What did you do for your ZHP/ BMW / MINI today? #2

[704sw]

I think I'd be almost ashamed to admit how many automotive bolts I've replaced via local venues. And usually higher quality than stock.

Thanks for the tip, Fenrir. I, too, have many a bolt from the hardware store in my car. And a crapload of misc. nuts and bolts I grab off the ground around E46s in the junkyard every time I go.

It doesn't help that one tensioner is a torx and the other is hex... I can never remember which is which

Why on earth would anyone want to make things easy for us?

[papa_g]

Well I was able to get to the bottom of that issue today. The old tension pully bolt was stripped. The T50 socket was biting enough to make it feel like it was torqued on. It wasn't. I pulled the old bolt and replaced it. No torque lets the whole assembly spin. So it squeaks.... Well it sounded more like a banshee.

Geewiz info for anyone replacing the hydraulic tension pully bolt. Skip every parts supplier out there. They'll want way more than the stock bolt is worth. Home Depot carries the same bolt in hardened steel for 98 cents for a pair.

It's an M10x25 8mm hex and fits perfectly. 98 cents vs 12 bucks from a supplier more than covers the fuel cost to pick it up locally. I think I'd be almost ashamed to admit how many automotive bolts I've replaced via local venues. And usually higher quality than stock.

Obvious OEM stripped bolt is obvious below.



Sent from the missing 10mm

so the crappy bolt was the cause of the noise? Nice, I bet you are so happy you found it! Good job finding an inexpensive replacement as well

[Fenrir]

It doesn't help that one tensioner is a torx and the other is hex... I can never remember which is which

I think I'm just going to work my way through the engine bay and standardize everything as much as I can lol. BMW did a decent job from the factory but needing a torx one minute, a hex another, and then needing the holy grail 10mm the next gets old.

Thanks for the tip, Fenrir. I, too, have many a bolt from the hardware store in my car. And a crapload of misc. nuts and bolts I grab off the ground around E46s in the junkyard every time I go.



Why on earth would anyone want to make things easy for us?

I don't blame you at all lol. A junkyard is like a paradise for small parts no one thinks of. And I do have to say, compared to any BMW newer than the E46, this car isn't too bad to work on. The last E90 I worked on made me want to burn it down.

so the crappy bolt was the cause of the noise? Nice, I bet you are so happy you found it! Good job finding an inexpensive replacement as well

It was a plethroa of things. Old oooooooold tensioner pully. Belt, while not old, had been weathered by New Mexico heat and no real torque on the bolt let the new assembly spin. Checking things off the list made the noise less and less noticeable. It was the combination of them that eliminated it.


Sidenote: I had a chance to chat with the original owner the other day. (We met shortly after I bought the car from a local dealer a few years back) He asked me if I had supercharged the car yet. I, confused, said no and asked why. He mentioned that when we first met, he'd been slowly building car for FI use.

Turns out. It has VAC forged kit in it. Pistons, con rods, bolts, and a few other bits. He said he'll send me the parts list if he finds it. The last step of the build was supercharging lol. Which now explains the rest of this car. And makes me feel like an idiot for not SC'ing it by now. Either way, he liked the minor changes I've done and if I head back to NM, we'll meet for coffee again.

Sent from the missing 10mm

[Sockethead]

Damn, that will take some serious boost if he used time-serts on the block for the head bolts

[Fenrir]

Damn, that will take some serious boost if he used time-serts on the block for the head bolts

Haha right? I kinda want to break it down to take a look. But if.....when... It gets SC'd, I doubt I'll run more than 8 psi. Enough to liven the car up and surprise people. But that'll probably be it. I've grown to love the car NA. But.... I can't let a forged setup go to waste lol. For now, I've bigger fish to fry.

The paint on the carbon fiber trunk and hood are nooooot agreeing with the clear coat on the carbon fiber. So I think I'll be stripping them back down to bare fiber and repainting them sometime in the nearish future. Someone mentioned just clear coating the carbon fiber for the look but.... Ehh I dunno. Never got past every bro and his bro car friends 3M wrapping everything with fake CF. Kinda ruined clear coated carbon for me on everything but supercars.

