[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Interesting! Do reveal the part number of the LCA aero...

Yes of course! I was going to wait until after I ordered some and confirmed they fit, but in case anyone else wants to give it a go...

33306876803
Aero cover panel, rear left

33306876804
Aero cover panel, rear right

Btw I’m looking at it more and although it serves the same purpose it isn’t shaped the same as the Supra one. To my eye the Supra one looks better but I don’t know how to get a part number for the Supra to order it. Does anyone have a clue?

[Biginboca]

Ok, well I did some more digging and ordered the Toyota covers. The Toyota ones for the Supra are $10 ea and the BMW ones for the Z4 are $45ea.

So that’s really something! The cars use the same rear lower control arms btw.

Here’s the info to order the Toyota ones...

Suspension Control Arm Cover (Right, Rear, Lower)
This Fits Your 2020 Toyota Supra 3.0L AT
Part Number: 48737WAA01

Suspension Control Arm Cover (Left, Rear, Lower)
This Fits Your 2020 Toyota Supra 3.0L AT
Part Number: 48738WAA01

[Phil325i]

Thanks! Having looked on RealOEM I think the Z4's LCA looks quite a bit different from on the E9X, including the need for four threaded, embedded bolts to accept nuts to hold the aero piece in place.

At least your researches have proved what we always suspected...BMW parts are overpriced!

Good luck with the install.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Thanks! Having looked on RealOEM I think the Z4's LCA looks quite a bit different from on the E9X, including the need for four threaded, embedded bolts to accept nuts to hold the aero piece in place.

At least your researches have proved what we always suspected...BMW parts are overpriced!

Good luck with the install.

Yeah they are not a just bolt and go part. I’m thinking I’ll have to drill a few holes to get them mounted. At $10 each it’s pretty painless to tinker with/modify them to work out a mount.

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

I’m still wanting to tighten up the rear chassis a bit with some bracing. I ordered the M3 black plates that bolt the wheel well to the chassis above it from a scrapper yesterday. Those were only $30 with mounting hardware on eBay. I might add something to it to triangulate/cross the span... not sure yet.

For interest, I've installed two cross bars between the 'V' of the rear brace. Space is very limited for using bolts due to the brace running close to the fuel tank. So I used alloy bars and bonded them to the 'V' with aluminium expoxy two-part bonding.

I also fitted a single cross bar in the 'V' front brace. As there's more space up front, I used bolts for that.

[tlow98]

Nice!

@biginboca Will the rear interior wheel well braces bolt into your car or do you need to weld the bottom nut like the E91? I'm all about the aero too, good thoughts.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

For interest, I've installed two cross bars between the 'V' of the rear brace. Space is very limited for using bolts due to the brace running close to the fuel tank. So I used alloy bars and bonded them to the 'V' with aluminium expoxy two-part bonding.

I also fitted a single cross bar in the 'V' front brace. As there's more space up front, I used bolts for that.

Happen to have a pic of this? I remember you posting but it's hard to visualize.

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Yeah they are not a just bolt and go part. I’m thinking I’ll have to drill a few holes to get them mounted. At $10 each it’s pretty painless to tinker with/modify them to work out a mount.

F30's also have aero covers on the rear camber arms - maybe those would fit better? Eitherway, nothing a couple of zip ties won't fix

Originally Posted by Phil325i

For interest, I've installed two cross bars between the 'V' of the rear brace. Space is very limited for using bolts due to the brace running close to the fuel tank. So I used alloy bars and bonded them to the 'V' with aluminium expoxy two-part bonding.

I also fitted a single cross bar in the 'V' front brace. As there's more space up front, I used bolts for that.

Would also love to see pictures of these. Did you notice a difference with them? I was trying to come up with a cross brace for the front but couldn't figure out how to mount it.

The E9x M3 rear braces have mounting locations to use in conjunction with the additional brace on the E93, but I haven't explored it further:

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

F30's also have aero covers on the rear camber arms - maybe those would fit better? Eitherway, nothing a couple of zip ties won't fix

Yes, ZIP ties are what I was thinking also. I didn’t know about the F30 ones! They actually might fit better, but the Toyota ones are... $10

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Nice!

@biginboca Will the rear interior wheel well braces bolt into your car or do you need to weld the bottom nut like the E91? I'm all about the aero too, good thoughts.

