[BWK]

Any updates regarding the suspension? Getting antsy to lift mine

[Safari e90]

Originally Posted by Serf27

For the skid plate,
I’d use some square tubing laying across the front of the plate and attach some more square tubing going upright and attached to the bottom side of the bumper bar.

There’s also a hard plastic line that runs across the front bottom section of the subframe. I guarantee that will bust first if the skids plate fails.
Replace that with some rubber hose and a T fitting.

Hi there, thanks for the ideas. Some kind of tubing frame will be a necessity. The radiator is pretty exposed under there and I am going to need something extra strong to protect it. I will also stick my head under the car an look for the line that runs across the subframe.

Originally Posted by en_bloc45

If you wanna go extra gambler aesthetic, I find DO NOT TRESPASS signs typically match the exact front end of most commuter sedans. I had one mounted as a skid plate to my bull bar bent at a 45 degree angle to protect the actual underbelly tray from harp hazards. Granted my sign was from a friend who had one on their property they didn't want anymore. I'm talking about the huge metal signs posted on fences, if you mount them parallel they are exactly the perfect fit on a miata so I'd hazard they'd fit the same on your bimmer. I used a set of harbor freight nuts and bolts with loctite to secure it and it lasted the entire life of the car. Saved me the price and time of cutting a metal sheet to size and didn't weight down the front end like most ready made bolt ons.

I love a good road sign skid plate! I have seen a ton of them at the Gambler. I will look into the do not trespass sign and see it is the right size/ thickness for the car. I will probably still need to make a frame of some kind to attach it to. That radiator looks like low hanging fruit for a menacing rock.
I will probably paint it if I use it though... as I am going to tone down the gambler aesthetic just a little bit on this car. I already have a ridiculous looking gambler crown vic that can get the full aesthetic treatment. I would like to be able to use the 330xi for a winter beater as well, without being WAY too embarrassed when I pull up to a meeting with a client. lol


I saw this Z4M safari build and I like the skid plate on it! If I get really carried away I might do something like this.

[Safari e90]

My Ukraininan lift kit arrived in the mail this weekend! It only took ALL the stamps to get here. lol It looks ok, but I am not sure it is going to be tall enough. Haven't decided if I am just going throw it in and try it... or make something taller of my own.

[Safari e90]

My roof rack arrived and I got it on the car. Now I need to start shopping for a light bar and a roof basket to go on it. Would love to be able to put snowboards up there also without doing too much changing stuff around.

Kind Glad I got a factory one. I made it so easy. Plus, I could also put it on my 135i if I ever decide that this bad idea is a bad idea. :-)

[Safari e90]

Started digging into the cheap e90 finally. Want to make it road worthy before the snow starts to fly. Here in Washington it could happen any time.

Got a new window regulator in the back passenger side so it keeps the rain out now.

Trimmed up the shifter/center console so the short shifter works now without feeling like you are breaking the through console with R 1 3 5 shifts lol

Fixed the cup holder so I had a place to put my beer when I was working on the shifter. :-)

And most importantly, I started chasing my oil leak... or leaks. It needs a valve cover gasket. And it looked to need a oil filter housing gasket... but there was SO much oil on everything that I could not tell where it was coming from. See the pictures of this epic mess. lol After taking a oil soaked belt off, and cleaning a exxon valdez worth of grim off... I am starting to think it may be the front main seal. Did it eat a belt in its previous life? Face Palm. Maybe... Probably... Could be...LOL I guess my next step is getting the thing real clean so I can actually tell where the oil is coming from. I will most likely off the crank pully and see if there is any rubber spaghetti or evidence behind it, and see if the seal looks ok. And then doing a oil change and looking for rubber or other interesting stuff in it. lol Who knows, the front main seal could be fine any I got that time bomb of a oily belt off of there before the worst happened. I am trying to be optimistic. lol

Also, there is a ton of oil and grime in the alternator! What the heck do I do about that. lol Something tells me that spraying high pressure water and degreaser straight into my alternator may be a bad idea. LOL :-) Any suggestions?

