What'd you do to your BMW today?

[M3AN 4016]

22 minutes ago, Harper said:

...255/40/18 all round...

What took you in that direction? 🤔

[Harper 536]

3 minutes ago, M3AN said:

What took you in that direction? 🤔

Tyre shortage meant 265/35/18 was ~6 months out for PS4S, 255/40/18 is the OE rear size, thought the taller sidewall would be nice, bit less camber required on the front. Lots of reasons really. Downside is that it's maybe a little small in the rear. But the car only sees street use so its hardly under gripped for that use case. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Harper

[M3AN 4016]

I'm not sure a ~330hp car that weighs less than 1600kg's justifies a 255 up front, I think that will end up being a compromise on handling.

[Harper 536]

17 minutes ago, leichtbau said:

@Harper does this mean there's a set of x8.5" fronts floating about?

Unfortunately not. Bought four rears brand new via ECS, when they were on a silly clearance from BMW and cost me peanuts. Kicking myself for not just grabbing 2 fronts as well for the option of a staggered setup though...

[Harper 536]

13 minutes ago, M3AN said:

I'm not sure a ~330hp car that weighs less than 1600kg's justifies a 255 up front, I think that will end up being a compromise on handling.

Potentially. 255 square is actually on the smaller end for what is common. M3's that see track use have even been known to run 285 square. 265 being the most common square setup tyre. 

There is definitely tradeoffs for running the larger tyre in the front such as reduced steering feel and increased tramlining. Steering feel is offset somewhat by running a purple tag rack and a solid steering coupler in my case. The tramlining felt no different driving around today than my stock 235 tyres on my style 67s. Upside of the larger tyre is way more turn in and pushing the grip balance of the car forward for a bit more oversteer bias. Swings and roundabouts. 

As for whether it is a compromise or not. That is subjective, hence why I thought I'd try it out. Happy to report back 😁

Edited July 3, 2021 by Harper

[leichtbau 525]

19 minutes ago, M3AN said:

I'm not sure a ~330hp car that weighs less than 1600kg's justifies a 255 up front, I think that will end up being a compromise on handling.

18x9.5 or 18x10 square setup has been the go-to on E46 M3's for a while now. As Harper alluded to, massive increase in turn in and the centre of rotation is pushed forward,.

[M3AN 4016]

I can't imagine a real world situation where any of that is relevant on the street. If you've spec'd for the track and that's where you'll spend your time then perhaps.

43 minutes ago, Harper said:

...by running a purple tag rack...

I didn't realise that was a thing for the e46 M3... interesting. Does that mean the even tighter Z3 rack is also an option?

[Harper 536]

14 minutes ago, M3AN said:

I can't imagine a real world situation where any of that is relevant on the street. If you've spec'd for the track and that's where you'll spend your time then perhaps.

Better turn in grip not a perk on the street? News to me. As with anything, comes down to personal preference and what kind of driving experience you are looking for. These days, this is a weekend car that gets smashed around every time I drive it, so I want something that's a bit more involved and fun. If I was doing a daily commute in this, then yes a larger front section tyre would be a poor choice probably. Added benefit of being able to swap the tyres front to rear is nice for a road car as well. 

14 minutes ago, M3AN said:

I didn't realise that was a thing for the e46 M3... interesting. Does that mean the even tighter Z3 rack is also an option?

As far as I know, yes. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Harper

[Harper 536]

Oh yeah, this thing is good... Fixed the alignment a little so pretty close to no rubbing. Probably still needs to be slightly higher front and rear. Waiting on some strut spacers for the Ohlins so I don't have to preload the spring quite so much on the front before I get a proper alignment. For now I've just gotta hope the driveway measured camber and toe will suffice. 

I also accidentally ordered a set or recaro pole position ABE's which I've decided will get trimmed in m-texture to match as well. Oops, man I really need to take a break from spending on this thing.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Harper

[leichtbau 525]

22 hours ago, Harper said:

I also accidentally ordered a set or recaro pole position ABE's

Might I suggest colour matching the shells to the colour of the car, ala various Porsche RS Pole Positions?

[Harper 536]

19 hours ago, leichtbau said:

Might I suggest colour matching the shells to the colour of the car, ala various Porsche RS Pole Positions?

Don't give me any more expensive ideas, I have enough of those 🙄... 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Harper

[SmackJackTheCrackerMan 54]

Just a quick vRSF Duel Cone Intake. Sounds pretty good, although it did take around 6 weeks to arrive from Turners Motorsport 🤬 

[325_driver 422]

Did engine mounts on the 330i

Wish someone told me that RHS one was a PITA even with the sub frame hanging down dealing with the exhuast/steering rack.

After inventing a dictionary of swearing words realized the trick is to rotate it the opposite way before pulling it out the rear. Even knowing that its still difficult getting in.

Maybe people probably disconnect thr Power steering rack or steering joint to get even more room.

Oh well that engine support bar continues to be $100 well spent.

[m325i 709]

Had a squeeking / groaning form the rear. Was it from recent new parts / work? ohh noooo, this is going to drive me insane!

Read a post it could be leather on leather squeeking. It was! Fixed it!

