This BMW Motorsport factory team-built E36 chassis surfaced (again) this week for under 9,000 Euros, which, given its history and condition, seems like a bargain. Sideways Stories published a great piece on Bengt Ekström (the namesake on the window) and his motorsports career, which shines some light on...
My year off has changed how I think about racing, practice, priorities, and what I want to do next.
Part 3 of Project TC36 finishes up the interior overhaul. We relocate the PDM, tidy up all the wiring, and wash everything thoroughly.
We put the Öhlins kit under the microscope to see what the clicks are really doing, and why not all of them are worth using.
Part 2 of Project TC36 is underway: the interior is getting a much-needed deep clean and overhaul. We're adding a radio, Cool Shirt system, and more. Years of dust and dirt need to be exorcised in the process. I learned a lot about camera settings and audio...
Gridlife Grand Touring (GLGT) competitor Chris DeLucia had quite a scare at Midwest Fest last weekend. In GLGT Race 3 on Saturday, his car burst into enormous flames while exiting Turn 10b at Gingerman Raceway. Chris unsurprisingly wasted no time getting out of the car. As you can see, he...
The last couple of years have been a wild ride. When the opportunity to compete in Gridlife full-time presented itself, I could not say no: I knew that I would regret it if I did. Racing in GLTC with my closest friends has been nothing short of core memories....
Ahh, the venerated GoPro. The most recognizable action camera is currently in its 13th generation, featuring notable improvements over past generations. But this is not a tech or film blog. We're here for the racing. Most of you have probably owned and used a GoPro for motorsports at...
My very long-time friend, Mike Burroughs of StanceWorks fame, recently posted a video declaring that he hates the nearly-perfect S54 E36 he has owned for 17+ years. This is an E36 that, by all measures, is one of the nicest out there – and it has been for the better part of two decades.
We are in an era where almost all professional race cars are official "factory" cars produced by the marque, as opposed to customer-built creations that started life as showroom production cars. It wasn't that long ago that teams had to build, develop, and campaign their...
I love nerding out about roll cage design. Door bars in particular. There is something almost voyeuristic about seeing part of a roll cage through an open door. While a roll cage alludes to protection in a rollover, in wheel to wheel competition you are more likely to get hit...
Say the letters "PTG," and any E36 fan will immediately have a mental image. Prototype Technology Group campaigned their BMW-contracted E36 M3 program to great success in the mid-late 1990s. The GT3 class cars featured distinct bodywork, impressive development, and legendary drivers (Bill Auberlen and Boris...
What is an OEM-style shifter? On most manual transmission BMWs, the shifter linkage consists of a sub-assembly that includes it's own "carrier", selector rod, and shift lever. In addition, there are some bushings and shims involved to keep things tight. The pivot "cup&...
As detailed in my recent post about Tire Parity in NASA Racing, there are new rules for NASA's power to weight racing classes (ST and TT) intended to create better parity between the bevy of tire choices. Thankfully these new rules are not based on manufacturer's...
Over the years, my track experience has mostly been relegated to the E30 chassis; up until recently, the only other platforms I had driven hard were an E36 on track and a GR WRX at autocross. While the E36 featured some very notable improvements in suspension design and chassis dynamics...
