Some upgrades to my 97

[SPhilly28]

Got a few new pieces for the old girl this winter. CSl type carbon box from Motorsports Concepts in Germany, Alpha N DME, and Supersprint cat back exhaust. Also did a rebuild on the vanos and a valve adjustment. Can't wait to get her out on the road this spring!

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[JJJames]

Mind if I ask where you sourced the SS exhaust? Also, how did you find installation/fitment of the airbox?

[SPhilly28]

I bought the SS exhaust through Turner. I went back and forth with SS directly and Doug at Turner, but his prices were better than we could get direct. Took a long time though, I ordered in Sept, and it was xmas time before it showed up. The muffler is the Racing version and it was factory backordered.

Airbox fitment was excellent all around. This was the third box we have brought in from German John. It required throttle bracket modification, a little tweak of the oil dipstick, and lengthening/rerouting of IAC valve hose and breather hose. Also I used an E46 style brake booster check valve that was a 90 deg style fitting and bought a new length of vacuum hose to fit.

[kovrol]

nice work, load up some vids and a dyno graph...engine is stock or with Schrick cams?

[SPhilly28]

I'll get some vids up in the next few weeks. We are still dealing with the last bits of winter and salty roads. I'm heading to the dyno soon as I can. I will probably spike my fuel up to around 93 as all we can get at the pumps is marginal 91.

No cams yet. On the list for next winter likely. I have only briefly looked into specs though so no idea which way to go yet. Last summer the vanos was acting up, lots of bog/surge at low rpm, and a bit weak down low. Hoping the refresh will restore some of that. Seals were like plastic lol. Also my valves were a mile out. 12 shims ordered from Germany was not cheap!

[MParallel]

Looks nice. Ex SMG, shame :)

[SPhilly28]

Haha, I am so glad it is not SMG. It was swapped poorly before I bought it. Shift carrier bushing was u bolted to the trans tunnel, detents were cotter pinned in place, and they messed up the torsion spring setup. The shifter was horrible. I ended up welding in the carrier support bracket, and sourced an E46 M3 6spd. I'll prob get a local machine shop to repair the stock bellhousing, but not too worried for now. I also got rid of the centre console switches and displays with standard E36 pieces. Really the only evidence left are the brackets under the hood and some wiring. All good!

[SPhilly28]

So I've got this up and running now and am slowly working the bugs out of the Alpha N tune. All I can say is the generic tune floating around, specifically the so called Group N tune, is not so good for driveability. I picked up a used dme on here that was reported to be an Azevedo Motorsports tune. I'm sure they are just reflashing whatever was originally given to them though. Its not great, is very rich at idle, very rich at cruise, and bogs a bit around 3500rpm when applying throttle quickly. Once you get above 4k or so and right up to redline it works extremely well. But it is the lower rpm driveability stuff and fuel consumption that needs fine tuning. I have an S54 E36 race car I built that runs a carbon box and Alpha N on a MSS54HP stock dme and the power delivery is flawless from idle to redline in all throttle positions. I'm in contact with the guy who supplied the tune for this setup to see if I can get a similar tune for the S50. I've also looked into the VEMS pnp ecu, but don't really want to go that route. If I do a standalone I would rather build a harness to ditch all the 20 yr old wires and connectors.

Anyway, I'm learning quickly how to drive around the bog, and I'm going to the dyno later this week to confirm the A/F and that it is safe. I'm pretty certain based on the tailpipe that it is rich though lol. Car rips up top and sounds fantastic!

[JJJames]

Very jealous. I just ordered the SS race from Turner and was shocked when it shipped within a couple of days...but unfortunately one of the tips was dented/dinged so it had to go back (crushing disappointment). Now I'm waiting "4 to 6 weeks" for a replacement.

[MParallel]

Haha, I am so glad it is not SMG. ...

I'm sure you do, but I'm one of a select few that would vouch for it. It's not as bad as you would think or read. It's been 20 years now, and we know more now than dealers did back then, changing complete gearboxes when a shift interlock bowden cable needed replacement.

