Discussion
Ball aches of the day.
Fuel pressure regulator is all over the place and I spent so long on hold, I missed the UPS van to get another by tomorrow. I have a spare but it's only a 2.5 bar one and ideally I need 3 bar.
Another thing was the MOT tester ripping the front end off by not checking clearance before taking it off the ramp. Twunt.
In other news (bad obviously) the lower balljoint on the front inner arm has excessive movement despite being just a few months and a couple of thousand miles old at most. Given they're well over £300 each I'm hoping they'll be covered under warranty?
At this rate, making the BMW Sunday Service is looking unlikely.
Fuel pressure regulator is all over the place and I spent so long on hold, I missed the UPS van to get another by tomorrow. I have a spare but it's only a 2.5 bar one and ideally I need 3 bar.
Another thing was the MOT tester ripping the front end off by not checking clearance before taking it off the ramp. Twunt.
In other news (bad obviously) the lower balljoint on the front inner arm has excessive movement despite being just a few months and a couple of thousand miles old at most. Given they're well over £300 each I'm hoping they'll be covered under warranty?
At this rate, making the BMW Sunday Service is looking unlikely.
Got some protection.
Well there's a new pressure regulator on route which should arrive tomorrow morning. The lower arm isn't a stock item though, so am currently trying to locate one I can beg, borrow or steal. OK not steal but I just don't want to miss Sunday Service down to waiting on a part. It's looking unlikely I'm going to make it though really.
Well there's a new pressure regulator on route which should arrive tomorrow morning. The lower arm isn't a stock item though, so am currently trying to locate one I can beg, borrow or steal. OK not steal but I just don't want to miss Sunday Service down to waiting on a part. It's looking unlikely I'm going to make it though really.
Edited by e30m3Mark on Friday 15th September 10:53
scottos said:
Im sure your luck will change soon Mark and when it does you'll have a blast in it! The light pod is looking good, you must be chuffed with that at least?
I bloody hope so. I don't earn a huge amount and the bills have been pretty relentless of late. £150 on the regulator, potentially £390 on a lower arm etc etc. In 3 years I think I've probably spent way more than I care to think about. Yes, am really pleased with how the pod has turned out. I know it's not for everyone but I wanted a bit of a different look and a full Bastos livery would finish things off nicely. I just need to find somewhere that can do it now.
Well the new fuel pressure regulator arrived (once I arranged my own postage and paid extra for Saturday delivery so as not to delay things further still) nut despite telling them twice and giving the part number, they still sent the wrong bloody one. 
As a result the fuel lines are being modified to suit.
The FPR I was running was an FSE item with the pressure gauge fitted and it's one of those parts I was never entirely happy with. Whilst I don't want to get my hopes up, I wouldn't be surprised if replacing it alongside the new TPS makes for a much smoother power delivery. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a little more power too! The FSE was struggling to meet the demand at higher RPM and then there were the bigger jets to contend with. Hopefully I can get a bit of time on the dyno next weekend.
Unfortunately, it seems that the lower suspension arm I need to replace was the other side from last time. This means it'll be £320 + the VAT for a new one. Much as I love this car, it has cost me a bloody fortune over the past 3 years. I daren't add up all the invoices but I know it's enough to have bought a pretty mint E46 M3 CS. I know it has been money well spent but sometimes it just seems never ending! Anyway, with it being so late in the year, I need to start thinking about maybe using it a little less over the winter months. I did try taking it off the road all together but after a couple of weeks we had a bit of winter sunshine, I had a day off and the desire to use it was just too much!
In better news, the good people at Tarox may be supplying their latest B33 six pot callipers and 320mm 2 piece discs with alloy bells. Their design is a step or three up from the current brakes and the quality looks to be first class.
Anyway, first thing is getting through the MOT tomorrow.
As a result the fuel lines are being modified to suit. The FPR I was running was an FSE item with the pressure gauge fitted and it's one of those parts I was never entirely happy with. Whilst I don't want to get my hopes up, I wouldn't be surprised if replacing it alongside the new TPS makes for a much smoother power delivery. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a little more power too! The FSE was struggling to meet the demand at higher RPM and then there were the bigger jets to contend with. Hopefully I can get a bit of time on the dyno next weekend.
Unfortunately, it seems that the lower suspension arm I need to replace was the other side from last time. This means it'll be £320 + the VAT for a new one. Much as I love this car, it has cost me a bloody fortune over the past 3 years. I daren't add up all the invoices but I know it's enough to have bought a pretty mint E46 M3 CS. I know it has been money well spent but sometimes it just seems never ending! Anyway, with it being so late in the year, I need to start thinking about maybe using it a little less over the winter months. I did try taking it off the road all together but after a couple of weeks we had a bit of winter sunshine, I had a day off and the desire to use it was just too much!
In better news, the good people at Tarox may be supplying their latest B33 six pot callipers and 320mm 2 piece discs with alloy bells. Their design is a step or three up from the current brakes and the quality looks to be first class.
Anyway, first thing is getting through the MOT tomorrow.
Sorry to hear about more hard times with the e30 Mark. It does however look fantastic with the light pod now. The Prodrive style wheels would be a good shout too. I remember seeing them in an Italian website somewhere. Shame to hear that the split rims aren't living up to expectations, they'd be my dream wheels for an M3.
Have had the M3 back for a couple of days now and just never fails to put a smile on my face. There is a slight tweak to the ECU map needed now that the fuel pressure regulator has been replaced with a 3 bar item from Jenvey. It isn't a huge problem but you can feel it just isn't 100% right. All being well I can get some dyno time with Sandy Brown later this week.
