Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) Why not post a few photos to log my ownership of this money slurping fun machine. Previous owners posts are here - Have a few small changes in mind, mainly based around driving experience, stay tuned... Previous owners post here - Edited May 2, 2017 by Funkyflynz 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) Recently lone wolfed a roadie and stumbled across the old Waikune prison and the caretaker gentleman allowed me to shoot a few photos. Edited May 2, 2017 by *Glenn* Disrespect for a person doing his job 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted May 2, 2017 Is that a little south of National Park on the way to Raetihi, Lee? Car's looking good. I see you've cultivated a styling tache and taken to wearing exotic hats. ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 2, 2017 8 minutes ago, Olaf said: Is that a little south of National Park on the way to Raetihi, Lee? Car's looking good. I see you've cultivated a styling tache and taken to wearing exotic hats. ? LOL, yea that's the place, its land banked. been working on my tan as well ;-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_BRS_ 209 Report post Posted May 2, 2017 Spotted this at the Valley in the weekend! Looks good and definitely a head turner! Hopefully in the future when we have more meets we will catch up. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 20, 2017 (edited) So after a few weeks of driving the M3 ive started to notice things that don't feel quite right, for example the on-center steering feels really dead, researching this i found that a worn steering coupler can often be the cause. Today i set about replacing it to find out if it would help solve the dead feeling Its a faily simple process, took me about 1.5-2 hrs. There were two annoying parts to this process... 1) Finding the right part to order as the LHD and RHD parts are different, namely the RHD has a heat shield as it runs on the exhaust side and close to the headers. The part number for the steering coupler is 32306761571, the two bolts are 32306778608. 2) On test driving with he new coupler the DSC was kicking in and activating the ABS. I was able to find and clear the fault with my Carly ODB2 connector and iPhone app, after it was cleared it ran fine with no ABS activation or steering angle faults. The difference with the new coupler installed was immediate, on-center steering was no longer dead, a much more direct feel with better feed back. So a great thing to do if you have a high mileage car, mine is 100k miles. Video here showing difference between old and new... And yes those engine mounts needs to be replaced as well, they are on the list ;-) Edited May 20, 2017 by Funkyflynz 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted May 20, 2017 top video skills Lee, what you shooting with? Never thought of the steering coupler, I take it that's a feature of regular e46 etc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 20, 2017 47 minutes ago, Olaf said: top video skills Lee, what you shooting with? Never thought of the steering coupler, I take it that's a feature of regular e46 etc? Thanks Richard, just using an iPhone 7 plus. from what I've read all E46, but i would expect most BMW would have one. Its common across all marques to have a flexi disk somewhere on the steering linkage 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted May 20, 2017 doing your engine mounts and trans mounts will transform it in terms of vibration and noise. on our lowly 325i it made a huge difference. Used Lemforder OEM, from memory. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1162 Report post Posted May 20, 2017 I've done the steering coupler on Babara and it made a world of difference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 24, 2017 BMW are all about the driving experience right? so I've had plans for the wheel, shifter and seat for a while now. First on the list was an Alcantara wheel, and after researching the options i decided to go for a Coby wheel - www.cobywheel.com. They actually apply alcantara over the existing wheel which makes it a little thicker (something i was after) and its one of the cheapest options out there. I opted for the exchange, where they send me a recovered wheel and then i swap it out and send my old one back to them. Mike from Coby is good dude to deal with. The wheel arrived today and i was able to fit it in about 30mins. Really happy with the feel and quality of work. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted May 25, 2017 In prep for the Gentle Annie this weekend i replaced the transmission fluid, after much thought decided to go with Motul, its the same specs as the BMW fluid 75w80. A $10 oil pump made the job pretty easy :-). The difference is very noticeable, the gearbox is a lot less notchy and down shifts esp are smoother. Super happy. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 4, 2017 Update on the Motul transmission oil - when its cold its quite notchy, much more so than what ever was in there before. However once warmed up its fantastic. I decided to also change the diff oil and replace the bolts that can snap or sheer off, these are BMW replacement bolts but weren't an official recall. These connect the diff to the subframe. For the diff oil i went with a Motul 75w140 which meets factory specs, the only difference compared to the BMW oil is it doesn't have an friction modifier in it, BMW started add friction modifier after some owners complained about noisey grinding diffs when driving low speed tight circles. The diff now seems tighter, and a little more snappy, i.e. oversteer is induced more rapidly where as before it felt more progressive. Again the oil pump was the champion of the day. