E36 M3 EVO upgrades
Discussion
UPDATE report on work carried out so far. All results are relative to original factory spec. with 73K mile suspension and 30K mile bushes.
1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement and less roll particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. Not good value IMHO ; X-brace is a much better place to put your money. 2/10
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ lighter action and higher biting point. Consistent when car is hot. 7/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, 5.1 fluid, Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses & Fluid ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Not great from cold but, quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 7/10 Pads 7/10. UPDATE big drop off on performance when very hot certainly not up to track work IMHO
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp . Footnote ~ MPG on long runs now 3~4 better since the map. 9/10
7. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original tired 73K mile shocks. 8/10.
9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in after fitting ; very effective mod for the money. 8/10
10. Rogue Engineering rear top shock mounts. IMHO a must do mod. The Rogue mounts tie down the "vague" rear end over humps and bumps; car seems better at putting power down out of slow corners and junctions too. Noisy relative to standard spec mounts. 9/10.
11. New Gearbox & engine mounts + new Propshaft coupling Replacing these reduced a lot of the 'drivetrain shunt' and tightened things up noticeably. Hard to rate these out of 10 but the whole package just feels less weary, if that makes sense. 7/10
12. E46 Compact Rack and new track rods Changing my tired ( 92K mile ) original EVO system to this E46 Compact rack has made a huge improvement. Late model E46 racks and E46 compact racks have an 11% quicker ratio than the standard EVO rack and this mod has helped sort what I think is the EVO's weakest area. Rack part number I used is 32136755068 and is a straight swap. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AT32...
I used a S/H rack from a 325Ti compact which cost £80.00 and had the 4WA laser alignment done by Murketts BMW in Huntingdon. Service was spot on and price was good too at £79.99 inc VAT for full laser alignment. 9/10
Still to do........
13. ARP conrod bolts.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel.
Maybe........
16. Shorter Final drive differential.
1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement and less roll particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. Not good value IMHO ; X-brace is a much better place to put your money. 2/10
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ lighter action and higher biting point. Consistent when car is hot. 7/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, 5.1 fluid, Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses & Fluid ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Not great from cold but, quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 7/10 Pads 7/10. UPDATE big drop off on performance when very hot certainly not up to track work IMHO
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp . Footnote ~ MPG on long runs now 3~4 better since the map. 9/10
7. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original tired 73K mile shocks. 8/10.
9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in after fitting ; very effective mod for the money. 8/10
10. Rogue Engineering rear top shock mounts. IMHO a must do mod. The Rogue mounts tie down the "vague" rear end over humps and bumps; car seems better at putting power down out of slow corners and junctions too. Noisy relative to standard spec mounts. 9/10.
11. New Gearbox & engine mounts + new Propshaft coupling Replacing these reduced a lot of the 'drivetrain shunt' and tightened things up noticeably. Hard to rate these out of 10 but the whole package just feels less weary, if that makes sense. 7/10
12. E46 Compact Rack and new track rods Changing my tired ( 92K mile ) original EVO system to this E46 Compact rack has made a huge improvement. Late model E46 racks and E46 compact racks have an 11% quicker ratio than the standard EVO rack and this mod has helped sort what I think is the EVO's weakest area. Rack part number I used is 32136755068 and is a straight swap. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AT32...
I used a S/H rack from a 325Ti compact which cost £80.00 and had the 4WA laser alignment done by Murketts BMW in Huntingdon. Service was spot on and price was good too at £79.99 inc VAT for full laser alignment. 9/10
Still to do........
13. ARP conrod bolts.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel.
Maybe........
16. Shorter Final drive differential.
Edited by CRACKIE on Sunday 12th September 15:36
dan101smith said:
Ti22 said:
Thanks for the update on the rack. Mine leaks, so need a new one but want the quickest ratio one that fits. Have heard Z3M is quicker still?
Nope.The rack from the 4-pot Z3 is the quickest one.
EVO rack 45mm per rev
E46 Compact 50mm per rev = 11% quicker than EVO
Z3 4-pot 53.5mm per rev = 19% quicker than EVO
ultegra said:
E46 CSL rack quicker still.
Straight swap onto an e36.
Good point ~ not likely to be many about S/H though and certainly not cheap new relative to the cost of an E36. £1550 to fit one on an exchange basis Straight swap onto an e36.
http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/products/produc...
Edited by CRACKIE on Tuesday 1st June 10:30
scz4 said:
CRACKIE said:
thegreengoblet said:
Out of interest, what replacements are you looking at?
I bought an E92 335i in mid December. It feels 'soft' and rolls a lot relative to the EVO but it feels well sorted and 'on your side'. Longer term I'll probably to fit a Quaife LSD and ask Evolve to remap it; 400+ Hp & lb-ft might help make up for the lack of M chassis & breeding
Edited by Crackie on Saturday 27th June 20:16
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