patsbimmer1

Like it never happened...


Still have to seam seal and undercoat the underside, but I'm very happy with it. Shifts through all gears like it should. 
I have to get a new black leather shift boot instead of the grey one I found at the u-pull. Also, once this whole project is wrapped up, this thing is getting a full interior detail for sure. Yikes!!!

What kind of slob owned this thing before that let dirt build up behind the tail lights!?!?  

What kind of slob owned this thing before that let dirt build up behind the tail lights!?!?  

What kind of slob owned this thing before that let dirt build up behind the tail lights!?!?  

What kind of slob owned this thing before that let dirt build up behind the tail lights!?!?  

Took @B C advice and downloaded ECUWorx and modified my M3 a bit this afternoon. Most notably disabled top speed limiter, enabled shift lights (flashes all segments at 7.5k RPM) and re-calibrated the warmup light sequence to more reasonable temps that doesn't promote WOT at 140F on those poor RBs. Below is a before / after on what I changed. I wrote up a blog post on how to use the software step by step here if anyone is interested: https://www.pynacl.com/blog/tune-your-e46-m3-yourself. Thanks Brian for your work in discovering and learning to use this software!
Stock:

Final:

 

Looks good!

Well I'll call that a success. Ended up cutting the dash console piece in one spot to make room. This spot will allow everything to bolt back together and never be seen. This extra space allowed me to cut back the carpet inside shifter area. 



I made a template of the inside hump piece and traced it on the car to prep for cutting. 

I then proceeded to cut it out carefully with a dremel, not to hit any of the wiring or catch something on fire.


Fits great and shifting feels exactly as it should now! 👍
Now I just have to get some panelbond, seam sealer and rivets to attach it permanently and put all the interior back together. 

Titan trim sucks. Such cheap build quality it shouldn't have even been an option on these cars. Mine was peeling/bubbling on every panel like you see in the photo below. I took all the pieces out, sanded them down with 200/600 grit, then primered and re-painted. Took me two tries because for whatever reason, if you don't use primer, paint has a strange reaction to the bare material and it'll bubble instantly. I ended up using Dupli-color "Storm Gray", which I believe is a GM color. Closest match I could and honestly would be hard to tell the difference. Seems like factory has a bit more warmer hue to it, but even side-by-side it's really close. Also new trim clip pins are $5 a pop!?
Edit: I want aluminum trim

Not since the iconic V12 LMR has BMW been in top tier endurance racing but that changes for 2023 with the LMDh class!  I can't wait to see this car in action!

After all the work last summer the car needed an alignment and KMR did a great job. Looking forward to getting out and testing it on the backroads soon. 
 
 

Car made it nearly flawlessly down to the E30 picnic. Had a great time as I haven't seen most of you in over a year + at this point. Killed 2 birds with 1 stone and was able to help out at the picnic and sell some E36 M3 parts to @wasnt m3.. Only slight problem it had is it started getting hot in stop and go traffic with the AC on. So Shirtless Glen w/ Heat blasting was in full effect leaving the E30 picnic. 
I plan on throwing on the fan shroud to see if that fixes the issue. If not, Ill be looking into installing an OEM clutch fan/ AUX fan to fix the issue.
I drove 4+ hours down to MKE with Waze on my phone running on my lap. Conveniently @B C shows up to the picnic with a E46 Rennline phone mount. Bought that and decided to install it today. Quite an easy install as all I needed was a plastic trim removal tool and a 10mm. (Although all my 10mms were missing). All and all pretty awesome product as its not one of those silly vent attachment styles that ruin your vents after awhile. 
While the trim was off I was able to remove the rest of the CF wrap from the edges. (It started peeling and my passenger at the time felt the need to pick and peel it.) Worked out though because it brightens up the interior of the car and I am actually a fan of the brushed aluminum.
I have some other small detail parts sitting on my shelf waiting for it to stop being 90 degrees so I have some motivation to go out and install them. 
 

Rigged

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

Big thanks to everyone who made it out today. Fantastic turnout as usual, probably 100 cars throughout the day. Also, thanks Glen for helping out with directing traffic! Cool to see Chris Young win the main raffle prize.

Thanks for all your guy’s work. Was good seeing everyone 

I know I say this a lot, but we have a really great group and I always look forward to the picnic. I have made a lot of really great friends through this hobby.
I was most inspired by the blue e92 335i automatic, open diff, with brakes, suspension (stock sways),  and “FBO” mods which according to the owner, has 7000 track miles and ran a personal best 2:37 at RA.
 

First time at the picnic and it was great! Soo much diversity within the e30s and lots of personal touches.

This is always a great time and awesome to see so many faces that I haven't seen in awhile. Thanks again @wasnt m3 and congrats @YoungCR !!!

I was 100% correct about the chorizo.

I was 100% correct about the chorizo.

I was 100% correct about the chorizo.

I'm coming up from North Prairie and coming through Waukesha so depending on where the burritos are I'd be up to get together in the morning.  I haven't had diarrhea in awhile.

Finally got a hold of some OEM wheels. Still cant believe I ran through the rear tires in 6k miles. 😂