M3AN E36 M3 PLOG (Project Log)

[M3AN 4016]

Right I tested fitted the splitter today. The fit is not perfect but in some regards I expected that. Additional measures will need to be taken to ensure it's secure.

The original (not previous) owner says that it needs to be installed over the existing black motosport lip and I think this is the only practical way to do it and secure it properly. As you'll see the splitter emulates this lip and really needs something to hang from across its length. I don't believe simply securing it from the bottom will be sufficient, especially at high speed. Achieving a tight "OEM" fit will require the use of race tape or external (visible) bolts/screws to secure the splitter to the factory lip. Unfortunately if you use race tape removal would be almost impossible without damaging the fibreglass structure (the tape would just pull the fibres apart).

Having said that it's quite grouse and it does look very aggressive, I'm not sold on it yet for every day use but we'll see how that plays out. 

The pics (test fit only)...

The gaps...

[Drea//Mer 30]

i think the lip is quite cool to have from a collectors point of view but it looks a little over the top for a street car...  but if you're making copies i'd definately be interested!

i much prefer the lip + splitters look you have in your signature

Edited July 21, 2018 by Drea//Mer

[BimmerShaun 10]

EXACTLY the sort of lip I want. 

[M3AN 4016]

16 minutes ago, Drea//Mer said:

i think the lip is quite cool to have from a collectors point of view but it looks a little over the top for a street car...  but if you're making copies i'd definately be interested!

i much prefer the lip + splitters look you have in your signature

 I tend to agree at this early stage, especially since I don't have a huge rear spoiler to match. But I would like to get it attached properly and perhaps drive it around a bit, see it in different settings etc. before I made a final decision.

I'd also like to copy it for all sorts of reasons, I don't have the skills but will hopefully follow up with Willian (@3pedals) to establish if it's actually feasible and what it might mean costwise. I can't see a carbon fibre replica costing only a few hundred, I'd expect it to be much, much more expensive (could be wrong, I'm ignorant on both material costs and the time involved).

I also like the look with only those velocity splitters... broke them both off within a month... imagine me driving around with this huge thing! Having said that my M3 was a daily back then, hardly sees the road now.

15 minutes ago, BimmerShaun said:

EXACTLY the sort of lip I want. 

Form, function or both? Either way keep your eyes on this thread as updates on ownership and the possibility of copies will be posted here first. ?

[qazwsx 11]

That looks bloody mint dave. I think it suits your blue more than my red. The most noticeable gaps are definitely at the end on the sides. The top front gap I quickly forgot was there. I wonder if self tapping screws can bend the sides in enough to close the gap.

I think because it curves slightly upwards the approach angle at the front isn't actually bad at all especially considering its length. At standard motorsport height I never scraped the front edge, it was always those 2 points at the bottom I showed you.

And be careful about the rough inside scratching your motorsport lip.

it doesn't look like this is installed with the lip does it?

 

[BimmerShaun 10]

21 hours ago, M3AN said:

Form, function or both? Either way keep your eyes on this thread as updates on ownership and the possibility of copies will be posted here first. 

Mostly form, I envisage a silver/black colour scheme. 

But I'm sure a little less lift at the front wouldn't go astray either. 

[M3AN 4016]

16 hours ago, qazwsx said:

...I wonder if self tapping screws can bend the sides in enough to close the gap...

...it doesn't look like this is installed with the lip does it?

I think for the sides I might be able to use plastic pop rivets but I want to secure it front and rear first (see below).

It's difficult to tell how the "factory" install goes just from the pics I've seen. I just can't imagine it being strong enough across to top if there's no factory lip to support it... at 200km/h it would just bow down in the middle, tear off and get spat out the rear end I reckon.

[M3AN 4016]

I did spend some more time with the splitter today before beer o'clock and made a couple of standoffs for the rear to provide more bracing.

There are a couple of indents on the splitter on either side at the rear (the ones we discussed @qazwsx) that happen to be exactly 50mm from the underside of the bumper when installed and I don't think this is a coincidence. So I got some aluminium tube I had lying around, cut it to length and threaded the inside of both ends, added a couple of stainless cap screws and two panel washers at each end and I think I have satisfactory rear supports.

But damn it, my Dremel isn't working  I thought we paid for brand name tools because they lasted forever... just won't power on... I'm sad. So I had to cut the alu tube with a hacksaw... and I only had a wood saw blade lol.

