Cristian's Silber Grau Metallic '06 ZCP Manual CSLed Werwölfe

[CrisSilberGrau]

Some foreshadowing: honest work needed.



Who does shit like this fml. I neglected non performance stuff for so long. This and the window trim haunt me.


Where it belongs.


I scratched it like a noob. Uncle Tyler told me it's salvageable.

Sent these off to our boy TexaZ3

This off to local roaddefined.


And these are from Germany. My dream rear strut bar, organized a group buy with my track buddies and team mates. Ordered 3 variants for the E46, and one piece for my brothers E36. Don't think I'm ready for the monster I'm building. I just want to hunt m2s on track, and shut those FRS bois up. Not a fucking peep out of them. Cars way faster than i am at this point i need the most work as is always the case.




oh and this too...

[CrisSilberGrau]

Damn, you can tell the posts I made from uploading photos from my phone, fml potato quality on desktop when looking at this thread. Never again. I had some time to kill at work and .... yah ill just use flickr.

[CrisSilberGrau]

Some track footage from tracks in my area.

Mosport Driver Development Track - current pb is a 1:38 , my phone timing gear said i did a 37 but dont trust it. I'll get proper timing gear... from someone. This particular day my brother was driving, and it was just after the CSL trunk install. I wasnt part of this particular track day.

https://flic.kr/p/2oem5Fb

https://flic.kr/p/2oeoBpZ

Some sound bites from the current intake and exhaust setup. Potato quality but hope it conveys the sound decently. It sounds more refined, less rasp, drone etc. There's a lot of exhaust pulses and slight pops that I just dont get in the cabin. I dont hate it but I dont love it. The last setup however was banshee at high rpm, and rasp city, loved it. Very raw. Unfortunately dont have any vids of it, just memories of a friend driving my car and me driving his. I was gob smacked at how good it sounded on the outside. Alas...

https://flic.kr/p/2oeofXT

https://flic.kr/p/2oemNAU

[repoman89]

Fuck, I was afraid of this. Really the anvin was that bad? what didnt you like about it?

But damn, thats 20lbs gone, wow.

Yeah, I had seen the whole Avin stereo is worth 50lb thing on these forums, but I don't see how that is possible even with a custom wiring harness and deleting all but two front speakers. Still, I was happy with ~20 lbs off the car and (IMO) a much nicer center console.

Re: Avin ... I hated it because it felt like $150 worth of shitty Chinese hardware and half-assed software masquerading as an $800 high end device. Comparing the buttons, screen and electronics to the 20 year old head unit in my 2001 E39 was a joke, and I had no faith that it would make it even five years. The buttons felt like Fisher Price toys against the nice tactile feel of the stock ones. I've used better or at least equivalent LCD screens that I bought for $25 on Digikey for robotics projects at work. The hardware and wiring and connectors were nowhere near even cheap automotive grade like you'd find in a Kia. There was no locking mechanism on the main wiring harness to the back of the unit for example, so it could easily become loose and vibrate out. Compare that to those stock radio connectors with the locking latch that are both easy to tighten/loosen and easily stay in place for the lifetime of the car. The connections to the car were just a mess of off the shelf adapters, just the cheapest feeling solution imaginable. The one feature I really cared about, wireless Apply Carplay, was provided with the equivalent of one of those Carlinkit adapters you can buy on Amazon connected to the back of the unit via USB-A. Then once it was all cleanly installed, it turned out that they didn't include yet another adapter to connect the car's radio antenna to the unit so I had no FM reception, and I couldn't get wireless Apply carplay to connect or even the adapter to be recognized. I'm sure all that would have worked eventually but I had decided by that point that that POS couldn't stay in my car and took it all out the same day. Then they fought me on their 30-day return policy and only the threat of a Paypal claim for item not described due to non-functional radio reception made them relent (they really wanted to overnight me the adapter instead).

Lot of words there, as you can tell I really disliked that experience. Much better to just embrace the old car outdated technology

[CrisSilberGrau]

Couple of updates.

Cams went in, went with 280/272 to forego followers and keep a healthy torque delta. My brothers E36 also got cams but there were some complications that arose that could've been found early with a compression and leak down test. We found a burnt valve on his car on cyl6. Head off and the 3 angle valve job and port polish, extra money we weren't looking to spend.

We did the compression on my car before taking anything off.


Not great but not bad either. Seems like 167psi for standard compression is average so cyl 1 and 4 are a bit off. Cleaned the follower retainers, toothbrush and sunlight dishwasher with warm water. Many metal cuts later they looked brand new.




The valve train before.



And after.


And then a nice surprise...

[CrisSilberGrau]

After starting the car I noticed something in the trunk compartment as we tried to boost another M3 to get into the garage with my car.

[CrisSilberGrau]

Car was on CTEK trickle while in storage, some how it overcharged the battery and this happened. Voltage was 12.89 after i had removed it from the car for some time. Really upset as the battery well was pristine.

Deionized water and baking soda to soak and scrubbed it like a mad man. It went all the way to the metal that will have to be monitored and most likely repainted soon. Batter was brand new last year as well.

[CrisSilberGrau]

Found some cf brake duct intakes for cheap locally, the bimmerworld ones. They will go back on the OEM bumper and will pair nicely with the mk rennsport lip that's coming soon. They are super light, I've already hacked up the OEM bumper and they fit perfectly behind the main side vents. Then the steering wheel was also fitted before going in for cams. This I'm most happy about. OEM thickness with nappa and perforated leather sides and alcantara grey stripe to match the car. The stitch is original M colors which is just the bees knees. Big shout-out to TexaZ3 for the work on the trim, wild to me that I didn't do this earlier, it's literally the thing you use most in the car. Will be a mod I'm sure will rank top 5 going forward.

