M3_Power

What it looked like pre-delivery

Yep ... rear ended by a drunk driver 2 weeks after picking it up or something .. I can't recall exactly now that it has been so long. Majority of the impact was on the exhaust, so that was replaced cat back .. the floor had a very minor dent where the boot closed - this in turn pull the boot in and it was replaced also. No rear chassis rail damage and the boot floor was repaired not replaced. Basically the other car submarined under the M3. No rear tail lights were damaged. I might even still have the repair invoice somewhere. But the parts replaced were boot, bumper, bumper support, diffuser and exhaust. I also recall fondly that the assessor wouldn't approve replacing the ehxuast heat shield because it had a 5cm crease in it and said to the repairer to just striaghten it out ... honestly if you looked at it you wouldn't even know it was creased - so that's the extent the repairer went to to make sure it was as good as new. By the way, in case anyone was wondering, this car isn't part of the bearing recall period - so if you were wondering why it was not done it is because it had the latest bearings when it was manufactured, so no recall was necessary. Also when I owned it it was trouble free. My understanding was the subsequent owner to me was a real enthusiast and took reall good care of the car and it had a CPV leak so that was replace and a power steering hose leak which was also replaced by the main dealer.

28,310km or there abouts when I sold it.

My old car... Purchased it brand new ... Still have photos of it in shipping package wax

Guys on m3cutters that have installed these and run them on alpha n with a tune on the dyno report similar HP as a CSL Will from Geoff Steel run these on his race winning competition racecar and i believe he has made much more with cams. The fact is you don't actually need CSL cams to make CSL power (provided you know what to adjust in the DME)

Geoff steel themselves make a modified version of this airbox for the E36 specifically. Basically I think they cut out the trumpets and put an adaptor in place - have a look at the link. http://www.geoffsteel.co.uk/shop/bmw-e36-m3-csl-carbon-airbox/

offers

Just spotted an absolute MINT black E30 M3 Europameister with the plate MEISTR or similar driven by Ross of BM Workshop going towards Botany. God I want one!

That is so overpriced I don't even know where to begin. You can get a proper ALMS E46 M3 GTR replica for almost half of the price and it has all proper ALMS GTR suspension changes and body panel work done properly.

Thanks for all the votes fellas!!! Appreciate it!! Close but no cigar haha!! Thread close please moderators : )

Happy wife happy life?!

Appreciate all the votes and comments everyone!!! Thank you!

Love the wheels!

Be proactive about it. To be honest this whole recall thing is a bit of a farce. I got the letter on mine yesterday but my airbag was replaced last year!! Not very good paper work keeping if that is the case or there is another airbag being recalled.The job takes 5 minutes. Passenger trim out, screw out lift passenger airbag dash cover, unbolt two nuts that hold the bag in remove plastic tamper clip, new bag in and new nuts and clip and reverse of removal done. You don't even need to disconnect the battery to do it.

