330 zhp SCCA Solo STX build

[bcleaver]

So figured I'd put a few posts/pics surrounding my STX (that is a class of Sports Car Club of America Autocross racing) build on my 330.

To start, I picked this up as the foundation for my build:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TYqjFgdP1dI/AAAAAAAABdU/XaBJrhV463E/s400/IMG_2971.jpg

It's a 2003 330 zhp that's a pretty rare non-sunroof with fixed rear seat and very few options, about as lightweight as e46 non m 330's come. It's fairly high mileage at 128xxx but that allowed me to pick it up relatively cheap and therefore clears my conscience a little when i strip out the front seats for race buckets and make it a very uncomfortable ride with 750+lb spring rates.

The hotter cams, faster steering rack, better gearing and ability to fit wider tires will hopefully make it a nationally competitive car.

First weekend I had it none of my parts arrived so I decided to take on an completely unrelated-to-autocross project and did the headlight restoration work. They were in pretty bad shape:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TYqi83fCT4I/AAAAAAAABck/WNZL32QKyCk/s400/IMG_2962.jpg

During:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TYqi_VKAZiI/AAAAAAAABc4/rMOofeHl5I4/s400/IMG_2965.jpg

And After:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TYqjER2hC5I/AAAAAAAABdQ/9wtzmVhJ2Ow/s400/IMG_2970.jpg

Not perfect, but a big improvement.

Now, autocross related, these showed up at my door today:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TYwPCkgDy6I/AAAAAAAABeg/bHgV7zicSmE/s640/IMG_20110323_123557.jpg

More to come as the build progresses. Things are starting off slow as I'm still trying to nail down possibly the most expensive part of my build (coilovers).

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Nice. Looking forward to following this project thread.

[Terry]

For the record I saw a ZHP pull off top BMW time of the day at a recent BMW CCA autocross... Go get em', bcleaver.

[gr330zhp]

Very cool! Did you remove the fogs?

[mimalmo]

I'll be watching this build.

[spencers]

I have good feelings about this thread. :)

Be sure to outline motivations and reasonings for STX class. As an autocross newbie, I'm not familiar with requirements for classes, and what modifications and parts constitute putting a car in a new class. Will be a good learning experience!

[bcleaver]

Very cool! Did you remove the fogs?

One had a broken tab and wouldn't stay in and the other a cracked lense, so I'll be replacing them both at some point.

[bcleaver]

I have good feelings about this thread. :)

Be sure to outline motivations and reasonings for STX class. As an autocross newbie, I'm not familiar with requirements for classes, and what modifications and parts constitute putting a car in a new class. Will be a good learning experience!

I looked at a lot of different cars/classes before deciding on STX to build this car. I was thinking about getting something that could be competitive in a 'stock' class which only allows you to modify very few things (primarily swaybars and struts) but then you are forced into buying r-compound tires, which over a season can add up...big time. A friend of mine running a SuperStock zo6 vette spent over 12K last year on tires alone. So it's a small investment up front in mods, but then a big investment over the season in tires. That ruled out a lot of fun cars like a 370z and cayman s.

ST* classes (including STX, STU, STR, STS) all run 'street' tires of treadwear 140 or more. They allow other modifications: springs, sturts, sways, diffs, seats, etc. which add up, but are one time costs. Tires are cheap, relatively compared to stock classes. So it's a little more setup and expense on the 'go fast' parts, but then little investment over the season. I picked a ZHP because it places the car in STX which has a good PAX (basically a handicap) and makes it competitive. I didn't go with, say, and m3 because it falls into the STU class, and they seem to be less competitive (I'm not going to start an argument about the ability of an m3 to compete in stu on a bmw forum, but they have struggled in this class) than other cars (evo's and sti's). So the 330 zhp is the most powerful and performance oriented non-m 3 series allowed in stx, hopefully making it competitive. The specifics as to what's allowed are very, well, specific so if you have any specific questions I'm happy to answer them.

other competitive STX cars include the rx8, wrx, 328is 330m3, 325; so a fun class.

Then you can get into 'prepared' and 'modified' classes, which allow for the same modifications as stx (and much more) and also allow r-compound tires (so the best (fast), and worst ($$)) of both worlds.

My goal was a 'cool' car that could be nationally competitive in a class that would allow for minimal in-season expense. So it was street tire class of some sort. The 330 seemed to fit the bill, and I just had to find the right one with no sunroof and few options.

The other cool thing about the 330 is it's 'the car' to have in DSP. So if I ever get bored with stx I can 'move up' to that class.

[kayger12]

In getting quite an education here- great thread!

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[MasterC17]

Sounds like it will be a cool build, I'll be watching. I like the no-sunroof :)

[billschusteriv]

Looking forward to moar build! And some post-race recaps when the time comes!

[danewilson77]

I'll be watching this build.

+1

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[Mike V]

The lack of an LSD is a huge disadvantage for STX. It's been a while since I've looked at rules but without the LSD, would it be legal for ST?

There are guys (such as Terry Fair @ Vorshlag) prepping the new 412-hp Mustang GT for STX. They are 2 seconds behind the RX-8s (Houston Tour) at this point but I think when he figures out the right setup, they might be one of the dominating cars.

[Terry]

Please forgive my ignorance as my ZHP is a bit different from most, therefore I must pose this question to bcleaver and also the veterans here. Was a Limited Slip Differential an option for the ZHP or ZSP 330i from the factory? For your sake I sure hope it was as that I imagine would certainly give you a leg-up...

-Terry

[Mike V]

As far as I know, the LSD was never an option on a non-M3 3 series E46 BMW. I think that goes all the way back to 96 actually. It is standard of course on the M3.

The E30s were available with LSD and actually came standard in the 325is. It was an option in the earlier E36s (92-94, possibly 95).

[ZSP-Mafia]

Please forgive my ignorance as my ZHP is a bit different from most, therefore I must pose this question to bcleaver and also the veterans here. Was a Limited Slip Differential an option for the ZHP or ZSP 330i from the factory? For your sake I sure hope it was as that I imagine would certainly give you a leg-up...

-Terry

No lsd's for non M's :(

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Please forgive my ignorance as my ZHP is a bit different from most, therefore I must pose this question to bcleaver and also the veterans here. Was a Limited Slip Differential an option for the ZHP or ZSP 330i from the factory? For your sake I sure hope it was as that I imagine would certainly give you a leg-up...

-Terry

Unfortunately, it was not an option.

[Mike V]

bcleaver probably already knows all this, but I just looked in the rule book and adding an LSD in STX is allowed. The car is legal for ST but is limited to a 225mm tire. That probably wouldn't work out too well. :) STX allows a 265mm tire.

bcleaver - do you plan to swap in an LSD eventually?

I'm looking forward to seeing how well it goes for you!

[mimalmo]

If the main focus is STX, I'm guessing the M3 rear (subframe, diff, etc) with its 3.62 final drive would be the best option.

[Terry]

Do you think that they would allow you to go to a higher gear set? I would be surprised if SCCA would allow this. Twould be great if they did, Eli.. That means you'd have to go enter your car in STX asap :) If they did allow gear sets to be changed I think you can still get a hold of some old rally gearsets... (ie, above 4.75...).

-Terry

[M0nk3y]

Wouldn't the new Steering Rack (I assume you're going to throw a Z3 Rack in), Bump you into SM Class?

And completely 100% Agreed on the statement ///Ms get screwed over in SCCA Rulings. M3s have to go against boosted AWD Evos and WRXs. My M can only be placed in AS or BSP...which both require R-Compound Tires to run competitively. It "Should" be in a STR class but SCCA didn't want that.

Hopefully soon (aka next season) Ms and other cars get a new class in ST.

[mimalmo]

Do you think that they would allow you to go to a higher gear set? I would be surprised if SCCA would allow this. Twould be great if they did, Eli.. That means you'd have to go enter your car in STX asap :) If they did allow gear sets to be changed I think you can still get a hold of some old rally gearsets... (ie, above 4.75...).

-Terry

It was my understanding that you could have any final drive ratio in STX. Then again, I'm not an expert on SCCA rules.

[bcleaver]

I'll recap what I know. Some of this has already been said, but it will save some folks time that are jumping in late:

The 330 could run in ST with the open diff, but it would get crushed by the civic si. Too heavy and the tire restriction would kill it.

There was not a factory option for LSD on the 330, however it is allowed under stx rules. The final drive can't change, so I'm stuck with the 3.07. I will be getting a diff from Jim Blanton at performance gearing.

The steering rack being faster I refered to is the 330 zhp vs the regular 330. I won't be running a z3 rack or anything like that.

Below is my mod list in preparation. There are some things I'm sure I don't have on here, but these are the big ones off the top of my head:

Running in stx. 2003 330
Phase 1 mod list:
bushings (lots of these: front control arm, diff, subframe, tranny, rtrab, etc)
Wheels/tires: star specs 265's on 17x9 et42
fender roll (see above)
coilovers: still figuring it out, probably ast's
camber plates
shock mounts
swaybar

Phase 2
diff
lightweight battery
exhaust
seats


Phase 3
short shifter
paint

[spencers]

If the main focus is STX, I'm guessing the M3 rear (subframe, diff, etc) with its 3.62 final drive would be the best option.

Or Quaife ATB.
Edit: Nevermind, after reading post above, the 14N changes the final drive. (2.93)

[Mike V]

Sounds like an awesome plan you have there! Vorshlag could help you with the ASTs (sales + advice). That Jim B diff isn't cheap but I hear he's the best in the business.

[az3579]

I too am modding my car with the STX class in mind, though I'm not going full out just yet on buying every available mod allowed in the class. Sucks, because there are quite a few things I want to do but can't because it's not allowed. :(

[bcleaver]

I too am modding my car with the STX class in mind, though I'm not going full out just yet on buying every available mod allowed in the class. Sucks, because there are quite a few things I want to do but can't because it's not allowed. :(

Yea, I hear you. I'd love to get a diff with a final drive of closer to 3.46 but can't because of the class. Pretty much all engine mods are out as well, which is a bummer. As far as suspension goes, though, it's pretty open, so if nothing else it will handle like a beast.

[az3579]

As far as suspension goes, though, it's pretty open, so if nothing else it will handle like a beast.

That, my good sir, is worth its weight in gold. Much more valuable at auto-x to have a good suspension than to have all that power.
The mods I would want to do all have to do with what would affect the daily driving experience (supercharger, rolled fenders, etc.) than auto-x, but if I do it for daily driving I can't just reverse it for competition. This suuuuuuuuuuucks... :(

[bcleaver]

That, my good sir, is worth its weight in gold. Much more valuable at auto-x to have a good suspension than to have all that power.
The mods I would want to do all have to do with what would affect the daily driving experience (supercharger, rolled fenders, etc.) than auto-x, but if I do it for daily driving I can't just reverse it for competition. This suuuuuuuuuuucks... :(

You can roll your fenders and still be stx legal. The supercharger....not so much.

[az3579]

You can roll your fenders and still be stx legal. The supercharger....not so much.

No you can't. You can bend the inner lip of the fender, but you may not in any shape, way, or form modify the appearance of the fender physically. That is pretty much what I want to do to accommodate a more aggressive tire/wheel setup.

Section 14.2, Section E of the 2011 Solo rules state:



E. Fenders may not be cut or flared but the inside lip may be rolled to
gain additional tire clearance. (The outer fender contour may not be
changed.) Plastic and rubber wheel well splash shields may be modified
for tire clearance and to accommodate a rolled inside fender lip.
The modifications may serve no other purpose (e.g. air intake, brake
ducts, etc). No other changes to the stock fenders or wheel wells are permitted.

