Ryan's Hennarot 318is (s54, slicktop conversion, MT2)

[rjmcdermott81]

OMFG. If you've read my thread...at the assembly point I was looking everywhere for M-tech 2 sidemarker surrounds. I figured I didn't get them with the bumpers and they were nowhere to be found available online.

Today I cleaned out my garage and I'm getting rid of my work bench....the only thing inside the workbench were these dang surrounds. And they are in perfect condition!

I think I'll still rock my custom made ones though. More black to contrast the red.

[R3Z3N]

If you are using the PWM module, we can easily change fan speed activation and amount.

If you have added Garrys CAN/AC computer, you can wire in the rest of the components so that the fan is also activated on AC load.

I highly recommend doing both. On mine, I also used the SPAL fan shroud to AC Condensor (trimmed to fit) so that there is more efficient cooling. I believe you could also use another PWM module or 2 to trigger the pullers as well, or use another PWM module like DERALE sells (easiest solution for the pullers.)

The largest safe SPAL fan to use is still quite a bit lower power than the Z4M fan. The latest BMW cars use crazy powerful electric fans. You would need a larger alternator for those.

[rjmcdermott81]

So...since I got my A/C up and running the first time it's been a ton of work.



1st - the A/C wasn't cooling well and there appeared to be a block. A shop replaced the evaporator and when that didn't work I replaced the condenser and took the opportunity to put in a bigger more powerful SPAL pusher fan.


2nd - after the A/C got up and running I've been having temperature problems. The car usually runs at 180F no matter what. With the A/C on in traffic on a 100 degree day the temp was climbing to 210F. It always stabilized but I didn't feel comfortable with this long term.



Current cooling setup:
1. 12" off-brand pusher fan
2. 8" and 10" SPAL puller fans
3. Original waterpump
4. 2 year old thermostat with 500 miles on it
5. Mishimoto e30 radiator
6. 2 year old radiator cap


Here is what I've done so far to remediate the problem:
1. Changed the pusher to a 16" SPAL pusher

2. Replaced the waterpump
2. Replaced the thermostat


Still heating up but not quite as bad


I then pressure tested it (it was tested recently with no issues) but it was dropping pressure and coolant was pouring out of the back of the engine. This harbor freight pressure tester is awesome by the way.




Check out the leak I found when I took off the airbox. Pardon the terrible video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWlmGLLwQmg

With the leak found I replaced the heater hose and a few more o-rings. Before I put it back together I tested it with air 15psi of air in the system and soap water at every spot. Good thing I did this because I hadn't cranked the heater hose down enough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU1p9wjSuWI

With that fixed I filled it with coolant and pressure tested it. I'm writing this because at first it didn't appear to hold pressure as well as I hoped. I then ran the car with the radiator cap off for about 15 minutes and saw bubbles slowly coming into the coolant reservoir. This purged the system of air that was trapped, filled the heater core, etc. After that it would hold 15psi with no issue. I couldn't find a solid write-up to doing a coolant pressure test. Best I can tell you should do it with coolant in the system because it mimics real life conditions.


I'll try to get some test time on it this weekend. If this doesn't solve the problem I need a bigger radiator. I bought a Mishimoto X-Line which is way way thicker but it doesn't clear the a/c compressor. It's just touching... And I'm not sure I can fit much of a fan on it.


Check out how much thicker the x-line is:



Here is the a/c compressor contacting the weld bead:




If the current setup doesn't work I may try to run it...

[rjmcdermott81]

Brakes! My brakes have always always sucked. I figured it was because of the 2002 booster but it got worse over the past few weeks and thanks to Zach, Andy, and Jay here in town I managed to diagnose all three problems I was having.


Here were the symptoms:
1. Weak braking power - took tons of pedal effort
2. Short pedal travel when it was working

3. Brake pedal continued to drop to the floor as I was braking. Never all the way but enough to worry me.


The fix:
1. Tested the brake booster and found out I had a vacuum leak at the elbow. Added a new o-ring and some gasket sealant for extra measure.
2. Put in a new master cylinder. I used a 1984 318i MC because it had the smallest bore I could find.


Wow, what a difference. I've been driving this over-powered car like a complete wuss because the brakes sucked. Tonight I was finally able to let it rip and carry speed into turns like I should. The 2002 booster with this MC feels great - plenty of braking power and the right pedal travel.


This tester was well worth the $30 from Autozone:



and this new MC was super easy to put in. Not sure why I didn't try this before...

[rjmcdermott81]

A/C!!

I used the s54 compressor and lines and had a local shop put them together ~$90.





Also... the idler pulley was smashed just like everything else on my engine and I was bored so I repaired it.








Also did some touch up painting. I lost one of the mt2 inserts because it fell out and also the others were a shade darker than the rest of the car so I repainted them.

[1990m3]

Great thread. Thought I’d jump in and say in my e46 I don’t like it in sport mode at all, I thought it was just me! It’s too touchy and harder to drive, standard mode is fine for me

[rjmcdermott81]

Working on some of the details.



Race German phone mount




BMW centercaps

[rjmcdermott81]

Kind of an odd article...but I like the picture of the car posted at the top :)
https://www.thedrive.com/news/26938/...r-radwood-cars

[rjmcdermott81]

Even in the heavier E46 chassis, M3 owners report stock sport mode throttle maps to be much too aggressive.

I modified mine to be much softer but better tip in for non-sport as seen here, there is more to it than just throttle curves, there are also different driver demand maps and vanos tables I do believe.

Thanks R3Z3N - I may dig into this soon.

[rjmcdermott81]

Thats what you wanted though, right? ... that looney behavior?

Yep....pretty much. I've found that I like cars that "feel" fast (wheels spinning, slide-out, etc) more than them actually being fast.

[2mAn]

...
It spins the wheels on command in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I'm still a bit of afraid of getting on the throttle coming out of turns for fear of spinning the car and driving it with "sport mode" on is just looney. ...

I may find a more permanent solution for the sport button but for now I just put the button that Andrew includes with the harness in a hole in the center console. I've had this button stuffed in the glovebox this whole time and didn't even think it did anything.

Instead of sport button. It should be called the OH SHIT button. Throttle is crazy responsive.

Thats what you wanted though, right? ... that looney behavior?

as far as the sport button, you should get one of those flip up shifter with the hidden button to activate " LOONEY" mode haha

[dude8383]

On a more fun note. I've had an opportunity to drive the car at a little bit more of it's potential. I still haven't taken it over 5k rpm intentionally because I want to take it easy on the new bearings BUT this thing is terrifying.

It spins the wheels on command in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I'm still a bit of afraid of getting on the throttle coming out of turns for fear of spinning the car and driving it with "sport mode" on is just looney.

I may find a more permanent solution for the sport button but for now I just put the button that Andrew includes with the harness in a hole in the center console. I've had this button stuffed in the glovebox this whole time and didn't even think it did anything.

Instead of sport button. It should be called the OH SHIT button. Throttle is crazy responsive.

I've never heard of bearings having a break in process... I've been keeping my motor under 6k purely because of the piston ring break-in.

I hear you on terrifying though. I've managed to enjoy the crap outta this thing without even touching sport mode. Like Justin says below the sport mode is just too touchy. Definitely going to modify the tip in to something a bit more linear!

[R3Z3N]

And how they are stock:

[R3Z3N]

Even in the heavier E46 chassis, M3 owners report stock sport mode throttle maps to be much too aggressive.

I modified mine to be much softer but better tip in for non-sport as seen here, there is more to it than just throttle curves, there are also different driver demand maps and vanos tables I do believe.

[e30RS]

Awesome! That was a great read on your build. An incredible job.