The Modding Journey of my Silver-Grey ZHP

[nike001]

Alright, I have some time.. and I've always thought about how I need to make a dedicated thread for my ZHP to show all of my mods.

Alright
Date of Purchase: 07/03/2010
Her first picture:
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/0703001215.jpg

My first thing I did to it was get a new ZHP knob, since mine came with some other knob that didn't fit.
Then while I was waiting for that to come, I did my first mod. I transferred over my old LED license plate lights that I kept from my e39.

A few days later I decided to take some pictures of her. *Completely Stock*
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0120.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0146.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0149.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0150.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0153.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0158.jpg

A few days after that.. my first mod specifically for her. In my last car, I always used my iPod through my stereo with my cassette player hook up. So I needed something that would do the same in this car
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0162.jpg

Then on 9/11/10, after much debate.. I installed Weisslicht Angel eyes. When I got my car, I didn't like the angel eye look on the e46 (coming from e39) But I bit the bullet and did it. Shortly after, I found a local twin on E46F and we took some shots.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0057.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0061.jpg

Between my last post and Thanksgiving, I added a few more mods. They consisted of some winter rims/tires that I plasti-dipped black, front license plate delete strip, and HID 3k 35W from DDMtuning.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0221.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/mineDSC.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0227.jpg
^Last two pictures are with Terra's old Imola ZHP with BBS CH

The winter of 2010-2011 I didn't do much to her. The main thing I did though, was bought myself a set of complete E46 M3 AL lights to swap out in favor of my old & burnt ZKW's. I ended up fitting the entire housings in my car and modding the projector shield & swapping my ZKW lenses over to the AL's.
--I still have yet to get decent pics of my cutoff.

Then on June 26, 2011 I went shopping at Khoalty. Got DEPO front corners & sides, Black front grille, and their interior LED kit.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0745.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0759.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0762.jpg

The summer of 2011 was mainly taken up by maintenance.

New brakes. The dealer I work at hooked me up with OEM rotors & pads for ~$500
After 3-4,000 miles, my Pirelli PZero's were shot. Hankook V12's were ordered and mounted on the car with 110,900 miles (winter tires were on for the difference)
Also needed new brakes.
I knew winter was around the corner, so I took advantage of extra funds and got my CCV taken care of. Employee Labor Rates FTW! There was no way I was DIY'ing that.


After a while of being annoyed by VANOS rattle, I decided it was time to go ahead and fix that. With a little help from two friends..
This all took place on 9/25/11
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/263d007c.jpg

Also, Spark plugs since I was there! They needed to be done BAD. 111,900 miles on my car at this point, and these were OE. Said BMW right on them (Info Credit: Dane)
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0844.jpg

Then after I acquired more funds, and the BMW Performance Intake was all the rage and seemed to be going for a good price.. so I went ahead and ordered one.
The NEXT day, DTMDan on E46Fanatics PMed me about his OEM clear lights that I asked him about months earlier. He PMed me remembering my asking.. He was local and and gave me a good price. I had to do it.
We met up and did our exchange and also took some pics.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0900.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0907.jpg

An opportunity then came to get my car dyno'd. $30 for 3 pulls in Philadelphia on November 3rd.. about 2 hours away.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/4047a763.jpg

After christmas, I racked up some holiday dough and decided that it was time to get rid of my ugly alcantara wheel. I knew Cobywheel would treat me well.
I ended up getting grey alcantara w/ charcoal stitching & black time stripe. Got shift & e-brake boots to match.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/d7334f79.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_1075.jpg

I decided that my interior was more-or-less finished. So I decided to focus on bringing my exterior up to par. I took advantage of free shipping from lamin-x and got some yellow film for my fog lights.

