked into 194s but it certainly works under the arches.

Really interestimg to see that the 255/40 measures more of a 266. I've see. Some 265/40 available for decent money. Could be assumed that these could end up 275 wide...

That's some pretty serious negative camber on the rear. They are effectively et 8.5j et 12 on the rear. What's the idea behind the chunky spacers?

This site is great, has data on actual tyre widths and measure rim etc: https://tiresize.com/
Varied by barns and model.

the camber is spot on - looks more exaggerated on 17’s than it did on 18’s but is normal for a lowered car - the mechanic who races BMWs is happy with that for a road and track car, he wouldn’t bother with the welded plates etc. Unlike the internet that tells you all about wheels falling off and grip/scrub radius blah blah I’ve been running it like this for years and and if the mechanic who races is happy I’m happy.
I may go down to 20 once I have the tyres on as these are wider.

It definitely needs it with the 7,5j rims as they’ll sit too far in and handles very nice and neutral like this on track.

 

[Dino D]

Brake caliper slider bushing upgrade

When I did the pads and ducting I also did these:

As I was getting the back plates from these guys in the US I thought I’d give them as go. I preferred these to the cheaper ones that don’t have a plastic cap (so not not suitable for road use at all).
(As usual I never have any luck with customs-got a £80 bill from DHL-I always hear about people getting stuff over without customs charges but never me )

Easy to fit and the rubber bushes were pretty stuck in, probably from the high temperatures they got from track use.

As for the difference - hard to tell as I did the Carbon Lorraine pads at the same time (which have a massive improvement on pedal feel already).

What I have noticed is that under hard stops the car always pulled to the left a bit - regardless of wheels/tyres/new discs/pads etc. Always been this way since I got it 9yrs and 50k miles ago.

Now it pulls up straight (ish). I say ‘ish’ as the braking power from these pads is nothing like stock - it wants to stand on its nose. There isn’t the distinct pull to the left though.

Overall very pleased as I’ve got awesome braking without the mega cost of a BBK.
(The pads and fluid are consumables and needed regardless of what kit I run, the only additional cost has actually been the back plates and these bushes).

As I’m on standard discs as well, it will be a low consumable cost to help offset the higher pads cost, but as pads won’t die after one day like EBC, they may actually work out the same..

Can’t wait to get on track one day to really try them out and see how they hold up, so far very very happy.

 

[Althulas]

I thought about those pins for mine but I’m not so sure they would be suitable for a daily driver.

 

[Dino D]

I thought about those pins for mine but I’m not so sure they would be suitable for a daily driver.

These ones are longer than the others and have caps to keep out dirt etc but will still need more regular attention- as I will be taking wheels and swapping pads out for winter it’s no problem but for a pure road car I’m not sure - don’t think you’ll brake hard enough often enough to notice either.
But you can buy the rubber bushings (and fresh pins) cheaply so worth doing those every now and then.

 

[Dino D]

Finally got some track time!! Brands Hatch for 9th and 18th June (18th will with some fellow Z3 enthusiasts )

before hitting the track a few bits needed doing:

Sticky black round things needed fitting.

245/40/17 on 8,5j rims all round.
Perfect rear fit bit a bit too much poke up front ) only 1,5deg camber).

Shake down on the road confirmed a bit of rubbing on the front - temporarily solved by raising the bonnet adjustment a bit.

A photographer had taken to doing pics on a favourite local road - his biggest business is from cyclists actually. Caught him (well he caught me ) on my way home as I’m usually out super early to avoid any traffic:

These tyres are something else. So much grip, makes it a different car!

but road driving is nothing compared to some track time. Before hitting Brands made a stop at Biddenden Motorworks to deal with an oil leak (filter housing) and get some more camber on the front:

2deg camber and problem solved. We were going for 2,5 but to achieve that you can only use 2 hex bolts on the camber plate - the racing mechanic likes to have all 4 bolts in place so we did it that way (they also run BC on one of the race cars and full blown KW on others and they are happy with the lap times- a good validation for BC).

Time to head down to Brands

Queuing up socially distanced awaiting entrance to paddock:

Briefing and paper work all done online.

only one car per garage-was very well organised actually and everyone was sensible and well behaved:

 

[Dino D]

So having only ever done a parade lap at Brands nothing quite prepares you for how steep Paddock is and how much compression you get in the bottom.

was genuinely scary at first.
Not a corner to make a mistake on for sure.
I somehow misplaced my tow eye (but was fully prepared with tools, jack, fuel etc ) so had to sign a disclaimer that if they have tow me, it’s going to hurt.
The large Marshall pointed to a Unimog type truck and said ‘if you going in we pulling you out by the wheels...’
That certainly focused the mind on not going off!!

