Sold The E85, Bought An E89
- Thread starter Player 1
- Start date
Busterboo said:
If you'd like to preach the benefits of servicing at BMW's intervals as opposed to more regularly on a car that's running a higher state of tune than standard, you're more than welcome to but do it on your own thread please.
In other news, switchable exhausts look altogether quite easy to make up for these cars!
There's already a vacuum line going down to the exhaust as standard so I'm thinking it'd be straightforward to make up some pipes bypassing the mufflers with the exhaust flow controlled by a pair of vacuum butterfly valves (essentially the same thing that's already in one of the mufflers), tee into the existing vacuum line and put a solenoid valve in there wired up to a button in the cabin. Push the button, the solenoid opens, pulls a vacuum and opens the valves, simple!
Just need to check that the line I plan to tee into is in fact a constant vacuum prior to the valve that controls the existing butterfly, check some sizes for parts and then the minor issue of finding space to put it all in :?
You forget that BMW have other motives when deciding maintenance schedules. If they sold them saying they needed changing every 7k miles thats not good from a marketing point a view is it? Especially if competitors are saying to change at double time the mileage. To the average joe the longer the lifespan= less cost therefore easier to sell. Also for the benefit of changing oil every 7k vs 15k to be actually realised most cars will be at an age wayyyy beyond bmws concern. My point being that manufacturers guidelines do have other influences besides mechanical sympathy. Just my two cents
ihadablackdog
Senior member
Player 1 said:And last but not least, I also fitted a new steering wheel from Jack at Royal as that was the only part of the interior showing signs of wear. Having been changed it really lifts the whole interior, very much worth the money
Would you mind saying roughly how much the steering wheel retrim was? Is it £100-£200 or much more?
I've emailed them for a price (also asked about the perforated/nappa mix) but it said they are closed for a little bit, so may not get a reply soon.
ihadablackdog said:Player 1 said:And last but not least, I also fitted a new steering wheel from Jack at Royal as that was the only part of the interior showing signs of wear. Having been changed it really lifts the whole interior, very much worth the money
Would you mind saying roughly how much the steering wheel retrim was? Is it £100-£200 or much more?
I've emailed them for a price (also asked about the perforated/nappa mix) but it said they are closed for a little bit, so may not get a reply soon.
Of course, it was £120 plus the £100 deposit which is refunded once the original wheel is returned.
I'm guessing they might charge a little bit more for the mix of different leather but it's 100% worth it
ihadablackdog
Senior member
Thanks. Literally just had a reply...£140 + £15 fitting (cos i’d go to him, to scared to do it myself).
Same price for both options. I was thinking it would be in the £300 range, so £140 (£155) is quite good.
He can only fit during weekday and his first availability is my week off work....umm....could be a sign!
Same price for both options. I was thinking it would be in the £300 range, so £140 (£155) is quite good.
He can only fit during weekday and his first availability is my week off work....umm....could be a sign!
For the quality of work and what it does for the car it's a very good deal.
Yeah, if he's only asking £15 to fit and is within reasonable distance then I'd absolutely go for that!
They're not particularly difficult to fit yourself but it's always nerve racking fiddling with airbags and there's definitely a knack to the clips that hold it in.
Yeah, if he's only asking £15 to fit and is within reasonable distance then I'd absolutely go for that!
They're not particularly difficult to fit yourself but it's always nerve racking fiddling with airbags and there's definitely a knack to the clips that hold it in.
Update on this switchable exhaust idea, it works 
I tested it all out last weekend, plumbed the solenoid and the valves into the cars existing vacuum line that controls the valve in the right hand muffler and here's the result, hopefully the video link works;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/156916546@N05/41603259102/
One tweak is needed, when test driving we found the valves would stay open no problem at all under idle and acceleration but try to close a little when cruising as the car is activating the valve in the muffler and there isn't quite enough vacuum pressure to activate all three at once. We just bypassed the solenoid controlling the muffler to prove the point and sure enough they stayed open the entire time.
As I have these valves on the shelf and in plentiful supply should something get damaged or go wrong, I think I'll add a relay in so that when the circuit for the two bypass valves is activated, it closes the circuit for the muffler valve at the same time.
Next job is to weld some clamps onto the valves and make a final decision on where exactly is going to be best to mount them. The 90 degree bends just before the mufflers is the plan as I'm hoping to run a pair of pipes alongside the mufflers and exit beside the existing exhausts after cutting the bumper to suit. This shouldn't be a problem on the right hand muffler but the left hand one could be tight!
I tested it all out last weekend, plumbed the solenoid and the valves into the cars existing vacuum line that controls the valve in the right hand muffler and here's the result, hopefully the video link works;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/156916546@N05/41603259102/
One tweak is needed, when test driving we found the valves would stay open no problem at all under idle and acceleration but try to close a little when cruising as the car is activating the valve in the muffler and there isn't quite enough vacuum pressure to activate all three at once. We just bypassed the solenoid controlling the muffler to prove the point and sure enough they stayed open the entire time.
As I have these valves on the shelf and in plentiful supply should something get damaged or go wrong, I think I'll add a relay in so that when the circuit for the two bypass valves is activated, it closes the circuit for the muffler valve at the same time.
Next job is to weld some clamps onto the valves and make a final decision on where exactly is going to be best to mount them. The 90 degree bends just before the mufflers is the plan as I'm hoping to run a pair of pipes alongside the mufflers and exit beside the existing exhausts after cutting the bumper to suit. This shouldn't be a problem on the right hand muffler but the left hand one could be tight!