It is my understanding that you are referring to flaring (I call it rolling) the fender, correct?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

No you can't. You can bend the inner lip of the fender, but you may not in any shape, way, or form modify the appearance of the fender physically. That is pretty much what I want to do to accommodate a more aggressive tire/wheel setup.

Section 14.2, Section E of the 2011 Solo rules state:



It is my understanding that you are referring to flaring (I call it rolling) the fender, correct?

I know that when I say rolling the fender, I mean the inner lip. If you're messing with the outer fender, I call that pulling the fender.


iPad. Tapatalk. Bi-winning.

[az3579]

I know that when I say rolling the fender, I mean the inner lip. If you're messing with the outer fender, I call that pulling the fender.


iPad. Tapatalk. Bi-winning.

I've always known rolling the fender to be enlargening or widening it. Isn't that what they use those roller things for that attach to the hub? It seems as though that rolls the fender to be larger to allow wider wheels...

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I've always known rolling the fender to be enlargening or widening it. Isn't that what they use those roller things for that attach to the hub? It seems as though that rolls the fender to be larger to allow wider wheels...

The rolling tool can be used for both. I've used it just for the inner lip and I've used it for pulling out the entire fender. It just depends on how aggressive you get with the roller.


iPad. Tapatalk. Bi-winning.

[danewilson77]

I know that when I say rolling the fender, I mean the inner lip. If you're messing with the outer fender, I call that pulling the fender.


iPad. Tapatalk. Bi-winning.

That's what we all call it.

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[bcleaver]

No you can't. You can bend the inner lip of the fender, but you may not in any shape, way, or form modify the appearance of the fender physically. That is pretty much what I want to do to accommodate a more aggressive tire/wheel setup.

Section 14.2, Section E of the 2011 Solo rules state:



It is my understanding that you are referring to flaring (I call it rolling) the fender, correct?


When I read:

E. Fenders may not be cut or flared but the inside lip may be rolled to
gain additional tire clearance. (The outer fender contour may not be
changed.) Plastic and rubber wheel well splash shields may be modified
for tire clearance and to accommodate a rolled inside fender lip.
The modifications may serve no other purpose (e.g. air intake, brake
ducts, etc). No other changes to the stock fenders or wheel wells are permitted.

I interpret it that the fenders can be rolled, meaning the inner lip can be flattened which does allow for additional tire clearance. So, no you can't pull them or cut them but you can 'roll' them. I'm not sure how wide a tire you want to run but with 'rolling' as defined by SCCA will allow for 265's and maybe more.

As a side note we had our first test and tune autox day here with our local club ASNW (asnw.org). The car was bone stock on really crappy tires and it handled...well about as well as I thought it would. The tires were really bad (not treadwise, just performace). All in all I was pretty impressed with the car as a stock car. I don't know many other cars from the factory that would have driven as well.

I also had a chance to drive my friends nationally prepped wrx that I will be competing against later (and I co-drove last year) and it whooped me (or should I say I whooped myself in his car). So the zhp has a long way to go, but I felt after today it's a very capable platform. I also drove a CStock M3. Nice ride.

Some parts arive on Monday, so more pics then.

[Mike V]

For what it's worth, that's how I understand it too. Rolling the fenders refers to rolling the fender lips so that they are bent upwards and flat instead of sticking straight out into the fender well.

[bcleaver]

Build update: progress coming along very slowly but some items starting to arrive. For example, I got these delivered today:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZFHgl7hLNI/AAAAAAAABe4/0C4v8gSd0zs/s640/IMG_20110328_174459.jpg

They are Apex ARC 8's 17x9 et42

They weigh a pretty scant 17lbs. I chose the 17" to save weight over the 18". Dunlop makes the star spec's in a 265/40/17 which is a very competitive tire, and also much cheaper than the 18" version. The width in STX is limited to 9" so that's why I chose that dimension. I needed something with an offset greater than 42(ish) in order to fit the 265's i'm running at all four corners and clear the suspension etc. I'll be putting in wheel studs and running a 5mm spacer up front. No spacer in the rear.

I'll get the tires mounted in the next few days, but whether I can put them on the car will depend on clearance. I may have to roll the fenders first.

Somehow there was a train derailment which delayed the wheels from shipping, although inexplicably it only delayed half the wheels. Naturally the box with the wheel studs was the one delayed a day so I can't even start that project...

[M0nk3y]

Just a general question...Ever consider Hankook R-S3s?

[bcleaver]

Just a general question...Ever consider Hankook R-S3s?

Also a great tire, but doesn't come in a 265x17. Rumor has it they also aren't great in the wet.

[mimalmo]

Those will look great!

[spencers]

I'm giddy with excitement about this thread!

[bcleaver]

Not much to update, but got the tires mounted on the wheels. Here is a picture of what it *will* look like mounted. These are not on the car, just in front of the tire.

Anyway, got the wheel studs today as well and will put those on tomorrow and check to see if these fit or how much rubbing I get in prep for rolling the fenders.

So mostly a teaser shot...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZKbhhIaqkI/AAAAAAAABfQ/riBoSiDQoSw/s400/IMG_20110329_192933.jpg

[bcleaver]

Got some more parts ordered today:

H&R 30mm M3 front swaybar (turner has them on sale right now for a pretty good deal)
Powerflex subframe bushings
Powerflex front control arm bushings
Meyle heavy duty diff bushings

[danewilson77]

Got some more parts ordered today:

H&R 30mm M3 front swaybar (turner has them on sale right now for a pretty good deal)
Powerflex subframe bushings
Powerflex front control arm bushings
Meyle heavy duty diff bushings

Cars gonna ride on rails.

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[bcleaver]

So, finally got the new shoes on! I started by installing wheel studs so as to not have to deal with those silly bolts any longer. The tires fit in front without the 5mm spacers I ordered, but narrowly. The rears rub going around corners *hard* but I'm planning on getting all four corners rolled anyway. Let's just say the fitment is aggressive. Without further ado, here are some pics

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPyhW7103I/AAAAAAAABgM/J8jXdzEcHmc/s640/IMG_20110330_180524.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPyW0yMfFI/AAAAAAAABf0/4kPsr1FRaMI/s800/IMG_2978.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPyY-0UWAI/AAAAAAAABf4/dJcgtS6_mQ8/s640/IMG_2979.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPye8tvk9I/AAAAAAAABgE/hGRJ7RtyhB8/s640/IMG_2986.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPycRnywAI/AAAAAAAABf8/zwQXft1_lcg/s640/IMG_2981.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPydsIzFPI/AAAAAAAABgA/973Yy45JkhU/s640/IMG_2983.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZPynattqyI/AAAAAAAABgQ/bRpQe2c28hQ/s800/IMG_2990.jpg

[mimalmo]

Looks great man. I love that you are running 265's square. Looks beefy. You will definitely need to roll the rear fenders but shouldn't need to roll the fronts (unless you are flaring the fronts).

[bcleaver]

Looks great man. I love that you are running 265's square. Looks beefy. You will definitely need to roll the rear fenders but shouldn't need to roll the fronts (unless you are flaring the fronts).

Thanks man, beefy is a good way to describe it. When I had the car jacked and the tire on the front, I jacked up the tire to see how it would fit with the car lowered and it looked like it was going to stick out...a lot. After I took out the spacer it wasn't that bad and I could probably get away with the fronts not rolled (can't flare in my class in scca rules), however it's hard to say given how much more aggressively you drive on the track than on the street--it might just rub in the fronts. Either way the front lip is pretty flimsy and would take an extra 20 min. to roll, so will just do it.

[mimalmo]

I guess I need to look again. I didn't think that there was any sort of a lip on our front fenders. You can definitely feel the "L" shaped lip on the rears but I haven't noticed the same in front.

[bcleaver]

I guess I need to look again. I didn't think that there was any sort of a lip on our front fenders. You can definitely feel the "L" shaped lip on the rears but I haven't noticed the same in front.

You have to press in the fender liner to feel it, but it's there.

[mimalmo]

OK, I'll look in the next couple of days. When I swap wheels.

[danewilson77]

Looks great!

[bcleaver]

Finally got my suspension ordered, but it was worth the wait. Got a screaming deal from Aaron at Brecus Motorsports (http://www.brecus.com/)

If he doesn't have what you're looking for on his site, give him a call and he will find it and hook-you-up. Seriously. Tell him Bryce sent you.

Anyway, the following goodies are now on order:

AST 4200's coilovers
AST E36/E46 Spherical Rear Shock Mounts (pair)
Vorshlag BMW E46 non-M Aluminum Camber/Caster Plates & 60mm Perches (pair)
Hyperco Coilover Spring, 60mm x 6" x 600 #/in - Front
Hyperco Coilover Spring, 60mm x 5.5" x 650 #/in - Rear
(will probably play with spring rates all season but starting there)

[danewilson77]

They don't advertise non ///M stuff?

[bcleaver]

They don't advertise non ///M stuff?

No, but he can get it. And for a solid deal too.

[bcleaver]

Got my fenders rolled today. I haven't had much time to really push it, but on the short trip back to work I didn't have any rubbing. I might take it out to autox this weekend and will find out for sure. Most of my parts aren't here so I'm considering just co-driving my buddy's fully prepped wrx instead since it's a points event though.

[murph]

Hey Bruce! I'm super jealous of your Titanium Grey, that's the only thing I wish was different about my non-sunroof ZHP, it's black. (and tinted ridiculously dark, I feel like some kind of gangsta, getting that changed on Friday)


Yea, I hear you. I'd love to get a diff with a final drive of closer to 3.46 but can't because of the class.

If it makes you feel any better, the currently dominating DSP 330 (Doug Rowse's car) moved to a 3.07 final drive last year, from Performance Gearing, essentially the same diff you'll be running. ;) So you're just some fender flares, 285 R-Comps, and yanking some dead weight away from ruling DSP...

Matt

[bcleaver]

Hey Matt, good to see you on here; thanks for all your help with the car setup.

I just got my 30mm H&R front sway and diff/subframe/front control arm bushings in the mail today. Now I just need to find a day or two to put it all on.

I'm sure I'll be hitting your up for more advice on ride height soon.

--Bryce

[bcleaver]

Parts, parts, parts. A picture of the aforementioned goodies.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TZ-A4tgDP-I/AAAAAAAABgk/ij0WtfOAFA4/s640/IMG_20110406_173436.jpg

[spencers]

Swaybar looks pretty!!!

[bcleaver]

Got word today that my coilovers finally shipped! I have had 0 time to work on the car, so regrettably no progress but I'm going to carve out a weekend for a full suspension swap and bushings swap when I get back from vacation. Pics to come...

[danewilson77]

Which ones?

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[spencers]

^the AST's he mentioned earlier

[bcleaver]

^the AST's he mentioned earlier

Yup, thanks Spencer. AST 4200's with vorschlag camber plates attached to them up front and spherical rear shock mounts for the back.

[Hornung418]

In for reviews of PowerFlex Bushings! Any mods to the rear subframe and differential bushings?

EDIT: Missed Post #43. Can't wait for the reviews.

[mimalmo]

In for reviews of PowerFlex Bushings! Any mods to the rear subframe and differential bushings?

I also did a Powerflex FCAB review here somewhere.

[Hornung418]

Interested more in the rear sub frame. I've heard they are pretty stiff for a daily driver, but I'm young so my spleen can take it lol

[mimalmo]

The same was said about the FCAB's but, the difference is not what many made it out to be.

