---
title: 'How to Prepare Your Car for an Endurance Race (Without Blowing Up)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8TpzQA8zE'
video_id: 'Ku8TpzQA8zE'
date: 2026-08-05
duration_sec: 1120
---

# How to Prepare Your Car for an Endurance Race (Without Blowing Up)

> Source: [How to Prepare Your Car for an Endurance Race (Without Blowing Up)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8TpzQA8zE)

## Summary

ChrisFix prepares his Lemons BMW for an endurance race, addressing reliability issues from the previous year. The video covers installing a junkyard engine, upgrading the exhaust, adding safety features like a quick-release steering wheel and kill switch, and making weight reductions. The goal is to build a bulletproof $500 race car that can survive a 16-hour race.

### Key Points

- **Introduction and Goal** [00:00] — ChrisFix aims to prepare his Lemons BMW for an endurance race without blowing up the engine, learning from last year's failure.
- **Junkyard Engine Swap** [00:14] — Installed a 140,000-mile junkyard engine from a BMW X5 to replace the original 240,000-mile engine. The new engine starts and runs smoothly.
- **Seat Time Importance** [00:42] — Learned that getting seat time in the car before the race is crucial to ensure the engine lasts and drivers are prepared.
- **Exhaust Upgrade** [00:55] — Replaced stock exhaust with full-length stainless steel headers found on eBay for under $500, saving 20-30 lbs and improving sound.
- **Test Day at Raceway Park** [02:09] — Conducted a 4-hour test day to try to break the car. Discovered the exhaust is very loud, and experienced a ticking sound due to collapsed lifters from oil thinning.
- **Quick Release Steering Wheel** [03:21] — Installed a quick-release steering wheel for easier entry/exit and safety in case of fire. Detailed steps include removing airbag, breaking bolt loose, using thread locker, and torquing to spec.
- **Kill Switch Installation** [04:20] — Installed a master kill switch to cut all power, accessible from driver and outside. Demonstrated that it kills the engine instantly above 3000 RPM.
- **Livery Redesign** [05:45] — Redesigned the car's livery with a professional Soapy Wooder theme, properly displaying sponsors like eBay Motors and Peak Performance.
- **Gauges for Oil and Coolant** [06:26] — Installed oil pressure, oil temperature, and coolant pressure gauges to monitor engine health. Tapped into stock sensor location using an oil sensor manifold.
- **Wheel Studs Installation** [07:44] — Added wheel studs to hubs for quicker wheel changes. Considered a performance item, costing $50, and installed with high-strength thread locker.
- **Firewall Block Off Plate** [10:14] — Replaced inadequate plastic firewall cover with a steel plate to better seal the hole, also welding shut the AC hole for weight reduction.
- **Driver Floor and Pedal Fix** [10:55] — Installed a heel plate and throttle pedal to fix the driver's floor area, using riv-nuts for secure mounting without welding.
- **Weight Reduction** [12:16] — Removed door glass, motors, regulators, rear seats, sound deadening, and heavy exhaust components, saving a total of 185 lbs, offsetting the roll cage weight.
- **Selling Old Parts** [13:02] — Sold old exhaust manifolds on eBay for $500, offsetting the cost of headers and keeping within budget.
- **Aerodynamics with AirShaper** [13:30] — Collaborated with AirShaper to analyze drag. Found that closing rear windows reduces drag and lift, improving efficiency.
- **Lexan Window Installation** [14:43] — Installed polycarbonate (Lexan) rear windows for better aero and rain protection, as glass is not allowed. Found on eBay for $100.
- **Oil Change to 10w60** [16:26] — Drained 5w40 oil and replaced with fully synthetic 10w60 to prevent thinning under high heat, reducing risk of engine failure.
- **Backup Engine Arrival** [17:21] — Received a backup engine from Elite Motorworks, built for reliability with factory upgraded parts, but not installed to stay within budget.
- **Conclusion and Next Steps** [18:17] — Car is ready for the race, having fixed last year's issues. Next video will cover the 16-hour endurance race.

### Conclusion

The video demonstrates a comprehensive preparation process for an endurance race, focusing on reliability, safety, and weight reduction. By learning from past failures and making strategic upgrades, ChrisFix aims to complete the 16-hour race without mechanical failure.

