Cement
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Everything posted by Cement
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While awaiting the electrical bits 'n bobs to arrive I've been chipping away at my trans mount and drive shaft loop ... which I need to get sorted before the tail end of the headers can be done. Just sent my proposal to the certifier to see what his thoughts are. REALLY hoping he is ok with it so I don't have to do the super lame but usual route of mounting through the floor with doubler plates etc.
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Dang that sounds like a rough time, those little buggers sure know how to put mum and dad through the wringer alright !! Glad things are looking more settled now mate
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Uh oh ... spaghetti oh !! Some really good progress today, managing to get the two ECU's slotted into the factory BMW electronics box insert with small modifications to both. Stoked !! Should give a really nice OEM look once all is completed bar some additional cable length. The smaller ECU is dedicated to the VVEL control, the one with three plugs is the main engine ECU. I await my Egis 8033 fuse block so I can get things finished up on the wiring side. As always happens I've completed the power wiring design now and I need another awesome part from Egis which is only available from offshore but it won't hold me up, will just make things more untidy.
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Third photo very much looks like you're at a private race track
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Thanks @Vass it sure has been a bit of a journey ... nice to feel like things are moving forward again finally !! My new PDM and associated wiring bits should be here soon from Waytek Wire and YouShop. I got the dry sump pump re-mounted in an alternate position using the same bracket as previous which should work fairly well. Unfortunately needs a new drive mandrel (and belt) as i chopped the other one. Once I get the new mandrel and belt I'll complete the mounting and maybe a simple tensioning mechanism also. Super excited to be doing some wiring now also and have gone over everything that will need to interface with something external so I can plan out the power / signal distribution. Part of this mission was to condense things a little so decided to remove the massive plug used in the Skyline which linked the VVEL control module to the engine harness, power and main ECU. Translated all the wires across and crimped them ... would have been good if they had used the same colours on both sides !! An interesting fact for those interested (anyone ? ) is that there is a private CAN network between the main ECU and the VVEL control module / ECU.
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I've recently (sorta now as things drag on !?) done the RACP reinforcement (CMP products) along with 330 running gear swap into my 318 project car. Nothing that isn't covered elsewhere on the internet many times over but may be of interest to take a look at my thread for ideas. Also cleaned all of the underside and painted plus did poly bushings etc while in there.
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Thanks for the feedback all I've got the 'standard' tools organised from one of the single click install packages. Probably will also get ISTA-D on there also at some stage but less requirement at the moment.
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So a fun part of the project tonight, got a square wave signal generator off Trademe and plumbed into my development gauge cluster. Now I can dial up and down the speed and have the fuel economy gauge function (it needs about 5km/h minimum to work). All good learnings but it does mean that the economy gauge is only semi useful for displaying something random ... my hope was to use it for crank case vacuum / pressure. The other down side is that to drive this gauge properly from the Arduino / CAN payload your calculations for 'economy' would be relative to the vehicle speed (once moving) which is fairly annoying as you'd then have to plumb the speed signal (from ABS computer in my case) into the Arduino. I'm thinking it would likely be a better result if you took the cluster apart and either replaced the existing gauge motor or maybe jigged it up to be controlled by the Arduino directly. Would then function all the time and you could avoid the speed relative dumpster fire. Fun little sideline anyhow ps: for anybody interested that's 1.3kHz at 50% duty cycle giving about 190km/h
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The hard drive in my garage laptop decided to die so i've got a SSD installed to give it a new lease on life. I used to have INPA and a range of other tools installed to support my E46 but i recall the setup was a bit of a ball ache last time. Looking for opinion on which software and from where is the easiest to install and the most useful ? Will just want service information, coding and diagnostic code manipulation etc ... the usual range.
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Would have been real nice if somebody pointed out my dry sump pump was installed upside down before now 🤣 Will make plumbing the scavenge lines easier haha
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I do like a bit of nerdyness alright, my abilities are nothing compared to my brother however I'm determined to have it sound good ... for me that means NO raspy barky horridness !! Current thinking is 2.25" secondaries and then 3" single exhaust with a good long straight through resonator and might try and see whats around for a rear muffler that is E46 compatible with single 3" inlet.