[bcleaver]

I'll give a full review on both the FCAB and rear subframe bushings when I get them put on. I'll probably do them at different times, so that will allow me to evaluate the changes independently. I'm leaving tomorrow for a week and a half so won't be able to work on the car at all untill at I get back..boooo

[az3579]

I'll give a full review on both the FCAB and rear subframe bushings when I get them put on. I'll probably do them at different times, so that will allow me to evaluate the changes independently. I'm leaving tomorrow for a week and a half so won't be able to work on the car at all untill at I get back..boooo

You've already done more in just a couple of weeks to your car than I'm probably going to be able to get accomplished in a couple of years (financially) so don't beat yourself up too much about it... :shifty

[bcleaver]

Returned and found a few items in my garage:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbdVNKp8EzI/AAAAAAAABhU/lAj88RBU9eI/s400/IMG00219.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbdVO6u7leI/AAAAAAAABhY/4aegsLarQPY/s800/IMG00227.jpg

Started my FCAB install and front sway install last night. I still need to press out the old bushing and press the new powerflex ones in. There is a good DIY on here for that already so I won't document it, but will probably take some pics and post a DIY for the coilover swap since that seems to be missing.

The camber plates and RSM's haven't come yet, so looks like i'll be co-driving a wrx again at this weekends autox. It's a fun car so I can't bitch, but would love to be driving mine at this point in the season.

[spencers]

Man, those AST's are a proper suspension

[bcleaver]

So finished with my FCAB swap out tonight. I should mention that my old FCAB's were totally shot, so I can't do a very good before and after comparison, but I will say if your car is higher mileage, you haven't replaced the bushings, and there is ANY looseness in the front it makes a HUGE difference. I should also mention i swapped out the stock front swaybar for an H&R 30mm M3 bar set to medium at the same time so that plays somewhat of a factor.

First impressions are a much smoother/firmer turn-in and corner feel. Any 'clunking' or roughness from the front end is gone. All in all it was a very simple install. I ended up taking my bushings to a shop to get pressed in for $15 since my neighbor ended up getting drunk at the bar so I couldn't use his press (yes, a true story). Here are a few pics:

pulling the old bushing
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbjV4obPVzI/AAAAAAAABh0/NTQPVxF0NeY/s640/IMG_3027.jpg

New one pressed and ready to go
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbjV6DwVD4I/AAAAAAAABh4/2QhKbeQR9e8/s640/IMG_3034.jpg

installed
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbjV6xdIn6I/AAAAAAAABh8/fapa2ARMgOY/s640/IMG_3039.jpg

underside shot with bushings and new sway
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TbjV7807RfI/AAAAAAAABiA/xb8-R_4eVa0/s640/IMG_3040.jpg

[danewilson77]

Well done......

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[Hornung418]

Thanks for the update! Just waiting on the subframe bushing review ;)

[az3579]

Dying to hear the swaybar review. I would like to upgrade mine.

[bcleaver]

Dying to hear the swaybar review. I would like to upgrade mine.

There are two reasons it will be hard for me to give a very solid review of the sway:
1. I swapped out the FCAB's at the same time and I know that made a difference in how the front end feels because of the lack of any clunk coming from up there. For example, there is a slight lip on my garage and when I used to back out it would make a very different sound going over that lip before the install than after. It's much smoother going over it now as well.
2. I only have a street driven 'post' review. My 'pre' impressions are from an autox day, my post are from some aggressive driving on an empty subdivision road. My first autox in this car will include the sway, but also a full suspension swap so I won't be able to discern the impact of each component.

That said, the car does feel much 'flatter' now, with an increased turn-in response. Body roll was limited a fair amount (although it was never THAT bad on this car to begin with). I noticed a slight reduction in understeer as well, although my back end isn't near close to getting rotation (yet!).

For $300 shipped from Turner, a big front sway has to be one of the best bang for the buck mods you can do.

[spencers]

So the 30mm M3 version bolted up no problem to a non-M?

[bcleaver]

So the 30mm M3 version bolted up no problem to a non-M?

That is correct

[spencers]

That is correct
Interesting. I wonder why they wouldn't market it for non-M's as well? I know it's only 3mm thicker than the 27mm H&R for non-M's, but hey, thicker is thicker.

[mimalmo]

but hey, thicker is thicker.

twss

[M0nk3y]

Hrm...the Z4M H&R Sways are only 28mm :(

[bcleaver]

Interesting. I wonder why they wouldn't market it for non-M's as well? I know it's only 3mm thicker than the 27mm H&R for non-M's, but hey, thicker is thicker.

The difference is considerable. Below are the calculations in roll resistance by fellow member Murph. At max settings for both bars the 30mm bar has an additional 300+lbs in roll resistance. That's more than the equivelant of going from 500lb springs to 750lb springs up front!

27mm H&R front bar
soft: 33" long, 10.25" perp., 10.75" diag. - 728.47 lbs/in = 557 wheel rate
stiff: 33" long, 9.5" perp., 10" diag. - 856.68 lbs/in = 655 wheel rate

30mm H&R front bar
soft: 33" long, 11" perp., 12.25" diag. - 921.92 lbs/in = 705 wheel rate
med: 33" long, 10.25" perp., 11.5" diag. - 1,071.7 lbs/in = 820 wheel rate
stiff: 33" long, 9.5" perp., 10.75" diag. - 1,259.3 lbs/in = 963 wheel rate

[bcleaver]

Okay, progress; although it looks like the opposite at the moment.

After shearing off two header exhaust bolts yesterday taking the exhaust off, I had a good evening of wrenching tonight. Basically did the following:
disconnected e-brake at the handle, brake lines, trailing arms, driveshaft, shocks, and finally subframe bolts. Lowered the whole unit to the ground and pulled it out the back. Now I can replace all the diff bushings, subframe bushings and RTAB's. After pulling the rear I noticed that the subframe bushings are actually in pretty good shape. Oh well, the powerflex are a little stiffer and should provide some moderate handling improvements. On to the pics:

ready to work on
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcIqEAyTHrI/AAAAAAAABiw/M67_SKCB8qc/s640/IMG_3042.jpg

Making room to work by pulling these out of the way
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcIqTGVmbMI/AAAAAAAABi4/ANQ--vHMDUo/s640/IMG_3053.jpg

Lowering the whole rear
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcIqU4fxkuI/AAAAAAAABi8/QSjq5wVYhSE/s800/IMG_3064.jpg

Out!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcIqWJkPYBI/AAAAAAAABjA/r8Xuey4nAL8/s800/IMG_3072.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcIqXX0xeII/AAAAAAAABjE/e_ZTr9mKnog/s640/IMG_3077.jpg

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Damn. Good work. I'm always amazed at you guys who work on your own cars. I just don't have the skill to do it.

:respect

[spencers]

Keep up the awesome work and pictures.

After seeing many threads showing entire rear subframe refurbishes, I'm tempted to do the same. Perhaps to cure the clunk as well!

[bcleaver]

Thanks Marcus. It's not so much skill as just doing research and crossing your fingers everything works out. Then once you've done it once you know how it all works and it's much less scary the second time. I just like getting to know the cars and being able to troubleshoot down the road.

[bcleaver]

Keep up the awesome work and pictures.

After seeing many threads showing entire rear subframe refurbishes, I'm tempted to do the same. Perhaps to cure the clunk as well!

Do it spencer. I can help with any questions.

[Hornung418]

Beav, Great work! What did the differential bushings look like? I'm going to order the Poly bushings for the subframe and RTABs and the Meyle HD differential bushings when I get some money this summer. Hopefully this will be going down at Dane's in a month :biggrin

[danewilson77]

Way to go Beav. I'm always amazed by people who diy.

[bcleaver]

Beav, Great work! What did the differential bushings look like? I'm going to order the Poly bushings for the subframe and RTABs and the Meyle HD differential bushings when I get some money this summer. Hopefully this will be going down at Dane's in a month :biggrin

My front two bushings look OK, the rear is cracked and looks pretty shot. I'm guessing that's where my 'thump' during hard 3/4/5 shifts is coming from. The subframe ones actually look really good. I got the Meyle HD diff bushings and powerflex subframe and RTAB

[Hornung418]

My front two bushings look OK, the rear is cracked and looks pretty shot. I'm guessing that's where my 'thump' during hard 3/4/5 shifts is coming from. The subframe ones actually look really good. I got the Meyle HD diff bushings and powerflex subframe and RTAB
Solid reporting. I've been to the dealer on two occasions for free services and asked them to check out the clunk...and each time they've said it was nothing. I've even been under the car with them to see for myself...and it's really hard to spot it. What were the cost for the entire bushing sets?

[bcleaver]

Solid reporting. I've been to the dealer on two occasions for free services and asked them to check out the clunk...and each time they've said it was nothing. I've even been under the car with them to see for myself...and it's really hard to spot it. What were the cost for the entire bushing sets?

The rear diff bushing (the one that was cracked for me) is actually pretty visible if you crawl under the back of the car. It's the big one that sits on the back of the diff. I could tell it was in trouble before I even dropped the rear end.

I ordered my FCAB, subframe and diff bushings at the same time and it was around $400 shipped from bimmerworld. After some research i also ordered the RTAB's which were another $70 or so. The subframe ones are the real expensive ones at around $200 i think. It's one of those things though that if you're in there you might as well do them all IMO

[Hornung418]

Yeah, I've had #9 looked at more than once and it didn't show visible damage like you described, but I do have a terrible thud on gear shift. $400 isn't bad for a bushing overhaul. I'll have to see if I can score the funds before the meet.

[bcleaver]

made a little progress tonight. I got the subframe completely removed from the rest of the rear end, cleaned it up and marked it for the shop to know how to press in the bushings tomorrow. I also took the time to swap out a bent lower control arm. That went pretty quick so I decided to pull out the rear trailing arm bushings.

I was anticipating it being a real hassle based on what I had read but it ended up going pretty smoothly. I used a gear puller I had purchased for my FCAB's earlier and instead of 'pulling' the bushing off like on the front control arm, I used a big washer I had lying around to push it out. The first one came part-way out before a tooth on the puller broke. Then I used a hammer and screwdriver to punch the rest out. The second one came out 90% of the way before I ran out of threads on the puller and with two quick punches from the air hammer it was out. The new powerflex ones are two pieces that should go in very easily.

The whole RTAbushing removal probably took less than 30 min.

One of these control arms is not like the other one:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcN4VJHqg8I/AAAAAAAABjs/JUwSyExg51Y/s800/IMG_20110505_175559.jpg

The finished bushing housing:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcN4YIKdOnI/AAAAAAAABj0/CJ-m84wOeqw/s640/IMG_20110505_192021.jpg

What came out of it:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcN4Wjjd2fI/AAAAAAAABjw/XjcQFdi16w0/s800/IMG_20110505_192000.jpg

[bcleaver]

Made some good progress today. The machine shop couldn't get to pressing my subframe/diff bushings in on Friday so I couldn't finish that project this weekend, but I did manage to get the rest of the suspension installed.

