I did a few hard laps of a short track course this weekend at a DE event with my 1999 M3 (E36). After the hard driving I heard valve tapping sound from the engine. The fix recommended by others was to overfill the oil. I overfilled by 1/2 quart and the next day the same problem arose. A mechanic at the event said that running the car over 3000 rpm would allow the air built up near the valves to vent and the sound would go away. After a few hard laps I ran down a road in second gear at about 3500 rpm for about a mile. This completely eliminated the valve tapping noise. Later I was told that the M3 can handle up to a 1 quart overfill of oil. (BTW, the oil in the engine at the time was the BMW recommended and supplied 5W30 synthetic that the previous owner had just had installed at the dealer.)
Is this problem an oil pickup/sloshing problem or is it an oil foaming problem or is it a combination of the two. Do baffles in the oil pan, such as the kit from Turner Motorsports (see link) fix the problem? Does the dual pickup oil pan that was supplied with the 1995 M3 Lightweight fix the problem? Is the dual pickup oil pan still available as a new part?
What solutions have worked for you with this problem?
Turner Motorsports E36 Oil Pan Baffle Kit 
Linear Mode
