Scottygofast's Project S54~ The Beginning....

[scottygofast]

Ok, so Ive got this little pocket rocket and wanna spend some change. I have already bought the wheels that CanMCoupe had on here for sale that is on this post

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=906857

And now im looking at suspension. Think im going to go with the TC Klien Ride hieght adjustable coil overs, which id get the model number but their site is down right now. obviously all the busings to be replaced, and with these im also looking at a brembo big brake kit, thinking about going with the 6 piston, but havent made up my mind yet.

Now this brings me to my current issue. My Coupe has 84000 miles on her, and the clutch felt great when i got it, however, due to my driving style and willingness to take people for quick rides down the runway, and playing with the car, the clutch is now beginning to slip in the high RPM range espically under hard load such as downshifting or when coming hard out of a corner, so its now time for a clutch. However~ if im already going to be in there, why not do what else needs to be done. I have been considering going the route of a 6 speed, but if im going to do that, i dont want to go put a good race type clutch unless all would be compatible. Which I have NO idea. of course also pullies and a flywheel, and what else while im in there? suggestions? thoughts? Free parts??????? thanks guys~ also installed the X001 alpine, but still cant get the iphone happy with the bluetooth box or the ipod to play music thru the radio, but it looks cool~

Anyone in the tampa bay area who needs Paintless Dent removal done, I have the best guy youll ever find and is superb.

To recap, Help with Choices for tranny, $$ and place to purchace from, over possibly an M5 clutch swap, wich i also dont know what that would entail. If im goin to be in there, what else should I do? thanks guys~


Scotty

Oh and i tried to upload a pic or two and it keeps telling me its invalid~ any ideas??

[Pani]

Search about clutch delay valve (CDV). It's built into our clutch line.

[scottygofast]

this may sound dumb, but how do i do a search? I cant seem to find the little box that says search? also, Im now having an idling issue. the car seems to be surging at idle, from about 800ish rpm, or wherever idle normally would be, all the way down to the motor almost dying, then catching back up with itself again. cycles about every 15 seconds or so. Any thoughts?

[Pani]

The search function is in the upper right when looking at a specific forum or sub-forum.

The idling could be many things. There is a bulletin for rough idle upon cold start up. Alternatively it could be a camshaft position sensor. They seem to fail often.

[rtav]

this may sound dumb, but how do i do a search?

[scottygofast]

It appears to be doing it even after everything warms up~
Thanks Pani~

[scottygofast]

Pretty sure it will, but will a carbon fiber engine cover plate for an E46 fit on my coupe, I dont see why it wouldnt, but hey, theres always somethin~

[clintjg]

Pretty sure it will, but will a carbon fiber engine cover plate for an E46 fit on my coupe, I dont see why it wouldnt, but hey, theres always somethin~

Yes it will.

[JoshS]

What happened to planning your mods with racing in mind?

[Randy Forbes]

Scotty, I don't want to come off sounding harsh, but slow down.

There are plenty of mods to do, and some that don't make such good combinations.

The S-54 isn't the best candidate for a ltwt flywheel, and the combination of lightweight pulleys and ltwt flywheel isn't recommended either. Sets up some bad vibrations, and given the rod bearing situation, it's probably something you don't want to aggrivate. Unless you've already got another engine in your garage waiting to drop in...

A lot of these mods were tried when the cars were new, and those of us that have been around since then have been witness to most all of them. You just got the car, take some time to get to know it, and start doing your reseach (now that you know how the search function works ).

Again, I'm not trying to jump in your $hit, I'd just hate to see you make some bad decisions and then condemn the car for throwing a rod through the block.

[Mcruiser]

this may sound dumb, but how do i do a search? I cant seem to find the little box that says search? also, Im now having an idling issue. the car seems to be surging at idle, from about 800ish rpm, or wherever idle normally would be, all the way down to the motor almost dying, then catching back up with itself again. cycles about every 15 seconds or so. Any thoughts?

The same thing has happened to mine several times not every time I took her out and sometimes the engine would die at red lights. During that period I had a "service engine soon" for Intake Cam sensor but the idling issue went away a few days before the Intake Cam Sensor was replaced. I am not sure if it was the ICS that caused the idling issue but she has been running fine for a couple of weeks now. If you have a decoder it's the right time to use it.

[clintjg]

Scotty, I don't want to come off sounding harsh, but slow down.

There are plenty of mods to do, and some that don't make such good combinations.

Very true.

The S-54 isn't the best candidate for a ltwt flywheel, and the combination of lightweight pulleys and ltwt flywheel isn't recommended either. Sets up some bad vibrations, and given the rod bearing situation, it's probably something you don't want to aggrivate. Unless you've already got another engine in your garage waiting to drop in...

Not that I wholly disagree but truth-be-told I ran UDP's and a lightweight flywheel with no negative effect (other than the common light weight flywheel chatter) for quite some time, maybe I was just one of the lucky ones.

A lot of these mods were tried when the cars were new, and those of us that have been around since then have been witness to most all of them. You just got the car, take some time to get to know it, and start doing your reseach (now that you know how the search function works ).

Couldn't agree more. Get your car to a DE or an autox where it's safe to turn DSC off and you'll quickly learn that there is way more car than driver available in stock form. Mod things like subframe bushings, and cosmetic items before looking for more power.

Don't make the mistake that I made and attempt to 'mod as you go'. There quickly came a point where the car was dangerous fast in my unskilled hands, and despite the fact that I thought I was a pretty good driver, my skills needed to play catch-up... and they still are.

