Z3 OT: Your "other" cars

[328 Power 04]

IMG_20171227_161532re.jpg


The puzzle is back together again, and no lost pieces.


OH. And I found an extra key/fob in the glovebox... so that was nice.

[Jamesons Viggen]

My Saab 9-5 wagon got this lovely turbo, its a stock Td04HL on the outside but gutted to put in a billet 20T wheel and 7cm hotside:

I bought this lovely manifold to go with it:


On E85 my tuner has dynos of the exact same setup putting down 391whp/440ft lbs.

Even with an LSD and 245 Pilot SS's that's too much to plant with FWD. I am going to tq limit it to about 300ft lbs in 1st, 330ft lbs in 2nd, then let the flood gates open in 3-5th.

[ZGator]

IMG_20171227_161532re.jpg


The puzzle is back together again, and no lost pieces.


OH. And I found an extra key/fob in the glovebox... so that was nice.

Nice work! have you driven it? next is a manual conversion?

[328 Power 04]

Nice work! have you driven it? next is a manual conversion?

I put about 100 miles on it so far. All working well so far. Drives amazingly well.
My transfer case actuator motor/module seems to be acting up (likely due to water entry into transfer case), so AWD is disabled for now and car is a fun 2wd. I contemplated just coding out the error. I'm a bit too picky for that.. so I ordered a used transfer case actuator/module

By the way, I don't know who this is, here http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1426356 but he took dozens of pics of the transfer case apart (amazing), and there isn't much that can go wrong except for the actuator.


Waiting for 1 seat motor to arrive in the mail. 1 out of 8 failed. Not too bad.


Manual conversion will happen, but first some licensing examinations and then finding the transmission in Europe to ship over.
I do have to say, the ZF 8HP is an incredibly good transmission.

[Cincyenginerd]

No real pictures yet, but I picked up a fully loaded 2015 Chevy Volt a few weeks ago. Fantastic car - I think i'm a convert to the electric car movement because it's amazingly easy to drive around town, it has "enough" guts for a daily driver, and I can charge at work and make my commute on the company's dime. And I can keep my Roadster for weekends or whenever it's nice out.

[eribbs]

Current:
'99 Z3 2.8
'15 Audi Q5 TDI - daily
'85 Jeep Grand Wagoneer - slowly fixing up, used to be my grandfather's
'66 Porsche 912 - being restored after a fender-bender on a spirited drive

Past:
'10 Mini Cooper S
'04 Range Rover
'11 BMW 328i coupe
'04 BMW X5 4.4i sport
'06 Audi A4 3.2 quattro
'94 BMW 525i
'94 Saab 900S
'63 Chevy C10 short bed stepside

[328 Power 04]

I put about 100 miles on it so far. All working well so far. Drives amazingly well.
My transfer case actuator motor/module seems to be acting up (likely due to water entry into transfer case), so AWD is disabled for now and car is a fun 2wd. I contemplated just coding out the error. I'm a bit too picky for that.. so I ordered a used transfer case actuator/module

By the way, I don't know who this is, here http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1426356 but he took dozens of pics of the transfer case apart (amazing), and there isn't much that can go wrong except for the actuator.


Waiting for 1 seat motor to arrive in the mail. 1 out of 8 failed. Not too bad.


Manual conversion will happen, but first some licensing examinations and then finding the transmission in Europe to ship over.
I do have to say, the ZF 8HP is an incredibly good transmission.

Got some Leatherique for a good deep cleaning and conditioning of the leather:


IMG_20180116_093139re.jpg



Left the conditioning oil for over a day to penetrate
IMG_20180114_092402ed.jpg

Then cleaned with the cleaner
IMG_20180114_101457re.jpg


Dirtiest spot on seat is like new. Also did the steering wheel and the armrests.

IMG_20180120_144622re.jpg





I tuned the ecu for more power last week. I did a conservative +20% fueling which woke up the car immensely.
I had spent a good 2-3 months gathering data and correct tuning methods for the 328d, and built a good tune from scratch. The car is so alive now!
Calculated at 220hp and 330ft-lbs now, and it can take quite a bit more. All without sacrificing the mpgs.

[ZGator]

Got some Leatherique for a good deep cleaning and conditioning of the leather:


IMG_20180116_093139re.jpg



Left the conditioning oil for over a day to penetrate
IMG_20180114_092402ed.jpg

Then cleaned with the cleaner
IMG_20180114_101457re.jpg


Dirtiest spot on seat is like new. Also did the steering wheel and the armrests.

IMG_20180120_144622re.jpg





I tuned the ecu for more power last week. I did a conservative +20% fueling which woke up the car immensely.
I had spent a good 2-3 months gathering data and correct tuning methods for the 328d, and built a good tune from scratch. The car is so alive now!
Calculated at 220hp and 330ft-lbs now, and it can take quite a bit more. All without sacrificing the mpgs.

