M3_Power

Updated photos (now with the whole car). Zero issues with wheel clearance. I ended up trimming the brake dust cover to accommodate the larger discs (had to trim off about 1/4 of the total surface area). I have to say I am absolutely blown away by how good these brakes are. Straight away the pedal feel, braking power and brake balance was more than apparant. The mechanic that fitted these brakes for me works for BMW NZ and is one of the head mechanics for Mini Challenge Race series here in NZ, Porsche GT3 Cup Racing and NZ V8 touring car championships. He was impressed with the build quality, fitment and overall performance of these brakes. The certification process was straight forward with little to no issues (I had to get longer wheel bolts given the slight increase in disc bell thickness - yes a strange one in my opinion, but the cert guy's God when it comes to getting certification in NZ and for the car to be road legal, so we tracked down some 5 series wheels bolts which were slightly longer and did the job required - I've actually also got some longer ones coming from Turnermotorsport also). As already stated in another post this kit is great in the sense that you don't need to run spacers on all OEM wheels, 18s, 19s, ZCP, CSL You also have great brake pad choices, all the following fits: Mintex MDB2607 Alcon 4497 Pagid U8028 SBS 3061 Ferodo FRP3081 The calipers themselves are 3.5kg each for those also wondering. Now on with the photos. If any of you want any specific shots of the kit, please let me know and I'll take them. And for those curious about clearance, here's two shots take from inside the wheel:

Sorry but I find that VERY HARD to believe .... Official Remanufactured clutch kits cost WAY less than that. It'll be the labour cost that make up majority of the bill - although having said this I can't see how much more difficult the M5 clutch would be to replace compared to a M3 one (similar sort of hours and time from my understanding - roughly charge out rate is 10 to 12 hours total)

Bit of an update ... Anyway actually was suppose to have the kit fitted a couple of weeks ago (had the car all booked in, up on the hoist, cert guy waiting ect ... ) .. but upon disassembling and test fitting I realised that Alcon had packaged the wrong disc for the set ... !!!!!!!! They had sent me Golf GTi discs rather than M3 ones ARrrghhhh (actually the disc was correct, the disc bell was incorrect) So after many emails and overseas phone calls to both USA and England, Alcon finally sent me the correct discs last week !! (they sent me a whole new assembly rather than just the bell, meaning that I get to keep a spare set of 365mm x 32mm discs Yippy !!!! - they also sent me a spare set of brake lines as they weren't 100% certain what they had sent me were the correct ones ... turns out that they were the correct ones - oh well no harm in having a spare set of brake lines !!!) So ... on with the photos .. Some teasers ... test fitting in my garage by myself ... Clearance ... not too bad - seems to clear even the largest of wheel weights ... So it's off to the shop and reorganising the cert guy .... : ) to be continued.

You should be fine. The CSL fronts are 8.5 wide +44ET and fit the alcons without spacers. Similarly with the AP kit. The brembos you have to run a 15mm spacer, and the stoptech I think 10mm.

Ooops my bad ... let me know if you want to see the kit in person - it should be in by end of next week if all goes well. I've got Alcon templates that allows to you check clearances. The alcon has by far the lowest profile of all the BBK out there (even AP Racing) - what sort of offset are you running at the moment?

Silver Grey actually - should look good on it I think. Was going to install it myself, but then I thought if I sell the car further down the road the purchasers would probably prefer to see a proper invoice from a reputable shop that installed the kit, so have decided to just pay someone to do it (whilst I give all the instructions and torque specs haha) - that and it makes the cert guy a bit more comfortable having someone 'qualified' installing it. Yes most BBK kits come with brake fluid, in this case Motul !!!! I used to be a bit of a track junky .. but haven't had the time recently - bit hard to outdrive the standard brakes on the road especially with good pads - on the track it wouldn't be hard to overcook the stock item given enough laps. The M3 brakes whilst good it's still no comparison to a top aftermarket fix caliper - now I've got no excuse to use for going slow around a track. Don't see how brakes can add to power, certainly add to stability and durability against fading on the track however - not to mention the bling haha ... Will post up some photos when fitted, should be sometime next week - getting everything organised so I can get my LVV cert updated at the sametime it's being installed and update with the insurance company my 'mod list' (I've sold it to them by telling them that the brakes increases safety haha)

Finally they are here ... will post up photos once installed. Main reason for going with Alcon: - Bolt on application - NO SPACERS to clear the CSL fronts - Excellent range of pad choices - Monoblock design - huge 365mm discs can't wait !!!