The idea is to clamp the bumper between the washers at one end and the splitter between the two at the other end, that should keep everything at the correct angle of attack as well and firming it all up. Access to both cap screws is easy so there's no bumper-off requirement. That'll sort the rear,  I still need to consider the sides.

[Palazzo 474]

19 hours ago, qazwsx said:

That looks bloody mint dave. I think it suits your blue more than my red. The most noticeable gaps are definitely at the end on the sides. The top front gap I quickly forgot was there. I wonder if self tapping screws can bend the sides in enough to close the gap.

I think because it curves slightly upwards the approach angle at the front isn't actually bad at all especially considering its length. At standard motorsport height I never scraped the front edge, it was always those 2 points at the bottom I showed you.

And be careful about the rough inside scratching your motorsport lip.

it doesn't look like this is installed with the lip does it?

 

If you look closely at the side here, I wouldn’t say that’s a great fit either.

[M3AN 4016]

Installed the splitter today in a secure, drivable fashion. I installed it without the factory lip this time and it still has gaps, they're the same with or without the factory lip. A casual observer wouldn't really notice them but any enthusiast would. If we are able to make a mould you'd remove the gaps at that stage I'd think.

It's secured at 7 points now, three at the front, two at the rear and I used two plastic expanding rivets to close and keep the sides in. It's not going anywhere unless I hit something.

All of the extra holes I drilled into the bumper are either out of sight underneath or covered by the factory lip when that's installed.

Standoffs

Expanding rivets

Gaps

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by M3AN

[zero 1162]

rivnuts for the win

[Michael. 2313]

The one in your display picture looks better I reckon. 

[M3AN 4016]

16 minutes ago, zero said:

rivnuts for the win

Nowhere to use them really... the plastic expanding rivets are probably best for where I have them, they're not load bearing and the holes are smaller than nutserts would require.

12 minutes ago, Michael. said:

The one in your display picture looks better I reckon. 

I'm tending that way also (although I broke those velocity splitters so would need to get more) but the big win here is the potential to make a mould and now that it's secure we also know how to mount it properly.

Now, if it were raw carbon fibre with no gaps I'd certainly prefer it for show/meet type events.

In the end I got this for a good price and as a bit of an experiment. I'm pretty confident I could sell it for what I paid for it to somebody that wants one. Especially now that fitting is secure. I suspect it would be great at the track and only takes 5 mins to fit after the extra holes are drilled in the factory bumper (4 of them).

Edited July 25, 2018 by M3AN

[qazwsx 11]

Looks cleaner without the lip. Especially with a gap it's just 2 separate components rather than 3. Plus it won't be as low. Now if it was body coloured that'd be the dog's bollocks. Of course, probably not worth painting with the current finish.

[qube 3570]

[M3AN 4016]

That guy can't see over his steering wheel! lol

All things being equal, I'll bring it along on Sunday.

 

[M3AN 4016]

That's not Lotus White...

[KwS 2421]

Hey Dave, Did you ever get any further on the recaros? Looking at putting some in my car and wondering if you sorted the low height and seatbelts?

@M3AN

Edited December 28, 2018 by KwS

[M3AN 4016]

@KwS

No, I abandoned that project because I got a full M-Rain interior and the complexity/compliance of the Recaros turned me off (once I'd spent most of the money).

But I considered the following to answer your questions:

Seat Belt receptacle - can't be mounted to the base or sliders even if they have the facility so you need to use use E30 receptacles (no pre-tensioners) and bolt them to the transmission tunnel in the same way Mark (@sweetm3) has and his is fully cert'd.

Seat height - shouldn't be a problem if you're using side mounts but if you're using bottom mounts (like I was) then it's more complicated. I have sliders so they lift the seat about 15mm but still I was going to need to use 25mm standoffs (and longer bolts) between the sliders and the mount base. I'm not sure how certifiable this would be but they'd be pretty difficult to see in there so I was prepared to take that risk.

FWIW I have, surplus to requirements:

• 2 x NZKW e36 bases (certifiable)
• 2 x NZKW sliders for Recaros to mount on above bases (certifiable)
• 2 x used e30 seat belt receptacles

If you need any of that.

 

[M3AN 4016]

Right, some more love for the M3.

This weekend, amongst a million other things to do, I installed the Z3 rack to replace the purple tag that we swapped into Mark's car last weekend.

