Space Fox e92 M3 ZCP

Congrats on the car! Had the same colour combo on my 335, loved it!

After much deliberation I went ahead and bought and installed the M Performance rear spoiler this weekend. Actually very happy with the results. Much more muscular look to the back of the car, happy I went OEM as the match to the carbon roof and fitment are perfect.






Will probably end up buying a V2 style diffuser at some point as well to finish off the back. Have a set of double-wall brushed steel tips laying around that I need to install as well - not a fan of the single wall black/purple/green Meghan Racing tips that she came with.

Add a tint. The best $300 you can spend on any car.

Thik wrote

Add a tint. The best $300 you can spend on any car.

I have debated this as well as I do live in Florida. I have had tint on virtually every car I have owned. A couple factors I've considered - 1. Those damn bubbles atop the rear window on these cars. I've had it done on my 335i I previously owned and no one could get it right.
2. I am fairly certain it will be virtually impossible for a tint installer to access the rear quarter windows and rear window through the roll cage occupying the back seat lol

Had some fun romping around Tampa Bay back roads with my buddy and his new M4 this weekend. Happy with how the tips/spoiler came out. Will likely end up buying a V2 diffuser as well to complete.

Some updates:

Installed aFe Stage II Carbon Intake - love the induction noise and how it looks in the engine bay. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had not been on black Friday sale for $320.

Also installed Alpine Stage I ECU software and GTS DCT tune. The DCT tune is remarkable - easily one of the best mods I've done so far. Engine software I assume has improved performance but honestly it's difficult to tell.

Lastly, installed spacers over the weekend - 12mm up front and 10mm in the back. I love the fitment as it fills out the wheel wells beautifully. I am trying to stay OEM+ where possible so I steered away from the aggressive 18/15 most run. I am running in to some steering vibration at ~80mph however.. I was careful to clean hubs, wheels, and rotor hat prior to installing but still having issues. I removed the fronts last night after work and noticed some of the anti-seize I used coated the back of the spacer - I re-cleaned the spacer and rotor hat of anti-seize and it helped but still some vibration. Time to remove the rear and do the same tonight. Crossing my fingers this resolves my problem as now I'm in love with the way the car sits...

and of course some pictures:







Almost forgot - I ran the car down at Sebring in November for a PCA event. The car ran incredibly well. I replaced the brake lines with Stoptech stainless steel braided lines, new race brake fluid, Stoptech Sport pads, and a GTS alignment. No brake fade, pad deposits, or rotor warp. Very happy with how she performed. Will be back down at Sebring for another event in a month or so. What a car!





Getting close to where I want the car for the time being. Want to add something to the interior.. I like the idea of a new steering wheel but haven't found one I love. I like the idea of alcantara but hear it's terrible here in Florida. Toying with the idea of replacing my shift boot and e-brake handle with M-stitching to match the OEM steering wheel.

Beautiful car! Like my car, I have a black and fox red interior. I bought it 3 years ago. I spent more than $ 10,000 on throttle actuators, brakes, DCT suspension, tires, Valve cover gasket Kit, Change M-DCT Fluid, Transmission mounts, spark plugs, idle speed control, guibo, Carbon fiber steering wheel, carbon fiber side skirt. Replacement of the S65 rod bearing, except for the rod bearing was done by Sonic Motorsport. I do it all by myself. I learned a lot here. Also spent a lot of money.

brantp wrote

Some updates:

Installed aFe Stage II Carbon Intake - love the induction noise and how it looks in the engine bay. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had not been on black Friday sale for $320.

Also installed Alpine Stage I ECU software and GTS DCT tune. The DCT tune is remarkable - easily one of the best mods I've done so far. Engine software I assume has improved performance but honestly it's difficult to tell.

Lastly, installed spacers over the weekend - 12mm up front and 10mm in the back. I love the fitment as it fills out the wheel wells beautifully. I am trying to stay OEM+ where possible so I steered away from the aggressive 18/15 most run. I am running in to some steering vibration at ~80mph however.. I was careful to clean hubs, wheels, and rotor hat prior to installing but still having issues. I removed the fronts last night after work and noticed some of the anti-seize I used coated the back of the spacer - I re-cleaned the spacer and rotor hat of anti-seize and it helped but still some vibration. Time to remove the rear and do the same tonight. Crossing my fingers this resolves my problem as now I'm in love with the way the car sits...

