Derek's E90 slicktop OEM+ Project

[BayE30]

GC weight jack?

[derbo]

Originally Posted by SFCM3

GC weight jack?

https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...eight-adjuster

Basically.

[Richbot]

Ok GC has pissed me off in the past but that looks pretty rad, looks like you can put a wrench on that threaded part with the car on the ground or suspension just unloaded to make adjustments quickly?

[derbo]

Originally Posted by Richbot

Ok GC has pissed me off in the past but that looks pretty rad, looks like you can put a wrench on that threaded part with the car on the ground or suspension just unloaded to make adjustments quickly?

Yup!



This is an F8x but the method is still the same. It can be done with it loaded and even easier if the wheels are in the air. It is a 13mm bolt.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by derbo

Yup!



This is an F8x but the method is still the same. It can be done with it loaded and even easier if the wheels are in the air. It is a 13mm bolt.

That's slick!

[derbo]

Thanks for moving my thread Law ! I originally thought it would be better fit in the general as a journal but I guess I ended putting a lot more pics than I thought.

[Law]

Originally Posted by derbo

Thanks for moving my thread Law ! I originally thought it would be better fit in the general as a journal but I guess I ended putting a lot more pics than I thought.

No worries, just doing a lot of much needed clean-up here on our side of M3Post.

Nice build & keep up the good work

[Exclusivs]

Great updates! Love to see quality builds still in motion

[kenslicktop]

Hi there,
I wanted to say Hi. You know my son Stephen from your zhpm days.
I recently picked up a new toy pretty similar to yours, except for the DCT.
Such a great car. This is also a great forum. A lot like zhpm.
I haven't driven it to much yet. Even in stock form, there is a lot to learn.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by kenslicktop

Hi there,
I wanted to say Hi. You know my son Stephen from your zhpm days.
I recently picked up a new toy pretty similar to yours, except for the DCT.
Such a great car. This is also a great forum. A lot like zhpm.
I haven't driven it to much yet. Even in stock form, there is a lot to learn.

Awesome to see you on the forums Ken!

Stephen mentioned your awesome purchase via text. You will definitely have fun with this car!

[derbo]

Installation has completed. I'll wait till I dial in the dampen settings before I make a longer post.

Right now, all I can say is wow.

[derbo]

Time to finally update with a longer post!

# Suspension Update
Last month I purchased Motion Control Suspension 2 Way Non-Remote dampeners and the necessary parts to get it to work. I opted for this ultra-premium suspension because it is able to adjust rebound and compression on the dampeners. I figured I was planning to track it and 2-way was also a very good way to dampen tune the car for the street to a very usable Porsche 991 GT3 feel.

##MCS 2WNR Hardware

MCS 2WNR dampeners
Eibach 2.25" 400/700lbs
Eibach Helper springs
Vorshlag Camber kit
Ground Control rear articulating spring perch
BimmerWorld Front MCS-length End links
PowerFlex Black Rear shock mounts

##Ride height calculation
My goal for ride height was to eliminate the fender gap but not to stray too far away from factory competition package height. Since the forums have mentioned the Japanese market E90 ride height is the same as the ZCP package, this meant the ride height in TIS for the JDM market in 18s” would provide a baseline height to work with. I dug up the JDM spec E90 18" ride height specs in TIS. These are measured from the fender to the bottom of the rim.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...ension/6QLv4XJ
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...-guide/60vSeDg

JDM 18" Front: 600mm (23.62")
JDM 18" Rear: 584mm (22.99")

With a 1/2 inch removed, I would end up at with these specs for the ride height:
Final Front: 587mm (23.1")
Final Rear: 572mm (22.5")

##Installation
I figured to install on my own as I have done a few BMW setups before but not an e90M. The fronts went on without a hitch. The rears were a bit of a pain as the Ground Control articulating spring perch has a rod that requires cutting if you aren't using a 6" spring. Since I had a 7" spring, I had to cut the rod to allow proper lowering. The rear headlight sensor also snapped due to brittleness when I was attempting to remove it. I fixed the error and continued on.

After doing some on and off adjustments to reach my desired ride height, I finally was satisfied with it and moved on to adjusting the front camber and eyeballing around -2 to -2.5 degrees of camber.




##Coding
Since my car has EDC, I opt to delete it via coding instead of paying for EDC emulators.

Unplug the EDC module in the trunk
Delete $223 from VO
FA write to CAS and NFRM
Change EDC_CIC to nicht_aktiv in CIC
Change EDCK_ALIVE_ZAEHLER to nicht_aktiv in KOMBI
Change EDCK_ID_MONITOR to nicht_aktiv in KOMBI
Clear errors in ISTA or INPA.

Caveat: There will be a CDB7 error that will always be present in the fault memory. The car will not report it in the car screen but it will be there during a diagnostic read.

No more EDC! The known error is shown in the picture.


##Damper Tuning
After coding, I started with rebound 9 clicks and compression 4 clicks all around as a baseline first. Since I wasn't fully comfortable with double adjustable settings I had to research and familiarize myself with what each did. Long story short, I've settled on front 11R/5C and rear 9R/4C for street use. I will continue to play with the settings and see if the sweet spot currently gets sweeter.

