delete
delete
It began with a performance center delivery pickup. Honestly, not as many pics as I'd like-- was too busy enjoying the experience :clueless:
At least I got to sit in a genuine BMW race prepped M3 while there 
When I got home from the Performance Center, I had BBS RG-Rs, a V1, and aluminum pedals waiting to go in (all but the V1 since removed :roll
2nd day of ownership I took it to have clear bra installed (if anyone around PA needs that done, let me know- guy I used is great )
And to round out the protection package, added a laser jammer
Next came a series of little mods: OEM grocery bag holder (awesome!), OEM eurotray, iceLink plus
... and I did an autox
Next up was the first big snow I drove through... visiting some friends up in Maine. It was great
Next up I made the brake lights brighter, updated the nav software, got an OBIOBAN vanity plate (because of this forum), and got a photoblocking plate cover (since removed... by the police :roll
Suspension time! TC Kline Double adjustable, 500lb front, 600lb rear, GC race sway, GC hybrid FCABs, PF RTABs, TMS subframe kit... most of it I didn't bother to take pictures of :roll:
Then I drove though a pretty epic snow storm. It was the worst storm in the recorded history of NYC, and I drove through it at its peak! I saw 9 crashes occur that drive, as well as countless cars spun off the road or stuck. Still, I see no reason that should stop a lowered M3 :shifty:
Sorry about pic quality, all taken with a moto razor which was all I had. Remember before phone cameras were good? 
Next up were some more big mods: CSL trunk and OEM video module (which I still haven't used for anything... just plugged the GNC into it to make sure it worked. I did get it for absurdly cheap, though, so... :roll
Some random pics I took
OEM bi color steering wheel with M threading came, and I took some terrible pics of it that made it look way too dark out of the car and way too bright in the car. In reality, it looks just like the rest of the OEM imola leather
Some random pics of the era:
Some track pics from an event I went to:
Went to a filming day for one of the Teckademics movies, pics from that:
Got tired of replacing the front rotors so regularly, got some brembos. Also took some better pics of the Bicolor steering wheel
... and then a real photoshoot with the brembos....
And then I finally stopped cheaping out and got some dedicated track wheels. Details here: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=144217
I took the RG-Rs off and ran Dinan wheels while I was waiting for the RG4s to come, as the RG-Rs couldn't clear without a spacer
Finally, the RG4s came. I have to say, these are my favorite wheels... ever. Unless my logical side finally talks me into going with 18s on the street, these will be the wheels that I run forever
19lbs each front, 20lbs each rear for 19x9s and 19x10s that let you run 265 fronts and 285 rears... and absurdly strong! 
And then an epic photoshoot of the RG4s by Phil
All of the pics in their full glory here!
Minor mods, some illuminated door sills. I should really get some pics of these in the dark :roll:
really foggy day, decided to take some spooky style shots:
Next up I wrapped the headliner in alcantara. Had the headliner out for another project, so it wasn't that much extra work... kind of a PITA to attach the alcantara, but not overly hard:
And then we were back into snow season :roll:
Some random rolling shots and pics taken by CMT (chris) and Neel:
(car is REALLY dirty )
but then it was time for the traditional spring FULL detail (50 hours of cleaning :banghead
Prepping the car to drive across the country:
RS110s (square so I can have a full size spare) and CB antenna attached:
Moar pics
PICS
All the pics (125 of them) in full resolution here: http://gallery.me.com/ianlindvig#100163
Some of my favorites:
Been running these on and off, but never took any real pics with them. Here they are
(still running the RG4s as summers, the RS110s are long drive wheels as they're square and I have 5 of them (= full size spare)).
Big car work weekend. Did the following:
front rotors on my car (bigger process than it sounds and reused the hats... and they were quite baked on)
front pads, now with brake pad wear sensors!
rear pads
tranny fluid
diff fluid
valve cover gasket
valve adjustment
cabin air filter
cleaned the MAF sensor
engine air filter
GPS antenna replacement
trim rattle delete
track car front rotors
track car front pads
track car cool suit relocation
track car fire extinguisher relocation
90% of a brake bleed (ran out of brake fluid :P)
spark plugs
coil packs
sergei xenon fogs replacement
Suburban CB hardwired to switched power
redid suburban V1 hardwire so it can't run down the battery
Permanent suburban CB antenna mount and wire routing
Biggest win of the weekend: The new design brembo brake pads have pad wear sensors!
My rotors were at 4.3mm of wear... and you're supposed to replace them after 1mm of wear... so it was time. My slotted rotors had long since become blanks :roll:
2 months ago did Drew's Run 2009. We drove from philly to the tail of the dragon, to miami, and then back again in 4 days. It was a great time!
Some pics from the trip:
Full size spare:
seat heaters on, car at speed, AC on, life is good
Drifting a helipad with a blow up doll :roll:
The day's drive... how's that for some epic distances :banghead:
many bugs died in our journey
These wheels are normally gun metal silver... but this trip they were brown with brake dust
Meet in Miami, rally cars lined up
Double fueling
And a shot that some random person we drove past took and emailed to me
And, back from the rally, all cleaned up
First off, none of these things had failed. I'm just locking the car down for another 100,000 miles of use, hopefully issue free (going to do the cooling system soon, just recently did coils and plugs).
