Obioban's 2005 IR/IR Coupe

[Obioban]

Obioban

When you say “The cabin air filter housing needs to be replaced to create the clearance for the brace to fit”, does that mean SLON provides a modified air cabin filter box with this kit?

This post made me realize my pictures weren't actually loading for people, in either thread.

Hopefully fixed now-- there should be 13 pics, total.

[Bry5on]

This post made me realize my pictures weren't actually loading for people, in either thread.

Hopefully fixed now-- there should be 13 pics, total.

Nice, he added the holes for fastener access. You got a very fresh one!

[Obioban]

Gah, seems like I'm not going to be able to install this this weekend.

Next weekend!

[heinzboehmer]

Gah, seems like I'm not going to be able to install this this weekend.

Next weekend!

You doing the rear wall at the same time?

[Obioban]

You doing the rear wall at the same time?

Negative. Need to wrap up the e60 manual swap before I do that, so I can DD it. Rear wall seems like a more involved install.

[heinzboehmer]

Negative. Need to wrap up the e60 manual swap before I do that, so I can DD it. Rear wall seems like a more involved install.

Fair enough. Definitely a more involved install

[Obioban]

I’ve been driving with the SLON brace for around 2 weeks now, so I thought I’m post up my thoughts.

In short, this brace is everything I hoped it would be. The car rides better, handles better, responds faster, and is quieter—and the changes are not subtle. Steering is more precise/consistent/accurate. I knew I was in for a good time just pulling out of the driveway—the car used to have clicks run through the chassis as the chassis twisted from the angle of the driveway to the angle of the street, and the interior plastics changed shape. Now, no longer—completely silent.

I’ve been racking my brain to figure out how to convey what the experience change is like, and I came to what I think is the perfect analogy.
BMW E46 Convertible 10,500
BMW E46 Coupe (w/folding seats) 12,500
According to BMW, the non M coupe is 19% more torsionally rigid than the non M vert. We don’t have numbers for the M vert (we know the M3 coupe is 18,500 nm/deg), but it’s probably a safe assumption that it’s also ~19% less rigid than the M3 coupe.

This brace has measured an increase of 18-20%, depending on the car—so it’s bang-on identical to the increase in going from a vert to a coupe.
If you’ve driven both vert and coupe e46s, you know the exact difference this brace makes, and you’ll know it’s not at all subtle—the more rigid chassis car rides better, handles better, turns in better, has better feedback, is quieter, and is more responsive.

Or, to a less extreme scale, if you’ve driven the same car before and after a roll cage is installed, this is a similar change in feel.

Interestingly, I have not detected any of sizzle Bry5on mentioned—and I’m pretty hyper focused on steering feel in cars (as in, I never wanted a newer Suburban after it went EPS because I couldn’t deal with the lack of feel—in a freaking suburban). I’m not sure what the difference is there—maybe it comes down to a camber/caster/toe setting difference? Either way, I’ve only found all aspect of steering (and everything else) to be improved.

I feel like I already covered this, but, to reiterate, build quality is off the chart. All the CF is perfect, all the alu parts are beautifully machined, everything fits perfectly, everything is actually engineered (not anywhere near a given in aftermarket car parts), and it looks great. This is an expensive part, no doubt—but it’s expensive for a reason. I doubt the profit margins on this are unusually high.

All told, I freaking love it. I have zero regrets, and highly recommend it. I need to make time to get the SLON Workshop rear bulkhead installed ASAP—not because the car feels unbalanced in any way, but because I want more of this improvement, and I want it now!

[robgill]

I was replacing my Avin (because, being the high quality Chinese unit it is, it has decided that it won't turn on if it's a little chilly out) with an Xtrons, and was kind of surprised that the two units were seemingly different inside.

Also, the new unit has internal wireless carplay, instead of a dongle.

I'm sure it's pissing into the wind, but I selected this particular unit over Xtrons other offerings (or another Avin) because it supposedly uses automotive grade internals. We will see...

Hey how's it going with the Xtrons unit? Considering this for my new build.

[Obioban]

Hey how's it going with the Xtrons unit? Considering this for my new build.

So far the “automotive grade” xtrons has been 100% flawless— and I’ve been DDing the car this year.

[IamFODI]

So far the “automotive grade” xtrons has been 100% flawless— and I’ve been DDing the car this year.

OT but "automotive grade" is always amusing when it's applied to only a subset of products a company sells for cars. Like... WTF is the rest, then?

[Albino09]

I see it for sale on their website for less than $400 for their "automotive grade" hardware, with the more expensive units coming with 4G connectivity. Bonkers prices considering where Dynavin used to be. I will be buying an Xtrons unit soon.

[Obioban]

Dirty job

[SFD87]

How many miles are on this now?

I still have the video you made with your brother one winter. The song during the video is from Flyleaf and its an awesome video, takes me way back.

[Obioban]

How many miles are on this now?

I still have the video you made with your brother one winter. The song during the video is from Flyleaf and it’s 65,an awesome video, takes me way back.

~165,XXX, IIRC.

[Obioban]

Epoxy is setting