[SPhilly28]

"Not as bad as you think" is not a very glowing review lol. I've driven a ton of smg e46s, they are def not for me. I've also swapped a couple to 6 SPD for customers and they have been very happy with the change. It is way too unreliable and finicky, plus costly to repair. I like the DCT, and PDK, but for me smg is no good.

[SPhilly28]

Here's a couple videos I made today.


https://youtu.be/VgIYH4TXOhA


https://youtu.be/NKReW3Nkv5s

[Dejo325i]

Love the sounds from both. How much $$$$ was the airbox?

[SPhilly28]

It is very addictive to run it up to redline all the time!

The Airbox was like 1700 euros.

[SPhilly28]

Some updates on my car. I haven't been driving it too much, the tuning is not so great for just cruising around. Very hard on fuel and a bit choked up in low rpm, large throttle changes. I've decided to go with a VEMS pnp standalone dme. I thought about using a North American tuner like Epic to do a custom AN tune for me but I'm more interested in getting some more functionality out of the dme like wideband, egt, aux outputs, logging etc. Also I will prob do cams next year so this will give me more tuning flexibility. I ordered from Gunni at GSTuning, I have worked with him previously in motorsports so I was comfortable dealing with him and trust his tuning. He already has base maps for the S50B32 ready to go and has modified it for our shit 91 fuel. Now the waiting begins, 7-8 weeks for delivery.

[SPhilly28]

I got the VEMS pnp quite a bit ahead of schedule. Its been installed since late July. Installation was very straight forward, ran the wideband O2, and mounted a different version air temp sensor. Base setup out of the box was not so great, but over the next few weeks in between our own busy schedules Gunni was able to get the dual vanos working properly and we are now starting to tune for fuel. Once we get the fuel mapped out I will hit the dyno with it to get some base numbers. Happy with it so far, and anyone who is thinking of doing a standalone I would def recommend the VEMS pnp if you aren't fully ready to invest in a harness or high end setup. Good kit for the price and Gunni has gone to great lengths to help with the setup.

[SPhilly28]

Storage update.

I've decided to do some prepping for local auto x this year. I ran the wife's 2016 GTI PP last year with good results, but missed driving rwd. I'm going to prep it for a regional only SM street tire class and run on RE71R's. I'm not going to do anything ridiculous like cut up the body and run 315 Hoosiers. I picked up a couple Sparco Grid seats, an OMP steering wheel and removed the backseat. I had taken the Supersprint middle section out and reinstalled my stock cats as there was a weird buzz. I've taken the stock back out and welded a couple Magnaflow 4" race mufflers ahead of the x and it seems to have tamed the buzz. I picked up a Z3 quick ratio steering rack, finally pulled the front subframe and welded in reinforcements. I'm also swapping in a 5 spd Trans from a US spec M3 to drop a few more lbs, and doing a Rogue Octane shifter with it. Lastly I finally was able to source some Schrick 284's and they are on the way. Still a couple months of shit weather, and then hit the dyno!

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[MauiM3Mania]

Losing that weird buzz probably cost you 30 lbs. The stock exhaust is a beast in regards to weight.

[SPhilly28]

Maybe even more than 30 lbs! It killed me to put the stock cats back in, but I had to try it out to see if it would help. The Magnaflows added to the SS centre prob only added 5 lbs max, so there is still a good weight savings. Hopefully when I get her back on the road in April it will be buzz free under load. Also the process of tuning has been on the rich side so far and I was concerned about cat damage, and who doesn't like the sweet smell of a hot exhaust with no cats lol.

[weedshoes]

Exhaust with no cats stays way cooler

[MauiM3Mania]

Exhaust with no cats stays way cooler

But it sure isn't cool to behind a catless car.

[SPhilly28]

Schrick 284's are in. I have a Beisan rattle kit to install, and the valve cover gasket didn't survive removal, so have to wait for a new one from Germany.


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[MauiM3Mania]

Maybe I overlooked it, but how many miles on the engine (VANOS)?

