The first chance to get my BMW E36 on track in 2018 has arrived! It's time to see how all the weight reductions, steering component changes and general winter repairs/upgrades will affect my runs. As usual, the first practice of the season will be held in the rain. That's just what Seattle in February provides... …
I determined towards the end of 2017 that I wanted to turn my BMW E36 into as close as a street legal race car as possible in order to turn up the fun factor even more! To me, no race car should have an interior or any sound deadening. That means it shouldn't have five …
Continue reading Turning my BMW E36 into more of a dedicated race car!
With Winter now here, it's time yet again to move the BMW E36 race car into the garage, put it up on jack stands, and attack a few areas that need attention. Areas of focus are converting to a manual steering rack, upgrading the bottom of the engine, control arm replacement and changing gaskets.
Lately, during my autocross runs, I've found myself sliding around in my seat during the hard cornering. I've had to brace my legs against the door and transmission tunnel. I've also been using my arms to keep in position when all they should be doing is steering (and a single shift). A snug fitting fixed …
You've heard me complain numerous times in my posts and videos about the terrible tires that I've been racing on this season. Thanks to a generous gift (let's call it a sponsorship), I was able to finally get the tires for my BMW E36 that it deserves! I ordered a new set of Bridgestone Potenza …
Continue reading New Racing Tires! Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R’s for the BMW E36.
Imagine a place where you can see multi-million dollar race cars, from 1911 to brand new, racing head-to-head on Laguna Seca raceway and then being able to view the cars up close in the paddocks after the racing action with no ropes to keep you at a distance. That place exists and is known as …
You may be a little thrown off with this being a post about Event 7 and the previous post was about Event 2. Let's just say it's been a busy summer and my family takes priority over racing! The good news though is that it's been dry and warm in Seattle for well over a …
I realize that I live in the Seattle area, but did we really need to have the rainiest winter on record? Isn't it over yet? As you can imagine, Event 2 took place in the rain. With my tires that are terrible in the wet, I had another challenging drive just to keep facing in the …
Novice School day had arrived and now it was time to learn what I'd been doing wrong and what I needed to do to get better. This event had professional instructors, who were also regional autocross champions, ride shotgun with novices such as myself. I was able to use their expertise to understand some solid fundamentals …
We've gotten most of the reliability issues taken care of so now it's time to start the performance modifications. As I said in the previous post, the focus of the performance upgrades for the BMW E36 will be in the handling category. Basically, the car needs to change from comfortable to more like a go-kart. It's …
Continue reading Let’s make this BMW E36 handle better with Ground Control suspension!
Brent Ford Racing 