## Transcript

Hey guys ChrisFix here and today I'm going  to show you how we got our Lemons BMW,   that way the engine won't  blow up 15 laps into the race,   So clearly last year's race didn't go very well,  
but we learned a lot so this year we're going to  be prepared, and let me show you what we've done. All right, so first we started off  installing our 140 000 mile junkyard   engine from a BMW X5 to replace the original  240 000 mile engine that came with the car.
And now with the new junkyard engine  installed in the car listen to this... So she starts up on the first  try nice and quick she idles   nice and smooth and she drives  great so we are ready to race!
thing we learned is we need seat time in  this car before our next endurance race. Everybody needs to go and do a bunch of laps and  be on it that way we know the engine's gonna last
We also learned that this car is way too quiet  with the stock exhaust so listen to this... So that sounds really good and how we  did this was we got stainless steel  
full length headers and you're probably  like Chris but there's a $500 budget, I found them on eBay, full  length stainless steel headers. So we have headers, we have  the rest of the stock exhaust,
which not only saved us 20-30 pounds,  but it also makes this car sound awesome! so I asked you guys to vote on your  favorite exhaust tip style in a poll...
I got to work running the pipes to fill  the area where the muffler used to be, I also welded an exhaust hanger and don't worry  I ended up cutting off that bottom extra bit,
but I was just too excited and I wanted to  show you guys how awesome this came out! and you guys picked out an awesome  style exhaust tip, it looks so good! All right so next up we went to Raceway  Park to do a test day where we beat on  
this car over and over and over to  try to break it for 4 hours straight. This is when I learned the exhaust  actually doesn't sound that great   (obnoxiously loud car exhaust sounds)
Ari: The   car feels great, it really does... ChrisFix: Excited for the race?  So each of us got in the  car to get some experience,  
(tires screeching) And then finally we had our first problem,   something nobody wants to hear...  what's that ticking sound?
Luckily the diagnosis was collapsed  lifters from the oil thinning out   Right now the oil is 5w40 which is  really just made for street use.
Aaron: I was pushing the car super  hard just like, at redline every shift,  Okay, so after our track day we realized  how difficult it was to get in and out of  
So I made a video on how to install  a quick release steering wheel,   First you need to pop out the airbag  and remove the electrical connectors   Next you need to break the bolt loose  which holds the steering wheel in,
Then with the tug, the wheel comes right off... and it's important you add medium  strength thread locker to the bolt Then you want to torque down that bolt to spec.
and tighten it down in a crisscross  pattern to evenly seat that onto the hub. Next the quick release could be attached  and that just snaps in... like that. And finally the steering wheel could be bolted on,  again tightening the bolts in a crisscross pattern
And check it out now we could  quickly remove the steering wheel to get out of the car a lot safer and easier just  in case there's a fire or something when we race. Next I made a full in-depth video  to show you guys how to install a  
First I showed you what wires that we need  to cut and how to properly crimp together   those thick gauge wires so that they make a good  electrical connection just like from the factory. Then I showed you how to run them to a switch  on the driver's side that's easily accessible  
from the driver strapped into the seat and  from a track worker who's outside of the car. that you don't have any problems with reliability. so I showed you guys the process of  making a bracket from a template,
suppression switches and here's the end result... (engine starting noises) All right so I let the engine idle  for a few minutes and she's running  
(loud revving noises) on the track we need to be able to rev our  engine over 3000 RPMs and hold it there,
switch off and make sure the engine  dies quickly so let's give it a try. Let's get our RPMs above 3000  RPMs and hold it steady.. All right now that's what I'm talking about!
we flipped the switch, and it killed everything  instantly, and we have no power at all, So after installing the kill switch we needed  to address a very weak livery from last year.
Yes, we did get the sponsors on the  car for the race but let's be real You guys know how I like to go above and beyond,   So out with the old...
That is more like it! So now we had a professionally designed  livery that went with the theme of our team: And just look at this car! Not only  does the Soapy Wooder theme look great
but we have all the team sponsors including the  main sponsors, eBay Motors and Peak Performance,   properly displayed on the car  in a way that looks amazing. And my favorite part is the roof with the  Soapy Wooder decal for my spray bottles.