Many, many hours spent in the garage this weekend. Here's what we did:
clutch
throw out bearing
headers
longer header studs
header gaskets
coolant swap
tranny fluid
oil
engine mounts
tranny mounts
guibo
rear main seal
constant pressure valve
vanos filter
reset service interval
:banghead:
Pics from the project:
All the parts, waiting to go on:
lots of parts off the car and one the ground:
rear main seal in place:
engine block minus headers:
Engine bay, minus manifold and some other shiz:
Freshly installed headers, from above and below:
New project in progress:
edited in, result:
Just thought I'd add this.
Pics of the guibo and clutch. Guibo looks like I should have replaced it much sooner. I last checked it at around 80,000 miles and, while still in the car, it looked fine. Either the last 20,000 miles have been really hard on it or you can't tell the extent of Guibo damage with them on the car. Either way... I think it will be going on my inspection 2 list form now on.
The clutch, on the other hand, looks like it still had about half it's life left at 100,000 miles. Considering the life of my clutch (4000+ track miles, daily clutch initiated drifts, autox, drag strip, regular lauching), I think this is pretty amazing! Certainly nobody who isn't FI with a 6 speed should be needing a clutch before 100,000k, unless they're totally inept with the clutch pedal. I'll be leaving the next one in for at least 150,000 miles!
s
Haven't updated this for a bit.
4 weeks ago we were going to Pocono for a DE. e36 didn't pass PCA tech inspection (does now) so we took the 46. Sadly, at 100,000 miles... the water pump finally gave out.
So, since then I replaced the entire cooling system: Radiator, thermostat, water pump, fan clutch, piping, bla bla bla.
I also have new software from ESS on the car now, as well as Nitto NT05s. Reviews to follow on them!
Pics from the failed track day:
And once she blew up:
And, flushing out all the water pump bits from the cooling system:
Pics of the V1 remote display at night. It still uses the ambient light sensor in the V1, so at night it runs dimmer than during the day
(sorry about the crappy quality, I pulled them from a movie)
Oh, and a bonus pic. Check out my inspection interval this morning!
The scariest part of taking that pic was driving into 3 bogeys at medium strength at 100mph, and not being willing to slow down.
That would have been fun to explain to the police :roll:
Mini update: did the VANOS cam sprocket bolts last weekend. Stressful project!
New wheels! RAC RG-63s. 8000 ton forged, light, one piece, 18", perfect fitment, BBK clearing. Hopefully the last summer wheels I'll ever run on the car :roll:
Boxed:
Tires mounted:
And on the car:
And a little teaser of a mod I just got.....
Some shots from a recent photoshoot with friends in cape may (thread, including shots of other people's cars, here):
Quote:
Originally Posted by Khanman 
I disagree, car looks terrible and is obviously poorly maintained.
__________________________________________________ _______
ok your car looks amazing, how did you do that with the headlights by the way? :thumbsup2:
I had caesar do it when he did my TFX conversion:
thread:
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=224314
One last pic from the shoot
CB antenna:
Dent finally fixed :roll:
He had a downpayment on a Boss 302, but in the end couldn't deal with actually having to drive a mustang on a daily basis. I'm with him... we went and sat in one, and it was crap.
Some pics from our pickup, trip, and the enthusiast auto lot (EA was VERY impressive-- all M cars, very knowledgable, clearly actually enjoyed what they do, made everything 100% perfect, no pressure at all. I'll be back there in the future!)
Junk food and caffeine stocking for our travels:
Couple hours in, when we decided to turn on the nav:
Some pics from EA:
The actual delivery/car:
We didn't tell anybody about what we were doing out there, but we posted hint-- trapster map and some misc pics as we drove home posted on facebook where the M5 is slightlyin the background.
Creepy place where we pulled over to pee:
Full trip:
^went through Pittsburgh to get dinner with Mr. Wolfe.
Ordered a bunch of crap to keep her driving like new...
-new front control arms
-new seat cushion
-new precat 02s
-new EGT sensor
-new CPV... even though I did it when I installed JVTs at 98,000 miles, making this one <20,000 miles old. Still, the part is cheap, and it's super easy when the headers are off.
-new header gaskets, studs, and nuts of the SS stepped
-new gas door spring (mine has stopped holding the gas door closed... sometimes)
-cargo net for the trunk
Semiboring update. Replaced the driver's side seat foam, as it was getting a bit flat feeling at 116,000 miles.
Small update: My fog lights have long been triggered to headlights for a long time (they're 3600k HIDs, don't want them burning out due to cycling with the highs/lows).