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Installed the headers again and trimmed them all to the same length ready for collectors to go on. Performed some volume measurements of all the tubes using water to get a feel for how things compared to the plastic mockups length wise. Bank 1 was a max of 12mm variation and bank 2 was 34mm. Would be very interesting to know the actual centreline length but that's just too hard. Based on length averages across each bank the plastic vs real length was a variation of 12mm again for bank 1 and 5mm for bank 2. The water filling process also identified two pinholes which i will need to address. Also decided to get the brakes sorted so adjusted the handbrake and then made a DIY vacuum bleeder setup. This was a 3D printed lid for a glass jar that i taped on Worked fairly well ... just used the wet/dry vacuum. Pedal is still not feeling right so will need to get more fluid and give it another round the old fashioned way. Have been in touch with my certifier and good news is I only need one loop for the drive shaft so have procured that and will start designing the transmission cross member and mount which will ideally incorporate the loop so I don't need to mount through the floor.
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Based on the plastic printed and glued mock ups they were within about 2mm within each bank ... bank to bank they are different but should be less critical given the secondaries will be relatively long. How they actually came out after fabrication is up for debate due to how much the stainless moves about !! Once i have them all trimmed to length for the collectors i will fill each tube with water and measure the volumes.
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It's a deep blue / purple kinda colour ... looks very good, much better than the images online I've seen IMO. He got it with some options which also help ... TRD side skirts and boot lip spoiler from memory along with some nice forged 21's At the other end of the automobile spectrum I've been engaging my kiwi ingenuity with my header tweaking as pictured. Engaged multiple wince making techniques from the trolley jack lift 'n shift to the classic ratchet tie down on the tow bar yank 'n twist. The wire in the vice is my gauge so I can tell how much to abuse it. The good news is I have 5 out of 6 pipes now fitting whilst the worst offender gets some surgery at Race Lab ... I really have had enough of messing with the headers at this point and the pro's will give it a quick cut and tuck with far less profanity than me doing it. Next up I'll be targeting the transmission mount, which will likely involve more header / exhaust work to get the collectors and secondaries / Y pipe sorted.
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Mucho thankso Of course the pics I share are the pinnacle of my results, there are plenty of average results to counter hah. Speaking of internal combustion engines, went to check out my mates new Lexus LC500 this morning ... quite the piece of automotive art to look at and the sound is amaze-balls !! One very very cool car. Also as it turns out you can get a lot done when the kids are at Nana's place for 2 nights BEHOLD .... the ahhhhh ... straightenerer ... chassis machine for twisted headers !!! Just have to bolt it to the garage floor then can see whats what.
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Happy to report the headers are now fully welded !!! Check out the pile of twisted pipes Managed to stack some dimes from time to time ... but probably only enough to get a sandwich Next up I'll be making a jig to secure the tubes to the garage floor so i can lean on them and see how much tweaking is possible.
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I'm liking that silver E46 muffler / exhaust look ... anybody able to ID ? Just dreaming of the day I actually need one for me project I really like the green brown grey gold metallic of the first one also.
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Nice nice ... good call on using mild steel !! Could probably have ceramic coated mine twice for what I have spent on argon alone 😭 Other things I've learned to be REALLY useful is good lighting (i use a mountain biking light on my hood) and a way to hold the tubes in all / odd angles. I made do with blocks of wood, the vice etc which was not ideal ... would have been a much tidier job if i was really comfortable and had some sort of (non-existent) arm you could clamp the work piece in and move it in 360 degrees etc.
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Forgot to mention the other day my top tip would be to fully weld small sections as you go ... I tacked mine up until complete and the fit was beautiful, then welded them after and the distortion was massive !! Means another operation now to correct so the pipes go where they need to and meet at the collector properly etc. No doubt you have the same deal as mine where some clearances are in the sub 5mm range. Your cuts look really square with no gaps which will help minimise, likewise if you are using mild steel.
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I always thought the majority of NZ power is generated from renewable resources, wikipedia states 82%. Not sure if geography plays a part as to where your power comes from specifically ... from memory generation in the South Island could not be transferred over Cook Strait at any higher level than it is currently etc.
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Looking awesome !! Wish I had a band saw and had gone with pie cuts instead of the donut sections !!
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Big day today in general !! Got the drive shaft back and it looks really great ... was worth them noting 'fussy paint job' on the job card As per everything these days it was super expensive but at least they did a really great job. Went for the big boy 1350 slip yoke (because why not) which makes the OEM middle joint look positively puny. Also has a new CV on the end as the old one was poked apparently. Not directly swap project related but I installed my AliExpress air and oil separator for the compressor which is pretty sweet. Also washed the car with my apprentice, SO satisfying as it had 18 months of garage dust all over it (plus a dead cockroach). The E46 is such a classic good looking car
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Gave the 337 a sponge bath with my little helper today ... 18 months since last wash and it really showed !! Looks so good again
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I needed a change of scene and to see some progress so decided to put the rear bumper back on. Installed new inner tail lights and bulbs also, yay its looking complete ... from the rear
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What flavor are you after ? I have a belt and rando orbital.
