[Guvernator]

After much deliberating I've got my heart pretty much set on the CSL's now. Unless I can find a decent set of Vorstiener reps on the cheap that is

I am also loving how no one can seem to leave the E9xx alone on this site. BMW modders used to be pretty few and far between previously, especially in the UK but the new turbocharged Beemers seem to have really brought out the modding bug in the BMW world.

[Cozy]

Hi all,

My new wheels are going on tomorrow and I just had a thought...do I have tyre pressure sensors? I don't recall finding this on the dash or in the manual, I've had my wheels off twice also and I received no errors so I'm guessing I don't and the wheel swap is straight forward.

[Alpina_B3_Lux]

Originally Posted by JamJay

Hi all,

My new wheels are going on tomorrow and I just had a thought...do I have tyre pressure sensors? I don't recall finding this on the dash or in the manual, I've had my wheels off twice also and I received no errors so I'm guessing I don't and the wheel swap is straight forward.

Yes and no. There are no specific sensors (e.g. inside of each wheel) to measure the air pressure.

However, the car is able to supervise the tire pressure indirectly as it measures the diameter of the wheels through the DSC (electronical stability control) sensors. If it therefor detects that the diameter decreases very fast, it will give out a tire pressure warning light. That system is not completely bulletproof as it can't detect a very slow decrease in tire pressure, but it's usually efficient enough. It operates obviously within a certain tolerance as far as tire pressure parameters are concerned, so simply swapping wheels will usually not upset it.

Alpina_B3_Lux

[Cozy]

Thanks for the info, I've had them fitted and all seems well .

Here she is, I like the look a lot, especially with the spring perches.



The ride with the Falken's is so much nicer. The suspension feels softer over bumps and is so much quieter in the cabin, it's almost silent in there now. I feel like I've got more grip too and the car is totally predictable now. Well worth the upgrade, love it.

Now onto gaining a few more horses .

[Guvernator]

Wow, car looks great on the new wheels and I like the way it is sitting on those perches. Gives it a more purpoesful stance. Great work

It's also good to hear that switching to the Falkens has made a decent improvement. It's made me all the more determined to do mine.

More horses? I thought your car was already remapped. What's the next step?

[Cozy]

Remap is only the first stage...Stage 1 funnily . Next up is a bigger FMIC, a worthwhile upgrade on even a standard turbocharged car, especially in Summer. After this then most likely 3" down pipes and a reflash to Stage 2+ on the old COBB device. In terms of power, this is where it'll stop and perhaps overall, the car has everything else I need.

The new tyres are great though, the car feels a lot more driveable, not that it ever didn't but as a direct comparison I feel that I can plant the power better now.

More pics to follow soon!

[greatbm]

Originally Posted by JamJay

Remap is only the first stage...Stage 1 funnily . Next up is a bigger FMIC, a worthwhile upgrade on even a standard turbocharged car, especially in Summer. After this then most likely 3" down pipes and a reflash to Stage 2+ on the old COBB device. In terms of power, this is where it'll stop and perhaps overall, the car has everything else I need.

The new tyres are great though, the car feels a lot more driveable, not that it ever didn't but as a direct comparison I feel that I can plant the power better now.

More pics to follow soon!

What pressures are you running on the Falkens ?

[Cozy]

35psi front, 37psi rear. I'll see how I get in like this but open to suggestions.

[Raj59]

New wheels look great!

[Guvernator]

Originally Posted by JamJay

Remap is only the first stage...Stage 1 funnily . Next up is a bigger FMIC, a worthwhile upgrade on even a standard turbocharged car, especially in Summer. After this then most likely 3" down pipes and a reflash to Stage 2+ on the old COBB device. In terms of power, this is where it'll stop and perhaps overall, the car has everything else I need.

The new tyres are great though, the car feels a lot more driveable, not that it ever didn't but as a direct comparison I feel that I can plant the power better now.

More pics to follow soon!

Cool, is the FMIC a pretty simple swap? With the FMIC, DPs's and reflash what sort of power are you expecting? Are we talking M3 territory?

[Cozy]

Originally Posted by Guvernator

Cool, is the FMIC a pretty simple swap? With the FMIC, DPs's and reflash what sort of power are you expecting? Are we talking M3 territory?

If you go for the Wagner, Forge or ETS then it's a straight swap. You need to get under the car and remove a cover but that's it. Stage 2+ you're looking at 430-440bhp I believe, surpassing the M3 and in a straight line you'd pull away but in the corners you'd not do so well. A Stage 1 335i would give and M3 a run for its money due to all that torque. Crazy performance from simple mods, the N54 engine is great.

