M3dragon - NorCal CSL build

[m3dragon]

Today the miscellaneous box of parts showed up. This contained mostly the parts for the center console. Also included was the OE BMW differential parts and the SMG expansion tank. Basically all the nuts and bolts HAHA. All that is left to arrive is the CSL cam, Bumper, snorkel and center console.

[zac5]

epic build!
your car put mine in full of shame. lol

[m3dragon]

Finally got the SMG controller from ESS. I was disappointed in how they returned the unit to me. Controller was not in a static free bag as I sent it to them and it was in a USPS flat rate box with only one pass of bubble wrap. They are also slow to respond to emails. Anyone else have these issues with ESS or am I just the lucky one? I have taken it for about 40 miles of driving and can’t tell 100% if there is a change. From what I notice it seems to change up a smidge faster and downshifts are a smidge faster in feel. I am taking it on a “spirited” drive this weekend.



Also arrived are the Samsco hoses as part of the coolant system refresh when I take out the radiator. Hopefully these will keep the car cool for many years to come =)

[rjd598]

any exhaust clips? and everyone has great service from ess im sure they are just busy and get back to you soon

[flipm3]

Great update! I hear their ESS SMG Software does wonders. Hopefully you are able to feel the differences as time goes by.

I have heard mixed things about ESS and customer service, so you're definitely not the only one. I have personally tried contacting them directly to ask questions and inquire about their services, only to not get any responses many times. Chances are they were probably incredibly busy and looked over my messages since they do cater to a very large client base.

[///M3Lover]

Loving your M3 build! Awesome guide for me as I am in the process of replacing some parts step by step.

For the CSL Trunk, did you order it from a local BMW dealership or a vendor?

[m3dragon]

I only got a few parts from a local BMW dealer. The rest I got through vendors. If you would like my contacts PM me. Just remember CSL parts cost a painful amount.

[greekcs]

I did the CSL SMG software update myself. The shifts are a little crisper from what I've noticed.

[W///]

I never get tired of looking at E46 M3's. The car looks eerily similar to what I want to do with my E92 eventually, including yellow BBK's. Good to see that the combo works so well.

Keep us updated, would love to see how the car turns out!

[m3dragon]

Finally was able to install one of the major parts on the M3 on Saturday 9/1/12. My wife’s father works for a Porsche/Subaru shop so I was able to get access to a lift so I could install the steering rack. I combined it with two oil changes as well. Might as well make the most of having a lift right. Below are the images of the day and the work done to the M3 and 1M.

Image of the wife driving the 1M to the shop. Nice morning AM drive on the free up to Auburn.



1M was up first as that was just in for a oil change. So needed it as it was almost 7000 miles. I know bad M owner but I have been busy.



The following images are of the install of the steering rack. Sorry for the crappy image quality as all I had was my Iphone. I forgot the good camera so this is the best I could do. The install of the steering was pretty straight forward and took about 2 hours to do the install. I also changed the oil as it was due.

The change in the steering is noticeable. I was concerned a little as some said they did not notice a change when they drove their M3 and a M3 with the competition steering rack. The steering feels sharper and I can notice I do not have to turn the wheel as much as I did before when making hard over turns. It is not major change but enough that makes the steering feel closer to the 1M which was my goal. I believe that if I did try the ZHP rack of a 330 it probably would feel a tight as the 1M does but I did not want to go that extreme. OK so enough talking from me, images of the work below.

[flipm3]

Great update! The steering must feel great.

[m3dragon]

For kick and giggle I wanted to see what 10 years of ownership looks like in paperwork. It basically means a whole lot of paperwork in a hanging folder that I will have to split into two eventually.

[///M3Lover]

[greekcs]

I noticed you used Castrol EDGE and not TWS. Is there a difference between the two?

[m3dragon]

Nope. None that I can tell. I think depends on the dealer. As long as it is 10/60 you are good.

[m3dragon]

I did a drive last weekend with some local NorCal guys up HWY 1 on a 189 mile loop. (345 miles total for me). For those who say there is not a major change between the CSL/ZCP steering rack and OE need to take it on a super twisty road. Like most I did not feel a major change when driving surface streets and making tight turns in town. Hitting the back roads and taking hair pin turns is where I really felt a change. Bear with me as I try to explain. Before on a tight hair pin I would have fully crossed my arms over and still would need to turn more to make the turn. IE remove hand(s) and turn the wheel more. Now I do not exceed making a parallel X when having to crank the car over. Sorry best way to explain it. Bottom line is I just got my justification the cost was worth it. ESS software seems to make down changes and up changes in mode 5 a tad faster for a update there.
Here is one of the images of the drive.

