[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by CJ421

You're welcome. Not a Wrangler guy ... don't have the car or the jeans (assuming that's what you mean).

Thought of the car....my next project's a frame-up customization of my YJ Wrangler.

GM V8 w/mating auto trans, my own design electronics in/on the dash & lighting, and something I haven't seen: Grafting a full time 4WD system to that bad boy to handle the power.

Now THAT is a challange!

[scflaw]

Damn! as a fellow e93 owner, i appreciated your writeup!
Somebody should rank him up!

[CALWATERBOY]

Added a couple of references re: Bleed Brakes DIY, end of section w/dropped subframe.

I'll add detail when I can.

[CALWATERBOY]

Added as appendices:

Normal Ride Height Measurement

Torque Values

[Bimmer-Bob]

Bitchin' write up. This will be a great resource for some folks.

(I could have used it myself about 18 months ago - that pinch nut is a major PITA!)

[mlifxs]

Calwaterboy thanks very much for this writeup, including the words of advice on lifting the car. I'll be doing my first DIY on jackstands later this month (struts shocks control arms) and this should help keep me out of trouble.

[tres]

great write up I will getting the ground control set up soon.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by tres

great write up I will getting the ground control set up soon.

Many thanks for everyone's kind words!

Not finished yet - have a thing or two yet to document. One will cover use of an electronic torque wrench, not yet delivered to my door.

Wasn't satisfied with the job I was able to do with a breakaway wrench, as torquing bolts in tight spaces and add'l 90 deg turns are not easy on jack stands.

New wrench beeps & squawks with precision, they say, and has an aluminum grip that just might lend itself to use of a 'helper' pipe so those 122 ft lb applications are a mite easier to accomplish.



__________________________________

EDIT: GearWrench electronic torque wrench highly recommended. Anticipated problems did not materialize; leverage excellent as is operation. A thing everyone doing what I do should have. Using on my 3, Jeep; Superduty to good effect. Can't think of a complaint.

.

[neoduffer]

Brilliant. Got to hand it to you for the extensive write up after the equally laborious task. Good on you.

[CALWATERBOY]

Lil' help, please!

Need tightening torque Ft Lb and/or Newton Meters:

Exhaust - reinforcement plate - 8 torx bolts
Exhaust - mid-pipe brace - one bolt

Bentley manual no help! So far....

Have to admit: Skipped over as not critical, finishing job, but planning to re-torque after some miles [highly recommended]; want correct torque this time!

[CALWATERBOY]

Toward the end of my tale, Post #1, there's new info re:

[1] Fixed the problem with headlight leveling sensor arm

[2] Fixed estupido, my bad, strut mount bolts


Evaluation so far:

No end to grip. Have yet to find a limit. Disclaimer: This is an E93 - not allowed on local track!

Much improved comfort though noticeably firmer at low speed. Gentleman's muscle car - I can live with that!

Low speed brake grab @ stop....gone baby, gone.

Velvet response; sa-mooth handling.

Much better power delivery.

Was it worth $7500 to mod this ride? You betcha!

CAL
.

[Radiumsurfer]

Has the m3 bushings (or your setup as a whole) helped with ride noises like pothole explosions? Have you noticed a difference with roof shake noises when going over rough surfaces?

And that hole in the trunk for the strut looks painful! there's gotta be a way to get the lining out without removing the whole roof assembly no?!

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Radiumsurfer

Has the m3 bushings (or your setup as a whole) helped with ride noises like pothole explosions? Have you noticed a difference with roof shake noises when going over rough surfaces?

And that hole in the trunk for the strut looks painful! there's gotta be a way to get the lining out without removing the whole roof assembly no?!

Notice roof noise when up, bumps, but that was awhile back - top's down for Summer - won't rain here until Oct, maybe Nov. Do not remember increased noise, up.