I started with the rears. I took out the carpet and cut a flap in the sound deadening to gain access to the rear shock bolts. Since I already had the rest of the rear end out the struts came right out without any other work. Assmebled the AST's and AST spherical rear shock mounts and installed:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQR1Z0xrI/AAAAAAAABkg/WllNDYpg2JI/s640/IMG_3103.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQTTEqCGI/AAAAAAAABkk/hCm6B9ShyIY/s800/IMG_3113.jpg

For the fronts I disconnected the endlink from the strut, then put a jack below the steering knuckle and disconneced the 18mm bolt at the bottom of the strut. I left the top 3 bolts in the strut tower connected and then lowered the jack. This loosened that strut from the knuckle. I jacked it up a little bit and then disconnected the top 3 bolts at the strut tower. After a little wiggling the old strut was out.

The new AST's are sooo much shorter getting them back in was a breeze. I connected the top first and then at the knuckle. I reconnected the endlink to the strut and tightened everything down.

While putting on the wheels I noticed I needed the 5mm spacer to keep from rubbing against the spring perch, so tha went back in.

New vs. old
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQZSqq1xI/AAAAAAAABk4/lWlmFtAbHlY/s800/IMG_3139.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQX23zA4I/AAAAAAAABk0/lL8sIru93o8/s800/IMG_3136.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQagd6NRI/AAAAAAAABk8/FjNcfu3RTF4/s640/IMG_3147.jpg

Finally getting some camber
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcdQcAWj2qI/AAAAAAAABlA/aYIsJAfUgok/s800/IMG_3148.jpg

No rear wheels yet so no test drive results.

[MasterC17]

Coming along good, nice work! Any pictures of the interior?

[bcleaver]

Coming along good, nice work! Any pictures of the interior?

No interior shots since it's still stock so not much to see

[MasterC17]

No interior shots since it's still stock so not much to see

Oh well, I see you stripped the trunk out some so I was wondering if you had done anything to the rest of the interior. For STX are you allowed to strip sound deadening, carpet, etc.?

[bcleaver]

Oh well, I see you stripped the trunk out some so I was wondering if you had done anything to the rest of the interior. For STX are you allowed to strip sound deadening, carpet, etc.?

No, it's not allowed. I just pulled it out while I installed the rear struts. It's all back in after that job was completed.

[murph]

Looking good dude, you're getting close to having this thing on the road!

Did you say you'd ordered a limited slip diff?

[bcleaver]

Looking good dude, you're getting close to having this thing on the road!

Did you say you'd ordered a limited slip diff?

Thank Matt! I'm having a horrible time getting a shop to 'take-on' my diff bushing job. Two places both turned me down so now I'm in the process of building a tool to press out the old and press in the new. The subframe has been out of the car for nearly a week now and it's the same as the day it came down, so that's putting me behind schedule.

Yes, I did order a diff from Jim at Performance Gearing. His machine shop was completely backed up and not able to build anything for him for months but he tracked down a unit sitting on a shelf in Cleavland and had it shipped to him to set at a 3.07 final drive and setup for autox so I should have that in the next week or two.

[bcleaver]

Just got done with 6 straight hours of wrenching on the car after work. The subframe and diff bushing overhall is not a DIY for the faint of heart. It took me a good chunk of the evening yesterday and several hours today to get the old bushings pushed out and new ones pushed in. I had a friend with a very good shop help build me a puller tool. I started with just all-thread which kept shearing and had to eventually move to a series of longer very strong bolts. Then one of the front bushings was extremely stubborn and took about an hour for just that one.

I got all 7 of the new diff/subframe bushings replaced as well as new two piece (all bushings should come like that) poweflex RTAB's and then started to re-assemble. Connected the subframe back to the upper and lower control arms. Then loosly connected the diff to the subframe. I then 'rolled' the diff back under the car (by myself) on a motorcyle jack, lined it up with the front bolts and started lifting. Cralwed around for a bit putting the e-brake lines back in and making sure everything was square. Bolted the subframe to the car, attached the driveshaft, tightened the diff down, connected the strut, connected the brake lines, connected the e-brake inside the car, connected the trailing arm carrier and then the trailing arm to the body of the car.

Since I disconnected the brake lines I still need to bleed the lines (going to do a complete flush with super blue) before I can take it for a spin. Since I was working by myself I couldn't do the brakes so will have a friend come over tomorrow and help. I can't wait to get thing thing on the track.

start of the evening:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct_fTLC7eI/AAAAAAAABms/ngS3Bdkm0QU/s640/IMG_3156.jpg

Subframe FINALLY ready to go in:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct_idLDfiI/AAAAAAAABm4/9kRr__Hr9nA/s640/IMG_3162.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct_jHRS0UI/AAAAAAAABm8/0_pQGmioHvQ/s640/IMG_3163.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct_jpOaeJI/AAAAAAAABnA/boQfZYZYhsY/s640/IMG_3164.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct__RR_BrI/AAAAAAAABnE/OrwiP9d60G8/s640/IMG_3165.jpg

Wife came out just long enough to take a picture
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcuAAqFclYI/AAAAAAAABnI/WKVJsrpO7po/s640/IMG_3167.jpg

New powerflex RTAB
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/Tct_gw9YsKI/AAAAAAAABm0/E5A19nSupgM/s640/IMG_3161.jpg

Put back together rear:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcuBNlJH77I/AAAAAAAABnk/JpogDjAQI6c/s640/IMG_3174.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcuBTqfsJDI/AAAAAAAABno/EF0TokzbEes/s400/IMG_3170.jpg

[kayger12]

Damn. That is some serious DIYing.

Great work.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[spencers]

Subframe porn! Nice job

[bcleaver]

IT LIVES!

Bled the brakes, tightened everything down and took er for a spin. Car feels great, although without any exhaust past the headers it's a little loud for my taste. The ride height is a little lower than I want by about 1/2 inch all around, but I"ll adjust that when I get some energy. Next steps are custom exhaust and alignment/cornerbalance for the first race with the new car next weekend.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcymlXsGvLI/AAAAAAAABoA/V56CKmgzj0M/s800/IMG_3182.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcymqXHn66I/AAAAAAAABoE/xakqqznkpTw/s800/IMG_3184.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TcymtsO-pII/AAAAAAAABoQ/MWtbvdJFkc8/s800/IMG_3190.jpg

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Great work. Nice to see it back together again.

[spencers]

Hell yeah! Auto-x time!!!!

[Jon D]

Looks Great

[bcleaver]

Thanks guys! Wife is out of town with the other car this weekend so I drove the 330 in to work...I still can't comment on if the 'thud' between hard shifts is gone since I tried to stay below 2k rpm's the whole way because the exhaust is rediculously loud.

[Hornung418]

If you still have a thud when you get around to spirited driving...then your only other options are the Center Mount and the Flex Disk.

That subframe is pure sex! It looks like something that would take a long time to do at Dane's. Do you think #9 could be changed w/o dropping the whole subframe?

[bcleaver]

If you still have a thud when you get around to spirited driving...then your only other options are the Center Mount and the Flex Disk.

That subframe is pure sex! It looks like something that would take a long time to do at Dane's. Do you think #9 could be changed w/o dropping the whole subframe?

Is number 9 the rear diff bushing? If so then yes you can definitely do it without dropping the whole subframe. Take off the aluminum bracket over the drive shaft, then disconnect the drive shaft, then the axles. Take out the 2 front diff bolts then the rear diff bolt. Take out the diff and then you'll have pretty good access to the bushing. I would make sure to have access to a proper press or puller tool though or I wouldn't even bother trying

[bcleaver]

Still stuff on the to-do list but putting the brakes on any big projects for the moment as I'm trying to finish up the small stuff for the first race in the new car this weekend.

Changed oil yesterday and adjusted ride height tonight. Tomorrow is alignment, tranny fluid flush, and put back on the full heat shield and exhaust hangers. Taking it to a shop Friday for a new exhaust. I'll report back on how that turns out.

[bcleaver]

Holy cow, long night of wrenching--probably 5 straight hours. It took forever to get the alignment where I wanted it. I probably had the rear end up and down while adjusting the trailing arm trying to get 1/8 of an inch to toe in at least 9 times. I had a very hard time turning the tie-rod to adjust the fronts but finally got that dialed in to about 1/8 of an inch of toe out. Running about -3.2 deg up front in camber and about -2.1 in the rears. Ride height came out to 13 1/4 in the backs and about 13 1/8 up front. I'm going to start there with this 'rough' alignment and race it for the weekend and see how it feels.

Put on all the exhaust parts (except the exhaust) to get ready for the new one on Friday.

Did a tranny fluid flush and holy crap did that make a difference in how smooth it shifts. For those of you that don't know the last time it was replaced and are over probably 75k miles I highly recommend. I used synchromax by royal purple and could not believe the difference.

No more tooling on the car until Friday for the exhaust and then race time!

[danewilson77]

Well done. Can't wait for the report card....

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[murph]

Nice work dude!

Yes, all the subframe work is a total PITA, which is why it's nice to get the subframe, diff bushings, and RTABs all done at once. Now you'll never have to mess with that stuff again. =] (ok, maybe the rear diff bushing eventually, but that's a lot easier) It's definitely nice to be able to take your time and have another car available while doing all that.

Good luck with the exhaust and your first event, should be interesting to hear about how it feels with your spring/bar combo.

[bcleaver]

Just got back from the exhaust shop and the car sounds AMAZING. It is much quieter than I thought it would be (although I am comparing it to the car without ANY exhaust past the headers) but it's pretty throaty and not raspy at all, which was a mild concern from an annoyance perspective.

The guy cut the stock exhaust past the headers about 7" and then goes into a single 3". That feeds into a single 18" glasspack and then straight pipe all the way out the back. The whole thing is crush, not mandrel bent.

I'll post some pics later this weekend when I get a chance and maybe a vid if I can figure that technology out.

[Hornung418]

Single pipe FTMFW! Can't wait to hear audio :)

[bcleaver]

Crappy cell phone pic of the exhaust. This would obviously be a more interesting post with video/audio. Oh and no race this weekend, turns out I was off by a weekend and the first chance I'll get to test the car will have to wait another week. On the bright side I may have my diff in by then..

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_r6ekv99H9Gw/TddFSmNDJUI/AAAAAAAABos/PckpubnaKXQ/s800/IMG_20110520_211749.jpg

[bcleaver]

Okay finally got some video of the exhaust at the first race of the season in the new car. The car took a bit of getting used to but I think it's going to be very and quick and very competitive. I took 1st in my class and 7th overall in pax out of 70-ish drivers. Would have been 3rd pax overall but couldn't clean up my last runs. Once I get the LSD in it should make a big difference as I noticed I had trouble putting power down on some of the big sweeping corner exits.

http://youtu.be/090-WoEJ1fE

[M0nk3y]

Congrats. Nice sounding exhaust!

Any vids of the event?

[bcleaver]

Congrats. Nice sounding exhaust!

Any vids of the event?

Thank you sir! Yes, one video from outside the car I posted in the autox picture thread.

[bcleaver]

Finished the second day of racing today and had a blast again. Finished 1st in my class but had a little trouble getting clean again so around 11th I think in Pax out of 70ish entrants. But starting to get used to the car (coming from racing AWD cars). Going to pull the trigger on seats probably this week if I can make up my mind. Then I'm only a lightweight battery away from it being ready to conerbalance.

[MasterC17]

Finished the second day of racing today and had a blast again. Finished 1st in my class but had a little trouble getting clean again so around 11th I think in Pax out of 70ish entrants. But starting to get used to the car (coming from racing AWD cars). Going to pull the trigger on seats probably this week if I can make up my mind. Then I'm only a lightweight battery away from it being ready to conerbalance.

What battery do you think you will go with?

[bcleaver]

What battery do you think you will go with?

Probably a Hawker Odyssey PC680 with a Russ Wiles battery box.

