The unexpected E36 328i find.

[M3boi]

First open trackday at Killarney for the year this past Saturday, so definitely had to get the E36 on track to do a proper shakedown!

33'C temps and a very busy, greasy track along with not very grippy Goodyear tyres meant I wasn't going to be setting any incredible lap times. But all things considering the car did so well. The main thing is there were no issues. Car kept cool the entire time, brakes were incredible with zero fade, and it felt very balanced.

Nevertheless, mounted the Dragy in the car and ran the Dragy Lap app. The times were very consistent, apparently its on par with the Garmin Catalyst so it gives you a good idea of the times you're doing. LOADS of data to run through after which is nice.

Started off mildly in the first session, not pushing too hard while I got used to the car on track. Did a few 1:37's and 1:36's, then starting giving it a bit more and got into the high 1:34's. Then in the last session I thought I'd push a little more and see what it could do while I got a mostly clear lap. I'm pretty happy with that time as a baseline! Pretty messy especially into turn 1 to outbrake the Mk1, the car definitely has a 1:30 dead in it with the right conditions, possibly even more with some 200TW tyres.

And some bonus footage, trying to fight my way through traffic, and getting held up. Mirrors are useful tools

 

[zabbo]

Awesome stuff!! Those times are pretty decent too.

 

[///M Individual]

Amazing bud!

The E36 328i is the perfect platform for the track especially yours with the work/mods that you have done.

 

[Anees]

This looks so fun!

 

[M3boi]

Not much to report on since the last trackday, car is still running great. But managed to book some private track time next week which is exciting! Will be nice to not get caught up in traffic and have an empty-ish track for 5 hours.

Took a cool pic to start the weekend, happy Friday all!

 

[TBP88]

Not much to report on since the last trackday, car is still running great. But managed to book some private track time next week which is exciting! Will be nice to not get caught up in traffic and have an empty-ish track for 5 hours.

Took a cool pic to start the weekend, happy Friday all!

View attachment 20641

half the chat semi-ing with that tease.

 

[modocrat]

Oh, is that how you're doing this now... sending us half nudes...

 

[individj]

👀

 

[FILV]

look at this thirst queen lol

 

[M3boi]

Oh, is that how you're doing this now... sending us half nudes...

Just the tip...

 

[individj]

I feel like im gna get banged

 

[///M3FAN]

we waiting, where is the full centerfold spread reveal!!

 

[M3boi]

we waiting, where is the full centerfold spread reveal!!

I'll post next week!

 

[M3boi]

Probably the most frustrating update on this car to date. It has made me decide to not do any "major" work on the car myself ever again. I'm over working on cars, lol.

Starting hearing a very loud "humming" from the passenger side front wheel, especially after driving for a while and getting it hot. Great, wheel bearing time.

Parts:

Brakes removed:

First issue. This nut WOULD NOT budge, even with a decent size breaker bar:

Went to fetch a bad boi:

Success! Which then turned into the first big issue when removing the old wheel bearing:

When I pulled the old wheel bearing off, the inner race AND bearing dust shield stayed behind (OF COURSE) and it was butted up right against the old dust shield. So my 3 jaw puller couldn't get behind the race to grip onto it and pull it off.

At this point I was pissed off, it was 22:00 and the power went out, so I left it and went to bed. Woke up the next morning with a stomach bug. Great.

Car sat for about a week, it was a bad bug. In that week, got a call from my fiance to say her car had died and all she could smell was fuel.
So bearing eater to the rescue:

Turns out it was a bad injector O-ring, which caused all the fuel to piss out. Very odd for a 2018 car with 31k km, but good thing she extended her motorplan and Audi is covering everything. She's been using the M3 while her car has been away.


Anyway, back to my wheel bearing race issue. I didn't take any photos because I was extremely frustrated and started panicking. But eventually I removed the brake dust shield, and I managed to break off the bearing dust shield and in turn get the puller behind the race to pull that off too.

New wheel bearing on (which took FOREVER to hammer on straight):

Some light at the end of the tunnel:

All back together:

1/10 WOULD NOT recommend doing wheel bearings yourself. When the other side decides to go, the car will be going in to have it done. I don't have that kind of patience.

Next update will be a lot more positive though, the car is getting a much needed upgrade which should improve the handling even more, which I'm super excited about!

 

[M3boi]

No updates, just good drives with good people. I honestly never get bored of this car. Its so so good.

 

[VinceM]

Mhhh, says a lot about how the car drives as you had options (could have taken the M3).

Well done to getting to this point, it’s sweat and tears. Take my hat off for you ( I know exactly what you meant on the frustrations pertaining to DIY, The stubborn bolts ), prolonging the time immensely.


This E36 Came out Tops!

 

[M3boi]

Mhhh, says a lot about how the car drives as you options (could have taken the M3).

Well done to get to this point, its sweat and tears. Take my hat off for you ( I know exactly what you meant on the frustrations pertaining to DIY, The stubborn bolts ), prolonging the time immensely.

Came out Tops!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I can absolutely say with confidence that the 328 would walk my M3 on the same stretch of mountain road, even with close to half the power. It has endless mechanical grip and far superior braking in comparison.

 

[M3boi]

This session gave me big Nurburgring vibes, chasing the GT4 and M2 in the E36. This still has to be one of the most fun driving roads in SA.

 

[M3boi]

More handling mods!

About 4 weeks ago I put through an order to Whiteline, only for them to tell me they missplaced stock (just my luck). Eventually they managed to restock my order, and yesterday it arrived.





While I've been extremely happy with the E36's setup, the one thing the car suffered quite badly from was body roll. With plans to put the car on semis in Spring, I thought I'd address the body roll first before trying to add grip and still fight the body roll.

It was a toss up between this Whiteline 27mm front swaybar, and the Ultra Racing 28mm bar, however the UR bar was not adjustable and knew I'd prefer to have the adjustability. 1mm difference would be negligible.



So the obvious choice was the Whiteline bar. It also came with upgraded endlinks, even though I've already replaced mine with OEM endlinks. Guess if I'm upgrading the bar, the stuff around it should be upgraded too.







Unsure if I will fit it this weekend, but very keen to fit it when I get a gap and start playing with the setup more to get this thing super dialed in.
Have to keep up with @TBP88 somehow 😜

 

[///M Individual]

More handling mods!

About 4 weeks ago I put through an order to Whiteline, only for them to tell me they missplaced stock (just my luck). Eventually they managed to restock my order, and yesterday it arrived.





While I've been extremely happy with the E36's setup, the one thing the car suffered quite badly from was body roll. With plans to put the car on semis in Spring, I thought I'd address the body roll first before trying to add grip and still fight the body roll.

It was a toss up between this Whiteline 27mm front swaybar, and the Ultra Racing 28mm bar, however the UR bar was not adjustable and knew I'd prefer to have the adjustability. 1mm difference would be negligible.



So the obvious choice was the Whiteline bar. It also came with upgraded endlinks, even though I've already replaced mine with OEM endlinks. Guess if I'm upgrading the bar, the stuff around it should be upgraded too.







Unsure if I will fit it this weekend, but very keen to fit it when I get a gap and start playing with the setup more to get this thing super dialed in.
Have to keep up with @TBP88 somehow 😜

Super awesome bud - I am sure this is going to help alot!