Jet Black ZHP Mod-A-Palooza

[Sockethead]

Yea the tuner, AJ, doesn't like the pulleys on there and he doesn't like aftermarket intakes. I didn't tell him I had the Dinan intake.

Did you take your Sprint Booster off too?

[johnrando]

I still have the SB. They put on the the original air intake but I swapped it back for the BMW Perf one.

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[sillieidiot]

Nice looks good. My name is spelled wrong LOL But that's ok. Everyone gets it wrong lol

[johnrando]

Thanks for letting me know, fixed. I made a pneumonic to remember, as I do forget which way.

[Sockethead]

How is it with the SB on it? I took mine off because they don't recommend it

[johnrando]

Hmmm. I still like it on... with yours it's probably too much power to combine with an SB. I have auto, a heavier car (vert), and my wheels are not light so I don't think it would be a problem. I would guess quick launch would be why they would not recommend... did they say anything else?

BTW, I requested to get on the Fb page, thanks.

[Sockethead]

Basically they want the engine as stock as possible... I would guess so they don't have to modify their canned tune that they distribute with the unit. I would get your car dyno'd with AFR ASAP to make sure your AFR is correct. I went through a lot of tunes before they got it right. At one point, it was so lean, it overheated on the 1st dyno run. Ryan went through about 12 tunes but both of our cars have headers, exhaust, inatkes etc. which would throw off the canned tune.

If you have any bizarre behavior when giving car throttle, you may want to disconnect the SB and see if it goes away but if not, I don't see any harm in leaving it on there...

[johnrando]

AFR? I will be doing my dyno pretty soon.

[san]

AFR? I will be doing my dyno pretty soon.

Assuming you are asking what AFR means, it means air-fuel ratio.


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[johnrando]

I was. Thanks!

[BMWCurves]

Nice, glad to hear this is working out!

I am jelly.

[johnrando]

Thanks!

[johnrando]

Time for an update (previously posted in "what did you do..."). First off, new Apex EC-7 Anthracite Wheels, 18 x 8.5 ET35, same PS2 tires as on previously. Secondly, sorted out the slightly ill-fitting Magnaflow exhaust (due to the vert brace - known issue) by having it custom cut/re-welded. While at it, switched out the aluminum exhaust tips with black. Goes much better with the wheels and overall look of the car. (Also, updated my signature, but not the pic :) ).

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[slater]

looks great, john! love the new wheels.

[Sockethead]

Did you have to cut off the old tips to put the new ones on?

Car looks great John!

[johnrando]

Did you have to cut off the old tips to put the new ones on?

Car looks great John!Thanks! Yes, they cut off the tips and welded on the new ones.

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[Sockethead]

is your rear muffler the one that reduces down to a single outlet then splits back into two tips?

[johnrando]

is your rear muffler the one that reduces down to a single outlet then splits back into two tips?Yes. Why?

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[johnrando]

Pics of tips. Don't see a brand name. I could call them and ask if you need.

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[danewilson77]

Yummy stuff

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[johnrando]

Will do. Thanks Dane!

[johnrando]

Different Trend is the brand of the tips. Stainless steel, ceramic coated.

http://www.dtexhaust.com/index.php?cPath=2

[Sockethead]

Thanks John!

[johnrando]

Update that I put on "what did you do....". Oil Change at around 96K. Lowered rear about 1/8". :) Rear suspension was way too rough so dialed it back to about 1/4 turn from soft... ride is still solid. Fixed a minor spring issue while in there as it wasn't quite seated right.

Still to do: fine tune SC, coil packs, wheel studs, alignment, dyno car
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[Sockethead]

I recently did coil packs.... dyno'd at 297 HP at the rear wheels which is an improvement over the last dyno. I'm sure they helped but I also did another vanos refresh and magnaflow exhaust.

Have you gotten a base dyno with AFR yet? This is pretty important as the tunes from ESS seem to be all over the place on different cars. You want your AFR pretty low... about 12.5 with the location your in. That will keep it safe. AJ may not agree but any other tuner will tell you this for a FI engine.
I don't know if the free tunes from ESS are still provided after the warranty period expires...

[johnrando]

Good info, thanks. No base dyno yet, on the list to do.

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[sillieidiot]

is the first picture supposed to be sideways? lol

[johnrando]

Hate when they do that.

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[fredo]

Sweet. First pic I see of your new wheels installed. :roundel

[WOLFN8TR]

Oh New Wheels...NICE!!!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180720/db0bb54570d9b2aa54df73310af2b458.jpg

[johnrando]

Oh New Wheels...NICE!!!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180720/db0bb54570d9b2aa54df73310af2b458.jpg


Sweet. First pic I see of your new wheels installed. :roundel

Thanks you two. Did not realize you hadn't seen the new wheels. Really like them, changes the whole tenor of Ness... and SO lightweight!