Easy track to remember but very technical. Wish I could have had an instructor to learn the proper technique for each corner.

the new brakes, tyres and geo have worked wonders. 20min stints no problem.
The pads were smoking but kept performing. Only after being parked up for 10mins did the pedal go long from heat soak but soon got firmer after some gentle laps- doing cool down laps was a bit tricky as there were some fast cars about.

The tyres were just great. Only felt them getting a bit loose after 20mins which is as long as I want to be out for at a time.

managed to make the viscous fan (new one with fresh PU engine mounts kiss the radiator again so that is being binned for a proper electric set up with controller). Luckily just cosmetic damage to the new rad.

with the lower ratio diff and raised rev limit I only need 3rd and 4th at brands which is great.

some gratuitous pics showing why camber is good :

 

[Dino D]

Top tip - if you play with the alternator be sure to put the plug back on properly- after a few laps the cluster started going mad then died and the car lost power, pulled into the pits wondering what I broke (the smell of brakes is a lot like burning wiring loom so I feared the worst but remembered the alternator was out that morning) - thanks @Lee for phone moral support!

 

[andyglym]

Looks great fun

 

[mwpe]

Great pictures Dino, the car looks terrific and I am vey jealous.

 

[Bazza]

A great write up and pictures well done mate brilliant

 

[t-tony]

And that is a good reason for placing your front number plate off to the side ...

Tony.

 

[Dino D]

And that is a good reason for placing your front number plate off to the side ...

Tony.

Weight distribution

 

[Dino D]

Took the tyres off to have a look - 90miles at Brands and they barely look scrubbed in!

Only had to adjust pressures once and they felt good for 20min stints - after that the rear got a bit loose but very impressive understeer resistance (but I expect I’m braking too hard and not carrying as much speed as I could into the bends to properly trouble them. The limits are much higher now so got some learning to do).

It was warm evening at Brands but no doubt the surface here is kinder on tyres than Lydden hill.

By comparison- 85 miles at Lydden hill (on a roasting hot day) hammered the road tyres:

 

[Dino D]

Brake fluid:

The brakes were amazing but after two sessions and a 10 min rest the fluid must have boiled as the pedal went long. A couple of a slow laps and it got better but the travel was still longer than at the start and the brakes started feeling less predictable.

Currently running ATE200 which is what the mechanic runs on his race car BUT he has a BBK, plenty of cooling, slicks and car only weighs 1100kg. Plus he probably barely uses the brakes (there was an e30 out with me that evening and the speed it went into bends was mind boggling).

So until I’ve learnt how to drive like a racing driver I’ll need to bleed frequently and get higher temp fluid. It’s still only on 300mm discs so not as much surface to get rid of heat I guess.

used this eezybleed which made it simple-uses tyre pressure:

what came out on the right-much darker than when it went in and there were bubbles:

The Carbon Lorraine RC6 pads did well -used about 20-30% (EBC didn’t last 80 miles at Lydden) so the higher price works out better value for sure.

New pad vs the used one.

Also put CL RC5 pads on the rears to balance it out.

The pedal still feels a bit spongy and not as short travel as before. I bled nearly a litre through until it read all clear but perhaps it wants a bit more- have a bit of time to get more fluid before I’m out at Brands again this Thursday evening...

 

[Dino D]

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[Dino D]

And some wheel problems

These 17in 8/9j 32’s have been in the shed for years. Now I have some camber on the front I went for a test fit and guess what- they fit perfectly!

They have 235/40 on the front (should really be 225/45).
Rears are 235/45 (should really be 245/255 40/35)

But even with this meaty look they fit.... soooo they’ll have to stay.... Maybe a few more years before they actually get a refurb though - no rush only about 4 years since I first got them

 

[Scooblitz]

Wheels are always a problem. Looks like they fit well with the new camber. Is the rear spacer on and do you think 255 would be a little keen on the arch with the 9j et 26?

Do you take video of you hooning around?

 

[Dino D]

Wheels are always a problem. Looks like they fit well with the new camber. Is the rear spacer on and do you think 255 would be a little keen on the arch with the 9j et 26?

Do you take video of you hooning around?

Might be but it’s on a 25mm spacer now, can just drop down to 20 or so.
With my suspension set up I don’t get into the rear arch much apart from track - what I’ve discovered is that there is no substitute for testing on your own car as they all sit a bit differently.

no video unfortunately-need a proper camera set up at some point..