Bronzit E30 - OBDII S52 shaved bay - weekend/autox toy - Journey

[Digitalwave]

I forgot to add in my post that despite all of those things, I am just glad companies make anything for this old ass platform anymore. I am glad that GC is at least an option for us at all!

[Sh3rpak!ng]

I like the quality at which you executed it, but I can't say as though I like the cone filter sticking out of the empty headlight bucket there.

FWIW I have an E36 rack with the spacers on top (so the rack is towards the bottom of the subframe) and I have 13mm roll center spacers, and I have never had issues with bump steer. And my home track is Sebring, probably the bumpiest track in the country, lol! I really like what MRT is doing. They seem to have some very well made and well engineered solutions for this chassis. Ground Control has never impressed me, neither quality wise or their gritty support. I think they tend to take the default stance that there could not be any problems with their product, anything wrong has to be user error. I've had issues with their camber plates and ultimately just went with Vorshlag, as their design solved all the issues I was having. I also waited the better part of a year for them to release their supposed E30 M3 custom aftermarket spindle/coilover setup, that they kept assuring me was just around the corner (I checked in monthly). It's now been another year past that, and they never ended up releasing it for whatever reason. Glad I went with something else.

Hahaha fair enough. It's definitely a bit ostentatious, but at least totally functional. Might ultimately just bring more unwanted attention.... I have a V2 in mind to pull the filter inwards and box out an inner portion of the behind headlight space, but dunno if/when I'd ever get to it unless I have to.

Thanks for the bumpsteer observation - could be that what I think is bumpsteer is just some other adjustment that I've made/need to make to correct it. I'm still a noob when it comes to suspension geometry and knowing how to adjust and characterize what I feel when driving the car at an event. Really I need seat time and opportunities to do more adjustments and testing to gain experience.

Your thoughts on GC seem to be on point. Disappointing to say the least... I've definitely noticed a higher grade of engineering/design/quality from some other vendors that I think I'll stick with going forward. Big fan of Bimmerworld.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Theres the Avocado thread, but I dont know if he has one on the bean...

Charlie, absolutely love the updates. Car is truly a monster now. C&C Sunday and drive after? My buddy from Seattle will be here with his 964

Thanks my man, definitely leveled up over the past few months. I'm enjoying a nice slew of smaller simpler detail projects that are far less strenuous and do not stop me from driving. Yea I am up for C&C sunday. Gabe and I are trying to get in on the SCCA autox practice on Saturday at autoclub speedway. If we don't get in, we might sign up for the Sunday event instead. I am just about done swapping springs between my E36 and the E30... going from 8kg/10kg to 9kg/11kg

[Digitalwave]

I like the quality at which you executed it, but I can't say as though I like the cone filter sticking out of the empty headlight bucket there.

FWIW I have an E36 rack with the spacers on top (so the rack is towards the bottom of the subframe) and I have 13mm roll center spacers, and I have never had issues with bump steer. And my home track is Sebring, probably the bumpiest track in the country, lol! I really like what MRT is doing. They seem to have some very well made and well engineered solutions for this chassis. Ground Control has never impressed me, neither quality wise or their gritty support. I think they tend to take the default stance that there could not be any problems with their product, anything wrong has to be user error. I've had issues with their camber plates and ultimately just went with Vorshlag, as their design solved all the issues I was having. I also waited the better part of a year for them to release their supposed E30 M3 custom aftermarket spindle/coilover setup, that they kept assuring me was just around the corner (I checked in monthly). It's now been another year past that, and they never ended up releasing it for whatever reason. Glad I went with something else.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Also the bumpsteer correction right?
Are you running an e36 rack? If so- what's your spacer positioning? I've been messing around with them, but still have a ton of bumpsteer... might jump on some of these GC or MRT tie rod ends.

Yes. Bumpsteer correction was my primary goal. And I am running an e46 ZHP rack. Spacer positioning as in on the actual bumpsteer kit? Or on the rack? Rack is installed with he spacers on top pushing it down. Bumpsteer kit (both tie rod and control arm) are spaced to the lowest configuration that doesn't foul the heim joint and bottom nut. Honestly I was not happy with the GC tie rod kit. The control arm piece was better, but still not what I'd expect from GC. They clearly took off the shelf allstar brand universal bump steer tapered bolt and modified it slightly to fit the E30 knuckle. The problem with this is that there are many design compromises. The usable articulation of the joints are not great, and placing them at full end of the adjustment range results in the nut fouling the inside edge of the heim joint, robbing more usable articulation. Furthermore, because of the length of the adjuster used, the end result is not much offset compared to the OEM joints. To be fair, on the tie rod piece, you can't go much longer with a 15" wheel because you run out of tie-rod-to-barrel clearance, but there is still more space, and a 16" or 17" wheel would have plenty. If I were to do it again I'd either use the VAC tie rod kit (which addresses all of the noted flaws) or I'd go with the MRT/SLR kit - and I still might do this as I still have a bit of unwanted bumpsteer too.

