What have you done to your E89 today
- Thread starter Bombur
- Start date
Scottish Borders
Deepseaskateboard
Senior member
A steel wire brush. Finish off with anything abrasive. WD40 to clean it all off.
Scotland 🏴
The exhaust tips come off on the 23i, bit of wd40 and a persuader. I took my originals to a machine polisher and they came up like new £20 (originals are about £60 each), otherwise there are some cheap replacements on amazon, I bought some of them also and they did ok.
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Took the opportunity to see how the car settles / sits on its new springs 80nm/96nm vs 70nm/80nm even though I’m waiting to fit the rear brakes..
Although the wheel gap to my eyes according to the steel ruler we are not far off..
Depends what you’re comparing things to..stock non MSport suspension, MSport suspension, Ohlins recommendations..
Figures show my measurements..Ohlins in brackets to the side, stock figures below in each group..
However pretty close to Ohlin’s suggestions ..all within about 5mm which not bad for just a guess on the preloads ..
Strangely according to Ohlins the front sits about 10mm higher than the rear when stock..Ohlins suggestions are equal height all round.
So good enough for a few road trials when we can..
Put front dampers one click harder 9 vs 10 clicks and rear 8 vs 10 clicks for initial evaluation.
May ask why such a gap..
Well the final tyre combos are going to be 245/40 19 and 285/35 19 (437m) and 235/40 19 and 275/35 19 (Apex Arc-8s)
Compared to the stock tyres that’s another 20mm of side wall height and 20mm of tyre width..
So keen to make sure tyres have plenty of room to move around..given the NC500 is my favourite ‘test track’..
Although the wheel gap to my eyes according to the steel ruler we are not far off..
Depends what you’re comparing things to..stock non MSport suspension, MSport suspension, Ohlins recommendations..
Figures show my measurements..Ohlins in brackets to the side, stock figures below in each group..
However pretty close to Ohlin’s suggestions ..all within about 5mm which not bad for just a guess on the preloads ..
Strangely according to Ohlins the front sits about 10mm higher than the rear when stock..Ohlins suggestions are equal height all round.
So good enough for a few road trials when we can..
Put front dampers one click harder 9 vs 10 clicks and rear 8 vs 10 clicks for initial evaluation.
May ask why such a gap..
Well the final tyre combos are going to be 245/40 19 and 285/35 19 (437m) and 235/40 19 and 275/35 19 (Apex Arc-8s)
Compared to the stock tyres that’s another 20mm of side wall height and 20mm of tyre width..
So keen to make sure tyres have plenty of room to move around..given the NC500 is my favourite ‘test track’..
Ah thanks for that! I thought it was all one piece. Certainly will be easier to clean if I can remove them. I take it it’s one piece for certain models?
35i/35is exhaust tips fully welded on..
One of the great advantages of having a fairly decent garage with good lighting when you are under no commercial pressures, id that you can just pause and reflect and then revisit.
Yesterday was a good example.
I fitted all the wheels and sat the car on the ground to check for how much sag there was on the front and rear suspension and found the rears were sitting slightly higher than I’d like and at the same time the right hand rear wheel camber seem to be badly out.
I wasted several minutes trying to undo the rear camber arm to no success and then decided to call it a day.
I thought about things overnight and today decided to remove the bottom preload collar to allow the spring to be further lowered on their perches. These were at the bottom of the travel but serve no purpose but they add another 10mm ish of rear ride preload..
I then also discovered that process that both the rear wheels although bolted up using the impact driver were in fact both slightly skewed, left-hand one marginally the right hand one quite badly.
The Apex Arc-8 wheels I guess, due to the paint finish were a very tight fit on the hubs.
Having taken everything apart and taking the lower lock collars off and screwed everything back down, using a torque wrench on all the bolts up prior to putting the car back on the deck, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sag and ride height had settled down quite nicely.
In addition the camber aspects were all reasonably okay with the exception the front left where a tad less preload is required and because I disturbed the control arm there’s slightly more camber than required so overall a good result.
As a side note an iPhone with an inclinometer app is very accurate for camber…
So static ride heights are all within 4mm of each other…there’s a 50mm difference between no load and static ..which I think is in the right ball park for a ‘sports car’..
The static ride heights split the difference between Ohlins stock and BMW non MSport settings.
In addition my new ‘suspension’ sockets arrived allowing me to torque down the Ohlins top strut nut whilst holding an Allen key to stop the inner rotating..
Decided to get out of the garage whilst the going was good!
Yesterday was a good example.
I fitted all the wheels and sat the car on the ground to check for how much sag there was on the front and rear suspension and found the rears were sitting slightly higher than I’d like and at the same time the right hand rear wheel camber seem to be badly out.
I wasted several minutes trying to undo the rear camber arm to no success and then decided to call it a day.
I thought about things overnight and today decided to remove the bottom preload collar to allow the spring to be further lowered on their perches. These were at the bottom of the travel but serve no purpose but they add another 10mm ish of rear ride preload..
