[MILLER335I]

I have a 10/2006 build E90 that I want to get the electronic assist working for the M3 steering rack conversion. I have an M series Jbe that supposedly will work but the obd2 port will not read it. I believe it is the early build of my car and the different wiring. Does anyone have another idea of how I can make the assist work? Thanks in advance!

[Kooshi3]

Originally Posted by dleccord

Where did you buy a used rack?

You being in Sacramento are very fortunate because many parts cars come from the Cali area. You can use eBay and that will get you connected to a lot of parts sellers. Just look for wrecked m3's and reach out to them directly to see if they have steering racks also for sale.

I paid ~$300 + shipping for mine coming in from a seller I originally found on eBay who was out in LA that shipped to Texas for one with less than 60k miles.

Good Luck

[porsche959]

FYI - for those wondering how hard it is to turn unassisted. I estimate around 50% more difficult versus stock. My stock feel was pretty heavy though.

[porsche959]

Installed m3 rack. Took 4-5 hrs. Hardest part was getting the steering spindle removed/reattached.

First impressions:

*I am on the fence on whether this was worth the work or not. I did this in a public parking garage on jacks, and my entire body is fcking sore, one day later. It’s a noticeable mod but I am not blown away by it. That said, I’m happy I did it...but in hindsight I am 50/50 on if I would do it again. My view may change once I hit the twisties in upstate NY. I’ve only driven about 50 miles total around nyc and NJ. For reference, the only other suspension mod I’ve done (besides full oem non sport suspension refresh) is an e93 m3 front sway + bushings - which I highly recommend.

*steering effort requires about 50% more strength versus stock, at stand still (see vid). At speed it’s about 30% harder. YMMV tho as my stock rack was fairly stiff.

*overall driving feel comes off as stiffer. Could be new tie rods (stock 325 inner and outer tie rods) or new alignment. I feel more bumps on the road.

*Steering rack cost $380 used, I installed myself over 4-5 hours. Alignment was free (Firestone lifetime) and definitely needed ASAP. Not safe to drive without alignment.

*Make sure to use a full L of power steering fluid. It will screech like death when even 10% low on fluid.

*lock to lock steering wheel movement has been reduced. Went from about 1.5 left and right rotation to about 1.25z

[rbg]

Hi, I am new here and I know it is an old thread, but maybe someone has the part in the picture they did not use during the swap?

[Justin Daniels]

Originally Posted by rbg

Hi, I am new here and I know it is an old thread, but maybe someone has the part in the picture they did not use during the swap?

Depending on how I end up designing my steering shaft setup, I may have one for you.

You can usually find them attached to the steering shaft on eBay; then just turn around and sell the steering shaft since that part is technically part of the rack.

[humblek3y]

And this is for rwd only? Or awd guys can give a go

[rbg]

I have some thought of using a m3 shaft in another project and would need that part to extend it. I will look on the ebay.

[Matt_M335]

What’s up guys! I am new to this forum
So I have recently installed m3 steering rack to my 07 E92 335i, but what I did differently was that I installed m3 steering shaft instead of resuing my stock one without going through cutting the lil plastic piece on the rack, and everything bolted right on with ease. And FYI, I did use my tie rods because the m3 ones were longer. My car is currently at shop now for alignment, and I will keep you guys updated

[eljay]

Originally Posted by humblek3y

And this is for rwd only? Or awd guys can give a go

RWD only.

[Wareham]

Originally Posted by Matt_M335

What’s up guys! I am new to this forum
So I have recently installed m3 steering rack to my 07 E92 335i, but what I did differently was that I installed m3 steering shaft instead of resuing my stock one without going through cutting the lil plastic piece on the rack, and everything bolted right on with ease. And FYI, I did use my tie rods because the m3 ones were longer. My car is currently at shop now for alignment, and I will keep you guys updated

Are you referring to the steering column?

If so, I was going to suggest, would fitting an M3 steering column not sort the tab issue and uneven lock? If it is a straight fit obviously

[Justin Daniels]

Originally Posted by Wareham

Are you referring to the steering column?

If so, I was going to suggest, would fitting an M3 steering column not sort the tab issue and uneven lock? If it is a straight fit obviously

He's likely referring to the intermediate shaft between the column and the rack.

[Wareham]

Originally Posted by Justin Daniels

He's likely referring to the intermediate shaft between the column and the rack.

Okay so not the whole column possibly.

Does this give you an equal lock to lock?

[Justin Daniels]

Originally Posted by Wareham

Okay so not the whole column possibly.

Does this give you an equal lock to lock?

Not likely.

As for equal lock-to-lock; I don't have the plastic cap to contend with so won't be able to give any relevant input. As long as the rack is centered when everything is hooked up, and the M3 intermediate shaft allows for the column to be centered without modifying the plastic cap; then it should provide equal lock-to-lock.

