The "Today I did something to my car" thread

MetzgerMeister

It's great stuff isn't it? I used this ages ago on challengemaster's wing mirrors. They were gone a very light grey colour. When I applied that stuff they came up brilliant black.

wandererz

Installed a strut brace that i picked up a few days ago.

Before:



After:

BUBBLE WRAP

I never understood them strut braces, what are the purpose of them?

wandererz

After installing the strut brace i was on a bit of a roll and decided to detail the interior before i handed the car over to the wife.

Nothing nicer than getting a new car that's been properly cleaned.

These are some after shots.

wandererz

BUBBLE WRAP wrote: »

I never understood them strut braces, what are the purpose of them?

Stiffens up the suspension and allows for better cornering. Had a front strut brace on the S40 and it made a bit of difference. Hoping it will on this E46 as well, as i noticed it was a bit iffy cornering at higher speed.

Dord

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

It's great stuff isn't it? I used this ages ago on challengemaster's wing mirrors. They were gone a very light grey colour. When I applied that stuff they came up brilliant black.

Yeah, I think it makes a hell of a difference. Faded plastics bring the look of a car down a lot.

BUBBLE WRAP

wandererz wrote: »

Stiffens up the suspension and allows for better cornering. Had a front strut brace on the S40 and it made a bit of difference. Hoping it will on this E46 as well, as i noticed it was a bit iffy cornering at higher speed.

Aw right, I may regret this, but I thought it was to protect the engine in the even of a crash.

MetzgerMeister

BUBBLE WRAP wrote: »

Aw right, I may regret this, but I thought it was to protect the engine in the even of a crash.

That's not a bad thought but it would only create more damage in the event of a crash I would think.

glynf

wandererz wrote: »

After installing the strut brace i was on a bit of a roll and decided to detail the interior before i handed the car over to the wife.

Nothing nicer than getting a new car that's been properly cleaned.

These are some after shots.

Nice job, it's spotless. What products were you using on the plastics? Were you using commercial cleaning products, or off the shelf in Halfords type stuff?

I had a 320d with a similar grey carpet years ago and it was a pig to keep clean. Gave up on the mats and got a set of black ones, much easier to keep clean and looked good too.

Marlow

wandererz wrote: »

Stiffens up the suspension and allows for better cornering. Had a front strut brace on the S40 and it made a bit of difference. Hoping it will on this E46 as well, as i noticed it was a bit iffy cornering at higher speed.

A strut brace helps stiffening the suspension alright.

The downside is, that if you damage one side of your suspension, it also transfers directly to the other side of the suspension, so in case of damage, your damage is even bigger.

A strut brace really only makes sense, if he car is used for performance driving. On dodgy irish backroads it can have a negative impact.

/M

wandererz

glynf wrote: »

Nice job, it's spotless. What products were you using on the plastics? Were you using commercial cleaning products, or off the shelf in Halfords type stuff?

I had a 320d with a similar grey carpet years ago and it was a pig to keep clean. Gave up on the mats and got a set of black ones, much easier to keep clean and looked good too.

Thanks. Just used stuff i already had at home.

- Meguiars Interior detailer cleaner (that stuff does clean! Especially good for removing black scuff marks off the door panels and sills)
- Turtlewax cockpit spray to polish things a slight bit and get rid of a light musty odour
- Gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner for the steering wheel, gear knob and dash.
- Lots of ear buds

Haven't worked on the carpets as yet. That's for another day. Thanks for the hint, may get some black ones. Would be nice to get the ones with the BMW logo as are on at the moment though.

Next step is to install multi function steering control switches - hopefully not too difficult a job.

Have some Zaino left as well from doing my own car a few weeks ago, so will be giving it a wash and polish later on in the week. Just need to fix a few minor scratches first and then hopefully it will be in near concourse condition.

...until the wife parks it in a shopping center car park of course.

wandererz

Marlow wrote: »

A strut brace helps stiffening the suspension alright.

The downside is, that if you damage one side of your suspension, it also transfers directly to the other side of the suspension, so in case of damage, your damage is even bigger.

/M

True, but hasn't happened yet on the other car so fingers crossed.

Marlow wrote: »

A strut brace really only makes sense, if he car is used for performance driving. On dodgy irish backroads it can have a negative impact.

/M

It's only a 1.8L but there's a bit of performance driving when i'm behind the wheel! Thankfully it will only be used on the N11 most days. To be honest, i installed it to test the difference with and without. For 70 euro it's not much of a hit on the wallet.