[Gt4]

Time to go lightweight battery I guess!!

[CrisSilberGrau]

Time to go lightweight battery I guess!!

I've spent a lot this season, it was bought through worldpac and am in the process of warranting it. Lightweight battery is a hit of a dark art for me don't know a lot, was looking at braille b3121 but unsure of functionality etc.

[heinzboehmer]

Car was on CTEK trickle while in storage, some how it overcharged the battery and this happened. Voltage was 12.89 after i had removed it from the car for some time. Really upset as the battery well was pristine.

Deionized water and baking soda to soak and scrubbed it like a mad man. It went all the way to the metal that will have to be monitored and most likely repainted soon. Batter was brand new last year as well.

That's super annoying. Should be easy to fix since you caught it relatively quickly. POR 15 makes some stuff that's a pretty good match to silver grey: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...112#post100112

[CrisSilberGrau]

I ended up getting the Braille 21lbs AGM battery to replace the unit in the above posts. Considerable weight savings and the fit was pretty easy to get right.

That however was the last thing to go decently in 2023. Coles notes: spent a lot of CAD rupples, new Schrick 280/272 on old good oem followers ruined the cams and followers, CatCam 280/272 set bought - exhaust cam was out of spec with the vvt orifice being .015-25in out of round/cylindrical (I dont know the engineering speak but basically the hole was conical). I did about 1,500kms all in in 2023 which was just break in and a bit to drive to a garage to store and work on it.

Exhibit A : intake cyl 3 I think.

Larger picture. I have more but you can gather an idea. The damage is enough to make a very audible top side valve train noise consistent with "ticking". I took the valve cover off pretty much right after the dyno session. For reference, break in was about 1200-1300kms, on new oil, 4k rpm max, always below 50% throttle or less. Drives were around 80-100kms long per session varying rpms even while on the hwy.







New CatCam set bought from a member, with the oil bridge and the followers. No drilled rocker arm shafts though.


This was the dyno session with the Shrick cams. I have not dynoed the CatCams, they are basically the same however the lift on the exhaust is 12.25 vs 12.5mm (Cat vs Schrick). Speaking with Hassan he advised that more fuel is needed on the low end and the injectors were at max duty. I went the cheap way first and then did what everyone else is doing and went with the 550cc and Radium accoutrements. Update 2024 present, still haven't fitted the injectors, fuel line, catch can. I just want to drive and not worry about shit at this point.

Finally received FatCat Stage 3 Ultimate suspension. Installed with Vorschlage race plates front and rear. Tried to us my TCKline stuff but top threaded shaft on HR coil set is different so more spending. The difference from almost flat ride TCK to flat ride FC (400lbs front / 784lbs rear) is noticeable just not as staggering as it was when I first did my spring conversion with TCK. However, add some high speed cornering and it's very apparent. Very happy with it.

Favorite mod easily is the Roaddefined reupholstered steering wheel, opted for oem foam thickness, and OG colors blue purple red, with an alcantara center stripe and nappa perforated 9-3 and nappa. It's the thing you use most in the car, dont cheap out, so worth it. Maybe get and OMP/Sparco/Momo for track and weigh savings but for now I'm super content.

Did as much cleaning as I could when the cam work was being done. Cleaned the valve cover by hand, took a long time and chemicals but was super satisfying. Love doing stuff like that, restoring to like new, feelsgoodman.

[CrisSilberGrau]

After installing the CatCams, and then sending the exhaust one back to Belgium for fixing. It was time for the Yurkan X brace to go in. I'd organized a group buy for it for me and my track buddies. Total of 6 were bought. Marin is the best to deal with. Install was a right pain in the ass, its not easy and you'll need help and proper tools, the worst is getting the passenger front most bolt out. Theres no fuking space and its a struggle that alone took an hour just to get out.

Depending on how old your chassis is, the brace may just drop in or will require more fiddling, I've installed it on 2 other cars and all are not the same. Mine it just dropped in to my surprise.







Not gonna lie it was amateur hour, but I tried to be as careful as possible and still made some mistakes. None were bad but enough to get my blood pumping. The difference is immediate. The rear end is extremely solid and responsive. You lift wheels on inclined driveways, scary at first since its a new sound but you get used to it. Anything to remedy the paper mache rear end of our cars is a must do. Either this or the Slon wall, I wanted scaffolding so I went with that.



MK Lip, looks on point. Still not installed.


After Yurkan, without top side of back seats, no side wheels arch trunk trim, and a full tank, with me in the driver seat.


Without driver.


10/10 would do again.

[Tbonem3]

That lip looks nice, look forward to it being installed. The rear end bracing and the fixed seats (and good suspension) transform the car so much.

[CrisSilberGrau]

That lip looks nice, look forward to it being installed. The rear end bracing and the fixed seats (and good suspension) transform the car so much.

The combination of all those things, weight loss, increased rigidity and the extra power just make the car really really fun to drive. On the street with no sound deadening I got to admit is not very nice but if you have an ounce of motorsport in you the noises are truly amazing. I'd debating whether or not to put back the trunk side wall interior bits or a bit of sound deadening. Also the Vorsteiner trunk doesn't seal well without any trunk trim. At speed you can hear it flap against the rear windshield. Have to find a solution to help it seal or properly diver air. Definitely not great above 100mph.

At the track this new setup was amazing. Mosport here is our best track in Ontario, it was so confidence inspiring I tried just to lift in turn 1. Hind sight is 20/20 and I should have eased into it more ie. tap brakes. I was drifting at around 90mph which was not fun when you're looking at a wall. It was my second time at the track ever, but the confidence from the car was supreme. It just underlined the need for a better braking system, one that's simply more consistent.

Lots more in the pipeline but will slow down for then end of the season. MK lip and the rest will wait until 2025. Time to tackle some aesthetic bits.