The unexpected E36 328i find.

[sonic6]

Well done and excellent driving, car looks very neutral indeed especially through T5 on the first lap. I assume the front end is not as planted through T3 and T4 because those corners are less on-cambered? I'm sorry I have not driven Killarney before.

With a more aggressive tyre and more negative front camber to suit I think she will be on rails. Likely in the 1:2x bracket.

 

[M3boi]

Well done and excellent driving, car looks very neutral indeed especially through T5 on the first lap. I assume the front end is not as planted through T3 and T4 because those corners are less on-cambered? I'm sorry I have not driven Killarney before.

With a more aggressive tyre and more negative front camber to suit I think she will be on rails. Likely in the 1:2x bracket.

Thanks! T3 actually has some camber to it, but the surface is quite bumpy and rough and the tyres are holding on for dear life at that part of the lap. I don't have much confidence going through there at speed on street tyres. T4 sweep doesn't have any camber and I can't seem to commit through there, hoping semis will help with that mental block.

 

[Benji]

Some clean laps there, well done on your PB! Love the running commentary

Interesting that the stiffer front sway bar reduced the front push, I would have thought a stiffer rear sway bar would make the car turn in a bit better...

Struggling with "push" on the E34, still need to play with the suspension setup, but not sure where I should start? An interesting thing Ive noticed is the E34 will tighten its line through corners when you step on the gas - a bit of mental gymnastics required to floor the car when it seems like you are going off

 

[M3boi]

Some clean laps there, well done on your PB! Love the running commentary

Interesting that the stiffer front sway bar reduced the front push, I would have thought a stiffer rear sway bar would make the car turn in a bit better...

Struggling with "push" on the E34, still need to play with the suspension setup, but not sure where I should start? An interesting thing Ive noticed is the E34 will tighten its line through corners when you step on the gas - a bit of mental gymnastics required to floor the car when it seems like you are going off

I've done hours of reading online and it seemed counter-intuitive to stiffen up the front bar. But from what I've gathered, going stiffer on the front bar helps reduce positive camber gain on E36 front suspension setup. I think I can even go to full stiff on the front bar and it will help, but then current tyres will be the limiting factor. I'll make the adjustment anyway before the next trackday and see the change. Might need a rear bar too once I grip it up.

E36 swaybar stiffness

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Why stiffen E36 front sway to correct understeer

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How much front toe, camber and castor are you currently running on the E34?

 

[M3boi]

After watching some random video online last week, I went down a rabbit hole and ended up stumbling across a super old forum post about some E36 parts:

TarrTech e36 Front and Rear strut braces

Developed by TarrTech for Track/Street use to stiffen the somewhat floppy e36 :rollsmile: as well as reenforce the strut towers that are prone to cracks and rips... Specs: Flanges 304 Stainless steel 4.5mm Pipe schedule 10 304 Stainless steel Front can be pre-tensioned for maximum stiffness...

www.bmwfanatics.co.za

After doing more digging and trying to find out if TarrTech still existed, I found that @zabbo used to be involved. So I rang him up, got chatting and he told me he had one last new old stock rear shock tower bar sitting in storage. I'm a sucker for cool, OG parts like this. Even if they don't add much/if anything, they're just cool to have.

He said he'd be willing to part with it, so I popped through on the weekend and picked it up (after 30mins+ of some great chats and idea bouncing). Always cool meeting fellow fanatics that are super passionate!

Got home, and fitted immediately.

Thank you again @zabbo for parting with it, I do enjoy seeing the scaffolding when I open the boot. Haven't had time to test if there is any noticeable difference yet though, but the fit was bang on and super tight (ha).

And then a little cruise on Sunday, a nice change of pace.

 

[Benji]

I've done hours of reading online and it seemed counter-intuitive to stiffen up the front bar. But from what I've gathered, going stiffer on the front bar helps reduce positive camber gain on E36 front suspension setup. I think I can even go to full stiff on the front bar and it will help, but then current tyres will be the limiting factor. I'll make the adjustment anyway before the next trackday and see the change. Might need a rear bar too once I grip it up.

E36 swaybar stiffness

Bimmerforums is the preferred online BMW Forum and community for BMW owners. At Bimmerforums, you will find technical how-to information maintenance specifics audio advice wheel and tire combinations and model specific details not found anywhere else. Our professionals are here to help make...

www.bimmerforums.com

Why stiffen E36 front sway to correct understeer

Bimmerforums is the preferred online BMW Forum and community for BMW owners. At Bimmerforums, you will find technical how-to information maintenance specifics audio advice wheel and tire combinations and model specific details not found anywhere else. Our professionals are here to help make...

www.bimmerforums.com

How much front toe, camber and castor are you currently running on the E34?

