Nice work getting it in there and sorry about the misfire issue. Headers sound like a nightmare to me, but I do envy those who go that route.
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Nice work getting it in there and sorry about the misfire issue. Headers sound like a nightmare to me, but I do envy those who go that route.
nice. yeah I still have mines sitting in a shed. i'll get to it eventually. have to swaintech coat it first.
My misfire isn't fixed, but I've mitigated it by tuning the DME to NOT shut down cylinders when a misfire is detected. So now I only get a quick SES flash at about 6250 RPM when it does occasionally misfire and its very non intrusive. I really can't feel it happening, the only reason I know something happened is the quick flash of the SES light when it does.
In other news, I installed an M3 front sway bar. Here's the M3 bar (26mm) compared to the stock ZHP front bar (23.5mm):
https://i.ibb.co/bbdjryd/IMG-20190427-105419.jpg
Notice the ends of the bar have a slightly different angle to them. The M3 bar bolts in fine, but the end link is a little tweaked:
https://i.ibb.co/8Bf3ykg/IMG-20190427-162932.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/JRMNqqQ/IMG-20190427-110530.jpg
I don't think it will be a problem, worse case they probably wear out faster, but I might install a set of adjustable end links from Turner anyway at some point.
Turn-in is much improved, the car feels so nimble. And its flatter in the corners, obviously. But what surprised me is how much the car feels like it wants to "dig in" through corners now, its quite fun! I'm very much looking forward to memorial day weekend at Gingerman raceway.
Also gave her a spring cleaning. Clay and sealant.
https://i.ibb.co/k3phCWq/IMG-20190427-153937.jpg
Those wheels look really good.
I paired my 26mmM3 front sway with E36 M3 end links. They’re a little shorter (I’m lowered slightly) felt stronger to me, and seem to have taken the sharp angle out of the lower ball joint. I just didn’t want to futz around with adjustable links, and ~20months later have no indication of them being an issue.
Its been a boring winter, so not much has changed around here, except I'm really getting pumped about this upcoming track season, and I'll tell you why.
Back in October, I finally, at long last, got the car out on the track for the first time after fixing my issues with the ESS tune that caused the throttle to be unpredictable and non-linear on track. And it was glorious! I can't believe how much easier the car is to drive! I shaved 6 seconds of my previous times at Gingerman, from 1:53.x to nearly breaking through 1:47.x. I really had a great time, the car performed great.
https://i.ibb.co/m9BTk1J/FB-IMG-1570674014653.jpg
But just look at that body roll. This is turn 3 at Gingerman and you can see that the M3 front sway bar is still no match for a car with full interior, 200tw Hankook RS4's, and factory original springs and dampers (with 145k miles!). With the car making power the way I want, its time to focus on suspension.
My current plans are to pay homage to the Spec E46 class with regard to suspension and rolling hardware. So that means 255/40/17 on 17x9 wheels (check), stock rotors and calipers with pads and lines of choice (check), poly control arm bushings (check), steel sway bars with size of choice, and MCS single adjustable non-remote reservoir shocks. This is a tried and true track setup and I can build it in a way that allows it to evolve with me as I get more experience as a driver or if I decide to start stepping up to slicks for track days.
Based on some research I've decided to try to use a "more bar, less spring" strategy in order to combat the body roll on track. So I ordered up the Turner Spec E46 sway bar set with 30mm front and 21mm rear bar
https://i.ibb.co/d7RZc6d/IMG-20200305-172457.jpg
The true Spec E46 specifications calls for 750/850# springs front/rear, but this is where I'm going to break with the spec for now. I still daily this car in the summer. From everything I hear, the MCS dampers do a phenomenal job with higher rate springs, allowing the car to be very compliant on the street despite higher spring rates. The other nice thing about MCS is that they are very friendly to spring rate changes, meaning I can make changes there without necessarily needing a re-valve. Given this freedom, and feeling conservative, I'm going to go a little softer with a 550/650# spring for now. And if its still too soft, its an easy and fairly inexpensive swap to bump up to the 750/850s. Another thing to consider after talking to Wyatt at MCS (who is also a ZHP owner, very cool!) is that in full street trim my car is heavier than a true Spec E46 racer (about 3300# compared to the spec limit 2850#) which means that on my car, those stiffer spring rates probably wouldn't' feel as stiff since there is more weight for them to support. So I'll keep that in mind after I get a few hundred miles or so on the new spring/damper setup, and if I want to ratchet things up, I can.
Until then, I've got to wait for my favorite brown truck to show up, and I'll have some wrenching to do :devilish:devilish
Can't wait to hear your review on your suspension set up. I ran the same 550/650 (although with AST 4100) and the turner bars. Honestly, on perfectly flat roads with minor bumps here and there, it was perfect. But if I'm in areas with a lot more rough roads, it was too stiff. Since I don't track at all anymore, I dropped my spring rate down even more since then. But I still wanna do MCS doubles down the line. I just felt like I didn't have enough adjustments at times with singles. Maybe I should keep those springs I listed for sale to try on the MCS before selling it.
GL, keep us posted!
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Despite more time on my hands due to stay-at-home orders and time off from work, I've struggled to get motivated to work out in the garage. Partly due to the lack of good whether; its been cold. But having these show up has helped:
https://i.ibb.co/SvhkJ63/IMG-20200331-164240.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/r748L27/IMG-20200401-181729.jpg
Overall the installation was quite straightforward. Started with the fronts.
https://i.ibb.co/xqSHLmp/IMG-20200420-092216.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Ky5gg84/IMG-20200420-105326.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/dWRM7qL/IMG-20200421-110117.jpg
And then tackled the rears
https://i.ibb.co/DbSx1PB/IMG-20200421-100640.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/1J3h7ts/IMG-20200421-100722.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/QkZqGHb/IMG-20200421-092929.jpg
With the turner rear shock reinforcement plates
https://i.ibb.co/VMm5Rsy/IMG-20200421-092610.jpg
Things worth noting: The sway bar mounts on the MCS coilovers are about 1.5" lower than the stock struts
https://i.ibb.co/LgWMbQv/IMG-20200420-092335.jpg
So shorter sway bar end links are required. I installed a set from Turner that are about 1.2" shorter than stock, and everything fits nicely, the sway bar is nice and level.
There's a ton of adjustability with the MCS coilovers. This is how high I have the front springs on the coilover body and can't imagine going much lower:
https://i.ibb.co/C6dsdvs/IMG-20200421-111012.jpg
I would love to report on how it rides and drives, but we had snow last night so I'll have to wait until the roads clear again, ugg.
On another topic, the rugged look of my cupholder and center console has been bugging me. The original coating from the factory has gotten scratched over the years and is flaking off. I attempted to do this the cheap way by ordering up the alleged matched paint from SEM. This is how the cupholder turned out:
https://i.ibb.co/FXR0vxX/IMG-20200309-090654.jpg
it took a lot of prep work, and sanding, and even then there's still some scratches I can see. Also if you look closely the black color is a slight shade darker than the stock coating. So, I consider that a fail, and I sucked it up and ordered up new console and cupholder. These have gotten expensive recently, but its the only thing keeping my interior from looking flawlessly brand new.
I held off installing the Turner sway bars for now. I wanted to see how the car drove after changing only the springs and dampers. So the sway swill go on next, along with the Turner monoball RTABs.
Nice updates!!!
Damn, I've been waiting on your review of the suspension lol At least it's on now. I guess once you put on the sways, it'll be a more comparable review since I have the same sways. I have the same camber plates as well, but I'm planning to sell that to go with turner's street plates. Making my car more street compliant I guess.