Feature
SANTORINI DREAMING! PART 3 See part 1 in July 2019 and part 2 in November 2019 of Straight Six.
Words and photographs by Anthony Shilson
F
or those that remember my previous articles, I was looking at a final set of performance modifications with the aim to reduce weight but not at the expense of comfort. Well, I’ve made a little progress with that and also made two unconnected changes. I’ll start with the seats - I haven’t changed them. I previously sat in another V8 M3 with Recaro Profi XL (the same seats BMW chose for the GTS) and they were comfy for the 10 minutes or so I sat in them. However, my preference was to buy British and a few years ago at Autosport International I tried several seats by Corbeau. Unfortunately they no longer make the one I preferred and so visiting Autosport again this year, I wanted to try their seats again but sadly they did not attend. Cobra did attend www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
and they make a lovely seat for the M3 called the Nogaro, but sadly they were uncomfortable for me. The people on their stand did not actually work for Cobra and weren’t much help at all. For the time being I’ve paused my seat hunt but I will be saving a considerable amount of weight with a lithium battery from Deadweight Industries, though it’s not yet installed as I write this. This brings me to the changes not related to my weight saving goals. I attend a regular M3 meet where a few of the owners had changed the rubber bushes in the front control arms to solid ball joints, known as monoballs or uniballs. These owners were regular track users and said the biggest improvements were felt on the track when under maximum braking and turning into corners, but they do offer benefits for
road use too. They were adamant that the expected increase in NVH was not present with a version made by an American engineering company specialising in BMW and Porsche, called German Auto Solutions (GAS). The additional NVH, they said, was akin to running stiffer front suspension. The benefits of increased steering feedback and better steering control were well worth it, in their opinion. I therefore contacted GAS by phone, left a voice message and sent them an email with some questions. It’s very important that the monoballs are sealed to prevent the ingress of water and dirt, else they would become noisy very quickly. I also contacted Millway, a British manufacturer but they only made the unsealed type for the V8 M3. GAS soon replied and I placed my order, which arrived around a week later and I didn’t pay any custom charges or VAT, result! Their kit includes detailed instructions with colour photos and all the items to fit them, such as: Loctite locking compound, primer / activator and a Scotch-Brite pad for cleaning the bore. The M3 was due its routine service which was the big service as it includes engine oil and filter, spark plugs, diff oil, gearbox oil (if a manual – the DCT oil is changed less frequently, which mine is) and because of the age, the brake fluid. I ordered all the parts from Opie Oils apart BMW Car Club Magazine August 2020
41