Well it's majority brand new actually. The non-filtered section is used but only lightly as I was using it for some testing a little while back, but the main airbox is brand new. T Please read this advert carefully before asking questions!! These airboxes are considered "Racing" pieces - so they are NO WHERE NEAR show piece quality - it is pure function over form these. It is a wet lay up airbox so there are pin holes, bubbles and wobbly weaves in the carbon fibre everywhere. This is the latest generation produced by Geoff Steel in the UK which has all metal hose fittings (rather than their older boxes which were fiberglass and resin and were prone to breaking off). The fitment between the unfiltered section and filtered section is okay but again not perfect. If I was putting this on a race car I would probably tidy a few area of the airbox up a bit (mainly all the ITB opening as it overlaps with the rubber boot on ALL cylinders - many have run these out of the box without issue however). I am more than happy to assist in getting this to run on your car if you purchase - but only to an extent of getting it to run under the stock default Alpha-N map. YOU WILL NEED TO GET YOUR CAR TUNED IF YOU WANT IT TO RUN PERFECTLY. However having said this if you read posts from the UK such as those on totalmcars.com you will see there are guys that run these without a tune and it has been more than fine (the stock DME has an onboard MAP sensor so it is just enough to compensate for atmospheric pressure differences). I will even show you how to make an adaptor for your MAF sensor plug into an IAT 2 pin and have it plug and play so there is no splicing or cutting into your loom. (You will need to source an old MAF sensor, buy some wiring and a Bosch EV1 female plug and use an IAT sensor out of an E36M3) To make this run perfectly you do need to do a MAP conversion otherwise I am told on idle it can be a little bit lumpy (although others have reported that it runs fine without issue or hesitation if your vanos is in tip top condition). These airboxes run a cut down K&N rectangle filter rather than the larger BMC CSL filter. You can modify them to fit the standard BMC CSL filter but it requires a bit of carbon work. Google Geoff Steel or GSR CSL airbox if you want to learn more. Also plenty of videos on youtube of people running these. $1200 firm (note does NOT include the rubber boots shown in photo - snorkel NOT included - what you see is what you get) - I will also throw in a "BMW M Power" sticker I had made up professionally off a genuine CSL airbox if you prefer these over the one that's on the box at the moment. [These are 1095GBP retail plus shipping and GST to NZ] If this doesn't sell I will probably allow this to be moulded off and replicas created for those wanting to do this (conditions apply).

I posted this on cslregister and thought I'd relay it here ... If any owners of an airbox need this replaced or is looking for replacements PM me as I have loads of this stuff now, so happy to supply FOC except postage. Okay some will probably consider this post a little obsessive but that's what I am I've been hunting high and low to find out what this little band of foam tape seal is on our carbon airbox - as some of you know, there's a strip on the main box and another on the unfiltered section. The width of this foam is 5mm and the thickness is 2mm which is not a standard sizing apparently (most are 6mm x 3mm). Through my research and ordering all types of different materials off the internet and basically trawling through every single foam tape supplier here in good old New Zealand I have finally narrowed down the material of this elusive foam tape (yes it was bloody hard here in NZ as it is apparently an odd sizing that no one uses here). Anyway, through my learning I've found you can get these in various types of materials but not all are suitable, property or density wise. Quick run down: PE foam tape - not suitable as it is too soft and does not have very good memory property - also not very heat resistant. PVC foam tape - close but no cigar. In closed cell form these usually have a 'skin' on the exposed side (non sticky side) thus giving the incorrect finish or look when placed on the airbox. In open cell type it is not water resistant. Also it lacks the foam 'memory' needed for our application. Neoprene/EPDM foam tape - this is the product used on our airbox. It has great memory property and is oil, water dust ect resistant, but most importantly it is heat resistant up to 160 Degrees C. In closed cell form it also has the correct look to it. Medium density is what we need here. Unfortunately here in NZ I can only get these in 3mm x 6mm so I've decided to replace one on an old spare airbox I had just to see how it looked and whether it affected the two parts when screwed together. Turns out it looks okay being 1mm thicker and wider and doesn't really affect the two parts coming together (little tight at first, but after a while the memory of the foam settles and it is no different to what it used to be. Now you can order these from Germany it turns out in this sizing - I haven't yet found anyone in the UK that do them in 2 x 5mm (see edit note below) - only Germany (strange) - I have asked a few sellers if this could be cut to this width and many have said "no" as apparently Neoprene is quite hard to cut into thin tape form. But anyway here's a link to the German seller on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-M-NEOPRENE-SEALING-TAPE-2X5-MM-/321694162788?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ae6775f64 Here are some photos (3x6mm next to the OEM foam) Old airbox replaced with 3x6mm UPDATE: I found the perfect matching material and it's located in the UK - the outfit will cut to size and it is VERY reasonably priced (loads cheaper than the German outfit above). I ordered 10 rolls so they can definitely do this sizing. Ask for Sophie. Link here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEOPRENE-SPONGE-FOAM-SELF-ADHESIVE-ROLL-2-3-4-5-6-8-10-MM-THICK-X-5METRES-/251993153739?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123#ht_294wt_904 Pictures next to the OEM foam (note the colour is actually a perfect match also (when I compared it to a brand new airbox) - slightly off here as it's compared to an used airbox.

