Hey guys ChrisFix here and today I'm going to show you how we got our Lemons BMW,
ready for this year's endurance race
that way the engine won't blow up 15 laps into the race,
and we don't end up on a flatbed like this...
So clearly last year's race didn't go very well,
but we learned a lot so this year we're going to be prepared, and let me show you what we've done.
All right, so first we started off installing our 140 000 mile junkyard
engine from a BMW X5 to replace the original 240 000 mile engine that came with the car.
And now with the new junkyard engine installed in the car listen to this...
(engine starts)
So she starts up on the first try nice and quick she idles
nice and smooth and she drives great so we are ready to race!
Now we did learn a bunch from our first endurance race and the first
thing we learned is we need seat time in this car before our next endurance race.
Everybody needs to go and do a bunch of laps and be on it that way we know the engine's gonna last
and that way if anything fails it'll fail before the race not during the race.
We also learned that this car is way too quiet with the stock exhaust so listen to this...
(loud engine revs)
So that sounds really good and how we did this was we got stainless steel
full length headers and you're probably like Chris but there's a $500 budget,
well guess what these cost $100!
I found them on eBay, full length stainless steel headers.
They're actually really nice.
So we have headers, we have the rest of the stock exhaust,
and then if you remember we cut off the muffler at the racetrack,
which not only saved us 20-30 pounds, but it also makes this car sound awesome!
Besides sound, I wanted it to look good,
so I asked you guys to vote on your favorite exhaust tip style in a poll...
That way you could be a part of the build.
So after we got the poll results in,
I got to work running the pipes to fill the area where the muffler used to be,
and I welded them up to create one solid leak-free exhaust.
I also welded an exhaust hanger and don't worry I ended up cutting off that bottom extra bit,
but I was just too excited and I wanted to show you guys how awesome this came out!
So as you can see the winner by a long shot was letter D,
and you guys picked out an awesome style exhaust tip, it looks so good!
All right so next up we went to Raceway Park to do a test day where we beat on
this car over and over and over to try to break it for 4 hours straight.
This is when I learned the exhaust actually doesn't sound that great
it's just loud but that's what we need we need it to be loud so we could hear it..
(obnoxiously loud car exhaust sounds)
(fly by exhaust sounds)
Ari: The
car feels great, it really does... ChrisFix: Excited for the race?
Ari: Oh yeah it's gonna be a lot of fun!
So each of us got in the car to get some experience,
learn the car, and do what we could to break it...
(tires screeching)
And then finally we had our first problem,
something nobody wants to hear... what's that ticking sound?
(engine ticking)
Luckily the diagnosis was collapsed lifters from the oil thinning out
which we'll fix by using a thicker grade oil...
Right now the oil is 5w40 which is really just made for street use.
Aaron: I was pushing the car super hard just like, at redline every shift,
this car is great, it's totally fine ChrisFix: (excited "whooo" noise)
Okay, so after our track day we realized how difficult it was to get in and out of
the car because there's limited space between the stock steering wheel and the roll cage.
So I made a video on how to install a quick release steering wheel,
and here's a quick overview.
First you need to pop out the airbag and remove the electrical connectors
from the airbag, so that you can get it all the way out.
Next you need to break the bolt loose which holds the steering wheel in,
and then unscrew it all the way.
Then with the tug, the wheel comes right off...
With the wheel off, the hub adapter could be installed
and it's important you add medium strength thread locker to the bolt
so the bolt doesn't back out with vibrations and then your steering wheel comes off.
Then you want to torque down that bolt to spec.
(torque wrench click)
Then we could add the quick release adapter to the hub
and tighten it down in a crisscross pattern to evenly seat that onto the hub.
Next the quick release could be attached and that just snaps in... like that.
And finally the steering wheel could be bolted on, again tightening the bolts in a crisscross pattern
to seat the wheel evenly to the hub.
And check it out now we could quickly remove the steering wheel
to get out of the car a lot safer and easier just in case there's a fire or something when we race.
Next I made a full in-depth video to show you guys how to install a
battery cutoff switch and here's a quick overview.
First I showed you what wires that we need to cut and how to properly crimp together
those thick gauge wires so that they make a good electrical connection just like from the factory.
Then I showed you how to run them to a switch on the driver's side that's easily accessible
from the driver strapped into the seat and from a track worker who's outside of the car.
Then I showed you how to properly wire in that switch and secure those wires so
that you don't have any problems with reliability.