So with the amazing livery done, we  only had a few days until the race and   Last year we figured out the engine blew up due  to a spun bearing from a lack of oil pressure, So this year we installed gauges to give us oil  pressure, oil temperature, and coolant pressure.
To get the oil temperature and oil pressure we  tapped into the stock oil pressure sensor location So all we had to do is remove the OEM sensor. we have this oil sensor manifold which  accepts up to three sensors total.
So all we had to do is tighten down the  banjo bolt into the stock sensor location,   and then we could add the smaller  temperature sensor and hand tighten it, place so that those copper crush  washers crush and prevent leaks.
in and then snug up all the sensors  with the wrench so they won't leak. harnesses from the gauges right to the sensors, and with the engine running we have  oil temperature on the left at 191°F  
and the pressure is in the middle at  53 PSI and we're at about 3000 RPMs. because we couldn't get the correct adapters in   but the oil pressure and temperature  are the most important ones
Next up, I wanted to add wheel studs  to the hubs because BMW's hub design   Let me show you what I mean. So let's remove all the lug bolts and  yes I said lug bolts not lug nuts,
but watch how difficult it is to put  back on because there's no studs.  holes and then get it into the center of the hub. and it's just not quick and it's not easy to do.
we're going to install studs into  these holes just like on a normal hub and then the wheel could go on that and then you  could put lug nuts on and then tighten it down. Now I would consider these wheel studs a  performance product and not a safety product
off quicker which will hopefully mean  that we'll be able to get more laps in. So because of that, this does  count towards our $500 budget. or something that has to do  with keeping the driver safe,
that doesn't count towards that  $500 budget but performance items do and every $10 over that $500  budget is one penalty lap. and to do that I went on eBay Motors  and I found wheel studs that fit the  
and they're only $50 so we stay under budget. know is if you get your parts  and they're not as described So remember that just just in case and with that  
It's a perfect fit, especially for this  Lemon build where we're trying to save   So let me show you how to safely  install these studs into the hub. into the hub and it's very important  to use high strength thread locker.
need to remove with heat that way  these don't back out by accident. So first let's lay a bead of thread Locker along  the threads and you don't need to use a lot here. Now we could just hand tighten the stud  into the hub and then we're good to go.
just hand tighten each one  into the hub all the way, and then we can torque each one of these  down to spec which for these is 25lb-ft. And look at how much quicker and easier it is to  
And then finally we could torque  down the lug nuts to spec. and then we want our thread locker to  cure before we go for a test drive. Next up I had a safety concern that I wanted  to address which was this plastic piece that  
barely covered the huge hole in the firewall. So I removed this less than adequate plastic   and you can see how large  that gap is in the firewall so I used this plastic piece as a  template to cut out a piece of steel,  
But first we removed the air conditioning  for weight reduction and this left a hole   And with that hole welded shut  and painted to prevent rust then we installed that steel  firewall block off plate I cut out
and you can see this does a much better job  at closing up that huge hole in our firewall. Another thing we have to do is down  here at the driver's side floor. because there used to be a piece of  foam here and then carpeting on top
Even where the brake is you only have this   so we need to fix that. eBay Motors for a $100 and I made  them a $75 offer and he accepted.
Now while this is made for an E46 BMW,   That's because our transmission  tunnel on the all-wheel drive   There's a little hump to make room for a  transfer case, but this is a simple fix.
Then with the heel plate removed, I  drilled two holes in the floorboard covered the holes in some paint  to prevent it from rusting and then used a riv-nut tool to install  the riv-nuts into the floor of the car.
And riv-nuts are a great way to install  threaded inserts without having to weld. the bolts that hold this in place so it's secured. And the last thing to do is install the throttle  pedal, and I want you guys to remember this...
Remember that! You'll see why in the next video... have somewhere to put our feet so we  could comfortably control the pedals. so let me show you some more  stuff we removed because it's  
So we took out all the glass from the  windows on the doors and that's about 40lbs. We took out all the motors and window  regulators that's another 15lbs. we're not going to need this so that's  another 40lbs, this thing weighs a ton.