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[Sockethead]

Before I supercharged my car, I was where you're at now: tune, headers etc. I loved my car at that point. The supercharger gave me around 100 HP but the rough cold start and weirdness when I rev-match downshifting really annoy the crap out of me... sometimes I wish I just left it NA. I have to find someone that know how to tune and AJ at ESS aint it.

[Fenrir]

Before I supercharged my car, I was where you're at now: tune, headers etc. I loved my car at that point. The supercharger gave me around 100 HP but the rough cold start and weirdness when I rev-match downshifting really annoy the crap out of me... sometimes I wish I just left it NA. I have to find someone that know how to tune and AJ at ESS aint it.

Yeaaah that's my dilemma. I'm loving this car as is right now. It's predicable and I can take it easy or drive the wheel lugs off and know what's going to happen.

Being able to work out the fine details on this build over the years has been awesome. And, it has made me very familiar with how the car will function and respond. Would I love the power from an SC setup? Oh God yes. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. However, I also don't want to futz up a good thing. And I've already got one car I'm busy tuning. But man. Roughly 100 extra hp? That must feel amazing in a car barely above 3200 lbs.

Also, I'm glad you mentioned that about ESS. I've been looking at their twin screw setup.
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[Sockethead]

I've never been in an e46 with a centrifugal supercharger so I can't say what they are like but with the twin screw, the torque comes on early around 2500 rpm and remains pretty flat right up to redline. I'm at around 9 psi of boost. I think part of my issue is that I haven't had time to sort it out. Plus, it's hot as all balls down here and boost doesn't like that... If I get the drivability issues sorted out, I'll be happy

[Reasoned1]

Yeaaah that's my dilemma. I'm loving this car as is right now. It's predicable and I can take it easy or drive the wheels lugs off and know what's going to happen.

Being able to work out the fine details on this build over the years has been awesome. And, it has made me very familiar with how the car will function and respond. Would I love the power from an SC setup? Oh God yes. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. However, I also don't want to futz up a good thing. And I've already got one car I'm busy tuning. But man. Roughly 100 extra hp? That must feel amazing in a car barely above 3200 lbs.

Also, I'm glad you mentioned that about ESS. I've been looking at their twin screw setup.
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You read my mind... my sentiments EXACTLY--plus, one can do a HELLUVA LOT of repairs, refreshes, and upgrades with that coin!

[Fenrir]

I've never been in an e46 with a centrifugal supercharger so I can't say what they are like but with the twin screw, the torque comes on early around 2500 rpm and remains pretty flat right up to redline. I'm at around 9 psi of boost. I think part of my issue is that I haven't had time to sort it out. Plus, it's hot as all balls down here and boost doesn't like that... If I get the drivability issues sorted out, I'll be happy

Yeah it's been ridiculously hot up here in VA. Well for VA it's been hot. There are times I really miss NM. It got hot but it was dry. And I can't wait for fall. The Stealth turbos feel AMAZING in colder weather. I'm currently working on water nozzles for the intercoolers. That should help me knock down the boosted air temps a little in the summer. Or.... At least give me another thing to add to the growing parts list lol.

I've never ridden in an E46 with a centri either. But having dealt with that type of FI system in the past, I prefer twin screw. And your power band sound pretty similar to the one on my Stealth. Kicks on at 2500 and carries to redline. Except I can guarantee yours is way more linear. Those turbos are nothing.....nothing....nothing.. Noth oh look we're redlining.

You read my mind... my sentiments EXACTLY--plus, one can do a HELLUVA LOT of repairs, refreshes, and upgrades with that coin!

I agree wholeheartedly. I look at the cost, remember I have a car with twin turbos, and order refresh parts. In the past, every time I got ready to pull the trigger on a kit, I'd take a lot of time to think about it. Then just go through the car and see what needed to be replaced, set aside cash for parts, or reshesh/upgrade OE stuff with better materials. Maybe one day. We'll see. But I think I'm pretty comfortable for now. Plus this car is starting to show it's age in a few minor ways. Many track days and years of desert life has taken a toll. Nothing terribly or mechanically wrong. But the car isn't perfect anymore. It certainly has it's battle scars.