Status Gruppe Tuning CSL Trunk Lid V1 Review
Status Gruppe Tuning is based out of San Diego, CA and they specialize in a wide variety of BMW aftermarket parts from stainless steel catless headers to carbon fiber exterior parts. They make a lot of E46 M3 parts and one of my favorite, the CSL trunk lid.
A lot of companies make a replica CSL trunk lid, but I was worried about their fitment issues and unhappy about the styling. Keyhole fitment, trunk alignment, trunk handle attachment (OEM CSL does not have the trunk handle piece) and tail design were my biggest concerns. The Status Gruppe mold addressed all those concerns so I pulled the trigger. I could not be any more satisfied. I placed an order with Mike Migs at Status Gruppe and picked up the trunk from their Chino Hills warehouse the next day.
Although I probably could have installed it myself, I chose to take it to Platte Forme A.G. to get it painted and installed. Although the fitment is great, you need to play around with the trunk adjustments to get it sitting just right. If you're shopping around for a CSL trunk for the E46 M3, check out Status Gruppe Tuning.
Photospot: BMW 335i Photoshoot at UCI Parking Structure
We welcome a BMW 335i to BuildJournal! This is a rare Montego Blue Metallic E92 335i in manual transmission configuration. The car is powered by a twin-turbocharged inline-6 N54 engine pushing 326 horsepower and 332 lb·ft torque.
BMW introduced the E90 sedan, E91 touring, E92 coupe, and E93 convertible variations starting in 2007 and it's received quite a few awards for it's engineering excellence, including the International Engine of the Year award five straight years. It's a solid car in stock form and can be even more powerful with a few performance upgrades.
The owner of this car, Sam, has lots of plans, however for now he's going to enjoy it in stock form. And while it's still stock, it's only proper to do a photoshoot so we can look back one day and see how the car has transformed since day 1. We took out our cars to a nearby UCI parking structure and did a quick photoshoot. We got lucky with some fog rolling in the background and made it look mysteriously great shooting in long exposure.
RaceWerkz M3 Photoshoot Video
A couple weeks back we did a photoshoot at the new RaceWerkz Engineering facility in San Dimas. While we took lots of photos, we also took lots of video footage from slider shots, panning shots, and steady cam shots to make a short video. With the new generation M3 (or M4) coming out, the E46 is quickly becoming older, however the it's not aging at the same pace. Cosmetically, it doesn't look too dated. Right? Thanks to RaceWerkz and Paper for helping make the video.
Car Maniacs: Life with Le Mans' Video
Motorhead Magazine and Maiham-Media teams up to create this inspiring new video about three automotive enthusiasts who own three extremely rare cars, the Mazda 767B, a Jaguar XJ220LM and the Porsche 962C. It's crazy enough to say that you own a former Le Mans car that competed in the actual races, but to drive it on the streets as your commuter is a little crazy.
I mean these cars are raw track cars made to win races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. No way are these cars built for comfort.
This video documents three car maniacs and their passion for driving race cars. It's a very unique video from a production standpoint and it's damn refreshing to see this kind of short film being made about cars. Good job to Motorhead Magazine and Maiham-Media again. Now watch this video in 1080p (or even at 4k now thanks to YouTube) and get mesmerized.
BMW F82 M4 Alpine White, Gran Turismo 6
Thanks to Gran Turismo 6, you can visualize how the new F82 M4 will look like in different colors. It's an exact rendering of a real M4 so the details are stunning. Personally if I were to get one, I'd get it in Alpine White. So I spent some 4,000 credits to paint the GT6 model exactly that.
The picture of the all-new M3 and M4 models have been released in Yas Marina Blue Metallic and Austin Yellow Metallic, respectively. There are only computer renderings of other colors besides those two so this gives us a different perspective of how the AW might look. The image capture in GT6 is amazing. It almost looks like the real deal.
I had to include the E46 M3 CSL. Sorry E92, no V8 allowed.
This photshoot feature is just as fun as the racing modes. You actually control the aperture, shutter speed, etc. just as you would shoot on a manual-setting DSLR.
