Immaculate low mileage 2004 Silver Grey CSL Inspired Build

[Slideways]

Looks fantastic. Does the strut tower brace make full contact with the strut towers, or does it have just the three raised spots that contact the strut tower?

Raised spots like on the genuine BMW version.

[D-O]

Raised spots like on the genuine BMW version.

That's a disappointment.

[Slideways]

That's a disappointment.

Why? Stock, BMW Perf, Karb and Slon all use the same design.

[D-O]

Would a brace that makes full contact with the strut tower not give more protection against mushrooming?

[Slideways]

Would a brace that makes full contact with the strut tower not give more protection against mushrooming?

The strut tower reinforcement plates that go on the strut top mounts will help with that.

[D-O]

The strut tower reinforcement plates that go on the strut top mounts will help with that.

For sure, but I would think a brace making full contact on the top side would assist in reinforcing the strut tower.

[karter16]

the seam on the throttle body boots is facing up rather than down

Not sure if Avedis's are the same but just looked at mine (Genuine BMW) I have sitting on my desk and they have 4 seams (e.g. every 90 degrees) so there isn't a “up vs “down”


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[Slideways]

Not sure if Avedis's are the same but just looked at mine (Genuine BMW) I have sitting on my desk and they have 4 seams (e.g. every 90 degrees) so there isn't a “up vs “down”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah, the old ones have one seam that you can usually put facing down.

[Avedis]

Couple more updates from this week

Remote tuning session with HTE was shockingly easy and fast. I appreciate his willingness to answer questions long before I was a paying customer. His communication and response time was also extremely fast and consistent the whole way through.




Back in the engine bay I installed some black plastic protective caps for the strut brace nuts. The titanum nuts that came with the Karbonius strut brace are really nice, I just wanted a more factory look.



Next up, I replaced the bubbling ///M badge on the valve cover. The new badge received a layer of high temp ceramic coating prior to going on.





I know I said I was done with the interior, but one day I came out to the car and the microphone cover in the sunroof motor cover had fallen out and was hanging by the wiring. I used this as an opportunity to make a small change. The car came with a sunroof (which I never use), and the homelink buttons (which I also never use). I was looking for a totally blank version of the cover, but I was only able to find one that had a single cutout for the microphone cover. Not a huge change, but I used it as an opportunity to continue on with this cars theme of, "the simpler the better."

[0-60motorsports]

Great updates. HTE is a gentleman, good choice.

[Rokoz]

This build is goals man - very well done

[kensuke]

Thanks for sharing so many details with the community, and for posting so we can live vicariously through your effort. Your partner's a saint, giving you the time and space to do this car justice!

[Avedis]

Recently had Bry5on remote in and install his CSL Mullet tune. My initial impressions were all really positive, but I wanted to wait and drive the car a few more times before I posted a small review.




After driving the car a handful of times now, this tune can be summarized in three words; Refined, responsive, and rowdy.

Refined - When doing the installation, Bryson mentioned this was version 22 of the tune. It really shows. You can tell from the moment that the car fires up for the first time that this tune is refined. Cold start, warm up, idle, all perfect. I purposely tried to put the car in situations where CSL tunes normally hiccup. I slow rolled up and down my driveway in reverse and first gear, no issues at all. I went to a neighborhood with really steep hills and went up and down in first and second gear, again, no issues. If there wasn’t a slight whistle noise coming from the CSL intake, you’d simply never know the car has a CSL intake and aftermarket tune installed. Throughout the rev range, it always just feels so refined and composed. It never feels like an aftermarket affair, or that you are having to compromise in some way.

Responsive - The car has no lag, in any gear, at any speed. The car never feels like it’s trying to calculate/think. Bryson also calibrated the accelerator pedal to be slightly more sensitive which adds to that feeling of responsiveness. It sounds crazy, but the car feels like it has more torque. Aside from feeling more responsive at take-off type speeds, I also put the car in weird cruising type situations/speeds to see how it would react. Third gear cruising at 30mph, put your foot down and the car is so responsive. Same results with fourth gear at 40mph. It builds speed so quickly from less than ideal positions. With the way he set it up, the car just feels that much peppier now.

Rowdy - Up top, things get rowdy, a little wild, but never fully unhinged. When driving hard and in the higher rev range, the car is an absolute riot, but it never loses the refinement and responsiveness as described above. This is a review of the software, rather than the hardware, but it would be impossible not to mention the noise. At full throttle, the CSL intake lets out such a visceral and raw noise it literally drops your jaw. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said, “Jeeeeesus Christ” while driving this car hard. It’s really addictive and makes you want to take the car out for a drive even when you have absolutely no reason to. Civilized down low, party up top, the Mullet tune lives up to its namesake.

The more I get to interact with forum members, the more I get to appreciate just how passionate and knowledgeable you all are. I am infinitely appreciative of the advice, willingness to help, ongoing back and forth messaging, and bespoke parts that you all create. This really is an incredible community.

[Bry5on]

Thank you for taking the time to write all that! I’m super glad it’s working great and that you’re out there loving the car, regardless of the driving style or speed. Enjoy it.

[0-60motorsports]

Thanks for the detailed review! I Will definitely be getting a tune from Bry5on but have to wait for some other mods first.