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

[az3579]

What's also ridiculous is how good this ZHP exhaust sounds. Like why do people even bother installing other stuff when this gem exists???

It's great on the street, but too quiet on track. Makes it difficult to hear when to shift.
I will certainly be doing a ZHP exhaust on the touring, unless I get a killer deal on yet another Corsa. We shall see.

[cakM3]

It's great on the street, but too quiet on track. Makes it difficult to hear when to shift.
I will certainly be doing a ZHP exhaust on the touring, unless I get a killer deal on yet another Corsa. We shall see.

Better off to pony up the cash and buy brand new which is what I will be doing for my ZHP this time around...

[YoitsTmac]

Oh damn, maybe these bushings just have bad fitment. Thought you installed OE ones.

It's been a while but I think mine went in with a lube and a few taps of a mallet. The aluminum top piece pressed into the bushing fine, but the bushing itself would not stay seated all the way in - there was always a gap between the shoulder and the bushing housing in the subframe. As a result, the bolt heads kept touching that aluminum bracket that goes around the tail end of the driveshaft.

Crappy pic of my "fix":



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I still have a clunk after two shops inspected it saying everything looked good. I wonder if my bushings are backing out. I'll have to take a look but I don't think they are...but they shouldn't be touching the crossmember. Ugh. I'm done with all this stuff on my rear axle lol

Yeah I saw that Vas... I may just bite the bullet and pony up the cash for this exhaust....but it will have to wait till next car season...


I think it is safe to day I have done enough for my ZHP this car season... CSL bootlid, Wilwood BBKs, Bilstein PSS-10/Ground Control Camber kit, Lit F10 M5 shift knob, OEM SIRIUS Radio retrofit, BlueBus integration, and soon the M3 instrument cluster retrofit... lots was done this year

Talk about an exciting retrofit year! Love all of these. Wish my list was as exciting. I just needed up with a bunch of cool stuff only 50% done. Starting iDrive 6 retrofit next month...

I had poly transmission mounts before and they were atrocious. Then I went with softer poly mounts (the white ones as seen in the picture) and they were STILL atrocious. Finally gave up and went with rubber.

Have you tried UUC black? That's what I've run for a combined 50k miles. Any average Joe that hops in my car has zero complaints for NVH in relation to my engine/trans mounts.

[Galapolis]

Have you tried UUC black? That's what I've run for a combined 50k miles. Any average Joe that hops in my car has zero complaints for NVH in relation to my engine/trans mounts.

I haven't. They can't possibly be softer than the Condor ones though right? Those are 70A and about the same stiffness as Group N mounts. They even claim that they are the softest poly mounts on the market (I believe them, those things can easily be squished/bent with 2 fingers).

In any case I'm not buying any UUC products ever again. I had their poly RTABs and they were horrible. Extremely squeaky and with all the downsides of poly bushings including less comfort and no rear end grip due to binding. I learned the hard way that poly doesn't really make sense when spherical or solid bushings exist.

It's not important anyway, the engine mounts are what determine throttle response and I'm pretty happy with the Group N replicas.

[YoitsTmac]

I haven't. They can't possibly be softer than the Condor ones though right? Those are 70A and about the same stiffness as Group N mounts. They even claim that they are the softest poly mounts on the market (I believe them, those things can easily be squished/bent with 2 fingers).

In any case I'm not buying any UUC products ever again. I had their poly RTABs and they were horrible. Extremely squeaky and with all the downsides of poly bushings including less comfort and no rear end grip due to binding. I learned the hard way that poly doesn't really make sense when spherical or solid bushings exist.

It's not important anyway, the engine mounts are what determine throttle response and I'm pretty happy with the Group N replicas.

All I'll say is that the UUC ones keep my transmission at bay more than OE with very mild NVH. When I warn people about the NVH they all end pleasantly surprised because there really isn't any in my car. I have one person who's OCD about NVH and she has no complaints when just cruising when it comes to comforts, although she vocally hates my M3 seats and says I should bring back the Non-M Sport seats.