I believe pothole explosions are somewhat reduced w/yellows & maybe more importantly, linear springs. Yet it was going from Potenza RFT's, the Devil's work, to PS2's that made 80% of the diff. Everyone who's driven circa 2009 RFT's gets why M Div used PS2's, immediately.

Have had no bulged tires since suspension redo, yet have hit potholes sufficiently hard to be a problem [before]. Never had a rim problem - I was careful w/RFT's yet still toasted a few tires. Here the suspension may have more effect than perceived.

BCube posted a good procedure for removing trunk panels, but I've not taken them out. Truth is: Holes hurt nothing; want to be able to adj my yellows if the mood hits....so far not, gotta admit. Maybe most important, want to check mount nut torque from time to time. Having encountered a couple of threaded connections not up to spec torque, now cautious and a believer in preventative checks.

This suspension's superb. No N54, N55 or N52 owner should be satisfied with any stock suspension - M parts + LSD, etc. well worth the effort. Those who wish potholes erased should sub FSD's & keep stock springs or buy BMW Perf springs.

I like my yellows; love my ride quality which I have to say is much much much better than stock. 3 was a mixed bag before mods. Now, flickable & fun fun fun! Bear in mind, I have linear springs w/yellows config'd for that by Ground Control. That means the resistance curve is much more linear instead of soft in the first range of travel then progressively & dramatically stiffer, causing the pothole 'explosion.' Don't know what effect stiffer sways had on explosions - have nothing but good things to say about 'em, - possibly they added to linearity. Ground Control all but requires M sways for their setup.

Not taking anything away from Porsche - 911 is an engineering tour de force as are Cayman & Boxster, right outta the box. Not seeing they directly compete.

Audi....still schnoz heavy....if some day naturally balanced w/mass centralization, very attractive; not expected.
.

[tres]

IM also very pleased with my ground control and koni's very comfortable and handles like a champ

[Radiumsurfer]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Notice roof noise when up, bumps, but that was awhile back - top's down for Summer - won't rain here until Oct, maybe Nov. Do not remember increased noise, up.

I believe pothole explosions are somewhat reduced w/yellows & maybe more importantly, linear springs. Yet it was going from Potenza RFT's, the Devil's work, to PS2's that made 80% of the diff. Everyone who's driven circa 2009 RFT's gets why M Div used PS2's, immediately.

Have had no bulged tires since suspension redo, yet have hit potholes sufficiently hard to be a problem [before]. Never had a rim problem - I was careful w/RFT's yet still toasted a few tires. Here the suspension may have more effect than perceived.

BCube posted a good procedure for removing trunk panels, but I've not taken them out. Truth is: Holes hurt nothing; want to be able to adj my yellows if the mood hits....so far not, gotta admit. Maybe most important, want to check mount nut torque from time to time. Having encountered a couple of threaded connections not up to spec torque, now cautious and a believer in preventative checks.

This suspension's superb. No N54, N55 or N52 owner should be satisfied with any stock suspension - M parts + LSD, etc. well worth the effort. Those who wish potholes erased should sub FSD's & keep stock springs or buy BMW Perf springs.

I like my yellows; love my ride quality which I have to say is much much much better than stock. 3 was a mixed bag before mods. Now, flickable & fun fun fun! Bear in mind, I have linear springs w/yellows config'd for that by Ground Control. That means the resistance curve is much more linear instead of soft in the first range of travel then progressively & dramatically stiffer, causing the pothole 'explosion.' Don't know what effect stiffer sways had on explosions - have nothing but good things to say about 'em, - possibly they added to linearity. Ground Control all but requires M sways for their setup.

Not taking anything away from Porsche - 911 is an engineering tour de force as are Cayman & Boxster, right outta the box. Not seeing they directly compete.

Audi....still schnoz heavy....if some day naturally balanced w/mass centralization, very attractive; not expected.
.