and this is about 20lbs of sound deadening. steel headers in which weigh  10lbs but these weighed 30lbs plus we removed our 30lb  muffler so we saved 50lbs.
each to the Konig countergram  wheels which weigh 18lbs each so in total we saved 185lbs which is almost  
exactly what our roll cage and  fire suppression system weigh. Now since we installed headers  which is a performance upgrade   it was only $100 bucks but still every little  bit counts, we don't want any penalty laps,
exhaust manifolds so I put  them up on eBay for $500 so now we have an extra $500 to play with  
And now I'm gonna go ship  these out to the new owner... Alright so the next thing we need  to do before we get to the racetrack   Actually there are a couple of you who  said "hey running with your windows open  
air is going to come in here and get trapped" and you're actually 100% right check this out... A YouTube channel called AirShaper reached  out to me and ran two aero-models for the  
Lemons BMW this model you're looking at  right here has both side windows open. and you can see how much  drag the side windows create. rear window closed and you can see with  this model there is a lot less drag.
the airflow towards the rear  of the car is disrupted. So in summary, if the rear window  is closed there's less lift and  
Also the car is more efficient with a  smaller drag coefficient and although   they're not huge changes every little  bit counts in a 16 hour endurance race. leave a link to his channel in the description  if you guys like aero I think you'll like it.
but we're getting lift on our  rear end which is not good. We can't run glass, you're not allowed  to run glass on the side windows because  
it is tempered glass and if it shatters it breaks  into little pieces it's dangerous for the driver You have to run your front laminated windshield, you can't run anything here on the  driver's side because if there's a fire
there can't be anything blocking this  so this has to stay open no matter what but the rear windows, since we have  a sedan, these could be closed off. This is polycarbonate, it's a piece of  plastic that doesn't shard, it doesn't  
break into small pieces in an accident, it stays  together and is allowed to be run on this car. but once we get this installed  we could take that coating off   So we could install this to  give us some better aerodynamics
So to keep within budget again I  found these on eBay Motors for $125   and I offered the guy $100 and he took it  and that keeps us under the $500 budget. So to install these just get it into the window  channel where the glass window would normally sit.
and then now we can tighten down the  two screws on the support pillar here and then the two screws on the bottom  window channel and that's bolted in. And finally my favorite part the reward of  pulling off that protective shipping coating
and check it out so now we have our side Lexan  for both rain protection and also so we have   better aero giving us a little bit more down  force and just more efficiency in general. things and that is drain out all the 5w40  oil which is the stock spec for this car.
And as that's draining let me  show you why this is so important So our engine failure last year was from  our engine oil getting hot, thinning out,   and add that to our very worn out 240,000  mile engine we probably had low oil pressure
and that happens so quickly that our number   So to make sure this doesn't happen again with  our junkyard engine we drained out all the oil
and installed a brand new oil filter and added a fully synthetic  10w60 oil that's pretty thick. That way if the oil does thin out  after 16 hours of beating on this thing
And with our oil change this is perfect  timing the delivery truck just pulled up And look what arrived just in time.
Okay this is definitely, our  BMW motor from Elite Motorworks. I cannot wait to see what's inside this so let's  unscrew the box and let's get in and check it out. Okay let's see what we get we have a  brand new engine it's like Christmas
Here goes the reveal... holy smokes check that out that is so cool! Motorworks built for us just  in case we need to swap it in.
It was torn down to the bare block and put  back together with all factory upgraded parts. Not to make more power but instead to be  the most reliable BMW engine out there. I'd love to swap this thing into the  car now but unfortunately that would  
put us way over that $500 limit and it  doesn't fit the whole purpose of Lemons. So with that our car is ready we took all the  mistakes and shortcomings from last year learn  
from them and fix them to give us the most  bulletproof $500 Lemons BMW we could build. So everything's all packed up and we're  ready to head to the track and in the next   video we're gonna find out if we can make it  through the entire 16 hour endurance race.
and if you're not subscribed consider  hitting that subscribe button,   that way you can see if we make the ultimate  comeback or if we end up failing again!