[SPhilly28]

105,000kms. Its pretty clean inside. Doesn't use any oil, no leaks. I had the Vanos off last winter and did all the seals. No issues with the solenoids, and cams are moving properly. I didn't bother with the rattle kit then, but I'm doing it now along with the hub bolts and sprocket hub diaphragm springs and pressure plates. Last winter I also did all the crankcase breather stuff and knock sensors, basically all the under air box parts. I'm happy with the overall health of the engine, and it will get pushed this summer. I have really only been putting about 3-5k kms a summer on it. My one real concern is the wiring harness. The plastic sheathing is getting pretty crunchy from age and I'm a bit worried about damaged wires. I have no idea if there are any new old stock harnesses kicking around or not.

[barkmancosmosm3]

Just had a eargasm listening to that intake, you got a link where I can get one?

[SPhilly28]

Just had a eargasm listening to that intake, you got a link where I can get one?

http://store.motorsportsconcepts.com

[SPhilly28]

So the car is officially ready for this summer and full time autocross duty. Finished the diet and the car came in at 2890 lbs. I'm happy with that, I may pick up a lightweight battery to drop a few more, but it's good where it is.

I also did a good dyno session today. We did a bunch of steady state tuning for driveability and then did some pulls to get the fuel and cams fully sorted. Very happy with the outcome. We used a Mustang dyno which is known to read lower than other brands, but still put out 284whp and 222 lb ft Torque. Pulls hard all the way to redline at 7800rpm, and the torque is flat from 3 to 7k. Super fun to drive!

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[SPhilly28]

Here's a video from an autox event we ran this weekend. Very happy with how the car is working. So much fun to drive!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYNxsFU-Mcg

[MauiM3Mania]

What steering rack do you have fitted? Mine (stock) needs to be quickened up for auto-x use.

[SPhilly28]

It's the standard z3 with limiters from Turner to save my fender liners lol

[weedshoes]

That looks like the most boring autocross course in history.

[digger]

not enough WOT

[SPhilly28]

What do you want, a musical act and light show to go with it? Its a 60 ft wide airstrip, we don't have a ton of options or stadium parking lots here to run on. Where's your video sample of a non boring autocross course so I can have a reference?

[weedshoes]

Not my video, but this is my favorite autocross club. The guy driving designed the course. I'd help him set up when I was active on the club committee. I'm pretty sure I helped set up this event.

https://youtu.be/RPveWeUv4-g

60 ft is very limiting.

Edit:
I definitely helped set that one up because I won my class that year.

[SPhilly28]

Here's a new video from our last local event, Sorry the vew is a bit low, it's suction cup mounted to the passenger seat. I've got a racermount thing to try next time.

We now have access to a fairly large area and are playing around on setup designs for it. This course was pretty quick, flowed nicely, and was a lot of fun. The area we have has been segmented with speed bumps across the runway width, we are looking into the possibility of cutting a 20 ft pathway to extend our course. This style with an extra 20 seconds would have been perfect.

Car is working well, a bit of a handful under full power/high rpm. I'm only running 245 RE71R's and they are great on turn in but not so great on power down. I'm going to tear down my diff next week and freshen it/add an extra clutch pack and see if I can get a bit more forward bite. I really am happy on the street tires and don't really wan to visit flares yet.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-XUVRrPv9k

[Sameh 850i]

Hi

May i ask what was the whp figures before the cams and the mentioned tunes?
and did you feel significant difference regarding the budget you paid for it overall,and last do you recommend it to other users,thanks very much..

[SPhilly28]

I didn't dyno before starting my upgrades. My mildly accurate butt dyno says with all my mods I have got be be at least 40hp over stock. 285whp on a Mustang dyno before the headers and with street tuning only it is stronger from 4500 up right now. I am hoping to hit the dyno before the snow flies to really dial it in but it will depend on time and availability. I love it though, it really screams now, it's an addictive sound and a really nice push of power.

I don't have a budget for this car, it is my fun car. It ties in with my work and I pick a few things to upgrade every winter when the car is stored. It certainly helps to be in the automotive industry and get wholesale pricing, and also to do all my own work. Otherwise it could spiral out of control quite quickly. My biggest concern is trying to ride the fine line between reversible and permanent mods. One side of me says gut it, flare it, and cage it. The other says don't do anything you can't reverse lol. It's such a nice clean chassis, and as much as I don't want to think about it, it could become a valuable car as the years go on and US importation becomes a reality.

[Sameh 850i]

Thanks for sharing...