M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 11, 2015 Oh... and did I mention I've got a quick ratio steering rack on the way? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMTHUG 1057 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 On 2/12/2015 at 12:23 PM, M3AN said: So yesterday I picked my car up from EUROHO's (SJ's) shop Apex Autos in Porana Road here on the Shore because I now have all of the suspension bits discussed here installed! As well as some reinforcements welded in. On 2/12/2015 at 12:24 PM, M3AN said: Oh... and did I mention I've got a quick ratio steering rack on the way? Was a pleasure having your car in Dave. What a beauty. We were overly excited to work on her and are so glad you are happy with the end result. I must say it is a major difference over stock springs and sway bars. Your's has to be one of the most well maintained m3's I have ever worked on personally. This whole PLOG is brilliant by the way. Catch up soon bud Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 609 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 Just installed the official Motorsport cap nuts on my front struts - these are the ones that come with the official Motorsport strut brace and are much cooler than the standard 13mm self locking nuts. Where did you aquire said nuts? Because I'm running the reinforcing plates on the front it gives it abit of a lift so don't have as much thread to screw the nuts on with and are only about half on. And are these tapered/sleeved so can get more turns on to the struts. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 Where did you aquire said nuts? Because I'm running the reinforcing plates on the front it gives it abit of a lift so don't have as much thread to screw the nuts on with and are only about half on. And are these tapered/sleeved so can get more turns on to the struts. Cheers I had exactly the same issue as you and although it didn't cause a problem it wasn't ideal. Yes the cap nuts are sleeved so they're both more secure in the strut mount ends and they grip more thread. BMW Part #: 51-71-2-268-565 And I got them from: http://www.schmiedmann.com/51-71-2-268-565/product-type/new/search-by-productnumber.aspx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 dont mean to thread jack or anything but like you dave, i met SJ at my cafe's meet last month and im so glad he was there. i asked for some help with my car to get scanned etc and sj offered and drove all the way to my place in mt wellington and spent a good hour scanning the s#!+ out of my car. for free! (i owe u one for sure) he was awesome, knew what he was talking about and walked me through the whole process. although his shop is in the north shore, i will gladly make the drive over to get anything done by him/apex automotive and will be recommending him to all my friends. and back on topic, looks like your car has made great progress dave! must take me for a ride one day 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1559 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I've also met SJ in my quest to find a decent welder close to the CBD that's not rubbish or a twit and will be letting him loose on the 8er exhaust in the near future. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMTHUG 1057 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 dont mean to thread jack or anything but like you dave, i met SJ at my cafe's meet last month and im so glad he was there. i asked for some help with my car to get scanned etc and sj offered and drove all the way to my place in mt wellington and spent a good hour scanning the s#!+ out of my car. for free! (i owe u one for sure) he was awesome, knew what he was talking about and walked me through the whole process. although his shop is in the north shore, i will gladly make the drive over to get anything done by him/apex automotive and will be recommending him to all my friends. and back on topic, looks like your car has made great progress dave! must take me for a ride one day I've also met SJ in my quest to find a decent welder close to the CBD that's not rubbish or a twit and will be letting him loose on the 8er exhaust in the near future. Kyu it was my pleasure dude! I love Dave's whole thread. His car is so well maintained and is a prime example of how a M3 should look and perform. Julez I can't wait to work on the 8er dude! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Washed... Edited May 12, 2018 by M3AN Images 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Looks great Dave, really makes me miss my E36. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz 1061 Report post Posted February 13, 2015 The RCs are looking good! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Cheers guys. I'll feel even better when the wheels are fixed up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) What you can't see in the pictures above is the horrible condition on the black trim that runs across the top of the windows from the A pillar right back to the C pillar. Mine looked like: So a bit of this: And this: And I got this: Much better: I'm delighted with the results and although the texture is a different to OEM you wouldn't know unless you knew. It looks so much better than it did that I'm happy even if it's not perfect. I used Dupli-Color "Custom Wrap" which seems to be the same sort of thing as Plasti-Dip. I'm not sure how long it will last but I used about 3/4 of a $28 can to coat each side 7 times. Application was easy, my second side (driver's) turned out better than the first but even so the first side isn't worth redoing, the imperfections are tiny. It really looks a million bucks - that trim in poor condition is in a place that you simply can't "unsee". Edited May 12, 2018 by M3AN Images 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HSB 282 Report post Posted February 14, 2015 ^^M3AN that looks so good. would you like to do mine? the wind blew the paper back up on to mine as soon as I'd finished it and fkuc'd the whole thing up hahahaha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 14, 2015 I'd be happy to visit if you lived 800 k's further north! I added extra tape after the first coat as the wind tempted my paper to go AWOL. Feel for ya. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 Looking good! I love this car Dave! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Delighted to receive my new steering rack today and hope to get it in ASAP because the steering feels sloppy after the suspension upgrade.After oodles of research I decided not to go with the quickest rack available (Z3) because a lot of people (but certainly not all) feel the result is a little too twitchy. That rack is 19% tighter than my stock one, the E46 Compact rack I've just received is 11% tighter than my current one so hopefully a perfect compromise and the reports out of the UK are that it's a fabulous upgrade.I paid £55 and that included lots of high resolution photos and I was allowed to choose a clean low mileage one (27k miles) that had no front end damage... not bad considering they're hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of dollars over here. Indeed it is very clean and in great condition overall, the boots hardly seem used (I don't need the arms but they came included). Will probably order a new reservoir (because it has a non-serviceable filter in it) and gets some hoses made up before I shove it all in (or more likely talk to SJ about it!). 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Dave your gear is here still waiting for you! Hehe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMTHUG 1057 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Woohoo good stuff Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Haha nice! Always new ways to spend more on the old M3 eh! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Haha nice! Always new ways to spend more on the old M3 eh! Its a project of love (and frustration) for me, have to keep going. Perhaps I can achieve the best OEM+ daily driver M3 in NZ? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Hear hear! Have your seats seen the TLC they need yet?? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Have your seats seen the TLC they need yet?? No. And don't be mean my seats make me weep. Edited February 20, 2015 by M3AN 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 No. And don't be mean my seats make me weep. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30-323ti 66 Report post Posted February 21, 2015 ^^ ROFL ^^ Swap out the 'Vaders' for some Wookies or Ewoks. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 609 Report post Posted February 21, 2015 I had exactly the same issue as you and although it didn't cause a problem it wasn't ideal. Yes the cap nuts are sleeved so they're both more secure in the strut mount ends and they grip more thread. BMW Part #: 51-71-2-268-565 And I got them from: http://www.schmiedmann.com/51-71-2-268-565/product-type/new/search-by-productnumber.aspx Found it! I've been looking for this post the last few days haha. Cheers for that, will make a huge different in both looks and me feeling safer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