Looks great, congrats! What brand spacers did you go with? Only asking because I too am thinking about throwing spacers on my new to me M3 and did a lot of research, but I think Im gonna go with the Future Classic Wheel Spacers after watching Obsessed Garages install video.

Also, I read on here 10mm spacers should not used as they dont fit properly.

(source: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6445284&postcount=5)

brantp wrote

Some updates:

Installed aFe Stage II Carbon Intake - love the induction noise and how it looks in the engine bay. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had not been on black Friday sale for $320.

Also installed Alpine Stage I ECU software and GTS DCT tune. The DCT tune is remarkable - easily one of the best mods I've done so far. Engine software I assume has improved performance but honestly it's difficult to tell.

Lastly, installed spacers over the weekend - 12mm up front and 10mm in the back. I love the fitment as it fills out the wheel wells beautifully. I am trying to stay OEM+ where possible so I steered away from the aggressive 18/15 most run. I am running in to some steering vibration at ~80mph however.. I was careful to clean hubs, wheels, and rotor hat prior to installing but still having issues. I removed the fronts last night after work and noticed some of the anti-seize I used coated the back of the spacer - I re-cleaned the spacer and rotor hat of anti-seize and it helped but still some vibration. Time to remove the rear and do the same tonight. Crossing my fingers this resolves my problem as now I'm in love with the way the car sits...

and of course some pictures:







Almost forgot - I ran the car down at Sebring in November for a PCA event. The car ran incredibly well. I replaced the brake lines with Stoptech stainless steel braided lines, new race brake fluid, Stoptech Sport pads, and a GTS alignment. No brake fade, pad deposits, or rotor warp. Very happy with how she performed. Will be back down at Sebring for another event in a month or so. What a car!





Getting close to where I want the car for the time being. Want to add something to the interior.. I like the idea of a new steering wheel but haven't found one I love. I like the idea of alcantara but hear it's terrible here in Florida. Toying with the idea of replacing my shift boot and e-brake handle with M-stitching to match the OEM steering wheel.

Hey man, as stated I'm in Tampa as well. You've heard correctly about the Alcantara steering wheel. I absolutely hate it. I've cleaned it twice in six months because it gets so dirty and ugly looking. Now it's starting to wear out and get "pilly" like a winter sweeter. It sort of ruins the look of the rest of the car and my interior is near immaculate. It is more grippy than leather but only when it's spotless. I'd just do leather and wear gloves on track days for better grip.

Where you at Reeves motorsports cars and couple a couple weeks ago?

-Mark.

jun_e92 wrote

Beautiful car! Like my car, I have a black and fox red interior. I bought it 3 years ago. I spent more than $ 10,000 on throttle actuators, brakes, DCT suspension, tires, Valve cover gasket Kit, Change M-DCT Fluid, Transmission mounts, spark plugs, idle speed control, guibo, Carbon fiber steering wheel, carbon fiber side skirt. Replacement of the S65 rod bearing, except for the rod bearing was done by Sonic Motorsport. I do it all by myself. I learned a lot here. Also spent a lot of money.

Well..that's quite a bit of work! I'm sure I'll get to most of those myself at some point. Car is just about to eclipse 46k miles so I'm not too concerned with most of the major maintenance items at this point. Throttle actuators will be replaced as they go out, probably looking to do spark plugs and rod bearings along w/ motor mounts in another 10k miles or so (I've had multiple BlackStone oil analyses performed). I do have the drive shaft clank when moving from forward to reverse or from stop in to gear. I assume this is why you swapped the guibo? Did it alleviate the problem? I've seen others simple open up the drive shaft joint and lube and it works just as well. My DCT is starting to weep also - I'm sure a fluid/pan change is in my future. Oh the joys of M ownership. I will say 8,400 rpm is worth every bit of it! P.S. Love the fox red on black with this spec. Was worried it was too loud at first but wouldn't have it any other way.

