Thursday, June 11, 2009

2001 BMW M Coupe

  • In October 2008, I bought bsg1980's (Brian Gregory's) 2001 M Coupe. It's almost exactly the same as my '99 M Coupe with the exception of having 50k miles less (45k miles on the clock), being 2 years newer, and of course, an S54 engine. 1 of 680!

Mod List

  • UUC Evo 3 Short Shifter
  • Turner Motorsports Drilled Rotors w/ PBR Ultimate Pads (stored for HPDE) & Deluxe Pads (street - low dust)
  • Stoptech Stainless Brake Lines
  • Conforti Shark Software w/ DSC activation and 8000k redline
  • TC Kline SA's with 450#f, 500# shorties and rear height adjusters
  • Rogue Engineering Rear Shock Mounts
  • IE Sub Frame Bushings
  • Z3 Clutch Hose/CDV Delete
  • Smoke Chrome powder coated Roadstars with PS2's
  • Strong Strut Butt Strutt
  • Gary's Mirror Adaptor
  • LeatherZ Arm Rest
  • iSimple Bluetooth Audio Module
  • Authentic ACS Splitters
  • Paint-Matched Rear Deck Spoiler
  • B&B TriFlow Exhaust, OEM Euro headers and Section 1 Cats
  • Z8 Strut Tower Caps - not installed, don't work with Vorshlag camber plates!
  • Vorshlag 65/90mm Competition Wheel Studs w/ Competition nuts.
  • Rogue Engineering Clutch Stop - removed, replaced with Stock.
  • Traffic Pro/Nav/Aux Interface
  • Redline MTF Trans Fluid - 10/9/08 - 45,400mi
  • Redline 80w-140 Diff Oil - 10/9/08 - 45,400mi, Diff Swap 7/10/11, filled with Motul 75w-90, Diff seals replaced and fluid change to 80w-140 4/14.
  • Castrol 10w-60 Oil Change - 10/10/08 w/ 45,400mi, 6/1/2009 w/ 48,870mi, 6/19/2010 w/ 52,650mi, 3/30/11 w/ 58,415mi, 4/14/12 w/ 65,945mi, 4/13 w/ 71k, 3/15/14 w/ 72k
  • Italian Indoor M Coupe Cover
  • BMW Outdoor Coupe Cover
  • OEM ///M Trunk Mat
  • Doug Whalen Black Delrin E-Brake Handle
  • New Exhaust Camshaft Sensor - 4/10/09 @ 47775mi
  • New NGK Platinum Spark Plugs (DCPR8EKP) - 4/10/09 @ 47775mi
  • Acoustic Horn Surgery
  • Vorshlag Camber Plates installed 6/1/2009
    -2.7 degrees Camber Street w/ 1/16th toe in
    -3.5 degrees Camber Track w/ 1/16th toe out
  • ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid - 6/1/2009
  • Topped Up Trans Fluid 6/1/2009 - drain was under-torqued and had a little fluid on it. Filled and torqued to spec.
  • Glove box sag fix
  • Black Front Strong Strut
  • LeatherZ Alcantara E-Brake and Shift boots with M Stitching
  • Toshiba HIR high and low beam bulbs.
  • 5, 10 & 15mm H&R Spacers
  • 3.46 LSD Diff from an '87 528e with 129k miles
  • Valve Adjustment @ 64,640 miles, 14 valves out of spec, 12/17/11
  • New AC Belt @ ~71,500 8/19/13
  • Installed RGMotorsport Carbon Fiber Intake, 8/26/2013
  • Jan-April 2014 - Randy Forbes work ~72.5k miles
    • Coated Rod Bearing Recall + Upgraded Oil Pump
    • OEM Euro Headers (heat coated) and Section 1 Cats (Shortened 1" to fit Z3)
    • e39 M5 Steering Wheel Installed (machined by Sky1Z3) 
    • Randy Forbes Dual Ear Rear Sub Frame Reinforcement
    • Engine Mounts
    • Control Arm Bushings
    • Diff and Trans Fluid Changed
    • Diff Seals Replaced
    • Fuel Filter Replaced
    • Drivers Side Lock Repaired (was spinning)
    • Oil Level Sensor Replaced
    • Tons more...http://www.spcarsplus.com/gallery3/index.php/SMF-Coupe_Euro-hdrs_rod-bearings?page=1
  • Denso Iridium Spark Plugs 4/2014
  • Eisenmann Race 83mm Exhaust - 11/7/14
  • Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires - 9/9/2015

