Question for Those that Go to Road Tracks

[Scourge82]

I tried searching but I came up empty handed. Since I got my 335i, I've really wanted to take the car to a road track and hopefully the Nurburgring next year. With the heat issue in our cars, I know a FMIC and an oil cooler are a must. I've been looking at the CP-e FMIC with oil cooler, should I go for that or get seperate FMIC and OC?

[oddjob2021]

i used to road race pretty often, working on more power now so i can give myself even more thrills when tracking. but you're right, an i/c and o/c are a must. what makes customizing cars cool man is that you dont have to follow the grain, you can forge your own path or choose products that may not be what everyone on the block with an n54 has. i liked the design of the cp-e i/c with top mount o/c since it first came out, only issue i see is there isnt much airflow on the top of the i/c, the bumper blocks it. the only vents are at the bottom, used for the fmic and on the passenger side your stock oil cooler by your wheel well. the engineering behind the placement of the cooler is fine, but the cooler itself is puny compared to the engine. if you have any more questions feel free, but remember this before asking: what makes your car special is you, you customize it the way you see fit, doing your own research and buying the proper product is a great feeling, and remember you dont need to do what everyone else plans on or has, just look at member bigup, and his custom o/c

[Scourge82]

Oh yeah, I agree. I'm not going to buy something just because someone told me to. I like to look and research. If I listened to my friends, I'd be in a Mustang right now. I just want to get some ideas and knowledge from people that actually track their car. Most people just take their car to the 1/4 mile track, but what works perfect there might not work well on a road course and I want to try and avoid that. Thanks for the advice man.

[bobS]

I can't be 100% sure but I think you need a oem oil cooler to get the CPE IC/oil cooler combo. I'm sure you do since you have a 2010.

My car didn't come with a oem oil cooler and I just got the AR stg 1 oil cooler installed. So far, so good, i'm very happy with it. I don't track the car so I'm not sure how much it would help under track conditions, its not the largest oil cooler but its a great set up. I also have the Helix Ic and i'm very happy with it.

Good luck!

[Itsbrokeagain]

AR designs oil cooler is one of the best out there...it uses the stock thermostat, and keeps temps right around 230, sometimes even cooler under abuse.

I have made several back to back passes from standstill all the way up to 130-150 in the heat of summer, and the needle never budged past 250..and with 30-45 seconds of cool down it was right back to 230.

Coolers that utilize a lower temp thermostat (i.e. 180 degrees) are good, but keeping the oil at a lower temperature can actually cause some issues because its not burning off the moisture (needed to be above waters 212 degree boiling point), and water in the oil can spell bad things for bearing surfaces.

[SSDD]

Just as an aside, I ran the ring with a totally stock car a few times and had no overheating problems. The track is huge and relatively high speed so you get a lot of air moving over everything. That with the combination of having no insurance coverage on there and not being a super track rat, I had 0 issues.

[Sticky]

Just as an aside, I ran the ring with a totally stock car a few times and had no overheating problems. The track is huge and relatively high speed so you get a lot of air moving over everything. That with the combination of having no insurance coverage on there and not being a super track rat, I had 0 issues.

When did you run the ring with a 335? That is awesome.

[654]

AR designs oil cooler is one of the best out there...it uses the stock thermostat, and keeps temps right around 230, sometimes even cooler under abuse.

I have made several back to back passes from standstill all the way up to 130-150 in the heat of summer, and the needle never budged past 250..and with 30-45 seconds of cool down it was right back to 230.

Coolers that utilize a lower temp thermostat (i.e. 180 degrees) are good, but keeping the oil at a lower temperature can actually cause some issues because its not burning off the moisture (needed to be above waters 212 degree boiling point), and water in the oil can spell bad things for bearing surfaces.

You are talking about oil temps, but should consider coolant temps. It is a bad idea to heat up the coolant temps by putting an oil cooler in front of the radiator.
HP AUtowerks is tracking with the stock oil cooler and upgraded radiator which keeps the coolant temps in check and the car does not limp at all.

[654]

I tried searching but I came up empty handed. Since I got my 335i, I've really wanted to take the car to a road track and hopefully the Nurburgring next year. With the heat issue in our cars, I know a FMIC and an oil cooler are a must. I've been looking at the CP-e FMIC with oil cooler, should I go for that or get seperate FMIC and OC?

