DIY Brake Cooling KIT
Heat buildup causes all sorts of issues in a race car. For the brakes it increases the wear of rotors and pads. It also causes brake fade which is a reduction in braking coefficient all as a result of overheating. So far all the brake cooling kits I’ve seen seem a little expensive running to a few hundred dollars. Especially those manufactured in the USA from the likes of AAF, Turner Motorsport & Hard Motorsport never mind the shipping and import costs.
A great background post on FHR/HANS
https://hscc.org.uk/feature-fhr-devices/
This feature first appeared in ‘Historic Racing’ in the summer of 2019. We thought it was worth running again.
Over recent years, there has been a growing move to make Frontal Head Restraint (FHR) devices mandatory across much of the sport. We look at the reasons for using FHR and offer some outline advice for drivers. Continue reading “A great background post on FHR/HANS”
Racewear
Safety is important and whilst I have a motorcycle helmet from my biker days, the current regulations require one that’s been tested to HANS/FHR standards. It nearly took my breath away the prices of some of these things! A bit of shopping around found these two at the lower end of the scale. They’re still not cheap but what price can you put on safety. Continue reading “Racewear”
Build decisions
So what we essentially have here is a blank canvas. Nothing has been done already that can’t be reversed for any race series that we’re interested in, namely Roadsports, Club Enduro, MSVT Trackday challenge or BMWCCR Class 6.
My biggest concern was that the original builder had been overly zealous with the scissors to the wiring loom. Since it was fitted with a limited slip differential, traction control would just have been a hindrance, and all of the sensors and associated wiring had been removed. It’s always difficult stepping into someone else work and trying to figure out exactly had been done. The 330 Challenge (bmw330challenge regulations) specified that you could delete ABS, it was deactivated, but thank goodness the wiring loom for this was still intact, albeit showing a fault. The drive home from Scotland without ABS OR Traction Control and on crap tyres in the wet was a memorable one! Rest assured it was a VERY intimidating drive home with the feeling that I’d bitten off much more than expected. I certainly plan to do a shakedown season of track days in 2021 before attempting the ARDS test to get my racing license. Continue reading “Build decisions”
I’ve found a car!
Advertised in RaceCarsDirect.com, the car was purchased for £4,500 in Fort William, Scotland in July 2020 as a part finished race car originally destined for the BMW 330 Challenge series. This series was cancelled in Scotland however and the car subsequently was never raced. This was the 3rd build for the original owner having formerly built 2 BMW Compact Cup cars and he was an engineer so a good sign. Based on a 2002 BMW 330Ci Sport with just over 100,000 miles, it had all the main safety items fitted including a cage, extinguisher system, and race seat, but it lacked suspension, rain light, decent tyres, and bonnet catches to make it race ready. Continue reading “I’ve found a car!”
The search for a car begins
I’m taking inspiration from Sam McKee of Mckee Motorsport and his very successful BMW E36 328i which he drives to and from every race. Multiple podium finishes including class wins but more importantly it’s budget motorsport and it’s FUN.
I started searching for a suitable donor car and having owned an E36 in the past (albeit a diesel) I was familiar with the handling, impressed by the solid build quality, and the ready supply of parts.
Finding a good E36 328i for less than £4k I found out was proving difficult. Continue reading “The search for a car begins”