Jan 2012 - Some pics

No more updates but gave the car a good wash due to the road salt and a good clean inside. Realised I have no interior shots with the new headunit until now.
Here is is after a good wash, sat on the Eibachs and winter wheels.

Here is the interior with the CD43 and de wooded console. Gave the inside a good clean as well.

Jan 2012 - Suspension again

I was still not 100% happy with the suspension as I felt the car still rolled too much on the corners even with the uprated dampers. I did some research and decided to fit H&R uprated roll bars. These are far thicker than standard and reduce the body roll through the corners considerably.

At the same time I also stripped the Bilstein shocks to shorten the Bumpstops as there has been issues with poor low speed ride quality using these shocks and lowered springs. It was just a case of halfing the bumpstops.

I also fitted another set of Eibach springs and wishbone bushes. I can now say that the handling is spot on. There is hardly any body roll, the steering is pin sharp. With a new set of Eibachs the ride quality is great as well. I removed the last set as the ride quality was poor, but I now believe they were slightly sagged. The cut down bumpstops helped as well. Looking forward to some trackdays in the new year now...:)

Dec 2011 - New Vanos

I knew this job was coming as I had a slight oil weep from the exhaust solonoid cover for a few months. Last time I changed the seals I noticed that the cylinder the solonoid sits into was scored and worn which meant that the O rings would not seal for long. The unit had always been noisy, and had got worse so I decided it was time for a re-con unit. For this job I used Mr vanos. He supplied and fitted the new unit and also checked the valve clearances at the same time.
Here is the old worn unit, on removal it became apparent that the internal seals on the inlet side had failed which was not good.

 Here is the engine with the unit removed

And the new unit being installed

When the car was back together I carried out the viscous fan delete mod. By fitting a lower temp switch, the ac fan at the front can be used for cooling. By not having the fan drag on the engine it supposed to allow the engine to spin faster.

I was well pleased with the results of the work. The low down power of the engine had been restored and sounded much better. The idle is steadier and the engine pulls much harder.

Dec 2011 - Ipod

I fitted a new headunit as the old school tape unit was not great. I fitted a genuine BMW CD43 unit, using the CD changer socket in the back I fitted an X-Car link which gives me full ipod control through the standard headunit. This look completely OE.

 Much better now, better sound and can use my ipod properly.

Dec 2011

Now the cold weather was coming I decided I was going to fit some winter tyres. I didnt fancy driving the car in icy and possibly snowy conditions with summer sports tyres. My local tyre centre did me a good deal on a set of 4 Avons, and a good friend lent me a spare set of wheels which I painted black.

Here they are fitted to the car, not my favourite but they will do the job for a couple of months.

Nov 2011

After my wedding and honeymoon I decided it was time to get a few more bits together for the car. After seeing a car breaking ad on Bimmerforums I collected an underbody cross brace from a cabrio model. These stiffen up the chassis and improve steering feel.

And from the same seller, I collected a pair of 'twisty' sideskirts. These were fitted to coupe models and facelift saloons. As soon as I got home I fitted them.

I had also been on the hunt for another steering rack for the car. I always felt that the steering was too low geared with far too many turns of the wheel. I did some researc and decided I was not paying £200+ for a Z3 quick rack so compromised with a late E46 rack which was 3/4 turn less lock to lock and really improved the steering response.

The following weekend I fitted the rack and X brace

The steering was much improved. A good fairly cheap mod.

Also that weekend I changed the centre console in the car from the wood look to standard black. I dont mind the wood, but felt there was too much.

Oct 2011

Nothing happened to the car this month as I got married and had an awsome 2 week honeymoon. I managed to get the car involved in the wedding, it wasnt the main car but carried the bridesmaids to the church. Also managed to sneak it into some wedding shots...lol

Sept 2011

Not a great deal happend this month. I fitted a standard E36 cassette player as the Alpine that was fitted wasnt my cup of tea.

Returned the car back to standard ride height as well, as I wasnt happy with the ride quality of the lowering springs.

Aug 2011 - A/C sorted

After a warm summer and being very uncomfortable on the black leather seats, the next job on my list was to sort the air conditioning out. After looking at the system previously I knew the main condensor rad was corroded and holed and the main pusher fan was siezed. I managed to source a decent second hand fan, but decided to buy a new condensor. As the system had been open for a long time a new drying unit was also needed.
First job was to remove the front end to gain access.

Here is the old condensor on the left and new on the right

 New drying container fitted

Final step was to pressure test and regas the system

All was well except that the fan was not working, these are 2 speed units. One speed works with the A/C and the full speed acts as a secondary cooling fan. If the fan doesnt cut in with the A/C it can cause overpressure in the system and blow the compressor.
Luckily it was an easy diagnosis and a new fan relay sorted it.

Job done, nice ice cold A/C. Works a treat...:D

July 2011

No major updates, but decided to get the car dyno'd to see how good the engine was. Was very happy with the 304.3bhp as these hardly ever make the BMW quoted power of 321bhp. Looking at the figure it meant that there was nothing major to worry about.

After that I attended the BMW show at Santa Pod with the Bimmerforums guys again. Had a great weekend, with some awsome cars on show.

Then came the BMW Car Club's main show at Gaydon Motor Museum. This is the main show of the year with every model of BMW on show.Once again, I attended with Bimmerforums.

June 2011

No mechanical updates, but I attended the DC show at Turweston with the Bimmerforums lads where we all had our cars on show. The show was mainly VW's but had some superb cars and a great atmosphere. Well worth a day out.

Wheels back...

After a week Lepsons called to say the wheels were ready, so I collected them straight away. They looked fantastic and like a new set. I couldnt wait to get them on the car...lol

They really made the car look cleaner, best mod so far and they looked far better than the previous sunflowers. I was so happy I fitted the wishbones I got a couple of weeks before.

 Afterwards I had a full wheel alignment carried out as I had messed around with all the settings when I fitted the new parts.

Gearknob...

Small update but as I was waiting for the wheel refurb I fitted a new gearknob. Its an E46 weighted clubsport one. Looks OE in the car and improves the shift over the standard wooden one.