Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
Just to clarify, perfectly happy with my dealings with Enda, but in fairness I got my ECU mapped via mail order and I think perhaps the map isn't specific to the M50 manifold swap so would quite like to get a rolling road tune to ensure I'm getting the most out of the modification. Just don't know if there are any good mappers down here in the south west?
helix402 said:
Slightly off topic but what don't you recommend about BWs remaps? I have no link or experience of his work, just interested (within the confines of polite Pistonheads no naming and shaming).
In short: extortionate money, and unwilling to try fresh ideas for certain items as it'll involve more work... it appears that the term 'money for old rope' is a firm favourite of theirs.nosuchuser said:
Should the discussions of remaps be in bmw general? 
Seriously though, I'm interested to know. Was intending on bw for mine. Eventually...
Probably. Seriously though, I'm interested to know. Was intending on bw for mine. Eventually...
see above.BGarside said:
Just to clarify, perfectly happy with my dealings with Enda, but in fairness I got my ECU mapped via mail order and I think perhaps the map isn't specific to the M50 manifold swap so would quite like to get a rolling road tune to ensure I'm getting the most out of the modification. Just don't know if there are any good mappers down here in the south west?
Enda is one of those rare people who I speak to and actually learn stuff about the M50/M52. He actually used to be a part of BW at one stage, before he jumped ship and did his own stuff. What he doesn't know about those engines isn't really worth knowing. We custom-made an ECU for my ill-fated 3.1 stroker between the two of us, and it was absolutely phenomenal.South West- whereabouts? I'm looking at chatting to ChipWizards about getting some 328s pepped up, they've had great results with a couple that I've seen, as well as being quite reasonably priced (from what I've heard).
Yes, thanks for the info. I'm less likely to visit BW now.....
I think maybe one reason the M52 feels a little disappointing at high revs is that (post remap) it has lots of torque at low to middling revs so doesn't have the pronounced power step above 4000rpm that my 325 used to have, so the top end feels a bit flat. Or else maybe the mapping just isn't optimised for the M50 manifold??
I think maybe one reason the M52 feels a little disappointing at high revs is that (post remap) it has lots of torque at low to middling revs so doesn't have the pronounced power step above 4000rpm that my 325 used to have, so the top end feels a bit flat. Or else maybe the mapping just isn't optimised for the M50 manifold??
BGarside said:
Cheers. Too bad they stopped being made about 7 years ago! I've not seen any for sale on eBay lately. I think K&N do a shielded kit so I guess I'll look at one of those.
Not wanting to crash this thread but are here any decent mapping places in this area (south west) for the M50 manifold mod? I know BW Chiptune claim to be good but they're a bit far away from me and pricy too (about £370 IIRC). I have a generic End Tuning M52 map but really looking for a map to make the most of the manifold mod.
Thanks,
Ben
Yeah the K&N 57i Gen II is the heat shielded version. You can sometimes pick them up for £120 from Euro Parts when they have a sale on otherwise £169 iircNot wanting to crash this thread but are here any decent mapping places in this area (south west) for the M50 manifold mod? I know BW Chiptune claim to be good but they're a bit far away from me and pricy too (about £370 IIRC). I have a generic End Tuning M52 map but really looking for a map to make the most of the manifold mod.
Thanks,
Ben
Have a small update to make as the replacement wheel refurbishment has now got underway.
When I bought the car it came with a set of after market fake M3 wheels... Yuk! At some point in the car's history, someone decided to sell the original RC041s that the car originally came with and replaced them with fake M3 wheels - chav taste knows no bounds...
So, I managed to procure a set of original BBS RC041 wheels, seen here on the donor's car...
As I was not keen on the colour, I had the wheels taken apart and the centres sand blasted.
And prepped for painting. Smoothing out the pitting from the sandblasting won't be easy.
Have sent the barrels off to HiPol to get them polished.
The guys getting their hands dirty.
Or should I say, "their gloves"...
Barrels are now pretty much prepped and ready for their final polishing.
And a glimpse of the finish that the barrels should end up with.
Have also bought some lovely gold bolts for when the wheels are rebuilt. £80 including delivery. Will be painting the refurbished upgraded brake calipers in gold as well, so will compliment each other very well and set the wheels off a treat!
And the lovely Bridgestone RE002 225/45/17 tyres that will set the finished wheels off a treat! £315 for the set, inc delivery, bargain!
Will update this part of my thread when the wheels go back together next week, and the tryes have been fitted.
Won't be fitting them to the car until after the 1K engine run-in, when it is ready to be delivered back to me.
When I bought the car it came with a set of after market fake M3 wheels... Yuk! At some point in the car's history, someone decided to sell the original RC041s that the car originally came with and replaced them with fake M3 wheels - chav taste knows no bounds...
So, I managed to procure a set of original BBS RC041 wheels, seen here on the donor's car...
