[m thriller]

Group buy on diff!!![/QUOTE]

2nd that!

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by seanblee

Mike, how do you find the ride quality compared to the stock M-Sport suspension?

Much better, but as Steve [m1bjr] says, it isn't a wafty limousine sort of ride, it is still firm. At low (town) speeds, there is definitely a cushion when you hit bumps/ridges/poor surfaces. There is also far more control at higher speed, for example the car used to skip sideways when you went over cats eyes (e.g. changing lanes on the motorway). Now, the Bilstein springs/dampers absorb that with no fuss.

As I said earlier, I'm unsure how much of the improvement is down to the ARB's, how much the rear bushes, and how much the suspension. I like to think that the package as a whole works well......synergy, if you like.

With the Quaife, and Evolve/intercooler/downpipes, I think I'll have a nice, sorted car. Trouble is, I might get bored then and start seriously fancying the M3!

Mike.

[seanblee]

OK, thanks - decisions, decisions!

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by 335iLondon

Idan, I have looked into this, there are NO pagid brakes in the 335i fitment.
Despite what you may read on here.

You can get RS19 for the 335i, I spoke to Steve at racepads about it.

But they're a full endurance racing pad and are way to hardcore for road use, you'd never keep them clean or stop the squealing.

[Bee Pee]

Hi all,

I've got the Birds 3.5s chassis, M3 front end and LSD on my e91 done in one go after I switched to non RFT.

Ride is firm but far more controlled than before. Being a touring, M3 SF bushes do bring more road noise than before. Kevin Bird was concerned by this when he drove my car before I arrived to collect. It's not a big issue for me + when the time comes to renew tyres I will move away from PS3 towards a softer sidewall tyre ie Conti or Pirelli and this should mitigate road noise from bushes.

Turn in is much sharper and steering vagueness abt centre is much less, although not eradicated completely. Traction away is vastly improved whether in straight line or on a curve. Last winter, quaife did wonders to keep me moving on the seldom snow and ice we had in SE.

Lots of faith in Birds [Kevin and Pinder] and whilst their not cheap I think you get what you pay for. I tend to keep my cars for awhile so longevity is essential as being discrete. Hence why my car is going back in for their engine upgrade c/w catted DP's to move towards 400bhp/432 torques w/o FBO's...........

Pave

[seanblee]

That's great, thanks Pave. Did you buy the M3 front end bits from Birds, or just supply them yourself?

[335iLondon]

Originally Posted by doughboy

You can get RS19 for the 335i, I spoke to Steve at racepads about it.

But they're a full endurance racing pad and are way to hardcore for road use, you'd never keep them clean or stop the squealing.

i stand corrected

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

Lots of faith in Birds [Kevin and Pinder] and whilst their not cheap I think you get what you pay for. I tend to keep my cars for awhile so longevity is essential as being discrete. Hence why my car is going back in for their engine upgrade c/w catted DP's to move towards 400bhp/432 torques w/o FBO's...........

Pave

Hey Pave, interesting post, cheers. I've got catted AR downpipes on the way as I speak (er, type). I was thinking of getting Birds to fit them, then I'll get those lovely chaps at Evolve to re-re-map it. May I ask what Birds are charging for fitting the DP's? Or is it a package price?

Completely agree about longevity and discreet look, I love the idea of a 400+ bhp stealth car!

Mike.

[Bee Pee]

Seanblee,

M3 bits supplied and fitted by birds. I have adaptive xenons so they ensured oem linkages were updated correctly as m linkages are different to non m linkages. It was worth it as had one of the headlights recently replaced under warranty by Beemer dealer as there was a fault in adaptive mode !

Pave

[Bee Pee]

Mike,

Price for supply and fit 3" race cat dp's has been quoted as part of engine upgrade package. Kevin Bird advised me that they no longer fit the dinan based upgrades but no offer their own bespoke setup which will deliver the goods w/o the hassle of returning to stock for more stringent mot's coming into force from mid '12 onwards.

Best bet is to give them a call to discuss fitting yr dp's or evolve if you are considering going back to luton for further remapping.

Either way, hope it all goes to plan.

Pave

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

I have adaptive xenons so they ensured oem linkages were updated correctly as m linkages are different to non m linkages.
Pave

Yup - remember that one!

The standard links won't even fit on the M3 arms, so there's no risk of using the wrong linkages, but it's just something you need to order in before you do the work.

Only a few quid thankfully.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

their own bespoke setup which will deliver the goods w/o the hassle of returning to stock for more stringent mot's coming into force from mid '12 onwards.
Pave

What / whos DPs do Birds offer?

Re the new MOT emissions rules, surely these won't be applied retrospectively? That never happens.

The new rules will apply to new cars, say those built after 1st Jan 2012.

If I've modified my car, quite legally, and it passes current MOT standards, they can't just up the standards significantly on existing vehicles?

[Bee Pee]

Doughboy,

Birds DPs are 3" c/w 200 cell race cats and I believe the mentioned AR but best check directly.

Wrt MOT 2012, again best to research on WWW as my read of the rules implies bolt on DIY modifications from std that affect emissions/raodworthiness [ie cat/DPF deletion; retrofit HID h'lights w/o self level and LED DRL/sidelights] would constitute a fail regardless of build date of the vehicle.

Pave

[doughboy]

Cheers for the DP info, I might be in for putting some DPs back on mine after I took them off and sold them earlier in the year!

Sorry for hi-jack but;

Re the MOT - I think these changes are aimed at boy race tatty nova's etc.

No average Jo MOT man is going to know the difference between CATTED race DPs and non CAT DPs?

If he notices at all, he will simply judge either to be 'illegal' or non standard, and fail you if he's that way inclined.

Race CATs are still far less efficient than factory CATs, so the emissions will be above factory even with race CATs (but still within the MOT limits). A 335i passes the MOT with NO primary CATs as long as the secondary CATs are warm, so IMO there may be little benefit to CATTED DPs come MOT time.

The existing UK MOT emissions targets are already tighter than the new 2012 Euro Standards, so I can't see them tightening ours even more as it will required new equipment at all the MOT stations costing 100's of million of pounds plus far stricter testing conditions to be accurate.

Hopefully its all hot air!

[Bee Pee]

All,

Sorry if I'm hi-jacking the thread.

Doughboy,

I hope you are right re 2012 MOT and wide boys with their modded Nova/Saxo brigade falling foul of new regs. Time will tell no doubt.

Wrt DP's, I have BMW PE on my car and have heard another 335i with catless DP's c/w PE and sounds way to raspy for me. This, c/w my caution at MOT time, the concern abt at turbo longevity with catless and neglible gains between catted/catless means it's catless DP's for me.

Pave

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

This, c/w my caution at MOT time, the concern abt at turbo longevity with catless and neglible gains between catted/catless means it's catless DP's for me.

Pave

?? Think you mean catted Pave, yes?
Also, I thought that catLESS DP's were actually less stressful (then caTTED) for the turbos because they offer lower back pressure? Or do you mean that you'd be running higher boost pressures (than with catted) in the first place if you had catless?

Mike.

[Bee Pee]

Mike,

I've read assorted stories abt turbo housing seals suffering as a result of too little back pressure down stream in DP's which may be attributed to cats being deleted. Yr point abt higher boost pressures will also be a factor too.

I'm still running stock [apart from BMC drop in filter and PE] just now so no boost tweaks just yet. Been talking to a number of different folks abt what my options could be in terms of stepping up the grunt.

All advice welcome but then that would be thread jacking !!!

Cheers,

Pave