TrapHouse's 528i??

[TrapHouse]

2020

Fitting the wiring for the door tweeters.




I knew that I was gonna throw out the old garbage shocks and springs so I opted for the Eibach Sportline sprngs and Sachs shocks.






Didn't really like the look of 0053 on a classic car like E34 so I sold them off and got BBS RC 035/038 replica wheels, also staggered - 8x17 ET20 and 9x17 ET20 - perfect fitment for the E34.



Wanted to try out the ZHP shift knob, knew that the cheap knockoffs are going to be garbage so I ordered a brand new one straight from BMW. As well as door tweeter mounts for me and my friend. Below you can see the E60 short shifter + ZHP shift knob combo.





The front shocks and brake rotors finally arrived. Installing them proved to be a challenge... Nothing that an angle grinder can't fix. Finally installing the front springs after tackling the rusty shocks. Made sure I install 3mm spring pads on both sides for the extra LOWZ.









Brake calipers were shot so they needed refurbishing.







Found a worn out Mtech 2 steering wheel so I knew I had to have it - before and after.




Fitted a set of brand new HiFi speakers for the footwells.



The car's interior back in 2016 versus 2020.




Brand new rubber for the BBS reps. I chose Federal Evoluzion ST 1 based on good reviews online. I also stuck with the OEM sizes - 235/45ZR17 in the front and 255/40ZR17 in the back.




Decided to switch things around with the shift knob, should've chosen this one in the first place. The ZHP one, in my opinion, doesn't fit the E34 interior, so I sold to a friend of mine who has an E46 and bought this one instead.





Started prepping for the annual technical inspection and got carried away with the interior again. First item was the leather handle for the handbrake, mine originally was plastic. Then a set of HiFi speakers for the rear to complete the set, the audio now sounds amazing, can't ask for more out of a 20+ year old system.






For the annual inspection I had to finally fix my broken down exhaust, so I kinda made two out of one. Kept the X pipe and the resonators in the front and kept the rear E32 silencer from my old exhaust system. The E32 silencer is definitely bigger and heavier than the stock 525i one.







This was a quick run down on what's been done over the past 2 years. Plus it was a chance for me to make sure my English skills are still intact. If you have any questions feel free to drop them down below.

As of July 2020 the car looks like this.

[moroza]

Pix fail.

[TrapHouse]

Damn, imgur let me down. Any recommendations?

[tymhm]

I've had good luck with https://imgbb.com/ on another forum.

Been enjoying your thread so far, and can agree that people tend to throw things away, rather than at the very least attempting to fix them. Not to mention the overall mindset that you must constantly have the latest and greatest of everything, rather than being thankful for what you have.

[E34Driv3r]

Nice work. Your engine looks immaculate. 🙂

[TrapHouse]

Last few posts have been updated with pictures. Here's hoping this host will work for everyone.
Also fitted a set of new trunk struts, because the previous ones were 480N - meant for trunk covers with a spoiler so pretty much whenever I opened the trunk it would fly out open.

[runn3r]

Cool build man! Keep it up.

Every e34 has that rust spot near that hole in the drivers footwell..

BTW are those Dare RS's?

[moroza]

Pix work! Looks great! Who re-covered your MTech 2? What's the difference between black and red Eibach springs, and how does yours ride?

[TrapHouse]

The brand for these wheels to me is unknown. I can certainly say that they are not Japan Racing or Dare RS, because those have a step up lip/dish. These ones are pretty much the identical copy or BBS RC 035/038 wheels. I had the opportunity to buy OEM E31 spec Style 5s which were 8x17 ET10 and 9x17 ET19, but the price was too steep for me and they were in need of refurbishing which would set me back nearly 2000 euros (including the price of the wheels).

The steering wheel was redone by a local E30 fanatic, who, according to what I was told, is the president of the E30 club in Latvia. The difference between the red vs black or pro-kit vs sportline is in the ride height in the front. The sportlines are 50/30mm whereas pro-kit is around 35/30mm. I recommend the Sportlines, because I think that's the perfect ride height. We did the same kit on an E46 and the car was pretty much dropped to its floor - too low for me. For some reason it seems like lowering the E34 chassis is a little harder.
The ride quality is as it was expected - moderately stiff and the steering is very responsive. A huge role in the handling also plays the rebuilt rear subframe and the brand new tires I believe. The Sachs shocks do their job just fine. I wanted to go for Koni Sports, but they were a little too expensive for my taste.