JUST TO CLARIFY, EVERYTHING BELOW HERE PERTAINS TO MY OLD 1999 M COUPE THAT I SOLD IN 2008.

 

1999 BMW M Coupe - SOLD, but good info below. 

  • Sold September 2008 with 95,800 miles. What a great car and you can see below that I spent a lot of time and money on it.

Ireland Engineering Sub Frame Bushings (June 16th, '07)

  • Do yourself a favor and make the Ireland Engineering Sub Frame Bushings your first mod. These bushings can prevent sub frame damage and also make your car feel like its one piece rather than disjointed front to back. Handling and turning are much improved. You'll literally ask yourself how you drove your car without them.
  • This is the link to the Ireland Engineering Sub Frame Bushings. IE Bushings
    This install isn't terribly difficult but requires a special bushing tool. Definitely do it along with someone who's done the job once before if it's your first time. I've done this job 4 times and it takes me about 3 hours with 2 guys working. Here is all the instruction you need: How To #1 How To #2
    Here is me doing the job with Clint in the parking lot in front of his townhouse: Pictures

Mr. M Car Sub Frame Reinforcement (July '07)

  • Fixes the weak point; the diff ear. I'll never have to worry about my car falling apart. (~$1200). The car felt even more solid after the reinforcement in addition to rear sub frame bushings. The car seems more ridged when putting power down to the road too. 
  • If I were to do any type of subframe reinforcement again in the future, it would be after showing signs of damage, not as preventative maintenance.  It's just not necessary to do preventatively.

RealOEM.com

Stock Suspension (Fall 06)

  • I bought a stock suspension off a Roadfly member for $500 shipped. It had 11k miles on it. After installing the IE bushings and front and rear strong struts, the coupe handled pretty damn nice. I still have this if I ever want to return the car to stock.
  • In retrospect, holy hell did I get ripped off! I couldn't piece this suspension together for this, but people regularly sell stock M suspensions for $100 or $150 shipped. I was a noob, what do you want?

TC Kline SA True Match Coil Over Suspension (4th of July, 2007)

  • I bought this suspension off of another Bimmerforums member (Purv44) who was selling his coupe. It had 34k miles on it at the time I installed it. See TC Kline Racing for more info. Here is my install thread from bimmerforums: Thread
  • On Dec 18th, 2007, I purchased a used set of TC Kline VVS 500# Shorty Springs and Rear Ride Height Adjusters. These are 100# stiffer than my current rear barrel springs. I'm really not sure why I bought them...I think just because they were a good deal! We'll see how they work out.
  • Update: I like the look and ride of the shorty's/500# rate. Sold the 400# barrels.

Rogue Engineering Rear Shock Mounts (Fall '06 w/stock installation)

  • These are terribly annoying, but easy to replace. If you ever replace your suspension 10000000000% do these at the same time. They mount in the reverse manner so you never have to remove the paneling in your trunk a second time. Your rear shocks will bolt on from underneath in the wheel well. Pics:
    I also received a write up that will aide in the installation of these/the removal of the stuff in your trunk…it was very helpful. It also shows you how to drill holes in your rear panels to accommodate a rear shock adjustment tool. RSM.html
    Here you can see what’s involved and how much better the Rogue’s are than the stock ones. Picture

Brakes (Front Rotors and Pads June 7th, '07)

  • If you want to stay stock, go with Vincent at www.BimmerZone.com . He has the best prices for original equipment. His email is info@bimmerzone.com – just email him and tell him what you are looking for.
    Our car takes Zimmerman rotors and go with PBR/Axxis Ultimate Ceramic pads. Mention Bimmerforums.com as your source for finding his info...he'll set you up with a package deal. I paid $165 total for front rotors and pads. 

