Custom Rapid-Prototyped Wheel Spacers

After putting on a set of coil-overs my car the stock Style 30 BMW wheels would not clear the coils. When I had the car set at the the desired ride height the coils were about half-way down the strut body. The springs now resided lower than stock and combined with the +38mm offset of the stock wheels the tires rubbed against the springs. To remedy this I removed the helper springs and cranked the spring perches on the front struts until they did not make contact with the tires: I did this so I could get home from the BYU lab we were in.

I hatched a plan to clear the springs until the Style 5 wheels were done being refinished. To accomplish this I would learn a CAD program and have friends in the Engineering Department at BYU develop a spacer for me on the CNC. This was great, but I had a lot to learn. I started by taking multiple measurements from the center hub, mating surfaces, and wheels. I compiled all this information into a model I constructed on VIACad. After I was satisfied I sent the model to be produced on a rapid prototyping machine at school. This is the finished product. They are 10mmm wide, and fit perfectly.

Checklist:

• Learn VIACad
• Take Measurements
• Construct Model
• Produce Prototype for dry fit

Still to do:

• Source aluminum for actual spacers
• Produce spacers and acquire extended wheel bolts

Aren't they pretty?

BMW Style 5 (BBS RC090): Break Down

Tools needed:

• 3/8" Ratchet/Breaker bar- Do I need to explain this?
• 10mm 12 point socket- to remove the nuts from the back side of the wheel.
• 10" socket extension- to be able to reach all the way in to the wheel
• Nail punch- this is to tap out all the bolts after removing the nuts. I used an old Torx screwdriver that I found lying around the apartment for the last wheel it was tons better because it had a rubber handle and would center itself on the bolt.
• Old phone book- Place this on the top of the center to protect the finish.
• A dead blow hammer- I used a regular hammer, because my rubber mallet just wasn't doing the trick.

I started out by soaking the inside of the wheel with WD40. I thought this would penetrate between the center and wheel to help me when I wanted to separate the two. Now, after they have soaked a little bit, you can start by removing all the nuts from the back of the wheel. This takes some patience, there are 34 bolts per wheel. I worried that I would break a bolt as some of the nuts were very stubborn and necessitated using the "persuader"--or 26" breaker bar. I collected them in a magnetic dish to keep them all in one place.

Now that you have all the nuts off, you can remove the bolts. You do this by placing a nail punch (blue was the best size for the job), or old Torx screwdriver on the end of the bolt. I thought it was nice that the bolts had an indentation on the center. This kept the punch from moving around or sliding off as I struck it with the hammer. Don't be bashful. These bolts are much like the nuts that you removed, they take a little more effort at times.

This is where the phone book comes in handy. Since Rachel and I look online to find contact information now the phone book has been gathering dust on the refrigerator. Once all the bolts and nuts are removed from the wheel place the wheel on a padded surface, like the rug I was using, facing upwards. Position the phone book on the center of the wheel. Now you can give the center a good smack to separate the two without damaging your centers. I tried and tried with a rubber mallet with no success. I have also read different accounts of people using presses, sledgehammers, and heat guns. All of this sounds a little over-kill, but they weren't the easiest things to remove.

Now get ready to roll up your sleeves. My wheels were caked in over 4mm of brake dust. It was over everything. The centers, nuts, bolts, and the inner portion of the wheels. After a lot of scrubbing I was able to clean them up a bit.

They look pretty good now. But the plans are to polish the lips, replace the bolts and get rid of the curb rash.

DIY: Modena Vader after Leatherique Treatment

I conducted a search to find the best products to recondition leather products. During my search I stumbled across Leatherique products. I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. Here are some pictures to document the restoration.

Before:

As you can see the seats were pretty nasty. Rachel and I decided to drive out to Denver to pick up these seats and upon arrival found them in a filthy garage so we knew we were going to be cleaning them right away. These pictures as of the work done on the passenger side Vader seat.

During:

After:

I thought the seat cleaned up really nicely. It was a relatively easy process, but time-consuming.

It was well worth all the work for the nice clean smell of the leather after the cleaning process was over, as well as getting rid of the sheen across the surface of the leather.

Picture of the cars before the end of the semester and before there seperation for the summer.

Mass Exodus and Mirrors

So, my brother and sister left last night for home to make some money before the start of fall term next year. I was pretty bummed because that meant that not only was Kyle moving, but Christopher was too. I would have loved to have gotten all the parts on my car before they left just so we could go on a cruise and take some pictures. Plus, now I don't know who to talk BMW with. My wife is getting really good at just agreeing with my fanatic ramblings.