The new spot lights make night driving down here much safer and more enjoyable as a result, which is what really matters to me. I'm looking forward to the Sunday Service next weekend.
The new spot lights make night driving down here much safer and more enjoyable as a result, which is what really matters to me. I'm looking forward to the Sunday Service next weekend.
Edited by e30m3Mark on Monday 2nd October 17:54
Looking good Mark. What did your installer think of the Jenvey fuel pressure regulator? Its looks an awesome bit of kit, especially for the price! We got the engine back in my friend 964 and the jenvey one hadnt showed up yet, we used a fuel labs one he had on the shelf which seemed a nice bit of kit too but when i checked it was 4 times the price! The jenvey one is on my list.
scottos said:
What did your installer think of the Jenvey fuel pressure regulator? Its looks an awesome bit of kit, especially for the price!
It was he who suggested it, as he has one on his rally prepared E30 M3, albeit the one with the screw unions. It's certainly well made and I trust it way more than the FSE one it replaced. So the saga continues….
I tried to fit the correct TPS adaptor (and new S54 TPS) but it would appear that back when the Alpha N was fitted, a section was taken off the ITB spindle and it's now not long enough. Instead this Heath Robinson affair remains. Given that I have always tried to make sure things are done properly and to a high standard, this isn't ideal and is playing havoc with my OCD. I'd planned on having the ITB rebuilt in the new year so hopefully they can replace that at the same time.
Better news came in the shape of the Jenvey fuel pressure regulator (3 bar), which is a really well made part and very reasonably priced compared to many I looked at. It also showed how unreliable the old FSE item had become as fuelling changed quite a lot and I had to throw yet more cash in the direction of the engine mapping. Lucky me!
I tried to fit the correct TPS adaptor (and new S54 TPS) but it would appear that back when the Alpha N was fitted, a section was taken off the ITB spindle and it's now not long enough. Instead this Heath Robinson affair remains.
Given that I have always tried to make sure things are done properly and to a high standard, this isn't ideal and is playing havoc with my OCD. I'd planned on having the ITB rebuilt in the new year so hopefully they can replace that at the same time. Better news came in the shape of the Jenvey fuel pressure regulator (3 bar), which is a really well made part and very reasonably priced compared to many I looked at. It also showed how unreliable the old FSE item had become as fuelling changed quite a lot and I had to throw yet more cash in the direction of the engine mapping. Lucky me!
Edited by e30m3Mark on Saturday 14th October 16:22
Edited by e30m3Mark on Saturday 14th October 16:23
Unfortunately not Steve but thanks to another PH member, I have another set of ITB's coming. I did think the previous TPS, fitted as part of the Maxx Alpha N set-up, was the same though, so am still a bit confused about how the spindle ended up being chopped about?
I intend sending the new ITB's up to JC Racing and having them rebuilt / refurb'd prior to fitting though. Do you think it's worth my having them machined out to 48mm?
I'm still without a definitive dyno print out, which is frustrating given how much I have invested in rebuilding the s14. I know what an engine of this spec' should be making (I think?) but I want to compare the graph with the one prior to the rebuild being done.
I had a new front outer wheel lip delivered and plan to split and rebuild the wheel myself. The old lip just has a bit of a ding on the outer edge but it's bloody annoying knowing it's there. I've watched a few YouTube instructional videos so hopefully it'll be pretty straightforward....hopefully. If I have time I want to do it before Silverstone on Sunday, along with an oil and filter change for good measure.
There's a good chance my car is going to be featured on a popular YouTube channel within the next couple of months. I've had a couple of prior requests but haven't wanted to hand the keys over to just anyone. The channel in question is run by someone with a bit of passion for BMW and he's a capable driver, so I'm confident it'll come back in one piece. We just need to organise times and location.
I intend sending the new ITB's up to JC Racing and having them rebuilt / refurb'd prior to fitting though. Do you think it's worth my having them machined out to 48mm?
I'm still without a definitive dyno print out, which is frustrating given how much I have invested in rebuilding the s14. I know what an engine of this spec' should be making (I think?) but I want to compare the graph with the one prior to the rebuild being done.
I had a new front outer wheel lip delivered and plan to split and rebuild the wheel myself. The old lip just has a bit of a ding on the outer edge but it's bloody annoying knowing it's there. I've watched a few YouTube instructional videos so hopefully it'll be pretty straightforward....hopefully.
If I have time I want to do it before Silverstone on Sunday, along with an oil and filter change for good measure. There's a good chance my car is going to be featured on a popular YouTube channel within the next couple of months. I've had a couple of prior requests but haven't wanted to hand the keys over to just anyone. The channel in question is run by someone with a bit of passion for BMW and he's a capable driver, so I'm confident it'll come back in one piece. We just need to organise times and location.
At your engine's level of power, 46mm TBs should suffice, particularly if they have been matched to the port/rubber isolators. But, if you are going to the expense of having them rebuild, it would be worthwhile asking how much more for them to be opened out to 48mm. If it is not too much more expensive, then you could be future proofing yourself.
If you do go to 48mm, you will need to change your airbox to match.
If you do go to 48mm, you will need to change your airbox to match.
IIRC, the rubber isolators between the TBs and head came in two types, one for early 46mm TBs for 26mm intake ports and one for Evo2 46mm TBs/48mm TBs, the latter both having 28mm intake ports. The early isolators are NLA, so only the 28mm intake port parts are available.
JC are really good and I'm sure they won't need reminding, but make sure the new TBs are matched to the rubber isolators which you have.
JC are really good and I'm sure they won't need reminding, but make sure the new TBs are matched to the rubber isolators which you have.
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