# TechSession 7.0 at B&M Racing (post meet comments)



## mwette (Sep 16, 2002)

Thanks to those (Hack?) who arranged TechSession 7.0 and to B&M for hosting. My Son-fixed wheel looks great.

Sorry I had to bail out early. I am leaving town tomorrow for D.C. for vacation/business trip and I didn't want to get home too late (potential bad start for a vacation).

Later,
Matt


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## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

Indeed... HUGE thanks yet again to Steve and everyone at B&M. These guys have been extraordinarily generous and supportive. They are also clearly very smart businesspeople.

Their support of our little community and enthusiasm are getting me to actively look for opportunities to support their fine company, with its rich history, and the products they manufacture and distribute.

Thanks, B&M! :thumbup:


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

I agree - thanks to all who make these things possible. It's INCREDIBLY cool of B&M to let us use their facilities.


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## scottn2retro (Mar 20, 2002)

Nice job by HACK to pull it together and as usual, a great job of hosting by Bob and Steve at B&M.

HACK did some nice photo archiving of under carriages of some of the different BMWs there:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30753


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

So many people to thank...
HACK, for his TechSession leadership, and for putting in my UUC SS for me... I thought he was just going to help, but he did most of the work, so I had the luxury of jabbering with the gang
Steve and the gang at B&M Racing... I'm still disbelieving these guys let us use their lifts. And it didn't end there: Sodas, some munchies, and other stuff I won't get in to. You guys are DA BOMB!
Kaz, for, well, being Kaz. Always fun to talk to, and learn something new. Love you're homegrown putty-knife-turned-door-panel-remover. I'm gonna make one.
Kaz again, for running me down to pick up half a tank of 101 octane racing fuel. The RKT BMR was never so mean! More on that in a seperate posting...
Son -- a true artisan! My curb-munched wheel looks as good as new. I didn't think it could be done.
The rest of the SoCal 'fest gang, for being such a great bunch to hang with.
I had a really good time, and that alone would have made the trip worth it. Getting the SS in, trying out race fuel, fixing my exhaust rattle/buzz, breathing new life into my RR wheel -- that was all gravy. With company (Kurt Martin came along), the 5 hour trip from NorCal wasn't any big deal, so I'll be repeating this trek for another TS at B&M. Perhaps we could arrange to plan one of the fun drives you guys do from time to time on the same weekend as the TS (TS on Sat, drive on Sun).

Anyway, :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Let me know if you experience any rattles...It seems to be purely hit and miss, SOME 330s experience it and some don't. Some are especially bad (like Raffi's car) and some are whispery quiet (SONET's car came to mind).

Would still like to isolate it for Doeboy if possible.:thumbup:


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *Let me know if you experience any rattles...It seems to be purely hit and miss, SOME 330s experience it and some don't. Some are especially bad (like Raffi's car) and some are whispery quiet (SONET's car came to mind).
> 
> Would still like to isolate it for Doeboy if possible.:thumbup: *




I am wondering if it would make it any better after some TMEs.... but that will have to wait a while.... I'm waiting for my shipment from Circle. :angel:


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## MRoadster (Apr 26, 2003)

It was great to meet everyone... Thanks to everyone that put this event together! Hopefully, next time I will have some projects to do...since I only purchased the car a month ago. How often do you have these tech sessions? Please keep me posted... Thanks again!

--Ryan


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## GimpyMcFarlan (Aug 13, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *Would still like to isolate it for Doeboy if possible.:thumbup: *


:hi: Me too please. :angel:


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## Raffi (May 18, 2002)

Yeah, thanks to Steve and Bob at B&M for hosting TS 7.0 and their never-ending generosity and support of the CCA. :thumbup: Thanks to everyone for coming there and chatting/hanging out/haggling. Last but not least, thanks to the HACKmeister for setting it up. :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

By the way, did everyone pick up a 10% discount voucher for a new Remus exhaust? That's a substantial saving considering the exhaust ranges from $600-$1,000.

If you were there at the TechSession and did not pick up the voucher, please email me and I'll ask Steve to send the voucher to you.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Blast it Hack!! Now you have me thinking about it again. All three cars that I heard with a Remus exhaust at the tech session made me drool.

What companies were listed on the certificate? I grabbed the certificate, but it's at home. Now I want to play around on the website. The catalog doesn't have an option for an e36 /M.

And B&M Racing's generosity is pretty amazing - discounts here, discounts there, the facilities, lunch, their time . . .


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *Let me know if you experience any rattles...It seems to be purely hit and miss, SOME 330s experience it and some don't. Some are especially bad (like Raffi's car) and some are whispery quiet (SONET's car came to mind).*


*None 'til Yesterday. Now I'm getting a "snick" that sounds like a screw was left down there somewhere in contact with the ERK cup, and if I shift and hold the knob with some pressure in the direction of the shift, I'll get a rattle that sounds like that screw buzzing against the ERK.

Does that sound familiar?

Don't sweat it -- I'm going to pull out the rubber seal this weekend and do some investigation. I'll let you know what I find out.

Other than that, I LOVE it! :thumbup:*


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Okay, so I'm an insane maniac -- we've already established that in several other threads  

So, given my level of insanity, I have to say that driving 5 hours to SoCal to hang with you guys was no big deal. More than worth it for what was gained :thumbup: 

So, get used to my face, gang... I plan to make several of these on an annual basis, especially if the B&M connection continues. I have something just about every quarter that could really use a lift to deal with.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

RKT BMR said:


> *None 'til Yesterday. Now I'm getting a "snick" that sounds like a screw was left down there somewhere in contact with the ERK cup, and if I shift and hold the knob with some pressure in the direction of the shift, I'll get a rattle that sounds like that screw buzzing against the ERK.
> 
> Does that sound familiar?
> 
> ...


