Jet Black ZHP Mod-A-Palooza

[johnrando]

LOL. Love it. I actually bought this button panel off an M Vert. Hoping to put the SB button behind the "sport" button.

http://mxpaintball.phpwebhosting.com...I/DSCN1810.JPG

[JohnnyGraphic]

LOL. Love it. I actually bought this button panel off an M Vert. Hoping to put the SB button behind the "sport" button.

http://mxpaintball.phpwebhosting.com...I/DSCN1810.JPG

Can't tell from the pic which button, but good going with keeping it with stock BMW bits!

[johnrando]

Another update to the modding. Finally got around to installing the H&R Cup Kit with Race Springs on my car. I went for broke (literally ) and bought this kit on sale a few months ago. I actually bought the Sport Springs with the kit, but bought some relatively low mileage Race springs at a good price. Decided to try them first, and if I didn't like it, I'd switch to Sport. I absolutely love the Race springs so I will be selling my Sport, and I'm keeping my ZHP setup to return to stock if ever wanted.

I went with H&R after some research and knowing that coilovers were really overkill for my street driving and added unneeded cost. I also wanted:
1) lowering - check
2) a quicker "return" when hitting a depression in the road at high speed - check
3) better stability/predictability on a curve when hitting a depression/slight bump at high speed - check
4) keep the refined ZHP ride as much as reasonably possible - check

My impressions:
This kit is amazing. Absolutely love the feel, stability, the ride, everything about them. They gave me what I wanted from above and more. On top of that, it actually rides SMOOTHER on the freeway, which I really don't get. Again, this is one of those mods that make the ZHP feel more how I thought it should have been from the beginning (which is saying a lot as it's a great car). Maybe my suspension was wearing down or something because my car never quite felt like the descriptions I've read of others, but now it's that and more. I find myself going faster on the freeway than normal because it's so smooth. You do feel minor bumps slightly more, but I'd bet someone like my wife wouldn't notice a different feel, you have to be looking for it. Very happy I did this. Gary helped with the recommendations, and also recommended Mike at Mig Motorsports of San Diego to do the install. Mike did a great job, was efficient, and I was very happy with his work, I'd definitely recommend him.

Now for the pics:

The setup (red = race, blue = sport)


Before:


After:


As a plus, they look good on the car:


After closeups front:


After rear:

[GSEN820]

John your car made my ZHP look like a 4x4 parked next to yours. I love your set up (same one on my 325ci). I was going to start a thread for you to update. = )

[johnrando]

LOL, thanks.

[Ryans323i]

Wow JR, I'm really surprised at how much lower you are in the rear with those Race springs. Very sexy!

You mentioned the difference in ride, obviously the new setup is different from stock, but your before picture shows a saggy rear which would negatively impact your ride.

Either way, I'm very happy for you. Glad the ride is better and the over all look is a ton better. I love it!

BTW, Love the new sig!!! So hawt!

[GSEN820]

All Verts look to sag in the rear (due to. Weight in the rear). The pics aren't doing the drop justice. I rides incredible.

[johnrando]

Wow JR, I'm really surprised at how much lower you are in the rear with those Race springs. Very sexy!

You mentioned the difference in ride, obviously the new setup is different from stock, but your before picture shows a saggy rear which would negatively impact your ride.

Either way, I'm very happy for you. Glad the ride is better and the over all look is a ton better. I love it!

BTW, Love the new sig!!! So hawt!

Thanks! I might lower the front just a tad more.

[johnrando]

I'll summarize my "mini" performance boosts here now that I have them all done. First was the BMW Performance Intake, then the AA Tune, then the Sprint Booster, then the Pulleys.

The Performance Intake gave the car just a slight more growl and just a little touch of better throttle response. (Worth it to me, but mostly engine eye candy). Adding the AA tune again improved throttle response, gave it a little more oomph, and improved gas mileage (an extra bonus). The Sprint Booster was the "most fun" thing I added, removing the throttle lag and making the car feel like it should have from the factory. Love that mod. Adding the Turner Motorsports Pulleys continued that trend, although not as much as a difference as I thought. The car just seemed to pull easier, which is what others have said, but it's hard to define.

Adding them up, when driving the same year stock ZHP Vert vs. mine, you could tell there was a difference. It's not huge, but the little things add up: better pull, better growl, better throttle response, slightly better butt dyno but probably not much on a real dyno. I definitely recommend a tune, an intake, and a Sprint Booster. The pulleys didn't do much for me (in fact my gas mileage dropped a bit down from the tune but better than when I started still) but they helped a little in the "feel" of the pull.

Next up, a UUC TSE3 exhaust or close to it, but that's a long time coming.

[Ryans323i]

Nice.

"Butt dyno", I like that. My car has come crazy numbers on the butt dyno.