cameras ready prepare to flash

[s14brent]

well i keep having to wait for parts....i ordered the wrong delphi connectors so I only got the bosch 5 pin wired up for now while I wait.



I got the c101 pins from falk mfg. I'd probably recommend 3 packs of 14-20ga pins and 1 pack of 12-14. The IGN coil (green pair) is a tight fit, but I didn't order a 10-12ga pack. Kind of hard to justify the 12-14 for just the starter pin and 10-12 for the ign coil pin (that makes it $10 per pin!)



I tried to tidy up the e36 engine harness bulk, its a lot cleaner without the bulk on the driver side now. Nothing was wrong with my soldered connections, but its nice to not have that! People complain a lot on the solder vs crimp arguement but i've been fine on a car with heavy NVH so whatever. I was struggling to get perfect crimps on the different types of pins....its a real challenge, some came out decent, some came out like a blind person did them......they all passed the tug test and locked in place - that's all that matters!



Since I got stuck I started to run the wideband/can-lambda. Its a tight fit (limited places to mount the control unit due to provided wire length). It is out of the way of the drive shaft and the steering column, so that's fine. I used 3m double sided tape behind it with some basic self tappers. I don't think it'll be a problem. I've seen a lot of cars just ziptie it to a random loom and be good lol.




In my head, the link can-ext cable (to connect the can lambda to the standalone) would work, but the connectors they use are HUGE and won't be able to go through the firewall without a giant hole+grommet. So instead, I ordered some 4 way deutsch connectors and another friggin crimper for 20ga closed barrel terminals. I'll just make my own, it will be much easier to run.

I am almost getting closer, no word from SLR on my order yet unfortunately! Progress is progress or whatever!

[s14brent]

I got the right delphi pins finally so I was eager to finish up the wiring job......as soon as I was plugged it in the locking clip snapped...I hate how this goes sometimes.....



While waiting for the parts I cut up a 3.5" 45° intake tube and replaced the mishimoto intake tube since the other was getting a little "soft".



I also got finished up the other end of the can-extension with the deutsch DTM 4 way. I really like all these crimpers & strippers that I picked up lately.



Here we have the CAN-LAMBDA up top and CAN-Gauge on the bottom. I actually purchased another can-gauge and daisy chain cable to cut down on all the info on a single display. I'll need Water temp, oil temp/psi, fuel psi, and air fuel ratio split up between the two. I can also eventually throw boost psi onto one so its a future-proof purchase. I'm not going digital dash when i have under 240hp, that's just uncalled for LOL!



So when I was removing all the VDO 52mm gauges & wiring for them the thought came up to add a relay block under the dash. However, with how much the wires protrude past the blocks mount, I'm thinking of making an angled sheetmetal box and mounting it in the battery tray in the trunk. It will be 1000x more easily accessible. I need to go crawl back under the dash and figure out if i want to proceed with this. It's another sidequest I'm not sure I want to take on just yet.



and I finally got a "finger pedal" for my tig torch. I've been wanting one from 6061 (technically the "tig button", but this got announced right before i placed an order so I've been waiting for it to become available. I've only used it on some aluminum coupons so far, but it doesn't take long to get used too! And I gotta chill out on the tool purchases after this though!

[s14brent]

edit: 05/31 i cant seem to replace an img url if i accidentally post an image twice......whatever i made some progress so i'll just repost.

moving at a snails pace.....used some m6 rivnuts and 1/2" aluminum spacers to mount the relay box into the battery tray. I hope theres enough room to mount the power distribution block I'm waiting for.



I spent a little too long realizing a distribution block would be the way to go.



Second can-gauge and jumper harness got delivered, so I had to mock that up and tesa tape the jumper harness for a cleaner look.



Side quest Saturdays. I picked up a pair of 996 porsche oe brembo calipers locally. I already dropped it off at a friends' place to get the mounting boss shaved 12mm (to fit under 17s). I have some brembo pads and e46 m3 stoptech rotors on the way from rock auto, and also ordered the rallyroad mounting brackets and lines. I know its not a huge performance brake upgrade, but the weight drop per corner and ease of swapping pads at the track is a huge benefit imho!