I had my lamin-x sitting around for a while before I got what I needed for it. Went back to Khoalty for some chrome bulbs, headlight lenses, and fog lights. I was extremely happy with everything. The front end looks so much newer & my angel eyes aren't as blurry. Previous to my new lenses, I sanded and tried restoring them.. that took a lot of things out.. but I wasn't aware that this was the reason that my cutoff from my low beams looked so out of focus.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/bbb45336.jpg

I also orded new license plate LED lights to replace my 2+ year old ones from Umnitza that I had with my e39. I'm still trying to figure out which one I like better.
Umnitza=Left -- Jlevi=right
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/841f3d00.jpg

Then after being put on the back burner for so long, I picked up some 10mm & 12mm spacers. It happened to be an impulse thing while (for some reason) browsing E46Fanatics classifieds, which I rarely do. Found a thread that was posted 5 minutes ago, and said I was interested. I ended up paypal-ing him the money the next morning.
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/cbdcfcd5.jpg


Now, I left some (boring) maintenance things out like belts, fluids, etc because it's well.... boring.

I've settled down for now with modding, I'm currently trying to save some money for something big. I'm stuck between wheels, suspension, & exhaust. I have a love/hate relationship with my ZHP M135 wheels.. They're just heavy. I want to be lower, by my stock suspension seems to be holding up just fine. So why fix it if it's not broken? Also, I'd feel bad for doing rims before suspension. That goes against all car modding rules. I also want an exhaust.. but I'm hesitant to part with my ZHP muffer because of its low notes with cruising.

That's all for now. I just spent way too much time doing this, But I'll be able to update this thread from now on.
-Dalton

[danewilson77]

Looks great. Admire the effort. The plugs were OE if they said BMW on them.

[nike001]

Looks great. Admire the effort. The plugs were OE if they said BMW on them.

Good info. Thanks.. Here you are: BMW OE Plugs:
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0841.jpg

[Newjack]

Great writeup nike001, that was a fun read!

How does the Coby wheel alcantara compare to the OE alcantara?

[nike001]

Definitely a lot better. But my OE alcantara wasn't in that good of a condition. It was greasy.. and it got hot & sticky in the summer and made my hands sweat.

My only thought on my particular wheel are that I wish I went w/ Black stitching instead of the charcoal. Oh well :/

[kayger12]

Nice ride, and nice read. Enjoyed it.

[Pip]

Good read. What were the offsets on the rear wheels pictured in the thread and what spacers? Looks good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nike001]

:wub Thanks guys


Pip, The picture with the spacers are on my winter rims.
They're 17x7.5 ET 32. With 10mm front and 12mm rear.. so as it stands now, the rims are
ET22 Front
ET20 Rear

[Pip]

:wub Thanks guys


Pip, The picture with the spacers are on my winter rims.
They're 17x7.5 ET 32. With 10mm front and 12mm rear.. so as it stands now, the rims are
ET22 Front
ET20 Rear

Thanks nike001. Quick calculation looks like what I'm planning will not only fit but look great. Based on the ET32 with 12mm spacer and 7.5" width it is similar to adding 17mm spacer. I'm looking into 17.5mm spacer in backs and 12-15mm up front.

Thanks again.

[nike001]

Thanks nike001. Quick calculation looks like what I'm planning will not only fit but look great. Based on the ET32 with 12mm spacer and 7.5" width it is similar to adding 17mm spacer. I'm looking into 17.5mm spacer in backs and 12-15mm up front.

Thanks again.

No problem. What rims are you adding spacers to? Also note that I'm on stock suspension and I rub in the front on rather large dips. I'm sure that I'll rub even more once I get a different suspension. I doubt I'll be able to run my spacers on those rims.. But the guy I got these off of had them on his lowered ZHP w/ stock M135's and said he had 0 rubbing.

[terraphantm]

No problem. What rims are you adding spacers to? Also note that I'm on stock suspension and I rub in the front on rather large dips. I'm sure that I'll rub even more once I get a different suspension. I doubt I'll be able to run my spacers on those rims.. But the guy I got these off of had them on his lowered ZHP w/ stock M135's and said he had 0 rubbing.

You might not rub, because generally aftermarket suspension is a good bit stiffer.

