Don't Call it a Comeback

[mike.bmw]

100% agree with using index cards for painting wheels with the tires mounted. I've done this a few times, it's super easy, and works really well.

[Danny]

We're going through another heat wave here in NorCal and it's slated to be around 115 this weekend which does not make for great working on the car weather. I waited until tonight at around 7 PM to go swap out the ignition switch in the M3 and ended up being immediately drenched in sweat.Not hard to do this job, just kind of annoying and fiddly. Undo some trim pieces and get the switch out from where its screwed in. Then vacuum up everything because this car is the gift that keeps on giving.





Fight with the big steel knee bolster until you realize there are three 10mm bolts which, once undone, give you access to everything.





That was easy. Also, it did not fix my issues with the gas gauge and speedometer which is just a real pain in my ass. I guess I'm going to email the dude who rebuilds these and ask his opinion.


Since I was already sweaty I figured I would repaint the window trim because it was in sorry shape.





I got this this point and realized that the three cans of SEM trim black I thought I had was actually about 1/3 can of SEM trim black I actually had. So I just did this real quick with some 400 grit and a quick wipe down with a rag. My rule for painting stuff is always 50/50 (50 feet, 50 miles per hour).


Before:














How did it turn out? Okay I guess. Not my best work for sure. Plus it was dark by the time I was finishing so the last coat was completely blind.








Not bad for a couple hours in the hot hot heat. At least the trim is back to being black.


I am currently frustrated at ECS tuning. I have never liked that company and strongly prefer FCP Euro. However, ECS was one of the only vendors which had a certain part I was for my red E30. I ordered the part from them on 8/27 and didn't even receive word from them until I called them on Wed the 2nd when they told me the part had "landed" and would be shipped out that day. I also submitted an inquiry through their system on the 2nd. On the 4th I get an email from them saying they had picked my order and it would be packed and shipped, with an expected delivery date of September 14th. Maybe this is the Amazon getting to me but 2 and a half weeks for a set of brake rotors seems a little excessive to me. Plus, I finally received a "your order has shipped" notification on the 5th but the tracking number only shows that FedEx has receievd the information aka the label has been created. Frustrating.

[Wh33lhop]

Wh33lhop was here

Orange wheels look familiar 🤔

[Danny]

Wh33lhop was here

Orange wheels look familiar 🤔

I miss orange wheel Nate.

Cluster got sent to BavRest today, still dealing with a parasitic drain. I think it might be a bad crash module.

[AWDBOB]

I always use FCP unless I’m in a pinch, in which case I use ECS because they’re just one state over. They’ve been dropping the ball like crazy lately, and don’t offer any updates unless you call and wait on hold for an eternity.

Their problem has always been transparency. Their expected ship dates are almost never accurate. Very frustrating.

[Danny]

I always use FCP unless I’m in a pinch, in which case I use ECS because they’re just one state over. They’ve been dropping the ball like crazy lately, and don’t offer any updates unless you call and wait on hold for an eternity.

Their problem has always been transparency. Their expected ship dates are almost never accurate. Very frustrating.

I agree, I would rather use FCP or another forum sponsor. Ah well, it finally arrived.

First thing, I crossed over 8000 miles (omg so many) on my S3. I really really like this car. I am so on the fence about throwing a tune on it. It sure cleans up nice.





(I don't know why that picture is so JPEG'd.)

Also tackled putting a big brake kit on my red E30. With the extra power of the S50 I found myself braking way early before corners last time I was out at Thunderhill and I figured since I'm taking about the braking system to put a new hub/bearing in, why not upgrade? I went with the Massive "street kit" from Massive Brakes. I've had this setup before on this car when I was younger and I had to sell it and go back to stock years ago when I fell on some hard times. I like the kit and I like that it uses 4 piston Wilwood calipers which are a common upgrade in the Miata world and VW G60 Corrado rotors which are easily sourced.

Here's the stock stuff, complete with stud that backed out when I took it out at the track.



That wheel bearing was totally borked and took a tremendous effort to remove. I even broke my breaker bar.



