Originally posted by Casa de Mesa
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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.
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