Before Christopher headed off I wanted to make sure that I got the mirrors. They look amazing! I wish I had done it much earlier. The power works great, and the paint matches beautifully, thanks to Kevin at KC's Bend 'n' Mend. It will take a little while to get used to the littler mirrors, but the convex lens towards the outside of the mirror (a european M3 feature) makes it easier to see objects in a more peripheral position than the US M3 mirror offers.

A lot of work for .75" of drop

Yesterday I helped Kyle lower his car. He chose to put H&R OE Sport Springs on his M3 to bring it modestly lower. In order to do this Kyle also had to purchase '95 M3 strut hats and rent strut spring compressor. With all of my tools, a little elbow grease (provided by Kyle's gym membership), and an occasional reference back to the insufficient Haines manual, we got it all put together. I think it looks great--although Christopher's Estoril is still lower. It was a lot of fun putting the suspension in, especially since it was...

• the last day of finals,
• the day my brother and sister were planning to drive home for the summer,
• no one seemed to have a spring compressor in stock,
  
• and a handful of really good friends dropped in to say hi unexpectedly.

I have some pictures here to chronicle the momentous occasion for Kyle. Plus, now he can lower his wife's car.

All-in-all, it took us from 2:45p-5:45p. (That was the time that my last final was, and thus the deadline for working on bimmers.) Things would have gone a little faster if I had remembered how it disassemble the strut like I had done with Chase's '92 318i. At the end the drop was much lower than the original stock springs. He took it on a test ride to make sure that all the parts were going to stay on the car, and to bring me up to my final. Kyle noted that there was a noticable difference in the way that the car rode. I believe him, although it could all be in our heads from working in a wheel well for the last three hours. Regardless we all enjoyed ourselves.

Back from the paint booth!!

I have collected parts when I have found them for a great deal. Over the years I have gotten...

• M3 "Twisty" Side Skirts (Euro-Spec)
• M3 Mirrors (Euro-Spec)
• M-Tech front bumper with removable lip (DDM Tuning)
• M-Tech rear bumper (DDM Tuning)
• Fog Light Deletes (courtesy of Chase)
• 96-99 Nose Panel (courtesy of Kyle)

Well, it's been a long time coming, and a nice chunk of front bumper started the whole thing. All the parts went into the paint shop just this last week. And as a great scheduler, it has fallen right during finals week. I have been able to get to the booth and have gotten sufficient amounts of studying.

Here are the before, during, and after shots.

Before:




During:



After:





I was very pleased with how they turned out. I still have to go back to the shop to get a couple runs and imperfections cut. In a couple of days I am planning on getting together with Kyle to help him install his new suspension on his '97 Dakar M3. I might try to snag him and have him help me install the lip, bumpers, and drill for the side skirts.

The Best E36 Interior Shot I Have Seen Yet

I have to promise myself that I will not browse the internet for BMW things so that I can focus on my upcoming finals. I have found that when I tell my wife I will do something, it happens. Last night she left for the grocery store. Before she left I told her, I will not browse anything other than "The ethical implications of placebo-based clinical trials." She smiled. Then I stated, "unless Christopher sends me a link." I struggled through three journal articles. Then... Christopher delivered. He sent me a link to craigslist.com in San Francisco. Here are some of the best pictures my eyes have beheld of an E36, mostly the interior.

To learn more about Brad visit his website at bradthephotog.com.

The last and ultimate mod: The M3 Sunroof!!

The last couple of days of the semester does something funny to a person. For my brother and I we spend a lot of time in the library. To escape from the mundane studying we browse around craigslist. This entails hunting for parts, wheels, and gags. Just tonight we stumbled across this beauty... which has spurred a new blogging post entitled "The Last and Ultimate Mods."

From Seattle:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/638117222.html
I can only imagine what this guy was thinking...

Does anyone know where I can get me one of these?

I have the blue flame racing seat covers. I have the 'tainted windows', and 'spedometer' to boot. I thought that the 'brand new teirs' would tip me over the top. But, it was nothing until I got the M3 sunroof.

The M3 sunroof has got to add a ton of horsepower.

Wasatch Drivers

Kyle just recently started to get involved "poasting" on a local forum, "Wasatch Drivers." It is really interesting to read about the happenings from the local members. I really get a kick out of all the diverse personalities that join together because of a love for their fine automobiles. One things that really blew me away were the pictures that they were producing. I could not believe some of the pictures that I saw. I am hope they are okay with me posting a couple of their shots.