Leaderboard

Hi guys, It's been a while since i've posted on the forum, but have been checking in every now and again. Some of you may remember when I converted my e34 540i from automatic to 6 speed manual in 2010. 5years of fun was had going to track days and enjoying her. In late 2015 I was thinking about supercharging and started looking into options. Unfortunately I couldn't locate one, at which point I decided to build an M60B44. This is using the M60 heads, valve train and timing equipment and a M62B44 bottom end from an E38/E39 etc. I chose to regrind the M60 cams to something more aggressive. Standard cams have an advertised duration of 246 intake/242 exhaust. Franklin Cams reground mine to 272/252. The M62B44 headgasket was used and an oil feed for the original "U" timing chain was blocked as the M60 timing guides are different. Most things that could be replaced, were replaced. Several months into the build, I found a supercharger in the USA and thought to myself...why not? It took approximately 2months to arrive, but this gave me plenty of time to actually get it running and iron out some of the bugs. The supercharger arrived ~3weeks ago. The clutch setup has been custom made/modified by Autoclutch in Auckland. I have now done 1300km on the rebuilt engine, and it definitely pulls stronger in all gears up to the current redline. I tried to dyno the car 3 weeks ago, but unfortunately the radiator blew a hole just before the dyno run was about to start. New radiator and heavy duty fan installed as a precaution. Tomorrow (27/6/16) I have a dyno run to see how it pulls out of the box. This is using the factory ECU/DME for the M60B40. I know I didn't need to do it as I will be installing the supercharger straight off the bat, but I wanted to compare with my Auto dyno run in ~2009. Another run will be done after the supercharger and piggy back ECU install/tune. Aiming for ~400whp with the blower. A 320lph AEM fuel pump and 42lb injectors arrived last week. Enjoy. http://imgur.com/a/9bCZm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkMwtzC8qcI

I got 2 mtrs of fabric from LeMans for my seats - sent a small sample down to Kosta who runs it, extremely helpful and they matched it up and confirmed they had it, highly recommend them

Weakest part of the e46 sound setup is the speakers. 2nd weakest part is the amp (if you have one). Headdeck is third weakest but is not terrible. Another major problem with the e46 is the speaker location. The front speakers are connected to the door card and not the door, so there is no chamber behind the speaker and they vibrate like hell. Modifying the door by cutting a hole behind the door and using a solid baffle makes a HUGE difference. Here is my first prototype with rimu timber (its a very hard wood) and bolted to the metal with really strong screws/bolts and sealed with plasticine. After this I covered the whole door on the inside and outside with sound deadener, including over the baffle. Then speaker installed with its gasket and very strong screws. My advice would be; 1. build or get built the door pod and cut the door as I have done. 2. then install a good quality 6.5" driver and tweeter component set in the front (you can get better speakers than the bavs and cheaper). This will provide you with a huge improvement. If you want to improve further; 3. install an amp (or amps) under the parcel tray to power the speakers, and replace rear parcel tray speakers with the same brand and series as the front. These need to be secured well as the connection is not very strong here either. If you want to improve further; 4. replace headunit. Other things that should not be overlooked is sound deadening, quality cabling, and quality connections. Always solder connectors instead of crimping or terminal blocks and use heatshrink so there is no chance of oxidization. You can create a quality result without blowing the bank.

Damnit guys, youre meant to be driving the prices DOWN so i can afford one!

Same, if I like the Alpina.

And a comparison against the old tips... By the way, nice to bump into you Steve and see your car