Hi all, back in October I picked up this low mileage 250 cup after selling my diesel 3 series, loved the car but it hit 150k and I fancied something fun after parting with my evo 6. When I picked it up. Spec wise it's a 250 cup with 19" steevs, climate control, xenons and keyless entry. Has also had the mid box removed and a panel filter. Only 28k on the clock and full history. Due to it turning 6 years old I negotiated the cost of a cambelt into the price as well as the driver side swivel bearing needing to be replaced , £1500 taken from the price . Took the car down to engine dynamics for the cambelt and waterpump, came in just shy of £450 , then a couple months after had the swivel done by my local mechanic. Once the job was started he found the driveshaft siezed into the hub, opted for it to come out as a whole and replace lower swivel and upper balljoint. The wayward handling has gone and everything is tight now. Front pads were replaced with pagid oem equivalent with a set of Mr pink pins, rears are yet to do but I'll wait until the discs have had it ( 3 -4 months). Today I tackled the headlights, really wanted to lose the chrome and go 265 style so thought I'd give it a bash. 2-3 hours per light ( including lunch and paint drying) but I got it done and am happy with the outcome. Power wise I would like to go 'stage 2' so I bought a new scorpion decat for £125, ramair filter £20 and mtc pipe £50. Trying to do this on a budget and save money where I can. After fitting the filter it was a little to darth vader-esque, removed the symposer pipe and replaced with a 38mm bung , now it's more bearable day to day. So that's where I'm at, currently sitting at 32k and needing a new tyre after an mot. Next couple of weeks the wheels will be painted gloss black, will be lowered when I pick up some springs and on the lookout for an intercooler.
Didn't end up using the 45° bend as it was too long , when I get round to it I'll try shortening it and mount it more like the k-tec one.
On my car, I moved the battery to the boot, and added a 45 deg.bend for the filter.It was down behind the battery before.
Regarding the headlight glue I just used the original stuff, but reheated it and ensured it was equally along the groove. Time will tell if it's sealed 100%, if not I'll redo it. 18's were on my list initially , something like pro race 1.2, motec or braid, but in all fairness I've got 3 near new tyres so it's a big expense for me.
Few updates , parents have gone away for a couple of weeks so I'm borrowing the mother's audi a1, nice inside but very odd seating position. Took the opportunity to start a few jobs such as the wheels, I've gone for gloss black and have just finished the first one. Once its fully cured I'll flatten it and polish, came out well imo. Since owning the car I've hated the amount of movement in the engine mounts, had the same issue with my 172 and 225, luckily with those you could get powerflex inserts for the lower stabiliser but not for the 250. The only option really was the vibratechnic mount but at £125 (lowest I found) I couldn't justify it, credit to another member on here who posted pics of them reinforcing the oe mount with polyurethane , I did the same. It's polytek pt-flex 60, a medium-firm mix that should help eliminate a lot of movement, £18 instead of £125 is a win in my books. Just need to leave it for 24 hours to cure. Along side that I opted for th powerflex upper engine mount insert. Once the car is back on 4 wheels I'll give it a drive and report back .
Support the engine underneath and remove the mount , not something that can be fitted in situ unfortunately.
Be interested to hear how you find that upper engine mount insert. Ive got one here to fit as well, but yet to do it. Have you driven it yet with that fitted? Hows the idle?
I've only started the car up whilst on axle stands but definitely more vibration at idle, but most of this I think is due the the firmer lower mount.
Finally got the car back on the ground and used it for work all this week, overall impressions are good so far , a lot less movement from the engine when pulling away, a more responsive feel when the pedal is put down and better gear changes. Downsides are more cabin vibration (was aware this was a side effect) I have noticed occasionally when stationary the vibration from the engine causes the headlight beam to vibrate a little. Finally a little pic with fresh wheels.