Marlow

wandererz wrote: »

It's only a 1.8L but there's a bit of performance driving when i'm behind the wheel! Thankfully it will only be used on the N11 most days. To be honest, i installed it to test the difference with and without. For 70 euro it's not much of a hit on the wallet.

The issue is not the 70 eur you spend on the strut brace. The issue is, that when you hit a pothole with either of your wheels, the force that comes through the shock transfers to the other turret.

If it gets hit hard enough to cause damage to one side, then the damage is on both sides.

/M

challengemaster

wandererz wrote: »

Stiffens up the suspension and allows for better cornering. Had a front strut brace on the S40 and it made a bit of difference. Hoping it will on this E46 as well, as i noticed it was a bit iffy cornering at higher speed.

Better tyres would probably make more of a difference than a strut brace tbh

wandererz

Decent enough dunlops on them at the moment. Will know when i take it for a drive later.

youngblood

So there is hole in the upholstery on my car,not on car seat but down by gearbox on drivers side, the carpet for want of a better word, well ripped, cant be covered with mat etc, about 3 inches by 3inches

So just wondering, is there anyway to repair it?

Also have a straight slit on leather seats, about 2 inches long but afraid it might rip further,

Any help appreciated

youngblood

youngblood wrote: »

.........

So just wondering, is there anyway to repair it?............

Any help appreciated

There's FibreNew in Cork, I have never used them but they came highly recommended to me by more than a few people on the trade, a friend brought a Capri to them which needed quite a bit of work and he was delighted with the service.

You haven't your location displayed so may well be no where near Cork.

conzy

Washed the car and finally got around to correcting some of the paint.

BEFORE

The swirls are bad and the beading is non existent





AFTER

Menzerna PF2500 and heavy cut pad



Menzerna PF4000 and fine cut pad



After HD wax



Biblical Beading has been restored

youngblood

RoverJames wrote: »

There's FibreNew in Cork, I have never used them but they came highly recommended to me by more than a few people on the trade, a friend brought a Capri to them which needed quite a bit of work and he was delighted with the service.

You haven't your location displayed so may well be no where near Cork.

That sounds perfect but no where near Cork, near midlands here, mullingar area-

So they repair carpet holes and that sort of stuff right?

Alanstrainor

Unreal! Do mine next yeah?!

colm_mcm

Thank goodness for that


My economy drive continued this evening, managed 34.8mpg average coming back from sligo.

I'm not sure how much petrol I saved, but it can't have been worth it.

Gary ITR

Lads ifye think a strut brace will stiffen the suspension you're mistaken. The idea of a strut brace is to keep the car square under hard cornering, when an upper and lower brace is fitted it keeps the geometry in line

BUBBLE WRAP

colm_mcm wrote: »

Thank goodness for that


My economy drive continued this evening, managed 34.8mpg average coming back from sligo.

I'm not sure how much petrol I saved, but it can't have been worth it.

Sligo? If you went on the back roads, your car would be a right bone rattler. Thats were real test begins.

MetzgerMeister

Excellent work conzy! How long did it take you?

conzy

Too long MM! Washed it, clayed it, washed it again, about 20 minutes with the heavy, 20 minutes with the fine and then waxed it. So that less than 10% of the car done in over an hour

challengemaster

Nice one conzy, finally got my knob off!

Alanstrainor

challengemaster wrote: »

Nice one conzy, finally got my knob off!

Looks great, I'll do mine now:p

MetzgerMeister

conzymaher wrote: »

Too long MM! Washed it, clayed it, washed it again, about 20 minutes with the heavy, 20 minutes with the fine and then waxed it. So that less than 10% of the car done in over an hour

The more of it you do, the more confidence you'll get and the quicker you'll get the rest of it done.

tuborg_man

bought and cleaned up a set of e34 540 brakes for my e28, now have to find somewhere warm to fit them,

dgt

Gary ITR wrote: »

Lads ifye think a strut brace will stiffen the suspension you're mistaken. The idea of a strut brace is to keep the car square under hard cornering, when an upper and lower brace is fitted it keeps the geometry in line

People never think of a lower brace...

CianRyan

I always assumed struts were for chassis stiffness, would I be wrong or is that what you're saying?

conzy

CianRyan wrote: »

I always assumed struts were for chassis stiffness, would I be wrong or is that what you're saying?

Yeah theres nothing to stop the two strut towers moving independently. A strut brace stiffens the chassis by locking them together on top at least

wandererz

Gary ITR wrote: »

Lads ifye think a strut brace will stiffen the suspension you're mistaken. The idea of a strut brace is to keep the car square under hard cornering, when an upper and lower brace is fitted it keeps the geometry in line

Yep, like i said originally it's to improve the cornering. However it does that i don't care. First step is the upper brace as i was able to get it off a nice guy who ended up being rear-ended.