And after that we needed to mount everything onto a bracket
so I showed you guys the process of making a bracket from a template,
and finally I showed you mounting the cutoff switch and the fire
suppression switches and here's the end result...
Okay clutch in let's try starting her up..
(engine starting noises)
Okay she's alive, that's a good thing.
All right so I let the engine idle for a few minutes and she's running
perfectly also when you rev it up she has plenty of power.
(loud revving noises)
Now at the race in order to pass tech-inspection and get
on the track we need to be able to rev our engine over 3000 RPMs and hold it there,
and then the tech inspector is going to flick the
switch off and make sure the engine dies quickly so let's give it a try.
Let's get our RPMs above 3000 RPMs and hold it steady..
(engine shutting off noises)
All right now that's what I'm talking about!
We had the engine above 3000 RPMs,
we flipped the switch, and it killed everything instantly, and we have no power at all,
so now we know we properly installed our kill switch!
So after installing the kill switch we needed to address a very weak livery from last year.
Yes, we did get the sponsors on the car for the race but let's be real
this wasn't up to par with ChrisFix quality.
You guys know how I like to go above and beyond,
even on a budget Lemons car, so this livery had to be addressed..
So out with the old...
And in with the new! Just check out this livery!
That is more like it!
So now we had a professionally designed livery that went with the theme of our team:
The Soapy Wooder Racers
And just look at this car! Not only does the Soapy Wooder theme look great
but we have all the team sponsors including the main sponsors, eBay Motors and Peak Performance,
properly displayed on the car in a way that looks amazing.
And my favorite part is the roof with the Soapy Wooder decal for my spray bottles.
So with the amazing livery done, we only had a few days until the race and
there are some really important things we wanted to get done.
Last year we figured out the engine blew up due to a spun bearing from a lack of oil pressure,
So this year we installed gauges to give us oil pressure, oil temperature, and coolant pressure.
To get the oil temperature and oil pressure we tapped into the stock oil pressure sensor location
which is right behind the filter housing.
So all we had to do is remove the OEM sensor.
And to fit all the new sensors on it,
we have this oil sensor manifold which accepts up to three sensors total.
So all we had to do is tighten down the banjo bolt into the stock sensor location,
and then we could add our new pressure sensor and hand tighten it,
and then we could add the smaller temperature sensor and hand tighten it,
and then we could tighten down that manifold into
place so that those copper crush washers crush and prevent leaks.
And finally we could add the OEM sensor back
in and then snug up all the sensors with the wrench so they won't leak.
And finally all you have to do is connect those wiring
harnesses from the gauges right to the sensors,
and with the engine running we have oil temperature on the left at 191°F
and the pressure is in the middle at 53 PSI and we're at about 3000 RPMs.
And unfortunately our coolant pressure gauge won't be connected for this race
because we couldn't get the correct adapters in
time so that we could install that sensor into the radiator,
but the oil pressure and temperature are the most important ones
and we got that working perfectly.
Next up, I wanted to add wheel studs to the hubs because BMW's hub design
is not good for changing wheels quickly or easily.
Let me show you what I mean.
So let's remove all the lug bolts and yes I said lug bolts not lug nuts,
And now the wheel will come off
but watch how difficult it is to put back on because there's no studs.
You have to try to lift up the wheel and line up the
holes and then get it into the center of the hub.
You can't rotate the wheel otherwise you might turn the hub,
and it's just not quick and it's not easy to do.
So instead of using lug bolts like this,
we're going to install studs into these holes just like on a normal hub
and then the wheel could go on that and then you could put lug nuts on and then tighten it down.
Now I would consider these wheel studs a performance product and not a safety product
because they're designed to help us get the wheels on and
off quicker which will hopefully mean that we'll be able to get more laps in.
So because of that, this does count towards our $500 budget.
If it's a safety item like a roll cage or brakes
or something that has to do with keeping the driver safe,
that doesn't count towards that $500 budget but performance items do
and every $10 over that $500 budget is one penalty lap.
So it was important that we found a good price on these wheel studs
and to do that I went on eBay Motors and I found wheel studs that fit the
BMW and they're grade 10.9 so we know they're strong
and they're only $50 so we stay under budget.
And one last good thing I want to mention a lot of people don't even
know is if you get your parts and they're not as described
eBay Motors has a money back guarantee so you don't have
to worry about getting stuck with bad parts
So remember that just just in case and with that
said that's exactly why eBay Motors is our team's sponsor.
It's a perfect fit, especially for this Lemon build where we're trying to save
as much money as possible and not go over budget.