Oh and the customer service from GC was crap. Between not answering phonecalls/voicemails/emails and then when they did - promising to ship in "a week" and then blowing that several times, I ended up cancelling the tie rod portion of my order after waiting 10 weeks of getting the run around. Insult to injury was the "we're waiting on outside shops and have no control" comment. I work with large and small suppliers/vendors of all sorts professionally (including machine shops, surface processing, heat treat etc.) with the aerospace manufacturing that I'm involved in..... That is an excuse I have never given and would never give to a customer, nor is it really an acceptable situation that I'd tolerate from a vendor. Sure I may not know all the details behind the scenes here but I think I was FAR more than patient and was honestly willing to accept quite a bit of delay to support a small local vendor who supports such a niche market.

[2mAn]

Theres the Avocado thread, but I dont know if he has one on the bean...

Charlie, absolutely love the updates. Car is truly a monster now. C&C Sunday and drive after? My buddy from Seattle will be here with his 964

[Sh3rpak!ng]

I love clecos, Does your buddy have a build thread for the Porsche?

I've been finding more and more use for them. Definitely a good tool in the arsenal.

I'm not sure if he has a build thread, I'll ask. His IG is @everythingcrafted if you want to follow there!

[Northern]

Only benefit for me is the adjustability. I doubt there's any steering feel change given that I went from a fresh ball joint to a heim joint. My entire suspension setup is very stiff with poly/ball/heim joints everywhere.

Also the bumpsteer correction right?
Are you running an e36 rack? If so- what's your spacer positioning? I've been messing around with them, but still have a ton of bumpsteer... might jump on some of these GC or MRT tie rod ends.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Done with the new air intake. Wrapped the aluminum tube with gold foil because racecar bling. Sorted a few other odd items while I was at it. Radiator overflow hose was never an actual coolant hose meant to take pressure. Now it is. I had zip tied the intake air temp sensor to the bottom of the TB elbow. Not sure why. I stuffed it into the unused port on the bottom of the elbow instead. Now it should be able to read the nice cool temp of the air pulled from the intake. I also replaced a bunch of engine bay M6 bolts with bling stainless countersink allens and beauty washers. And capped some exposed shock tower bolts with caps. Last item to tick off for now are the headlight bezels which were looking kinda ratty... road rashed, a bit rusty and very cruddy. I'll sandblast them and repaint semigloss black. Probably ought to replace the lamin-x too. Its also looking worse for the wear. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[rzerob]

I love clecos, Does your buddy have a build thread for the Porsche?

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Busy weekend. Finally worked out a good solution for cold air intake through the driver side high beam. Had to trim the headlight bracket, core support, cut out the old duct, very carefully position everything and made an adapter plate to secure the KN filter and tube from the MAF. Of course I finished all the hard work and then realized I had no more 3" silicone tube. I also welded some massive fender flares on my buddy's porsche project.


First pass trimming out the core support. Man does it make this kind work much easier when you have an assortment of angle grinders, porting tools, small pneumatic air grinder, finger sander etc...




Checking clearance with the headlight trim and the backing plate on. Looks good.




Cleco pins coming very handy. Pinned the plate in place so I could place the air filter side of the port, mark it, and then cut/weld accurately.




Finished parts. Rivenuts again FTW.






Installed on the car. Nice smooth straight shot to the filter. I ground out the welds on the inside so it's super smooth.




Installed







Here's my buddy's porsche project that I welded the rear flares onto... that was a good experience. It's going to be an RSR tribute when done. Doign Fiberglass front wide fenders, fiberglass ducktail engine hatch, carbon fiber roof, debating full cage with low door bars, an air cooled 3.2 liter with aggressive cams and ITBs (might go to a 3.6)





Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Looks mean! Dat bronzit means bidness.

all bidness!

very nice

Thanks Glen, get cracking on those ITBs

How did the GC tierods feel would you run them on the street? Did they improve steering feel or is there only benefit adjustability.

Thanks car looks sick

Only benefit for me is the adjustability. I doubt there's any steering feel change given that I went from a fresh ball joint to a heim joint. My entire suspension setup is very stiff with poly/ball/heim joints everywhere.

[Motheye99]

How did the GC tierods feel would you run them on the street? Did they improve steering feel or is there only benefit adjustability.

Thanks car looks sick

[glnr13]

very nice

[amcp]

Looks mean! Dat bronzit means bidness.