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E36 M3 Unsprung weight reductions.

Howdy folks, Have been off the list for quite some time due to the new job,
new apartment etc. My new startup bussiness  to train rats to pull cable, and
then sell them to phone companies  did not work. ;)

Anyway, I am preparing a draft of my letter to Santa Clauss, and I am looking
for the lightest rims that would fit a lowered E36 M3. The challenge is to
find a suspension package (Dinan/Korman/RD/ HR-new Bilstains) that would drop
the ride height more than a inch and allow 8.5 inch wide rims. I believe the
lightest rims outthere are the new BBS RC2 ultralights at 5kgs (around 10
lbs) per rim. Some outfit is selling rotors that are made of aluminum, except
for the pad touching surface which is made of steel. If you have lifted a M3
rotor, you would know how heavy these are. Such rotors if properly drilled
and gas sloted could weigh half as the OEM. I know heat capacitance would
suffer, but my driving patterns do not have such a requirement.

My main concern is weight reduction, especially unsprung weight like
rotor-mass and  rim-mass for straters. Are there commercially available
carbon fiber rims and rotors for the E36 M3 ? If they are out there, are they
affordable by anybody outside the Pentagon ?

I am planning a suspension upgrade based on the new Bilstains (for E36 M3)
and the coming 17/40/235 BFG R1's. I will not purchase a complete package
(ala Dinan) since I believe that the additional brand name cost does not
justify the price, especially when suspension tuning is depended on the
surface, speed , comfort level and lunacy index.

Thanks for your input.

- -------------
To add my $.02 to the over-rev M3 thread: Some people on this list speak in
bursts of ignorance. IMHO the M3 tranny is too good for humans. I have
misshifted a couple of times during my first months of ownership. Luckily ,
thank God, I never let go of the clutch. I had the BMW stealer put the new
detent spring and so-far ,so good. I believe driver error causes the misshift
but DAHHH ! , BMW could have used syncros that would not allow a 1st gear
shift at 80mph. Common folks, we're not talking rocket science here. Another
solution is a Ferrari like sloted shifting gate where it is impossible to
misshift. I have seen this slotted/gated shift box (for E36 cars) and is very
elegant. I have talked to folks who floated a $6000 engine and I felt very
sorry for them. I dont know if a class action suit is justified but BMW is
not taking care of the problem either. 
Req. reading: The 95+ Mustang folks are starting a class suit for the tendecy
of the new live-axle ponnie cars to oversteer on turns. People have actually
died when their 1950's technology rear suspension "wiped out" on a turn. Ford
never hides the fact that the Mustangs have live axle rear suspension. Are
the owners justified at suing ? You be the judge, but at least THINK.

- ---------------
 The intake air temp thread. Like or not intake air is more than a race car
issue. There is roughly (very roughly) a 1% gain of hp for every reduction of
10Celcius (or about 18F). HP , Throttle responce and predetonation are
affected. Intake air is not only a source of oxygen, its also a cooling
medium. Hot air entering thru a hot manifold inside a hot head  will increase
the risk of predetonation especially on "chipped" cars or during summer
months. The DME will have to reduce timing to avoid knocking and voila ! your
torque will drop accordingly.
The maximum temp of the under-hood air is not the temp of the thermostat.
Think about the heat sources (in order of btu production):
a) Headers/ exhaust manifolds: temps can reach 2000F. 
b) Engine block temp: close to oil temp YMMV
c) Radiator. Lots of air flows thru it. Newer cars channel all ambient air
thru the A/C radiator and then thru the engine radiator.
d) A/C radiator.
On the E36 M3, you also have the oil filter housing withing inches from the
airbox/open air element. 

My airflow testing on the M3 have showed me that a open element K&N will be
in flow path of radiator/A/C air. Even if the filter is located behing the
driving light element there's a problem. I found out (real time temp sensors)
that air trapped between the A/C radiator and the engine radiator (exactly
where the fan is spinning) is exiting between the radiators (towards the
right and left of the car).That really hot air is heading straight to where
the aftermarketers place their open element filters.  The only solution is a
separating panel (make shift airbox over the huge K&N) which works like a
charm. I also removed all rubber stripping and foam insulation under the
hood. I also heat wrapped my exhaust manifolds (biggest underhhod heat
source) and  temps dropped incredibly. I dont even need an airbox anymore.
Home assignment: find the BMW plugged air ducts next to the kidney grill that
once opened, will increase the ambient airflow by a big percentage.

My measuring procedures and methodology available upon request. 

Regards

Vlasis
95 ///M3