Liam's Z4C race car project

Well, changing the expansion tank was more of a faff than I expected!

Realised fairly early that I was going to have to remove the radiator. Didn't expect to need a hammer to release the tank from the rad :headbang:
More of a surprise was how much effort was required to sit the new tank on the rad. New, stiffer plastic needed a hell of a whack to get it home.

Took the opportunity to replace the cylinder head outlet spout with an aluminium item after being told the plastic spout is known to fail. Replaces the part labelled 10 in this diagram https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DU52-EUR-06-2007-E86-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3755

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Bumper came back after repair and respray looking excellent. Black grills fitted, which now really shows off Gazzz's air scoop 8)

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Car is looking great! This has to be one of the best threads on the forum. Looking forward to seeing what you get up to on the car over the winter.
 
Thanks Tony! Took me a couple of weeks to get round to it…

It's been another good year for the E86. Anglesey added another win to the tally and was totally worth the 5 hour journey (each way!)

Drove up on Thursday and booked a test session on the Friday morning. But when I checked the coolant expansion tank on arrival it was empty. I put it down to the system settling after replacing the tank but come Friday morning the radiator would not warm up. Air lock somewhere. Eventually started taking hoses off and found the culprit was my heater circuit bypass. I had fitted a bleed valve on it but had not bothered to use it as the main bleed screw is higher up. So that did the trick and I was out on track after a small delay.

50mph winds and a wet track was a challenging. And then every light on the dash lit up moments before a complete electrical shutdown, which was exciting on the approach to a hairpin. Thankfully it restarted with a bump start and I got it back to the paddock under its own power. Plugged in a scanner and got all sorts of "too high voltage" faults from ignition, ABS, steering. I suspected a tiny amount of water had splashed the battery and/or isolator, both of which are mounted to the floor. That was a mistake then…

Dried out the floor and cleared the codes. There was almost no water, but there was some, and I had nothing else to go on. I reckon that was it because the car was good and gold after that.

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After the dramas of testing, Saturday's qualifying and the race were quite straightforward. Qualified P1 in class B and led every lap.

https://youtu.be/ImYTbo07MsI
[youtube]ImYTbo07MsI[/youtube]

I've a few plans for the car over the winter but nothing too adventurous. I'll also be researching other series/championships.
 
Really enjoyed that onboard footage Liam. :thumbsup:

Your E86 seems to be very competitive in that series, but it will be interesting to see what you decide to enter next year!
 
That looked like so much fun! Loved the first few laps of unintentional battling with the Caterham. Car looks like it’s holding its own very well! 8)
 
Liam22 said:
Got the splitter finished over the last week or so. I always seem to be juggling 3 jobs at once, but it does keep things interesting!

Based largely on my effective RX8 splitter (which went through 3 different iterations), the splitter itself is *hung* from the front crash structure on steel wire. There are two benefits to this:

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1. It deflects upwards in the event of hitting something (like a kerb, or the end of my trailer!)
2. It is easily adjustable, because the angle of the splitter is critical

So £30 later I have a bunch of balustrade fittings, and some go kart brake linkages (small clevis clips).

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I went for 5 mounting points: three across the crash structure, and two from the headlamp brackets. The two from the headlamp brackets are angled laterally so that the splitter doesn't wobble.

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Then it needs paint for the untreated wood, end plates for show, an air dam to keep air from passing under the bumper, and a deflector to keep air from passing under the radiator. I reused the rubber strip on the OEM undertray to seal against the radiator. This still allows for some adjustment/deflection of the splitter. All told, it's about 8kg but it will provide far more in terms of laptime than the loss due to weight gain.

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And finally, because I might have to make another due to damage, I made a template from some 5mm plywood 8)

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Click to expand...

looking back through some of the mega spli!ter pics, how are the anchor points on the splitter connected underneath? the genius go kart brake cable is so good at saving the splitter in kerb dings, just wonder how the amchors are connected through the wood?
 
