creating the V12-powered X5 LM

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

For those that remember my and they make a lovely seat for the M3 previous articles, I was looking called the Nogaro, but sadly they were at a final set of performance uncomfortable for me. The people on modifications with the aim to their stand did not actually work for reduce weight but not at the expense Cobra and weren’t much help at all. of comfort. Well, I’ve made a little For the time being I’ve paused my seat progress with that and also made two hunt but I will be saving a considerable unconnected changes. amount of weight with a lithium battery

I’ll start with the seats - I haven’t from Deadweight Industries, though it’s changed them. I previously sat in another not yet installed as I write this. V8 M3 with Recaro Profi XL (the same This brings me to the changes not seats BMW chose for the GTS) and they related to my weight saving goals. I were comfy for the 10 minutes or so I attend a regular M3 meet where a few sat in them. However, my preference of the owners had changed the rubber was to buy British and a few years ago bushes in the front control arms to at Autosport International I tried several solid ball joints, known as monoballs or seats by Corbeau. Unfortunately they uniballs. These owners were regular track no longer make the one I preferred and users and said the biggest improvements so visiting Autosport again this year, I were felt on the track when under wanted to try their seats again but sadly maximum braking and turning into they did not attend. Cobra did attend 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

Monoballs before install from the coolant and oil filter, which I bought from Sytner HW. I don’t use the diff oil with the extra friction modifiers that BMW introduced because some owners complained of noises. Instead I choose outright performance over a little diff groan but I’ve never heard any diff groan with using the standard Castrol oil for the BMW M differentials.

I booked the service with PMW Ltd along with installation of the monoballs and also asked them to look at an odd noise the car had, only when it was reversed out of my garage from cold. The noise sounded like a groan or a belt slipping. During the service, PMW identified the root cause as a failed AC belt tensioner – a common problem. I bought a replacement from Sytner HW but the new part is a bit rough to say the least… usual cost cutting measures I presume. PMW also said a few more of the plastic rivets in the DCT cover had broken (another common issue) and whilst the PAS fluid was not too dirty, the filter was black and they had given it a good clean and fully flushed the system.

The work was done just before the lockdown and given it was early March, I hadn’t driven the M3 much since it went into hibernation for winter. I also didn’t get

Rubber tray

to drive it properly until May and therefore I am not able to say with absolute clarity the way the car felt pre-monoballs.

What I can say is there is a significant increase in the amount of feedback at the wheel and the steering has a nicer feel, oddly a bit lighter at low speeds – something I was not expecting. The road and tyres now talk to me. There is a small increase in NVH on rough roads only, that manifests itself as increased tyre noise and stiffer front suspension but on smooth roads there is none.

Having now used the performance of the car through some of my favourite combination of corners, the Burnham Bends, I am really pleased with the end result. Being able to really feel the front tyres working just adds more driving pleasure and makes the car more engaging to drive. However, it may be too focussed for a daily driver.

The second change I made was during lockdown. I was bored and needed something to do. I decided to do a modification the dealers now offer and one that I had looked at doing previously but never got round to. My M3 comes with a phone cradle

Phone cradle with cover removed

inside the front centre armrest that enables a mobile phone to be securely connected, charged and use the car’s external aerial. I’d never used it and the quality of calls using Bluetooth was fine. BMW now offered a rubber tray to replace the phone cradle. Unfortunately the job of removing the cradle is not straightforward but I wanted a challenge and decided to do it, even

Finished job with the car in the garage, because it was a very windy day. I was just too impatient to wait!

The process involves removing the cradle, handbrake gaiter, clips, two connectors under the gear stick, rear seat squabs, rear centre console, smaller bits of trim, rear AC vent, another connector and finally what is called on M3 forums, the blue connector. I can

only hypothesize that BMW chose to use such fiddly and difficult to undo connectors for that reason, they won’t become unconnected and are built to last!

The removal of the above also involved a lot of the worst possible swearing (thank goodness I was in the garage) but it did allow me to marvel at how well engineered the parts are so

they can be removed and reinstalled properly.

I’m pleased to report there are no rattles and that the USB and other electrics all work as expected. The job, whilst a pain, did give me a lot of satisfaction and I am glad I did it. No doubt like for many of us, these little jobs helped us deal with the monotony during lockdown.

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