Not trying to sound like a nagging parent, just take it from someone who's been there...

[JBgotM]

Don't make the mistake that I made and attempt to 'mod as you go'. There quickly came a point where the car was dangerous fast in my unskilled hands, and despite the fact that I thought I was a pretty good driver, my skills needed to play catch-up... and they still are.

Its so true that people think they are a good driver, then if they go to a proper driving event, its eye opening how bad most of us really are at real car control.

[Scott Digital]

Simple opinion......

There are way more little cosmetic thing you should do before touching the motor.
There are even some audio enhancements that will make you happier. I only say this because of the gobs of torque and HP with your M.

Here is my rule for modding a street/track car, with mostly street in mind.

1. Drop the car
2. Wheels and tires
These 2 Mods alone will give you the biggest positive visual impact

I plan out a car like a diagram, to make sure I have a vision of the final product. If you have no finish in sight you can never hit it.

If you really want to spend money the New Brembo BBK is a no brainer, it looks good and functions good, you need bigger wheels though.

look in thread below and you will see what I mean biggest visual impact.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=867668

Of course, there are many little projects like RSM's,, etc that I have done, and I am sure that a million people have specific thing they do, but hey for a street car, you are looking at it more then you are racing it, so to me looking good is what excites me. If you walk away from your car and do a look back just cuz it is sexy, then you have started to create a thing of excitement.

[enyrgee]

If you walk away from your car and do a look back just cuz it is sexy, then you have started to create a thing of excitement.

I did that when it was stock?

[Vinci]

Alternatively, if you focus on fixing all the little things that get worn out (especially by 84K) or that BMW messed up, you can spend all your budget on that and never mod anything at all. Welcome to my weekends.

Right along with what Jason was saying, you really should focus on improving yourself before the car. Until some part of the car is holding you back, you might just be making the car more of a handful. Look at Clint. That poor soul is going to have to be in DE's for the rest of the year to tame that new motor...

[Randy Forbes]

In one of Scotty's previous posts, he talks about racing shifter karts (and maybe motorcycles?). To handle a shifter kart, I'd say he already has a leg up on performance driving, so I think you're all preaching to the chior there.

My point is to do the research on the car/engine; I mean, he may not even know about the rod bearings, radiators, trunkfloor, etc.

SO to quote Derek, start your mods by fixing the known problems, and then go about squeezing more out of it.

BTW, Clearwater & Sarasota weren't that far apart the last time I was down there (last February). Hoping to get down there in March too...

[Vinci]

BTW, Clearwater & Sarasota weren't that far apart the last time I was down there (last February). Hoping to get down there in March too...

Yeah, Clearwater is only about 40-45 minutes north of me. It's good that you didn't come down earlier, when you were talking about it. The weather hadn't yet cooled off. It's finally gotten very mild and pleasant.

[Nivola]

Not that I wholly disagree but truth-be-told I ran UDP's and a lightweight flywheel with no negative effect (other than the common light weight flywheel chatter) for quite some time, maybe I was just one of the lucky ones.

UDP (Alt / Power Steering / Water) + LWF = OK

Underdrive pulleys at the alternator, power steering pump, or water pump have no direct balancing duties issues with the engine, and hence the addition of a lightened flywheel poses no direct conflicts.

I have been running a Power Steering UDP + Water Pump UDP + FLW for a number of years now (under hard driving) with no issues.

UD Crank Pulley + LWF ≠ OK

The crank pulley is one of the prime harmonic balancers for the engine, lightening / changing the crank pulley on its own is questionable, but adding it to an engine with a lightened flywheel is a big no-no, causing a lot of balance issues.

[clintjg]

UDP (Alt / Power Steering / Water) + LWF = OK

Underdrive pulleys at the alternator, power steering pump, or water pump have no direct balancing duties issues with the engine, and hence the addition of a lightened flywheel poses no direct conflicts.

I have been running a Power Steering UDP + Water Pump UDP + FLW for a number of years now (under hard driving) with no issues.

UD Crank Pulley + LWF ≠ OK

The crank pulley is one of the prime harmonic balancers for the engine, lightening / changing the crank pulley on its own is questionable, but adding it to an engine with a lightened flywheel is a big no-no, causing a lot of balance issues.

Right, the orignal question wasn't that specific but what you've posted is good info. Also the S54 is most likely a bit more tempramental than the S52 in such situations.

[JBgotM]

Right, the orignal question wasn't that specific but what you've posted is good info. Also the S54 is most likely a bit more tempramental than the S52 in such situations.

It happens with other cars too. STi with crank pulley and lightweight flywheel equals misfire are 6k rpm, like clockwork.

[RightSide]

The S54 is as close to a perfect engine as you can get(for the most part). I am quite happy beating up on the neighborhood muscle cars with my stock S54 (not that I advocate illegal racing)

The focus for me is suspension of which I will be taking care of shortly. Most likely the TCK SA setup.

-Tony

[LAMRoadster]

to our car is not the power but the suspension and the subframe including the single ear diff. mount. So that is why most of the forums members here would recommend to do the IE subframe bushings as the first mod. It will not only improve the car handling but also lessen the chance of subframe failure at some degree.

[pwhitt]

i hate to say that i can't offer much in the way of advice here, but i did see that you mentioned going the way of a 6sp tranny...

i hate humming along on the highway at 3k. how exactly does one go the way of a six speed tranny in our cars? i have a 2.5L 5sp now, the 6th gear would be lovely!

please someone, shed some light?

[exartist]

If you stick with the 5 speed, what about the shift pins? Where they a weakness on the S54's?