As I was not keen on the colour, I had the wheels taken apart and the centres sand blasted.
And prepped for painting. Smoothing out the pitting from the sandblasting won't be easy.
Have sent the barrels off to HiPol to get them polished.
The guys getting their hands dirty.
Or should I say, "their gloves"...
Barrels are now pretty much prepped and ready for their final polishing.
And a glimpse of the finish that the barrels should end up with.
Have also bought some lovely gold bolts for when the wheels are rebuilt. £80 including delivery. Will be painting the refurbished upgraded brake calipers in gold as well, so will compliment each other very well and set the wheels off a treat!
And the lovely Bridgestone RE002 225/45/17 tyres that will set the finished wheels off a treat! £315 for the set, inc delivery, bargain!
Will update this part of my thread when the wheels go back together next week, and the tryes have been fitted.
Won't be fitting them to the car until after the 1K engine run-in, when it is ready to be delivered back to me.
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 10th June 16:54
Update time again. Now things are really starting to move towards the finish line as the interior swap has now got underway... 
Originally I wanted to replace the yucky two-tone grey interior with black, but Sam managed to find a rare replacement interior for the car. Black with red leather... Apparently BMW only offered this as a limited option and only two hundred were ever produced. If you know better, don't roast ME, I'm only going on what I've been told.
I'll start with a couple of pics of a car with this colour option, to give you a flavour of where we are going.
Can't remember how much I paid for the interior, but was somewhere in the region of £225. Bargain! We bought a really nice condition black dash for around another £100 and a mint condition black carpet for around £50, I think. Anyway, here are the pics of the replacement interior.
First up are a couple of pics of the passenger seats - we actually got two of these...
And next, the driver's seat. This has wear on the bolsters, but the foam underneath still has its shape, so we are going to 'skin' the driver's seat and use the spare passenger seat leather to recover it...
The rear seats.
The colour coded floor mats.
And the door cards.
As you may notice, we've got a spare front door card too...
This second hand interior came with so much stuff...
The black dash... These pics don't really do it justice, it is in excellent condition, almost like new!
Managed to get hold of genuine M3 interior door handles. They have a damped action and are solid metal. £35, get in!
They look so much better than the black plastic originals...
The new black glove compartment.
And part of the centre console.
Now let's get down to business. The old interior strip-out begins...
Lovely replacement black carpet laid-out in preparation to install into the car.
First decision of the day was to get a new throttle pedal.
General pics of the seats, center console, dash electrics being removed.
Disgusting state of the driver's side carpet. Should be called 'shagged' pile...
Check this out...
Sorted some minimal surface rust, wire brushed, treated and painted.
Look how well BMW build these things...
Just LOVE this pic. Shows how mint this car really is!...
The black carpet going in...
And the new black dash body installed.
The carpet trims around the the doors have been nicely fitted.
The details around the console arm rest and hand brake are finished along with wiring in place.
The wiring for the various EWS, GM, DSC, ASC Module components behind the glove box are back in place.
The remote cable and the RCA cable is installed in readiness for the new Alpine CDE 178 BT stereo head unit that I have just bought. It has CD, Bluetooth, works with an iPod/iPhone, has a removable fascia and is colour matched to the BMW orange. Nice!
Cables sorted ready to install the 18 button OBC.
The 18 button OBC now fitted.
The foot well cover for the glove box is now in place.
The glove box liner and front have now been fitted, including the useless BMW torch...
The dash board heater covers and clocks are fitted.
Now for a couple of pics of the gear selector gaitor and the lovely new genuine BMW clubsport gear selector knob fitted, and compared to the shagged original. Remember that we have also fitted a short shifter kit to the car. Can't wait to get my hands on it!
The remainder of the center console and the handbrake cover fitted.
The dye kit for the leather turned up today, eventually. Came complete with cleaner, dye, leather conditioner and sprayer with propellants. Wasn't cheap but should bring the leather up really well.
Will continue adding to this particular post as the interior replacement progresses.
Originally I wanted to replace the yucky two-tone grey interior with black, but Sam managed to find a rare replacement interior for the car. Black with red leather... Apparently BMW only offered this as a limited option and only two hundred were ever produced. If you know better, don't roast ME, I'm only going on what I've been told.
I'll start with a couple of pics of a car with this colour option, to give you a flavour of where we are going.
Can't remember how much I paid for the interior, but was somewhere in the region of £225. Bargain! We bought a really nice condition black dash for around another £100 and a mint condition black carpet for around £50, I think. Anyway, here are the pics of the replacement interior.
First up are a couple of pics of the passenger seats - we actually got two of these...
And next, the driver's seat. This has wear on the bolsters, but the foam underneath still has its shape, so we are going to 'skin' the driver's seat and use the spare passenger seat leather to recover it...
