May 2009
2 posts
May 10, 2009 - On the One Lap Podium!
Steve, Mike and Dwayne drove their stock BMW M3 sedan to finish third in class and tenth overall of 63 entrants at this year’s One Lap of America. Congrats to you all for the awesome driving!
Eight days driving 3400 miles across 13 states and on nine race tracks… One Lap of America is the most grueling test of America’s fastest street-legal cars.
May 5, 2009: One Lap of America
Good luck Steve! Catch the United BMW crew’s updates at unitedbmwonline.com/blog.
April 2009
3 posts
April 8, 2009: Post-Race Wrap Up
There were lots of BMW E30’s in the mix among the 96 teams competing in the spring LeMons South race, and one of them ended up winning. The Kudzy Kommandos 325e set some very fast lap times and even lead the race briefly on Saturday before incurring penalties and losing time while pitting under green.
Some of the penalties we collected during the race include:
- Arjun was taped to three...
April 5, 2009: It's Official - Kudzu BMW the...
“Your teacher wants you to go slow, and she’s wrong because it’s the fastest who get paid and it’s the fastest who get laid.” - Talladega Nights
The 24 Hours of LeMons, LeMons South Spring race 2009 presents a tale of epic drama: A rock solid race car. A talented team setting some of the fastest laps of the race. And for the second year in a row, the car gets...
April 4, 2009: From 49th to 1st to 19th
The opening hours of the LeMons South Spring 2009 race went very well for the Kudzu Kommandos. We hit the track in 49th place out of over 90 teams, but quickly began turning in fast laps and working our way to the front of the field. By mid-afternoon we had cracked the top 10 and even briefly lead the race, all the while setting lap times which were the class of the field.
We got tagged from...
March 2009
2 posts
March 31, 2009 - Less than week to go
We have only a few days until the event, and we are finishing up the little things left on the car. Last weekend we installed the killswitch, which is required to meet the tech inspection at the 24 Hours of LeMons. The remaining loose ends include installing 200+ treadwear tires and swaping out our old brake pads. We need to change the fluids in all of the drivetrain components - they havent been...
February 28, 2009
Captain Kudzu and Nick participated in the Atlanta Regional SCCA AutoX Test-N-Tune at the Atlanta Six Flags parking lot Saturday. It was a miserable rainy day and the car broke parts. The parking lot was very wet and had a lot of standing water, and the Atlanta Regional SCCA AutoX group did a great job of avoiding as much of the standing water with the course. When we unloaded the car from the...
February 2009
3 posts
Februaru 15, 2009
The car is running and only needs a few finishing touches to be ready to pass tech inspection: the sunroof must be sealed and a fuel/battery kill switch must be added to the exterior of the vehicle.
However, a few parts are still needed before the car is race-worthy. A clutch cylinder rebuild kit has been ordered (it should be here by the end of the week) and the hose that leads to the idle...
February 12, 2009
Lee and David trekked to Savannah yesterday and picked up another BMW E30. David will use the chassis for another project, but sold the engine to the team to put into the second car we’ll be prepping for the fall race - that car is in pretty rough shape and needed an engine. The build for the second car will start only after we get the current Kudzu Kommandos car running and reliable.
-...
February 10, 2009
Car Update: We got the engine back together two weekends ago and put it in the car this past weekend. The car is not running yet, but will be soon. We found a crack in our oil pan, so we have to swap oil pans from the blown engine. David welded up the broken exhaust, so we will install it when we replace the oil pan.
To get the car running we need a few more parts:
- Late model E30 radiator...
January 2009
22 posts
January 30, 2009
Captain Kudzu Reporting!
We got registered for the LeMons. They accepted us, now all we have to do is get the car back together. We begin tomorrow.
Thanks to Ian for setting up the Tumblr page. Ian contacted us through the BMW forum about becoming a part of the team. His help with the page is a very good start. WHOOOO! Ian.
August 1, 2008
According to the coverage of the race at jalopnik.com, our team set the second fastest lap time of the LeMons South race. Our resident stunt driver David Green posted the fastest lap. He is… how do you say… fast.
