Black & Tan 332iT

[Bry5on]

Looking forward to seeing the wagon on a set of those 17" wheels.

We’re both out of luck as Apex let me know today that these wheels are being phased out and they won’t be getting any more in. Just the one available.

Options now are:
1) Apex ARC-8 17x9 et52 17.2lb +5mm spacer (same poke, stock offset, but flat face)
2) Bimmerworld TA8s 17x9 et42 18.2lb (most stock looking wheel but will poke out 5mm more, making it look less stock)
3) Apex VS5RS 17x9 et42 16.2lb (lightest but doesn’t come in a silver finish and pokes out like the Bimmerworld wheels)

I believe all of these setups will clear 996 brakes from my limited research, and my current thought, after a lot of vacillating, is that minimizing poke will ultimately yield both the best steering feel and also the most OEM looking setup. We’re going for capable sleeper here.

Thoughts welcome.

[Slideways]

Looking forward to seeing the wagon on a set of those 17" wheels.

[jet_dogg]

Thank you Bry5on and tlow98 for this initial feedback on the Slon Workshop brace. Some of what you described I expected - stiffer, reduced NVH. Some of what you described, I didn't - the low speed sizzle, lol! I think I might be sad to see that go too!

This seems completely worth it to me. It's a lot of coin, but my gut told me from the announcement of this part that it was going to have a big impact on the front end because of tying into the firewall and HOW it ties into the structure.

I have his roof panel and carbon roof bow on my car (thank you jet_dogg) and the quality is amazing. I'm really impressed with what his shop continues to turn out. The Russian Post is a completely pain in the ass to deal with... but I haven't heard of anyone completely losing their parts. You just have to deploy some serious patience.

I could go on, but I don't want to cloud up your build thread. Thanks again for this feedback though! This is immensely valuable stuff.

-Casa

It sucks your stuff didn't come in a week like mine did all the way to LA but it was a different era then and I'm glad you finally got it.

Nice read on the strut bar thanks for tagging me. That shit looks much better with the black mounts if I do say.

[Casa de Mesa]

Thank you Bry5on and tlow98 for this initial feedback on the Slon Workshop brace. Some of what you described I expected - stiffer, reduced NVH. Some of what you described, I didn't - the low speed sizzle, lol! I think I might be sad to see that go too!

This seems completely worth it to me. It's a lot of coin, but my gut told me from the announcement of this part that it was going to have a big impact on the front end because of tying into the firewall and HOW it ties into the structure.

I have his roof panel and carbon roof bow on my car (thank you jet_dogg) and the quality is amazing. I'm really impressed with what his shop continues to turn out. The Russian Post is a completely pain in the ass to deal with... but I haven't heard of anyone completely losing their parts. You just have to deploy some serious patience.

I could go on, but I don't want to cloud up your build thread. Thanks again for this feedback though! This is immensely valuable stuff.

-Casa

[tlow98]

Happy to leave my impressions of the Slon brace here, as it likely makes the most sense. I hope it helps someone.

Bry5on and I have a very similar suspension setup. Koni yellows and stock springs. The only thing that differs is the tires, and sway bar and Slon bar. His bar being 31-ish mm and mine stock convertible front bar. But I’ve also driven his car with the same sway bar as mine. Both are swapped 330i’s with all the front end chassis stiffeners that come on the M3 as stock. I’ve also owned an e91 and know the feel very well as they have, you guessed it, nearly the same chassis reinforcement as stock from the factory that the Slon brace adds to the e46.

- it feels like a more mature e46
- aka, a better lighter version of an e39 which is pretty fantastic as I always thought the e46 lacked the e39’s tighter, bank-vault like build quality.
- less mid corner correction, especially if the surface is bumpy
- dare I say it, easier to drive, gasp!

I didn't drive it highway speeds, but it was a little eerie. Less "feedback" but I have a suspicion the "feedback" it weeds out is actually just needless noise. So, a step in the right direction. It’s less talkative, but the information it gives you is better and more accurate. It’s a great halfway house between the talkative e46 and, to me, boring e90 feel. The e90 is great, but I found it pretty benign and lacking a bit of character. It’s a little too isolating, to me, for a fun car. Great daily tho.

So, objectively better, for sure. And, for me, subjectively better as well. It’s just better. There are lots of ways to stiffen the rear of these cars and after doing so the front end invariably feels out of step with the rear after doing so. There’s now a fix and it’s rad.

