Derek's E90 slicktop OEM+ Project

[s0ldats]

Originally Posted by derbo

if does if you don't have a wall to put it up

hang it?

[pyhee]

Hi derbo just want to thank you for the informative posts. Very helpful! Best luck with your build!

[derbo]

Originally Posted by pyhee

Hi derbo just want to thank you for the informative posts. Very helpful! Best luck with your build!

Glad you were able to get something out of it! Cheers!

[derbo]

Minor Update

I haven't updated this thread in a while and it's probably a good time to do so! Very minor updates here so nothing too crazy.

Wheel bolts and BBS black center caps

There have been many discussions about screw-in wheel studs breaking and lack of strength compared to their press-in cousins. Core4motorsports now offers a solution with press-in studs in M12 and M14 but it's far from being cost-effective for me at the moment. My interim solution is to go back to wheel bolts for now and wait for more data from track rats.



And on that note, I also decided to go to the Black BBS center caps as it provides some more subtlety to the an otherwise stock exterior car. The black Stoptech calipers complement this subtlety and make the whole car feel OEM+. I like it!

No more mods 2020! Wait..maybe one more...

Earlier this year, I added the Stoptech BBK thinking that will be the last modification upgrade of the year. Well, turns out I am wrong.

Supersprint makes quality parts and has been well-known in previous generation BMWs as one of the go to's for a proper exhaust setup. After viewing a ton of videos and assessing looks, price, sound, I came to the conclusion that Supersprint F1 Race was my exhaust to get. It is supposed to have little to no drone at freeway speeds, lightweight, decently priced, and sound higher pitched.

Originally Posted by Turner Motorsport

The Supersprint "F1 Race" mufflers are a more dramatic sound than the standard Race muffler design. They are tuned to sound more like a race bike than a low-revving V8 muscle car. It's louder and tuned to increase the high pitch at higher revs. They are a free-flow design for minimal restriction and light weight.

So of course I have been waiting for a used one to pop up for awhile now and last week //steve\\ sends me a link via text about Supersprint F1 Race Exhaust system in the classifieds. Mind you, these systems are pretty rare in E90 form, and even more rare for sale. Luckily I was able to get a hold of the seller and ship it my way! It was great as the setup included the optional OEM mid pipe connector adapters too! Thank you DanMpower for the sell!

Installation was straight forward. I really like the fitment of the exhaust tips as most exhausts are geared towards E92 which have longer tips.










## Initial Review
Idle is lower tone, more bassy
No drone at freeway speeds
Loudness is not bad at all with factory OE mid-pipe.

Video on IG:


## Future upgrades on the exhaust department
Maybe test pipes are in my future? There are two reasons I never got test pipes: 1. I did not like the sound the OEM Exhaust 4pipe mod + Test pipes combo makes. 2. SMOG. Now that one reason is gone, maybe I might be more willing to overlook the latter reason. All the videos I've heard of FULL SS F1 exhausts are wonderful but I don't think I've heard one with test pipes and SS F1 race exhausts yet.

I am happy with the outcome of this exhaust and I hope to drive it even more as the world starts opening up again.

[wyatth]

Love it!!

[s0ldats]

the supersprint sounds amazing. if you're thinking about going test pipes, still recommend going full x-pipe! hang your oem one from the rafters in garage or on the wall.

unless you're homies with the smog shop, some places will fail you for having clamped on cats.

[Richbot]

The next time I need to take my xpipe off, I will probably put the OEM one back on. I've had my fun for 2.5 years with my MPE/afE HFC setup but I miss being able to accelerate hard withot waking up and being haunted by my ancestors

But absolutely have your fun first. Every one of these motors deserves to be uncorked for at least part of its life

[derbo]

Originally Posted by wyatth

Love it!!

Originally Posted by s0ldats

the supersprint sounds amazing. if you're thinking about going test pipes, still recommend going full x-pipe! hang your oem one from the rafters in garage or on the wall.

unless you're homies with the smog shop, some places will fail you for having clamped on cats.

True.. storing a factory xpipe is going to be a hassle. It was already a pain to find a spot for the stock axleback! I might give up the idea.

Originally Posted by Richbot

The next time I need to take my xpipe off, I will probably put the OEM one back on. I've had my fun for 2.5 years with my MPE/afE HFC setup but I miss being able to accelerate hard withot waking up and being haunted by my ancestors

But absolutely have your fun first. Every one of these motors deserves to be uncorked for at least part of its life

The lure of removing the primaries is very high but I don't really have a good place to store a factory xpipe at this point. The more I think about it, the more I am with keeping my OEM mid-pipe on just for the sake of practicality and not having to deal with storing the pipe or dealing with smog.

[cyberkaa]

That sounds great. Nice deep tone to it.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by cyberkaa

That sounds great. Nice deep tone to it.

Thanks buddy!

We need to some sushi..

[cyberkaa]

Originally Posted by derbo

Thanks buddy!

We need to some sushi..

I know, man.

[Drifter2090]

Time for testpipes!!

