In preparation for the coming BMW show at Santa Pod Raceway on the 2nd July 2017, we have purchased our first project car, Haylie, a BMW E91 manual 335i with the highly tunable N54 engine.
Our aim is to set a new UK 1/4 mile record on the N54 platform, which is currently held by Russell M. J. at 11.69 seconds and 121.7mph. (If you have a faster 1/4 mile time in the UK with the N54 engine, do feel free to correct us and be the guy to beat!) Not only do we want to set a record, we also want to start a detail thread of the build, to show the car at different stages with different modifications, and most importantly, what power it produces at each stage.
Despite knowing the automatic transmission would perform better on the strip, being a manual guy, I just couldn't live with an auto!(No offence to people who can't use a clutch) So we opted for a manual transmission and a big heavy touring(E91). This made the already ambitious goal even more challenging, but hey, where's the fun if it's easy? We will have to make up the disadvantage with more power and focusing on putting every bhp on the ground.
At present, the project car is completely stock, and we plan to start with the maintenance first. Which is the most important part of any build, but often gets ignored. To produce good and reliable power, the car must be in a healthy condition to start with, you will want to start with the best possible base you can. So we will start the build with a major service including compression test, coils, plugs, vacuum lines, changing all the fluids and oil etc.
But before we get started, I need to find money for the insurance. Now, where's my piggy bank?
To be continued...
