FuturisticConcept Art BMW E36 with a V8 on a bottom dollar budget

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

I've looked into crank windows for my sedan and as far as I could tell they were never an option for the USA.  I was looking into it for weight reasons and quit after finding out that the manual mechanisms are almost no lighter than the power system.

Yeah I know. They were availble in the compacts. I was just looking for a simple way to do it, I thought someone may have a lead.

[Jdesign]

Been driving this thing more and more. Adjusted the rear toe angle as the rear still felt off. Turns out that the rear wheels were toes in quite a bit. I adjusted that and its MUCH better. I need to figure out what brakes I have, as the front calipers are rotors are huge for an E36. 17's seem to be the smallest wheels I can fit. I will need pads an rotors soon.

I finally painted the underside of the hood. It use to be white with a weird looking skull from the PO. Black with red paint drips was my quick solution.

I also want to get new coilovers. The entire car just feels so soft, but I do not want to spend $900 on coilovers on such a cheap car.

Do you guys have any suggestions?

So far I have heard - solowerks/maxpeddingrods/ RSK/ Raceland ultimo

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

I need to figure out what brakes I have, as the front calipers are rotors are huge for an E36. 17's seem to be the smallest wheels I can fit. I will need pads an rotors soon.

I'd guess that they're most likely E46 330ci brakes in the front as they are a direct bolt-on to the stock non-m e36 knuckles and require 17" wheels.

[Jdesign]

m42b32 said:

I'd guess that they're most likely E46 330ci brakes in the front as they are a direct bolt-on to the stock non-m e36 knuckles and require 17" wheels. 

Should I just order pads and rotors and see if they fit? 

Pic of my brakes and 17” wheel for reference;

[jc43089]

Check the rotor diameter.  I have e46 330 front brakes I think they are 325mm, M3 brakes are smaller at 315mm.  That is if you aren't sure if someone put M spindles on at some point.  

Quoted from here linky "The E46 330 uses 325x25mm (front)"

[wasnt m3]

Might just be me but that really looks like a 16" wheel.

[jc43089]

I have 16" Countour Reps and they do clear e46 330 brakes but barely.  Most 16" wheels do not.

[patsbimmer1]

I had a set of FK's and they were decent for the price.  Megan racing makes a coilover and i've always heard good things about them from my 240sx days.  They're slightly more expensive than the other options but only by a couple $100.  Let me know if you go with Solowerks, FK or Megan and I can get you a good price.

[GunMetalGrey]

+1 for SoloWerks
I (and Jake) run them in the daily. The price was hard to beat, and the ride is pretty darn good, especially considering the price.

[Jdesign]

"Maxpeeding" rods it is.

Honestly, the spring rates (8K), 32 levels of adjustability, and the overall quality for $300 is unbelievable. To top that off, they have a two year warranty. I figured that the worst thing that could happen, would be that I considered these a mistake if they are not what I need or im not happy with them, and I will sell them for slightly less and buy something a lot nicer.

[KaiserRolls]

[Jdesign]

KaiserRolls said:

Does this mean you are Whalely impressed?

[KaiserRolls]

Jdesign said:

 
Does this mean you are Whalely impressed?

I’m guessing that’s how the max rods will ride

[Jdesign]

KaiserRolls said:

I’m guessing that’s how the max rods will ride

Whaley stiff?

[KaiserRolls]

Jdesign said:

 
Whaley stiff?

Are you doing this on porpoise

[Jdesign]

Ordered some thangs

Some thangs showed up

Painted some of the thangs

Installed some of the thangs

Ive really suckethed at taking pictures of what I have been doing lately. But I did get a harness bar, Painted it black and installed it, Also installed the seat belt harness for the driver. I have been on the look out for a cheap bucket seat for the passenger. I have no pictures of any of this

I did get some pictures of these as I unwrapped them last night. I need to determine mounting locations for the 20" bar and the light pods. I think the 52" looks perfect on the end of the rack. Ive been really impressed with some of these eBay deals I have been getting lately.

All of these lights were $99 shipped and the light output is as follows

52" -300W lumen is 22000
22" -120w lumen is 8800
4" Pods- 18w lumen is 1500. 

I need to build some brackets and a harness for the lights now

The Coilovers also arrived and Im really impressed with the quality. The entire box sticks of WD40, but thats a small concern compared to the $285 shipped for complete dampening adjustable suspension. LOLLOLOL These will be installed or "Leaped into your vehicle" by the end of the week, and I can share how they feel compared to how they look.

A quick test fit of the lighting...

[KaiserRolls]

Adjustable wetness?? Tell me more!!

[Jdesign]

KaiserRolls said:

Adjustable wetness?? Tell me more!!

Righty-Tighty!

[Jdesign]

So I did a thing last night. Super impressed with the light output. I currently hooked up both front and rear light bars to the high beam switch, so I wouldn’t need to run a separate relay, but I plan on changing that once I get a large switch panel for the inside of the car. I am making brackets today so that I can have both the front and rear bars mounted to the roof rack.

Kind of hard to capture a picture and show the intensity..

[B C]

HOLEY MOLEY