[spencers]

Car sounds amazing.
How different is your car, coming from an AWD buggy?

[bcleaver]

Car sounds amazing.
How different is your car, coming from an AWD buggy?
Thanks! I'm enjoying the sound of it as well.

The WRX I was driving had almost the exact same level of prep as my car does (he was running AST 4100's) and had just about everything done you could do in the STX class except race seats, so I can do a pretty good job of comparing them. It's a pretty different car, but I still have a lot of tuning to do on mine so this early comparison may change as I fine tune the bmw.

The power delivery is significantly different. On the WRX if you're doing a 180deg turnaround about 1/2 way through you need to have your foot on the floor in order to overcome the turbo lag. It's an odd feeling to be throttling the car while also trying to turn it, but if you don't you end up sitting there patiently waiting for the power to come on. In the bimmer if you tried that you'd be facing the wrong way in the turnaound in about 2 seconds. The bmw much more linear in power delivery, and much smoother. I find throttle steering to be easier so far in the bmw because of this. I will say that my launches feel MUCH slower in the bmw.

Turn-in is similar. The wrx actually feels a little ligher and more nimble, but the grip of the 265 tires vs the 245's overcomes that difference in initial 'bite' and response when you move the wheel. The steering rack feels a little faster in the bmw as well, with a little less effort needed in slaloms.

Straight line braking is comparable between the two. I'm running a stock brake setup so far on the bmw so it lacks a little bite for my taste and I'll probably switch to some hawk hp+ pads after a few events. Trail braking is MUCH improved over the wrx. The way many of the wrx's are set-up results in a rear tire lift during hard braking and slight cornering. This makes it very difficult to trail brake effectively I found. The BMW is very managable in braking around corners which I think will results in the ability to be less precise on the course and still be fast because you can cover some braking sins in the corner.

One of the big differences and big benefits of the bmw is the ability to get rotation coming into and out of turns and the ability to throttle steer. The wrx was hard to tune to be controllably 'twitchy'. It took just the right amount of corner entry speed and throttle lift/turn in order to be able to get rotation. With the rwd bmw it's only a little gas away.

I do miss the AWD coming out of corners so far though as it would kind of 'pull' you into the next element. Maybe when i get the lsd in the bmw it will feel faster coming out of turns.

Overall they are very comparable speed wise, but in a little different ways. I would consider the bmw more smooth and refined and the wrx a little more twitchy, both in power, braking and turning.
Okay, realize I've written a novel, but I've been asked that question a lot and now I have a place I can point people instead of trying to recite it from memory again.

[bcleaver]

I also posted these in the autox picture thread, but to keep a consolidated thread I'll put them here too.
I finally got some shots from last weekends race:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e0C8_Rvo4ng/Tef5QgaGyTI/AAAAAAAABsc/SxHWZeGfKtE/s800/IMG_3783.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GwaBHGpB9U8/Tef5RJwuz5I/AAAAAAAABsk/SIuv6XDQrJg/s800/IMG_3953.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fbL1BRcnpOs/Tef5Rl4FdhI/AAAAAAAABso/d6IgW15V-a0/s800/IMG_4221.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T7mxkVFRe3k/Tef5ScQilKI/AAAAAAAABss/zaSs0fNtuY0/s800/IMG_4242.jpg

and the wife:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ch-4Q_9Ugw4/Tef5Q56XhNI/AAAAAAAABsg/1e2208teyvE/s800/IMG_3843.jpg

[danewilson77]

Awesome shots.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[static667]

Great build. I would like to do something like this with an e36 328is one day. It looks like a lot of fun.

[bcleaver]

Great build. I would like to do something like this with an e36 328is one day. It looks like a lot of fun.

Those 328's make awesome stx cars as well. Take out the zhp for an autox and get hooked!

[bcleaver]

Just got word that my LS diff from Jim Blanton at Performance Gearing has shipped! I'll provide more updates when I return from my trip (going to Peru for two weeks) and get it installed.

[murph]

Bryce, just so you're aware, the PC680 is working for me right now, but it's pretty darn marginal. If this were not a daily driver (aka daily charger) I'd likely have a lot of starting problems. If I leave it for more than a few days the start is slow, and I definitely won't run this battery during the winter.

[bcleaver]

Bryce, just so you're aware, the PC680 is working for me right now, but it's pretty darn marginal. If this were not a daily driver (aka daily charger) I'd likely have a lot of starting problems. If I leave it for more than a few days the start is slow, and I definitely won't run this battery during the winter.

Interesting. In my research I've heard it's not great, but haven't found anything that's supposed to be better. Any recs?

[murph]

Before the PC680 I used a Deka ETX18L. That worked well, and is cheaper than an Odyssey, but didn't quite make it through year two, so not the best longevity. I'd likely have just bought another but I got a good deal on a PC680 & Russ Wiles box.

[knevor]

Check out braille battery. They make lithium starting batteries, super light.

[murph]

Heh, I looked into one of the Braille lithium batteries, like $1k plus for one that will start a BMW... Ouch.

[bcleaver]

Just got back from Peru and found this in my garage:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--Jrenp_31vs/TgkK354WC2I/AAAAAAAABuA/jJXFrFB3hdM/s800/photodiff.JPG

It's a 3.07 final drive LSD from Performance Gearing.

Install pics later this week

[Marcus-SanDiego]

You should go to Peru more often. :biggrin

[Hornung418]

Any reason that you didn't increase the torque multiplier? I would have chose a 3;38:1 or a 3;46:1.

Also regarding the Powerflex Bushings, what is your experience with daily driving on them? Any noticeable NVH?

[bcleaver]

Any reason that you didn't increase the torque multiplier? I would have chose a 3;38:1 or a 3;46:1.

Also regarding the Powerflex Bushings, what is your experience with daily driving on them? Any noticeable NVH?

I am forced to run the stock final drive in STX or I would have jumped for a 3.46.
As far as NVH with the powerflex I would say it is minimal. I did the FCAB before any other mods and it really cleaned up the front end with no noticible increase in NVH. For the rear subframe ones though I swapped out the struts and springs at the same time, so hard to tell, but the ride isn't that bad now and it's much, much stiffer than stock, so I'm guessing they didn't add much harshness back there either.

[Hornung418]

Great to read! I'm going to pull the trigger next paycheck for the whole Powerflex shebang, and the Meyle HD Differential bushings. I need to get rid of the clunk so bad. Any chance you'd consider loaning out your Bushing tool or consider a DIY for making one?

[bcleaver]

Great to read! I'm going to pull the trigger next paycheck for the whole Powerflex shebang, and the Meyle HD Differential bushings. I need to get rid of the clunk so bad. Any chance you'd consider loaning out your Bushing tool or consider a DIY for making one?

I'll certainly post a DIY, and could loan it out, but it broke many times on me during the extraction of the bushings and I had to get new threads for it so not sure if you want to deal with that. I'll post the pics and if you feel like you want to borrow it just PM me and I'll ship it to you. Just pay for shipping there and back and we're good.

[bcleaver]

Didn't have time to install the diff, but did have enough time to finally pull the trigger on this:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JBeOoiuRx4Q/Tgqkxgnkk5I/AAAAAAAADLc/igG4eO2p_lQ/s640/photo2.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TT4rLxPiSFI/Tgqk0xeRNII/AAAAAAAADLk/6Mn6VLi5qG8/s640/photo1.JPG

Naked!

[danewilson77]

Looks great.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[bcleaver]

Finally got a little time to work on the car, and it's much needed since I have a race this weekend.

The old diff finally out:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-271P5Z963DM/ThPik1izb2I/AAAAAAAADgc/GqDraSF9m1s/s800/photodiff2.JPG

I had a pretty hard time getting the diff to seperate from the drive shaft. I was suprised at this considering I just had it apart a month or so ago but after some pushing pulling and swearing I finally got it to pull apart and out.

I didn't have a 14mm hex or whatever rediculously sized hex is needed to tighten the drain and fill plugs on the new diff, so I'm waiting until tomorrow to fab up a device out of some 14mm nuts and a 14mm bolt head. Here's a comparison of the old vs. new. Probably saving a few pounds of weight by moving to a diff without all that grease and dirt on it.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_CDtVNqbcB8/ThPioMqAqPI/AAAAAAAADgk/pIO_rdA1GAM/s800/photodiff1.JPG

Can't wait to get it in and see if I notice a diff-erence (punny)

[bcleaver]

New diff finally in. Didn't notice much of a difference on the test drive, but that's to be expected since it's the same final drive as stock and I didn't 'push' it driving around town.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-630L1bZE4QU/ThU9CJIPr6I/AAAAAAAADi0/45qxdGLLDQk/s640/photod4.JPG

and took a better shot of the exhaust while i was down there;

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d047y581YqA/ThU9JTvIpwI/AAAAAAAADi8/ogODTa_hag4/s640/photod5.JPG

[danewilson77]

Great work!!!

[bcleaver]

Only got to race one day last weekend due to a wedding getting in the way. As I started backing into my parking spot after the morning runs I heard an akward scraping sound coming from the front right side of the car. Hopped out and looked and saw and endlink dragging on the ground.

Upon further investigation my front right link failed and pulled the ball/bolt out of the socket and was dragging on the ground, which then probably bent while backing up...so that was the end of the racing for the day. I could have run without a front sway, but given the amount of roll resitance it provides, didn't seem like it would be much fun and would probably have worn my front tire shoulders pretty bad.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6W3o4eaY5Lw/ThxmbSX_P_I/AAAAAAAADss/nxOI3tk3p8Q/s640/photolink.JPG

I opted to order some Meyle HD front links from ECS and they should be here later this week. Despite only getting my morning runs in I still won my class, but don't think I did very well overall in PAX. I'll update when results are posted.

[danewilson77]

What were those? Lemfedor?

[bcleaver]

What were those? Lemfedor?

The stockers. Not sure who manufactures them.

[danewilson77]

The stockers. Not sure who manufactures them.

Yup...Lemfedor. Thanks

[bcleaver]

Race results finally posted. I placed 10th out of 53 in pax and 16th in raw. Not great, but I did miss my afternoon runs because of the endlink failure, and it was the first race on the new diff; but those are the only excuses I have :)

Hopefully they'll get some pictures posted soon and I'll continue to improve as I get more familiar with the car.

[danewilson77]

I think that's a great first showing.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[bcleaver]

New links. Meyle HD. Nothing special, but not a lot of trickery that endlinks perform anyway, so they should be good.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6W3o4eaY5Lw/ThxmbSX_P_I/AAAAAAAADu0/sLTPuqd0fFA/s640/photolink.JPG

I determined that the adjustable collar on the AST's roated a little causing my old ones to fail. I used a little threadlocker and tightened them down so hopefully won't have any problems in the future.

