135i Build - Track Toy with a License Plate

[berns]

Well, I cut up my beautiful Seibon hood to fit the new Trackspec vent. I don't love it, but I really need to get the heat out of the engine bay and get some more flow, so I made the sacrifice. Hopefully it was worth it.

Today I removed the rear glass and quarter glass, and realized I'm halfway to removing the roof, so I ordered a carbon roof from Geoff Steel in the UK.
https://www.geoffsteel.co.uk/shop/bmw-e82-roof-skin/

Also test fitted the Seibon trunk (don't worry, it'll be painted) and the APR GTC-250 rear wing.

 

[The Convert]

Guess it depends where you want to remove heat from. I would have gone for side vents to pull heat from above the turbos and intake out. Right behind the radiator makes good sense too though.

 

[berns]

Guess it depends where you want to remove heat from. I would have gone for side vents to pull heat from above the turbos and intake out. Right behind the radiator makes good sense too though.

This should make a dramatic change all around. Not kuch room for side vents on this hood but I'll figure it out if I have to.

 

[nswartz125]

Love this build sir. I remember watching the vid were you did your first track day in the e82 and the oil temps were badddd. Cool to see how far it has come.

You will be in love when the rears are done.

 

[berns]

Today I started to take everything off. Removed the sideskirts, rear bumper, inner trunk lining, both Recaro's, the rear seat delete panels.
I decided to go with a different CF roof from iND Distribution. The lead time was better and I have a feeling the fitment and finish will be better overall as well.

I've read a lot about a heavy bolt-on weight ballast attached to the rear crash bar of the E82. I was stoked for the weight savings, but when I pulled the bumper today, and even pulled the crash beam, there was no weight to be found. Maybe it didn't come on all E82s? Or maybe it's welded in somewhere instead.. Didn't weight the crash beam but it is heavy. I'm not about to sacrifice safety or insurance eligibility by removing it though, so I guess I'll just deal.

On Thursday, I'll pull the cage out and remove the headliner and sunroof. Hoping we can cut the quarters off by the end of the week as well.

I dropped by APR Performance today to trace my front lip so we can build a proper front splitter. Nobody makes one for the 1M, but it'd be really dumb to run that massive rear wing and not balance out the downforce up front. I've never driven a car with proper aero before and really have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but I'm excited!

PS - If anyone local to Southern California has any need or interest in good condition Alpine White body parts, let me know. I've got my stock hood, front bumper, side skirts and rear bumper.

Love this build sir. I remember watching the vid were you did your first track day in the e82 and the oil temps were badddd. Cool to see how far it has come.

You will be in love when the rears are done.

Thanks dude! Love your build as well. Actually bought the same front lip and rear diffuser as you because that lip is the only one I could find that fills the gaps in the bumper. Should be pretty gnarly with a splitter mounted underneath it protruding another 2.5" outward.

 

[nswartz125]

Thanks dude! Love your build as well. Actually bought the same front lip and rear diffuser as you because that lip is the only one I could find that fills the gaps in the bumper. Should be pretty gnarly with a splitter mounted underneath it protruding another 2.5" outward.

Thank you man! Yea the lip seemed like a good price point lip (prob will smash it eventually) and I liked it didn't have holes for brake ducks. I have always thought a splitter under it would look awesome so i'm going to live vicariously through you ha!

Doing rear OEM quarters is no joke in the wallet department. Props to you. Sometimes I wish I did it that way but I just couldn't justify the cost.

What are you going to do for exhaust with the 1m bumper?

 

[berns]

Thank you man! Yea the lip seemed like a good price point lip (prob will smash it eventually) and I liked it didn't have holes for brake ducks. I have always thought a splitter under it would look awesome so i'm going to live vicariously through you ha!

Doing rear OEM quarters is no joke in the wallet department. Props to you. Sometimes I wish I did it that way but I just couldn't justify the cost.

What are you going to do for exhaust with the 1m bumper?

I wish I could create a solid mold from the lip! Hoping it lasts a while with the splitter protecting it.

Yeah I thought about different ways to do the rear quarters but everyone's opinion was that for a car that sees mostly track time, filler and bondo are a no-no. We were going to just cut along the body line but my body shop buddy decided we should just do it the right way. I'm doing all the tear down and cutting labor myself but will have the welding handled by the pros. Definitely going to hurt the wallet no matter how I slice this, but I figure I'll only build a car like this once. Sure would have been easier and cheaper to buy an e92 M3, but too late for regrets.

Not sure what I'll do for exhaust yet. Quad tip adds weight and money, so I'm thinking of doing a raw titanium 3" turndown tip. Just want it to be pure race car.

 

[suspenceful]

This is one of my favorite builds. Thank you for sharing.

In my dreams, I'd do my car up just like yours on the exterior.

Where did you order the Seibon CF parts from? How's the fitment?

 

[berns]

This is one of my favorite builds. Thank you for sharing.

In my dreams, I'd do my car up just like yours on the exterior.

Where did you order the Seibon CF parts from? How's the fitment?

Thanks dude! I picked the Seibon parts up at their warehouse directly since I'm local. Fitment on the hood is pretty good. Body gaps are maybe a but bigger than stock but not by much. Trunk I can't speak for since it was a garage sale item. Which means it has defects. I just don't care since its being painted and will have a wing on it.