I already ran the new txl wires I ordered from prowire + tesa taped from through the trunk in oe wiring location up to almost the a-pillar. routing the wires through the dash is going to be a bit more time consuming I'm sure. I'm probably going to replace the 12ga lines for the fuel pump for 10ga (while i'm in there). So I'm waiting on another order of wire for now.

I think I've decided to remove the factory parking brake and remove the lower dash/center console. (basically everything under the climate control). Less weight + clutter. It wasn't super secure in there anyways without the carpet to be honest, I just have to figure out what to do right now with the window switches. I was thinking about making an aluminum lower dash panel with the radiator sprayer, window switches, and 12v plug. Removing all that also gives me the option to change to a pull-up style hydraulic hand brake in the future, which would be a cleaner setup for sure.



I've been practicing my aluminum welds with the new finger pedal, I'm making slow progress on that as well but it's coming out a lot better than where i was a few weeks ago, so maybe i can just hot glue gun a few pieces of alum since this will probably be a temp setup. I swear I keep adding things to do and the project keeps getting pushed back, but I'm very pleased at this latest round of upgrades.



I got the distribution block from the same company as the relay block, so matchy-matchy! I spent way too long doing service loops on this one....I think it came out great - so it was worth it!



I had some 4awg stereo wire in storage and I ordered some 4ga copper terminals and crimped/punched it and then bent the connector in my vise. 1/2" aluminum spacers were used again for mounting, but I used some kawasaki aluminum JIS case bolts to mount this one. socket cap or 10mm was a PAIN to try to install since the mounts are kinda tucked in on very corner. I figure aluminum was a safer bet anyways. I'll probably re-run 10ga to the fuel pump and get rid of all the old wiring I did in the past, and actually start to wire up the different relays next week. I got my SLRSPEED tracking info so I'll be able to wrap this all up soon hopefully

[s14brent]

I ended up finishing up all the wiring on the e30 this week. Most of the wait for was for TXL wire from prowire in 10/12/14/16/18 gauge. As of right now, only the top row of relays are in use right now. the power and ground are connected for the lower 3 but I removed the relays and the fuses for them. Those will be utilized in the near future, I also replaced the top 3 relays with bosch relays that took forever to arrive. First relay was wired to the fuel pump, second is IGN switched for my radiator sprayer and link gauges, 3rd is switched IGN for DME.



I didn't take many photos during this process but here's one with the covers on and as it sits currently.



I also replaced the grommets on the super old moroso battery box that i've had in my s14 and my s13 coupe. I also added a few more holes for the battery tender line and the distribution box power line. New positive terminal as well. Its easy to service the setup with this configuration.



I had to modify the dme mounting bracket to clear all the wiring coming out of the dme housing. Not sure if I'll try to do any additional cable management here. It's getting really HOT again in Vegas.



I had to dig out the old windows laptop to install the PCLINK software and update the firmware. Since its a newer version the install guide/menu items are slightly different than the manual step-by-step directions. I managed to unlock the ECU and did the MAP/TPS calibrations only.



I turned the car onto IGN and fuelpump fired right up, and gauges work! Everything seems good so far, I just need to identify the pressure sensors.



I also installed the SLRspeed High trail spindle blocks. I had to modify the ackerman spacers a bit since the locating pin length is different between the two. I actually ordered 2 more of them just to have as spares and I ordered the low clearance tie-rod bolt kit (i didn't know this existed). So I'll focus on the brakes and then torque everything when its all said and done.




I got word my Porsche/brembo brakes will be squeezed into this work week. I can confirm the e36 rally road brake lines for this kit is longer than the condor extended front brake lines so I will be upgrading the lines again as I'd prefer to have the 90 degree fitting at the caliper for tidy-er lines.
Meanwhile I'll be reading up and watching videos on Link ECU more closely and hopefully make some progress before I make some calls & an appointment with tuner. I want to make sure there are no issues before wasting more time x money!

[econti]

Are you worried about the fuse setup being pinched if you get a rear quarter tap from a wall, or is that not really a worry?

[s14brent]

Are you worried about the fuse setup being pinched if you get a rear quarter tap from a wall, or is that not really a worry?

i feel like it would get more rubbing running the wires on the trunk floor edges through the back seat (like oem battery cable). Hopefully I'm not wrong, but i'll route it so it its only dangerous if it gets hit on the top of the rear quarter now that you mention it. thanks.