December 2021

Progress

A belated happy christmas. Hope you got everything you wanted :D

I've put the dampers, and rocker assemblies back on the gearbox. I'm still waiting for the locking washers to arrive, so the suspension arms will have to wait a few more days.



I've pulled the trigger on getting the rear wing brackets manufactured. I'm expecting them back by the end of the January 2022. And I had to collect the van from storage a couple of days ago, to recharge the main and leisure batteries. After two days on the driveway with the charger connected, the van is now safely back, and ready for the next outing, which will be the dyno trip down to SRD Tuning in the new year. My Pycom battery monitor device had reported the batteries were both well below 12V, so I knew I had to take some action.



Both batteries now show a good healthy charge, so the van could be returned to storage again.

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Putting the car back together

I've refitted the gearbox, plumbed the dry sump tank back in and refilled the tank with engine oil. I have run out of Schnorr locking washers so I've ordered various sizes, M6-M12, and when they arrive after Christmas I'll make sure all the fasteners have them fitted. The Kruger Engineering upper rear mygale suspension mounts are now on the gearbox, and they look great with the fresh black anodised finish.

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The gearbox is back

Now I just need to refit it, fill it with oil, put the suspension back on etc etc. Thanks to Mark Bailey Racing for the excellent service. It was a good trip down from Leicester, again, another chance to stretch the legs on my 335D, which is just getting better and better to drive. Its just had its major service, so was purring with the new oil and filters. What was annoying about the service was they dont top up the Ad Blue. When I collected the car it randomly warned that the Ad Blue reserve had been reached, and when I contacted BMW they said that it wasnt an item they'd include in the service. Also they dont know how much is left in the tank, so wouldnt be able to top it up! Yet they top up and charge for screen wash, and that doesnt give you any indication how full or empty it is. Another missed opportunity to get 100% customer satisfaction BMW. I ended up buying a 10l tank of the stuff, and emtpied the whole lot in to the tank on the local garage forecourt, so its now carrying 10kg of ballast again.

The Autosport show in January 2022 has been postponed. Covid is on the rise, and they couldnt take the risk of the government locking everyone down in January. It is just 98 days until Cadwell, and I hope that doesnt get cancelled too, as I really want to drive the circuit again.

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Saving more weight

I've drawn a replacement rear wing support, a pair are needed to fit the FTR-202 bearing cover. The original supports, made from 6mm 6082T6 aluminium, weigh almost 1000g each, and using Fusion I've brought that weight down to <600g each by adding a recessed area to each side where the section is reduced from 6mm to 2mm thick. I'll send these off to get them CNC machined and should have them back in January 2022.

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101 days and counting

Its only 101 days until the first round of the 2022 championship, which will be held at Cadwell Park at the end of March. The last time I drove there, was 15 years ago, in the Fiesta. And I believe everyone else is in the same boat. In fact I think I was at the same BSC meeting which was also their last visit to the circuit, in 2006.

The gearbox is ready for collection. Once its back I'll put the rear of the car back together, and refit the rear suspension. I need to clean and repair the diffuser, a previously repaired section has come away from the carbon, but its another easy repair.

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Printed brackets

The pair of reservoir brackets arrived, and they fit the bodies perfectly. I'll attach them to the gearbox when its all back together again.

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Gearbox service

I dropped the gearbox off with Mark Bailey Racing today; he took the side cover off and removed the diff and the initial CWP inspection looks to have passed. There is some wear, but not enough to worry about. Mark's changing a few parts over, and reshimming the diff, and it should be ready for collection next weekend. It was the first time out in my F31 335D for quite a while. I was at my customer's site in Andover in the morning, and then I drove over to Marks' workshop after lunch, which was slow through Devices. And then the journey back to Leicester was pretty awful, but I so seldomly drive the beemer, that its easy to forget how pleasant it is to drive. In the wet, without the weight of the gearbox in the boot, it was just brilliant on the new tyres. I fitted a set of Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3's to replace the awful BMW standard run flats, which were all very badly worn on their shoulders, and it wouldnt have passed the first MOT on them anyway. With mine and the car's battery's recharged, I look forward to the trip down south to collect the refreshed box again next week.

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Ansys stress analysis

For the gearbox mounted damper brackets, I've run a basic stress analysis in Ansys Workbench, and with 5000N applied the design looks to be OK. I may even consider getting these printed, using Onyx again. Once I've done some more stress analysis I'll make a decision.

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3D Printing

I've sent the damper reservoir brackets drawing off for 3D printing. I've found a firm that can print in Onyx, carbon infused nylon, which I expect will be strong enough to support the weight of the reservoirs. Delivery is 3-5 days so I'm hoping to get them back soon.

We've lost Snetterton from the 2022 calendar. Not heard the reason why. I can only assume its cost related. We're told we may be going to Cadwell instead, which I've driven on several times, so if we do go, at least I do have experience of that circuit. Not that that really matters, I broke the class record on my first visit to Kirkistown on my 4th ever run of the circuit, running a win off, and I hadnt been to Curborough for 5 years, but smashed the class record in October and got an FTD.

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Replacement rear suspension brackets

Kruger Engineering have done a great job of these complex upper rear suspension mounts for the Mygale. Copies of the original parts, these look great, especially with the black anodised finish. This week I've removed the rear suspension and I'm about to remove the gearbox, so I'll be fitting these back on when I reassemble everything. The front brackets I re-designed are currently being manufactured, I should have them back for Xmas.


I've also designed a bracket to support the Intrax damper reservoirs. These bolt to the sides of the gearbox, and will replace the heath-robinson brackets that I made. Hoping to get them manufactured and fitted in the new year.



I'm cleaning all parts I've removed, in an ultrasonic cleaning bath. Using Mykal degreasing solvent, nothing fancy. They just need leaving overnight to soak, then 15 minutes with the ultrasonic treatment and they come out looking as good as new. Of course, now they're clean, I can inspect them for cracks. Pete had a few failures this year, and I dont want the same outcome, so I'm making sure everything is up to scratch before refitting them.

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Sensor fitted

I fitted the Deutsch DTM 3-way connector to the new hall-effect gearbox sensor, plugged it in, and made sure it works, which of course it did. For reference, pin 1 is 5V, 2 is the sensor output, and 3 is signal ground. I've also fitted a DTM connector to a spare hall-effect sensor, a Penny and Giles device, and that will be my spare for 2022.

My re-ground front brake disks are now back from Kruger Engineering, and they've also supplied a pair of rear suspension mounts, which are copies of the Mygale mounts. I'll get some photos up.

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