 

[suspenceful]

Thanks dude! I picked the Seibon parts up at their warehouse directly since I'm local. Fitment on the hood is pretty good. Body gaps are maybe a but bigger than stock but not by much. Trunk I can't speak for since it was a garage sale item. Which means it has defects. I just don't care since its being painted and will have a wing on it.

Agh, I'm jealous. I'm sure I could save a good chunk of money picking up direct from the manufacturer.

 

[berns]

Some progress from today:

- Gutted the trunk
- Pulled out the roll bar
- Seats are out
- Steering wheel had to come out
- Headliner and interior panels removed
- Sunroof glass and shade are gone

Only thing left to remove tomorrow is the sunroof motor and track itself. Then it's time to drill out the spot welds for the quarters and the roof. Never done that before but we'll see how it goes! I have about 2.5 days into the teardown of the car. Tiring but fun.

Not sure what the part number for the OEM 1M headliner and front dome light is but I'm curious what it costs. I might just end up reusing my sunroof headliner since it's already black from being the M Sport 135i.

Also removed the rear seat belts and receptacles and I think I'll gut the rear door cards, they feel surprisingly heavy. Might consider selling my current roll bar and going for a more traditional SCCA style hoop out of thinner "1.75 x ".095 to save some more weight. Not going to be easy to get this to 3000lbs without sacrificing interior comforts.

 

[berns]

 

[berns]

More progress today. I pulled the front bumper off to clean up the bottom and mount the new lip. I didn't want to get a lip, but the gaps in the bottom of the bumper would make the splitter less effective and I didn't want to do a ghetto fill-in, so I went this route. Picked up my new splitter from APR, it's a work of art. Mocked it up just to see how it looked and it's pretty aggressive!

Ordered some chassis mount brackets from HARD Motorsport which I'll pair with the included APR support rods on the front end from the crash beam, which together, should provide enough support and make for easy removal.

Today was an awesome day... We got the passengers side rear quarter mocked up. Tomorrow we'll pull the drivers quarter off and begin extending the inner wheel housings. If all works out, the quarters will be on by the weekend.

^^^That's a 9.5 +48 with a very wide 275/35 on it. Plenty of room to work with on the new quarters. Can't wait.

Roof arrives from IND on Friday. Front glass was pulled today too. Picked up my headliner from BMW. Next week and the following, it'll be paint and reassembly. No chance in hell I'm making Round 2 of Bimmer Challenge at Buttonwillow on March 2nd, but I'll keep trying.

 

[suspenceful]

This is just so awesome. The right way to do things, not cutting corners. I can't imagine the expense, but at least I can live vicariously through this build!

I've always wondered, what's the actual purpose or use for a splitter like that on the front bumper? In my head, it just makes the front end nose dive at high speeds, slowing you down. But maybe it makes a noticeable difference when braking at lower speeds, helping grip or slow down?

 

[berns]

This is just so awesome. The right way to do things, not cutting corners. I can't imagine the expense, but at least I can live vicariously through this build!

I've always wondered, what's the actual purpose or use for a splitter like that on the front bumper? In my head, it just makes the front end nose dive at high speeds, slowing you down. But maybe it makes a noticeable difference when braking at lower speeds, helping grip or slow down?

Thanks dude. Eh, not the most insane cost honestly. Not cheap, but you've definitely spent A LOT more on horsepower... I watched that vid where you went through your receipts!

This car will still be way less than the cost of a bone stock 1M.

Front splitter is for downforce. It will add tremendous front grip, which is awesome for a car that likes to understeer at speed. It literally "splits" the air at speed, keeping high velocity air moving under the vehicle and creating a high pressure zone at the front end, adding downforce. The farther the splitter extends from the bumper, the more effective it is. You'll see Time Attack cars with massive ones. This is about as big as I'll go. Might add bumper canards too if I want more downforce.

 

[berns]

Getting closer! Quarters are complete, paint is done. Roof is set and on. Glass and headliner went in last night. Wednesday I'll hopefully get the interior back together and I think the rear bumper and skirts should be out of paint.

So, so excited to finish this thing. Have to travel this week but it should be back on the road next week and then it's time for some major maintenance, and maybe a track day on the 21st...

 

[add1ct]

Such a proper build
I would love to see a build biology on the channel once its done and also another field trip series with you and Vin!

 

[gmx]

I dropped by APR Performance today to trace my front lip so we can build a proper front splitter. Nobody makes one for the 1M, but it'd be really dumb to run that massive rear wing and not balance out the downforce up front. I've never driven a car with proper aero before and really have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but I'm excited!

Thanks dude! Love your build as well. Actually bought the same front lip and rear diffuser as you because that lip is the only one I could find that fills the gaps in the bumper. Should be pretty gnarly with a splitter mounted underneath it protruding another 2.5" outward.

Any more details on the front lip and APR splitter and how each piece is affixed to the body (or chassis rail)
I'm assuming the APR splitter works best with the lip you currently have on there.

 

[MDORPHN]

FWIW, I fabricated a splitter from alumalite. Forward portion fastened with Longacre splitter support rods attached to underside of crash beam. Rearward portion attached to my cf replica-Revosport lip using well nuts and tinnerman clips. Allows it to be easily attached/detached.

Neil

 

[berns]

Haven't mounted the splitter yet. I bought the Hard Motorsport chassis mount brackets and I'll make additional side brackets, topped off with forward support rods. I don't want the splitter attached to the bumper or the lip, this way, in case it's coming off, it isn't taking everything else with it. I'll document my setup and share when it's ready.

Little teaser from today with the new wheels on. SO stoked!