So let me show you how to safely install these studs into the hub.
Now when we're installing these studs, right here is what screws
into the hub and it's very important to use high strength thread locker.
This is the red stuff, this is the stuff that you
need to remove with heat that way these don't back out by accident.
So first let's lay a bead of thread Locker along the threads and you don't need to use a lot here.
Now we could just hand tighten the stud into the hub and then we're good to go.
So with the thread Locker on all the studs,
just hand tighten each one into the hub all the way,
and then we can torque each one of these down to spec which for these is 25lb-ft.
Next we can get the wheel on.
And look at how much quicker and easier it is to
get this wheel on because now we have studs that we could line up.
And then finally we could torque down the lug nuts to spec.
Make sure you do a crisscross pattern,
and then we want our thread locker to cure before we go for a test drive.
Next up I had a safety concern that I wanted to address which was this plastic piece that
barely covered the huge hole in the firewall. So I removed this less than adequate plastic
piece which wouldn't protect us in the case of an engine fire
and you can see how large that gap is in the firewall
so I used this plastic piece as a template to cut out a piece of steel,
that way we could close off the firewall.
But first we removed the air conditioning for weight reduction and this left a hole
in the firewall right here which I welded up so that it's closed off.
And with that hole welded shut and painted to prevent rust
then we installed that steel firewall block off plate I cut out
and you can see this does a much better job at closing up that huge hole in our firewall.
Another thing we have to do is down here at the driver's side floor.
You can see right here we have this big drop
because there used to be a piece of foam here and then carpeting on top
and the clutch is right here so where you would put your foot.
Even where the brake is you only have this
little section here until your foot drops off into this abyss
so we need to fix that.
So to solve this problem I found a heel plate on
eBay Motors for a $100 and I made them a $75 offer and he accepted.
So again staying under budget.
Now while this is made for an E46 BMW,
if you look at the bottom right of the plate, it definitely doesn't fit.
That's because our transmission tunnel on the all-wheel drive
E46 is different than a rear wheel drive E46.
There's a little hump to make room for a transfer case, but this is a simple fix.
I just cut that area out so that it'll fit.
Then with the heel plate removed, I drilled two holes in the floorboard
vacuumed up all the debris from drilling
covered the holes in some paint to prevent it from rusting
hammered in a riv-nut into each one of those holes
and then used a riv-nut tool to install the riv-nuts into the floor of the car.
And riv-nuts are a great way to install threaded inserts without having to weld.
Finally the heel plate went back in and I tightened down each of
the bolts that hold this in place so it's secured.
And the last thing to do is install the throttle pedal, and I want you guys to remember this...
I made sure that it snapped in place and isn't going anywhere...
Remember that! You'll see why in the next video...
So with the heel plate installed, this is important because now we
have somewhere to put our feet so we could comfortably control the pedals.
Now I know you guys enjoyed the weight reduction aspect of this series
so let me show you some more stuff we removed because it's
kind of like getting free horsepower in a sense.
So we took out all the glass from the windows on the doors and that's about 40lbs.
We took out all the motors and window regulators that's another 15lbs.
We got rid of all the AC system components because
we're not going to need this so that's another 40lbs, this thing weighs a ton.
We got rid of some more sound deadening so there's only a little bit left,
and this is about 20lbs of sound deadening.
And you already saw we put the stainless
steel headers in which weigh 10lbs but these weighed 30lbs
plus we removed our 30lb muffler so we saved 50lbs.
And then finally we went from the stock wheels which weigh 23lbs
each to the Konig countergram wheels which weigh 18lbs each
so that's saving of 5lbs each wheel, giving us 20lbs
so in total we saved 185lbs which is almost
exactly what our roll cage and fire suppression system weigh.
So we broke even and we didn't gain any weight which is awesome.
Now since we installed headers which is a performance upgrade
that counts against our $500 budget,
it was only $100 bucks but still every little bit counts, we don't want any penalty laps,
but that does mean we are allowed to sell our
exhaust manifolds so I put them up on eBay for $500
which probably wasn't enough because these sold in a day
so now we have an extra $500 to play with
which will hopefully prevent us from getting any penalty laps.
And now I'm gonna go ship these out to the new owner...
Alright so the next thing we need to do before we get to the racetrack
is something that one of you guys actually brought up in the comments.
Actually there are a couple of you who said "hey running with your windows open
is going to slow you down a lot, it's going to create a lot of drag
air is going to come in here and get trapped" and you're actually 100% right check this out...