So I had to run to Harbor Freight for a replacement, might as well upgrade.



This took care of the issue quickly and easily (once my compressor finally aired up)

Here's the stock rotor versus the G60 rotor. Pretty nice upgrade. Massive Brakes will tell you the inner diameter of the rotor needs to be machined 1mm larger to sit correctly on the hub. I just took a dremel with a grinding stone to the inner diameter until it popped on easily.



Yeah, I would say this thing is borked.



Here's the Massive machined bracket for the Wilwood calipers. Nice looking piece. I had to reuse my caliper bolts instead of the supplied ones because the supplied ones hit the rotor and wouldn't install all the way. The stock bolts were shorter and even then were still too close to the rotors for my comfort. A single washer on each caliper bracket bolt solved that.



And here's one side all done.



The driver's side was not dramatic at all and was no more involved than doing a hub/brake job. Easy peasy.

Here's how it looks with the wheel on. I ordered (or was sent) the wrong stud kit from Motorsport Hardware so I had to order a new kit and use wheel bolts for now.



And I think it still cleans up pretty nice.

[paynemw]

Did you go through the proper installation procedure with locktite too? I know it's annoying, but properly installing these is sorta crucial to staying alive.

[Danny]

Did you go through the proper installation procedure with locktite too? I know it's annoying, but properly installing these is sorta crucial to staying alive.

I'm pretty sure I did, but I installed these years and years ago so I'm not sure honestly. I got some new ones in the mail and will most definitely be installing them correctly.

[Danny]

Been a while since the last update but...


Greg at BavRest says the M3's cluster is all good which is a bummer because I'll have to do some more wiring diagnostics which I hate. Greg is going to refurb the cluster anyway and clean up some stuff before he sends it back so maybe we'll both be surprised. Who knows?


Picked up a whole Ground Control setup on Facebook marketplace for super cheap. Seems weird to be upgrading a car I'm planning to sell but, these were a killer deal and I think it ups the value (or at least the attractiveness to potential buyers) nicely.





Yeah they're damn ugly (came from an east coast car) but they work and certainly make the car look a lot better.





New coilovers left the front tires a little sucked in.





So I grabbed some cheap 12mm spacers (hubcentric) from Amazon that are way better quality than they have any business being for how cheap they were.





Tough to see in the pictures but it definitely looks better.





12mm might not end up being enough and I may do a 20mm spacer. I think I have stud length needed.


I finally got the new studs installed on the front of the E30 also. I was tired of having bolts on the front and studs on the rear.





And I replaced the throttle cable on the green racecar. No pics of that however.

[iansane]

Somehow it took me this long to make the connection to GRM. I kept reading the threads thinking I had already read them...

Low looks good.

[Danny]

Somehow it took me this long to make the connection to GRM. I kept reading the threads thinking I had already read them...

Low looks good.

Thanks man!

Took a four day vacation to a lake house with a few buddies. We drove the Audi up the 101 through Oregon to the place we stayed. It made for some really nice pictures even if I only had my iPhone.








This one is probably my favorite.





Hopefully some more updates on the other cars soon.

[Danny]

Hey guys, I am having a hell of a time with this E36 M3 Car runs like a top and I've done quite a bit of work to it to get it ready for sale. Its almost done but I've got two really big issues which are causing me to slam my head repeatedly against the wall.





Issue 1: Fuel gauge and speedometer do not work. I have had the cluster rebuilt by BavRest with no change. Replaced all fuses with no change. I can't see any breaks in the wiring anywhere. With my OBD2 tool plugged in I can see the speed of the vehicle through the VSS so I know that is not bad.





Issue 2: The car will randomly have the hazards come on. This can happen with the key on or off, car sitting or driving, doesn't matter. It is totally random and usually causes the battery to drain overnight. I have replaced the ignition switch, hazard switch, and crash relay with no change. The vehicle had an aftermarket alarm in it and I have disconnected and pulled out the brain for the entire system.





Seriously considering just parting the thing out at this point. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

[econti]

You will have a ground somewhere in the dash/cluster area that is loose or corroded. Go through them all and make sure they're all good