[Newjack]

John those wheels look hot man, I like them a lot!

Gotta keep it tight in the rear tho brah, never know when you need to light up a turn

[johnrando]

John those wheels look hot man, I like them a lot!

Gotta keep it tight in the rear tho brah, never know when you need to light up a turnThanks. And, lol. I feel ya, but it was jarring! Still fairly tight back there with that suspension setup and a sway bar.

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[cornercarver]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180719/9402626e1019309499ab0993f15088c1.jpg
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a 2-post lift outside.

[johnrando]

It's Hieu's. Love it, used it several times... works great.

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[Sockethead]

Lucky!

[johnrando]

Figured out end-link was bad, disconnected and removed, ordered new ones along with Control arms and tie rods since I'm coming up on 100K. Installed clear fogs and stealth turn signal bulbs but one of those is bad.

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[ZHPizza]

Which turn signal bulbs did you use? If they're LEDs, then it may just need to be flipped around.

[WOLFN8TR]

Hey John you should apply some Expel Ultimate Clear film to those new Fogs. I did my headlights lenses two years ago and they still look new so I did my new Clear Fogs as well.

PS: You need to bring Ness up to the Veterans Day Meet!! I haven’t seen the supercharger or the new rims yet!

[johnrando]

Hey John you should apply some Expel Ultimate Clear film to those new Fogs. I did my headlights lenses two years ago and they still look new so I did my new Clear Fogs as well.

PS: You need to bring Ness up to the Veterans Day Meet!! I haven’t seen the supercharger or the new rims yet!Great idea, thanks. I def want to bring Ness over!

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[WOLFN8TR]

That would be great! :happyspidey

[sillieidiot]

maybe you should make the sideways picture your defining trend for the thread lol

[johnrando]

Yup.... if I knew what was causing it maybe I would! :)

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[sillieidiot]

Yeah iono. Mines used to do that and it was only because I took the picture before waiting for all those setting icons to rotate. Now it seems fine, but I upload to flickr so I just rotate them on the site if it's sideways for some reason.

[johnrando]

Did Control Arms, Z4M Fcabs (previously done), and adjustible end links from TMS.

As well, replaced the ambient temp sensor and the bumper housing piece for it. Also put in stealth turn signal bulbs in the front corners.

Pics of control arms before and after. Next up, tie rods and steering coupler.

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[Sockethead]

Nice John! Good to see you keeping up the maintenance. I fell behind on mine and it been a lot of work trying to catch up

[sillieidiot]

is it missing a couple of pictures?

[johnrando]

is it missing a couple of pictures?It is. Not sure why it didn't post.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181007/651f3227c6e724a17fcc5a3ecc29cd2f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181007/24ebdd912aed3abe9d3e69257b049352.jpg

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[johnrando]

Nice John! Good to see you keeping up the maintenance. I fell behind on mine and it been a lot of work trying to catch upThanks Rob.

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[johnrando]

With Hieu, completed my suspension maintenance/replacement work with new Lemforder tie-rods, steering coupler, and Rogue RSMs. Fixed a small wiring issue with the ambient temp sensor. Next up is an alignment first thing in the morning. Soon front brake pads and new brake lines for my BBK.

340543405534056

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[BADCLOWN]

Should feel much tighter now

Do the rear 135i brake calipers (yellow ones) just bolt right up with an e46 caliper?

[sillieidiot]

that sideways picture is back lol

[johnrando]

Should feel much tighter now

Do the rear 135i brake calipers (yellow ones) just bolt right up with an e46 caliper?Def feels tighter. Thanks! The fronts do bolt up with an adapter bracket. The rears are OEM that I painted to match.

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[johnrando]

that sideways picture is back lolIt is, but it kinda works in this case! :)

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[johnrando]

New motor mounts, can really feel a difference, installed at EAS. That's it for suspension/bushing maintenance fot a long time. Next up, front brakes.

Plus, finally got a dyno. 255 at the wheels (then add the 15%). Not as high as they thought it would be but it is what it is. Chart to post later.
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[ZHPizza]

255 at the wheels ain't no joke bruh. That's one fast vert for sure. Have you added an LSD yet?

[Sockethead]

I don’t think you’d want much more than that with the auto trans.

[johnrando]

255 at the wheels ain't no joke bruh. That's one fast vert for sure. Have you added an LSD yet?Thanks. Not yet... next on the list of things to buy.

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[johnrando]

I don’t think you’d want much more than that with the auto trans.Ah... good point.

