Jdesign Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 1 hour ago, GunMetalGrey said: I also made a bit of a sketch for my fender flare idea. I had the idea in my head, and it looked okay there, but it looks a lot better than expected on paper! I could only find a sketch of a lowered e30 and I didn't feel like messing with it that much, so it is just to demonstrate the flare idea . It is kind of what GMC/Chevy (?) use for their flares, the square style fender cutouts. I am going to see if I can find some measurements for the size of what comes off those trucks and see if I can just use a trimmed set. I suppose a junkyard browse wouldn't hurt either, as I think jeeps may use a similar style. I am curious to see what you use. I have had the thought of just using truck flares or something similar on my E36 but I cant find anything that I wont have to cut into 6 parts to make it fit. I was thinking small trucks like an S10 or ranger, also suzuki samurai would be a good one. I only managed to go to one yard to look and came up empty handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 I have a few ideas in mind, but a junkyard run will let me confirm some dimensions and maybe pick something up that will work. You are going on an e36, so the sizing is a bit different but I'll keep an eye out. I'm not opposed to cutting stuff apart for this, so that does open up my options a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdesign Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 1 hour ago, GunMetalGrey said: I have a few ideas in mind, but a junkyard run will let me confirm some dimensions and maybe pick something up that will work. You are going on an e36, so the sizing is a bit different but I'll keep an eye out. I'm not opposed to cutting stuff apart for this, so that does open up my options a bit. Same. I like getting creative with parts from other cars. Let me know if you find something worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Your secondary diff mount drawn up, my friend! Jut have to determine how long the 3 bolt spacers need to be to offset the mount the correct distance from the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 On 10/14/2016 at 8:56 AM, Bassboy3313 said: Your secondary diff mount drawn up, my friend! Jut have to determine how long the 3 bolt spacers need to be to offset the mount the correct distance from the cover. Did you have a diff cover laying next to you? That was quick if those are true dimensions! I am thinking I should go dual ear in both e30's, so I will be using the lifted one as the test bed for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Yes I did. I had an e30 diff cover in the car, so during my lunch break I grabbed it, scanned it into the computer and drew it up quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I wish we had a small scale 3d scanner at work. We use a scanner to scan paper mills through multiple scans and targets which is really cool and useful for work, but we have no use for a smaller scanner ;/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I just used a regular office scanner to scan the bolt pattern on the diff cover, lol m42b32 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Ha, I have totally done that with things before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I am annoyed. I just typed out a whole update and instead of switching tabs I closed the tab. The last saved draft was a response to something else. Well, update later I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserRolls Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I am annoyed. I just typed out a whole update and instead of switching tabs I closed the tab. The last saved draft was a response to something else. Well, update later I guess! Google chrome: ctrl+shift+t Reopens previously closed tabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Correct, but it pulled up a response that I didn't send for another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 It better be a good one since you missed the cruise for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserRolls Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Correct, but it pulled up a response that I didn't send for another thread. Aka pornhub patsbimmer1, Bassboy3313 and YoungCR 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Very late compared to when I said it would happen, but oh well! I got some new shocks in the E V2, and these ones appear to have a bit more stroke than the old ones! While installing the new shocks I was also switching over to vert springs and e46 control arms. Getting the control arms ground down enough was fun, so was using some ratchet straps and 2x4's to get the CAB's on lol. I got the cheapest shocks available, and as it turns out they don't have enough dampening. They seem to be a lot better than the old ones, but not quite what I need them to be. I will address this issue later. A blurry picture of the arm set up, and you can't really tell from the photo but it pushed the hub out 10mm So now the tire is actually sitting outside of the flare. This is with a 10mm spacer, which is required for the tire to not hit the spring perch. I may actually be going with bigger spacers soon because the tires are VERY close to the spring perch. I also need to find longer tie rod ends, as moving the knuckle out 10mm was more than the current tie rod setup can accommodate. I think I will go e90 inner and e36 outer, but am unsure what boot I can use for this setup. If anyone could measure the rough diameter of an e90 steering rack where the boot attaches that would be excellent. I can also be the boot diameter, just so I have some idea as to what I need! So with that being noted, I got some flares that I think will work alright and shall be trying to fit those as time permits. You may be wondering why that tire is all cut up, and I shall share with you. The seam and pinch weld area of the wheel well proved to be a bit of an issue on the last shell and the tire found itself hitting it plenty. This was very evident once I looked up under there! I will grind down this area on the new chassis, and probably weld the seam to ensure that it doesn't split. This should prevent any further tire wear..... though it only happened on the side that lacked the vert springs. This new build is way more legitimate than the last already, as what is being done to one side is being done to the other lol. I played around a bit with the rear travel potential for the car, and found that with the current flares and offsets that I am able to shove the wheel way up into the chassis, and still rotate the wheel. I also found that at full droop I am very close the rocker panel! If the springs would allow it (which they wont) I could get about 13" of travel out of the rear. I am not sure what true travel is, but I should measure the springs to find out! I have been struggling to fit the strut top spacers in the car, and even putting the vert springs in the strut assemblies made getting the knuckle onto the control arm difficult. I have started thinking more about spacing the front subframe down, and adding the spacers to the strut assemblies. I know some v8 guys run subframe spacers to get more clearance for "things" and I may just do the same, but for much different reasons. I think bringing the front subframe down 1" would be excellent, and I would then get rear subframe bushings made to match, and create a new subframe support plate under the bushings. I think I could make a heavily offset diff bushing and still use the same chassis mounting point for it, and the shocks should have a long enough extended length to comply with the increased distance in the rear. This would certainly be a reasonable undertaking, but I am questioning if it would be worth all the time and money for 1 - 1.5" of lift. I am leaning towards it being worthwhile, as even 1" of lift is adding about 10% more height. This would also clear up some of my tire rubbing issues when turning. The only question that I have about subframe spacing is what I need to do with the front control arm bushings, can I leave them in stock position? The geometry on this suspension is going to be wildly f*ed by the time I am done with this.