Took this one while enjoying a fresh baguette.
Look at the depth of field. So good.
The F82 sitting next to the E46 CSL with some Volk TE37 SL wheels.
By the way, if you have GT6 and wondering how to get the M4 Coupe, there are 2 ways to do it. One is to obviously purchase brand new from the Dealership, but there's a better way. You can get one for free if you run a very fast lap time in the M4 Event under Season Event. It's hard, but worth a try!
RaceWerkz Engineering Photoshoot with 3 BMW M3
Over the weekend, our good friends over at RaceWerkz Engineering invited us down to check out their newly purchased facility in San Dimas, CA right off the 57 freeway. Compared to their current shop, this shop has tons of more floor spacing and super high Costco-like ceilings with a couple skylights which provides nice natural lighting. Definitely an upgrade. Like as if you're going from street summer to R-compound tires. Huge difference!
Related: RaceWerkz BBQ Meet
Casey and his team are just coming off a season championship win in the Redline Time Attack series. Now that the seasons over they're getting ready to move in to this new shop. Good timing huh? The lifts or alignment racks aren't installed yet so the floor is empty. With so much wide open space, it made the perfect opportunity for an impromptu photoshoot. We called another friend of ours with an Imola Red on Imola Red interior to come down and off we went. Check out the photos below.
BMW M3 and M4 Official Film
The official film for the BMW M3 and M4 has made it over to the states via social media shortly after the "leaked" photos surfaced. Just yesterday, the details of the all-new F82 M4 and F80 M3 were leaked out and the news spread like wild fire. The unofficial announcement sparked a similar reaction in the social media world just as when the F82 M4 concept was revealed at the Pebble Beach Automotive Week in Monterey, CA.
Surprisingly, the production version was not that different than the concept.
When the 2008 E92 and E90 M3 models came out, it was rather unpleasing to hear the BMW M models moving away from the small platform and engine efficiency business model which made the M line so iconic. When the first E30 M was launched, this was the idea, that it wasn't all about the horsepower, but a balance between the engine output and engineering efficiency. In 2001, the S54 engine that came in the E46 M3 had one of the highest horsepower per liter for a production car. Now days, BMW is creating heavier and bigger cars to keep up with the current automotive industry, packing in large displacement V8 engines to get more power while sacrificing the attributes that come with a smaller, more balanced platform. However with the new F82 and F80 M models, it seems like BMW took one step back from this "American muscle" direction.
The all-new 3.0 liter BMW M3 and M4 engine is now a turbocharged inline-six engine opposed to it's V8 predecessor. The engine creates 425 horsepower with 406 lb-ft of torque and is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds with the M-DCT transmission. Not only is the motor lighter now, but the car is also said to be 200 pounds lighter than E9x predecessor. The all-new BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M4 Coupe will debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2015 M3 and M4 will begin showing up at US dealerships beginning Summer 2014.
Photospot: Mt. Baldy Summit
This photospot is located high up in the mountains of Mt. Baldy in San Bernardino County. The highway up Mt. Baldy road starts off of Mountain Ave. off of the 210 freeway in Upland, CA. It's about an hour east of Los Angeles. This road has a lot of photospot opportunities along the way since it's a mountain road.
Related: Directions to Mt. Baldy Photospot
For the people who are familiar with GMR, you might be very familiar with this road because it's the east entrance to the popular Glendora Ridge Road. There's not much to shoot at the very top of the mountain, but if you reach the summit there's a small turnout. A lot of hikers come up here to hike the 3 mile Ice House Loop especially on the weekends so if you come up here just be careful for Waldo-like individuals walking across the roads. The weather was overcast and the temperature was around 35 degrees when we went up in the evening. The sweather and tee shirt combo did not work well, at all. Nonetheless the low light condition made for some good lighting. Check out the photos below!
B-Line Motorsports E46 M3 Intake Review
So I've had the B-Line Motorsports intake for over 4,000 miles now. The ECU has now fully adapted and it was time to get a dyno to measure the power change. A couple months back, I had a dyno done at SP Engineering, which I used as my baseline reading. First I'd like to present the initial readings on the rollers.
