[quikM2]

What spoiler do you have? Is that the OEM M sport carbon fibre? Do you have any other exterior mods other than the black kidney grills? The car looks great!

[JRocker3]

Originally Posted by quikM2

What spoiler do you have? Is that the OEM M sport carbon fibre? Do you have any other exterior mods other than the black kidney grills? The car looks great!

Thanks!! That's the BMW M-Performance spoiler... no other exterior mods (except for the black kidney grilles)... I haven't found much else out there that I'm interested in. Maybe a front lip spoiler at some point...

[JRocker3]

Cannot decide whether I should do a front lip spoiler or not... I like the look of the M-Perf one but I would want to get it painted glossy jet black.

Other option is RW Carbon varis style...

Anyone with an MG F30 M Sport have either of these installed?

[JRocker3]

As mentioned previously, I finally made it down to Charlotte to have some work done at GMP Performance. The plans:

-Dinan sway bars
-Eventuri intake
-BMS short throw shifter
-Stop Tech slotted rotors
-Hawks HPS pads
-Castrol SRF brake fluid
-Liqui Moly trans, diff and engine oils
-fresh set of Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires... and the wheels are getting ceramic coated!

The car will be all ready for a track day, which I'm super stoked about. Working on that next... hoping to get it on the track one day late summer. For now, I'll just enjoy the build and rip some Tōge runs.

Oh... and check out the loaner I have!! It was once an APR development car recently purchased by GMP for use as a loaner... it has just about all of the available APR products for the Mk7 GTI... sounds amazing.

[JRocker3]

Courtesy vehicle!

[JRocker3]

... and she's done!!

Picking her up in the morning... so just pictures for now... can't wait for some track time.

[JRocker3]

🇩🇪

[JRocker3]

and some more...

[JRocker3]

So I've had the car back for a week now and it's been a blast... major highlights:

Dinan sway bars - I have them set in the middle position and it's a HUGE difference over OEM. I had always wondered if sways made a big difference and it is 100% obvious and worth every penny. Car is so much more composed through every corner.

Brakes - I went with StopTech slotted for looks and "performance"... more for the coated center hat that won't rust and look bad in 6 months... the slotted design is cool too

The HPS 5.0 pads are so good too... not very noisy, even when driving slow through echo-y areas. When cold they grip like OE pads... when warm they grip like mad.

Eventuri Intake - the sound rocks, haha it's just awesome.

More driving for now!!!

[disintegrator66]

I'm enjoying watching your progress! How's the short throw shifter?

[JRocker3]

Originally Posted by disintegrator66

I'm enjoying watching your progress! How's the short throw shifter?

Thanks !! I appreciate the support.

Short shifter is good... I like what it provides... but comparing the OE to the Burger shifter I'm not sure which I prefer.

OE shifter is precise, easy, and direct. Perhaps some extra throw... but not much compared to other cars out there.

The shorty definitely reduces throw travel... it's noticeable... and there is also a more direct/confirmed entrance to each gear... but the design isn't ideal as there is a thick rubber shim between the input shaft of the cars shifter, and the shaft that ultimately holds the knob. As a result, there is a high degree of rotation of the knob itself, and also some slight play between the knob and the car. (Really only noticeable during hard shifting )

To remedy this I backfilled the space containing the rubber grommet with epoxy. Working at a bike shop has its perks... we often epoxy headset compression nuts into steerer tubes, so I had the perfect practice as the application is quite similar.

Anyway I got it done, let it cure, and drove it this morning. It's so much better, and now I'd say it's perfect.

Long story short, unless you want to take this shifter and modify it to make it slightly better, just keep the OE one.

[JRocker3]

Well... this car continues to amaze me... it drives so well, I can actually use all of the power thanks to the upgrades. I still think it needs a bit more to really shine on the track... and so now, I'll start planning for the next round of mods

I think next is the move to a coil over kit and 18" wheels/tires. The car could be lower to the ground, the 19" wheels looks awesome, but the 18" will bring it down just a bit... and the coilovers will help dial that in as well. I don't need any type of electronically controlled dampers so I might go with the Bilstein PSS10. Having the 10 way damper seems perfect for fine tuning.

