Ekona Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 It's been a long time since I've modified a road car, in fact I've not really done anything like this on any car I've ever owned, but certainly not since my Zed days have I embarked upon a project like this. To that end, I'll start by saying that this first round of expenditure has proven to be both Good and Bad. I'll leave the Bad until later, you'll see why... The last time most people saw my car, it looked like this: I've now removed all the stickers (not actually that bad, although it took a couple of washes to remove the residue. God bless ye merry clay cloth!), and taken the paint back to how it was. So it looked like a boring silver BMW coupe, basically! As I said, I've had the engine work done, the wheels fitted, the suspension replaced, and the ARBs fitted. How does she look now? Well, like this really: I know, hardly the most exotic of photoshoot locations, but it's better than my drive way and I had to pop there to get some bits for lunch. Some more pics, a side on shot and close ups of the wheels front and rear: WHEELS Let's start with the obvious shall we, before anyone gets too picky! 1. The wheels look too small. 2. They need bigger spacers to bring them out. 3. I haven't put any tyre dressing on. 4. The front is a bit higher than the rear. Think that probably covers the obvious stuff, although I'm sure some people will hate my taste in wheels which is fine, we can't all like everything. I agree, they do look small and I could easy have gone to 19" or even 20" at a push without it looking over wheeled, however that wasn't the point of this exercise. I wanted a car that handled first and foremost, and the fact that I hated the OEM wheels with a passion meant that something had to give, but I wouldn't compromise the handling for the sake of looks. I'd rather drive an ugly well-sorted car than a pretty one that handles like a bus. This way, I kept my beloved MPSS in 245/45/18 all round. I could've gone wider at the rear, as these wheels are 8.5" rather than OEM 8" and even then a 9.5" option is available, but I don't want any more grip at the back. Bigger wheels also equal more weight, and right now even with the spacers on there I've still got less unsprung mass than I had before. I consider that to be a win. Ah yes, spacers. 30mm all round on here to make the wheels fit and clear the new suspension, as we discovered that 25mm spacers are fine for OEM struts but not the BC Racing ones. Well done to Rimstyle for their excellent customer service in replacing the spacers straight away, in time for me to pick the car up. It was a pretty close call, but they came through. Highly recommended company. When fitting the rears we discovered that I already had 25mm spacers on the rear that I'd not even noticed, as they were black and I've never had the wheels off myself! Shame, as now I'll never know how the car handled without any spacers on at all. I could put bigger spacers on to push the wheels further out, but I'm not mad keen on putting that much stress on the hubs. Nope, they're staying as-is. SUSPENSION Yup, the front does look a bit higher. However, I'm going to let everything settle before I start faffing around with ride heights, although I will say that I clear even the monster speed bump we have at out local Tesco with ease, which I'm very glad about. I don't want a car that scrapes on the floor, I just wanted a subtle drop. I'll likely lower the front to match the rear though, and see how we get on. The ARBs are set full stiff at the front (2 settings) and mid-stiff at the rear (3 settings). This is a very initial setup to see how I get on with things, and I went full stiff up front because I'm desperate to get more immediacy on the turn in. I settled for the mid-point at the back as a test, but already I think I may well put that to full stiff too. On the drive home yesterday I had the dampers set to about 8 clicks from full hard (I didn't know that until this morning though), which was a revelation over the old stuff I had on there. I could feel so much more through the chassis, and every ridge on the road came through the steering wheel. Incredible change. In all honesty it was too hard for the road at this point, but the drive home was still great fun. The BMW always handled well, as me being able to leave my Gallardo-owning friend for dead in Wales earlier this year on the twisties showed, but it was verging on comedy body roll. Sure, there was balance, but clearly after 100K miles the dampers and springs were well past their best. You had to let the front end gently settle on a gradual turn of the wheel, and then when the back end had caught up you could plant the throttle and go. Lovely and smooth, and it does wonders for your driving style when you have to adjust, but not exactly the pin sharp accuracy I crave. Now though... Wow. I've backed the dampers off to 15 clicks from hard, which is bang smack in the middle of the adjustment range, and it's glorious. It's probably a fraction too soft right now, but it's wonderfully damped at this setting. There's a particular corner near me that's a downhill 60deg bend to the left, that has a drain cover on the inside that's a bit rutted. Every vehicle ever skips on that lip, so it makes a 60mph corner into a 50mph one as whatever you drive won't settle over that bump. Well, I took it at that speed just now and there wasn't even a hint of a jump or a skip from the front. You wouldn't even know the manhole was there. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. I think I'll need to stiffen the front end up a bit, leave the rear as it is but change the ARB as I mentioned, and I reckon I'm there in terms of perfection from this car. With the long wheelbase as well, it's as steady and grippy as I could reasonably expect at this point. Certainly going to be fun playing with the settings in Wales next weekend! ENGINE Not having to worry about those pesky oil seals is a huge weight off my mind, I must admit. Sadly they didn't do the coolant pipe as it just didn't arrive in time, so I had to make the call to go without. That's not a huge job to do later though, as you just need to pop the heads off to access it, and mine isn't leaking at all. The engine now sounds a bit smoother when warm, but that could just be a placebo effect as I've not driven her for a while. Am I happy? Yes, I really am. It's always a gamble to chuck money at an older car to refresh, but it's massively paid off. It feels like something that's far more sporty GT than cruiser GT now; like the 350 is to the G35, or the F12 to the Vanquish. Hopefully the roof wrap will be done on Friday, which I think the car needs desperately to tie the wheels in a bit more. A manual 645 may seem like an oddball choice to go for, but I'm now convinced more than ever that it was the right call for me right now. Oh yeah, the Bad that I mentioned earlier? Well, before I got back from the garage this happened: Doh! Not even had them on an hour, I entered a corner a bit too tight, the van coming the other way was a bit too wide, the kerb a bit too high... Perfect storm, basically. In honesty I was a bit tired as well so more my fault than the van driver, just one of those things really. Still, thanks to Tarmac I've got a replacement wheel on the way next week so no real issue. I'll get this one repaired, then keep it for a spare when I do it again, as clearly I will. 45 mins has to be some kind of record! That's why there's no tyre dressing on yet, as I also took a couple of small chunks out of the tyre. It's not huge as you can see from the pic, but neither am I prepared to risk it so I've got two new MPSS being delivered & fitted next week. I think that annoyed me more than kerbing the wheel tbh, as there's loads of meat left on these. I also have more plans now as well... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bems Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Difficult to tell by the pics Dan but agree it should look a lot better once the roofs done. Handling improvements sounds impressive too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 All I would say is... clean or paint those calipers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Looks good Dan but sorry to see you've damaged an alloy & tyre already. That sucks. Had a similar thing happen to me before so I feel your pain although I was lucky when it happened to me as I didn't damage my alloy. Basically went & got two tyres fitted to the front of my Golf VR6 that I used to have, ...coming back after having them fitted I had to move over when a woman on her phone whilst driving drifted a bit too close into my lane ~ the result was I burst my brand new tyre, had to do a quick tyre change & drive back to the garage for yet another £90 odd tyre. Woman = totally oblivious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 :lol: That's not a huge job to do later though, as you just need to pop the heads off to access it :lol: Guess your`ll fit that in one evening then before it gets dark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Good work Dan, seems like you are almost there with it, bad luck with the kerb action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Nice write up, shame about the wheel/tyre! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Great write up as always! If I am honest I am slightly underwhelmed with the pictures but as you have already covered for you it was really all about how the car feels to drive. 45 minutes must be a record, I bet your heart sank when you saw the damage. You have definitely been quick in resolving the problems though As for the tyre damage, it does seem very minimal from the photos but best be safe than sorry though I suppose. You don't want to end up like a certain 918 owners, mowing down a crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 If I'd taken that much from the tread it wouldn't remotely have bothered me, but I don't know how thick the sidewalls are on these tyres. I figured that since I have a hoon coming up when I'm going to be pressing on AND on stiffer suspension so putting more load through the sidewall, it just really made sense to replace rather than run the risk of the tyre falling apart mid-corner. I always tell others not to scrimp on tyres if they have an issue, I really couldn't ignore my own advice now could I?! Whilst we're here, should I stick with silver wheel bolts or get some black ones? What's the consensus on those? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Black bolts are a must for black wheels my friend. Just don't buy aluminium! