My "new" 08 M3 - Suspension and CF goodies inside

[italyix]

UPDATE ON post #27 (page 2)

I will cut straight to the chase, as I am bad with intros anyways. A few years back I installed KW Springs, various solid bushings and a few other things on the car with the hopes of going to the track. After multiple visits to the dealer for transmission issues, worn down brakes that the dealer refused to swap (despite my having a maintenance package) and a series of other issues, I decided to wait until the warranty ran out and then go balls out.

Well, that time has finally come and after a year of waiting for deals to pop up and collect parts for my car, I am ready to show her off.

In the suspension department, I chose to go with Nitron NTR R3 which is a three-way adjustable system with High and Low Speed Compression and High Speed Rebound. The suspension is a work of art to say the least. I have read almost if not all of the posts in here about suspension and all the various reviews and it was a hard decision between Nitrons, Ohlins and JRZ, but ultimately decided on Nitrons due to the extra adjustability and price point as compared to Ohlins and JRZs. A huge thank you to VAC Motorsports for these.

Spec are 600lb springs in front and 800lb springs in rear. Rebound has 22 clicks of adjustment, while the High Speed Compression is 16 clicks and Low Speed is 26. I am at factory settings of -10 clicks from hard for Rebound and -8/-8 for Low/High Compression. Its a stiff ride on the street as I am still playing with the adjustments.















Next up is the Rouge Engineering Front Lower bushing. I chose this unit vs the mono ball simply from a price point perspective. RE offers two bushing compounds and I chose the blue one for track. As most of you guys have said, this mod is really not felt until you hit the track so I will report back next month when I go.



In the stopping department, I picked up a used set of 380mm BREMBO Brakes from a local member who parted out his car. The kit I believe only had 5k street miles, pretty new.

The brakes are complemented with a set of Volks TE37SL in 9.5 front and 10.5 rear. I have always wanted to get a set of Volks since I started driving cars and after having gone through a few vehicles, I was finally able to get a set from a fellow member here. Michelin PSS warp the Volks.








These little beauties were picked up from Rouge Engineering to complete the brakes. Look good and are also functional.



RPi front scoops, again used and add an aggressive look.





As my goal was and still is to eliminate slop from the car, I also chose to complement the Nitrons with a full rear spherical conversion from Bimmerworld.
The kit includes all new arms and spherical bushings, no rubber is left.



Turner Motorsports pedals, bought these years ago and totally forgot I had them sitting in a garage shelf.



Everyone knows and its a fact that M3s are porkers, no matter what configuration they are. Owning a sedan with moonroof and just having swapped all these components in for agility was not sitting right with me. So I turned my attention to Voltphreaks for one of their lightweight batteries. Many of you have read the review in the DIY section from one of our Spanish members who runs the same battery, the VPH-700. I simply love this battery, period. From the fact the it weights 7 lbs (yes, not a typo) and removes 53 lbs alone is amazing. Some of you are skeptical and have the right to be, but the weight savings simply cannot be ignored. I use the car every day so charging is not an issue and as the battery features an auto shut-off when the reserve hits 10%, you are never left stranded. The car starts right up and the hesitation from the old battery is now gone.





Having just shed 53 lbs off the car, I figured why not and continue with the diet. I wanted to replace the seats with Recaros but decided against it, at least for now. So the next logical (to me) part I eyed was the moonroof which I have maybe opened twice in three years of ownership. Enter the CF Roof from iND, at 9.8 lbs it removes roughly another 50 lbs from the most critical part of the car.







Lastly (for now hehe), I also replaced the stock transmission bushings with OEM units, as the car had 73k miles on the original units. The car shifts much better now.

So how does it drive you ask? Its simply another car
Yes the suspension rides a bit stiff and yes the car is loud from all the solid bushings and engine mounts (previously installed), but take a turn and the car stays composed. Body roll is virtually eliminated, as the center of gravity is now shifted lower and the new coilovers with sway bars do their job.

But I cannot take any credit on the install, as I left the car in the more than capable hands of Performance Technic in Dublin, CA. As many of you recall, PTech was the one responsible for the 1M clone with the S65. Joe and his team worked tirelesly to meet my deadline and I could not be any happier with the results.

Rest assured though I am not yet done. As the flex disk is on its last legs, I picked this replacement unit from RevShift. It used a solid machined Al piece and poly inserts. This is the 110mm version which only fits M cars, the 105mm unit replaces all other non-M BMWs.



I am also shopping for a CAE Shifter to complete the car. I am hoping in the next few weeks to have the new "flex" disk and shifter installed.

A second review will follow, as I have a track day at Thunderhill scheduled on 10/28 and then 2-day HPDE school with the BMW CCA again at Thunderhill in November.

Feel free to ask any questions and please refrain from posting negative comments. Thank you for looking!