July 28, 2008
We did pretty good at the race - at least I think we did. We had some issues keeping the car cool. I think the head gasket was bad before we went out there and the brutality of the event killed it. I do not know what state our car is in at this moment, but when it came off the track sunday afternoon, it died and failed to fire back up.
When the car was on the track it was incredible. I dont...
July 23, 2008
We are off this weekend for the 24 Hours Of LeMons, Lemons South race, in Kershaw South Carolina. To the other teams competiting, see you out there!!!
June 22, 2008
We will be going to the track this Thursday at Talladega Grand Prix. I cant wait. The car drives great.
Car Update: We replaced all the fuel lines because the lines on the car were terrible. I really like the 4.10 diff. I havent driven a 3.73 so I can’t compare. I admit that there is a lot of shifting, but the redline does not show up too quickly. I drive a diesel and it only revs to 3k...
June 21, 2008
Car Update: Its alive!!! I got the car driving today. The diff works great and holy crap, the 4.10 ratio wakes up the acceleration. The engine runs nice, making good power. The suspension needs tweaking though. I took the car out and got fuel and noticed that the pump was making “that noise”. Ut-oh. We also got the exhaust finished. It sounds good - not too loud, which would just suck...
June 20, 2008
Car Update: We found a donor differential, and it should be in the car tomorrow. We hit the track next thursday. It’s gonna be awesome!
- Captain Kudzu
June 17, 2008
Car Update: Things are begining to to look good. We just got the front struts in, with camber adjustments and got the radiator swapped. We just got the donor race seat, and we should have the it and the seat belt bar in on Thursday or Saturday. Thanks to everyone who has helped on this project!
- Captain Kudzu
May 30, 2008
We got a vinyl graphics sponsor! Ingmar Bach has agreed to work with us as he prepares to launch his sign business.
Car Update: Man, a roll cage is a lot of work. we put 5 hours into it yesterday and I does not seem like we got that far. Also It sucks when the car catches on fire, then you realize you are welding next to the gas tank. Talk about your ass puckering up! Then we all looked like a...
May 27, 2008
Car Update: We got the car running! Now we have to put the cage in (starting Thurs). We need a differential. If any one has a LSD with a 3.50-4.0 ratio that will fit in an e30, let me know. I will even take a 5 series diff and change the cover, I dont care, the car just needs to drive.
- Captain Kudzu
May 21, 2008
We have several sponsors so far and are looking for more. So far our sponsors are Harrison Motorsports, United BMW, Butler Tire, and Higginbotham and Associates.
- Captain Kudzu
May 20, 2008
We made it in. I recieved the confirmation letter today. We are going to need all the help we can get. If any one would like to donate to the team please let me know.
Car Update: We have made great progress on the car, we got it running tonight. then we started tearing it apart. the interior is completly out of the car. heater box included.
- Captain Kudzu
May 15, 2008
Its a go! Kudzu Kommandos are registered for the lemons. We are working on the team concept tomorrow - a reason why the race organizers should pick us over another team. One of the things we are looking at right now is using the BF.c forum as our concept: a collaboration of people who have never met build a race car to compete in a 24 hour race.
Car Update: I am picking up the car on Sunday.
-...
May 15, 2008
The backstory for the Kudzu Kommandos:
The Kudzu Kommandos are a rag-tag bunch of mistfits, once thought lost in the thick vines of the infamous and unstoppable ground cover renowned throughout the Southeastern United States. After several years of immersion among the thick vines, they emerged as changed beings: Mostly human, but infused with the eerie tenacity of their plant bretheren,...
May 13, 2008
In the LeMons competition, race cars are judged upon entry. Judges look over the car and determine whether the car is worth more than $500 (excluding the safty equipment such as tires, wheels, brakes, roll cage, harness, seat). If you bought a car from a friend for $500 and the judges think it’s worth more, for every $10 over the $500 limit your team is penalized 1 lap. The whole Idea is...
May 12, 2008
Me and a few guys here at work are looking at putting together a team of drivers/mechanics wanting to run in the Carolina 24 hr event July 26th-27th. Also we are looking for someone willing to donate/sell super cheap car for LeMons project. It needs to be a car that the owner will not care about losing. the LeMons race is killer on the car, Literally. there is a raffle midway through the race for...