I'm using an eye-alignment machine and it's far from perfect so I have quite a lot of bump steer at the moment but that'll be dialled out when the pro's give me zero toe hopefully sometime this week.

Initial impressions are good, it's pretty heavy and tight even compared to the e46 rack it's replaced. If I'd come straight from stock I might have wondered where my power steering went. But I love that real tight and connected feeling.

Z3 rack goes straight in with a few notes:

1. There's no provision for the OEM rack limiters on the Z3 rack so if you want limiters you'll need to go aftermarket altough they don't seem necessary.
2. If you're using an e3/46 cooler then you'll need to make a bracket to secure it to the Z3 rack, I used a small (50x12x1.5mm) piece of stainless steel with 6mm holes 30mm apart and a suitable nut and bolt with a spring washer.

Another update after alignment.

Now for that 3.6x diff...

 

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by M3AN

[M3AN 4016]

Alignment sorted this week and a quick drive, I'll take it out this weekend for a proper run.

The feedback it gives is amazing... perhaps even disconcerting for some as it translates every imperfection on the surface through the steering wheel. Some may not like this and over a long distance I imagine it'll take more out of you but I really like it, you feel directly connected to the road.

I would certainly say that it's not worth the 100% premium over the purple rack unless you really want that direct and instant feedback. The purple rack is vastly superior to the stock one but the Z3 rack is only an incremental upgrade for me and I reckon many people would prefer the purple as it's a little more compliant. But whatever you do, if you have a stock rack make sure you upgrade it to one of these two.

I've had to recalibrate my turn-in and wind-out but that was easy enough, this rack would be perfect for auto-x or gymkhana events.

My steering wheel is about 1 degree off centre. ?? I'll try and re-centre it at the actual steering wheel this weekend, I'm not sure if it's worth taking it back to the alignment shop or if that's just being a pedantic dick...?

Happy so far... and I've just purchased some more bits that should have me visiting Kayne sometime soonish... ?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

yes ive always said the Z3 rack is a total have and waste of money.

usually alignment shop have bar that sets the steering wheel straight, and then remove for sweep test to check the steering wheel was centered, this is the first step they do. did they do this ??
check your steering wheel is centered on the spline, there are markers on both the wheel and the end of the spline. its critical its in the right place so you dont wreck the clock spring for your airbag/horn/multifunction. if it IS centered, then sweep the wheels to each side and make sure center on the wheel is center on the rack. if not, then adjust one or two splines at the point between the rack and the column and check again.

you wont be the first person to just throw a rack in and find this, the difference is most are lazy and then adjust the wheel, thats fine on a non airbag car but doesnt take much to over wind the E36 clock spring.

[M3AN 4016]

It's too soon for me to conclude its a waste of money, it is noticeably different to the purple rack so, if you like the differences it may well be worth it. I've reserved my judgement until I can take it on a variety of journeys. I paid somewhat less than "normal" asking price for this and I agree that ~$700 is ridiculous. 

I didn't watch the alignment procedure so can't comment but they know what they're doing. It's off by less than the normal on-centre 'slack' of the wheel at rest so nothing dramatic but enough for me to notice.

As for centring, there are no key marks on the steering wheel or splines and the wheel has been off many times. There's no harm playing around with this, even with an airbag because when you remove the wheel the entire clock spring comes with it so unless you remove that from the wheel itself and bugger round with it you can't damage it by simply changing splines. I did centre the rack when I installed it by making sure that the steering wheel was on-centre and had the same turns from centre to full lock left and right although I accept that it could easily be off by a small margin (but that wouldn't prevent perfect centring, just marginally different left and right lock). What you can't do is be miles off at the bottom spline and try and compensate at the top one as that will surely tear your ribbon cables.

I'm going to try and adjust the wheel this afternoon, if moving it one spline brings the wheel closer to perfect centre then I'll be happy with that. If it makes it worse then I'll revert and take it back in if I don't get used to it (the human brain is an amazing compensator!).

Update: I moved the steering wheel one spline clockwise and now it's about 1/4 degree right down whereas it was about 1 degree left down before. I think I'll be happy with that, I suspect 99% of people wouldn't notice it at all.

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by M3AN

[M3AN 4016]

Ooh la la...

Edited April 4, 2019 by M3AN

[sweetm3 180]

Kept that under your hat ?