The life of Ryan's 2003 ZHP

[rkneeshaw]

Replaced wheel bearings today. Figured it was time at 140,xxx miles.



Car is running so good. Cool air is coming in, the twin screws LOVE the cooler air

My cold starts are much worse than that... along with the drivability issues in the first couple of minutes.
Damn, you've put a lot of time and effort into that, so glad that the end result is so good!

Man its been a long ride, but the car drives SO nicely now. I have been dealing with this so long I even "learned" to drive the car differently, so its like I"m learning how to drive it all over again now that I can properly modulate the throttle. Its really great. I'm just waiting on a log from a NA 330i to compare some data to, and I'll package up the tune and get it published for everyone.

[Avetiso]

My wheel bearings were an absolute mess at 160k. Makes me wonder what made them fail so badly.

[Sockethead]

Car is running so good. Cool air is coming in, the twin screws LOVE the cooler air
Man its been a long ride, but the car drives SO nicely now. I have been dealing with this so long I even "learned" to drive the car differently, so its like I"m learning how to drive it all over again now that I can properly modulate the throttle. Its really great. I'm just waiting on a log from a NA 330i to compare some data to, and I'll package up the tune and get it published for everyone.

I can't thank you enough for all you help and encouragement. Without it, I would of sold the TS2 a long time ago. I'm very excited to get the the new green giant injectors and Walbro fuel pump in so I can try out your tune. Now if I can just find the time to do it all...

My wheel bearings were an absolute mess at 160k. Makes me wonder what made them fail so badly.

The bearing are "permanently lubed" there is no way to re-pack them with grease like you would do on traditional old school wheel bearings. After a while, that lube dries up and the bearing fails...

[az3579]

The bearing are "permanently lubed" there is no way to re-pack them with grease like you would do on traditional old school wheel bearings. After a while, that lube dries up and the bearing fails...

I'm surprised I've only ever had to do one bearing. The other 3 have 309k miles on 'em!

[rkneeshaw]

A couple weeks ago I noticed my clutch was starting to slip on cold days in 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear. Crap. With the Gingerman HPDE coming up, I didn't want that ruining the weekend I've been waiting all summer for! So I got busy right away ordering parts and working logistics.

I chose to stick with the dual mass flywheel because I dont want clutch chatter at idle. I put a lightweight flywheel in my previous car and it was embarrassing at idle, and the BMW is too refined for that. That meant I had literally 3 options for clutches. Stock, Sachs Performance, or Spec. I daily drive this car, so I need good drivability, I just need it to hold more power. I chose to give the Sachs Performance clutch a try, in the organic flavor.



Also, I've been dealing with 2nd gear popping out of gear occasionally for quite a while now, so with the trans coming out for the clutch job, I chose to get that replaced too. I found a used unit with 112k on the clock from LKQ. When we drained the fluid it was golden yellow, so I think I got lucky and got a really good trans to replace my 140k unit.

And then, "while I'm in there...", I ordered guibo flex disc, center support bearing, rear main seal, and throw-out bearing. Plus, installed M3 transmission mounts, completely rebuilt the shifter linkage and bushings with Turner's upgraded polyurethane shifter arm bushing kit, and installed the ECS Tuning brass clutch fork pivot pin

Lined up a shop in Southfield, great guys, and they got to work this last week.

Out came the old clutch and flywheel and pressure plate.







I was surprised, with 140k on the clock the clutch had what appears to be a lot of life left. I think it probably wasn't all that worn, but just couldn't handle the power I'm creating. The dual-mass flywheel I think was definitely done, because now that I have the new dual mass installed I no longer have any "jerk" or "bounce" when cruising steadily with slight on off throttle in 1st and 2nd gear.

Fresh bushings and linkages for the shifter, including Turner polyurethane shifter arm bushing:



The Sachs Performance clutch kit definitely has a heavier pedal feel. It took me a bit to get used to it. But the clutch engagement is very much like stock, you can slip it easily during engagement for smooth takeoff, but if you need to drop it, it will grab very nicely.

The shifter is OMG. Click, click, click into gears. Its awesome. So precise. No slop. I even replaced the shifter bushing, the white plastic peice, the usual suspect for sloppy shifters, back when I installed the BMW Performance short throw shifter about 50k miles ago, so I thought it would still be good. I think its a combination of all the shifter linkage components included in the "rebuild kit" from Turner, plus the poly shifter arm bushing, that results in such a great shifting experience.

The M3 trans mounts do seem to introduce a slight touch more NVH that I slightly notice at lower RPM's (around 1500 or so).

Overall I'm very pleased. I wish the pedal was a little lighter, but I'm not complaining, I think its just the nature of the beast. If you need more clamping force, you're going to get a heavier pedal. The engagement, shifting, driving, is just so nice. And 2nd gear doesn't pop out on me anymore either Mission accomplished, I'm ready for gingerman!

But that's not all.

If you've been following then you know that last year I bought a used Borla cat-back to test out and see if it quieted down the car some on long highway cruises. I loved the Magnaflow cat-back, it sounded awesome under full throttle, but was a little loud for me while cruising. So I bought a used Borla cat-back and had it welded up, but, the weld job was ugly. I lost a lot more power than I expected, and ever since then I've been wondering of those welds were boogered up inside the pipe causing excess restrictions. And since I fell in love with the sound of the Borla, I decided to buy a new one. And yesterday, I installed it







And I'm off to the dyno on Friday to get a fresh baseline. Hopefully I gained a few HP back. At least it looks pretty.

And then lastly, I scored a good deal on a set of Alzor style 040's. I had them wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires.



These have a nice offset to them so I wont' have to be installing/uninstalling the wheel spacers each time I swap on the track wheels/tires. And they are a few pounds lighter than the stock style 135's too. I really like the look





The Michelin PS4s do not disappoint. They are every bit as good as the old PSS they replaced, and they grip noticeably better in the wet too. I cannot come up with a single criticism, these tires are awesome.

Between the wheel bearings, the new wheels and tires, the trans, shifter, and clutch job, the car feels AMAZING to drive.

[Sockethead]

Wow! Lots of good stuff going on with your car. It just keeps getting better and better.

You're right: Better clamping force = heavier pedal... no way around that really other than more surface area like a twin disk setup but then that's not even close to stock by that point. the Sachs performance clutch is probably the direction I'll be taking too since our cars are pretty close performance wise. I'd hate to replace with a stock clutch only to find out it doesn't have enough clamping force. That would suck.
The original clutch does look to be in excellent shape. I don't see any burning on any of the surfaces...

Looks like the old exhaust has seen too many winters... that must be 409 stainless.... I don't think 304 stainless rusts like that.

Wheels look great. Seeing all that you've accomplished makes me want to get my car done!

[sillieidiot]

Nice updates. lol the daily struggles of the "while I'm there" mantra. makes me wallet sad.

[rkneeshaw]

Seeing all that you've accomplished makes me want to get my car done!

I've got to get this pulley back to you ASAP! And then we're going to get your car a nice tune and you're going to have a blast

[Sockethead]

I'm so looking forward to it! No rush on the pulley... my car is still on the jack stands. I'm still trying to find the time to get the new heat exchanger sorted out

[johnrando]

Good stuff.

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