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 23, 2017 Been collection bits over the last few weeks, getting ready to put in a short shifter and do the armrest delete. Pretty much ready to go so will hopefully have time to attack this in a week or so. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) The short shifter i decided on is the Samsonas with reverse lockout, i find that I sometimes hit the reverse hole when shifting quickly from 3rd to 2nd, this will stop that and it also self centres so the shift from 2nd to 3rd requires no side movement. The install will be a bit of a mission as i have to drop the exhaust and drive shaft, and may need to also drop the gearbox a little, the shifter isn't a bolt in and does require some modification to fit. Another option is the CAE shifter which is far more popular and is more of a bolt in, however i like the look of the Samsonas. Edited June 23, 2017 by Funkyflynz 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 28, 2017 Had a couple of hours to kill between jobs, managed to make it to Whanga and back. Its been a few years since i did this road, didn't recall it being so bumpy. Great test of the car and highlighted how much i don't like the M3 steering, its improved a lot with the new coupler but its simply too slack, need a quicker ratio rack, more on that later. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted June 28, 2017 Yeah those roads are so bad these days. Really notice it on cars with firmer suspension. Regardless would have been a fun drive! Interesting you mentioned the rack ratio, I've noticed the somewhat lazy steering rack on the M3s too, it's just not sharp enough stock. Maybe they designed it to suit the EU market more? My rare Soarers rack is very quick, just makes it so good in the corners, 2.6 turns lock to lock I recall, so I certainly notice a lack of sharpness when hoping into other cars. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HELLBM 1560 Report post Posted June 28, 2017 Re. a quicker rack we have a good supply of purple tag sport racks (3 turns lock to lock) and Z3 racks 2.7 turns. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_BRS_ 209 Report post Posted June 29, 2017 Looking good! Are you going to the Show and Shine at the Valley this Saturday evening as part of the Taranaki Car Clubs Night street sprint? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 29, 2017 12 hours ago, HELLBM said: Re. a quicker rack we have a good supply of purple tag sport racks (3 turns lock to lock) and Z3 racks 2.7 turns. Hi, The dilemma as i understand it is...with a faster rack it affects the DSC. The Z3 is the one i was looking at dropping in. Jury is still out as i hear you might be able to change the coding for the DSC logic. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted June 29, 2017 33 minutes ago, _BRS_ said: Looking good! Are you going to the Show and Shine at the Valley this Saturday evening as part of the Taranaki Car Clubs Night street sprint? Didn't know it was on, what time is it? we are over that side of town so might be able to pop in for a look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_BRS_ 209 Report post Posted June 29, 2017 3 hours ago, Funkyflynz said: Didn't know it was on, what time is it? we are over that side of town so might be able to pop in for a look. facebook link 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) Started on the install on the Samsonas shifter, this is a lot of work, have to remove the interior console etc, exhaust, gearbox cross member, driveshaft and lower the gear box, then its remove the factory shifter which is a bit of a mission and test fit the shifter to see what i need to modify. It turns out quite a bit! The base that comes with the shifter has it sitting so high you need to cut the plastics and you end up with part of the mechanism hanging out, most guys run it like this but it looks messy and unfinished to me as you can see in the image below (not my vehicle), I've decided to build my own base 12mm lower so it clears to top of the plastics and hides all but the actual shifter handle. Edited July 5, 2017 by Funkyflynz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Funkyflynz 151 Report post Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) I also discovered the Samsonas shifter also requires a new shift linkage, this is due to the factory shifter having a kink in it which matched the gearbox connector, about 5 degrees. Thankfully i got the parts to make a new shifter linkage. When i asked about instructions i got "There is no instruction sheet for the shifter, from what my technicians have explained it is straight forward similar process to any short shifter on the market." Straight forward in a gutted race car maybe lol. So with the new base welded up, its was time for a test fit, over all pretty happy with how it sits now, and no ugly cut console. It looks pretty legit, a coby alcantara boot helps up the class a notch too ;-) Edited July 5, 2017 by Funkyflynz 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted July 5, 2017 Lee, I'm loving your new Samosa shifter. nice integration work! Tell us how it changes your experience behind the wheel. It's still standard gate, but shorter/narrower? Right then, I'm going to see if there's an Onion Bhaji variant for the 545i. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