I actually currently have their RTABs. My rear end is undoubtably more planted. The immediate install results were unmistakable. But now it's been 3 years and they're the loudest thing on my car. They are really creaky over driveways and speed bumps. I used copper grease on install but recently they have gotten very loud. What did you replace yours with? I don't know when you got yours but my UUC RTAB has a silver sleeve that can rotate independently of the main RTAB so I'm not afraid of binding but it is annoyingly loud, even for my standards. A shop suggested re-greasing but I don't feel an RTAB should be a regular service item.

[ZHPizza]

All I'll say is that the UUC ones keep my transmission at bay more than OE with very mild NVH. When I warn people about the NVH they all end pleasantly surprised because there really isn't any in my car. I have one person who's OCD about NVH and she has no complaints when just cruising when it comes to comforts, although she vocally hates my M3 seats and says I should bring back the Non-M Sport seats.

I actually currently have their RTABs. My rear end is undoubtably more planted. The immediate install results were unmistakable. But now it's been 3 years and they're the loudest thing on my car. They are really creaky over driveways and speed bumps. I used copper grease on install but recently they have gotten very loud. What did you replace yours with? I don't know when you got yours but my UUC RTAB has a silver sleeve that can rotate independently of the main RTAB so I'm not afraid of binding but it is annoyingly loud, even for my standards. A shop suggested re-greasing but I don't feel an RTAB should be a regular service item.

The RTAB joint has to flex in multiple axes in order to function correctly. That's why poly bushings that only allow rotation in one plane are a bad choice for that joint and end up squeaking/binding. OE rubber is good in that it allows flex in all the necessary axes but also lets the trailing arm shift in/out and you get variable toe during turns (hence the sloppy feeling). Limiters limit this toe change but also limit the axial flex so it's a pick your poison kind of deal. A bearing keeps the toe consistent while still allowing for multi axis movement so it makes your rear end hella planted. The only drawback is some added harshness on leading edges, but that seems to only be noticeable in coupes.

[Galapolis]

All I'll say is that the UUC ones keep my transmission at bay more than OE with very mild NVH. When I warn people about the NVH they all end pleasantly surprised because there really isn't any in my car. I have one person who's OCD about NVH and she has no complaints when just cruising when it comes to comforts, although she vocally hates my M3 seats and says I should bring back the Non-M Sport seats.

I actually currently have their RTABs. My rear end is undoubtably more planted. The immediate install results were unmistakable. But now it's been 3 years and they're the loudest thing on my car. They are really creaky over driveways and speed bumps. I used copper grease on install but recently they have gotten very loud. What did you replace yours with? I don't know when you got yours but my UUC RTAB has a silver sleeve that can rotate independently of the main RTAB so I'm not afraid of binding but it is annoyingly loud, even for my standards. A shop suggested re-greasing but I don't feel an RTAB should be a regular service item.

Maybe I'll get to ride with someone who has UUC transmission mounts one day. I don't think my specific car can take any more than stock rubber though as it seems to be particularly bad with NVH. Even the M3 mounts can be "felt", though I'm happy with how close it feels to stock now. For comparison, one of my buddies ran the exact same poly transmission mounts that I had before in his E46 and there was 0 extra NVH. My specific car just can't take it.

I currently run Camry spherical RTABs. I had the same sleeve you talk about but even that can't rotate since it's surrounded by poly. I'd highly recommend getting the spherical RATBs. If you think it feels planted now, the spherical ones will blow your socks off. Also, they are free of maintenance and noise (at least on the sedan, coupe owners have reported clunks over sharp bumps).

[Will]

Just did a quick clean and condition of leather. Nothing fancy, no Leatherique and it's extended baking / soaking; just some Lexol.

[t.er]

More progress - electrical took more time than I thought it would, had to look up pinouts and whatnot. But I now have something phallic on the back of my car.



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[Galapolis]

More progress - electrical took more time than I thought it would, had to look up pinouts and whatnot. But I now have something phallic on the back of my car.

Nice, now throw in a M57 as well for maximum towing efficiency.