So if you are going to do something right, GO all the way with it. So I went full vanity and got a new custom plate. I had Evolve send me a new ECU flash to address a slight running rich issue the car has at start. They also added a CSL rev match, which does a better job than stock SMG tune. The car is idling and running much better than it did with the base Evolve tune. Here is a sound clip all be it rather short video of the car in action. Sorry I do not have longer clips but I will hope to have more soon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cshe48uvxIQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUwobUXxUGqJBgZMdYpFLgIA
First weekend I had time to clean the car and get it ready for the 500-mile drive down to Bimmerfest. As it was Mother’s Day I was only able to clay bar the car, clean the engine bay and polish the wheels / brake calipers. Next few nights are polish, wax the car, and detail the interior. I started with the Engine bay first which is worth noting the rag was bright yellow at the start of the cleaning process.
Last steps were to clean the brakes, rims, and interior. When all was said and done it took me about 7 hours to clean four months of dust off, out, and in the car. I guess that is what happened when the car lives for four months in different service and performance shops.
So far, my upgrade choices were driven by performance. I decided I might as well through a little bit of vanity in there so I ordered the first of the vanity mods, which was a CSL badge. I also ordered the CSL Sales brochure so I could have my own copy.
Bimmerfest 2013 was my “bachelor” party as I was getting married the following weekend. My good friend rode shotgun and we lead the group down from Northern California to join the festivities in Southern California.
All of June 2013 was spent on my honeymoon with the new Misses. We took a three week trip to tour the UK and see all the sights and sounds of that part of the works. I was able to meet up with some real CSL owners in Scotland and talk to them what it was like to own the car and what they do for fun across the pond. Wish I had longer to chat with them but did not want to bore the wife to tears. I will make a thread of the travels but here are the pics I got of the real CSL’s. I have a little tweaking to mine to match it up better to the real ones. NOTE: These CSL did have AC and Radios. Seems most have creature comforts and only a few were the “hardcore ones”
After visiting Scotland the wife and I made are way to Southern England to see Stone Hedge. After Stone Hedge we headed to Dover on the East Side of England. One of the stop on the way to Dover was to see Dunsfold Aerodrome or for you fans out there the Top Gear Test track. When we got to Dunsfold we were told by the security guard we could not see the facilities or the Top Gear Hanger because McLaren was filming the new MP12-4C GT. The guard opened the gate so we could drive in and turn around to leave. As we were starting to drive out he asked why were there. I told him that we were on our Honeymoon and we just wanted to see where Top Gear was filmed. After he heard that he told us to wait. He came back in a few minutes and said follow me. The guard gave us a guided tour of the facilities and told us the history of the Aerodrome, who owns it, future plans, and how he used to work there. I could not share the full details of the story for until the new season of Top Gear started At the Top Gear hanger we got to see the new reasonably priced cars, the trailers that were really the Top Gear production offices and inside at the studio. It is worth to note that production offices are really the production offices, even though they made jokes about it. When we went into the studio hanger it was not setup for filming Top Gear as they just finished filming a upcoming movie. One last interesting thing is the stars that come on the show enter through a storage closet. All the budget for the show goes into the specials and filming. While there did see the new McLaren Mp12-4C GT being tested. We could not take pictures of it of course but saw it flying down the runway. It was flat black; fly’s like a bat out of hell and sounds like a whaling banshee. The guard was so cool that he gave us a few t-shirts he had and official Top Gear script from the episode they won the EMY Award. I had to hold of sharing a lot of this as I said as not to get the guard in trouble for showing us around and hooking us up.
After visiting Dover we went to London. While we were touring around we walked by the Park Lane BMW. They had a M3 GTS in the show room that was in the bright orange paint job. Next to the BMW dealer was one of the new BMW I Showrooms for the new I cars. They had an I8 concept and the frame of an I3. It was rather interesting to see them in person rather than images.
