95maxrider's Rally-x '88 E28 build- caged, head swap and more

[95maxrider]

I just came across an excellent site for BMW info (both E28 and E30, plus more), that I'm gonna leave here for the future.

[95maxrider]

Ugh....

So I'm looking to pick up a set of used M5 bars, but I'm unsure if they come with the M5 brackets, which apparently are necessary to fit the bigger bars, and unfortunately are no longer available from dealers. So if the bars don't come with brackets, I'm not sure if I have any options to mount them and will have to pass on them :(

Info in here

[95maxrider]

D'oh....did some more digging and came across a thread I had read before and forgotten about.

Apparently at one point you could buy the M5 brackets from BMW, but they don't appear to be available any longer. #25, 41112230014 here.

But most importantly, I rediscovered this.

Which shows me what to do for the rear, but what needs reinforcement in the front? In the mye28 thread above, one person said the FSB end link mounts to the strut need to be reinforced. Is this in addition to reinforcing the bar mounts?

[95maxrider]

According to people in this thread, you can get the reinforcement brackets from Ireland Engineering without buying their entire kit. I'm just leaving this here for future reference.

[95maxrider]

After reading a thread on mye28, it sounds like OEM is the way to go from an installation standpoint, as the poly bushings are a bitch to install.

The Pelican page says I need PN PEL-PFF5-310-25 for the front and PEL-PFF5-308-19 for the rear (for a 25/19 setup). Yet everyone on mye28 got the 18mm rears. Why is that?

EDIT- Because of this

E28 M5 bars are 25/18, not 25/19. D'oh! Also, stock 528e bars are 19/15.5. The M5 bars should be a massive improvement!

[95maxrider]

Since it looks like the OEM M5 sway bars are my only option at this point if I want 25/19 bars, I need to start thinking about bushings. Do most people stay with stock bushings or go aftermarket? The only aftermarket ones I found are the Powerflex ones, and they are EXPENSIVE!

$54 for the fronts

And freaking $92 for the rear!?!? How in the world is that $92 worth of parts?

I haven't checked OEM prices, but even they can't be that overpriced. What do you guys think?

[95maxrider]

Did you fix my field repair of the battery ground cable?

Not yet, but it's still going strong!

[phenryiv1]

Did you fix my field repair of the battery ground cable?

[95maxrider]

And two vids from the last event

My last AM run


And my last PM run

[95maxrider]

Well Patrick and Josh saw the car at the event, but here are some updates for everyone else.

Got step one of the chrome trim blackout taping done!


And we blacked out a spare kidney grille


And the spoiler is on!




And blacked out a spare set of C pillar vents to match all the other black paint


Got the battery relocated:




New PS fluid reservoir


And coolant reservoir

[phenryiv1]

Did you take that or did you get that from the pro guys? Lookin' good!

Spencer took them with my camera in the AM session.

[95maxrider]

Did you take that or did you get that from the pro guys? Lookin' good!

[phenryiv1]

[irish44j]

Not only will it be sitting 4" higher, it will now be producing 417%* more down force due to the pretty thing sitting on the trunk

Dude, I don't consider Bobby to be a "pretty thing" and why did you strap him on the trunk?

:hide:

:007:

[95maxrider]

good to see that you got that stuff done. I want to see that car 3-4" taller, lol...

Not only will it be sitting 4" higher, it will now be producing 417%* more down force due to the pretty thing sitting on the trunk


In other good news, Eric cleaned up the $30 17lb M50 green top injectors I got from a guy on Mid-Atlantic E30s, and guess what? They fired right up. Thus ending any doubt as to culprit for my previous problems. Oh, and apparently the car runs smoother now with the chip installed. Who'da thunk it?

More tomorrow!
















*-I made this up