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How to make all your old memories boring!

After vowing for the past two years that I would forever keep my E36 M3
(#612) stock, I became criminally insane.  Before you read on, my first
upgrade was actually done immediately, that being to install 5-point
harnesses for both myself and passenger.  (I personally feel that anyone who
spends money on any other upgrade before good belts is a _fool_.)  After
getting used to the car, I also started using R1s, but that was merely kids
stuff.

The first step was to improve the handling with a Groupe N coil over
suspension (dual rate springs front and rear).  I went with the BMW stuff
for several reasons.  First, it was about $2000 cheaper than a comparable
H&R setup, it uses Bilsteins, and there are many more springs available to
"tune" the suspension to fit my tastes.  I added sway bars from Kermit Upton
(recommended by nearly everyone I asked, and boy are they a work of art!
lightweight tubular steel) and a Motorsport strut bar and lower cross brace
(use the cheaper part made for the 325i convertible) at the same time.  With
the car now able to turn on a dime (2.25 deg. negative camber all around), I
wanted to get between the corners a little faster.  

Since I had my checkbook (the VISA was full) out, I decided to go with a
Dinan stage II supercharger (with the modification that the rev limiter be
raised to 7000 in every gear).  Can you say fun?  I can! 

The final addition was for even more safety, with a T.C. Kline roll bar (so
I can go club racing if I feel the need) and a new Bell SA95 helmet!  The
nice thing about having the bar, beyond rollover protection (and peace of
mind) is that my harness is now perfectly mounted. Oh, did I forget a Momo
racing seat?  Oh well.

So far, the only track event at Putnam Park was a modest failure.  The
supercharger did not seem to be giving the kind of power that I would expect
(it went in 24 hours before I was on the track), and it became obvious why
when I pulled off the track halfway through the instructor session on
Saturday (I had been out all Friday getting to know the car).  Upon looking
under the hood, there was no longer a drive belt, just lots of fine rubber
powder and cording.  Unfortunately the supercharger had frozen up.  Luckily
it caused no other damage beyond my spirits and a longer/slower drive home.
A quick call to Dinan resulted in an immediate replacement under warranty
(including all labor) without any questions.  The same blower unit is in the
Turner kit, so I don't blame Steve Dinan's shop at all for a bad part.  The
whole reason I went with Dinan was their superior warranty and a long
history of standing behind their work long after any warranty may have
expired.  

Well now the car runs like a BEAST!!!!  In all honesty, it is so fast that I
can easily scare myself.  A friend asked how fast I had driven the car, and
they were surprised when I said 125 (before the work was done!).  Feeling
guilty, I got the car up to 165 on the way home on a nice stretch of totally
OPEN highway with NO TRAFFIC.  The car was rock solid, but I have no need to
do that anytime soon, and only on the track.  

So you might ask, what next?  The springs are too stiff, so we are
experimenting with other settings.  I was thinking about headlight mounted
machine guns, but they add so much extra weight!  Maybe its time to buy a
tow vehicle!  The sad part is that now, driving my father's M5 seems like
being in a Volvo. 

Anyway, the next time you pass a black M3 with MDWST M3 plates and a guy
with a big sh_t-eating grin, beware.  I don't mind other people driving
faster than me, but I rarely turn down a challenge.

Dan
 =======================================================
 Daniel B. Snyder                            
 J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management  
 [email protected]                             
  {O==00==O}
 "The intellectual level of the schools can be no higher than the
  intellectual level of the culture in which they float."
                                                -Richard Gibboney