##Alignment
With the car being a little more weekend car than a full fledge race car, Wing@VT Motorworks set the alignment to camber to -2.5 front, -2.0 rear with a hint of toe in. With a little toe in the front, the car wouldn’t be as darty and want to follow the grooves of the road.


##Impressions
My initial first impressions are "f*cking wow." The suspension is far more composed than I ever expected. Compression was adjusted just enough to be suitable for San Francisco Bay area rough roads. Adding a little more rebound, the car is able to remain stable even with mid-corner bumps. I am just amazed at how stable this setup is on the street with minor damper tuning. I am very happy with this setup and hope to learn more about how to utilize them more!





##Remaining items

###Trunkliner hole for rear adjustment
I plan to put two holes in the trunk liner to allow access to the adjusters. With a large hole, I wanted something to cover it. Thanks, Wendell for letting me know the proper size! dj_dub I hope to get this done next week.


##Bonus item!
I was meeting up friends at Sonoma Raceway and ended doing 3 DynoJet runs for $80 for giggles. Power levels aren't too shabby and I'm not too worried about it.

2011 6MT E90 M3
57k miles
91 Octane
5th gear pull
332whp 250wtq

Thanks for reading!

[M3ANMACHINE]

In my last e90 i cut a 3 sided square above the damper so that the trunk liner could "fold" back into place and still access the top adjuster. Worked well and looked as if nothing were modified.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by M3ANMACHINE

In my last e90 i cut a 3 sided square above the damper so that the trunk liner could "fold" back into place and still access the top adjuster. Worked well and looked as if nothing were modified.

I like that idea as well! I already purchased the tops so I think I'll work with that. I like both solutions though.

Previous car (E46) had much softer liners that could be just peeled away from the tail light side without much fuss to access it.

[94jedi]

derbo great update man and I said before...I'm kind of wishing I had gone this route vs ZCP lol! Ah well, no biggie as I'm happy w/ the ZCP. Question for you though - you wouldn't happen to know what the ZCP code setting is, would you? The hardware swap on my car is done, just need to have the ZCP specific coding done. Any thoughts?

[derbo]

Originally Posted by 94jedi

derbo great update man and I said before...I'm kind of wishing I had gone this route vs ZCP lol! Ah well, no biggie as I'm happy w/ the ZCP. Question for you though - you wouldn't happen to know what the ZCP code setting is, would you? The hardware swap on my car is done, just need to have the ZCP specific coding done. Any thoughts?

Thanks Pat! For the street, I would be more than happy with ZCP.

Yes. Every coding option in EDC, change to dx09030 instead of dx09023 to cover your bases. Some of the parameters outputs are the same regardless of 23 or 30 but ensure you are coding ZCP, do that. FWIW, Coupe is dx09230.

[Richbot]

Man you forget what a beautiful noise these cars make stock after listening to all these modded cars. Just needs to be louder inside

[94jedi]

Originally Posted by derbo

Thanks Pat! For the street, I would be more than happy with ZCP.

Yes. Every coding option in EDC, change to dx09030 instead of dx09023 to cover your bases. Some of the parameters outputs are the same regardless of 23 or 30 but ensure you are coding ZCP, do that. FWIW, Coupe is dx09230.

Originally Posted by derbo

Thanks Pat! For the street, I would be more than happy with ZCP.

Yes. Every coding option in EDC, change to dx09030 instead of dx09023 to cover your bases. Some of the parameters outputs are the same regardless of 23 or 30 but ensure you are coding ZCP, do that. FWIW, Coupe is dx09230.

is there a specific value for e90's? or is the code value the same for all factory zcp equipped e9x's?

[derbo]

Originally Posted by 94jedi

is there a specific value for e90's? or is the code value the same for all factory zcp equipped e9x's?

Yes. The answer is yes.

ZCP E92 = dx09230
ZCP E90 = dx09030
non ZCP E92 = dx09004 (or something like that, I forget off the top of my head)
non ZCP E90 = dx09023

Originally Posted by Richbot

Man you forget what a beautiful noise these cars make stock after listening to all these modded cars. Just needs to be louder inside

I have the 4pipe OEM exhaust mod and I have to say it sounds great. Like you said, its a bit on the softer side inside but I think its perfect for me on the street. When I slap a helmet on my head and do an HPDE, we will see how it fairs.

[94jedi]

Originally Posted by derbo

Yes. The answer is yes.

ZCP E92 = dx09230
ZCP E90 = dx09030
non ZCP E92 = dx09004 (or something like that, I forget off the top of my head)
non ZCP E90 = dx09023

Thank you sir! that's the one I was looking for!

[derbo]

#Finishing up trunkliner
I purchase 3" OD endcaps per recommendation from dj_dub and created the proper holes to the shock towers.

3" OD Endcaps


Final product


I'm happy with it. I think I will follow Wendell's path and paint them grey as well soon.

[derbo]

#Notes

It occurred to me I failed to post notes about my wheel fitment after the installation!

18x10+25 275/35/18 inner sidewall did not clear the front suspension due to the extra height from the helper spring. The tire was barely rubbing on the lower spring perch. The wheel was pushed out 3mm with a spacer change with plenty of room to spare.