E46 M3 Project
Discussion
As above really Mark, don't sell far to much time effort and money gone in to creating the cars you have.
Being nosey now, whats the time scale for moving out of London? is it feasible to store it some where else until then but in a reasonable place so you can get to it etc?
Its an upside but its not much of one, at least they didn't vandalise the cars!!!
Really glad the big day went well!!!!
Being nosey now, whats the time scale for moving out of London? is it feasible to store it some where else until then but in a reasonable place so you can get to it etc?
Its an upside but its not much of one, at least they didn't vandalise the cars!!!
Really glad the big day went well!!!!
I can't imagine I'll be out of London for five years or so, so I still need something in the interim. The M3 does have a tracker, but as I understand it they are effectively useless these days due the advent of jamming devices that plug into the cigarette lighter.
Maybe I'll feel more positive in a few days - just CBA with cars at the moment
Maybe I'll feel more positive in a few days - just CBA with cars at the moment
mwstewart said:
Maybe I'll feel more positive in a few days - just CBA with cars at the moment
This will pass. It must do. The ups and downs of our emotions. We all go through phases where we MUST have that new toy and those where we just want a car to get from a to b. The world will still be here in a few days. The thieving t-whats and all the shiny toys.Cheers guys 
I only managed to get one photo of the car at the wedding, but it was in attendance and everything was good
So I'll provide a bit of feedback on the driving experience in case it is of use.
CSL Airbox, CSL DME/software, CSL sensors
Aside from a little hunting from cold during the first tank of fuel as the ECU was re-learning its adaptations, the car has been silky smooth without any hint of hesitation or jerkiness. For reference the ambient temps have not fallen below 20 degrees C, so it's not a real test of cold starting, but for all intents and purposes I have felt no detriment to smoothness, response, or general running.
Performance-wise the setup is far from ideal being set up for the CSL specific cams in addition to the airbox, and to a lesser degree the better flowing manifolds. Performance is very flat above 4k RPM which is when the VANOS adjustment and cams come into their own. It feels to me like ignition is being retarded and I note oil temperature rises to 100 degrees within a short time of using WOT, which never happened before; it would stay around 90 with similar ambient temperatures to the present time. The car at the moment feels no quicker than standard, and beyond the nice reverberation at 4krpm, without the cams it doesn't sound like a CSL either. It's missing the snarl.
The standard CSL software was just a stop gap for me to make the wedding and hence I do not recommend it is used without the CSL cams in place. The correct approach is to either use the standard CSL software with CSL cams, or use the CSL software & airbox but with custom configuration i.e. a tune. I'm not using the car at the moment - I have a house move next weekend, then the car will go to Geoff Steel Racing for fitment of the Schricks, then to Chip Wizards for calibration.
3.91:1 Diff
The car should have come with this as standard. As with any good upgrade for the M3: £ per gain is small so don't expect anything other than a subtle difference, but the car does feels more alive at the lower end of the rev range where before it could sometimes feel lazy. It is especially apparent when on the power following a gear change.
Solid rear subframe mounts - NVH
How I predicted: a barely perceptible increase in NVH, so much so that it would be impossible for me to attribute it to the mounts or the CSL camber arms with their ball joint in lieu of the standard M3's bush. This is all given that I am incredibly fussy when it comes to any kind of NVH! A passenger would not know these were fitted if taking a ride in the car unaware, which is extremely comfortable given how it handles.
The rear end part of the drive train now feels a lot more responsive; there is no lag in application of power, so if you are a little ham fisted with gear changes or application of throttle you will feel it through the chassis. No issues there for me. This is much like the CDV delete in that it removes another layer of insulation between driving inputs and their resulting outputs.
CSL rear camber arms (also turner RTAB limiters)
NVH is as above - not an issue. The rear end of the car is now so much more communicative, in fact I'd go as far as to say the level of feedback now is delicate. I have a good comparison to a nigh-on perfect stock car due to the low mileage.
Solid steering shaft
Great: made a noticeable difference. It and the Z4MC rack have made for a pin-sharp helm which is quite incredible given how the car felt in standard form. Steering numbness was always the M3's Achilles heel and it is now gone and will remain so - no spacers or a square setup on my car.
I'm pleased that I went for the Z4MC rack because it requires a higher level of precision with steering inputs compared to the stock car, which was much more forgiving in that sense. The combination of solid joints and Z4MC rack won't be for everyone and I suspect the slower CSL rack would suit some tastes better.
27mm front ARB
This has eliminated understeer previously felt during quicker, tighter corners. Based on my experience so far the bar is a perfect compliment to the CSL rear and has not been a detriment to ride quality.