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Black bolts are a must for black wheels my friend. Just don't buy aluminium! Yep, a +1 here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 My initial thoughts too, just wanted to check before I ordered as the silver ones don't look as bad as I thought they might. Thanks chaps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 So massive thanks to Tarmac, new wheel arrived yesterday as promised and was fitted today along with the new tyres, she's back to being immaculate again! And if anyone knows a good wheel refurb place in Halstead, I'm all ears... Car is also booked in Friday for the roof wrap and to get the AC regassed, as it apparently is as dead as a dead thing right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I have used Wheelworx in Colchester for refurbing my Volks. They are near the big Tesco near The Hythe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 If they did a good job on your Volks, I'm sure they'll be fine on the Rotas. Cheers bud, I'll give them a shout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Yeah, i had kerbed one of my Volks after having them done at Wheelgenie the first time, but a year down the line I didn't fancy going all the way to Huntingdon for the job. So gave Wheelworx a chance. When I picked up the wheel, they were honest and said sorry it took a few days longer, because they took three attempts to get it right. I had left them another wheel for reference of the shade. First attempt, they powdered the black base coat, and then did the shadow chrome finish, was too light, so they stripped and started from scratch. Second attempt, black base went on, but texture looked off, stripped and back to scratch. Third time they got it spot on. Now either they work hard to achieve perfection, or they are incompetent so they required several attempts But at least they were honest, so I would say the former. They do mostly german based wheels, saw lots of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and the usual aftermarket wheels seen on german cars, like BBS etc. Edited October 7, 2015 by BulletMagnet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinyflier Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) All looks spot on Dan, I do enjoy reading your write ups - highly informative. Sickening to damage a wheel at any time, let alone within an hour, I too would have changed the tyres. David Edited October 8, 2015 by Tinyflier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeerrrk Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 (edited) You've been busy Dan, liking the new ride a lot, great choice. Thought about replacing any of the chrome with gloss black? My E46 m3 was silver and bland looking with the chrome, so did the same, dark wheels and gloss trim, looked good in my opinion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited November 1, 2015 by Meeerrrk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 It's like you read my mind I was always happy with the chrome when the car was fully silver, but now the roof is black I'll definitely be changing the kidney grill ASAP. The stuff round the windows will also get done, but I'll try and source that second hand rather than pay new prices or wrap/paint it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeesiter Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Yes, I'm sure it will be really pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Keep it coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've just ordered myself a replacement steering wheel as the OEM one is a bit too hard and thin for my taste, and although I hate myself for doing it I've found an E63 M Sport steering wheel on eBay that looks to be in great condition so I'm going to fit that instead. It's more sculptured than the standard one, and thicker too, so should make gripping the wheel more pleasurable. I'll probably get it recovered anyway, in a smoother and softer leather than BMW use. I've also been playing with the suspension a bit as well, in terms of the settings. I'm finding it hard to get a decent balance now I'm more used to having the option, although I know it's just a case of me fiddling more than anything wrong with the damper selection as such. Given the crappy weather conditions now I've throttled everything back, and am running just 5 clicks from soft front AND rear. Normally you'd have the engine-end dampers stiffer, but I've also not happy with the geo I had the last place do me as it's very prone to understeer. There's lots of grip there, but the feedback is lacking and I don't have the confidence that the car will stick. if you push past that feeling then it sticks incredibly well, but it doesn't make for a confidence inspiring drive! I'm going to take it back to my usual place and get them to re-do the geo, like I should've done in the first place Softening everything off but with the ARBs still stiff does make for a lovely drive though,you can really let the car flow but you get zero body roll in the corners. Serious progress can be made with very little complaining from the front seat passengers... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 it looks leagues better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 It's like night and day with the stock wheel and this. It's a proper thickness but not silly thick, and the leather is MUCH better quality than the original wheel. It's basically mint, this was an utter bargain. Can't wait to get this fitted at the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Sodding cat gets everywhere... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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