I then also discovered that process that both the rear wheels although bolted up using the impact driver were in fact both slightly skewed, left-hand one marginally the right hand one quite badly.
The Apex Arc-8 wheels I guess, due to the paint finish were a very tight fit on the hubs.
Having taken everything apart and taking the lower lock collars off and screwed everything back down, using a torque wrench on all the bolts up prior to putting the car back on the deck, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sag and ride height had settled down quite nicely.
In addition the camber aspects were all reasonably okay with the exception the front left where a tad less preload is required and because I disturbed the control arm there’s slightly more camber than required so overall a good result.
As a side note an iPhone with an inclinometer app is very accurate for camber…
So static ride heights are all within 4mm of each other…there’s a 50mm difference between no load and static ..which I think is in the right ball park for a ‘sports car’..
The static ride heights split the difference between Ohlins stock and BMW non MSport settings.
In addition my new ‘suspension’ sockets arrived allowing me to torque down the Ohlins top strut nut whilst holding an Allen key to stop the inner rotating..
Decided to get out of the garage whilst the going was good!
Whilst waiting for another can of Phoenix Gold paint so I can remount my 370mm/M5 rear BBK I tackled another first world issue.
The Audiotec-Fischer Director control box had been misbehaving with the touch screen becoming more erratic.
www.audiotec-fischer.de
Most aftermarket DSP/amps are configured and set up then to rely on the headunit for volume, loudness, tone control etc.
The Director allows up to 20 different acoustic set ups to be held and called up in real time on demand.
I have ones for roof up, roof down, low speed, high speed, more bass, lots more bass etc
In addition it does a variety of superlative audio controls well beyond what a head unit's normal tone controls can do.
Fortunately in my usual 'its good to have a back up to my back up) I had a spare unit.
For various geeky reasons the firmware had to be updated to work with the AF Match 10 DSP/amp and later DSP Tool PC set up s/w
Being sad and cause it can be done, I uploaded a personal bmp pic for the display..yes yes I know the M Police will have a field day..other bmps are available.
The Audiotec-Fischer Director control box had been misbehaving with the touch screen becoming more erratic.
Audiotec Fischer DIRECTOR - Display Remote Control
Remote Control with Touchscreen
www.audiotec-fischer.de
Most aftermarket DSP/amps are configured and set up then to rely on the headunit for volume, loudness, tone control etc.
The Director allows up to 20 different acoustic set ups to be held and called up in real time on demand.
I have ones for roof up, roof down, low speed, high speed, more bass, lots more bass etc
In addition it does a variety of superlative audio controls well beyond what a head unit's normal tone controls can do.
Fortunately in my usual 'its good to have a back up to my back up) I had a spare unit.
For various geeky reasons the firmware had to be updated to work with the AF Match 10 DSP/amp and later DSP Tool PC set up s/w
Being sad and cause it can be done, I uploaded a personal bmp pic for the display..yes yes I know the M Police will have a field day..other bmps are available.
Whitchurch
Yes..replaced them very early on..had thought they would be worth refurbing..but the refurbers seem to have disappeared..and now you can get non OE ones new cheaper..
Whilst waiting for a can of Phoenix Gold for my rear caliper cradles…not a good time of year postage wise…I’ve tidied up the garage, workshop and store room.
I’ve had this faux neon sign for some time..decided to put it up in the garage…as you can see there’s limited wall space!
It’s a bit subtle but this image becomes entrained in the mind of all 35i and 35is E89 owners eventually!
I’ve had this faux neon sign for some time..decided to put it up in the garage…as you can see there’s limited wall space!
It’s a bit subtle but this image becomes entrained in the mind of all 35i and 35is E89 owners eventually!
I get really pissed of with (Chinese) crap that just doesn't do what it says it does!-;
)
I bought some LEDs to replace the old incandescent bulbs that were still fiited to cars back in the 2009-2016 period.
So I used these canbus ok bulbs for the boot light and the thee bulbs in the cabin light unit ( 2 for each side for reading and a central cabin illumination)
All the flockers flickered when ever on..really annoying.
Anyway..moving on..tried these critters in a fetching blue colour..and ..voila they work.
Not sure if blue is the way to go..in aviation style ordered a couple of red one for the reading lamps..will try that
Maybe a combo of red and blue (as well as white footwell and door puddle lights) maybe too much?
First world issues..!-
)I bought some LEDs to replace the old incandescent bulbs that were still fiited to cars back in the 2009-2016 period.
So I used these canbus ok bulbs for the boot light and the thee bulbs in the cabin light unit ( 2 for each side for reading and a central cabin illumination)
All the flockers flickered when ever on..really annoying.
Anyway..moving on..tried these critters in a fetching blue colour..and ..voila they work.
Not sure if blue is the way to go..in aviation style ordered a couple of red one for the reading lamps..will try that
Maybe a combo of red and blue (as well as white footwell and door puddle lights) maybe too much?
First world issues..!-
Great advantage of time is it gives you time to think..
Now like a dog with a bone focussed on sorting out for good the ride height and posture of the Yellow Peril.