[bcleaver]

Pic finally posted from last race.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xrojC31Myn8/TiY3tqqp2UI/AAAAAAAAD0s/uP3bmz9v0ag/s800/IMG_8510.jpg

[danewilson77]

Pic finally posted from last race.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xrojC31Myn8/TiY3tqqp2UI/AAAAAAAAD0s/uP3bmz9v0ag/s800/IMG_8510.jpg

Great pic Cleav.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[bcleaver]

A couple shots from last weekend at the ProSolo national tour in Packwood that I didn't post in the autox pic thread:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tFnljDF3ztg/Ti4qHpK6jiI/AAAAAAAAD2Y/4XZWRdV7pCo/s800/IMG_5261.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0jcKgXjse4Y/Ti4qMCF6AtI/AAAAAAAAD2c/_gnaWoSKFqI/s800/IMG_5264.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Dp6WnJc1Az0/Ti4qe4-tooI/AAAAAAAAD2k/NeiaLsgS2EM/s800/IMG_5286.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q1Gwss-BSoY/Ti4qkRMD_eI/AAAAAAAAD2s/ZeJ9tUfUiyE/s800/IMG_5292.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9LUE_aAU_G0/Ti4qoJJv-MI/AAAAAAAAD2w/ocz5XolMvEw/s800/IMG_5302.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-krFINwkCvPk/Ti4rFuyNSII/AAAAAAAAD3M/bZFZ_QW4XdM/s800/IMG_5323.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PhA9TelTW48/Ti4rMv_pl9I/AAAAAAAAD3Y/2xP1kOyhA4k/s640/IMG_5327.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UrcNGiXDRTk/Ti4wtimsmtI/AAAAAAAAD3w/Mu6fDnqfb94/s800/IMG_5358.jpg

[danewilson77]

Awesome pics cleave.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[static667]

Nice pics and great scenery. The mountains are pretty, too.

[bcleaver]

A few shots from last week's race. Spend the whole weekend working on dialing in the car and changed ride-height, swaybar settings, camber, compression and rebound many many times, and ended up with a much quicker ride than I started the weekend with.

Placed 2nd in my class on day 1 and 9th out of 50 in PAX, so not a great showing, but I didn't get a ride in the car on the same settings the whole day which made being consistent difficult. On day two I finished 1st in my class and 6th overall in PAX, which is getting much closer to the pax positions I was finishing in when driving my friends wrx...so the car is getting closer to competitive.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vNuQ2G9WCS8/TkqOLT8D4SI/AAAAAAAAD5w/nSiV5g481d0/s800/IMG_3077.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yu7jM4X4TtY/TkqN-FolemI/AAAAAAAAD5Y/jYEW6c8Q2gs/s800/IMG_2949.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-laxLFNzYeI0/TkqOIsPIrOI/AAAAAAAAD5g/7RZ8cMe8p0c/s800/IMG_3000.jpg

[415 ZHP]

amazing pictures :)

[Kudos]

I'm not familiar with auto-x but to me it looks like a bad track with all the grass growing in between the concrete. Does it make a difference and do you feel all the bumps on that track compared to an asphalt parking lot?

[bcleaver]

I'm not familiar with auto-x but to me it looks like a bad track with all the grass growing in between the concrete. Does it make a difference and do you feel all the bumps on that track compared to an asphalt parking lot?

It's not the best location for sure, and is a little bumpy, however the grass isn't an issue since the tires do a pretty good job of 'mowing' it down after about 2 drivers. The bumps are also less noticible for guys running stock suspensions, but with my spring rates some of the pavement abnormalities rock the car pretty good.

It is however a very grippy surface for asphalt and is nice and open so there's nothing to worry about hitting and we can have nice long, fast courses.


Overall I'll take driving over bumps vs. negotiating a cramped parking lot any day from a 'fun factor'.

[bcleaver]

Great to read! I'm going to pull the trigger next paycheck for the whole Powerflex shebang, and the Meyle HD Differential bushings. I need to get rid of the clunk so bad. Any chance you'd consider loaning out your Bushing tool or consider a DIY for making one?

So, really long delay getting this posted for you, but was out in the garage and somehow remembered you asking for it.

Basically took a piece of pipe and cut it to be just a little longer than one of the subframe bushings. Then cut out the sides so they would fit on the subframe where the bushings don't overlap the rim of the subframe holes (when you get the subframe out it will be obvious what I'm talking about, but it's a small indent in the stock bushing that allows for a leverage point to pull the bushing).

Then I just cut out a circle of flat steel as a puller plate, and another square of steel to put on the top of the cup (pictured). I went and got a variety of different length bolts, the strongest ones I could find). Use the long ones first, and tighten it down until you run out of threads, then go progressively shorter until the bushing is out. Anyway, here are some pics of the final setup with just one of the bolts:

All the parts
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NvP4uhILxCw/Tlre5Up0h6I/AAAAAAAAD8M/KjB9pG4x_ic/s800/photo1222.JPG

Assembled
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5jOh5kSRpHs/Tlre2tHcJYI/AAAAAAAAD8I/LsB5Pgu7eDo/s800/photo234.JPG

[bcleaver]

Got my new 750lb rear springs from Hypercoil (courtesty of vorshlag) to install before the race this weekend. Hopefully will give me some more rotation

[bcleaver]

Update with photo. Installed new rear springs last night. Pretty simple process.
1. jack up car and support with jack stands
2. place jack under tire
3. remove 18mm bolt holding the strut to the hub (tightening torque of 72flb)
4. lower tire until spring can be removed
5. place in new spring and jack tire back up until you can put the 18mm bolt back in
6. tighten down and repeat steps 1-6 on other side.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TrbQ64eAqCA/TmqpIQUVDkI/AAAAAAAAEYI/qmzKwdQQNlw/s800/photospring.JPG

the pic pretty much shows the bulk of the work, but it takes about 20 min from start to finish.

[MasterC17]

What coilovers are you running? 750lbs is pretty hefty :thumbsup Are they 6" springs?

[bcleaver]

What coilovers are you running? 750lbs is pretty hefty :thumbsup Are they 6" springs?

5.5" springs and I'm running AST 4200's.

[mimalmo]

Wow, that should be pretty fun.

[MasterC17]

5.5" springs and I'm running AST 4200's.

Wow, very nice setup! I'm planning on going Ground Control with 6" Springs at 550 or 600lbs.

[bcleaver]

Wow, very nice setup! I'm planning on going Ground Control with 6" Springs at 550 or 600lbs.

Yea, for the track I'd imagine 550 or 600lbs would be sufficient. I want the car to be pretty 'twitchy' and rotation happy for autox so went with a pretty beefy spring. The GC's should be a good setup too.

[mr hish]

interesting project i like it

[bcleaver]

Just got some new goodies (although not very exciting). I was getting some fuel starve at over 1/2 tank last race which shouldn't happen. I also had the car attempt to start but just turn over one day inexplicably, so thinking the fuel pump/filter might be the problem I sourced some new ones. Figured with the mileage I'm at it's good proactive fixing anyway. Ready for the install:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ySED0DzpVVc/TlrewbcxPrI/AAAAAAAAD8E/hhfexD2hhBI/s800/photo3456.JPG

I'll post a little DIY once I get the job done.

[JohnBlaze]

is that the M3 Fuel Pump Baffle on there?

also, did the stiffer springs help you with extra rotation, and are you running a rear swaybar?

sorry if I missed an answer in here

[bcleaver]

is that the M3 Fuel Pump Baffle on there?

also, did the stiffer springs help you with extra rotation, and are you running a rear swaybar?

sorry if I missed an answer in here

Not sure on the fuel bump baffle -- it should be a stock pump replacement, so unless that's stock for a 330, no (or I got the wrong part).

The stiffer rear springs did end up helping a bit to get some extra rotation, although not as much as I need in some of the tighter courses. I'm running the stock bar right now, but will be going a little stiffer in the rear next year to hopefully help add even more oversteer rotational bias. I'll probably end up playing with the toe settings in the rear as well in case that's not enough

[bcleaver]

Results finally posted from this last weekend's race. It was a blast -- a fast flowy course. We did a two day event with the best combined times from each day adding to one total score. I ended up coming in 4th in PAX out of 76 entries, and only .016 seconds behind 3rd place who happens to be a national trophy winner in super stock, so I felt pretty good about the results. Also finished 9th in raw time. I'll post some pics when they're up.

Lots of changes coming in the winter months, so I'm excited about that -- although a lot of them just maintenance. Will probably solicit advice on what all to replace while I have the front end apart.

[JohnBlaze]

Well the Fuel Pump baffle from the M3 works with the 330i Fuel Pump or so I've read, and I don't think it comes stock on non M's. This will help get rid of the fuel sloshing/starvation that occurs when driving with under a half a tank of gas. Bav Auto sells it for like 20 bucks. I had this happen a few times on long right turns, after that I just always rolled 3/4 a tank.


Also, since you have 750 lb springs, which is plenty of spring you should remove your rear sway since you have open diff. The sway bar actually lifts the inside tire on turns and removing it will help keep the inside tire planted.

[danewilson77]

Good data John. Thanks

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[JohnBlaze]

One other thing I'm going to try(you might too) and I'm almost certain will work is using the M3 front stingray underpan. Using this with M3 FCAB lollipop carriers will help tie the front together. The M3 FCAB carriers have 1 extra mounting point over the non-M FCAB carriers. It allows you to screw a bolt through and secure the M3 underpan right into the FCAB carriers.

Like I said I haven't tried it, but was recommended by a guy from TC Kline so I'm pretty sure it's going to work...

[bcleaver]

Also, since you have 750 lb springs, which is plenty of spring you should remove your rear sway since you have open diff. The sway bar actually lifts the inside tire on turns and removing it will help keep the inside tire planted.

Don't have an open diff anymore. Just the springs in the rear doesn't provide enough roll resistance to get the kind of rotation I need. I'm not having trouble laying down power coming out of corners it's more an issue of getting the back end a little loose.

[bcleaver]

One other thing I'm going to try(you might too) and I'm almost certain will work is using the M3 front stingray underpan. Using this with M3 FCAB lollipop carriers will help tie the front together. The M3 FCAB carriers have 1 extra mounting point over the non-M FCAB carriers. It allows you to screw a bolt through and secure the M3 underpan right into the FCAB carriers.

Like I said I haven't tried it, but was recommended by a guy from TC Kline so I'm pretty sure it's going to work...

Sounds like a good idea, but for the SCCA class I'm running in that change would be off-limits.

[JohnBlaze]

Oh I didn't know you had LSD, and if they allow modded Diffs I can't imagine they wouldn't allow you to change out the front underpan, but I truly don't know so you're probably right about that.

As for rotation you might need the driver mod. If you quick stab the brakes to drop the nose and transfer weight forward just before or as you're turning that should help you rotate. That and you could try just a bit of toe out up front which should help turn in and should help too?

[derbo]

Well the Fuel Pump baffle from the M3 works with the 330i Fuel Pump or so I've read, and I don't think it comes stock on non M's. This will help get rid of the fuel sloshing/starvation that occurs when driving with under a half a tank of gas. Bav Auto sells it for like 20 bucks. I had this happen a few times on long right turns, after that I just always rolled 3/4 a tank.


Also, since you have 750 lb springs, which is plenty of spring you should remove your rear sway since you have open diff. The sway bar actually lifts the inside tire on turns and removing it will help keep the inside tire planted.

A little late here for my reply, but I installed the M3 Fuel Pump Baffle into my 330i OEM fuel pump. It has a little square box that holds about 6oz of fuel. There is a pinsize hole at the bottom of it to dribble it to the right side of the tank to prevent fuel starvation. it's worth a shot! Its less than $20 from the dealer. I have yet to go to the track to test it out. I'm sure it will help our fuel starvations past 1/2 a tank!


The pic is actually upside down for the baffle.
http://img.skitch.com/20111208-thdb2xfd1tgwsti756umu96imd.png

[danewilson77]

You have to put in tank, no?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[derbo]

You have to put in tank, no?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT


Yup. It's basically installing like installing a new fuel pump. The baffle slightly locks into the existing plastic piece in the fuel pump. The line from the otherside of the tank is removed from the exisiting plastic piece and placed on the top of the baffle. Once that's done, install the fuel pump back on and close everything up! It was pretty simple.