Evo13 wrote

Looks great, congrats! What brand spacers did you go with? Only asking because I too am thinking about throwing spacers on my new to me M3 and did a lot of research, but I think Im gonna go with the Future Classic Wheel Spacers after watching Obsessed Garages install video.

Also, I read on here 10mm spacers should not used as they dont fit properly.

(source: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6445284&postcount=5)

Thank you! I went with Macht Schnell. Seems to be the consensus. 10mm spacers shouldn't be the issue as they have their own hub centric lip. 5mm is where I've heard issues begin as they lack their own lip. With that being said plenty are running 5mm spacers on the EAS thread w/ no issues and the GT4 M3 comes equipped w/ 5mm spacers from the factory although I believe that car uses studs as opposed to lugs. I did remove the rear wheels and clean the anti-seize off of the spacer/reinstall last night. I took the car out for a quick zip and it seems to have alleviated nearly all of the vibration. I still feel a bit but it could be because I'm hyper focused on any steering feedback. Will report back on whether or not the problem is gone - it seems a completely clean mating surface is vital. Considering going the stud conversion route for the hell of it as well..

LakeSurfer wrote

Hey man, as stated I'm in Tampa as well. You've heard correctly about the Alcantara steering wheel. I absolutely hate it. I've cleaned it twice in six months because it gets so dirty and ugly looking. Now it's starting to wear out and get "pilly" like a winter sweeter. It sort of ruins the look of the rest of the car and my interior is near immaculate. It is more grippy than leather but only when it's spotless. I'd just do leather and wear gloves on track days for better grip.

Where you at Reeves motorsports cars and couple a couple weeks ago?

-Mark.

Yes I was. I frequent the Reeves and DuPont Registry Cars and Coffee's. The photo w/ the blue M4 CS was from Festival of Speed last weekend also.
Good to know about the alcantara - I'll steer away from it (pun intended). I don't know who convinced the car community that adding carpeted surfaces was a tasteful mod to begin with

Beautiful car! Like my car, I have a black and fox red interior. I bought 48,000 miles 3 years ago. Throttle actuator, brake, DCT suspension, tire, Valve cover gasket Kit, Change M-DCT Fluid, Transmission mounts, Differential Fluid, spark plug, idle speed control, guibo, Akra Rear Section, carbon fiber steering wheel, Afe Power DRY S Air Filter Carbon fiber side skirt. Replacement of the S65 rod bearing, except for the rod bearing was done by Sonic Motorsport. I spent more than 10,000 dollars to buy it all by myself. I learned a lot here. Also spent a lot of money. The car is now 79k.

brantp wrote

I have debated this as well as I do live in Florida. I have had tint on virtually every car I have owned. A couple factors I've considered - 1. Those damn bubbles atop the rear window on these cars. I've had it done on my 335i I previously owned and no one could get it right.
2. I am fairly certain it will be virtually impossible for a tint installer to access the rear quarter windows and rear window through the roll cage occupying the back seat lol

Window Kote in St. Pete (34st 38th av) does an excellent job on tint and they give lifetime warranty - transfers to the new owner. I have tinted all my cars there and never had an issue.

It changed a lot with the guibo, but there was still a little noise when the brakes stopped. I saw a little gap in the middle joint of the drive shaft. My DCT started crying, located on the side of the transmission.

Welcome and congrats man! Space Grey and Fox Red is so timeless. Of course I’m not biased. LOL

Welcome to the club, congrats on the nice find, I have same intake paired with my Eventuri CF plenum!!! Enjoy your journey with your Mods.

GotV8? wrote

Welcome to the club, congrats on the nice find, I have same intake paired with my Eventuri CF plenum!!! Enjoy your journey with your Mods.

Ugh the Eventuri plenum is so tempting! I just don't think I can justify the cost..

I posted in some other threads but thought I'd update here as well. I finished install of the M-tri stitching on the OEM DCT boot and e-brake boot to match the OEM steering wheel tri-stitching. Fun project and I'm stoked on how it turned out. One of my favorite mods to date - really pulls together the interior.