So, I recently got the euro LCM and can now use the front and rear fog buttons to trigger things with in cluster reminders that they're triggered
Plans for the next month:
Jethot coated SS stepped headers
fuel injector rebuild
new pre cat 02s
new EGT
full OEM CSL airbox ducting
evolve custom tune
secondary air pump delete
new window gaskets
Some pics and videos from our filming day:
Car is going on the lift this Friday and won't be coming off till all of the following is done:
SS stepped headers, jet hot coated
new gaskets, studs, nuts, etc
secondary air pump delete kit
evolve dyno tuning
rear upper ball joints
rear lower ball joints
rear lower control arms
front lower control arms
front control arm bushings
pre cat 02s
EGT
new RSM bushings
valve adjustment
fuel injector rebuild
OEM CSL intake ducting
OEM CSL air intake temp sensor
CPV
Pilot Super Sports in 255/40/18 and 275/35/18
ride height tweak
align/corner balance
new CSL air filter
got the injectors back yesterday. Result from the service:
1 & 3 had bad spray patterns. 4 was clogged to the point that it couldn't be repaired and they said it should have been throwing misfire codes. All 6 had reduced flow.
Used top tier gas whenever possibly, new fuel filter every inspection interval (20-25,000 miles), techron also run every inspection interval.
Did some small projects this weekend. Moved the jammer heads from the bumper mesh to inside the headlights, replaced the bumper mesh, and added OEM CSL intake ducting. Annoyingly the VAC airbox ducting holes are slightly (but too much) off the OE location, rendering them unusable. Going to contact them... hopefully they're replace it or rotate the ring....
On the bumper side, the OEM CSL intake duct comes out perfectly by the fog light!
Also (previously) removed the secondary air pump, had evolve turn off the sensor for it, and modded the bracket to not look like it wants to hold one.
Sorry about the pics, dark out and only had my phone camera to use.
About 1.5 years ago I decided it was time to get headers for my car. I read lots of positive things on the forum about ebay headers and figured that headers were just bent pipe... so how far wrong could you go? So, for the first time on my car, I cheaped out. A decision I now regret, as lots of hassle could have been avoided.
Install was painful. It took about 4 hours to get the collectors mounted on the block. The pipes were misaligned and at varied depths. We eventually got them on with a combination of clamps, cardboard to hold things in place, and brute force. Oh, and the flanges were thicker than stock, so I was required to use longer studs. Not a great install, but I was okay with because I figured I only had to deal with install once and then they'd be fine.
Over the next 18 months I was continually in battles with various rattles in my exhaust track, ALL of them header based-- header to engine mount, header to FCAB, midpipe to exhaust tunnel (because the header misaligned the midpipe), and super low exhaust tips (also because of the headers).
Eventually I got fed up with trying to deal with these issues, one after another, so I ordered some properly made headers. Not wanting to repeat any of my issues I skipped all the "midgrade" options (which may be great for all I know) and went for the best-- SuperSprint.
Since I have the CSL airbox, which takes some of its air directly from the engine bay, I opted to get the JetHot ceramic coating-- also the best there is, from the research I've done (was really, REALLY trying to do everything right this go round with headers). I ended up with the Sterling Silver finish, as it was the cheapest (as the default), they're never seen, and it's just as effective as all of their other colors. So, if they look a little different (especially around where you should be seeing the welds), that's why.
Install:
There's only one way to describe the install process: easier and better than stock. First off, the header flanges just slid on. There was ZERO tweaking of the pipe necessary, only instant glide on. Secondly, the flanges are properly sized so that you can use e46 studs. Thirdly, the section one connectors are in the stock location, so everything downstream (midpipes and muffler) fits properly, doesn't cause rub, and doesn't wear out muffler hangers prematurely. Lastly, there's huge clearances for everything. There's no area when I can't fit my entire finger between the header and another part of the car.
Then there's what really matters to me: there is clearance EVERYWHERE. I can literally put a finger between any part of the header and any part of the car-- FCABs, engine mount, etc-- plenty of clearance everything. My car will be vibration free like stock :roll:.
Some other observations:
-all the welds are bang on perfect. Smooth, consistent, perfect.
-the stepped headers, at least, are remarkably different in design than the JVTs. I've attached some side by side pics below, and the way they route the pipe is markedly different.
-02 bung and EGT sensor placement is perfect. You don't need to remove the headers to replace either, should they go wrong (to replace the EGT with the JVTs, the headers had to come off).
Power: I really can't comment to any changes in power. From what I've read the SS stepped makes more power than any other header on the market. That said, I made too many changes at once to attribute changes in power to the stepped headers. The JVTs did make the car noticeably faster, I can't hold that against them. These should do more still.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. It's what i should have done 18 months ago instead of cheaping out. First and last time I'll make that mistake.
Some pics:
The headers, Jethot coated in sterling silver:
Compared to the JVTs. I really just included this pics because I think it's interesting how different the pipe routing is on the stepped than on the JVTs:
Nice thin flanges, and perfectly straight line of them:
Bolted in the car, perfect mating with the section 2:
FCAB clearance:
:whistle:
Quote:
Originally Posted by deadlysyns
Pics...
Pic that a friend (surge709) took this spring with his iPhone that I like (unwashed, unposed, just parked there):
Some pics from a recent road trip
Brief disclaimer: This was a 5000 mile trip and the car wasn't washed before I started, much less by the time I got back :roll:
Pics my Surge709 :thumbsup2:
Prep:
Texas:
Joplin:
Indy:
St Louis:
Enthusiast Auto group
You'll need to log in to post.