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 I didn't take any pictures of it yet, but I swapped the E cluster into the car, and also put the tan door cards from the previous car into this one. It is very colorful in there now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspenceful Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 14 hours ago, GunMetalGrey said: I have started thinking more about spacing the front subframe down, and adding the spacers to the strut assemblies. I know some v8 guys run subframe spacers to get more clearance for "things" and I may just do the same, but for much different reasons. I think bringing the front subframe down 1" would be excellent, and I would then get rear subframe bushings made to match, and create a new subframe support plate under the bushings. In other words, body lift? Obviously you're going to want as much ground clearance as possible for this car. I wouldn't make anything closer to the ground. Unless by lowering the subframe, you won't lose clearance because you'll just be raising the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 39 minutes ago, suspenceful said: In other words, body lift? Obviously you're going to want as much ground clearance as possible for this car. I wouldn't make anything closer to the ground. Unless by lowering the subframe, you won't lose clearance because you'll just be raising the body. Yes, a body lift. I would not change the ground clearance of the subframe, but it would increase the distance to the rockers and underside of the body. Generally it would be done to fit larger tires, but I would benefit from the height with the current tire size. The only part I am trying to figure out is if I would lower the motor down with the subframe, or attempt to keep it at the stock height which would allow me to build the skid plate 3/4" higher than last time and increasing the ground clearance of the lowest part of the car. The only reason I question this is because I would be lowering the rear subframe, and I am not sure how the driveshaft would like the angle that would be created. I will have to measure the length that the rear shaft would be and see what kind of driveshaft angle I would be running. Lowering the rear subframe would also help correct some of the camber and other weird things I have going on back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdesign Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Awesome update. I would say space out the subframe. I would assume that you could always just space out the CSB from the chasis to make the diveshaft happy again. I also want to know what flares you are going to use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 1 hour ago, Jdesign said: Awesome update. I would say space out the subframe. I would assume that you could always just space out the CSB from the chasis to make the diveshaft happy again. I also want to know what flares you are going to use! I knew that I would be able to space the chassis up from the entire driveline, but ideally I would change the motor mounts to keep the motor at the same height relative to the chassis. This would get the oil pan up higher in the car and my skid plate could be brought up 3/4". The skid plate will be the lowest point on the car, so if I can bring it up .75" and bring the body up 1" I would be in a very good place for ground clearance. It would put me at either 12 or 13 inches from the ground to the lowest point of the rocker panels. I wish they would have put the other U joint behind the CSB (towards the diff) instead of being in the front of the CSB! I may start by spacing the rear down and seeing how the driveshaft likes it! As far as flares go, I will probably keep that one under wraps until I have one side done. If anyone wants a free shell, come bring a trailer to Appleton! I will need to get the E out of the shop soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straight6pwr Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 i have no idea if this is even in the realm of sanity, but I saved my factory e34 rear coilovers if you want them. quick assumption would be you would have to cut/weld wider rear shock towers if you wanted to use them as a whole unit. or, possibly you could use just the shock as I imagine they are longer and have stiffer dampening (that's what she said) than e30 stuff due to the extra weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 16 hours ago, straight6pwr said: i have no idea if this is even in the realm of sanity, but I saved my factory e34 rear coilovers if you want them. quick assumption would be you would have to cut/weld wider rear shock towers if you wanted to use them as a whole unit. or, possibly you could use just the shock as I imagine they are longer and have stiffer dampening (that's what she said) than e30 stuff due to the extra weight. Can you measure the "eye to eye" length of the setup? The only issue I see with using them is how much of an arc I am making with the mounting point on the trailing arm, and making an upper mount to suit this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straight6pwr Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted October 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Start with the fender you don't care about. It makes life easier and less painful. Add some tape, and a bit of sharpie. Grab the grinder, make some cuts. Set flare on the fender. Realize that you are extremely happy with the way things are going. Next step, removal fender from other car. Feel bad for a few moments about what you are about to do to an almost perfect fender. Clear those feelings out by realizing that the paint on the lower portion is half white and half black, and that there is a weird indent in the upper corner of the fender. Touch the grinder to the fender, realize that what you have done is now irreversible. Then start enjoying it. Grab some clamps, get the flare to stay on the fender. Push the lifeless shell of the previous E out of the way, and admire what you have created. I need to trim up the front to match the flare to the fender, but this was obviously just a quick mock up. The fitment surprises me, and they will need very little work to fit almost perfectly. The stanceboi in me wants to lower the flares so they sit more flush with the tires, but then I remember that doing that would kind of defeat the purpose. The rears don't make me happy yet, and I need to spend some more time with them to figure out how I want to handle that. Some goodies should be arriving today for the car, and will give me plenty to work on this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Are those from an XJ?? That looks awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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