Are you warming to the idea of tuning yours?

[Guvernator]

Originally Posted by JamJay

If you go for the Wagner, Forge or ETS then it's a straight swap. You need to get under the car and remove a cover but that's it. Stage 2+ you're looking at 430-440bhp I believe, surpassing the M3 and in a straight line you'd pull away but in the corners you'd not do so well. A Stage 1 335i would give and M3 a run for its money due to all that torque. Crazy performance from simple mods, the N54 engine is great.

Are you warming to the idea of tuning yours?

Hmm very decent gains indeed. Sticking to cosmetic mods for now but it's nice to know a decent power hike is easily achievable. To be honest though I bought a convertible as I wanted a cruiser rather than a speed machine. I've been down the tuning route with previous cars and while it's fun, I'm not sure if I want to go too far down that road this time. I'd probably only go for a remap as I'm starting to think the top end feels a little strangled but that's about it. Besides I think I'll only keep the 335i for another year or so before going in a different direction. I fancy getting out on track and a 335i cab isn't really suited for that purpose.

[Cozy]

You'd be surprised just how quick you can make this convertible, you'll embarrass some serious metal when fully tuned and to be honest, DP's & FMIC are only bolt-ons and easily removed, the rest of the engine is able to take it but you're also right, she's not build with the race track in mind. Street tuning is where it stops for me with this one, we have a second car so I'm allowed to tweak this one a little . It's funny because we're going opposite ways, I bought the E93 so I'd leave the track and the loud cars behind, I knew I'd have no intention of beating this car to death on a circuit and with the E92 I knew I'd be too tempted. If I was to return to the track then I'd be apprehensive to do it in a £15k+ Coupe so I'd never imagine chopping in the E93 for one, I have plans myself to return but it'll be in a blob-eye Impreza or something cheap but tunable that can be built from the ground up and stripped.

Still, that said I'm looking forward to the BMW day at Brands Hatch next month .

[Guvernator]

We aren't too disimiliar in our thinking. I too bought the E93 to get away from loud fast cars for a while but there is only so much time before I start getting the itch again. Our roads are just too crap\congested\full of speed cameras to fully enjoy the potential of a decent car anymore.

I also wouldn't be comfortable throwing a £15k+ relatively heavy convertible round a track so once I have the garage space sorted, the plan is to get something which I can have a tinker with and not get too upset if I put it in the armco. A Subaru sounds like a good plan (used to own a fantastic Sti Type R many moons ago) although not too sure on the bloobeye. That car is too just too fugly.

I guess I could keep the 335i cab and get a second cheaper tracktoy but I think the 335i may have to give way to a more "family friendly" form of transport which will give me a good excuse to get something cheap, tuneable and mental for the track. That's still at least a year off though. Going to cosmetically mod the 335i and enjoy it for now. I really hope we have a decent summer this year!

[Cozy]

Sounds lovely, if I can find a classic Impreza that hasn't been abused so much then I'd be happy to own one and procede with that but the blob-eye seems like a better bet as there are still a fair few untuned family owned ones around. For me also, it'll be a year before that happens and I'm going to enjoy two full Summers at least with this BMW .

Looking forward to seeing all of your cosmetic mods! On that front, I think I'll add a lip spoiler to the back of mine but otherwise I'm happy with the M-Sport kit.

[greatbm]

Originally Posted by JamJay

35psi front, 37psi rear. I'll see how I get in like this but open to suggestions.

Thats just about what I am using on my 19" 225s with Falkens and find it ok.

[Guvernator]

Yep, your car has a very nice clean look now so I don't think you need to do much more looks wise. Which rear spoiler are you considering?

My front aero splitter arrived yesterday so I just need to find somewhere decent to spray and fit it, then it's onto the alloys next. I was all set to get the SF-71's in hyperblack but they don't have that colour in stock at the moment

Not sure if I should go for SF-71's in standard silver or the CS7's in hyperblack. The GB also doesn't seem to be going anywhere so I may have to look elsewhere.

[Cozy]

I'll opt for the M3 style lip, just a subtle spoiler and completely OE looking.

If I'm honest, as far as I can tell the CS-7's are just CSL replica wheel which I am sure can be had over here for cheaper you know. Not the Alufelgen brand sure, but does that really matter?

[Guvernator]

Just did a google for M3 rear spoiler to see what it looks like and the first image to come up is a black 335i with it on. Looks great IMO.

Was keen on the Alufelgen's as they are apparently very decent quality for a CSL rep but you might be right, not sure if it's worth the hassle for the CS-7's. I'll see how the GB goes for the next few days but to be honest I'll probably get impatient and just go and get a set of VMR CSL reps from my local dealer. He's even offered a trade in on my existing wheels!