Interesting...seems to be a feature unique to the E36/E30 suspension design

Please dont shoot me down here, but we have just eyeballed the suspension setup seems we always work late into the night on the night before track day, so have not had an opportunity to get the suspension setup properly. This is probably 90% of what is wrong with the car at the moment

 

[M3boi]

Interesting...seems to be a feature unique to the E36/E30 suspension design

Please dont shoot me down here, but we have just eyeballed the suspension setup seems we always work late into the night on the night before track day, so have not had an opportunity to get the suspension setup properly. This is probably 90% of what is wrong with the car at the moment

Well there is your answer you'll probably find loads of time and better handling characteristics with a good track alignment, I can DM you some good base specs to start off with if you'd like, and then you can go from there. Alignment changes, even small ones can make a huge difference.

 

[Benji]

Well there is your answer you'll probably find loads of time and better handling characteristics with a good track alignment, I can DM you some good base specs to start off with if you'd like, and then you can go from there. Alignment changes, even small ones can make a huge difference.

Yes please!

 

[M3boi]

Yes please!

DM sent

 

[danieltau]

Loving this. Any mods to the exhaust?

 

[M3boi]

Loving this. Any mods to the exhaust?

Just a decat

 

[M3boi]

That time of year again, its really flown by. Booked the car in at Wentzel Motorworks for its annual service. Mileage: 139 900km.

Oil still looked great even after loads of mountain passes and 3 trackdays (Motul FTW), however we chatted and both agreed to change the oil from the 5w40 to the 10w60. Its what he puts in both the Clubmans and Cup E36s, and considering that the car gets driven hard, its better to be safe than sorry.

He gave the car a full look over and bolt check on all the important parts and gave it a clean bill of health, besides a small sweat from the gearbox output shaft and the sump gasket. Nothing major, but will need to have it looked at at some stage. Also mentioned the driver side ball joint seems a little tired, so I've added new front LCAs to the list.

We also discussed doing oil changes every 6 months vs once a year, something I brought up with him. Just again to rather be safe than sorry, and he said it wouldn't be a bad idea. So I'll do my own oil and filter service in January, and it will go back to him in June again next year. I could do my own oil changes year after year, but I like having him go over the car once a year to make sure everything is 100%, considering he knows them so well.

So he hooked me up with fluids for the next change in January, as Motul is one of their partners.

I'll have another update later this week, its going to be meaty 🥩

 

[TBP88]

That time of year again, its really flown by. Booked the car in at Wentzel Motorworks for its annual service. Mileage: 139 900km.

Oil still looked great even after loads of mountain passes and 3 trackdays (Motul FTW), however we chatted and both agreed to change the oil from the 5w40 to the 10w60. Its what he puts in both the Clubmans and Cup E36s, and considering that the car gets driven hard, its better to be safe than sorry.

He gave the car a full look over and bolt check on all the important parts and gave it a clean bill of health, besides a small sweat from the gearbox output shaft and the sump gasket. Nothing major, but will need to have it looked at at some stage. Also mentioned the driver side ball joint seems a little tired, so I've added new front LCAs to the list.

We also discussed doing oil changes every 6 months vs once a year, something I brought up with him. Just again to rather be safe than sorry, and he said it wouldn't be a bad idea. So I'll do my own oil and filter service in January, and it will go back to him in June again next year. I could do my own oil changes year after year, but I like having him go over the car once a year to make sure everything is 100%, considering he knows them so well.

So he hooked me up with fluids for the next change in January, as Motul is one of their partners.

I'll have another update later this week, its going to be meaty 🥩

It's later NEXT week and no update!

 

[Benji]

Where is the meat?

 

[TBP88]

Where is the meat?

SHOW US YOUR WORS!

 

[VinceM]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[M3boi]

SHOW US YOUR WORS!

Only if you say no homo.

 

[TBP88]

Only if you say no homo.

Get one of VinceM and Benji involved:

 

[M3boi]

Fine, here's a pic of my meat in the form of Bridgestone RE71-RS:

Luigi approved:

Just looking for a second set of wheels, think I have a solution. Weather has been shocking in CPT anyway so not like I can make use of these yet, but next month is looking promising!

 

[Benji]

Is that meat roadworthy?