Keeping the small details train rolling with some missing/broken OEM replacement parts and little touches to finish the exterior.

IND painted key hole cover



Powered by M license plate cover


New gas cap (original tether broke and they only sell as a set), replacement oil filter lock, and ///M oil filler cap





Figured I'd replace my missing BMW wrench while I'm at it to complete the OEM tool kit:



Some of this is silly stuff but it feels right to have the car back with its original equipment. Still looking for an OEM Manual if anyone has a spare laying around!

Going to pause for a moment and address some maintenance items here shortly. The cars service records indicate "spark plugs cleaned" at 30,995 miles. I thought that was odd that they were cleaned rather than replaced - maybe they weren't in terrible shape. That being said the car now sits at 46,000 miles so if I am truly still on the original set of plugs I think it's time to change them out - a project I plan to tackle on my own. The car has been running spectacularly well and my Blackstone analyses have been coming back with flying colors but I'm still planning on having the bearings replaced here in the near future as there's no indication of the previous owner having done the job.

As far as future mods go I am eyeing a GTS front lip (keep going back and forth). Other than that I'm pretty happy with the car cosmetically. I am looking to have Alex @ Alpine do some coding - most importantly coding in Euro MDM to liven the car up a bit. I will be tracking the car again in April this time up at the FIRM in north Florida. With that said if I continue down this road I'm looking at the Brembro front caliper set from Freaky Parts. My 'home' track is Sebring and the heavy braking areas really take a toll on the stock set up. Would love to at least have some increased confidence in the front brakes as I feel these cars use 90% front brakes anyhow.

Not the most exciting update but wanted to document some of this as I hone in on things. So happy with this car.



Also going to meet up with a local photographer to have some proper photos done, my iPhone 7 is just not cutting it these days!

Cars coming along great!

As for the 10mm rear spacer, there are only some 10mm that will work on the rear of BMW's. I recommend stepping up to a 12mm for the rear, the write-up Evo13 linked is 100% correct.

I ran a generic 10mm on the rear of my E92 back in the day and it looked like it fit but there was the tiniest gap that I did not notice. Until a friend was driving next to me and said my rear wheels were wobbling, swapped to a 12mm and fixed the issue.

Drifter2090 wrote

Cars coming along great!

As for the 10mm rear spacer, there are only some 10mm that will work on the rear of BMW's. I recommend stepping up to a 12mm for the rear, the write-up Evo13 linked is 100% correct.

I ran a generic 10mm on the rear of my E92 back in the day and it looked like it fit but there was the tiniest gap that I did not notice. Until a friend was driving next to me and said my rear wheels were wobbling, swapped to a 12mm and fixed the issue.

Did you feel vibration from the steering after installing the spacers? Heard thats an issue with spacers and its holding me back from getting them

M3_Slayer wrote

Did you feel vibration from the steering after installing the spacers? Heard thats an issue with spacers and its holding me back from getting them

Not from the rear 10mm. I originally had 18mm on the front of my old M3 and I had a ton of vibrations at highways speeds on the steering. Gonna try a 15mm on the front of my new M3 with 219ms and see how it goes!

Drifter2090 wrote

Not from the rear 10mm. I originally had 18mm on the front of my old M3 and I had a ton of vibrations at highways speeds on the steering. Gonna try a 15mm on the front of my new M3 with 219ms and see how it goes!

please update when you do

M3_Slayer wrote

Did you feel vibration from the steering after installing the spacers? Heard thats an issue with spacers and its holding me back from getting them

I could not get my steering to stop vibrating and ended up taking the 12mm spacers off the front wheels. I uninstalled and reinstalled 3 times with different methods and the vibrations persisted. Vibration was only noticeable around 80-85 mph but it was enough to be concerning. Also makes you lose confidence in the car which I hated. I am still running the 10mm on the rears - the steering vibration is gone but I will likely end up taking those off as well. After my experience it is hard for me to believe that so many on this forum claim they are running spacers with no issues at all. I stopped short of doing a stud conversion and alignment as I just didn't feel it was worth it. Maybe I'm just a buffoon but I've installed spacers on my old 335 without any issues, this one has me stumped..