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by JamJay

I'll opt for the M3 style lip, just a subtle spoiler and completely OE looking.

Hey JamJay, and Guvernator. I want to keep the OEM look, and have 19 inch Style 230's on my SE, which I really don't want to change. But there are two issues I want to address:
1) I'm thinking of spacers, the rears look nice and flush but I think the fronts need to come out a bit. What size spacers do you think would work best with the 230's? I should add the Birds suspension I have lowers the car my around 10-15 mm over stock.
2) although lowered a little, there's still a gap at the front - i.e. the car seems to sit lower at the back than at the front. Do you think the Supreme Power perches make a noticeable difference? Is there any similar product in the UK (i.e. to avoid import costs)? What's the quality of the perches like? How long for an indy to install, do you think?

Any advice gratefully received.
Mike.

[Cozy]

Originally Posted by Guvernator

Just did a google for M3 rear spoiler to see what it looks like and the first image to come up is a black 335i with it on. Looks great IMO.

Was keen on the Alufelgen's as they are apparently very decent quality for a CSL rep but you might be right, not sure if it's worth the hassle for the CS-7's. I'll see how the GB goes for the next few days but to be honest I'll probably get impatient and just go and get a set of VMR CSL reps from my local dealer. He's even offered a trade in on my existing wheels!

I know you dislike your 189s but consider selling those on eBay. With decent-ish tyres you should be able to fetch circa £600 (see BMAutosport's current listing)...worth a thought.

Originally Posted by Mike in Hampshire

Hey JamJay, and Guvernator. I want to keep the OEM look, and have 19 inch Style 230's on my SE, which I really don't want to change. But there are two issues I want to address:
1) I'm thinking of spacers, the rears look nice and flush but I think the fronts need to come out a bit. What size spacers do you think would work best with the 230's? I should add the Birds suspension I have lowers the car my around 10-15 mm over stock.
2) although lowered a little, there's still a gap at the front - i.e. the car seems to sit lower at the back than at the front. Do you think the Supreme Power perches make a noticeable difference? Is there any similar product in the UK (i.e. to avoid import costs)? What's the quality of the perches like? How long for an indy to install, do you think?

Any advice gratefully received.
Mike.

Hi Mike,

As far as I am aware the offset of the 230 is ET37 front & ET39 rear so you have a little room on both axles to extend outwards. I'd not go more than 10mm on either wheel (20mm on axle) being that you're lowered, unladen you'd probably be fine with a 12 or 15mm spacer but with any proper weight in the car you'd stand to rub. If you want to give the impression that the rear sticks out further than the front then opt for 10mm rear and 5mm front or to just even things out then try a 5mm at the front and leave the back if you are happy with it. I fear that sticking 10mm on the front and leaving the rear would give the impression of a wider front and IMO look pretty odd.

There's no definitive answer to spacers really, it's often trial and error, see what you like. I think I might fit a 5mm spacer to my front MV4's but leave the rear as it really does poke out as far as it needs to at the back.

As for the spring perches, there's no other way around it other than changing your springs. That seems pointless being that you've spent big money on Birds kit but, for example, I know that the H&R sport/race springs eliminate the front arch gap and add a little raked look to the car if you really wanted to go low (but upset the handling a bit). The spring perch really helps the look of the car if you ask me, I gained circa 15mm drop at the front with no detrimental effect to suspension travel, performance or comfort, I can say that the latter two are 100% unaffected. The spring perch is deeper than the OE perch, approx 10mm deeper meaning that spring is forced to compress slightly more when the shock absorber assembly is fitted back together, there's 10mm less space for the spring to fit betwen upper and lower perches on the shock absorber so the spring has to compress more. Travel of the shock absorber is of course a little reduced but it is minimal, especially when compared to lowering spring which force the shock absorber to compress by a great amount.

There are no other manufacturers of this type of product anywhere so you're stuck with importing however, charges included puts these at around £90 to your door. The quality of the perches is the same as OE or better, in my opinion they feel more robust.

An indy shouldn't charge more than 1.5hrs for this work, it's only a case of taking the shock absorber out, compressing the spring and swapping the top perch and then refitting. 45mins per side if you know what you're doing and I'd have thought they'd have done suspension work many times before.

Anyway, I kind of feel like I'm telling a professional how to do his job here, the mods on your car are extensive so I imagine you know your stuff, I hope I haven't been patronising.

[Mike in Hampshire]

Cheers JJ, really appreciate your reply buddy. Not patronising in the least, I assure you! I think you're right that it might be a little bit of trial and error with spacers.

Regards, Mike.