[Wareham]

Originally Posted by Justin Daniels

Not likely.

As for equal lock-to-lock; I don't have the plastic cap to contend with so won't be able to give any relevant input. As long as the rack is centered when everything is hooked up, and the M3 intermediate shaft allows for the column to be centered without modifying the plastic cap; then it should provide equal lock-to-lock.

Yes sorry I forgot to mention, with keeping the tab intact.

But you’ve just summed up my idea. That would make sense and surprised it hasn’t been thought of or mentioned already.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Kooshi3

Just completed this swap and wanted to share some words of wisdom and clarity to those looking to also do this modification in the future.

Maintaining the M3 tie rods that come with the M3 rack is not an option, even if you have the upgraded M3 control arms in the front!. I have the m3 arms and the m3 tie rods were too long and could not thread in close enough to get the toe in to where it should be. See the comparison picture below of the m3 vs the 335i inner tie rods I took with both out:



Imagine the right side is going towards your wheel with the left side being towards the center of your car. On the m3 tie rod, they jut out further and do not have the ability to to use the threads which go further in like the 335 tie rod to bring the toe in towards the center of the vehicle.

This causes your car to toe out - like having your heels together and making your toes go away from each other. You can get close having the tie rods threaded all the way in, but not close enough to get the toe to where it should be.

Long story short - when your replace your steering rack, take off the tie rods both inner and outer from your 3 series and put those on the m3 rack you are putting in. Bonus tip #2, when taking off your inner tie rods, this can require a lot of torque! It is much easier taking these off when the rack is still on the car. Ask me how I know

Hope this helps someone! Car feels great so far. Steering does not feel overly difficult at all even at low speeds. It’s not even remotely close to driving a car without power steering. I have not had the chance to play around with it too much since I just got a new clutch and flywheel put in at the same time and am breaking things in. Will report back if there’s interest in my feedback on the mod down the line.

-Kooshi3

Did you have active steering?

It looks like this upgrade is fairly well-documented at this point other than the active steering component.

[Matt_M335]

Originally Posted by Wareham

Okay so not the whole column possibly.

Does this give you an equal lock to lock?

Yes it does

[Matt_M335]

Sorry for not replying earlier. So I've had this setup for 4 months and I'm loving it. no issue whatsoever, Lock to Lock is equal, and steering is barely heavy only at dead stop. Once you get moving it's just like stock. To whoever wants to do this swap, I highly advice that you get the whole rack assembly with the intermediate shaft, It would make the job 10 times easier as everything is already aligned.

[KClemente]

Originally Posted by Matt_M335

Sorry for not replying earlier. So I've had this setup for 4 months and I'm loving it. no issue whatsoever, Lock to Lock is equal, and steering is barely heavy only at dead stop. Once you get moving it's just like stock. To whoever wants to do this swap, I highly advice that you get the whole rack assembly with the intermediate shaft, It would make the job 10 times easier as everything is already aligned.

Did you have to cut the notch on the steering rack to properly align the steering wheel?

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Wareham

Yes sorry I forgot to mention, with keeping the tab intact.

But you’ve just summed up my idea. That would make sense and surprised it hasn’t been thought of or mentioned already.

You're in luck; my UK/RHD rack lined up perfectly, with the stock steering shaft/column, and without cutting the plastic tab on the rack.

If that wasn't the case, could you not just correct the misalignment by repositioning the spline where the intermediate shaft connects to the column? Or is that spline keyed somehow?

[machine4321]

Just want to add, I had done this on my e82 and had no lock to lock issues. I broke the plastic tab off, measured the rack under tue tie-rod boots to he equal, lined up steering wheel and lock to lock was fine and no relearning for steering sensor either.

Sadly my wagon swap, the shaft is seized to the rack so when I do the m3 swap again I will get the m3 shaft with it.

[Marc1980]

I've been reading on the forum quite a lot already, but never posted before.

I bought a refurbished M3 steering rack. But when it got delivered I noticed the servotronic valve is missing and it has a blanking plate fitted. I'm not sure if I could run it with the blanking plate, but ideally I would like the servotronic to work as well.

But when I looked up the part number of the servotronic valve I found it's not sold as a separate part for the M3 steering rack. Other cars, like the xdrive models seem to have servotronic standard and in that case you can buy the valve separately. But Active Front Steering uses a similar valve, but it's a different part number than the xdrive servotronic valve.

In that way I found 3 different part numbers:
- 32106788212 for the e9x with xdrive
- 32106788658 for the e9x and e6x with AFS, but also for the regular e6x
- 32106788211 for the e6x with xdrive

Does anyone know whether any of these valves are the same as the M3 valve, or that they would at least also fit and work? Visually they look the same, but diameters could be different and also internals, like an orifice, could be different.