[e92livin]

Awesome so far! can't see what else is in store.

[Quicksilv3r]

Some really nice mods, looking forward to the finished product. Love that aftermarket guibo; That should hold up nicely

[mkPOTO]

wow great thread, this is making me want to redo my setup!

[thekurgan]

I'm interested in the feel of the new guibo, that thing looks tough!

[douglee25]

Those coil overs look awesome!!

Doug

[Z K]

I knew you were not going to be satisfied when you went with the KW sleeve over kit! Should've just gotten the coilovers then rather than do it twice.

[dj_dub]

Those coils look awesome and I love that CF roof!

[GrahamDobbins]

Can you show the car in full? Im interested to see how it looks with the wheels, scoops, and the roof now. The close ups all look amazing but let us see!!!

[italyix]

Thanks guys! ZK, yeah the springs just didn't do it for me anymore. If I were to redo it, I would have taken everyone's advise and would have gone straight to coilovers.

From reading up on the guibo from other forums, it makes for a more connected feel to the drivetrain. Some posters said the slop in the driveline is gone, I'll post back when it goes in.

Sorry for the crappy pic, I will take better ones as soon as she is all washed up.

[Petros]

Great car! I love those mods! Function over form! A couple of comments though. Did you do the subframe and diff bushings? You need at least upgraded diff bushings for reliability. Another thing, all those mods and still on crappy PSS tires? If you're not swapping to r comp on the track, then get a real tire like RE11 or AD08.

[italyix]

Originally Posted by Petros

Great car! I love those mods! Function over form! A couple of comments though. Did you do the subframe and diff bushings? You need at least upgraded diff bushings for reliability. Another thing, all those mods and still on crappy PSS tires? If you're not swapping to r comp on the track, then get a real tire like RE11 or AD08.

Thanks!

I did vorshlag engine mounts, turner solid subframe bushings and diff mounts a few years back, along with RDSport sways.

Regarding the tires, I DD the car and was looking for something to last a bit longer than a super soft compound tire. As I get more track time, I'll look into getting dedicated track rubber and maybe a set of Apex rims. I have no room to store extras right now.

[Sinful]

I am digging what your doing and love the brembos!
The CF hood, how does that work? you remove the sunroof and lay that over it?

[Brian0473]

Nice build!

[Tracyis300]

Wow! That cf roof on the E90 is just amazing. If they ever make one/w a sunroof cut out? I would be all over that.(even though it beats the purpose) But for now i would have to Settle with a cf rap "lol"
This is turning out to be a one of a kind build, and has got me taking notes

[Petros]

You should also swap the exhaust. The stock system is quite heavy. Not to mention there is a bit of power to be made if you delete the cats

[GTB/ZR-1]

WOW--WELL DONE!!!

Pls fill us in on the roof as far as cost breakdown (roof itself, labor, etc).

Very impressive...

[mike@x-ph.com]

Nice!!

[C-M2]

Very interesting build going on. Looking forward to see where this goes

[backhill]

Need/want

[italyix]

Originally Posted by SinfulM3

I am digging what your doing and love the brembos!
The CF hood, how does that work? you remove the sunroof and lay that over it?

The stock roof is completely removed, tack welds are ground off and the roof pops out. Front and rear glass is also removed, then the CF unit pops back in and is held via OEM fasteners and adhesive. iND somewhere has a few writeups on this.

Originally Posted by Petros

You should also swap the exhaust. The stock system is quite heavy. Not to mention there is a bit of power to be made if you delete the cats

I know right! I already have the Challenge x-pipe sport+. I'd like to swap to a full Akra but $$$!!!

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

WOW--WELL DONE!!!

Pls fill us in on the roof as far as cost breakdown (roof itself, labor, etc).

Very impressive...

Roof was ~$1,400 and labor was another $2k, +- a few dollars for OEM components needed to hold the roof down.

[italyix]

UPDATE: Got the CAE Shifter installed over the weekend...I LOVE IT!!! Shifting is crisp and precise and the shifter knob is right next to my hand.

I also installed the Revshift solid Al. flexdisk as my stock unit was going out. As a result, the next weakest link reared its ugly face. Now the Center Support Beating needs to be replaced, as the driveshaft makes a nasty noise when driving. Picture going over rumble strips and thats what its like to drive the car now. Plus the constant grinding against something, I think its due to the drive shaft being out of alignment.

Anyways, contacted the shop about replacing the CSB today, no way i can drive the car for longer without doing serious damage to other components. Turns out the CSB is a Germany part only and will take 7-10 days to get here...stuck not driving the car now.

OH! I also softened up the coilover settings and softened up the rear comp with respect to the front. Rides smooth but can use a few more clicks to soft.

Track day in a few weeks!