2002 S54 BMW M Coupe Build Thread

[KBH22102]

Bottom line is there a measurable Hp / torque gain or add you mainly reshaping the dyno curves?

[moupe54]

Bottom line is there a measurable Hp / torque gain or add you mainly reshaping the dyno curves?

The airbox is known to pick up a mere 10-20 horsepower which is pretty negligible. Its all about the engine porn and the sound honestly

[moupe54]

Just wanted to share some recent photos!

[moupe54]

Today I've won a war with paint I've been fighting since I bought the coupe back in 2018. When I bought this car, the paint was almost completely shot. A meticulous owner's worst nightmare is having nice paint, especially when the car is daily driven. Since repainting the car almost entirely, it was finally time to dial it in and coat it.
I never had a proper garage big enough to fit a car in, but I had to come up with a solution for this project because you aren't supposed to compound and polish a car in the hot sun. I stuck half of my car in the garage out of the sun and split the car in two for this process. by the time it was time to coat, the sun was gone.
9:00 - 11:00: Wash, decontamination, clay bar
11:00 - 4:30: Compound
4:30 - 6:30: Polish
6:30 - 8:00: Ceramic Coating
8:00 - 9:00: Reload Spray
12 hours spent to make the coupe's paint absolutely perfect has certainly paid off.
Products used: Bauer DA Polisher, Meguiars 105 and 205, Mothers Clay bar kit, Carpro eraser spray, Autogeek 6 pack of polishing pads, Carpro Cquartz UK 3.0 ceramic coating.

[nahvkolaj]

That coupe is absolutely gleaming. I’ve never detailed a car before; never had one with paint good enough to do it. Sounds like a huge job for one guy.

[moupe54]

That coupe is absolutely gleaming. I’ve never detailed a car before; never had one with paint good enough to do it. Sounds like a huge job for one guy.

Thank you! it was a huge amount of work. 12 hours non stop with the exception of a sandwich. I kinda understand now why people charge $600.00 - $1,200.00 for the job

[solimans]

Dude that’s like glass. Thanks for sharing


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[Cos270]

Just wanted to share some recent photos!

How do you like those pedals? Are they the bimmerworld or turner ones? I've been eyeing the black anodized versions for my E36...

[moupe54]

Dude that’s like glass. Thanks for sharing


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Thanks!

How do you like those pedals? Are they the bimmerworld or turner ones? I've been eyeing the black anodized versions for my E36...

I love these pedals. here's the link to them, they were a gift from my ex-girlfriend
https://www.ultimatepedals.com/bmw/3-series/manual_basic_deluxe.html

[Charlie1990]

Really stellar job! I'm in love

[moupe54]

Ran into 100,000 miles on the m coupe today. I daily drive this car right now, so I knew this was going to happen soon. For most people owning these cars, they are worried about the milage, but I'm a #NEVERSELL, so why save the car for anyone else. I love the idea of a super high milage car thats in better shape than a super low milage car. That's always been the goal for me.
cheers, to another 100,000 miles

[solimans]

Cheers, sir! Hope you make it to a million

Just hit 200k recently...


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[MartyBtoo]

Totally agree with the sentiment expressed. My S54 Coupe now has 113K miles on it, and has never needed any oil added between 5K mile changes. I've put 86K miles on it since I purchased it.

Marty

[BlueM3Racer]

Great info on the carbon airbox, Nick. I've been on the fence on that mod for years and years. So the secret is utilizing the CSL flap? I've leaned in hard on the exhaust side of things & still need to install my SS stepped headers & SS race mufflers to replace/upgrade my AA CSL replica headers and SS sport exhaust, but a carbon airbox would perhaps be the cherry on top someday.

Paint looks amazing too. Know how much hard work that entails. You're killing it, man. Love all the content you're giving us.

[moupe54]

Cheers, sir! Hope you make it to a million

Just hit 200k recently...

Thanks! thats crazy, keep on driving!

Totally agree with the sentiment expressed. My S54 Coupe now has 113K miles on it, and has never needed any oil added between 5K mile changes. I've put 86K miles on it since I purchased it.

Marty

Good for you, its great hearing other S54 guys really stacking miles on the car. so many are concerned with resale value. Yes, its for good reason on the collectors side but as an enthusiast, its nice to see them moving around

Great info on the carbon airbox, Nick. I've been on the fence on that mod for years and years. So the secret is utilizing the CSL flap? I've leaned in hard on the exhaust side of things & still need to install my SS stepped headers & SS race mufflers to replace/upgrade my AA CSL replica headers and SS sport exhaust, but a carbon airbox would perhaps be the cherry on top someday.

Paint looks amazing too. Know how much hard work that entails. You're killing it, man. Love all the content you're giving us.