FMIC, Oil cooler and Radiator serve very different purposes. Which heat issue are you talking about? IATs, Coolant temps or oil temps?
I believe the coolant temps or possibly oil temps?
It is very difficult to get a MT 335i to limp in the Ring in one lap even if you are a real pro driver. AT, hot weather and more than one lap and you may be able to make it

[R1000K3]

Just as an aside, I ran the ring with a totally stock car a few times and had no overheating problems. The track is huge and relatively high speed so you get a lot of air moving over everything. That with the combination of having no insurance coverage on there and not being a super track rat, I had 0 issues.

Nice to be able to use zee Ring from time to time

Running a totally stock car helps a lot to avoid over-heating issues and the 335 can be driven fast also in this shape in the right hands and by a driver that knows the Ring-layout well.

The situation is quite different with a car that produces about 400 whp. It seems the stock oil cooler is quite good though. I've been running the Ring when the temperature was 30+ Deg C and the oil temperature was not more than 125 Deg C maximum. Or most of the time it was reading 125 Deg C to be correct...

A useful tool to monitor the coolant temp that I use is the Torque android app. http://www.appbrain.com/app/torque/org.prowl.torque It is possible to set audible alarm when the coolant exceeds a certain temperature etc.

To get a good response from the app it is needed to present as few parameters as possible, the update rate will be too slow if many parameters are selected on the same display at the same time.

http://torque-bhp.com/

[Scourge82]

My car is AT and has the stock oil cooler. It will be stock for the mean time. I want to prevent heat soak and the car going in limp mode on the track. I was looking at radiators first. The only thing I could find was AR offered them, but I read they had some fitment and leaking issues. I might just bite the bullet and get the BMW perfomance kit first.

R1000K3,
That's a cool program, my buddy uses it for his mustang. I use Rev for the Iphone, it's pretty much the samething.

[SSDD]

When did you run the ring with a 335? That is awesome.

It was 08-09 while I was living/stationed in Germany. I posted a pick of my ring card up here somewhere. It was hands down the most exciting thing I've done in a car

[Sticky]

It was 08-09 while I was living/stationed in Germany. I posted a pick of my ring card up here somewhere. It was hands down the most exciting thing I've done in a car

I'm jealous, and thanks for serving.

[enrita]

[Sticky]

Well, the ring is quite the track to go to. Nice pics

[SSDD]

Thanks Sticky, glad to do it.

Great shots Enrita! I couldn't find anyone to take any for me while I was there so all mine are in the parking area lol

[enrita]

Thanks Sticky, glad to do it.

Great shots Enrita! I couldn't find anyone to take any for me while I was there so all mine are in the parking area lol

did you check the private photographers sites that post them on the web? some you have to buy and some other not:
http://www.nordschleifepics.com/inde...date=2011-4-21

[enrita]

did you check the private photographers sites that post them on the web? some you have to buy and some other not:
http://www.nordschleifepics.com/inde...date=2011-4-21

i found mine there. i have bought 1 picture and the other one was for free.

[Scourge82]

Cool Pics Enrita.

I'm waiting till next year when the BMW UK club goes there, so we can go as a group and be a bit cheaper.

[SSDD]

Thanks for the link. I did look around a little on a couple sites, but couldn't find myself. I'll have to look at the date stamp on my pictures and see if I can find anything

[enrita]

i was in your situation as well. than when i found those pictures i got so happy and those were so nice !!!

[SSDD]

Haha I actually found one from one of my trips! It's great because everytime I tell the story I talk about the bikers with the mohawks lining up with me at the entrance and me saying 'oh great, insane bikers'. Turns out they were just normal drivers and I ended up passing a bunch of them during the lap.



Here's a pic I had that my passenger took on the way to start that lap lol. Notice the bikers


We need to start a pics from 'ring trips thread

[enrita]

nice pics. at the straight before the entrance no biker could pass me even with 1000cc hahahaha , i got up to 260 kmh . they were quite impressed.

[SSDD]

Haha I loved that straight. Just letting the car stretch is legs