Thanks for the responses. This DIY motivates me in replicating your setup. I hate that I appear like I'm DUI on seemingly flat grounds while just trying to avoid the thud, bang, and rattles that I'm afraid will eventually jar up the delicate roof mechanism (It seem to be making more and more noises). Unlike performance mods, I'm NOT interested in diagnosing any warping or worse replacing parts on the origami roof.

I read the pothole explosions are a result of BMW softening the arm/link bushings ("bottoming out", transferring bang to chassis) to dial out the harsh ride by the devil's work. Obviously I will do the whole works (bushings + lsd + arm/links + coilovers), but since I'm stock at this point, the whole setup will need some saving and planning. I'll tackle the 80% gain first. I'm hoping to gain that much at least with Conti DWS (I live above snow belt but don't drive it in winter. Last year i rolled it out of the garage on the summer RFTs a few feet to alleviate flat spots and for the love of god could not get it back in - slight slope, but ice - happens more often than me tracking the car so unless you've got a better recommendation...).

One other question (sorry if i missed this, as i read pretty thoroughly): From spec in the manuals, the M3's track width for the fronts is 3cm wider and rear is 2cm wider. Some of this is from the wheel offsets. If my calculations are correct, the front hub width for the non m3 is 1568mm, m3 is 1596. For the rears, non m3: 1581, m3: 1585. I guess the 4mm difference in the rear is negligible. But is the 28mm wider front hub width due to the subframe or arm/strut assembly? In other words, after the m3 wishbone/tension strut swap, were you able to maintain the same hubwidth? If so, it must be from the subframe. If not, assuming the strut mount is the same your camber would have needed some major adjustment! I think I read some forum member's wishbone/tension swap and there's a side by side pic that showed that the m3 arms are slightly longer. Alignment shop printouts?

PS: Did you write other DIYs? Bentley or the likes could hire you to write their manuals. Thanks for the awesome writeup.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Radiumsurfer

I read the pothole explosions are a result of BMW softening the arm/link bushings ("bottoming out", transferring bang to chassis....

That might be a big contributor - honestly don't know; did everything at once. One thing's certain: It's a matter of impact energy. If spread over a short time, big bang due to impact spike. More time, less bang/lower peak impact. Sudden resistance to movement from bushings, shocks; springs will be felt. FSD's pretty much eliminate.

Tire pressure was a major thing - have owned a number of BMW's - I could feel +-1 lb diff in every one including my bike - they're sensitive beasts and pothole explosions were in my ride noticeably less when tire pressure was within 1 lb of BMW's recommendation. Was like my ride spoke to me: "Ver is vun vay to do it, und zis is it." Very German. Ditto best handling.

With mods & PS2's, I like to be 1 psi higher.

If you do in stages, give us a readout on the effect of each thing! You'll have everyone's attention.

.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Radiumsurfer

I live above snow belt but don't drive it in winter. Last year i rolled it out of the garage on the summer RFTs a few feet to alleviate flat spots and for the love of god could not get it back in - slight slope, but ice - happens more often than me tracking the car so unless you've got a better recommendation....

LSD will help you there; sand. First things first I say - tires, then LSD. That's at least $3k and a great start.

Once there, you'll become highly motivated to do the rest, as the effect is exhilarating and removing some bad behavior highlights the rest.

You'll bless the day your LSD was installed.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Radiumsurfer

Did you write other DIYs?

Teensy post re: Helicoil install, DIY section.

My intention, documenting suspension work, was to provide a number of observations Bentley & others don't mention....the benefit of experience can't be underestimated.

[jy326]

dang,,, I did this today and I totally forgot to take off the headlight sensor bar from the front... do you think it is damaged now?

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by jy326

dang,,, I did this today and I totally forgot to take off the headlight sensor bar from the front... do you think it is damaged now?

You'll know when it's back together - keep us posted....

[jy326]

and one more thing, did you use the stock rear spring rubber pad? or did the kit come with a new one?

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by jy326

and one more thing, did you use the stock rear spring rubber pad? or did the kit come with a new one?

No, the kit came w/all required.