Acoustic Horn Surgery (modifying air intake - nov. '06)

  • This is the thing I cut in half inside the air intake box – slight performance (speed and engine sound) gain.
    That link is to a post I wrote up after I did the job. It gives two links to documents describing how to do the job. No parts are needed except a little saw.

Tires (Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S summer '06, maybe 78k on the car)

  • Got these because I thought I was going to have to drive my coupe all year round...but I bought a beater, so that never happened.

  • I Removed these tires at 87,444 miles. They are still in really good shape, so I kept them. They are nice tires!

New Tires (Falken Alzenis RT-615 - 87444 miles on the car)

  • I put these on because they are very good autocross tires and just have more grip. They make driving a lot more fun when combined with all the suspension work I've done. Sizes are 235/40/17 and 255/40/17. This is slightly different than the stock 245/40/17, thus the speedometer and odometer will be slightly off. When speedometer reads 65 mph, the actual speed will be 65.828 mph. Wheel diameter changes from 24.717 inches to 25.031 inches. The speed, and thus, the milage, will be thrown off by 1.27%, meaning every mile turned on the odometer will be roughly 22.5 yards farther than what registers. This means the mileage will read slightly lower than it really is.

Strong-Strut Strut braces (April '07)

  • These are awesome and Paul, the owner, is a super nice guy. I organized a group buy for these on bimmerforums.com. I got a front strut brace and a butt strut.
    Opinion: HUGE improvement in handling. The butt strut might not be necessary if you have the IE bushings, but it does make a difference in addition to them.

UUC Transmission Mounts w/ Enforcer Cups (May '07)

  • Just a better design, probably wont notice any improvement unless you race your car. Don't waste your money on the metal enforcer cups.
    These cause more vibration to resonate into you car hence making it louder inside the cabin.

Guibo/Flex Disc (May '07)

  • Saw some cracks in the rubber, so I replaced it.

Transmission and Differential Fluid (June 12th, 07)

  • Replace these with Redline D4-ATF (trans) and 75W90 (diff) fluids from www.SynLubes.com. Those on bf.c are now recommending Redline 75w140 for the ///M LSD differential.
  • Thread

Engine Oil

  • Had car since 73k miles, changed three times so far last time at 84,645k.
  • 2/16/08 - Change w/ 89955 miles.
  • WalMart has 0w40, otherwise use their 5w30.
  • Use filter P/N 11 42 7 833 769

Spark Plugs (somewhere around 78k miles)

  • Replaced with Bosch 4 prong non-platinum spark plugs. I can't remember the website I found the best price at...but I did replace these guys. The car really felt more peppy after I installed these...the old ones were pretty dirty and ready to be replaced. Pretty easy job to replace spark plugs. (No Gapping Required)
  • Bosch FGR8KQC - S52
  • NGK DCPR8EKP - S54

Z3 3.0 clutch hose (purchased March '08)

  • Gets rid of an evil thing called a Clutch Delay Valve (CDV). Buy the hose from BMW for $13. Install this when you replace your brakes and upgrade to some Stainless Steel Brake Lines because your brake and transmission fluid will need to be flushed/bleed. Read about it here, but the M doesn’t have a CDV, it has a restrictive hose…that’s why you just replace the hose with the 3.0 z3 one with a larger orifice.
    Also, it may be a good idea to buy part number 21522282355 which is the short hard line connecting the slave cylinder to the clutch hose. if you don't have an S54 with the plastic under dressing, chances are your nuts and bolts are corroded. This makes getting the cutch hose free from the hard line very difficult. If you pick one of those up for $12, you can be sure you can put your car back together. I mangled the hell out of the original one and had to do the clutch bleeding twice.
  • Also, a note about bleeding the slave. You have to remove it after the system has been bled and reassembled. Push the pin in all the way by pressuring it against the transmission several times. This sends any air in the system back to the master cylinder and your clutch will be good as new.