Supersprint resonated X-pipe, and CSL rear silencer
The exhaust note is now a little deeper. Very pleasing! Now when the car is cold it sounds like it used to when it was warm.
I don't notice any rasp, but then it's hard to hear over the CSL airbox.
___________________________________________________
If anyone wants to know something else just let me know - I don't think I've forgotten anything!
I only managed to get one photo of the car at the wedding, but it was in attendance and everything was good
So I'll provide a bit of feedback on the driving experience in case it is of use.
CSL Airbox, CSL DME/software, CSL sensors
Aside from a little hunting from cold during the first tank of fuel as the ECU was re-learning its adaptations, the car has been silky smooth without any hint of hesitation or jerkiness. For reference the ambient temps have not fallen below 20 degrees C, so it's not a real test of cold starting, but for all intents and purposes I have felt no detriment to smoothness, response, or general running.
Performance-wise the setup is far from ideal being set up for the CSL specific cams in addition to the airbox, and to a lesser degree the better flowing manifolds. Performance is very flat above 4k RPM which is when the VANOS adjustment and cams come into their own. It feels to me like ignition is being retarded and I note oil temperature rises to 100 degrees within a short time of using WOT, which never happened before; it would stay around 90 with similar ambient temperatures to the present time. The car at the moment feels no quicker than standard, and beyond the nice reverberation at 4krpm, without the cams it doesn't sound like a CSL either. It's missing the snarl.
The standard CSL software was just a stop gap for me to make the wedding and hence I do not recommend it is used without the CSL cams in place. The correct approach is to either use the standard CSL software with CSL cams, or use the CSL software & airbox but with custom configuration i.e. a tune. I'm not using the car at the moment - I have a house move next weekend, then the car will go to Geoff Steel Racing for fitment of the Schricks, then to Chip Wizards for calibration.
3.91:1 Diff
The car should have come with this as standard. As with any good upgrade for the M3: £ per gain is small so don't expect anything other than a subtle difference, but the car does feels more alive at the lower end of the rev range where before it could sometimes feel lazy. It is especially apparent when on the power following a gear change.
Solid rear subframe mounts - NVH
How I predicted: a barely perceptible increase in NVH, so much so that it would be impossible for me to attribute it to the mounts or the CSL camber arms with their ball joint in lieu of the standard M3's bush. This is all given that I am incredibly fussy when it comes to any kind of NVH! A passenger would not know these were fitted if taking a ride in the car unaware, which is extremely comfortable given how it handles.
The rear end part of the drive train now feels a lot more responsive; there is no lag in application of power, so if you are a little ham fisted with gear changes or application of throttle you will feel it through the chassis. No issues there for me. This is much like the CDV delete in that it removes another layer of insulation between driving inputs and their resulting outputs.
CSL rear camber arms (also turner RTAB limiters)
NVH is as above - not an issue. The rear end of the car is now so much more communicative, in fact I'd go as far as to say the level of feedback now is delicate. I have a good comparison to a nigh-on perfect stock car due to the low mileage.
Solid steering shaft
Great: made a noticeable difference. It and the Z4MC rack have made for a pin-sharp helm which is quite incredible given how the car felt in standard form. Steering numbness was always the M3's Achilles heel and it is now gone and will remain so - no spacers or a square setup on my car.
I'm pleased that I went for the Z4MC rack because it requires a higher level of precision with steering inputs compared to the stock car, which was much more forgiving in that sense. The combination of solid joints and Z4MC rack won't be for everyone and I suspect the slower CSL rack would suit some tastes better.
27mm front ARB
This has eliminated understeer previously felt during quicker, tighter corners. Based on my experience so far the bar is a perfect compliment to the CSL rear and has not been a detriment to ride quality.
Supersprint resonated X-pipe, and CSL rear silencer
The exhaust note is now a little deeper. Very pleasing! Now when the car is cold it sounds like it used to when it was warm.
I don't notice any rasp, but then it's hard to hear over the CSL airbox.
___________________________________________________
If anyone wants to know something else just let me know - I don't think I've forgotten anything!
Hi mate
This solid steering mod, will that work with stock E46 M3 steering rack as well?
If so where did you buy from and is it easy to fit?
Bad news on the running and air box, if used to own a CSL now have an M3 with Geoff steel air box with evolve remap and my car made 380BHP and pulls very hard and is responsive at any rpm. Maybe just get a tune from Evolve? Cams are good but they tend to loose you low down power and torque.
This solid steering mod, will that work with stock E46 M3 steering rack as well?
If so where did you buy from and is it easy to fit?