As some will know the E89 rear suspension is a carry over from the E85 which was pretty close to the E46.
I've spent more hours than I care to mention following various Z3s, E85/E86 and E89 all with their bottoms sat down and the rear wheels with acute camber. Clearly almost all these cars did not have their suspension set up for the actual load carried.
(The semi trailing arm design 'suffers' from excessive camber change as ride height changes..lower ride height more camber, fortunately with more toe in...otherwise there would be a lot of fatalaties)
Almost everytime I've seen a geo set up / wheel alignment it's done with the car empty and probably not a lot of fuel in.
BMW in their geo set up callls for two 68kg occupants and 15kg of luggage in the boot with full fuel..
So the known issue is ride height changes with additional mass and as ride height reduces negative camber increases and toe in increases too.
But by how much and where?
So at the moment the car has from wheel centre to botton of the wheel well (Ohlins preferred way of measuirng) as follows
Unladen (full size spare wheel, roof down, full fuel)
371 FL / 366 FR and 365 RL / 367 RR
I added around 70kg in the pax seat and 90kg in the driver seat ie 160kg of extra load. ( Yes I took into account the specific gravity of the oil, petrol and diesel in their containers)
Now we have..
370 FL / 263 FR and 357 RL / 356 RR
As suspected the weight mostly affects the rear suspension..
So the impact of the crew weight is
-1 FL / -3 FR and -8 RL / -11 RR
Which is more or less you would expect given the fact that the driver side was 20kg heavier than the pax side
Camber actually wasn't too bad given how much messing around with the linkages etc there was.
1.2 FL / 0.2 FT and 1.6 RL / 1.5 RR
I can't easily measure toe in but I'll wait for a proper geo set up.
I'm not sure how much impact the ARB drop links not being correctly set is..
That's a real faff and I'll have to get the trestles out to sit the car on them whilst twiddling with them!
Now like a dog with a bone focussed on sorting out for good the ride height and posture of the Yellow Peril.
As some will know the E89 rear suspension is a carry over from the E85 which was pretty close to the E46.
I've spent more hours than I care to mention following various Z3s, E85/E86 and E89 all with their bottoms sat down and the rear wheels with acute camber. Clearly almost all these cars did not have their suspension set up for the actual load carried.
(The semi trailing arm design 'suffers' from excessive camber change as ride height changes..lower ride height more camber, fortunately with more toe in...otherwise there would be a lot of fatalaties)
Almost everytime I've seen a geo set up / wheel alignment it's done with the car empty and probably not a lot of fuel in.
BMW in their geo set up callls for two 68kg occupants and 15kg of luggage in the boot with full fuel..
So the known issue is ride height changes with additional mass and as ride height reduces negative camber increases and toe in increases too.
But by how much and where?
So at the moment the car has from wheel centre to botton of the wheel well (Ohlins preferred way of measuirng) as follows
Unladen (full size spare wheel, roof down, full fuel)
371 FL / 366 FR and 365 RL / 367 RR
I added around 70kg in the pax seat and 90kg in the driver seat ie 160kg of extra load. ( Yes I took into account the specific gravity of the oil, petrol and diesel in their containers)
Now we have..
370 FL / 263 FR and 357 RL / 356 RR
As suspected the weight mostly affects the rear suspension..
So the impact of the crew weight is
-1 FL / -3 FR and -8 RL / -11 RR
Which is more or less you would expect given the fact that the driver side was 20kg heavier than the pax side
Camber actually wasn't too bad given how much messing around with the linkages etc there was.
1.2 FL / 0.2 FT and 1.6 RL / 1.5 RR
I can't easily measure toe in but I'll wait for a proper geo set up.
I'm not sure how much impact the ARB drop links not being correctly set is..
That's a real faff and I'll have to get the trestles out to sit the car on them whilst twiddling with them!
Today’s minutiae is the follow on to replacing the cheapo Chinese led lights I fitted for the cabin/map reading bulbs.
I was impressed with the blue more expensive Chinese ones but pondered about the old aviation trick of red lights for map reading etc whilst preserving night vision.
So bought a pair of red ones for the map reading down lights..
Stuffed a bit of foam into the empty cavity before refitting the unit.
Have to say (given I never normally drive in the dark in the E89) very impressed with my now multi colour cockpit illumination.
The map reading lights work perfectly ..enough light for the occupant to see but doesn’t distract the other occupant or their vision..
Pics show blue central only ..with footwell lights ..also LED..or red map lights or both together…
I was impressed with the blue more expensive Chinese ones but pondered about the old aviation trick of red lights for map reading etc whilst preserving night vision.
So bought a pair of red ones for the map reading down lights..
Stuffed a bit of foam into the empty cavity before refitting the unit.
Have to say (given I never normally drive in the dark in the E89) very impressed with my now multi colour cockpit illumination.
The map reading lights work perfectly ..enough light for the occupant to see but doesn’t distract the other occupant or their vision..
Pics show blue central only ..with footwell lights ..also LED..or red map lights or both together…
Abertawe
