June 2012 has now rolled around and all the parts I have ordered have slowly started arriving. The first items off the large parts order list where the Turner 3.91 gears and reinforcement kit.





The cheapest upgrade I bought was a set of EBay black aluminum SMG paddles. While cheap, I loved the look and the paint
will not start to bubble like the OE BMW ones did.



After the SMG paddles, I received the CSL Intake cam HOWEVER it was damaged in shipping. I had the Exhaust cam already as it was a wedding gift from the now ex-wife in 2008. At this point in time, I had to return the cam and fight to get a new one.

 

Parts continue to slowly arrive every day. The bearing items from Summit Racing showed up so I could do the differential gear upgrade.



Next item to arrive is the Zionsville Competition Radiator and fan kit. The same day as these parts arrived, I got an Email that the CSL steering rack is on its way and the new Intake cam was shipped from Germany to the US supplier.

 

July 2012 the now fiancé and I came back from a two week vacation in Aruba and Curacao to find that Mr. UPS has left me some new items. These parts were the Evolve R Tuner system, 73MM Wheel stud conversion, and the CSL/Completion steering rack.

 

The first of the new upgrades required me to pull the SMG control unit and ship it to ESS for their SMG software. I will have more comments on this later on as I found out some interesting info on this later down the road.

 

Big box should up with some of the parts you all have been waiting to see. CSL intake, install hardware, air ducts and less a few parts the supplier missed in the shipping. I contacted the supplier and they are shipping the missing items from this order. So have to wait for the last few parts need to have the complete CSL Intake. Also included in the box where the CSL door handles to make the custom CSL doors.

 

Soon after the big box showed up the miscellaneous box of parts showed up. This contained mostly the parts for the center console. Also included was the OE BMW differential parts and the SMG expansion tank. Basically all the nuts and bolts which means all that is left to arrive is the CSL cam, Bumper, snorkel and center console.





Mid-August 2012 I finally got the SMG controller back from ESS. I was disappointed in how they returned the unit to me. Controller was not in a static free bag as I sent it to them and it was in a USPS flat rate box with only one pass of bubble wrap. After reinstalling the SMG Controller, I went on a 40 miles of driving and could not tell 100% if there is a change. From what I notice, it seems to change up and downshifts are a smidgen faster in feel. I am taking it on a “spirited” drive on August 30 so we will see how it drives.

 

The drive I did on August 30th was the Livermore Mines run. This time I was able to arrange a photo shoot at an old airbase. This made for some great images, which I need to go back and do once the car is done.

 

The Monday after the drive, the Samsco hoses arrived. I hope that these will help keep the car running cool for years to come.



Saturday 9/1/2012 I was finally was able to install one of the major parts on the M3. My fiancés father works for a Porsche/Subaru shop so I was able to get access to a lift so I could install the steering rack. I combined it with two oil changes as well. Might as well make the most of having a lift right. Wife drove the 1M to the shop on a nice Saturday AM drive there.

 

The following images are of the install of the steering rack. Sorry for the crappy image quality as all I had was my Iphone. The install of the steering was pretty straight forward and took about 2 hours to do the install. I also changed the oil as it was due.

 

By far the best build thread I've come across on ANY forum. I've said it before & ill say it again- very nice build.

Question- where do you go for the paint work?

 

 

Will do. Thanks

 

The drive home after the install I could tell a noticeable change in the steering. I was concerned as some M3 owners said they did not notice a change when they drove their M3 and a M3 with the competition steering rack. The steering feels sharper and I can notice I do not have to turn the wheel as much when making hard over turns. It is not major change but enough that makes the steering feel closer to the 1M which was my goal. I believe that if I did try the ZHP rack of a 330 ZHP it probably would feel a tight as the 1M but I did not want to go that extreme.

For kick and giggles, I wanted to see what 10 years of ownership looks like in paperwork. It means a whole lot of paperwork in a hanging folder that I will have to split into two eventually.

 

The weekend after installing the steering rack, I lead a drive up HWY 1 with some local NorCal gang on a 189 mile loop. (345 miles total for me). For those who say there is not a major change between the CSL/ZCP steering rack and OE need to take it on a super twisty road. Hitting the back roads and taking hair pin turns is where I really felt a change. Bear with me as I try to explain. Before on a tight hair pin I would have fully crossed my arms over and still would need to turn more to make the turn. IE remove hand(s) and turn the wheel more. Now I do not exceed making a parallel X when having to crank the car over. Sorry best way to explain it. Bottom line is I just got my justification the cost was worth it. ESS software seems to make down and up changes in mode 5 a tad faster but I am still not sold at this point.

If you care to see some more images of the group drive I lead you can see them at www.norcaldrivers.com. Hopefully I will expand this website to the other states for the routes/photo places if anyone ever sends me routes and photo locations…..

 

O wow that interior looks amazing!