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[johnrando]

With Hieu, put in new Cool Carbon front brake pads, new brake lines, new sensor, and turned my shock mount to hopefully help my camber alignment on 1 side.

Also, my relatiively new studs look rusty-ish so I got longer lug nuts (not pictured) to help cover them up.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181121/112606ee6a737648768ba8ea3d5b8fc0.jpg

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[Sockethead]

My studs got like that too... I try to hit them with silicone spay now and then to keep it in check

[johnrando]

My studs got like that too... I try to hit them with silicone spay now and then to keep it in checkAh. Thanks for the tip!

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[johnrando]

As said in main thread, finished putting studs on, and installed stealth LED (with resistors) turn signal bulbs to get rid of the egg yolk look.

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[BMWCurves]

Aww yiss. I loved the stealth LED "mod" on my car

[sillieidiot]

shit when did you take all those pictures? lol didn't even notice. You didn't use your long wheel nuts?

[johnrando]

shit when did you take all those pictures? lol didn't even notice. You didn't use your long wheel nuts?Lol re pics. I think you were getting some tools.

No, these studs look pretty good so used short nuts. I may still go to the long ones eventually.

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[johnrando]

I hit a milestone but first, a story of tens. One of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs is 'Ten Years Gone'. So 10 years to the month after I moved out of L.A., I am moving back (this was a long time ago), driving on I-10, and as I reach the outskirts of L.A., 'Ten Years Gone' comes on the radio. Very cool.

Yesterday, I hit 100,000 miles almost 10 years to the month after I bought the car, while on I-10, just after 10:00.

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[fredo]

Very cool, my friend ! :thumbsup

[johnrando]

Oil Change at around 103K miles. Got a few more things for maint I want to check off soon.

[Will]

Wow, only 3k miles in the 9 months.

[sillieidiot]

Wow, only 3k miles in the 9 months.

That's just what happens when he doesn't drive down to my house anymore lol

[johnrando]

LOL. Yup, not a lot of long drives these days. Plus, I work from home so no daily commute, and I have my Triumph TR8 going as well, so sometimes I drive that.

[BMWCurves]

LOL. Yup, not a lot of long drives these days. Plus, I work from home so no daily commute, and I have my Triumph TR8 going as well, so sometimes I drive that.

I didn't know you had one of those! Very cool

[johnrando]

I didn't know you had one of those! Very coolThanks. Yes, very fun car. 5 speed, dual carbs, V8.

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[johnrando]

Completed 2nd passenger side airbag recall for the ignitor. Relatively painless. The dealer paid for an Uber home.

[ItsRichieRich]

Rando, hows the ESS Supercharger treating you?

[johnrando]

I love it! I need an updated custom tune as I still have the generic one, cold start is an issue (sometimes sputters) but not the end of the world (a known issue w/basic tune). It's faster, like it should be from factory, but not eye-popping blazing fast. I have a few things to do so I'll withhold final judgement on that. If you have the extra coin, it's worth it, love the sorely needed lower rpm torque increase. But technically, it's not worth it compared to the value of the car, but I don't care about that. I'm keeping my car and the enhanced daily driving is well worth it.

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[johnrando]

I haven't updated in awhile so a few updates: I wanted to add my latest suspension mods on here (that I think I did the past summer) plus a few other things: (I'll add pics later). I essentially bought Hieu's suspension from him, plus some new parts. It includes:

AST 4100 dampers
Bimmerworld front adjustable endlinks
Swift springs (8K front and 10K rear)
Vorschlag camber plates

As well, recently (June) changed out spark plugs and coil packs... runs SO MUCH better now!

I also changed out my exhaust, but going back in to make more mods so will update, but the plan is to go back to my Magnaflow exhaust and custom tips, but remove the resonators. I'm looking for a bit more sound (or, "oomph") from the Magnaflow.

Finally, I changed out my interior trim but I'll post more on that later. Also planned is a better tune for my supercharger, and to do a STEP to 6-speed swap. I already bought the transmission and many of the associated parts.

[fredo]

Well done, JR ... that will be a big update : swap to MT.

[t.er]

Agreed manual swap sounds awesome, I bet it's going to feel quite different!

[johnrando]

Replaced radiator, expansion tank, transmission thermostat, radiator bracket, coolant temp sensor, air filter, cabin air filter, upper rubber trim in the engine bay, and broken 'snorkel' piece on the BMW perf intake box.
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[Will]

Lots of good stuff recently! Well done.

[fredo]

+1. Wait a second ... is that a Triumph on the background ?

[johnrando]

+1. Wait a second ... is that a Triumph on the background ?Thanks all. Good eye Fredo. That is! It's my 1980 Triumph TR8, I've had it since 1993. Recently got the engine rebuilt so it runs well. John

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[fredo]

:like