Whalen Shift Knob (summer '06)

Gary’s Mirror Adaptor (summer '06)

Glove Box Fix (october 31st, 2006)

  • A guy sells them on ebay all the time. Search for ‘z3 glovebox’.
    Just make sure the seller’s name is ‘netlocksusa’. No more chattering glove box.

Leather Stuff for the coupe/Armrest (Thanksgiving '06)

Ron Stygar Sunroof removal tool (for future reference)

Euro E36/S54 Oil Cooling Upgrade - (February 16th, 2008, 89955 miles)

  • Purchased everything necessary to do an S54 oil cooling retrofit on my S52 engine. At the same time, I overhauled and flushed the cooling system and performed an oil change.
    1. Euro E36/S54 Oil Filter Housing with ports for oil lines
    2. S54 Radiator
    3. S54 Oil Cooler
    4. Randy Forbes adapter. Used to add a port for the S52 VANOS line.
    5. EuroSport 'Partial Kit'. This is an adapter to bring the oil lines off the back vs. the side incase I go FI later.
    6. Oil Lines included in the Partial Kit.
    7. Stewart Water Pump.
    8. 80 degree thermostat.
    9. All belts, hoses, O-Rings, gaskets, pullies, and tensioners needed to overhaul the front end of the engine.
    10. Ordered a gallon of Redline D4-ATF to keep on hand, but also so I can top up/flush the power steering fluid.
    11. Ordered UUC stainless steel brake lines, a UUC Stainless Steel Clutch Hose for CDV Delete, and 3 bottles of ATE Super Blue Fluid. I'll be flushing the brake system, installing the hoses, and bleeding the clutch.
    This project seriouisly might have cost close to $2000 at this point. Do it once, do it right though! I've seriously replaced everything on the engine/cooling/lubrication system and flushed coolant, oil, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Car should be close to new and ready to go for many more miles.
    List of Parts Replaced

Front Mud Flaps - (January 2008)

  • I purchased these from www.leatherz.com. The hope is they will protect the paint from rock chips without looking as ugly as the stick on stone gaurds.

Authentic AC Schnitzer Splitters - (February 2008)

  • Picked these up on Thanksgiving 2007. I'll have these and the rear hatch spoiler painted Estoril. Will make for a nice visual upgrade. Post better pictures when I take them.

Second Set of Roadstars - (January 2008)

  • Picked up a set of Roadstars for $300 with Kuhmo ASX all season tires which were literally brand new. The idea is to put my Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S tires on these guys (because they should be better tires than the Kuhmos) and give the Kuhmos to JMC for helping me with that huge project above! Seems worth it to me! This allows me to preserve the Falkens for 'events'. Update: Firestone ruined one of the rears, so I'm buying two new rear pirellis.
  • Powder Coated Roadstar Pictures

Randy Forbes Subframe Reinforcement Gallery

Stuff I Want

  • Wheelskin Leather Steering Wheel Cover - www.bavauto.com
    I think this would be a nice addition for the future...
    More Leather Z Stuff - Leather Cleaner and Conditioner / Peak Code Reader
    The sunshade Leatherz.com sells is the OEM BMW part number: 82110021741

Wheels

  • Just for reference, our wheels are 17x7.5 w/41mm offset front and 17x9 w/8mm offset rear.

Exhaust

  • My car had an aftermarket exhaust installed when I bought it. I think I've finally identified it as B&B Triflow. Nice.

Shark Injector

  • Previous Owner told me the car has Conforti Shark Injection. It clearly does as the rev limiter kicks on at 7100-7200 RPMs vs. 6800 RPMs like the stock engine would.
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