Project BMW 328i begins!

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Details

Category: Project BMW 328i

Created on Wednesday, 12 September 2012 09:43

Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 September 2012 18:03

Published on Wednesday, 12 September 2012 13:28

Written by Dale

PROJECT BMW 328i. Power: 191bhp (claimed figure), Weight: 1380kg (measured, full tank), BTG: 9m03s

After the bitter-sweet Mazda RX-8 experience, I've finally decided to accept some advice. Literally dozens of people told me to get a BMW last year after I asked for opinions on an MX5 replacement. Well, I'm both pleased and disappointed to announce that I've done it. I've not got a car that's 'different', 'unique' or even vaguely special...

What have you bought?

It's a 1997 BMW 328i SE. A big straight-six motor, a rigid 4-door shell and rear-wheel-drive. It cost around €1000 delivered from the UK, it's a relatively clean bodyshell and a very fresh engine (the first engine died of sulpher poisoning). What's not to like? Well, the suspension for one thing. And the tyres for another. Together they conspire to ruin the steering feel and precision.

Don't get me wrong, the car still has some balance. Understeer on the power, oversteer off it. You can see that in the video below. But the smooth, too-thin steering wheel has all the precision and solidity of a soggy pizza.

But I'm not going to get too upset as the basic car, underneath all the leather and comfort, looks like a good start for a project.

What are the plans?

Step one will be to register it on the German system and fit the distinctive AW-plates. After that it will be fixing existing problems, before finally making the good stuff better. Power is definitely at the bottom of the list. But, what the hell...

Engine:
The standard M52B28 is a strong motor with bags of torque and a relatively sedate top-end. That will be changed with an M50 intake manifold, and a sports exhaust and manifold as/when funds allow. It feels like 200bhp completely stock, and I'm told that with the above mods and a remap or good chip, 230-240bhp is possible. That would be great, but it's not a priority right now. The gearbox feels healthy enough, but the overly-tall open differential needs a shorter ratio and some LSD effect. A 3.23 M3 diff should fix that. Boosting traction and acceleration together in one fell move.

These are the tyres that arrived on the car. Nasty.

Suspension & Handling:
So utterly terrifying is the stock SE suspension, that it was only hours after driving the car that I'd already found something to replace it. The temporary fix will be a full set of H&R Cup struts and springs bought as second-hand, but never driven on. Lower and stiffer than stock, it should help quite a lot. Ultimately I want adjustable coil-overs, but choices are limited as the car needs to remain road-legal. That means TüV-approved systems only. Also purchased as a temporary fix are a set of M3 anti-roll bars. I've got two M3 concentric front bushings for the front lower arms, other bushes will be replaced as/when necessary with Powerflex items.

The tyres I pinched from the bin at Rent4Ring. Thanks to Thorsten for fitting them!

The stock 16" wheels will be handy for winter (I even have snow tyres off my old Passat V6 in this size), but for summer expect to see some second-hand BBS Competition 17x8.5s shod with whichever sporty tyres I can find on the scrapheap. I already have a full set of nearly-dead Toyo R888s on the rack.

Tow-bar; not strictly required on a ring-toy!

Body:
I'm really happy with the four-door shape. I like it, and if some of the VLN teams here are to believed it's stiffer and better suited to the Nordschleife than the more often-seen coupe. The spotless and perfect condition black Nappa leather interior should be worth a few quid on eBay - enough to pay for some seats, rails and belts, I hope. Weighing in at 1380kg (I weighed it at the public weighbridge in Adenau), there's a lot to lose off this beast. Tow bar? Spare alloy wheel? Rear seats? All worth valuable kilos, and therefore valuable seconds off a BTG laptime! Of course a decent rollcage will need to go in (after I've deleted the sunroof). That alone will probably sticking 40 to 50kg back inside.

Brakes:
It will come as no surprise that the standard brakes are not up to the job of stopping a 200bhp, 1380kg car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. For now I will simply upgrade the pads, the hoses and the fluid, while fitting some new discs all-round. If that's not sufficient, future upgrades could include larger M3 brakes or E46 330ci calipers and discs.

How was the first lap?

In a single word, it was SCARY! I know my way around the Nordschleife, and can normally hustle pretty much anything from a Porsche to a panel van. But sometimes my optimistic over-confidence meets a challenge. In the video above it's the knackered and under-sized tyres (Goodyear 205/60-16s were all I could find in the tyre bin to replace the cracked ones, the stock tyres are 225s) that cause the chronic squealing. And the awful suspension ensured that every ripple put the BMW onto its bump-stops. Bigger compressions would introduce random attacks of oversteer too (the foxhole and Kesselchen left spring to mind as two scary moments). Oh, and the brakes were gone after a few minutes.

But the engine? Sounds glorious, is smoother than silk, even under the muffling of the stock exhaust and airbox. And it provides enough shove to see the speedo nudging 140mph in places.

Next update coming soon...

Thanks to: Rich for the car, Schnelleschwaben for the trackday, Rent4Ring for the tyres and help, and my wife for her patience and understanding!

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