Stock intake installed. Air temp at 82 degrees Fahrenheit (°F). Best run was 282 whp at 240 wtq.
B-Line Intake installed. Air temp at 88 degrees Fahrenheit (°F). Best run was 292 whp at 245 wtq (reading indicates wtq at 240, but graph indicates correct reading at 245 wtq).
First look at this intake and I was immediately impressed. The carbon weave is perfect. Install was very easy, the fitment was dead on, and the heat shield fully blocked off any heat from the radiator. Right away, I noticed an increase in throttle response, nothing dramatic, but significant enough to feel. The best feature though has to be the new harmonics of the S54! Around 4,500 RPM, the intake really comes alive and is very audible. Power wise, yes, I felt a small increase although it's not a new revolution in horsepower gains.
Putting the data in relative conditions, I suspect the intake makes the full 11-14 whp B-Line claims. I made 10 whp more although the temperature was warmer by 6 degrees.
Overall I am very satisfied with the power gains and the new sound that my S54 has acquired. I suspect there is an increase in fuel economy, although I never really measured that before the intake nor is it something I care too much about (or at all).
One last note, after the dyno, the tech checked around the filter of the intake and noted that engine bay temps were cool. He seemed slightly surprised, but then reminded me that it is a carbon intake, and carbon has a greater tolerance of thermal heat compared to the aluminum and plastic intakes. I have noticed no decrease in power in the warm SoCal days due to heat soak. The car still responds and pulls just as smooth and the idle is consistent with cooler temps.
Overall a great looking intake with proven performance gains at a relative cost.
Paul Walker Memorial Meet
There's more feeling of a loss here for most of us because of the history we had with Paul. Wether or not you were fans of the Fast and the Furious movies, we in the automotive culture have always conversed around his films. Even a decade later. This Sunday the 8th, thousands of car enthusiasts are expected to arrive at the crash site to pay respects to Paul Walker and Roger Rodas.
This event is not organized by us. We are just posting this information to anyone else who wants to participate in the gathering. The event will take place from 12pm to 5pm at 25690 Hercules St, Valencia, CA 91355.
Today marks the third day since the tragic accident that led to the death of Paul Walker and Roger Rodas. Paul was most known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the movie series The Fast and the Furious, however it's the role he played outside of movies that makes this tragic event so devastating. Something you wish you had known before the accident.
Reach Out Worldwide is a charity organization that he started to aid in the relief efforts of natural disasters around the world. Roger Rodas was his close friend, business partner, and financial advisor. They spent lots of time together at AE Performance, building monster projects for enthusiasts and race platforms for clients. Most recently they raced alongside each other at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill for the Pirelli World Challenge earlier this year. Aside from his professional racing career, according to Merrill Lynch, Roger was voted "America’s Top 1,000 Advisors" by Barron's in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Please take a look at this video to reflect on their passing and if you can please donate to Paul's charity Reach Out Worldwide. If there's one good thing that can happen from this tragic event, we can help his organization grow and help others who are in need of aid. For more info on the gathering this Sunday, visit the Facebook event page.
"If one day the speed kills me, do not cry because I was smiling." - Paul Walker
Platte Forme AG M3 Lap Record, Global Time Attack
Pretty amazing video of the Platte Forme AG M3 driven by Tyler McQuarrie for the Global Time Attack x Super Lap Battle. The best lap was 1:48.034 which sets the record in Limited Class. The European automobile tuning company from Los Angeles is no stranger to breaking records, or let's say shattering. Last year they took the same M3 out and posted a blistering lap time of 1:50.755 with Tarzan Yamada piloting the BMW on R-comp tires.
EMK Orange County Takeover Cruise
The local Newport Beach morning joggers were greeted by a fleet of BMWs driving down PCH this morning. Over 100 cars showed up at Newport Beach today for the EMK hosted Orange County Takeover cruise. The cruise started in Newport and ended at Lucille's BBQ in Tustin after touring 60+ miles around South County.
Thanks for the guys at Elitar Motor Kingdom and MClub LA for setting this up! Check out the photos below.