[nike001]

Oh Terra! How nice of you to stop by! I was thinking this as well.. I guess we'll see.

[Pip]

No problem. What rims are you adding spacers to? Also note that I'm on stock suspension and I rub in the front on rather large dips. I'm sure that I'll rub even more once I get a different suspension. I doubt I'll be able to run my spacers on those rims.. But the guy I got these off of had them on his lowered ZHP w/ stock M135's and said he had 0 rubbing.

I'd be adding the spacers to my stock suspension M135's. Been wanting a more aggressive stance in the rear and then figure out the front if I don't like it w/o spacers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LivesNearCostco]

Enjoyed reading your thread! I need to do the Coby steering wheel deal.

[nike001]

I'd be adding the spacers to my stock suspension M135's. Been wanting a more aggressive stance in the rear and then figure out the front if I don't like it w/o spacers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's hard with ZHP rims due to the already high offsets of 47 & 50. You might be able to get away with a bit larger spacers than I have. One of the guys from San Diego I think said he was experimenting with spacers and ended up with something similar to mine


Enjoyed reading your thread! I need to do the Coby steering wheel deal.

Thanks man! Coby definitely does awesome work!

[jayjay_dee]

Enjoyed reading your thread! I need to do the Coby steering wheel deal.

+ 1

btw, i thought you added a splitter from Khoalty too... i saw a post last week and i really thought it was you, no?

[derbo]

Silver Grey is my first color choice. Looking great so far!

I chose to upgrade my suspension cause I saw a leak in the OEM rear strut. Wheels before suspension is definitely against all good rules! :) I would be torn in your situation too! Just get wheels+ suspension at once hahaha

[nike001]

I love my color more and more every day. I'll end up doing suspension soon and maybe some CSL's later on if i can afford them later this summer.

Your ZHP is definitely one of my favorites! RPF1's are definitely one of the best looking wheels one can get

[Johal E32]

looks great dude! If I decide to keep my zhp and not pick up a 323 instead I would have basically copied this whole thread! I'm so close to, only missing the tails and steering wheel..

[MiniD]

Looking good, Dalton. Our cars are basically twins!

[nike001]

Thanks guys! I'm trying to keep it clean with OEM stuff and without stupid additions.

Tint and moar low is on my list to do

[derbo]

I'm a sucker for OEM stuff. :D

especially if it came on other nicer BMWs. ie. M3 strut bar, etc

[nike001]

An M3 strut bar will probably be on my list to do soon so I can stiffen her up; especially because of our weak strut towers. I'll be ordering the strut reinforcements and doing those along with my H&R suspension that I'll be doing in early summer

[nike001]

Been a while since I updated this.. I've done a few things since my last update

I've done:
-H&R Sport Cup Suspension
-Upper Radiator Hose & Expansion Tank
-VCG & VANOS Gasket to fix my leak
- 35% Ceramic tint

Up next are fluid changes (diff & tranny), ///M deadpedal, Performance Pedals & perhaps shifter. The stock ZHP one is too perfect :shifty

[JimN9NE]

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/bsktsk8ter9/DSC_0227.jpg

Are those BBS on the Imola Red ZHP 18 or 19? and is that stock suspension?

[nike001]

^They're 18x8.5

He had ground control coilovers but didn't adjust it much lower than stock. Probably about where my H&R sport cup kit sits now..

[JimN9NE]

Nice, ya i really like that look. I'm looking into getting a set of BBS CH-R for my sedan (18x8, 18x9 staggard). But i do not plan to change the suspension, hopefully it will look similar to that.

[cakM3]

Dalton,

I enjoyed reading your mod thread :thumbsup I like how clean your car has been! Looking forward to seeing more!!! :)

[nike001]

Good luck! They're expensive rims but they should look similar to that.. maybe a tid bit more wheel gap, but probably won't be too noticeable.

