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

[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

[GunMetalGrey]

$50 amazon/ebay light bars are pretty hardcore these days. Just make sure to seal up the front lens so you don't get moisture buildup.

[straight6pwr]

when the aliens come, we'll be calling you.

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

$50 amazon/ebay light bars are pretty hardcore these days. Just make sure to seal up the front lens so you don't get moisture buildup. 

In the phuture they call that "patina"

[Jdesign]

Made some progress this weekend in anticipation for the upcoming weekend.

Installed;

• Coilovers
• Angle kit
• New cut inner tie rods
• New Cut outer tie rods
• Centerlines
• Light bars (hooked up to high beams)
• Seat belt harness for driver

Still needed before Sunday;

• Alignment
• 1 Eyebolt for the Drivers harness
• Windows that work with a switch 
• Seat time

I plan on driving this to Milwaukee sometime this week if I can, otherwise I will be daily driving it to work as well.

[Jdesign]

I want to add that the angle kit did help improve the steering angle quite a bit, but what was more noticeable to me was that it added a shit ton of steering response. I would suggest that anyone considering swapping for a Z3 or M3 rack to think about getting a bolt on angle kit first. Its a much better improvement for a lot less cost and work.

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

I want to add that the angle kit did help improve the steering angle quite a bit, but what was more noticeable to me was that it added a shit ton of steering response. I would suggest that anyone considering swapping for a Z3 or M3 rack to think about getting a bolt on angle kit first. Its a much better improvement for a lot less cost and work.

I've never put thought into angle kits like that, but that is an obvious side effect when you look at it! 
It is certainly an interesting way to achieve a more "responsive" rack. 

Yay Radii!

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

I've never put thought into angle kits like that, but that is an obvious side effect when you look at it! 
It is certainly an interesting way to achieve a more "responsive" rack. 

Yay Radii!

Exactly. I wasn't even thinking about it, but then after I drove it I was blown away how much response I gained.

9/10 would suggest.

I would give it a 10/10 but its an eBay part, and we all know those usually fail somehow...

[jc43089]

Jdesign said:

I would give it a 10/10 but its an eBay part, and we all know those usually fail somehow... 

Meh it's only the steering, not that big of a deal.

[YoungCR]

Any review yet on the coil overs?

[jc43089]

He already crashed and died.  Bummer.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

He already crashed and died.  Bummer.

Bimmer*

YoungCR said:

Any review yet on the coil overs?

Not really. I haven't really driven it since the first night. I need to revisit my alignment. After everything settled its way off. I have a guy that is going to do it, but hes super busy trying to get his car ready for this weekend too. I plan on driving it a bunch tonight.

From the driving I did then, it still seemed quite soft. I might need to spend another $150 and get myself some swift 873244K rear springs so that I cant feel my spine after driving it.

[Jdesign]

So I forgot to post on here. I have been fairly busy, but I was able to get my car aligned before the drift event even though it was cancelled. It was probably one of the more "accurate" things done on this car.

In a swift last minute decision I bought cheap tie rods from Orielly. A good friend of mine is the Madison area rep and got them overnight delivered for $11 inner and outer the night before the alignment. When I installed them everything seemed to bolt up just fine, but there was a problem I didn't realize until I drove it. The taper of the tie-rods is smaller than the aluminum of the angle kit.  This means there is ever so slight play in the mounting location and I will need new tie rods that are the correct size, which also means I will need another alignment.  Ughhh At least the event was cancelled because if I leave it like this im sure I will oval out the aluminum angle kit. 

The alignment shop was a good 45mins from my shop so I got a bit of seat time to get a feel for the new Coilovers. The new suspension seems a lot better than what I had. I was able to sell the old coilovers for $100 which now means I have $180 into new coilovers LOL. I currently do not have a sway bar in the rear of the car, but I just got end-links to install the one I have. I think thats going to make a world of difference to how the car feels, and its likely part of the reason why I think its feels "soft" in the back.

[B C]

The alignment heads fit the style of the car too well. A permanently installed set should be your next mod