I'd also like to address the alignment, as I feel some front end camber could aid turn in quite a bit. Ground Control has a kit that seems perfect.

Cosmetically, once the ride height and alignment are dialed, probably would like a lip spoiler. I think I've finally settled on the Vorsteiner lip. It's clean, and fitment seems to be 100% spot on.

May or may not also look into Recaro buckets... the factory bolsters only do so much at the limit.

I'm waiting to hear back from GMP Performance on these items... might go to stainless brake lines as well. The goal is to dial this car in for some serious track duty.

[JRocker3]

Black Forest knob installed !! Was able to get it much lower than the M-Performance knob also, feels awesome!

[JRocker3]

Pulled the trigger on going deeper into the track build... once again, GMP in Charlotte is doing the build. Things scheduled for June install:

Expert@ApexRaceParts
EC-7 18x9 ET35 front
EC-7 18x9.5 ET43 rear

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
245/40 front
265/35 rear

Ohlins Performance Road & Track coilover Kit w/ EDC delete

Hotchkis adjustable sway bar end links, front and rear

M3 front lower control arms

Ground Control camber plates

StopTech stainless brake lines w/ Castrol SRF fluid

G-Loc R8 front brake pads
G-Loc GS-1 rear brake pads

Vorsteiner front under spoiler

Schroth Rallye 4 point harness

Plus a few maintenance items... oils/filters... and will definitely be getting her aligned for the track. I'll be going for:

-2.2° front camber
-1° front toe

-1.8° rear camber
0° rear toe

I'll be looking to set ride height low... probably to the point of no gap between fender and top of tire. Dampers will be set to the stiffer end for sure.

Of course, I'll modify this depending on if things rub... but we're suspecting it won't based upon feedback.

Yewwwww!! Gonna be a handling machine soon...

[Sayzar]

Originally Posted by JRocker3

Now this is how this car should be!!

Full update: M Performance spoiler, M Performance LSD, DINAN springs and ride quality kit, BBS CI-R, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. (The Michelin PS4s were on back order... I am ok with that after driving these Cup 2s...)

The BBS CI-Rs are 19x8.5 et35 & 19x9.5 et40. They are wrapped in 235/40/19 & 265/35/19. IMO these wheels/tires are the perfect fit for this car, and of course the DINAN springs helped that.

I'm running 31.5 & 34.5 psi cold in the tires, which warm up to 34.5 & 37.5 hot... they grip so well with these pressures so I probably won't play with it much more. (These are the pressures that Michelin recommends for these tires.)

The combination of the LSD and these wider wheels and sticky tires has given this car so much more potential at the limit. It grips so hard and gets all the power down, it's truly amazing.

Enjoy some pictures for now... next up is an intake and tune, likely followed by two-piece rotors and upgraded pads.

I had the same wheels on my F36 mineral gray last summer. BBS makes super strong wheels. the car looks good

[JRocker3]

Originally Posted by Sayzar

I had the same wheels on my F36 mineral gray last summer. BBS makes super strong wheels. the car looks good

They really do... a set of their 3 piece forged race wheels is the ultimate goal!!

I'll be interested to see how these APEX wheels work out; I've heard really good things. Of course, their weight seems super appealing. The sizing and offsets also should be spot on.

[Sayzar]

Originally Posted by JRocker3

They really do... a set of their 3 piece forged race wheels is the ultimate goal!!

I'll be interested to see how these APEX wheels work out; I've heard really good things. Of course, their weight seems super appealing. The sizing and offsets also should be spot on.

I switched it up and now have HRE FF04 in IPA

[JRocker3]

Coming soon ... !!!

[JRocker3]

More updates soon !!! Just installed Ohlins !!!

[jackstrath]

deep pockets for ohlins ! very nice!

[JRocker3]

EDC and seatbelts coded, thanks to Joe@TopGearSolutions !!

Now that suspension is settled I'm off to get ride height and alignment perfected.

More soon!

[Joe@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by JRocker3

EDC and seatbelts coded, thanks to Joe@TopGearSolutions !!

Now that suspension is settled I'm off to get ride height and alignment perfected.

More soon!

Glad we could take care of that for you. Beautiful ride!