[danewilson77]

Yup. It's basically installing like installing a new fuel pump. The baffle slightly locks into the existing plastic piece in the fuel pump. The line from the otherside of the tank is removed from the exisiting plastic piece and placed on the top of the baffle. Once that's done, install the fuel pump back on and close everything up! It was pretty simple.

Cool. Thanks.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[murph]

Update with photo. Installed new rear springs last night. Pretty simple process.

the pic pretty much shows the bulk of the work, but it takes about 20 min from start to finish.

Heh, I've become rather good at this, can do it between runs now. ;)

[bcleaver]

so I've been away from the mafia site for quite a while and I missed you guys. The wife and I decided it was time for a change so we picked up and moved to Denver. While we are loving it here but the transition meant things were a little too hectic to keep up to date on the forum. Now that we're getting settled in and race season is approaching I'll be back on much more often to see what all of you are up to and to continue to post progress on my car.

[murph]

Cool, now you're closer to Lincoln! ;)

Check out SCR performance there, Chris mayfield works there, he has a formerly STU E36 M3, and won SM in an evo.

[bcleaver]

Ha, don't think I didn't look up that drive to Lincoln first thing after moving. I'll check them out. Bimmerhaus is also out in this area.

[bcleaver]

So decided to tow the ZHP to races this year as we'll be going some farther distances and don't want to worry about breaking it while a long way away. Also, with the springrates I'm running and on the verge of getting race seats, the ride is pretty uncomfortable and about to get worse. This necessitated getting something that could work as a daily driver and tow rig. Decided on an x35D to fit the bill. Here's the first pic of the the rides together. Just ordered some style 168 wheels in black for the x5 so more pics to come.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tmkaQVhaGj4/T1gkphPAf0I/AAAAAAAAiuU/skeNCpefnho/s800/12%2520-%25204.jpg

[Hornung418]

Solid update, Cleaver!

[derbo]

thats one major upgrade. I need myself a X5.

[bcleaver]

First mod on the x5. sorry for crappy cell pics.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TaAlR68DW9U/T2kn22ZjQNI/AAAAAAAAjsI/oFIuiZaPQIo/s800/2012-03-19_19-12-40_380.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ANsxCzOUsq4/T2kn4TebkZI/AAAAAAAAjsQ/vmC2EOVlzYk/s800/2012-03-19_19-37-26_296.jpg

[derbo]

im jelly. I need an X5 to trailer the ZHP lol. Then I would supercharge it. :X

[quikryptonite]

That's a sweet ride. I'd love to be able to do something similar to my e30 one day.

[bcleaver]

Thanks man. x5 went into the shop today to get the towing package installed. ZHP will be a trailer queen any week now.

[derbo]

sad to see the zhp become a queen but nothing like the high life for the queen.

[bcleaver]

Now my thread is becoming completely off topic, but I assure you more updates on the ZHP to come as racing season draws near. Went to red-rocks today and got a few shots.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-POZ1dmVgfQ8/T3j5UC3UMGI/AAAAAAAAlLE/XY5viw1pgDw/s800/IMG_6457.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQRi1rjwWxQ/T3j5ZRZNWII/AAAAAAAAlLA/-l8kjOOThp4/s800/IMG_6484.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rEFIjkq7NE8/T3j5PtQrRaI/AAAAAAAAlKU/U8u9e79m7Dk/s640/IMG_6455.JPG

[danewilson77]

B to the A!

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[derbo]

its still on topic cause its the power that gets the zhp to the next event!

[bcleaver]

B to the A!

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

Ha! thanks Dane

[bcleaver]

Had the first autox of the season. Car ran well but needs a good alignment/cornerbalance for sure as it's pulling a bit to the right on the highway. I've been waiting for race seats before I dropped the money on the cornerbalance but it's obviously time to pull the trigger. Placed 1st in my class out of 8 drivers and overall 28th out of 142. Not as good as I would have hoped but I'm happy with it for the first race of the season.

Next week should bring some mods to the zhp finally. I bought a trailer last weekend so should have some shots of the first attempted trailering outing ever. wish me luck.

[derbo]

Good luck! Congrats on 1st in your class at least! :)

[bcleaver]

Had the second race of the season today. Won my class and placed 15th overall out of about 160 folks, so a little better than last time despite the fact that I just rubbed over a cone on my last run where I dropped a full second-- so def. some potential in the car just need the driver to catch up.

Also had the first successful towing outing of the year. The X35d towed like a beast. I used mac's tie downs with t-hooks which worked great and if anyone is planning on towing I recommend the prodigy rf brake controller as install was simple and didn't require wiring something under my dash.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yML8Ly7_KF4/T54Fug-IhwI/AAAAAAAAo-k/tkxSZpNkteA/s800/IMAG0298.jpg

[derbo]

Looks great! Good job on your 1st! I love reading updates on your thread :)

[M0nk3y]

Good start to the season!

You ever going to get us video? ;)

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[bcleaver]

Went to my first ever BMW CCA autocross last weekend. Great crowd and it was fun to have so many bmws at an autocross. It was funny to be absolutely surrounded by lifter tick while in the grid. Usually it's just my car and one other bmw making a racket but not the case at a bmw event.

The race went well, I won my class out of 7 drivers including a couple supercharged m3's. I used a different pax since it was a bmw cca race and ended up in street tire AS which has a worse pax than my car which is normally in scca STX class. I could have used that pax but didn't know any better. Using that pax number I would have come in 3rd overall out of 67 folks but ended up 7th because of the classing. The wife took 1st too, which was cool for her to get a W on the season.

Soo many cool cars including a Noble m12 gto. Drove up to the top of Pikes peak the day before the race. A few pics of pike's and the event below.

The wife driving and check out that sweet 1m in the far back
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dzS3Ue2WliA/T6hkirwmu4I/AAAAAAAAqEY/iakhn86gusQ/s800/IMG_6583.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-19pSPf3Z9UY/T6hkPZu-b4I/AAAAAAAAqDU/xzUJPvGJmwc/s800/IMG_6575.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v6T3KdqjN1I/T6hkJibS02I/AAAAAAAAqDE/LoES2B6G2ws/s800/IMG_6573.JPG

pikes
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-By8KofDm_M4/T6hjgFcDbyI/AAAAAAAAqAg/Uif4A1j_ES8/s800/IMG_6570%2520%25282%2529.JPG

[danewilson77]

Great stuff. Waiting patiently for video.

Sent from SIGFest 2012

[M0nk3y]

Now you know how I feel with a crappy PAX, lmao

Need Video :)

[bcleaver]

Now you know how I feel with a crappy PAX, lmao

Need Video :)

Yea, I was not set up for the class. I could add an m3 engine a supercharger and gut the thing and be in the same class with the same pax I ran. Totally feel your pain about not being fully prepped for a class, but I'm building it for scca so wasn't planning on doing well -- just there for fun and to get some seat time. You ever get some r-compounds to help out your pax issue?

[M0nk3y]

Yea, I was not set up for the class. I could add an m3 engine a supercharger and gut the thing and be in the same class with the same pax I ran. Totally feel your pain about not being fully prepped for a class, but I'm building it for scca so wasn't planning on doing well -- just there for fun and to get some seat time. You ever get some r-compounds to help out your pax issue?

Yea. I thought AS was the same for BMW and SCCA. Guess not.

I run AS for SCCA. It's still a harder pax than most classes. Never ran with CCA.

I have a swaybar now and RS3s. There was just no way rcomps would be economical for me or even possible to transport. I forget what else is even allowed in stock

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[bcleaver]

Yea. I thought AS was the same for BMW and SCCA. Guess not.

I run AS for SCCA. It's still a harder pax than most classes. Never ran with CCA.

I have a swaybar now and RS3s. There was just no way rcomps would be economical for me or even possible to transport. I forget what else is even allowed in stock

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AS in BMW cca is completely different than scca. Not sure why they couldn't pick a different letter combo...oh well. In stock class for scca you can pretty much only do front sway, tires and struts but not springs. So really you're most of the way there, although the difference between r's and rs3's is probably a second or two on a 60 second course. Tire trailer?

[M0nk3y]

AS in BMW cca is completely different than scca. Not sure why they couldn't pick a different letter combo...oh well. In stock class for scca you can pretty much only do front sway, tires and struts but not springs. So really you're most of the way there, although the difference between r's and rs3's is probably a second or two on a 60 second course. Tire trailer?

I don't want to weld hinges on my car to accept a trailer. I'd say the rs3s will breach the rcomp class. I was running pretty close to their times. And these aren't even broken in

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[bcleaver]

Finally making some progress this year on the car outside of just going out and driving it.

Went up to SCR performance in loveland and met with the owner Mark who is a great guy that runs an amazing shop. He let me sit in a few seats to get a feel for what I liked so am finally making progress on that front.

Last week I picked up an odyssey pc680 lightweight battery and a russ wiles box to hold it from bimmerhaus. Planning on ordering some new brake pads but debating what to go with so if anyone has any autox specific recs I'd love to hear them. I probably won't track whatever pads I get for autocross and will swap them out if I do need a higher temp setup.

Also had a regulator go out on me at the last race. It was the rear one so no zip-tie fix but luckily found a pretty cheap regulator online and swaped it out.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5Aj-C79jJgo/T7msaqxk_kI/AAAAAAAAr0E/v_5-tvCZsF8/s800/2012-05-11_18-36-57_740.jpg

[bcleaver]

A few more purchases made with some upgrades coming soon. Some of the work I'm going to have SCR performance do as I haven't had the time to work on the car with it being 25 miles away and sitting on a trailer that requires pulling out, taking the car off, working on it and then putting it back on. It was nice when I had my own garage 10 feet from my house, but to save some time and keep progress going some stuff is going to have to be outsourced.

Fun stuff:
Racetech rt1000 seats (arrived)
Underpullys (brand tbd)
AFE intake
Tune (getting more details and researching what I'm going to do here and will update with much more information on this topic)
Alignment/Cornerbalance


Maintenance:
water pump (preventative)
oil filter housing gasket
radiator (preventative)

Pics and more info to follow, but this should all be done within the next month

[derbo]

nice upgrades! Are you going to install a new seat occupancy sensor in the passenger seat to turn off the airbag light?

Did you ever put in that fuel pump baffle?

At thunderhill raceway, I had a 60mph 180degree hairpin and anything under 1/2 tank I would suffer and have a hiccup at the straight at the end of the turn. After the baffle install, I could go to 1/8th the tank and still have no problems! I used the OBC test 6 option to show the tank fuel levels and the last session at Infineon few weeks ago I was seeing 000 000 and still going strong with no hiccups.

[bcleaver]

Not sure on how I'll override the airbag light yet. Have not gone with the baffle and haven't had any issues with fuel starve out at autocross, but I plan on doing some time attacks soon, so that might change my mind.

[bcleaver]

Swung by SCR performane to check out the progress on a few of the go-fast parts they're installing for me. The shop is impressive and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the Denver/Longmont/Loveland area. The work is absolutely top notch and the owner Mark is a vault of BMW/Audi/VW/Subaru, etc knowlege. More pics coming, but here are some shots of how she sits today:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PQl3dH_J0AY/T9a1nczEKfI/AAAAAAAA1zM/Qv3i9wMZr8w/s800/2012-06-07_15-12-28_152.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VzGEet-54wE/T9a1oZ_zesI/AAAAAAAA1zU/Xrne10OnCKc/s800/2012-06-07_15-12-42_129.jpg

[Johnmadd]

Airbag light "fix" is open the instrument cluster and stick a wad of black tape in there and put it back together, it works for me during state inspections.