[derbo]

Originally Posted by Drifter2090

Time for testpipes!!

I keep going back and forth on that. The old guy in me, wants to just not deal with smog.

[M3_Legend]

Love your build! I'm big on clean and OEM.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by M3_Legend

Love your build! I'm big on clean and OEM.

Thanks!

[Exclusivs]

Very nice new upgrades Derek!

[derbo]

August Update

It's been awhile! COVID has definitely put a hamper on doing much lately but it's time for another round of updates!

Suspension Woes

Lately I've been getting some noises from the front end. I sometimes get a low speed clunking on bumps or a mattress-spring-like noise when turning the wheel. After some troubleshooting, the noise was isolated after detaching the endlinks. The conclusion confirmed something between end links, swaybar bushings, and sway bars was contributing to the noise. Previously I would have only clunks and re-adjusting the preload on the sway bar end-links fixed that. With that previous note, I opt to try new endlinks from SPL Parts as they have been known to be a solid vendor for suspension components.

SPL's site did not disclose a working length for MCS mounting points so I contacted them to get something custom made. Luckily they do not charge any extra for different lengths!



They definitely look beefier than my old Bimmerworld ones. I also want to note that the endlink bolt diameter is the correct size for the mounting tab and sway bar holes. The old Bimmerworld ones required a spacer adapter as the bolt was smaller. To ensure success, I also bought brand new sway bar bushings just to eliminate that as an issue as well.

Long story short, after adding them in. No more clunks/creaks! I do believe the root cause was the Endlinks and my sway bar bushings were fine but I ended up doing it anyways just to avoid having to do this again.

While we are on the topic of the front end, I also replaced my tension struts with pre-installed G.A.S. monoball setup. I was happy that G.A.S. offered a nice solution that was already preinstalled. This made the install very easy!




My Dirty front.

Final ACP update?

In my long story about apple carplay, Kremersino sent me a new updated harness to plug n play in-line with the OEM Mic. The weird part was they decided the original quadlock harness is now no longer needed and the new harness will now connect to the idrive controller directly like one of the older units. This meant the car had to come apart again.



I ended up being able to shove the module (tight fit) above the CIC and behind the HVAC.




I also swapped my DTC60 pads in preparation for Thunderhill 9/5. Hopefully Wildfires, COVID doesn't cancel the event...

[911r]

Originally Posted by derbo

"August Update"

It's been awhile! COVID has definitely put a hamper on doing much lately but it's time for another round of updates!

"Suspension Woes"

Lately I've been getting some noises from the front end. I somethinges get a low speed clunking on bumps or a mattress-spring-like noise when turning the wheel. After some troubleshooting, the noise was isolated after detaching the endlinks. The conclusion confirmed something between end links, swaybar bushings, and sway bars was contributing to the noise. Previously I would have only clunks and re-adjusting the preload on the sway bar end-links fixed that. With that previous note, I opt to try new endlinks from SPL Parts as they have been known to be a solid vendor for suspension components.

SPL's site did not disclose a working length for MCS mounting points so I contacted them to get something custom made. Luckily they do not charge any extra for different lengths!



They definitely look beefier than my old Bimmerworld ones. I also want to note that the endlink bolt diameter is the correct size for the mounting tab and sway bar holes. The old Bimmerworld ones required a spacer adapter as the bolt was smaller. To ensure success, I also bought brand new sway bar bushings just to eliminate that as an issue as well.

Long story short, after adding them in. No more clunks/creaks! I do believe the root cause was the Endlinks and my sway bar bushings were fine but I ended up doing it anyways just to avoid having to do this again.

While we are on the topic of the front end, I also replaced my tension struts with pre-installed G.A.S. monoball setup. I was happy that G.A.S. offered a nice solution that was already preinstalled. This made the install very easy!




My Dirty front.

"Final ACP update?"

In my long story about apple carplay, Kremersino sent me a new updated harness to plug n play in-line with the OEM Mic. The weird part was they decided the original quadlock harness is now no longer needed and the new harness will now connect to the idrive controller directly like one of the older units. This meant the car had to come apart again.



I ended up being able to shove the module (tight fit) above the CIC and behind the HVAC.




I also swapped my DTC60 pads in preparation for Thunderhill 9/5. Hopefully Wildfires, COVID doesn't cancel the event...

I'm jealous! Please let us know what you think of the front monoballs; my SPL monoballs just came in and I'm super keen to install them.

[cyberkaa]

Those links look mighty nice!

[derbo]

Originally Posted by cyberkaa

Those links look mighty nice!

SPL parts are very high quality. I an very impressed. It makes me want to make excuses to buy more parts 😆

[ebisu8]

Originally Posted by derbo

SPL parts are very high quality. I an very impressed. It makes me want to make excuses to buy more parts 😆

YESSSSS. I may have done something(s) as well.

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by derbo

SPL parts are very high quality. I an very impressed. It makes me want to make excuses to buy more parts 😆

Yes! I really need to also swap my front links. SPL > Bimmerworld