Quote:
Originally Posted by e92streakofalpinewhite
I probably should have mentioned this before but I'll be driving this car 1-2 times per week at short/medium distances but occasionally taking it a few hours away to the mountains. My general goals for this car is to give it some more power (especially at the low end of the RPM range), give it a better tone without being 'loud', and handle better (likely in that order) without putting the old engine at too much risk.
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So I’ve been following this thread because, while I’ve had my car for 15 years, I’m sort of in a similar boat. It’s basically deteriorated to trash (never had a garage or the time to work on it until now, lots of deferred maintenance) and this winter I’m working on basically restoring and enhancing it. Here’s basically my plan of attack so far, I think almost all of which has already been mentioned at various points:
- 3 stage IM + MAF-less tune
- Rev motoring intake boot + charcoal filter removal (and am looking for other [cheap] ways to generate some more induction noise — might switch to a eurobox)
- BMW short shifter, Turner rear shifter carrier bushing, AKG DSSR and delrin front carrier bushings, change trans and diff fluid
- Secondary cat removal
- Complete suspension overhaul (leaning toward B12 pro kit)
I was mostly driving an SL55 AMG for the past couple of years, so I scratched the power itch and now mostly care about having a car that’ll be fun on low speed limit city roads and smooth/quiet at 80mph.
Similar to you I don’t drive every day but will be taking the car on some longer trips with some frequency, so I think I’m going to leave the diff alone.
(I also did my oil pan, motor/trans mounts, and valve cover, and am replacing my flywheel and clutch etc, out of necessity)
Congrats on the buy. I think these cars, especially RWD manual N52s, are the last representatives of a bygone era and a tremendous value for money. And they can be extremely reliable if cared for.