Stephen's Steel Grey on Imola - Slow but Steady

[Singh]

Great build sir!

[jdauria]

Steel Gray is so underrated. I had same combo a couple years ago when I tried out a convertible: Steel Gray/Imola Red/6MT. Eventually realized I am not a vert guy so sold it but looks like I should've held onto it, prices are nutty even for verts!

[skristedja]

[skristedja]

Ok! Airbox time! Got my map sensor kit from COVID-19 and used an e36 IAT (uses the same CSL scaling, pn 13621739510). The tune is an HTE csl-based tune and I'm running it on my MSS54-hp conversion.

Unwrapping and sticker applying:


Engine bay before installation, tried to clean it up somewhat.



Got the stock box out. Hardest part for me was getting the stock SMG reservoir line disconnected from the pump. The trick is to push the red clip DOWN, while pulling the line connection UP.

Not a lot of information on mounting the CSL SMG reservoir out there, but I decided to drill the shock tower with a #19 bit and hand tap for some 1/8 inch hex bolts.

Here’s the bracket mounted. It is slightly too close to the box in this configuration as it does just barely touch. I’m going to readjust the bracket to see if I can fix that.


So here was my biggest road-bump: the karbonius airbox came with these black plastic rings over the threads on the plastic trumpets.

My stock 03 airbox had the boots that screw off and I tried putting the boots over the rings but it just did not fit right. I managed to get one off but the rest were glued tight.

Went to Lowes to get a strap wrench and put it over the rings and they popped right off. Unfortunately I did scratch the finish with the strap wrench because I only applied painters tape and the screws from the wrench pierced through in one place. I used thicker tape for the remaining rings to prevent scratching.



Placed the box in. Stock CSL air filter.

Placed everything back and wired in the iat and map sensors.

Started up and stalled twice. Third time was the charm and it was purring along at idle!

Took it on a test drive and driveability was a little rough. It quickly started to smooth out but I still need to program the SMG ecu to match the CSL spec as the shifts are a little rough. Also got a Check engine light which I need to read on INPA.

[skristedja]

Decided to swap out my 18x9.5 et22 Arc8s with the 9.5et35s instead because I felt that there was too muck poke in front. The tires are General Gmax RS in 255/35R18


5mm spacer for the fronts to clear my bbk


Calipers are going to need a repaint soon...


Here's how it looks. Going to need an alignment as the camber is off.




Here was the wear on the old tires. Both driver side wheels were this bad. I couldn't tell if this is just camber wear (-2.5 F, -1.5 R) or if it's somehow hitting the spring perch. Hopefully I can dial back the camber with the new setup and avoid this.

[Tbonem3]

Just the fronts or you went e35 for all 4? I'm rocking the General Gmax on my steelgrey as well, though in stock sizing. They're great for the $. I'm surprised you went with 255 tho, did you want more stretch or maybe more responsiveness? The Gmax don't have stiff sidewalls.

Also noticed yours has the wider trunk handle even though it's a pre-facelift car, interesting or maybe you added it.

[skristedja]

Just the fronts or you went e35 for all 4? I'm rocking the General Gmax on my steelgrey as well, though in stock sizing. They're great for the $. I'm surprised you went with 255 tho, did you want more stretch or maybe more responsiveness? The Gmax don't have stiff sidewalls.

Also noticed yours has the wider trunk handle even though it's a pre-facelift car, interesting or maybe you added it.

Yessir, et35 all round so I can rotate. I went with 255 because that's what I had before with the Indy 500s. Were you thinking I should have gone wider? They fit pretty well. I can get some closeups later.

And yeah, my car has the wider truck handle even though it's a 11/02 build. Maybe they switched it at the very end of the production? Only the keenest of eyes have noticed that!

[Tbonem3]

I think all the track cars with 9.5 square go with 265s, so I was just wondering. I think 255 could actually be a good thing with the Generals to get more responsiveness. They're a little sluggish in stock sizes on my 18s. Similar to how my car felt with 245/275 that we're a little too wide on 8.5"/9.5" wheels.

Very interesting about the trunk handle! We all think of the 2003.5 mark as the facelift mark, but I've noticed like half of the "face lift" things came before the 2003.5 mark.

I've yet to see a late 2003 build in a pre face lift color. The ext color changes and the LEDs seem like the major 2003.5+ changes. Not sure on build date, maybe that starts 01/2003.

[jet_dogg]

Perhaps trunk was changed by previous owner. I'm pretty sure no prior 3/03s came with long trunk handle as those were done at the same time as leds and fog lights.

His isn't even close to 3/03.

[Str8f4c3]

Perhaps trunk was changed by previous owner. I'm pretty sure no prior 3/03s came with long trunk handle as those were done at the same time as leds and fog lights.

His isn't even close to 3/03.

Perhaps worth checking to see if there's still a vin sticker on the trunk, typically behind the license plate. That would indicate whether or not the trunk is original to the car.

[skristedja]

No big car updates, but a couple other big updates! My wife is expecting our first baby in July so we finally made the push to get a bigger place! It's just a condo but it has a 2 car garage so I can finally give the M some much needed love. After many years of apartment living and only being able to work on the car at relatives' places, this will definitely let me get a lot of things done on the M that I had been pushing off. Also, being able to wash my car at home is a huge plus. I know a lot of people say goodbye to their fun cars when the babies come but I will be keeping the M3 no matter what.





It's a pretty tiny 2-car garage, but definitely enough room for our needs.

[Tbonem3]

Congrats on the house and baby!

FWIW, my m3 got even better after buying our house and having a baby ☺

[skristedja]

Been a while since I posted but I’ve been super busy with a new job and getting ready for a new baby!
Unfortunately this meant that the M3 had to be a little neglected for a while but thanks to kaiv , I was able to get a bunch of things taken care of while I was out of town. Kevin was a huge help and his attention to detail and documentation of the work makes for an absolutely unrivaled service for enthusiasts like us.

Biggest item needing work was the clutch. It had been slipping pretty badly for a while now and was definitely overdue for a replacement. I would have had Kevin perform a manual conversion during the replacement but life updates mean that I will be sharing the car more and driving something else primarily so SMG is staying…for now!
It was also overdue for a water pump and fan clutch so those were replaced as well. The rest of the work was pretty much a standard Inspection II with some bushings, fluid flushes, and other little items. Pictures courtesy of Kevin!

[skristedja]

Pics continued!

I’m also overdue for smog as I cannot pass with my current CSL box + software so I’ve been working on a DME project to see if I can get it to pass without reverting to stock.

Next on my list is to address the AC system which has been struggling lately. It seems to have a slow refrigerant leak and I had a shop fill it with dye to try and find it and they couldn’t. My research leads me to believe its an evaporator leak which can only be replaced after a full dash removal so I may just try replacing the expansion valve, dryer, and possibly compressor to see if that does the job first.