Appreciate all the kind words. Its a labor of love that I love sharing, especially if I feel I've learned something that could benefit others.
As far as the Airbox, I'll be sure to update this thread on that soon. Should finally be here within next week and will be installing very soon after. I'm gonna make a lengthy post about it with all the details including my impressions and comparison vs stock. keep an eye on this thread and I'll share all I know. So far, as far as I'm told, the set up I'm going with is the most expensive, but also the best.
Cheers!

[nevan]

I'm not sure if you follow Reddit. But this popped up yesterday also; another compliment from there.

[moupe54]

I'm not sure if you follow Reddit. But this popped up yesterday also; another compliment from there.

This is so cool! spotted on my campus

[moupe54]

After almost 4 long months, my Karbonius CSL Airbox has shown up at Kassel Performance.
Here are the updates since my last post regarding the CSL airbox
- The whole job will now cost $5,095 due to Karbonius's stop in production of the plastic trumpet airbox. The only option now that fits an m coupe is the "Full Carbon" option, costing around $2,600 shipped. yikes
- The CSL Flap will have to be modified, yes, cut up in order to get it to fit in the m coupe's engine bay. No, I'm not super stoked about having to cut up a $500 relic, but I'll do what I must lol.
The car is going to the shop on Sunday and will be finished the following Saturday. I cant wait to see and hear the result.



In all her glory. Cant wait to get this thing on!

[moupe54]

11/15/20 I dropped the M Coupe off for the long awaited carbon airbox install. after placing the order in early July, its been a long time coming and the time is finally here to share my experience, the complications, and the grand total of how much all of this costs. All of the following work was done by Kassel Performance in York, PA.



Starting with all of the issues and install process: Dan Wagener of Ultimate Klasse has filmed a video on The Whole thing and will be posting it on YouTube shortly.
1.) the first issues came up when trying to fit my particular style airbox (Karbonius Full Carbon CSL Airbox), was the location of the heater valve underneath the intake manifold. Funny enough, on most BMW's I know of, this valve is usually placed on the firewall, behind the ABS Module, so that is where we decided to move it. For some odd reason, it had a very strange orientation causing the airbox to hit it.



In new location:


The next issue, which was expected, was the fitment of the OEM CSL Flap. As told by Karbonius themselves, no snorkel would fit in the m coupe without some serious cutting of the bottom of the snorkel. So that is exactly what he did. We cut the entire bottom of the flap off. I will most likely make own funnel for the air to be fed up into the snorkel. After some chopping, Kassel got it fitting nicely.



At first I was hesitant about how the OE flap looked, but I love how it turned out in the end. it looks super clean and fits like a glove.
Another aesthetic modification made to package a bit nicer, was a new coolant line that runs to the expansion tank. the OE one laid on top of the flap and looked very sloppy and out of place. In the end, Kassel re-made the pipe and ran it down the side of the bay with the wiring harness.
After a few days of work...done!



Next was Dyno day, where they adjusted AFR's, and throttle response in hopes the get it dialed. Thanks to the dyno video from Dan, it was glorious to hear this car sing to 8200 rpm for the first time through the airbox. Enjoy!

[moupe54]

Just to recap and wrap up this topic: This Modification was tough to get, stressful, difficult to install and most of all expensive. From the very beginning, I had been very skeptical on whether or not I would be satisfied with everything about this airbox. I'm super happy to say, I think it has been worth every penny, annoying setback and all of the research I did prior to going down this route. The car sounds absolutely insane. When that flap opens, the noise gets so loud, it vibrates my feet and windows at full tilt. The tune on the car is spot on with absolutely no flaws. It starts up perfect in 20 degree weather, it can effortlessly make a 4 hour drive, and do what any S54 can do but better. If anyone, like me, was skeptical at all for it because of reasons like compromise in drivability/reliability I urge you to steal all of the information I've documented and run this exact set up. it works perfectly and I couldn't be happier. Already, in the past 4 days of having it, its caused a crowd at a local cars and coffee and struck up great conversation from everyone drooling over how beautiful this piece looks.
Since the car had gotten home I've been toying with the idea of going back to my carbon valve cover to match the airbox. I loved how OEM the setup looked before but the matching two centerpieces really bring it all together. Had to finally take some beauty shots of it all finally done.
Enjoy

[Z3speed4me]

Looks amazing... I'll hear it in person (one day). So happy for you, we talked about this forever ago when you first bought the car! Keep that cover, it just goes perfectly now.

What did it put down by the way, considering everything else essentially is stock? Now with 8200 available, should have seen a decent bump from the stock (pathetic) redline at minimum.

[GG///M3]

Dope

[bubela]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I have the Kassel tune on my S54 coupe (standard airbox) and it's wonderful. I imagine yours is even better. Enjoy.

[FINZ]

That looks and sounds great, Nick!

[BlueM3Racer]

Awesome work, Nick. Looks and sounds gorgeous. Great job seeing it thru to completion and documenting for everyone else's benefit. Enjoy it!