If you care to see some more images of the group drive I lead you can see them at www.norcaldrivers.com. Hopefully I will expand this website to the other states for the routes/photo places if anyone ever sends me routes and photo locations..

[m3dragon]

So the long awaited big items arrived today. Thank you to the Evolve guys for a great packing job. A thing to point out is that the bumper comes with the gasket, splitters, and tow hoot cover. So I have a spare tow cover, 2 extra splitters and a spare seal. Kind of nice but at the same time could have saved the funds. Ok as usual images below.

Items all packed up and delivered





All the miscellaneous parts needed to install and complete the bumper installation.



Last of the interior parts from BMW were in this order. One step closer to getting the car to the interior shop. I hope to be able to pick the seats up next week as they are in.







The bumper itself. It comes painted which is kind of a bummer as I need to repay it. The bumper also seems to be some sort of carbon fiber? First time seeing a OE CSL bumper off a car.























I have 2 pairs of splitters. The splitters are super light and seem to be a thin carbon fiber. I will do a write up OE vs VS splitters.











OE grill so nothing to unusual here.





[b]The final piece of the intake puzzle. Only bummer part with this order is you can only order it with the servo. I am going to see what it might take to get it to work. Nice thing about having a mechanical / electrical engineer as a father =)[p]

[m3dragon]

Today’s parts update was a woohoo and a damit moment. The Recaro Profi XL seats are at the shop along with the install brackets. We installed the drive side seat and epic fail. The seat with the bracket sits taller than the stock seats so my head was holding the roof up. We are looking into either new brackets or having to make custom ones to drop the seat low enough. So I have sets but not in the car.



While at the shop I wanted to get a base dyno before all the big moods. Again another damit moment. We were only able to get to 2nd gear for the dyno test. We were able to at least use all the revs so we got a descent set of numbers. Max power was 317 and the consistent number was 312.4. Not too bad for a starting point.

[flipm3]

Car looks great as always!

Turns out there's a DynaPack location 15minutes away from my place. I thought about going there to do some runs for fun but they charge a bit, haha...

Did your dyno operator plug in some numbers and calculations to make sure the dyno measures power correctly for your car?

[m3dragon]

Originally Posted by flipm3

Car looks great as always!

Turns out there's a DynaPack location 15minutes away from my place. I thought about going there to do some runs for fun but they charge a bit, haha...

Did your dyno operator plug in some numbers and calculations to make sure the dyno measures power correctly for your car?

Yes. The owner who did the dyno does turning for several race teams such as the Flying Lizard Porsche race team and one of the Mazda Speed 3 teams. He also does dyno tunes so I think he did things right.

Only issue we had was we could not get past 2nd gear for the dyno runs. SMG was being a pain.

DynaPack from what i researched and talking to the shop owner is actually a better way to get numbers. Example is if someone straps one side of the car down harder than the other side you can get some discrepancies. Maybe only 2 hp but it is not perfect. Neither is the DynaPack but for my car it works.

[flipm3]

Originally Posted by m3dragon

Yes. The owner who did the dyno does turning for several race teams such as the Flying Lizard Porsche race team and one of the Mazda Speed 3 teams. He also does dyno tunes so I think he did things right.

Only issue we had was we could not get past 2nd gear for the dyno runs. SMG was being a pain.

DynaPack from what i researched and talking to the shop owner is actually a better way to get numbers. Example is if someone straps one side of the car down harder than the other side you can get some discrepancies. Maybe only 2 hp but it is not perfect. Neither is the DynaPack but for my car it works.

Nice!! Sounds like you found a good shop. Hopefully you sort everything out with the SMG.

I have been told, as well, that DynaPacks are the best to tune on simply because of how consistent they are as you said. After seeing that you decided to use a DynaPack, I am actually strongly considering using one for the time being to see what I gain with a couple mods I have planned up. Then ultimately heading to a DynoJet to compare to my original baseline results.

So when's the plan to get everything installed and tuned?

[m3dragon]

Still waiting on the Cam to come in. That is the last part and I can get everything installed.

Right now dealing with the seat issues and trying to also get the car in for the rear sub frame and diff upgrades.