The only argument against it that rings true with me is that around town driving comment Bry5on made. But that’s subjective and the kinds of statements old people like me make when a memory of something doesn’t quite match their expectation. And I sort of grew up with the E46 so I could see that. At the end of the day it makes the car better in every way with zero downsides I can think of. And in the world of aftermarket parts that’s mostly unheard of. Huge props for making something like this to such a high degree.


if the car came with this new and you removed it you’d think the car was absolutely worse off. My car now feels “jiggly” where I previously didn’t notice.

so yeah, it’s on my list, damnit. My $5k car needs another $5k part like I need another hole in my wallet :-)

[Bry5on]

Today I tackled the trunk wire that broke and caused my glass hatch release button not to work. What a pain to fix, I had to pull off a brand new piece of plastic which unceremoniously broke in the process. Oh well, everything works again!



And with the help of the local crew, I’ve narrowed down my overheating issue under load in high temps with AC on - my car still has the automatic non-m aux fan/shroud. The bottom of this shroud blocks a good 30% of the airflow going to the radiator and oil cooler, where the M3 is totally open. After going through two radiators, three thermostats, two thermostat housings, two water pumps, and every piece of plastic and rubber in the cooling system, I think this has got to be the issue. M3 aux fan and new shrouds on order.

[heinzboehmer]

I’ll take you up on that if you also have rotors! I’m on 325mm stockers right now

Drive it any time!

No rotors yet, but am about to place an FCP order!

[Bry5on]

I'm jealous, really want to drive it.

Also I just realized I have a set of 996 calipers sitting in the garage just waiting on parts (and time) to get installed. You're welcome to borrow one to test fit with the wheel. Haven't gotten the brackets yet and the caliper isn't machined, so would need some measuring and zip ties to get it in the right spot. Should be fine for test fitting though

I’ll take you up on that if you also have rotors! I’m on 325mm stockers right now

Drive it any time!

[heinzboehmer]

Driving impressions ( tlow98 and mrgizmo04 have both driven it now as well, if they want to comment here), this will be hard to describe but I'll give it my best shot.

I'm jealous, really want to drive it.

Also I just realized I have a set of 996 calipers sitting in the garage just waiting on parts (and time) to get installed. You're welcome to borrow one to test fit with the wheel. Haven't gotten the brackets yet and the caliper isn't machined, so would need some measuring and zip ties to get it in the right spot. Should be fine for test fitting though

[Bry5on]

Cant wait to hear your overall impressions on this once you've had a chance to drive with it. This is a piece I'm highly considering. It looks absolutely fantastic in your engine bay. Thank you for sharing the detailed photos and thoughts about it thus far!

I know people thought it was too "swoopy" when he first announced it, but the more I look at it, the more I think it looks right at home in sitting in that engine back. Especially with the CSL intake.

Also, I'm another mountain biker. Have a similar bike to Gt4 (we've discussed this previously!) - a Santa Cruz Megatower. The wagon looks fantastic with the bike out back!

I think it looks good in there, especially with the black anodized tower mounts. It would have been too loud with the clear anodized aluminum. Some day I may still remove and paint the cowl filter cover flat black to make it less conspicuous, but it's fine for now.

I've been slacking on updates, and I have a bunch of photos to help detail the install, but for lack of time I'll just give my thoughts here now and detail the steps to install a bit later. Install wasn't too bad, it took about 2.5 hours and I was moving at a pretty quick pace. I'd budget 4-6 for this.

Driving impressions ( tlow98 and mrgizmo04 have both driven it now as well, if they want to comment here), this will be hard to describe but I'll give it my best shot. Right away there's a huge difference. My first thought was immediately that the car doesn't feel like an e46 anymore. I had 50/50 mixed feelings on the first couple drives, but those have given way to 90/10 positive feelings. The car is way more rigid, feels more like a modern car, somewhere around an e39 or closer to an e90 with front end steering precision. Steering precision is way better and more accurate, once you place the wheel, the car doesn't need much interactive correction to keep course. The dead-center e46 feeling is further a thing of the past (this brace, combined with 712 rack and CSL-like toe settings). It's hard to describe, but there is the feeling of more 'support' for the suspension. Initially, it felt like the car was about to understeer because it didn't 'roll' or 'dig' into a corner, the body just stays as one and stays flat. Again very hard to describe.

