Category: grippy’s garage

MaxxOil

I’m pretty excited to be running this in my BMW. I’m kind of an oil junky if you’ve known me over the blogging years. They are working in both Global Time Attack and NASCAR currently. It’ll be cool to see this stuff on the store shelves in the coming months!

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E90 x Fitment

I’ve been trying to re-work the E90 the last couple of months to get it prepared for 2015 season. I have just begun to add the things that I want, but I was able to grab a cheap set of 19″ iForged wheels to rock. I do like the overall look, but I think some 18’s up front with the current 19’s in the rear with an additional front drop could make for a cool combo. For now this is how it sits.

E90 19s

36 changes

The E36 turned out to be a car that I really have enjoyed. I really liked how they looked as DTM race cars back when, but I wasn’t a big fan of them for the every day tuner car personally. I have really grown to love these cars, and after experiencing one for myself I know why so many people mod them. It reminds me a lot of the E30 I had, but with the power, chassis, and modern features that make it better. I turned up the modding on the 328i over the recent months and got it pretty much to where I liked it. It was capable on the track, comfortable on the street, and looked good enough to turn a head or two. As of the recent weeks it no longer looks like this. I took off most of the mods so my family in Sacramento area can use it for the time being. The car may come back to me or it may not. I know I will keep the E36 on my list of cars to mod in the future regardless.

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sparcofighter

E90 fitment

I’ve finally taken the time to fine tune and dial in the rest of my camber and fitment. I always hated how E90’s typically run no front camber while the rear tends to dial in quite a bit with a hefty drop. I wanted to even out my front to rear fitment (not just the tire to fender but also the camber of the wheel looking down the side of the car). This is how it is currently sitting.

E90 pier

E90 and WRX

rocket bunny wheels

I am pretty excited about these. I love mesh style wheels, and I love having the options of running smaller diameter wheels on my E36 or E90 even (I want 18’s next for performance reasons and better performance tire options). They are made by Enkei for RocketBunny 6666 and will be offered in custom sizing and pcd from 16 to 18 inches and 100 – 130 pcd.

6666 wheels

BMW stuff

I had to throw a bit of money down to keep the E90 running great for years to come. A common problem on them is for the water pump (which is electric) to begin slowing down over time. BMW upgraded the units after seeing the first few years of E90’s were having issues with there pumps. I figured it was pretty important to do this before it gets real hot again this summer. I plan on making plenty of trips so it’s important for me to have my mind at ease while cruising 300 miles out to Vegas in 105 degree heat.

tstat

all white

I try to kick it with my good friend and WFC boss Brian (Lynk) as much as possible despite him living over a hour away. I drove out yesterday to spend some quality time since his Bday was recent. We’ve been buying and working on more and more Euro cars it seems. The different generations of white BMW 3 series cars all parked together was too good not to snap a photo.

gripsgarage

styling

I’ve always pulled a lot of my styling ideas for my personal cars from other makes and styles. I don’t like to surf any one particular forum for ideas. I feel like the reason why you see a lot of similarly modded cars on the same forums is because that is all people ever look at. If they know A + B is the combo to set up their ride then why take a harder road? My personal style is function always following the looks of the vehicle. Now that doesn’t mean it will be the fastest around the track or have Rcomp tires on it 24/7, but I always set my rides up so that I can hop in them at anytime without worry. My newest project the E90 is a great example. I stretched the tires and have the wheels millimeters away from the fender lip, but at the same time the car rides excellent and doesn’t rub no matter what happens. To me a car is not complete if it only looks a certain way. Making it perform (whether that just be driving on the highway without issue) is just as important. I don’t mind a dedicated car (for performance or looks) either, but for myself I need my cars to be used on or off the track and parked or doing 80. I’ve always liked old school Toyota’s that are drift inspired. They typically look good and are meant to be used also. I feel like you get a bit of that influence by looking at my E30 drift/street car.

e30front

spaced out

I finally got around to ordering longer studs so I could replace the 10mm rear spacers with 20mm. The fitment now matches the front nicely and the car sits pretty good. I am eventually going to switch out the entire suspension setup for something a little stiffer and better for going low without bottoming out.

wheel

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wheel4

stretched

I picked up some new and cheap rear tires for drifting fun for the E30. I go through tires alot so keeping it cheap and fun is perfect for what the E30 does. I went with 195/55/15 to go on the 15×10 so it would match the stretch that the 185/55/15 has on the front 15×9 wheels. The tires come in at about 10-20 bucks cheaper a tire than the 205/55/15 I ran previous. I will be spacing the rear wheels out another 10mm to even things out also.

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