I might sell the CSL brakes ... I'll see - they are quite a good upgrade for the normal M3s ... 345mm discs. The Alcons should be fun, 365mm true floating discs and graduated 6 piston monoblock fixed Aluminium calipers.

The real deal Race brake pads for E46 M3s (will fit E46 M3s and CSLs and Z4 Ms) I imported these privately from the USA - full set both front and rear. These are performance friction PFC-01s - top spec RACE ONY brake pads (operating temp over 2000 degrees F). They were test fitted and bedded in properly and then taken out of my CSL because they were simply too noisy for normal road use and didn't really work when cold - but when warmed up the stopping power was phenominal. Popular race pads for those that do the Nurburgrings and club level races and even cup level racing in the USA. These cost over $800 full set (including shipping and tax to NZ) ... I will let them go for $500 .... only bedded in, NEVER used on the track and only once on the road for about 10km ... I don't recommend these for daily use, although some people in the USA do do it. More from Performance Friction website: "Racing champions know Performance Friction Brakes. Hundreds of races and more than 1,500 championships have been won on Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads, ranging from NASCAR Winston Cup to IndyCar to the Australian Porsche Cup. Last year alone, over 120 racing champions all over the world drove to victory on Performance Friction brakes." PCF-01 Compound Released in 2001,this compound has increased initial bite and improved modulation. The friction level has been increased for the first two-thirds of the braking event, with flatter torque curve and more linear friction curve compared to 83 and 93. This allows the driver to attack the brake pedal later, reducing the time spent on the brakes. Very smooth release will not over-slow the car, and won't overwhelm the car's set-up. Like 97 compound, 01 has excellent modulation characteristics that improve controllability and driver confidence. 01 uses Performance Frictions unique lubrication package that maintains a minimal transfer layer on the disc to help prevent brake judder and provide excellent release properties, therefore reducing overall drag in the brake system. 01 is extremely easy on the discs with very low wear. Effective from 167F and reach 2000F (75C , reach 1100C), optimum operating range is between 860F and 1004F (460C and 540C). Reason for selling - I've got an Alcon Monoblock 6 pot Big Brake kit coming for my car, so these are no longer needed .... Tardme link: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=158734720

Compressed springs aren't technically WOFable nor certifiable under the LVV rules ... Don't do it, it just screws up your handling. If you want to go low, save up and get proper lowering springs or if you can stretch it get proper coilovers with matched springs and damper rates.

lube them up (both outside and inside the bushing and mounting rod) with cooper anti-seize (I reoommend Wurth) as recommended by all major polybush manufacturers - the noise will go away.

Wasn't that a stolen vehicle in pursuit?? I am sure it was in the Herald.

There's mixed reviews about this company's product on m3forum.net (do a search on there and you'll see what I mean) - some say the fitment is horrible and aftersales service non existent, some say it's okay. I've just found their shipping to be rather expensive. I'd try Vorsteiner products if you want quality and near OEM fitment.

Yep ... very easy to f**k up ... Point the keys towards the rear view mirror for better reception.

oh heck ... if you feel brave enough hehe .. here's a post up on how to reinitialise the key: Good luck: If it just went dead when it wasn't used it needs to be reset. Drive around with it for a couple hours to charge up the key then do the following: 1. Have both Master Keys available 2. Enter the vehicle and close the doors 3. Briefly (max 5 seconds) turn the ignition on and off again 4. Remove key; press and hold "unlock" button. While holding "unlock" button, rapidly press "lock" button 3 times within a period of 10 seconds. 5. Release "unlock" button. The LED flashes slowly for a maximum of 10 seconds. 6. The central locking system activates and releases all locks in rapid succession to indicate that the initialization procedure has been successful. If LED continues to flash or if the locking system fails to respond, the initialization procedure will have to be repeated. 7. To initialize additional remote control keys (make sure that no more than 30 seconds elapse between each initialization procedure) repeat steps 3 and 4. NOTE: The ignition does not have to be cycled on/off for additional key initialization. oh and if it's a dead battery and you REALLY want to open up your key to replace it, the battery part number is as follows: Panasonic VL2020 original post of a guy that opened one up (pictures are gone, but it can be done if you don't mind a slightly ugly looking key afterwards:) http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=427754

You have the new shape key (supposedly non replaceable battery). They do actually just fail without warning, quite normal if the key have been mishandled in the past.