While we were in London I convinced the wife to let us spend a day and trek up to see the Evolve guys. We took the train up from London and meet Imran at the train station. We got a ride to the shop in his crazy E39 M5. The car sounded amazing and what little he stepped on the gas it pulled like a freight train. Would have loved to see what it would do unleashed. We spent the morning at Evolve talking to Imran, Sal and Riz about cars, how the tune for their software for the M3 and how they test cars yada yada. We also talked to them about how they got into cars, their family, and how they started Evolve. It was very interesting to hear about their path to get Evolve where it is today and their backgrounds. If you ever get over to the UK, it is worth the trip to see the shop and meet the crew that does wonders for any performance car. While we were at Evolve there was several customer cars there in for software tuning. One was an E46 M3 that had an aftermarket CSL airbox installed. This airbox was one of the 4 companies that make a replica box (can’t remember which one sorry). Riz and Sal spent the morning working on the E46 to resolve an install issue and load an Evolve power tune. The Replica CSL Airbox looked descent enough but it had the temp sensor to close to the motor and was getting heat soaked. Sal showed me and the customer the data maps and how he changes the files. The software is pretty cool as it displays data in a 3d model. Here is the old shop. They just purchased the new shop which is in the same complex but is on the other side of the cul de sac and three times as large. It was a fun visit to Evolve and I got to know more about the guys and the shop that programs my car. Sal is definitely a hoot to talk to about his philosophy on cars. Imran is definitely the grounded one and Riz is the sarcastic tech. The combo works as evident in their products and I hope they continue to support the enthusiast’s community.
I wanted to list all the parts that I have tried in my quest to make the car into what I envisioned. Some of these parts were a big step in the wrong direction while others definitely were worth doing. Once all the new parts are installed, I will make a master list of all the parts and part numbers. UUC RaspX gen I UUC Sway bars Grouppe M Intake Conforti Shark Injector Evosport Headers SuperSprint Race Cats SuperSprint Gen I Headers Vorstiner CSL roof with sun roof Vorstiner CSL bumper With Fogs OE 19 Rims K&N Pannel Filter Painted match reflectors H&R Sport Springs Koni Adjustable Shocks Front Shock tower mount Swap Powerchips software UUC Sway bars (fitted and returned / Never used)
September 2013 I lead my annual drive to Lake Tahoe. Here are some of the images from the Lake Tahoe Drive. This is for those out there who think this is a garage queen, I think NOT. 255 miles and some serious bug death going on in the front as you will see in the last image.
After doing the Tahoe drive, I noticed the car was running good but not great. I started looking and talking to the gang on M3forums and we started the project to make the MAP sensor work to make it a true CSL setup. I ordered the parts needed from a fellow M3Forum member to be the first one to test out the setup.
October 30th the CSL door panels arrived.. They are a little rough but they are fixable thankfully. Seller did a great job packaging them and was honest about their condition. Next step is to have the scratches buffed out and place in my door frames which are in better shape. This will complete the full OE CSL look less the front and rear seats.
August 2013 I was on a old Air Force Base for a photo shoot and took some pics of my own with the trusty cell phone. I love the location and need to make the time to go back and take better images using a good camera. For now these still look pretty good for a quick photo opp.
You might have the door panels on already, but if not, in the while-you're-in-there vein, maybe worth considering replacing anything in the door known to fail, such as window motor regulators, lock cylinder, etc. Lookin' good!
Sorry for not sharing this sooner but I have been busy like most everyone out there. I have been working with terraphantm on making all the CSL function work on the codig side of things. We are 90% there other than needing to redo the H-bridge on the DME. However till he gets a chance to make a new DME we did get oil level to work on my car at least. As it is the holiday season, I attended the 7th annual Rally 4 Kids event that EuroSunday hosts. This is a event fro Shriner's Hospital to help gather toys for the kids there. We had over 500 cars this year despite the 30 degree weather.
Received my used airbag module to hopefully resolve the airbag light notification. I tried the jumper trick and it did not work. I also tried having the airbags coded out and that did not work. Reason for the codding out not working is most likely because I have has the light on so long. $50 later let’s hope this fix the issue once I get it installed and try to code out the door airbags again.
Yay some parts arrived today. Down side is a lot of the other items I ordered won't be in till late Jan.. booooo X1 -- BS021 ------- S54 Vanos Seals Repair Kit X1 -- BS022 ------- S54 Vanos Rattle Repair Kit X1 -- BS023 ------- S54 Rebuilt Vanos Solenoid Coil Pack X1 -- BS024 ------- S54 Vanos Sealing Plate Repair Kit X1 -- BS025 ------- S54 Vanos Oil Pump Disk X1 -- BS095 ------- S54/S62 Vanos Rattle Tools X1 -- 11367831938 - Vanos gasket X2 -- 11121437395 - valve cover stud grommet X1 -- 11361401971 - Vanos oil filter X2 -- 11367833218 - S62 sprocket hub diaphragm spring and pressure plate X12 - 07129905536 - sprocket sleeve bolts X1 -- 11317830159 - Exhaust upper chain tensioner guide X1 -- 07119963342 - Chain guide mounting bolt washer X1 -- 07119963418 - Crankshaft chain tensioner washer X2 -- 07119963129 - oil drain hose crush washer X2 -- 07119963072 - Vanos oil accumulator pipe crush washer
