One Lap of America in a BMW X1

paradoxical3 · 01-15-2016, 12:39 PM

Hi guys,

I know several of you are familiar with my car from my other build thread, but I'd like to start fresh as I chronicle the build of the car for the Tire Rack One Lap of America. www.onelapofamerica.com

I will be blogging on my website, www.onelapx1.com but I will also keep this thread up to date.

One is the One Lap? For the uninitiated, it is a series of road course time trials, drag strip runs, and skidpad events at race tracks all over the country. You compete against roughly 100 other cars, ranging from amateurs up to pro race drivers such as Leh Keen. In between each race track you have to do the "transit" stages, which are generally 7-10 hour drives.

The catch? You have to do the entire event on one set of street tires. This really is the ultimate challenge for a street car, as you can't run R compound tires and have to be careful with your alignment so you don't wear out the tires over 4000 miles of driving. The choices you make for your car need to be dictated by all-condition performance - rain and shine, cold and hot, drag racing plus road course. This is where I believe the X1 will excel, as it is a car that does everything well in all conditions - it is a great "all-arounder."

There will be extensive changes to the car. Our goal is an ambitious one - we want to win the "SUV Class", which is no easy feat considering last year BMW of North America sent a factory race driver with a X6M that came in 9th overall. We would also like to finish in the top 10 overall. This will be a huge challenge, as many of the top cars are Alpha tuned GTR racecars, Vipers with massive aero, and other similar cars. I am not sure how realistic this is, but we are going to try!

In order for this to happen, we need to make several major changes to the car. Here are just a few:

Larger turbo (estimated 500-525 wheel horsepower)
Custom aero setup including an in-house designed carbon fiber splitter, underbody tray, and yes - a massive wing
Weight reduction - removal of rear seats, lightweight battery, trim panels, etc
Suspension overhaul, likely a custom-designed triple adjustable remote setup from a soon to be announced sponsor
Move to 18inch track wheels to take advantage of the Bridgestone RE71 tire

Regardless of what happens, this will be a wonderful experience and our #1 goal is to have fun. Placing in the top 10 will be nice but difficult, so as long as we have fun I will be thrilled.

I have to say thank you to our sponsors - this would not be financially possible without them. They are Turn In Concepts (www.turninconcepts.com), noLimits Enterprises (www.nophoto.com), CSF Racing Radiators (www.csfrace.com), and 1310 Motorsports.

Here is the link to my first blog article: http://www.onelapx1.com/the-story

Once the event begins, we will be doing live streaming of all of the racing events from in-cockpit views, as well as lots of Periscope and blog updates from the road during the transit stages. We will try to bring you a real sense of what it is like to participate in the event, including lots of coverage of the other race cars and participants.

This Saturday (tomorrow) I will be at Turn In Concepts for some more work. We will be removing the rear bumper and examining options for mounting a rear wing. I will take plenty of pictures and update the blog after.

Hope you enjoy following along, and wish us luck!

zeevette · 01-15-2016, 01:47 PM

Read your blog. Fun stuff, and I can't wait to read more. One issue I have is your opinion of the X-1's appearance. I really like the looks of mine.

paradoxical3 · 01-15-2016, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeevette

Read your blog. Fun stuff, and I can't wait to read more. One issue I have is your opinion of the X-1's appearance. I really like the looks of mine.

I agree! But especially before I lowered it so many people thought it was funny looking. I think it is unique and I like that it doesn't look like everything else on the road.

vstolpner · 01-15-2016, 04:23 PM

I look forward to hearing from you on this and best of luck! Would be pretty awesome to have an X1 place so highly on the event.

kychungkevin · 01-15-2016, 06:01 PM

This is exciting! Thank you paradoxical for doing this and show everyone what E84 can be!

12 Handicap · 01-15-2016, 07:06 PM

Yes updates please.

paradoxical3 · 01-19-2016, 06:14 PM

Well, the aero will have to wait until next week due to a last minute scheduling issue, but I went ahead and did an article on the electronic nannies in BMWs. I list what they do, how they work, and most importantly how to disable them!

Latest post here:

http://www.onelapx1.com/the-story/ho...w-actually-fun

aferguson7 · 01-20-2016, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

Well, the aero will have to wait until next week due to a last minute scheduling issue, but I went ahead and did an article on the electronic nannies in BMWs. I list what they do, how they work, and most importantly how to disable them!