Follow your dreams!

[Harper 536]

Newest acquisition: 

Recaro Pole Position ABE's de-badged and trimmed in M texture to match. These will do nicely... Breykrause brackets on their way to mount to a set of OEM manual sliders.

   

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by Harper

[Twistee 451]

Got rid of the amazing "Hifly" front tires and replaced them with some Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. What a shock the wheel vibration that couldn't be balanced out with the quality Hifly's is 99% gone. 

Yes they look like balloons from this angle, but they are the standard 255/40r19.

 

[KwS 2421]

Love a chunky sidewall

[balancerider 751]

7 hours ago, Twistee said:

 What a shock the wheel vibration that couldn't be balanced out with the quality Hifly's is 99% gone. 

Who TF puts Hifly's on a 507hp RWD car. Needs shooting...

[andrewm 236]

18 minutes ago, balancerider said:

Who TF puts Hifly's on a 507hp RWD car. Needs shooting...

The kind of person who does all the maintenance on time, oh wait.

Also, dealers...

Edited August 11, 2021 by andrewm

[Twistee 451]

11 minutes ago, balancerider said:

Who TF puts Hifly's on a 507hp RWD car. Needs shooting...

I actually wrote a full on rant about that very fact, I mean FFS - Then I deleted it. But yes, I totally agree with that statement. I mean have some respect for what it is, what it can do, how many were built, and don't be a dreamer who over extends to the hilt just to buy it and then can't afford to keep it - so it just becomes another under maintained M5 which adds to the its unreliable BS. Although I was told this came from some eccentric collector, I think it was bought, driven for a couple of months until the reality hit home and it was parked. The tires are just annoying, but not because of the cost - but because the car went through what can only be described as the most useless PPI I have ever seen done on a car by a "specialist" in CHCH, report literally was written on the invoice....... and they missed a glorious slice clean through the sidewall to the banding (and countless other things), right where the rim had been repaired, probably because someone assed it into a curb.

I only came across this beauty after two tire shops couldn't balance these wonders and I was cleaning a ridiculous amount of weight adhesive off the rims. 

And if you ever want to know what you need to throw at a Hifly to try and balance it - start with this:

 

Then put about the same on the inside further around, quality............ The Michelins have no weight on one and 5 grams on the other.

 

[M3AN 4016]

Annoyingly I discovered today that the 130i has both pad wear sensors and a distance-based alert (why?). Removed the rear wheel, inspected the pads and sensor, all looked fine so I assumed the sensor was faulty, clipped the end off and connected the two wires, restarted the car, same error that wouldn't clear. Subsequently found the place to reset the OBC which cleared the error... sensor was probably fine all along.

If both systems are required (again why?) then the OBC should at least distinguish between the two when it tells you one of them has been triggered.

[Jacko 2151]

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

Annoyingly I discovered today that the 130i has both pad wear sensors and a distance-based alert (why?). Removed the rear wheel, inspected the pads and sensor, all looked fine so I assumed the sensor was faulty, clipped the end off and connected the two wires, restarted the car, same error that wouldn't clear. Subsequently found the place to reset the OBC which cleared the error... sensor was probably fine all along.

If both systems are required (again why?) then the OBC should at least distinguish between the two when it tells you one of them has been triggered.

Rotors, its designed for you to have a looksee at them, get frustrated and snip stuff  There is also flag for brake fluid. 

[M3AN 4016]

1 hour ago, Jacko said:

Rotors, its designed for you to have a looksee at them, get frustrated and snip stuff  There is also flag for brake fluid. 

OBC said pads... even after I shorted the sensor. But yeah, I suspect it's so you take it to a dealer who will then replace stuff that doesn't need replacing and charge you a 400% premium on parts.

Funnily enough, I got a brake fluid warning about 800 km's after I'd just done a full flush... 🙄 

[Twistee 451]

The original matt black aftermarket (came with the wagon) kidney grills were pretty busted up, missing tabs and just looking average in comparison to everything else. So I ordered a replacement set of aftermarket grills that I think work with the colour of the body - obviously these can be replaced with factory items if I was ever so inclined to fall in line with the anorak brigade. 

In doing so I found that someone had double sided tapped the remote radar detector to the radiator slam panel behind the bumper pointing towards the ground, - cause that how it works..........

So after much faffing about I used some 3m chewing gum tape and mounted it correctly along with the laser jammers in to the grill. (All of this gear came with the car - it just was incorrectly installed / reinstalled at some point in its life. )

While I was poking around I checked the coolers for any o-ring leaks, all good but the usual birds nest of rubbish between the oil cooler and the radiator. Gave that valley a good vac and cleaned up the excess wiring loom for the radar etc. 

This was meant to be a 20 minute job, but between starting at midnight on saturday, trawling through install manuals for the radar to find the mounting position recommendations and being distracted by Top Gear Youtube I finally finished and cleaned up at 2:45am. 

Pretty happy with the look.

Off to get the new rear tires in the morning.

[Twistee 451]

New rear tires to match the new fronts from last week. Once the airbags / compressor is fixed (hopefully next week) then I'll get the alignment sorted.