The wolverine adamantium claw sound is NORMAL. Part of the UUC charm I guess. Not nearly as pronounced on the B&M kit.

The "rattle" when you put pressure on the knob is normal too. I experience that with all the short shift kits I've played with. On the 330 it's especially pronounced, but next time you come down we can go drive my car and Kaz's car. They all do that in fact, even the OEM shift knob...Except the OEM knob is so insulated you never hear it.

If you don't hear a rattle when the car is in gear and accelerating hard, without any pressure on the knob then you don't have the infamous 330 SSK rattle.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

rwg said:


> *Blast it Hack!! Now you have me thinking about it again. All three cars that I heard with a Remus exhaust at the tech session made me drool.
> 
> What companies were listed on the certificate? I grabbed the certificate, but it's at home. Now I want to play around on the website. The catalog doesn't have an option for an e36 /M.
> 
> And B&M Racing's generosity is pretty amazing - discounts here, discounts there, the facilities, lunch, their time . . . *


I don't know if you were still around when Stuka and I went to bed in my pads...When I was doing full throttle runs and nearly bouncing off my limiter at 7,000 RPM in 2nd gear. Puts a giant sh*t eating grin on my face to hear that ROAR.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Well, I missed the bed in runs, but I know what the grin looks like. It's the same one I displayed when I tried out the shifter.  

And you didn't answer the important question! Do you know what the names of the vendors on the certificate? Anybody? Buehler?


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

*Racing fuel!*

Thanks to Kaz, my fuel costs have just gone up permanently. I had no idea how much the ECU in my Vortec'd motor was messing with cam and spark timing to control knocking on Crapofornia 91 octane super unleaded, until Kaz and I took the RKT BMR down to the nearby 101 octane dealer and filled up my half-empty tank with 8 gallons of 101.

GOOD GOD WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Time to finally dyno the sucker. The butt-dyno estimates that I have been leaving 50 HP and 30-40 ft-lbs torque on the table since I installed the blower last July. Upping the octane was like installing a new, major power mod!

So, I guess I'll be dropping some 100 octane (available with a 10 minute detour on my commute) in the tank at every fill. Plan to start 67%/33% 91/100 octane mix, see how that feels, and titrate back from that to find the sweet spot. I'm guessing that I need to achieve 93-94 octane to eliminate knocking issues and maximize performance, although I will try a tank of pure 100 to see what happens.

So, a tank of gas used to cost me $32. Now I'm looking at $45 (67%/33% mix) to get 94 octane effective. If 93 will do, a tank will cost $40 (78%/22% mix).

This is all somewhat coincidental, as I have been hearing some very mild pinging under the most extreme load conditions at high RPM for the first time since I installed the blower, starting about a month ago. No Check Engine Light, so I'm assuming the knock sensors, VANOS, and coils/plugs/ECU are all right -- I've just exceeded the ECU's ability to fend off knock under the most extreme conditions.

So, I've been planning to bump up the fuel grade with some racing fuel mixed in anyway, to see if it solved the problem. Not only did it eliminate the pinging under all load/RPM conditions, the added power is tremendous -- further validation of my theory.

I've created a spreadsheet to calculate the correct mix ratios for a 16 gallon tank to produce octane values from 91 to 100, using 91 and 100 octane gas. The table also calculates the nominal price per gallon, and the total tank cost for each mix. You can view/download it here: *fuel mix spreadsheet*. Input values are the octane ratings for the two fuels being mixed, and price/gal. I've printed this out, laminated it, and tossed it in the center armrest compartment for reference.

Enjoy!


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *I don't know if you were still around when Stuka and I went to bed in my pads...When I was doing full throttle runs and nearly bouncing off my limiter at 7,000 RPM in 2nd gear. Puts a giant sh*t eating grin on my face to hear that ROAR.  *


Huh?!?!?

You have a Remus exhaust? Didn't know that!


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *The wolverine adamantium claw sound is NORMAL. Part of the UUC charm I guess. Not nearly as pronounced on the B&M kit.*


Cool. It just didn't start to show up until I'd put a few hundred (500, to be precise) miles on it and broken it in. Wonder what the action is that causes the noise? It doesn't bother me...


> *If you don't hear a rattle when the car is in gear and accelerating hard, without any pressure on the knob then you don't have the infamous 330 SSK rattle. *


 :thumbup: I'm fine then. Again, thanks!


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## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

RKT BMR said:


> *if I shift and hold the knob with some pressure in the direction of the shift, I'll get a rattle that sounds like that screw buzzing against the ERK. *


Seriously, I bet that's the knob itself. Try taking it off, and see if you get the same buzz.

I solved that with the Whalen knob.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

rwg said:


> *Well, I missed the bed in runs, but I know what the grin looks like. It's the same one I displayed when I tried out the shifter.
> 
> And you didn't answer the important question! Do you know what the names of the vendors on the certificate? Anybody? Buehler? *


One of the vendors was Avus. I don't remember what the other one was... sorry. I didn't take one with me so this is coming from memory.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Plaz said:


> *Seriously, I bet that's the knob itself. Try taking it off, and see if you get the same buzz.
> 
> I solved that with the Whalen knob. *


Did you have wood trim?


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## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

RKT BMR said:


> *Did you have wood trim? *


yes.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Plaz said:


> *yes. *


didn't you post a picture of that knob somewhere on bimmerfest.com? Searched, but couldn't find it...


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## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

http://whalenshiftmachine.com

:thumbup:


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