Actually you can replace the battery in the new triangular keys ... they are just a bitch to open up and chances are you'd damage the plastic shell when opening them up. They aren't designed to be replaced and the shells are glued in place, but a battery is a battery and they can be replaced if you are desperate enough and can live with a slightly broken shell of a key. Chances are it's a reinitialisation issue. I've got the procedure to do this, if you want I'll post it up, but I don't recommend it as you can do more harm than good if you don't know what you are doing. (I recall doing this myself once and I ended up writing out the original key and stuffing up the new key and ended up having no keys that worked .. LOL).

Er ... those two shocks are completely different design hence the difference in the so called shaft - what you are looking at in the bilstein isn't the shaft because it's an inversed monotube (Bilstein uses inverse monotube for all front McPherson struts) - the factory shocks are a normal monotube with the shaft on the top) Bilstein's explanation for the inverse design: Stay away from D2s ... you should know JiB ... if they were crap for Hondas they aren't going to be any good for BMWs either - they have terrible rebound rates.

I believe you are talking about the two common front and rear bushings that wear out on the E36 and E46 M cars. The front one is called Front Control Arm Bushing (abbreviated to FCAB on most US based websites) The rear one is called the Rear Trailing arm bushing (abbreviated to RTAB on most US based websites) The front one I'd suggest OEM as the aftermarket ones tend to fall out and don't have as good of a fit. The RTAB I'd go aftermarket Poly bushing from either Rogue Engineering or Powerflex products (I have the Rouge Engineering bushing myself which I've yet to install) The RTAB is the same between the E36 and E46 M3s - identical parts. I have the tool that's specific for removing this bushing which I imported from the US. Below is a DIY link from Rogue Engineering on how to replace the RTAB http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merchant2/...egory_Code=RTAB If need more info, let me know.

http://www.bmw.com/generic/com/en/fascinat...ordschleife.pdf Makes for great reading. A corner by corner guide with correct racing lines diagrams and pictures. Now I just got to get myself to Germany ...

The only 2 panel beater I'd use in Auckland Euro Collision - Dave's great and does A1 jobs ... They are very busy though. Ray Haslars Autohaus by Eden Terrace - they are the official Audi and Porsche repairers and do very very good jobs (on par with Euro Collision in my opinion) and slightly cheaper than Euro. Both of the above use the official Glasurit paint from Germany - the same OEM paint used by BMW manufacturers.

The carriers aren't $5K ... but you don't get much change from $2K .... If you think that's expensive you should price up some CSL parts ... now some of those are just ridiculous.

Have to say that I LOVE THIS THING !!! OMG it is wicked ... For more pictures click on the link below http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/rahalm3/

Heading down Sunday morning with the wifey ... will be at the mini tent apparently. Might take the CSL for its first road trip .. hehe

I actually thought it was a bit average : P The clutch sucked and had no feel to it and was way too soft .. the steering vague and uninvolving. The rear end far too softly sprung for the amount of weight and torque. The engine had a nice torque spread but lacked the top end I've read soo much about in the reviews (which was a surprise). The gearbox is definitely an improvement over the old model and had a better action and throw. The engine noise is average again in my opinion - although an improvement over the tinnie sound of the old S54 and exhaust system. The brakes are pretty good however and definitely an improvement over the old model in terms of pedal pressure, feel, and bite. The car does look sexy in person and have about the best and most comfortable seats I've ever sat in a road car. Also the largest steering wheel grip ever made for a road car Wouldn't buy one to be honest ... especially not for the price range it's pitched at.