Latest post here:

http://www.onelapx1.com/the-story/ho...w-actually-fun

Have you considered looking into Titanium/inconnel exhaust systems. Should shave off a good amount of weight. Also I'd be interested in seeing what converting the sunroof into maybe an aluminum/CF roof to help lower your COG. Best of luck and can't wait to see you on the track!

black-box · 01-20-2016, 09:43 PM

Great article on the electronics, thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by aferguson7

Also I'd be interested in seeing what converting the sunroof into maybe an aluminum/CF roof to help lower your COG. Best of luck and can't wait to see you on the track!

I've read that the sunroof is 150 pounds? I'd probably replace mine if I could.

paradoxical3 · 01-20-2016, 10:14 PM

I have seriously thought about the moonroof delete. But I have looked into what it requires and it is a major, major surgery. The car is my daily driver and while I would not mind losing the sunroof, I do not want to have a leaky roof or one that is structurally unsafe in the event of a crash. But it really would be one of the best mods you could do for the car to lower CG and lose pointless weight.

I am looking into a titanium exhaust, but the X1 is tricky to do because of the rear subframe bracing. It will not be cheap, and the money (a few grand) might be better spent on other things.

zeevette · 01-22-2016, 04:18 PM

I've had mine a year and a half, and I haven't opened the sunroof yet.

paradoxical3 · 01-22-2016, 04:20 PM

We are now thinking of doing something a bit unorthodox for the exhaust. Tempted by the massive weight savings, we are thinking of making a hybrid SS and aluminum exhaust. We would use stainless steel from the downpipe back for a couple of feet, into a SS resonator, and then use aluminum piping the rest of the way. The main reason we can't use just aluminum is because the melting point is low and thermal expansion is high, but if we use stainless and the resonator for the first few feet the temps should be low enough where we would be okay. Especially considering we are using e85 mix as fuel, which lowers EGT.

This would save approximately 60lbs over the 91 pound stock exhaust.

vstolpner · 01-22-2016, 04:49 PM

That's pretty good savings.

I'm curious to see what the inside of the car looks like after all the weight reduction

And did you remove everything permanently or are you just removing it for the event?

Teutonic · 01-24-2016, 01:18 AM

Dude, I admire your determination! Way to go Pradoxical!

paradoxical3 · 01-24-2016, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstolpner

That's pretty good savings.

I'm curious to see what the inside of the car looks like after all the weight reduction

And did you remove everything permanently or are you just removing it for the event?

It will be a mix, daily I will have the back seat and trunk trim back in. But in the summer I plan on running the lightweight battery and seats full time.

I am currently debating what to do about seats. My heart wants Recaro Sportster CS or Cobra Misano Lux. But my brain says Corbeau A4. The Corbeaus are uglier and probably not as comfortable, but they are 1/3 to 1/4 the price. That money saved goes a long way towards performance upgrades. The reason I am looking into these is because I would daily them permanently and I need a recline function. These seats will work with the Scroth Quickfit Pro which should allow me to runs HANS device safely and hold me in place. If it was a dedicated track car I would run a fixed back halo seat with 5 point harness, but it's still my daily for now.

Either way, I believe I will be able to get the car lighter than a e92 M3.

Exhaust - 60lbs weight saved
Lithium battery - 50lbs saved
Seats - 60lbs saved
Rear Seat removal - 80lbs (might be closer to 100lbs, I will weigh).

Last year my car was 3870 on the scale. So subtract this and we will have 3620. With other misc trim removal and lightweight wheels and tires we could be in the high 3500s, without a driver. Realistically, considering added weight from some part upgrades (LSD, intercooler, etc) I am expecting to be somewhere in the 3600s. Which is pretty damn good for a SAV.

We have started carbon layup for the rear diffuser. We will be doing a complete undertray, splitter, and diffuser that is loosely based off of Brian May's work on his 335i (with a few X1 specific tweaks). We will use plain carbon fiber for the rear diffuser, ABS for the mid-plate where appropriate, and a carbon fiber panel with foam core for the splitter. To give you an idea of how extensive it will be:

uploading images

vstolpner · 01-24-2016, 06:50 PM

That is absolutely awesome.
Very curious how much time that will save you in the long run.

IMO the more expensive seats will be worth the money if you have to sit in them on a daily basis. Unless you plan to change them in and out for events, but even then for one lap you'll be doing lots of driving between tracks... Just my .02

aferguson7 · 01-29-2016, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

It will be a mix, daily I will have the back seat and trunk trim back in. But in the summer I plan on running the lightweight battery and seats full time.

I am currently debating what to do about seats. My heart wants Recaro Sportster CS or Cobra Misano Lux. But my brain says Corbeau A4. The Corbeaus are uglier and probably not as comfortable, but they are 1/3 to 1/4 the price. That money saved goes a long way towards performance upgrades. The reason I am looking into these is because I would daily them permanently and I need a recline function. These seats will work with the Scroth Quickfit Pro which should allow me to runs HANS device safely and hold me in place. If it was a dedicated track car I would run a fixed back halo seat with 5 point harness, but it's still my daily for now.