There is less feedback through the wheel, as some of the e46 feedback through the wheel seems to have come from undamped front end vibration. I'm calling this the e46 'sizzle' and it's what I was initially sad to lose. The car is certainly more capable and planted, keeps more consistent tire loading in corners, and is generally objectively better, but it did take a way a little of the low speed driver feedback that makes tooling around town exciting. It didn't take away all of it, the car certainly isn't like a modern EPAS BMW, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss a little of that feel through the steering wheel. That feel doesn't seem to have provided any real benefit, but it was part of the e46 experience. Now, the contrast to this is that the wheel doesn't vibrate much on the highway anymore, making it more comfortable and more "BMW-like" to cruise at high speed. The e46 always had some extra feedback at speed if you didn't have a super fresh tire balance, and it is actually much nicer on the highway.

NVH is improved, the car is sharper, firmer, and more comfortable over tough roads. It's most noticeable when you hit bumps with only one side of the car, or hit a bump at a diagonal. Really, much more rigid and composed when interrupted. The car is slightly less 'crashy' on abrupt bump inputs, and generally just feels a bit tougher. Again, much more like a modern car

I'm basically ignoring all the handling and feedback benefits, because I'm assuming folks reading this will already be well aware. To be clear, the car corners way more confidently and can be placed more accurately with less see-sawing at the steering wheel on the limit. It's a half way step between an e46 and an e90, and that's a good thing. It keeps a bit of the e46 sizzle, but adds some of the benefits of the stiffer, newer chassis.

Overall, I knew to expect a change, but I didn't really know what to expect. I was really surprised by some of the changes, and after driving around and getting used to it, I wouldn't be able to go back. The rear is also now noticeably less planted and buttoned down than the front. I'm really looking forward to adding that v-brace to balance it all out. Soon. Thanks Slonik for getting this so right!



Also, I did a quick tool around in mrgizmo04's M3 with 996 brakes and now I'm sold, it really does have pedal feel like a Porsche. I ordered the last 17x9 et42 Apex EC-7R wheel (drops a cool 7lb/corner!) in stock to test clearance over the 996 brakes as there's no way in hell the Style 32's can make fixed calipers work.

[Casa de Mesa]

Slon brace is installed. More details later after it cures up.

Cant wait to hear your overall impressions on this once you've had a chance to drive with it. This is a piece I'm highly considering. It looks absolutely fantastic in your engine bay. Thank you for sharing the detailed photos and thoughts about it thus far!

I know people thought it was too "swoopy" when he first announced it, but the more I look at it, the more I think it looks right at home in sitting in that engine back. Especially with the CSL intake.

Also, I'm another mountain biker. Have a similar bike to Gt4 (we've discussed this previously!) - a Santa Cruz Megatower. The wagon looks fantastic with the bike out back!

[Bry5on]

Slon brace is installed. More details later after it cures up.

[Bry5on]

I’ve had 26’’ until 2017 than switch to 29’’ than got my mullet in 2022. Would not go back to a 29’’ rear wheel. I should of ride 27.5’’ bikes all those year instead (never had a 27.5’’). 29’’ are fun to roll over stuff but IMO it takes too much energy to accelerate with them vs a 27.5’’. I think mullet is best of both world.

Well I’ll have to give a mullet a shot then! On the same theme, and also in the theme of the thread, two of the most fun drivers cars of the era:

[Gt4]

Nice! Yeah my Ripmo is an XL also, thing is a beast. I’ve never ridden a mullet setup but I loved how nimble my old 27.5” bikes were! Definitely curious to try one some day

I’ve had 26’’ until 2017 than switch to 29’’ than got my mullet in 2022. Would not go back to a 29’’ rear wheel. I should of ride 27.5’’ bikes all those year instead (never had a 27.5’’). 29’’ are fun to roll over stuff but IMO it takes too much energy to accelerate with them vs a 27.5’’. I think mullet is best of both world.

[ARCHBID]

Well it was rainy all day today, so that means house and car work. The 6001 bearing at the bottom of the pinion shaft didn't feel so great, so I finished off the rack rebuild other than replacing this bearing (which arrives this week). I didn't bother replacing the PTFE seals as I don't have tapered tools to stretch/install them properly. Yet another concession that I hope I don't regret down the road..





I also got to painting the ground control lower control arm replacements. I haven't been able to get camber in spec on either side (maxing under 1.6 degrees on both sides), and I figured I'd try a set of arms with a ball joint a la CSL. The ground control arms are a nice shade of red, but I'm not exactly jazzed about having some red arms showing from underneath my car as folks follow me. It just screams 90's Honda Civic to me. I also found it a bit odd that the two arms are using what appear to be different brand ball joints.

I am in awe