[Safari e90]

Originally Posted by BWK

Any updates regarding the suspension? Getting antsy to lift mine

LOL So am I. My lift kit came in. It looks ok to me. You can see my previous photos of it. Look like it is about 1.6 in in the front and 1.75 in in the rear. I got mine on ebay. There is another company that makes a similar kit called Rising Tuning.
My only issue is I am not sure if it is enough lift for me. Have not made my mind up yet. I should probably just put this kit in for the winter while I design a different one for next year. IDK what I am going to do... but I will let yuo know when I make my mind up. :-)

[BWK]

Originally Posted by Safari e90

LOL So am I. My lift kit came in. It looks ok to me. You can see my previous photos of it. Look like it is about 1.6 in in the front and 1.75 in in the rear. I got mine on ebay. There is another company that makes a similar kit called Rising Tuning.
My only issue is I am not sure if it is enough lift for me. Have not made my mind up yet. I should probably just put this kit in for the winter while I design a different one for next year. IDK what I am going to do... but I will let yuo know when I make my mind up. :-)

Been looking at that lift kit. Very curious what it looks like once installed. I won't be rallying my E91, just looking for extra clearance on unpaved roads. Got my A/T tires put on. Super antsy now lol

[Safari e90]

Originally Posted by BWK

Been looking at that lift kit. Very curious what it looks like once installed. I won't be rallying my E91, just looking for extra clearance on unpaved roads. Got my A/T tires put on. Super antsy now lol

I will post a picture when I get it in there. What tires did you get???? :-)

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Safari e90

Also, there is a ton of oil and grime in the alternator! What the heck do I do about that. lol Something tells me that spraying high pressure water and degreaser straight into my alternator may be a bad idea. LOL :-) Any suggestions?

You might want to consider replacing the slip rings and brushes on that alternator, or just grab a clean replacement from a salvage yard. When I bought my neglected 325i it had a leaky oil filter housing gasket and an alternator covered in grime. Not too long after cleaning it up and replacing the leaky gaskets the alternator failed. The slip rings and brushes were worn and not making contact any more because of the gritty crud that got in there and accelerated the wear.

[BWK]

Originally Posted by Safari e90

I will post a picture when I get it in there. What tires did you get???? :-)

Yoko Geolander G015 A/T 215/60R16

It was the smallest A/T tire I could find lol. They feel great so far

[Safari e90]

Well got a chance to dig into the e90 today. News is not that good. As I was worried about, it had ate a belt. Face palm. It has also obviously done a ton of miles this way by the amount of oil everywhere. Maybe that's a good sign the it didn't ingest a ton of belt strips... or maybe it is just 5 min from death. lol

I ordered the seal. Ordered the tool. Cleaning everything now with the fan out of the way. I am going to see what I find behind the seal. I really didn't want to drop the pan right now.

Obviously the lift is on hold for now until I get this timebomb holding its oil inside the engine. The rad has taken a hit before. See pic. So is Going to NEED a good bit of lift.

[Serf27]

Jack up the car and wedge these in between the springs.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tyre-Wheel-...-127635-2958-0

[TyroneShoelaces]

If OP gets his car sorted engine wise and gets back on the lift, I have been trying to figure out how to use the Bilstein Xi struts on my rwd car and found that BMW made factory spacers 31331128524 and also E30 spring perches will raise the car another 10mm

[drymite]

A little late but i just came across this video again

[youRA]

Originally Posted by Safari e90

Here is the car as it sits now... Or rather how I got it. LOL Behold this magnificent machine in all its glory!

Hi!

How did you achieve that lift? Spacers?

I found this solution but it is too expensive:

https://shop.redline360.com/products...-lite-off-road

[k3ny3r]

Originally Posted by BWK

Yoko Geolander G015 A/T 215/60R16

It was the smallest A/T tire I could find lol. They feel great so far

Hi!
I’m in the process of fitting larger tyres on my e91, same geolandars but 215/65R16. It’s still in the way, but we test fitted with 225/60 and 20mm spacers (now about et17). Did you managed to get a lift since?

Also I’d love to see some pics. Safari E91s are not a common sight 😄