Either way, I believe I will be able to get the car lighter than a e92 M3.

Exhaust - 60lbs weight saved
Lithium battery - 50lbs saved
Seats - 60lbs saved
Rear Seat removal - 80lbs (might be closer to 100lbs, I will weigh).

Last year my car was 3870 on the scale. So subtract this and we will have 3620. With other misc trim removal and lightweight wheels and tires we could be in the high 3500s, without a driver. Realistically, considering added weight from some part upgrades (LSD, intercooler, etc) I am expecting to be somewhere in the 3600s. Which is pretty damn good for a SAV.

We have started carbon layup for the rear diffuser. We will be doing a complete undertray, splitter, and diffuser that is loosely based off of Brian May's work on his 335i (with a few X1 specific tweaks). We will use plain carbon fiber for the rear diffuser, ABS for the mid-plate where appropriate, and a carbon fiber panel with foam core for the splitter. To give you an idea of how extensive it will be:

uploading images

Question for you, is how you plan on adding down force to the car. OUr cars, different than the 335 sedan is that we have an elevated roof lip causing turbulence and low pressure over the rear hatch. Are you considering a mid belt line spoiler or some splitters up top to help keep from lifting the rear. Those bottom diffusers certainly will help but something similar to this would greatly improve:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=...54167930089128

Shock96 · 03-20-2016, 03:50 PM

Bump for some updates!

paradoxical3 · 03-20-2016, 04:32 PM

Car was totaled

DRTMGRT · 03-20-2016, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

Car was totaled

What?!? How did this happen???

Ja Gio · 03-21-2016, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

Car was totaled

NOOOOOO!!!!!!

vstolpner · 03-21-2016, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

Car was totaled

Hope you got out of it OK. What happened?