Bad news on the running and air box, if used to own a CSL now have an M3 with Geoff steel air box with evolve remap and my car made 380BHP and pulls very hard and is responsive at any rpm. Maybe just get a tune from Evolve? Cams are good but they tend to loose you low down power and torque.
Hi both - thanks for the recommendation. I probably didn't make it clear in my previous posts but I never expected the CSL software to perform well without the cams: running it with my stock internals was a temporary arrangement due to running out of time before the wedding. I'm just calling it out in case other people expect the CSL conversion to work on an M3 with CSL airbox in otherwise standard form.
I have Schrick 280/272 cams and Supersprint V1 stepped manifolds to go on now that I have time to fit them, then the CSL DME will be mapped to suit and can begin to come into its own. I spoke with Will at at GSR before deciding on cam spec and poured over some dyno graphs with him, and there really is no loss at the low end with a good tune; VANOS can be tailored quite easily to suit the 280/272. I'm also running a 3.91:1 diff ratio which improves response everywhere in the rev range compared with stock. My final power will be 375 if I am lucky, and that's given I'll be the only one in the UK running the V1 manifolds at +5bhp over the V2's (RHD specific) or CSL manifolds.
Wayne is not as well known as Evolve in the enthusiast community, but he is the go-to person for the S54 in racing circles. He spends hours on the dyno with each car to get perfection rather than loading a generic map and tweaking it.
For the solid steering linkage I used two 17mm-54 X 3/4" DD joints and one length of 18" Stainless DD Shaft - Mill Finish. These were from Flaming River in the states:
Joints: http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c00...
3/4 DD shaft: http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c00...
It's not a cheap modification as with import charges and VAT it will come in close to £400, but Flaming River are the only people I could find in the world who produce the 17mmx54 BMW specific joints.
Another option you can try that may work out cheaper is to investigate if the E24 UJ's have 17mmx54 splines at each end:
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E24-635CSi-M30_3.4L/S...
If they do, use two of those and ask DanThe on E30Zone if he will make a custom length shaft for you. His profile is http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name=Forums&...
I have Schrick 280/272 cams and Supersprint V1 stepped manifolds to go on now that I have time to fit them, then the CSL DME will be mapped to suit and can begin to come into its own. I spoke with Will at at GSR before deciding on cam spec and poured over some dyno graphs with him, and there really is no loss at the low end with a good tune; VANOS can be tailored quite easily to suit the 280/272. I'm also running a 3.91:1 diff ratio which improves response everywhere in the rev range compared with stock. My final power will be 375 if I am lucky, and that's given I'll be the only one in the UK running the V1 manifolds at +5bhp over the V2's (RHD specific) or CSL manifolds.
Wayne is not as well known as Evolve in the enthusiast community, but he is the go-to person for the S54 in racing circles. He spends hours on the dyno with each car to get perfection rather than loading a generic map and tweaking it.
For the solid steering linkage I used two 17mm-54 X 3/4" DD joints and one length of 18" Stainless DD Shaft - Mill Finish. These were from Flaming River in the states:
Joints: http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c00...
3/4 DD shaft: http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c00...
It's not a cheap modification as with import charges and VAT it will come in close to £400, but Flaming River are the only people I could find in the world who produce the 17mmx54 BMW specific joints.
Another option you can try that may work out cheaper is to investigate if the E24 UJ's have 17mmx54 splines at each end:
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E24-635CSi-M30_3.4L/S...
If they do, use two of those and ask DanThe on E30Zone if he will make a custom length shaft for you. His profile is http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name=Forums&...
I have some winter jobs to undertake:
- Inspection 2 at BMW this Friday;
- New Pilot Super Sports on the rear;
- New discs and pads all round;
- Fit Supersprint V1 manifolds;
- Fit Supersprint oversize section 1 with metallic cats and resonators;
- Will at GSR to fit Cams & followers;
- Remap at Chip Wizards.
I’m just not using the car – 10 miles in 3 months, only on dry days, and nothing over the winter months either, so despite how much I like having it there to look at it’s really just a waste. In view of this the car will be for sale late spring next year at somewhere around the £25k mark.
- Inspection 2 at BMW this Friday;
- New Pilot Super Sports on the rear;
- New discs and pads all round;
- Fit Supersprint V1 manifolds;
- Fit Supersprint oversize section 1 with metallic cats and resonators;
- Will at GSR to fit Cams & followers;
- Remap at Chip Wizards.
I’m just not using the car – 10 miles in 3 months, only on dry days, and nothing over the winter months either, so despite how much I like having it there to look at it’s really just a waste. In view of this the car will be for sale late spring next year at somewhere around the £25k mark.
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