[nike001]

Dalton,

I enjoyed reading your mod thread :thumbsup I like how clean your car has been! Looking forward to seeing more!!! :)

Haha to be honest, I completely forgot I had this thread going. It was last updated in January it seems.. and of course, I've done a lot since then:drevil

[JimN9NE]

Thanks for the info man, but since i already have the style 135 on my fully stock zhp, you think by getting the CH-R 18 staggard would really affect the stance of the car?

[nike001]

Nope, it'll sit exactly how it is now. I was just trying to help you think it out by raising the red car in my photo and seeing how your car would look

[danewilson77]

Thanks for the info man, but since i already have the style 135 on my fully stock zhp, you think by getting the CH-R 18 staggard would really affect the stance of the car?

No......not really.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[JimN9NE]

Sorry for all the noob questions, i am new to BMWs. But if i were to get some springs like eibach or h&r would that lower the ride as oppose to the OEM Zhp springs?

[danewilson77]

Sorry for all the noob questions, i am new to BMWs. But if i were to get some springs like eibach or h&r would that lower the ride as oppose to the OEM Zhp springs?

About an 1" lower I believe, depending the setup.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[nike001]

Yeah, depending on what springs you go to. There are H&R race, sport & touring springs. Touring springs might very well raise your car, sport springs will probably have your car looking like mine stance wise (http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=952313&highlight=) and race springs will have you a good amount lower still.

I can't really speak much on Eibachs since I went the H&R route when deciding between the two, but the Eibach sportlines will have your car sitting a bit like mine as well.. but a little lower in the front and maybe a bit higher in the rear. The Eibach springs will handle like most like stock, but the H&R's will make your ride a bit stiffer.

Google does wonders too. Good luck.

[johnrando]

I have the H&R Touring Cup Kit and it lowered my car.

[deuce08s]

Are you happy with your Angel Eyes? Is there a better one out there? How much were they?

And what were you talking about with your cutoff being "off"? How did the Angel Eyes affect it? Some times I feel like my lights don't shine out far enough.....

[nike001]

Hah. Funny you asked that. I was happy with them until recently. The one around my passenger side xenon shroud only lights up half way now... thanks to some crappy soldering. I'll have to take it off and re-solder, but I'm halfway tempted to just take em off and leave them off for more of an OEM look.


Cutoff is this:
http://www.nitnelav.com/S4XenonLight2.JPG

Angel eyes should not affect this unless they are directly in front of your xenon lights. If your lights aren't bright and they are stock, you've most likely fallen victim to the ZKW burning issue. More info here: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?3598-The-ZKW-Burnt-Bowls-Thread

[UdubBadger]

I have the H&R Touring Cup Kit and my shit looks SEXXY.

yuuuuuuuuuuuup

[johnrando]

lol! Thanks Seth. I have to say that my sig pic is with the Race springs, which I no longer have. My car is not quite that low anymore.

[JimN9NE]

nike001 you running spacers on your sedan?

[nike001]

nike001 you running spacers on your sedan?

Yessir!

10mm front and 12mm rear. If I don't get new wheels this spring, I may get 15r and put the 12's up front.

[JimN9NE]

Ya your car has a sweet setup, although i think i am going for the touring kit instead of the sport kit you have. Are you rubbing at all with those spacers?

[nike001]

Nope, none at all. That's why I was going to go with larger spacers.

[JimN9NE]

nike001 do you have the rear spring pads in, if so which size?
I feel like your rear is lower than most sport cup kits i have seen on photos.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8095659600_00c8cd023e_b.jpg

[nike001]

I'm not sure. I never changed them out..

In that pic, it may look lower but the Michelin tires definitely have a beefier sidewall than most other tires.

[JimN9NE]

ya looks good, so since you are running 10f 12r spacers with style 135 wheels how would i achieve that look if i got wheels with offset et 40f, 44r ? i also have Michelin tires. What size spacers?

i know the style 135s have a different offset than my setup.

[danewilson77]

ya looks good, so since you are running 10f 12r spacers with style 135 wheels how would i achieve that look if i got wheels with offset et 40f, 44r ? i also have Michelin tires. What size spacers?

i know the style 135s have a different offset than my setup.

