My '05 Alpine ZHP "Daily"
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Also I forgot to add that I did refresh the brakes, the nastiest part of the car. The car is completely rust free, but these brakes were nasty. Was going to go with some 135i brakes, but ended up just doing stop-tech rotors/refinishing ZHP calipers for now. Maybe next year!
The entire front end of the car, along with the rear bumper also got resprayed before I left. The car had a decent amount of rock chips that always drove me insane & the back bumper got bumped downtown last winter.
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Yesterday I ended up ditching the Clutch fan and ACC fan in hopes that it would fix my overheating at idle issue. So far after about 2 hours of driving around in stop and go traffic, the car has been really good. It has never gone past half, as where before it went past half almost right away at any light. I still don't trust the setup fully, but it is for sure an improvement.
I installed my original ZHP E-fan in place of the old setup. In order to make this work I had to trim the lower half of the fan shroud to make it clear the oil cooler. I was able to re-use the top mounting bolt hole, but had to use radiator "ties" for the other 3 corners. This is an incredibly tight fit, but it works, barely! I am probably a quarter of an inch from my belts, and about the same from the water pump (where the clutch fan bolts to)
Excited to start enjoying this car again. I really believe this is a perfect all around car. I will forever own it!
***I ordered some custom plates finally! Can't wait to get them in 40 weeks!
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Finally got around to ordering a new center console for the ZHP. This is one of the things that have bothering me since I got the car. I ordered all new trays earlier in the year, but this was much needed! Makes the interior feel 10 years newer and makes the car feel like it has 100k less miles.
I also fixed my drivers window regulator yesterday. I bought a new one, but ended up being able to fix the existing one.
Going to clean all of my suede tomorrow. I am in search of a MINT drivers sport seat! Let me know if you guys know of any out there.
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@YoungCRYessir, OEM through FCP. I hate how fragile e46 plastics are!
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Acquired a very clean drivers seat and a new OEM black M steering wheel trim. Both installed! Didn't take any pictures. My drivers seat wasn't torn or anything, was just starting to show some age.
Excited to see some crazy BMW's at Road America this weekend! Will be out and about in Elkhart Lake in the ZHP
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FINALLY pulled the trigger and bought a Dynavin for the E46. This was a mod that I always put off because of the expensive $900+ price tag, but finally I pulled the trigger and did it.
It was so worth it! It makes daily driving the car so much better. The quality of the unit is amazing. The Applecar play is super fast and the touchscreen is easy to use. The steering wheel controls all still work, and the radio looks like it could have come in the car from the factory. I also ordered a brand new OEM tray to relocate the AC controls rather than using their bracket they make.
(also bought a new OEM tray/coin collector to make the center console area completely brand new looking!
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@RekpointSteering wheel controls all work perfectly even with the apple CarPlay! I also got the plug in for it so it reads accurate oil and coolant temps and studs. If I ever boost the car it has a built in boost gauge and all that too.
Yes retains OBC. I would not go any other way than Dynavin
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THE BEAST HAS LANDED. So awesome that IND had the Karbonious box in stock. Luckily grabbed the last one!
SO EXCITED FOR ALL THE NOISE!
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Spent a full 8 hours taking out my saggy oem black headliner and replacing it with some suede!
Removed all the old adhesive and foam for a fe w hours. It was terrible, but very worth it.
I ended up getting a few small creases in spots that are pretty hidden but it is so much better than what I had. Wrap job is a 8.5/10 but I am 10/10 happy with it.
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I also fully installed the Karbonious Air box over the weekend and got it tuned by HTE. The install was very easy straight forward. The most time consuming part was wiring in the new MAP sensor, but even that was not bad.
Overall, this is my new favorite mod on the car. This thing sounds INSANE. I watched so many videos before installing this over the years and nothing captures the sound properly. It sounds like the motor is sitting right next to you. I love it. The only cons I have noticed so far is a torque loss between 3-4500 RPMS. I have a dyno session Monday and this might get fixed, I am not sure. Even if it is not, it is very minor, and there is for sure a lot more top end power. Surprisingly, my gas mileage (as long as im not beating on it) is about the same as well. I got 31 MPG on the way to Final Bout over the weekend which is awesome with the $55 a gallon for premium right now.
This car has evolved so much in the year I have owned it and is quickly becoming my favorite car I have owned.
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Andddddddd got bored of the TE37'S. Going to put them in the closet for a few months. E88 time! Going to go down from pictured tire size (255/40/18) to 245/40/18 PS4S and should be golden!
Never in my life did I think a year and a half ago when I bought this ZHP as a daily it would someday be S54 swapped with a set of TE's and E88's LOL
Oh well, this car has been the most fun and surprising project of my life.
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Update! Finally got the new Yokohama Advan V601’s mounted on the e88’s. Finally decided on 255/35 after lots of debating on what size tire to run.
They fit fantastic, have to install new rear bumper brackets that I ordered with more adjustability to widen the rear bumper a tad and I should be good to go. Very happy with the new setup, falling in love with this car again. Probably going to have some stuff resprayed on it in the very near future after a long winter of daily driving.
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Just a minor update on the daily!
Still driving everyday, blizzaks on the TE37's have been awesome for the few snowfalls we have gotten, can't wait for the first big snowfall when it actually sticks. Car has been a true joy to drive, and never seems to get old. I am sure I have refreshed a few things since my last post, but the main one was doing a Brembo GT BBK in the front. This kit comes with a nice 2 piece rotor, and a huge size increase over the stock ZHP.
I also have a rear kit coming next week to match the front which should be awesome.
After that, I plan to order a new cooling system for the S54 as at the end of summer with AC running the water temp would creep up if I let it idle too long or got stuck in stop and go traffic. I plan to get the 3 core CSF and pair it up with the Mishimoto E-fan which should help keep the car pretty nice and cool.
Highly recommend this chassis to anyone and everyone
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