I used Leatherique for the first time on the Z3 this summer - wish I did it sooner, I hope the cracks in my driver seat hold out for some more years, this leather system really does do a good job at getting out the embedded dirt and adding moisture suppleness - should really do the E90, and every other damn leather I sit on in cars or out..

wow some nice torque you got there! what mpgs you getting? jealously deepens..

[jrkoupe]

crazy torque there 328d......wow

[BimmerBreaker]

Awesome work Abel!

I went to look at a potential parts car X5 4.6is with a bad engine today, popped up cheap on the local craigslist with the cloth interior and I wanted to swap it into my car

When I got there though man, it was pretty sketchy. Paint was all shot which was ok, it was a parts car, but I look inside and there was lip gloss spilled all over the passenger seat which I don't think would have come out cleanly. Looked underneath and it was missing the midpipe, looked around and the diff (4.6 had a special diff) looked to be tampered with. Started to look under the hood and it started to look like someone shoved a bad 4.4 in there and plucked the 4.6 out! Needless to say I left... sad!

[Jamesons Viggen]

Her '15 Regal which is really an Opel has been a great car.


We drove the new '18 Sportback and again loved it.


The problem is the car is so new that lease rates blow. We also wanted AWD this time and they stock very few AWD cars.


Meanwhile the Cadillac ATS, all leases are based on AWD. The downfall to the ATS is rearseat legroom but we rarely have people back there.


We drove one Friday, a Luxury model which comes loaded(heated steering wheel, nav, memory seats etc). The thing has better steering, handling and brakes than a similar BMW 3 series. The 8spd auto was pretty damn good, not BMW ZF good, but good. It's damn quick, I even got the rear tires to chirp from a dig. It's been quoted at 5.4 to 60 and 14.1 @99mph. Chip/intake and tune nets mid 13's at 106mph. It's 100-150 lbs lighter than our FWD Regal and gets slightly better MPGs.


The price came out to $60 more a month than our current Regal but $70 less than the new Regal yet has a $10k higher MSRP.


So here it is, Phantom Gray over light Platinum. We take delivery in a few weeks.

[BimmerBreaker]

Congratulations

Can you do me a favor? Drop a curved ruler off at Cadillac when you pick up the car. Still looks like they only have straight edges at their design office

[Jamesons Viggen]

Congratulations

Can you do me a favor? Drop a curved ruler off at Cadillac when you pick up the car. Still looks like they only have straight edges at their design office

LOL, yeah the Arts and Science theme of the past decade is umm growing old. But you can say you know a Cadillac from a distance away-more and more cars are kind of anonymous blobs. The new cars are going to mimic the Escala which is a great looking car. I am a bit biased as I am currently modeling it for my Clay Certification.

[BimmerBreaker]

That's really cool! Would love if you shared more of that process and the finished product

Was my dream to be a car designer as a kid, then cars got uglier and I lost interest

[Jamesons Viggen]

That's really cool! Would love if you shared more of that process and the finished product

Was my dream to be a car designer as a kid, then cars got uglier and I lost interest

Will do!

This thing is a beast at 1/4 scale. I've laid down 35lbs of clay so far easy and looks to need another 3-4. What many don't know is there is a foam sub structure so you aren't building up pure clay. The clay is expensive as its specific to the auto industry and usually comes from Japan.

[BimmerBreaker]

Do you have to model it using just those images, or is a wireframe type render provided? I imagine it would be very hard to get the correct depth and shape of minor contours on the sides of the car in particular if relying solely on the shading in the image?

[328 Power 04]

I used Leatherique for the first time on the Z3 this summer - wish I did it sooner, I hope the cracks in my driver seat hold out for some more years, this leather system really does do a good job at getting out the embedded dirt and adding moisture suppleness - should really do the E90, and every other damn leather I sit on in cars or out..

wow some nice torque you got there! what mpgs you getting? jealously deepens..

I am unsure how accurate the live mpg display is, on VW it's very optimistic (VW often displays 55mpg when getting 42 at best..), but before and afters on same scaling show an improvement. I haven't had a chance to do any good long freeway miles, with whole tank averages.

On the display I now get 42mpg at steady 80mph flat road on cruise, 2000rpm.
It used to be 38-39mpg, but with EGR tuned to off after engine warmup, and some other tricks, it's a bit better.

When it does the diesel particulate filter regenerations (extra fuel post injections to heat the DPF), it drops to 33mpg at same speed, same conditions. Looking into reducing regeneration frequency on next revision.

If my downpipe decided to shed its DPF/NSC and adblue systems, along with the 9 sensors involved... I think I would gain another 2-4mpg to average. I have now correctly identified how to keep the car electronics happy if that were to happen.

[Jamesons Viggen]

Do you have to model it using just those images, or is a wireframe type render provided? I imagine it would be very hard to get the correct depth and shape of minor contours on the sides of the car in particular if relying solely on the shading in the image?

What you see in the pics all the reference material we are provided. A lot of data is there, but yes a lot of it comes down to eye and interpretation.