A YouTube channel called AirShaper reached out to me and ran two aero-models for the
Lemons BMW this model you're looking at right here has both side windows open.
And that red you see is the drag coming from the different parts of the car
and you can see how much drag the side windows create.
Next he ran a model with just the front window open and the
rear window closed and you can see with this model there is a lot less drag.
When we compare the two, when both windows are open
the airflow towards the rear of the car is disrupted.
That's going to reduce the effect of the spoiler and it's also going to create drag.
So in summary, if the rear window is closed there's less lift and
overall our downforce is increased which is good.
Also the car is more efficient with a smaller drag coefficient and although
they're not huge changes every little bit counts in a 16 hour endurance race.
And I want to thank AirShaper for running these models this was very helpful I'll
leave a link to his channel in the description if you guys like aero I think you'll like it.
So as you saw we're having not only a bunch of drag right here
but we're getting lift on our rear end which is not good.
So what can we do about it?
We can't run glass, you're not allowed to run glass on the side windows because
it is tempered glass and if it shatters it breaks into little pieces it's dangerous for the driver
it's dangerous for the track.
You have to run your front laminated windshield,
but you can't run side glass,
you can't run anything here on the driver's side because if there's a fire
or the driver's trapped in here for some reason they need to get out
there can't be anything blocking this so this has to stay open no matter what
but the rear windows, since we have a sedan, these could be closed off.
So what we could do is install a clear piece of Lexan.
This is polycarbonate, it's a piece of plastic that doesn't shard, it doesn't
break into small pieces in an accident, it stays together and is allowed to be run on this car.
And it's not clear right now because there's a protective coating on it
but once we get this installed we could take that coating off
and it'll be crystal clear just like glass.
So we could install this to give us some better aerodynamics
So to keep within budget again I found these on eBay Motors for $125
and I offered the guy $100 and he took it and that keeps us under the $500 budget.
So to install these just get it into the window channel where the glass window would normally sit.
Then you want to tuck it up under the weather stripping to make a seal
and then now we can tighten down the two screws on the support pillar here
and then the two screws on the bottom window channel and that's bolted in.
And finally my favorite part the reward of pulling off that protective shipping coating
and check it out so now we have our side Lexan for both rain protection and also so we have
better aero giving us a little bit more down force and just more efficiency in general.
Now the last thing we need to do is probably one of the most important
things and that is drain out all the 5w40 oil which is the stock spec for this car.
Good for the street, not so much for the track.
And as that's draining let me show you why this is so important
So our engine failure last year was from our engine oil getting hot, thinning out,
and add that to our very worn out 240,000 mile engine we probably had low oil pressure
and that caused the bearing to grab and spin
and that happens so quickly that our number
two piston just shot out of the engine and that ended our race.
So to make sure this doesn't happen again with our junkyard engine we drained out all the oil
and we also removed the old oil filter
and installed a brand new oil filter
and added a fully synthetic 10w60 oil that's pretty thick.
That way if the oil does thin out after 16 hours of beating on this thing
we'll still have enough protection to prevent catastrophic failure.
And with our oil change this is perfect timing the delivery truck just pulled up
and wait till you see this...
And look what arrived just in time.
Fra-geel-lay...
Must be Italian.
Okay this is definitely, our BMW motor from Elite Motorworks.
I cannot wait to see what's inside this so let's unscrew the box and let's get in and check it out.
Okay let's see what we get we have a brand new engine it's like Christmas
although I've never gotten an engine for Christmas...
Here goes the reveal...
holy smokes check that out that is so cool!
So this is our backup engine that Jamie from Elite
Motorworks built for us just in case we need to swap it in.
It was torn down to the bare block and put back together with all factory upgraded parts.
Not to make more power but instead to be the most reliable BMW engine out there.
I'd love to swap this thing into the car now but unfortunately that would
put us way over that $500 limit and it doesn't fit the whole purpose of Lemons.
So instead it's our backup engine just in case.
So with that our car is ready we took all the mistakes and shortcomings from last year learn
from them and fix them to give us the most bulletproof $500 Lemons BMW we could build.
So everything's all packed up and we're ready to head to the track and in the next
video we're gonna find out if we can make it through the entire 16 hour endurance race.
Hopefully you enjoyed the video if you did remember to give it a "thumbs up"
and if you're not subscribed consider hitting that subscribe button,
that way you can see if we make the ultimate comeback or if we end up failing again!