One of these might work http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEGIWA-AIRBOX-FILTER-ELEMENT-TYPE-1-/400761531732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d4f3fad54 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEGIWA-AIRBOX-FILTER-ELEMENT-TYPE-2-/201155000486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2ed5c5b8a6 They are the same filters used in the Honda Mugen intake airboxes - so if you have the dimensions you might be able to hit up Honda NZ (official distributor of Mugen products) or another local Mugen distributor and see if they have them in stock. Otherwise Tegiwa is an UK company that made knock off Mugen intakes and uses the same filters made by a third party which is just as good.

Changing the DME to non smg has nothing to do with ews delete.I wasn't talking about ews delete. You can change dme recognition from 6 speed to smg and vice versa on all software versions but it doesn't work properly unless it is a CSL tune. I can't be bothered going into the technical details as to why this is but I have tested this with Ray on numerous software versions and many different owners in the USA.. Ray can comment if he likes but we have tested this at least on 3 different occassions. Do it properly and just reflash the DME with the correct 6 speed software. There are quite a few maps that are different between smg and non smg.

^ Absolutely the wrong tool to use for a properly converted vehicle I am afraid. I would not use that to do the conversion - loads of people in the USA I've helped out when they did this and used the above tool and couldn't get it to work properly (had to leave SMG module plugged in ect - or it would not idle correct or lost power ect ect .. the list goes on) You do this with factory tools if you want a perfect conversion (i.e. the car thinks and believe it is a 6 speed manual from the factory). There are parts of the tune in the SMG equiped DME Software that is very different to the standard 6 speed manual (many don't realise this and do the simple change with tools like the above). Basically remove SMG option code with NCS Expert from the LCM and IKE .. recode the DME with a non SMG software version from the same hardware/firmware type (or update it if you like) - have the correct wiring so that things like clutch switch is recognised.

MK20 DSC system ... enough said. Also bang on for the worst rod bearing recall periods.

Oh I know the one you are talking about now. Nice car. I do hope that the owners of these cars are pulling their airbox out and cleaning them on a regular basis ... the amount of crap and blow by that these carbon airbox collect despite having a good BMC filter and drain is almost mind blowing!! If any owner needs a know how of how to do this without damaging your airbox PM me ... I can pretty much remove and install these with my eyes closed now.

Not if you use all genuine parts ... it'll end up costing way more than the real thing. That's if you can find all the bespoke parts from it. I have a friend in the UK that converted a 6 speed manual M3 into full CSL spec - every single part was genuine CSL and every single unique component was purchased either brand new or very good used ... and it cost 2.5x the amount of what an used CSL goes for in the UK. Can you make a stock M3 better than a CSL ... yes absolutely. It can be made faster, lighter and better in every way (I have another guy that I know in Germany that purchased every single Die Wethje (original manufacturer of the carbon components for the CSL) carbon fiber component available for the CSL (we are talking about full light weight carbon bonnets that weigh 3.2kg, full carbon boot lid that weigh 2.5kg and doors, front guards ect) . Once I find that donor car I shall build the ultimate CSL replica : )

Is that one still in the country? I did hear about this but have never been able to confirm - thanks!

Thread pitch in case anyone is interested is 12mm x 1.5

Jon I keep hearing different stories about that black one that got written off ... I know at one stage it was registered as a tractor for a very long time, and that was when I heard through various sources that it was written off and reshelled into a racecar. Then a few years later I was told it had been repaired ... And then only last year, someone said they spotted it at a Rally ... Very confusing this elusive black car or whatever happened to it. As far as I am aware despite the live plates it is no longer the same car supposedly. Oh and if anyone is thinking about buying one just be aware that a lot of the CSL exclusive parts (if they are actually still available - a lot of it is NLA) have gone up in price by quite a margin. The parts themselves are appreciating quicker than the car LOL!! I have been thinking about pulling the motor out of mine and put it on an engine stand and throwing a standard M3 engine in there and just tune that to CSL spec.