Update time!
Not as pic heavy as the last one, but I knocked out a ton of less visible upgrades and maintenance items this spring.
Our list of work includes:
-Sub2Speedhouse Titanium Catless X-pipe
-O2 sensors
-OEM Grounding strap
-Ferodo DS2500's
-OFHG
-Upgraded metal impeller waterpump
-Coolant flush
-OE Idler and Tensioner pulleys
-Belts
-LCI Grilles
-Bremmen ABS Plastic undertray
-P3 OBD2 Vent gauge
The main job was to install an X-pipe from Alex at Sub 2 Speedhouse. I opted for the standard X placement and a quad resonated setup. This thing is crazy light and extremely well made. Right around 14lbs with the mounting bracket IIRC.
I started by pulling the stock X-pipe and muffler bypas off the car after getting it in the air.
I knew going full catless would be way too loud with the muffler bypass so I opted to reinstall the stock rear muffler. I was a little concerned about whether it would be loud enough as I remember the car being WAY too quiet when it was stock. I was hoping that going to a fully catless setup would be enough to get some volume out of the stock muffler, but still be quiet enough to pass the sound limits at the event I am signed up for in May.
The install was really simple. I put 4 fresh O2 sensors in and new donut gaskets. I had already been through removing the stock X-pipe in the past when I installed the RTD, so I didn't have any trouble here. I also replaced the corroded ground strap that goes from the oilpan to the chassis rail near the header collector while I was in there.
Such a good looking piece, it's kind of a shame no one will ever really see it!
Then I swapped in some Ferodo DS2500's to hopefully handle a bit of track abuse this summer.
While installing the X-pipe I noticed some oil on the oilpan and the undertrays... As the rod bearings had been done recently enough I was pretty sure it was not an oilpan gasket, and although the valve covers weep a small amount I was sure they couldn't possibly be leaking enough to spill into the bellypan area. After a bit of inspection it turned out the oil filter housing gasket had failed and was dripping down the front of the engine and running along the oilpan.
I looked into how to get the job done and determined I may as well swap out the waterpump to a metal impeller version since it needed to be removed anyway, and replace the belts and pulleys. There are two excellent threads on these jobs on this forum.
The OFHG wasn't too hard, but the coolant makes a big mess when you remove the required hoses and waterpump. I didn't remove the block drains to completely flush the system, but I did replace at least 6 liters of coolant with fresh stuff. I elected to use fresh bolts on the OFH.
I priced out new OEM pulleys and tensioners from FCPEuro and it was an eye-watering $700+CAD before shipping and duties to replace everything. Luckily, I came across a thread on here that provides alternative part numbers for matching pulleys from a VW and a Porsche that are exactly the same minus the bolt they come with. BMW does not sell pulleys and tensioners seperately, so this saved a significant amount of money. I reinstalled the fresh pulleys on the original tensioners as they seemed to be fine with no leaks or ears on the rubber boots.
Finally, I pulled the bumper off, blew out and cleaned all of the heat exchangers, installed some new LCI chrome grilles, and put some washers under the upper bumper mounts to improve the infamous e9x bumper/hood gap fitment issues. I still need to install the new new Bremmen undertray, but I am waiting for the end pieces to ship still.
I also installed the P3 OBD2 vent gauge to keep track of DTC's and some other handy readouts like coolant temp and AFR's. I didnt take any pictures of it yet, but I will get some in a future update.
After that I gave it a quick wash and headed out for its maiden voyage after a big pile of maintenance and upgrades.
The stock muffler tips look so good!!
I got my wife to film a few clips of the sounds from outside. I really am loving this setup. It is a little bit raspy, but in a sort of exotic sounding way and not the brutal Chinese straight pipe valved muffler kind of way. The video doesn't do much justice to the sound the titanium X-pipe makes, but it has a really cool kind of howl to it that I was not expecting at all. The four resonators keep the ugly tones at bay, and the volume levels are perfect. It is just as quiet as stock on the highway and only really makes any noise above 1/4 throttle, but when you go beyond 2/3 throttle it has a really lovely bark. It is a shame the stock muffler is so heavy because I think it might just be my favourite sounding setup I have heard!
The chrome grilles really tie the room together..
Anyway, that pretty much brings us up to the present. I have a set of tires I need to install, mess with ride height and alignment to make them fit, and bleed the brakes again before the track day, but otherwise this thing is ready to enjoy for summer! Thanks for looking!