If it makes a difference it makes a difference. If not, then there's always alternatives.

In this case it's just an example of what i did to my car today...

MetzgerMeister

dgt wrote: »

People never think of a lower brace...

It's not very often you can find a manufacturer who makes a lower brace for a given car

dgt

CianRyan wrote: »

I always assumed struts were for chassis stiffness, would I be wrong or is that what you're saying?

That's my understanding of strut braces, limit twisting/movement of the turret and subframe if a lower brace is fitted.

Sometimes it makes naff all difference, like here. The design of the car means the turrets are welded to the bulkhead some upper braces are designed like this

Nissan doctor

How well an upper strut brace will work depends on the car its fitted too. Modern cars incorporate a lot of chassis strength in their design for reasons of crash safety etc so old tech mods like strut braces have little benefit.

Uprated anti roll bars would give a vastly better and more noticeable improvement even with factory shocks/springs.

dgt

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

It's not very often you can find a manufacturer who makes a lower brace for a given car

If in doubt, make one

gollywog

Nissan doctor wrote: »

How well an upper strut brace will work depends on the car its fitted too. Modern cars incorporate a lot of chassis strength in their design for reasons of crash safety etc so old tech mods like strut braces have little benefit.

Uprated anti roll bars would give a vastly better and more noticeable improvement even with factory shocks/springs.

I changed the s line anti roll bar on the A4 for the thicker, stiffer rs4 one. Fits grand and made a really noticeable difference for around 100 bobs. Best money I spent on the car

CianRyan

Anti rolls bars you say.. Hmm...

*scurries off to ebay.

dgt

CianRyan wrote: »

Anti rolls bars you say.. Hmm...

*scurries off to ebay.

Have TD100 arbs on my van... Basically binned the standard arbs for thick heavy ones from a diesel Bravo.

Coupled with coilys and low pros there is no roll in the corners, its something else from a road car especially a converted van

No comparison, a worthy swap :cool:

challengemaster

dgt wrote: »

Have TD100 arbs on my van... Basically binned the standard arbs for thick heavy ones from a diesel Bravo.

Coupled with coilys and low pros there is no roll in the corners, its something else from a road car especially a converted van

No comparison, a worthy swap :cool:

Is there anything left original on your cars?

dgt

challengemaster wrote: »

Is there anything left original on your cars?

Apart from the subframe, rack and column.... No :pac:

166man

challengemaster wrote: »

Is there anything left original on your cars?

He's got an Alfa interior on the Bravo... Likes to think he has a real car obviously...










*Waits for someone to point out they are the same thing.

homer90

166man wrote: »

*Waits for someone to point out they are the same thing.

They are the same thing :pac:

andyseadog

lowered the glanza there yesterday

front before



front after



rear before



rear after



trolley jack got stuck under the skirt, so i had to use the jack from the boot to get it back :pac:



and heres a photo of the difference with just the front down



waiting until its clean to take pics of it all

edit, half me pics are fecking sideways ???

Hal1

What's that 40mm all round? have you gone for a test ride yet?

andyseadog

yup, just 40mm springs in an "old" pair of shocks. its very (read : uncomfortably) firm. had a front and back seat passenger in it and no rubbing on 185 14's

only drove it a few miles to make sure all was well, dropped it off to be re-tracked this morning, take it for a good rip then :pac:

E39MSport

gollywog wrote: »

NOOOOOOOOOOO! only kidding man, say it must be tough saying goodbye though?

Thanks

It will be but I have the 8er to get back into and it should be in rude health by then with perhaps a few mods to make it even better....

BUBBLE WRAP

andyseadog wrote: »

yup, just 40mm springs in an "old" pair of shocks. its very (read : uncomfortably) firm. had a front and back seat passenger in it and no rubbing on 185 14's

only drove it a few miles to make sure all was well, dropped it off to be re-tracked this morning, take it for a good rip then :pac:

I hope lukozade sport are paying you to "advertice" there product.............now off to the shop I go, I feel some lukozade sport.

andyseadog

BUBBLE WRAP wrote: »

I hope lukozade sport are paying you to "advertice" there product.............now off to the shop I go, I feel some lukozade sport.

picked up the blackcurrent one by accident, tasted ****e :mad:.

i wanted to take photos with a tape to get ballpark dimensions of the actual drop but sure totoally forgot.