The rear seats.
The colour coded floor mats.
And the door cards.
As you may notice, we've got a spare front door card too...
This second hand interior came with so much stuff...
The black dash... These pics don't really do it justice, it is in excellent condition, almost like new!
Managed to get hold of genuine M3 interior door handles. They have a damped action and are solid metal. £35, get in!
They look so much better than the black plastic originals...
The new black glove compartment.
And part of the centre console.
Now let's get down to business. The old interior strip-out begins...
Lovely replacement black carpet laid-out in preparation to install into the car.
First decision of the day was to get a new throttle pedal.
General pics of the seats, center console, dash electrics being removed.
Disgusting state of the driver's side carpet. Should be called 'shagged' pile...
Check this out...
Sorted some minimal surface rust, wire brushed, treated and painted.
Look how well BMW build these things...
Just LOVE this pic. Shows how mint this car really is!...
The black carpet going in...
And the new black dash body installed.
The carpet trims around the the doors have been nicely fitted.
The details around the console arm rest and hand brake are finished along with wiring in place.
The wiring for the various EWS, GM, DSC, ASC Module components behind the glove box are back in place.
The remote cable and the RCA cable is installed in readiness for the new Alpine CDE 178 BT stereo head unit that I have just bought. It has CD, Bluetooth, works with an iPod/iPhone, has a removable fascia and is colour matched to the BMW orange. Nice!
Cables sorted ready to install the 18 button OBC.
The 18 button OBC now fitted.
The foot well cover for the glove box is now in place.
The glove box liner and front have now been fitted, including the useless BMW torch...
The dash board heater covers and clocks are fitted.
Now for a couple of pics of the gear selector gaitor and the lovely new genuine BMW clubsport gear selector knob fitted, and compared to the shagged original. Remember that we have also fitted a short shifter kit to the car. Can't wait to get my hands on it!
The remainder of the center console and the handbrake cover fitted.
The dye kit for the leather turned up today, eventually. Came complete with cleaner, dye, leather conditioner and sprayer with propellants. Wasn't cheap but should bring the leather up really well.
Will continue adding to this particular post as the interior replacement progresses.
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 20th May 18:45
Have a small update on the interior leather refurbishment progress.
Some of the leather in the interior that we bought was in a bit of a sorry state. Unloved as mush as abused, it would appear...
We bought a fairly expensive professional cleaning kit to refurbish the leather.
This comprises cleaners, conditioners, colour, and final top coat.
The leather was first given a good clean and conditioner was then applied.
It was then sprayed with the original colour - BMW classic red.
This part of the process involves applying a number of coats, depending on how poor the current condition is.
The head rests.
Rear seat side 'bolsters'?...
And after drying...
It was decided to re-dye my original rear door cards as they were in good condition and are the Lux Pack versions, with stitched padded leather.
First colour coat being applied.
And after drying - bear in mind that this is just the first coat of colour...
A reminder of what we started with, at the top of this post.
This just the first coat, and has already transformed the tiered old unloved rear bench seat!
Can't wait to see the final result! Will end up looking, well almost, like new....
Some of the leather in the interior that we bought was in a bit of a sorry state. Unloved as mush as abused, it would appear...
We bought a fairly expensive professional cleaning kit to refurbish the leather.
This comprises cleaners, conditioners, colour, and final top coat.
The leather was first given a good clean and conditioner was then applied.
It was then sprayed with the original colour - BMW classic red.
This part of the process involves applying a number of coats, depending on how poor the current condition is.
The head rests.
Rear seat side 'bolsters'?...
And after drying...
It was decided to re-dye my original rear door cards as they were in good condition and are the Lux Pack versions, with stitched padded leather.
First colour coat being applied.
And after drying - bear in mind that this is just the first coat of colour...
A reminder of what we started with, at the top of this post.
This just the first coat, and has already transformed the tiered old unloved rear bench seat!
Can't wait to see the final result! Will end up looking, well almost, like new....
For those out there following this thread, I have a tasty update on the wheels. So here goes...
Got the polished wheel barrels back from HiPol on Monday.
They have - eventually - done a beautiful job on polishing the barrels.
Got the wheel centres back from the shot blasters / powder coater's yesterday. An amazing job too!
Putting the two together...
Goona look like a million dollars once the gold bolts are fitted, along with the silver BMW centre caps are fitted, along with the lovely Bridgestone tyres...
Looking forward to the pics of them all put together...
Got the polished wheel barrels back from HiPol on Monday.
They have - eventually - done a beautiful job on polishing the barrels.
Got the wheel centres back from the shot blasters / powder coater's yesterday. An amazing job too!
Putting the two together...
Goona look like a million dollars once the gold bolts are fitted, along with the silver BMW centre caps are fitted, along with the lovely Bridgestone tyres...
Looking forward to the pics of them all put together...
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