Wursle said:
how are the anchor points on the splitter connected underneath? the genius go kart brake cable is so good at saving the splitter in kerb dings, just wonder how the amchors are connected through the wood?
Click to expand...
With a simple M6 flange head bolt. M6x20mm is about right for 12mm plywood.

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Liam22 said:
Wursle said:
how are the anchor points on the splitter connected underneath? the genius go kart brake cable is so good at saving the splitter in kerb dings, just wonder how the amchors are connected through the wood?
Click to expand...
With a simple M6 flange head bolt. M6x20mm is about right for 12mm plywood.

20220214_154702.jpg
Click to expand...

Amazing! i was expecting to see a gigantic washer of sorts! whats next on the list for you? carbon doors perhaps? i imagine there is quite a weight saving there to be had!

whats the car now weighing in at?
 
Liam22 said:
Wursle said:
how are the anchor points on the splitter connected underneath? the genius go kart brake cable is so good at saving the splitter in kerb dings, just wonder how the amchors are connected through the wood?
Click to expand...
With a simple M6 flange head bolt. M6x20mm is about right for 12mm plywood.

20220214_154702.jpg
Click to expand...

Also looking at the pictures of the crash bar, how is it mounted at the top of the crash bar? im intrigued to know how you've done it as the go kart cable is such a good idea haha!
 
Drop me an PM and I'll send you my shopping list for the splitter mounts. The cable is balustrade wire and nothing to do with karts. Only the clevis is from a kart.

I haven't managed a lot more weight saving recently. Saved 2kg replacing the battery box with a panel which was a pleasant surprise. But that's about it.

I did try to save a few kg on the splitter by using 3mm aluminium composite for the underside and 12mm plywood for the exposed and load-bearing part. But it didn't work, and I came out weight neutral.

All in all, I'm at about 1215kg with the fuel light on.

I'm overdue writing a few updates, especially as I now have a bespoke exhaust system. Watch this space once I've been back on the rolling road.
 
[ref]Liam22[/ref], are you sticking to the same series this year?
As always, I'll be keen to know when you're at Snetterton (racing or testing) :thumbsup:
 
I plan to be concentrating on BRSCC Clubsport Trophy this year, especially as they have an excellent calendar. First round happens to be Snetterton (16 Apr) :)

https://brscc.co.uk/formulae/brscc-clubsport-trophy/
 
Liam22 said:
I plan to be concentrating on BRSCC Clubsport Trophy this year, especially as they have an excellent calendar. First round happens to be Snetterton (16 Apr) :)

https://brscc.co.uk/formulae/brscc-clubsport-trophy/
Click to expand...
Excellent!
I'll see what I can do.
 
Liam22 said:
I plan to be concentrating on BRSCC Clubsport Trophy this year, especially as they have an excellent calendar. First round happens to be Snetterton (16 Apr) :)

https://brscc.co.uk/formulae/brscc-clubsport-trophy/
Click to expand...

Calendar looks awesome!! Silverstone GP, full Brands Hatch, Donington GP and Silverstone again!! You're gonna have a great time!

Any more plans with the car before the season starts?
 
Liam22 said:
I plan to be concentrating on BRSCC Clubsport Trophy this year, especially as they have an excellent calendar. First round happens to be Snetterton (16 Apr) :)

https://brscc.co.uk/formulae/brscc-clubsport-trophy/
Click to expand...
Well as you've made the trek to Trac Mon, I hope you'll be making the somewhat shorter trip to Oulton in June and I'll be along to watch. So annoying that many championships are southern-centric and find it hard to get further north than Donington...
 
I just came across this thread a couple of days ago and just finished going through it all.

I have to say I am quite impressed at how straightforward your build is Liam, there is no waste of money on fancy parts, just straight to the point and it seems to work great for the class you are running :thumbsup:
Onboard videos are nice, despite the fact it is "amateur racing" and has lots of different cars it seems like there are battles on track and you and others are not afraid to get agressive. I wish I could get into that :driving:
 
[ref]Sidewaze Samm[/ref], I love Oulton, and haven't run the Z4 there yet. Can't wait for that one.

Thanks [ref]axelleveau[/ref].
 
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