01-15-2016, 12:39 PM	#1
paradoxical3 Lieutenant Colonel 1008 Rep 1,563 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (6)	One Lap of America in a BMW X1 Hi guys, I know several of you are familiar with my car from my other build thread, but I'd like to start fresh as I chronicle the build of the car for the Tire Rack One Lap of America. www.onelapofamerica.com I will be blogging on my website, www.onelapx1.com but I will also keep this thread up to date. One is the One Lap? For the uninitiated, it is a series of road course time trials, drag strip runs, and skidpad events at race tracks all over the country. You compete against roughly 100 other cars, ranging from amateurs up to pro race drivers such as Leh Keen. In between each race track you have to do the "transit" stages, which are generally 7-10 hour drives. The catch? You have to do the entire event on one set of street tires. This really is the ultimate challenge for a street car, as you can't run R compound tires and have to be careful with your alignment so you don't wear out the tires over 4000 miles of driving. The choices you make for your car need to be dictated by all-condition performance - rain and shine, cold and hot, drag racing plus road course. This is where I believe the X1 will excel, as it is a car that does everything well in all conditions - it is a great "all-arounder." There will be extensive changes to the car. Our goal is an ambitious one - we want to win the "SUV Class", which is no easy feat considering last year BMW of North America sent a factory race driver with a X6M that came in 9th overall. We would also like to finish in the top 10 overall. This will be a huge challenge, as many of the top cars are Alpha tuned GTR racecars, Vipers with massive aero, and other similar cars. I am not sure how realistic this is, but we are going to try! In order for this to happen, we need to make several major changes to the car. Here are just a few: Larger turbo (estimated 500-525 wheel horsepower) Custom aero setup including an in-house designed carbon fiber splitter, underbody tray, and yes - a massive wing Weight reduction - removal of rear seats, lightweight battery, trim panels, etc Suspension overhaul, likely a custom-designed triple adjustable remote setup from a soon to be announced sponsor Move to 18inch track wheels to take advantage of the Bridgestone RE71 tire Regardless of what happens, this will be a wonderful experience and our #1 goal is to have fun. Placing in the top 10 will be nice but difficult, so as long as we have fun I will be thrilled. I have to say thank you to our sponsors - this would not be financially possible without them. They are Turn In Concepts (www.turninconcepts.com), noLimits Enterprises (www.nophoto.com), CSF Racing Radiators (www.csfrace.com), and 1310 Motorsports. Here is the link to my first blog article: http://www.onelapx1.com/the-story Once the event begins, we will be doing live streaming of all of the racing events from in-cockpit views, as well as lots of Periscope and blog updates from the road during the transit stages. We will try to bring you a real sense of what it is like to participate in the event, including lots of coverage of the other race cars and participants. This Saturday (tomorrow) I will be at Turn In Concepts for some more work. We will be removing the rear bumper and examining options for mounting a rear wing. I will take plenty of pictures and update the blog after. Hope you enjoy following along, and wish us luck! Last edited by paradoxical3; 01-15-2016 at 01:12 PM..
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01-15-2016, 01:47 PM	#2
zeevette Unllicensed 29 Rep 444 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 35i Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Pasco, WA. USA iTrader: (0)	Read your blog. Fun stuff, and I can't wait to read more. One issue I have is your opinion of the X-1's appearance. I really like the looks of mine.
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01-15-2016, 04:23 PM	#4
vstolpner Captain 25 Rep 673 Posts Drives: 2019 F39 X2 m35i Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Vancouver, BC iTrader: (0)	I look forward to hearing from you on this and best of luck! Would be pretty awesome to have an X1 place so highly on the event.
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01-15-2016, 06:01 PM	#5
kychungkevin Private First Class 19 Rep 100 Posts Drives: BMW X1 xdrive28i Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	This is exciting! Thank you paradoxical for doing this and show everyone what E84 can be!
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01-15-2016, 07:06 PM	#6
12 Handicap Private 12 Rep 56 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 S28 I Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Central Floriduh iTrader: (0)	Yes updates please.
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01-19-2016, 06:14 PM	#7
paradoxical3 Lieutenant Colonel 1008 Rep 1,563 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (6)	Well, the aero will have to wait until next week due to a last minute scheduling issue, but I went ahead and did an article on the electronic nannies in BMWs. I list what they do, how they work, and most importantly how to disable them! Latest post here: http://www.onelapx1.com/the-story/ho...w-actually-fun
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01-20-2016, 10:14 PM	#10
paradoxical3 Lieutenant Colonel 1008 Rep 1,563 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (6)	I have seriously thought about the moonroof delete. But I have looked into what it requires and it is a major, major surgery. The car is my daily driver and while I would not mind losing the sunroof, I do not want to have a leaky roof or one that is structurally unsafe in the event of a crash. But it really would be one of the best mods you could do for the car to lower CG and lose pointless weight. I am looking into a titanium exhaust, but the X1 is tricky to do because of the rear subframe bracing. It will not be cheap, and the money (a few grand) might be better spent on other things.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-22-2016, 04:18 PM	#11
zeevette Unllicensed 29 Rep 444 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 35i Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Pasco, WA. USA iTrader: (0)	I've had mine a year and a half, and I haven't opened the sunroof yet.
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01-22-2016, 04:20 PM	#12
paradoxical3 Lieutenant Colonel 1008 Rep 1,563 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (6)	We are now thinking of doing something a bit unorthodox for the exhaust. Tempted by the massive weight savings, we are thinking of making a hybrid SS and aluminum exhaust. We would use stainless steel from the downpipe back for a couple of feet, into a SS resonator, and then use aluminum piping the rest of the way. The main reason we can't use just aluminum is because the melting point is low and thermal expansion is high, but if we use stainless and the resonator for the first few feet the temps should be low enough where we would be okay. Especially considering we are using e85 mix as fuel, which lowers EGT. This would save approximately 60lbs over the 91 pound stock exhaust.
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01-22-2016, 04:49 PM	#13
vstolpner Captain 25 Rep 673 Posts Drives: 2019 F39 X2 m35i Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Vancouver, BC iTrader: (0)	That's pretty good savings. I'm curious to see what the inside of the car looks like after all the weight reduction And did you remove everything permanently or are you just removing it for the event?
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01-24-2016, 01:18 AM	#14
Teutonic Colonel 2709 Rep 2,350 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	Dude, I admire your determination! Way to go Pradoxical!
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01-24-2016, 06:50 PM	#16
vstolpner Captain 25 Rep 673 Posts Drives: 2019 F39 X2 m35i Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Vancouver, BC iTrader: (0)	That is absolutely awesome. Very curious how much time that will save you in the long run. IMO the more expensive seats will be worth the money if you have to sit in them on a daily basis. Unless you plan to change them in and out for events, but even then for one lap you'll be doing lots of driving between tracks... Just my .02
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03-20-2016, 03:50 PM	#18
Shock96 That was a hell of a thing... 22 Rep 168 Posts Drives: 2013 xDrive 35i M Sport Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Olympia, WA iTrader: (0)	Bump for some updates!
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03-20-2016, 04:32 PM	#19
paradoxical3 Lieutenant Colonel 1008 Rep 1,563 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (6)	Car was totaled
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