Not sure. I’ll be tearing into it shortly and see. I have a great professional welder local to me who did a bunch of amazing work for me on my Jeep and he only charges me $50/hour. For me it’s money well spent because he let’s me work with him and I get exactly what I want done. I also have a bunch of the panel bond epoxy left over from my roof swap so I might even just go that route. That’s how all the new carbon and aluminum chassis are assembled at the factories now. When I separated the roof from the old M3 chassis I experienced first hand how wicked strong this bonding stuff is.

I’m going to work on the aero stuff the next week or so, and then I’ll be diving into the bracing after that.

[neilvan]

I was looking into those too^^^^ I had the idea of a rivnut in my head but I havent sourced it/pulled things apart yet to check and see if that's feasible

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by neilvan

I was looking into those too^^^^ I had the idea of a rivnut in my head but I havent sourced it/pulled things apart yet to check and see if that's feasible

Rivnuts are a great idea but I’m actually leaning towards zip ties for 2 reasons.

1. Drilling holes to run zip ties through reduces weight
2. Zip ties are lighter than bolts and rivnuts

JK!!!! Actually it’s just that I don’t see any reason why I would remove these covers until it’s time for new shocks, so really cutting a zip tie once every ~5 years is not a big deal. I don’t see a reason to get complicated beyond that.

[Phil325i]

I'm hoping to fit my 'Toyotas' ($8 + tax in the UK) with some rubber rivnuts I've found. They're like a glorifed grommet with a threaded brass insert. You insert a bolt into the rubber portion and as you tighten, the 'grommet' compresses to lock itself in place. Will take some pics when I get round to the install...

[309xi]

Originally Posted by Bufalo

...and with your 3.91 rear, the mid range loss is less of a concern! Great looking car, excellent contributions in the N/A forum.

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Yes exactly! When I swapped from the 3 stage manifold to the N54 manifold I also swapped from a 3.73 to a 3.91 rear end. This made up the midrange shortage.

Would that mean an n54 manifold would make more sense on an xdrive model in principle since I have the 3.91 rear end already?

[E92William]

I think with the 3.91 and a manual you can justify the N54 manifold since you can climb revs easily and the manual lets you take advantage of a raised redline to utilize it. Haven't tried it but I would miss the 3im's torque if it's gone

[W37V]

Originally Posted by 309xi

Would that mean an n54 manifold would make more sense on an xdrive model in principle since I have the 3.91 rear end already?

You already have a lot of power loss due to your drivetrain. You might want to stick with 3IM. Also, if you have an automatic, there is almost no point to N54 as you can't take advantage of power at higher RPM range. His redline is 7500rpm. For automatics, I think they tend to shift at 6800.

[Biginboca]

Just got a package. I didn’t even know these had shipped yet...






They came with directions printed on them. So thoughtful of Toyota.. BMW... whoever lol






The area and shape of them looks great on a quick inspection. The posts need trimmed a little bit (maybe 1”) and then they will sit flush and zip ties will definitely do the trick. Nice $20 mod I think!







Not sure they will amount to a hill of beans, but I’m running out of stuff to do and it gives me something to tinker with tomorrow lol

[Tambohamilton]

That thing looks low! How much bump travel do you have left at the shock?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

That thing looks low! How much bump travel do you have left at the shock?

I never checked but I’m running the bmw performance suspension with all the parts that were included with that kit on the rear. (Bumpstops, Shocks, Springs, and a Shock Mount I think). I haven’t done any mods that would affect the ride height besides using that kit, and it was made by bmw for this model.

The front has same kit also but I also added srp drop perches which dropped the front maybe 3/8” more.

[Tambohamilton]

Cool, good choice!

FYI, at the front you could run Xd top mounts instead of the perches to roughly the same effect...except you'd have that ~3/8" of suspension travel available still.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

Does this require drilling into the control arm? IMO it seems crazy to potentially compromise the control arm for questionable benefits from retrofitting the aero panels. Aero is designed as a whole package, and I assume these panels will just reduce wind noise slightly at best.

Hard to say until I get under the car and start poking around. Drilling a couple holes isn’t a big deal though IMO. There’s already holes in the arms for other bolts anyway.

[Phil325i]

Popped in to my local Toyota dealer today to collect the aero parts and they had a Supra in the showroom. It's clear the LCA is smaller than the one on our cars. The reason the posts appear too long is becase on the Supra they reach up to the flange on the top edge of the LCA.

I need to think some more about how I'm gonna fix mine. I'd perfer to bolt them, and I don't like the idea of cutting the tops off the posts because that would loose the small fixing holes at the end of the posts...