[bcleaver]

Also have some results from last weekend's race. My car was still at the shop so I drove a fellow bmw zhp (thanks Todd) for the day. Ended up winning my class and 8th in pax out of 144 drivers.

[derbo]

Airbag light "fix" is open the instrument cluster and stick a wad of black tape in there and put it back together, it works for me during state inspections.

This bothers me cause I know its there. :) The real setup is to either to simulate on or off for the airbag sensor using resistors or actually using an OC3 matt in the recaro between the cushions.


But car is look great. Can't wait to see the seats in there. Looks like they are in there already since the headrests area looks so low.

[danewilson77]

This bothers me cause I know its there. :) The real setup is to either to simulate on or off for the airbag sensor using resistors or actually using an OC3 matt in the recaro between the cushions.


But car is look great. Can't wait to see the seats in there. Looks like they are in there already since the headrests area looks so low.

I have mat in my shop.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

[bcleaver]

Video from 2 races ago that a friend loaded up. Not my best run as you can see me slightly overshooting a 180 and getting late in the offsets, but it's pretty helpful for reviewing runs.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIAWyG94vsg&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

[Hornung418]

Looks like a fun course, B!

I love the Auto-X graphic on the trunk. Classy touch.

[M0nk3y]

Late to the party, but nice run...hugging those cones.

[bcleaver]

Thanks Monkey, still liking the rs3's? I just ordered a shaved set and some extra rims (d-force LTW-5 in anthrocite) so we'll see how that goes.

[bcleaver]

Just came across their facebook page where they're pretty good about posting the cool projects they're working on.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SCR-Performance/123527006784

[M0nk3y]

Thanks Monkey, still liking the rs3's? I just ordered a shaved set and some extra rims (d-force LTW-5 in anthrocite) so we'll see how that goes.

I'm in love with them. Besides the holy outside wear I'm getting from lack of camber, they've been going great. Grip keeps on getting better, but of course since you got them shaved you'll be perfect.

It's hard to find the limit...it's far out there. They hold heat perfectly, I haven't had a problem keeping them at temp in 90 degree weather last weekend.

[BRGcoopahS]

Auto-X ing looks like so much fun.

[bcleaver]

Auto-X ing looks like so much fun.

You've got a great car for it. Go check it out. IMO it's the safest cheapest way to push your car to the limits.

[bcleaver]

seats are in:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z8reCFybQkk/T_OxVJrS5wI/AAAAAAAA2CM/EWhnxDutWMM/s800/DSC_0078.JPG

[danewilson77]

seats are in:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z8reCFybQkk/T_OxVJrS5wI/AAAAAAAA2CM/EWhnxDutWMM/s800/DSC_0078.JPG

Duuuuuuude!

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[BRGcoopahS]

You've got a great car for it. Go check it out. IMO it's the safest cheapest way to push your car to the limits.

Thanks. I always tell myself I will but never came around to it. Would bridgestone potenza all seasons be ok for a first timer? The grip seems decent in them.

[bcleaver]

Thanks. I always tell myself I will but never came around to it. Would bridgestone potenza all seasons be ok for a first timer? The grip seems decent in them.

Honestly, the first few times you go it will be about meeting people, learning to read the course and just having fun with the car out there. While I don't think any all season can be competitive I also don't think it matters for your first few trips. Autox is one of those things that you either get hooked on right away or you don't and you can have just as much fun (almost) on all seasons as you can on r-compounds. If you decide you love it and want to get more competitive then look into better tires, but you'll be just fine on the ones you currently have.

[bcleaver]

A few more updates with pictures compliments of SCR Performance:

some of the goodies:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o2hhi5lNK4k/T_STvM_vYKI/AAAAAAAA2E8/eGIJXKY04Ug/s800/DSC_0115.JPG

Motor and Tranny Mounts:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TTBX5peAoG8/T_STPjGcFoI/AAAAAAAA2E0/NUKfLsVKWX8/s800/DSC_0116.JPG

Intake:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IaXvGlmUgIs/T_SVBpr-Y_I/AAAAAAAA2FM/7iv-E9mMHxw/s800/AFE.JPG

Under pulleys:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ajNuEGyQt3g/T_SUFvBt7XI/AAAAAAAA2FU/t4Y8LGD7tNg/s800/th_DSC_0110.jpg

[derbo]

Looking great!!! Im debating to get those pulleys myself.


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[bcleaver]

Looking great!!! Im debating to get those pulleys myself.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Thanks Derek. Nice work on your clutch, shifter, etc btw. Don't remember the HP gains (well savings I guess) from the pulleys it seemed like a decent bang for the buck item.

[derbo]

Is that an oil pan baffle? I just noticed that in the picture. Did you have a problem with oil starvation during autox?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[bcleaver]

Is that an oil pan baffle? I just noticed that in the picture. Did you have a problem with oil starvation during autox?



It is indeed. No issues doing autox but I'm going to be doing some NASA and SCCA TT racing so in preparation of that decided to get the oil pump nut secured a little better as well as put in a oil pan baffle.

[derbo]

What brand is that oil baffle? Vac? Looks like good insurance. You got me wanted this too! Lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[bcleaver]

Since my thread has been farily sprawling and lengthy at this point, I decided to put together a mod list in case anyone is interested in what I've done to the car so far in order to make this sucker speedy (for its intended purpose, at least). I'm trying to make this chronological which is in order of things I deemed important and someone could use as an autox prep guide for this car based on what I think are the most important items to make these cars fast for SCCA STX class.

. Headlight restoration (hah, obviously not a speed upgrade, but I had some time on my hands before other parts arrived)
. 17" Apex ARC-8 wheels
. Dunlop Direzza star specs 265
. Powerflex front control arm bushings
. powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
. powerflex subframe bushings
. meyle diff bushings
. Wheel stud conversion
. H&R M3 front swaybar (30mm)
. Vorschlag camber plates
. AST spherical shock mounts
. AST 4200 double adjustable shocks
. Hyperco springs: 600#fronts 650 and 750 rears
. Rear lower control arms (fix)
. Custom exhaust (3" stainless steel straigtpipe with single resonator) mostly for weight savings
. Jim Blanton Performance Gearing LSD diff
. Front endlinks (repair)
. Rear window regulator (repair)
. Russ Wiles battery box
. Odyssey pc680 lightweight battery
. Cooling system overall (water pump, hoses, radiator, etc)
. Turner under pulleys
. AFE intake
. Oil baffle and lock nut
. D-force ltw 5 lightweight wheels 17"
. Hankook rs3s in 255
. Racetech RT1000 seats (sliders on drivers seat)
. Motor mounts
. tranny mounts

That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure I'm missing a few items. Still on the list:

Tune/chip of some sort
Short shifter
SS brake lines
Lightweight rotors
Track pads

[M0nk3y]

The H&R M3 sway bar is 30mm...it's a big boy. Same thing i have on my car, just fyi.

As well, why 265 Star Specs but 255 RS3s? Is it because of the square shoulder?

Get videos. Car has come a long way...now we need to see it run!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[bcleaver]

The H&R M3 sway bar is 30mm...it's a big boy. Same thing i have on my car, just fyi.

As well, why 265 Star Specs but 255 RS3s? Is it because of the square shoulder?

Get videos. Car has come a long way...now we need to see it run!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks, edited. Went with the 255 rs3's because they don't come in a 265 x 17, but also because I'm not sure that the 265 is faster given the fact I'm limited to a 9" rim so the contact patch is limited as well as the shoulder

[BRGcoopahS]

Honestly, the first few times you go it will be about meeting people, learning to read the course and just having fun with the car out there. While I don't think any all season can be competitive I also don't think it matters for your first few trips. Autox is one of those things that you either get hooked on right away or you don't and you can have just as much fun (almost) on all seasons as you can on r-compounds. If you decide you love it and want to get more competitive then look into better tires, but you'll be just fine on the ones you currently have.

Thanks. Sounds like some good advice. I hope its not as hard as it looks. I have trouble following the course just watching videos. I'll see white painted lines on the ground and my brain will think to follow that, but then the person will turn somewhere else because you have to follow the cones.

[bcleaver]

Cornerbalance:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150964578386785&set=a.139712471784.106298.123527006784&type=1&theater

[Crustashio]

Since my thread has been farily sprawling and lengthy at this point, I decided to put together a mod list in case anyone is interested in what I've done to the car so far in order to make this sucker speedy (for its intended purpose, at least). I'm trying to make this chronological which is in order of things I deemed important and someone could use as an autox prep guide for this car based on what I think are the most important items to make these cars fast for SCCA STX class.

. Headlight restoration (hah, obviously not a speed upgrade, but I had some time on my hands before other parts arrived)
. 17" Apex ARC-8 wheels
. Dunlop Direzza star specs 265
. Powerflex front control arm bushings
. powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
. powerflex subframe bushings
. meyle diff bushings
. Wheel stud conversion
. H&R M3 front swaybar (30mm)
. Vorschlag camber plates
. AST spherical shock mounts
. AST 4200 double adjustable shocks
. Hyperco springs: 600#fronts 650 and 750 rears
. Rear lower control arms (fix)
. Custom exhaust (3" stainless steel straigtpipe with single resonator) mostly for weight savings
. Jim Blanton Performance Gearing LSD diff
. Front endlinks (repair)
. Rear window regulator (repair)
. Russ Wiles battery box
. Odyssey pc680 lightweight battery
. Cooling system overall (water pump, hoses, radiator, etc)
. Turner under pulleys
. AFE intake
. Oil baffle and lock nut
. D-force ltw 5 lightweight wheels 17"
. Hankook rs3s in 255
. Racetech RT1000 seats (sliders on drivers seat)
. Motor mounts
. tranny mounts

That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure I'm missing a few items. Still on the list:

Tune/chip of some sort
Short shifter
SS brake lines
Lightweight rotors
Track pads

Thanks for the list, I'll have to save this somewhere. I've been unable to sell my ZHP for a decent price (would like an e36 m3) so I'm starting to consider some autocross friendly mods. I have a similar car - sedan with no sunroof, no foldflat seats or skibag passthrough. I've already got some starspecs, and I think I'm going to start with a front swaybar, then maybe some koni adjustables.

Luckily my local autocross is pretty relaxed, so depending on the cars in attendance I've run DS/STX/DSP to have actual competition.

[bcleaver]

Sounds like you have a great car for the track. The sway is a great place to start. You might also want to look at some camber plates sooner than later. It'll really help with grip in the corners and save the shoulder of your tires while racing. If you do go with just shocks (not springs) a front sway bar you can legally run in DS/STX or DSP, so you'd have some flexibility.

[bcleaver]

A few pics from last weekend's Colorado National Tour. I drove pretty well on Sat. but then completely sucked on Sun. and ended up in second for my first national trophy spot. So nothing to cry about, but just didn't drive up to the car's potential so that was frustrating. Overall I placed 30th in pax out of 140 drivers and considering the talent there it was not bad.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xrkfHN1du40/UAS5O7EZrKI/AAAAAAAA2F0/yDVgONrkoeg/s800/IMG_7153.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d-QXyhuBqs0/UAS5Qn7Pn9I/AAAAAAAA2F8/PXX2SakdflM/s800/IMG_7154.JPG

[M0nk3y]

Awesome man, congrats.

Any videos or action pictures?