[RickySixx6]

IMG_6150.jpg

[BimmerBreaker]

Z8's are cooler

[amancuso]

Some really nice rides here.

Here are the rides in my current stable.

2000 Z3 2.3 5 spd manual
1999 528i Sport
2003 M5
2004 X5 4.8iS
2016 VW Jetta Sport (Other half's ride)
2017 VW Jetta Sport (My work vehicle)

[ZGator]

Will do!

This thing is a beast at 1/4 scale. I've laid down 35lbs of clay so far easy and looks to need another 3-4. What many don't know is there is a foam sub structure so you aren't building up pure clay. The clay is expensive as its specific to the auto industry and usually comes from Japan.

Looks like an Audi A7 to me, which is not a bad thing.. After driving my nephews ATS we both agreed that Cadillac is trying to be more BMW than BMW these days.

[ZGator]

I am unsure how accurate the live mpg display is, on VW it's very optimistic (VW often displays 55mpg when getting 42 at best..), but before and afters on same scaling show an improvement. I haven't had a chance to do any good long freeway miles, with whole tank averages.

On the display I now get 42mpg at steady 80mph flat road on cruise, 2000rpm.
It used to be 38-39mpg, but with EGR tuned to off after engine warmup, and some other tricks, it's a bit better.

When it does the diesel particulate filter regenerations (extra fuel post injections to heat the DPF), it drops to 33mpg at same speed, same conditions. Looking into reducing regeneration frequency on next revision.

If my downpipe decided to shed its DPF/NSC and adblue systems, along with the 9 sensors involved... I think I would gain another 2-4mpg to average. I have now correctly identified how to keep the car electronics happy if that were to happen.

you dirty boy you! My Treg TDI will stay stock for a while, since I just had it 'fixed' (to get about $10k + extended warranties), I know this added 2 more sensors and a new CAT? the extended warranty covers all the emissions equipment, after that's up, then such fun might begin, especially if there are issues.

There are a couple well known TDI tuners out there Malone, and another brand that escapes my mind - as you are probably well aware, are we seeing the development of the 'Abel' BMW diesel stage 1 and 2 tunes?

[328 Power 04]

you dirty boy you! My Treg TDI will stay stock for a while, since I just had it 'fixed' (to get about $10k + extended warranties), I know this added 2 more sensors and a new CAT? the extended warranty covers all the emissions equipment, after that's up, then such fun might begin, especially if there are issues.

There are a couple well known TDI tuners out there Malone, and another brand that escapes my mind - as you are probably well aware, are we seeing the development of the 'Abel' BMW diesel stage 1 and 2 tunes?

I will likely not be selling/developing any commercial tunes. The tuning business is way too cutthroat, with constant mudslinging to gain a few customers.
(In another part of my life, I am neck deep in my healthcare career, which will be much more lucrative as a long term thing. This is purely for fun/satisfaction.)


I am aware of Malone, and they are developing some BMW stuff now as well. I don't like certain aspects of their business handling, so I would rather learn to do it myself.


However I am getting a lot of help + tips and tricks from a major US based VW TDI tuner whom I've befriended over the years. He and I are on the same trust level, and he was a huge reason for my VW TDI knowledge. He doesn't do BMW, but does ultra custom VW stuff.
The BMW Bosch ecu and VW TDI bosch ecu has VERY similar parameters, and I found a lot of ideas/processes cross over.
After doing some favors for some other people, I received certain files that help with tune file definitions (identification of which data is what), so I am able to identify and define a bunch of the maps.
Knowing what to do with the maps is a whole different story.
That is where my aforementioned buddy helped quite a bit with methodology.
In exchange for his help, I have been sending him my definitions/documentation, tunes + data logging, and my complete process (all according to his methods afterall), in hopes that he will jump fully onto BMW too.
Defining the most important maps in the tune took at least 2 months, and there's so much more to identify. Every time I look at it, I find more interesting things to do, and add it to the list of maps.


The goal is 230-240hp and 350ft-lbs with emissions equipment attached, and no weirdness in car behavior. Without emissions equipment, tuners in Europe and at least 1 in North America have gotten over 225whp and 380ft-lbs, which is downright amazing. The turbo from the new 4 cylinder diesel BMW engine (the "B47") will allow for even more. B47 is coming to the states in 1 or 2 years, so it will be great to have parts.
The current turbo is tough enough, runs up to 25-26psi in stock tune (!), and can take a little more.. the B47 turbo has even better characteristics. It's a super top of the line ceramic bearing Honeywell turbo.

[robb1887]

Turns out I am NOT a drop top daily driver guy.

I'll be selling the 06 M3V likely soon and have my sights on possibly getting into an 01+ E39M5. If anyone is interested in trading or letting me test drive one locally to see how I feel about them let me know.

Also kicking around the idea of dropping a Toyota V8 into the 4Runner and driving it daily again as I miss my "bigger" vehicle. So keeping an eye out for a 2UZ swap donor.