Plug all applicable measurements into the calculator, in the wheel fitment stickied thread.

[nike001]

Jim, you need to post your wheel widths along with offsets to be able to determine the outer position of the wheel

[JimN9NE]

thanks, i got widths of 18x8 and 18x9 and offsets of 40 and 44. i tried the calculator it helps, but i hope i got the style 135s (staggered) correct.

[nike001]

FRONT
MINE: 18x8 ET37
YOURS: 18x8 ET40 ------> Yours will be 3mm more inwards in the front

REAR
MINE: 18x8.5 ET38
YOURS: 18x9 ET44 ------> Yours & mine will sit exactly the same in regards to outer position in the rear

[JimN9NE]

sweet thanks, im not sure 3mm is worth changing for. but i guess a 3mm spacer could match your stance? btw your stance with spacers looks perfect imo.

[nike001]

Okay, I plan on getting back on the ball with this.

Within the last month I have done the following: Oil Change, new sunroof shade, new battery, LED reverse lights, and hopefully chased off my CEL light by fixing my lower intake boot today.

I got the same thing as these, but from china off eBay.. and mine are blue colored.
http://www.khoalty.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/360x280/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/r/creemain.jpg

They're alright. Definitely brighter, but the light is only projected out one way and not reflected about the tail light reverse housing. So it makes for a circle light when viewing from behind. I'll get another set with LED's all around so the light fills up the whole reverse light thing when I get some money to burn. I'm broke now..

[Johal E32]

^ Any bulb out errors with the Ebay bulbs? You posted in the LED thread that you copped them for like $2, right?

[nike001]

They were like $8 shipped. Much better because Khoalty has the same exact ones for $30..

No error lights either

[nike001]

On Friday I, with the help of a friend on bf.c (328ci906 AKA John) hooked up some bass. Got it in a BSW box, just waiting for the mounting hardware so I can mount it hanging up.

and upon wrapping that up I discovered a license plate light was out. Took the lens off and found the connectors are corroded to shit. One of the connectors is hanging on by a thread so it's going to fall off any time now. I guess I have to purchase the whole grip thing and get it repainted. Shit. There's a couple $$ out of my wallet that I was setting aside for my exhaust..

[nike001]

John once again helped me out yesterday. We took both of my front seats out to deep clean the carpets underneath. I had spilt coffee on the passenger side that bugged me every time I vacuumed and saw it; I thank the PO for that.

The seats were incredibly easy to take out. The cleaning went well too. The passenger side had mainly stains, whereas the drivers side mainly had food crumbs. All together.. it was pretty darn clean under the seats. I feel better though.

Pic for good measure:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7739&d=1365213018

UP NEXT:
New center console & ///M deadrest. I just ordered a BSW speaker kit too so that'll be my next update.

[Johal E32]

^ Good stuff Dalton. I plan to do the same with my touring this summer (assuming I still own it..). I want to remove the seats and steam clean my carpets. How long did it take to remove the seats?

On my old E32 it took me around 5 minutes to unbolt the seats and like 20 minutes to maneuver the b@stard out of the car..

[nike001]

Yeah, I'd say about 5 mintes per seat. All we had to do was locate the front bolts, pop off the covers and take em out. Then slide the seat all the way forward to get at the rear ones to get those out. We then leaned the seat backwards to take the harness off. Make sure you put the seat back even with the bottom railes or else you'll have a hard time getting them back in. Removal from the car itself was easy - just make sure to not hit anything on the way out. Putting them back in was easy too. It's a nice ab workout because you'll be leaning in the car holding the seat trying to position it in the car.

My seatbelt is attached to my seat too so we took it out and put it next to my rear doors so we can get in and out of the front doors. It's easy!

[derbo]

Nice! I tend to raise the seat a bit while unbolted and angle it straight so it's easier to roll out without major scratching. That steering wheel gets in the way


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2