engine and drivetrain Side Draft Intake Manifold Upgrade

[Cartorious]

Another Update:

 

So reading all the information it is clear I need to "fix" or ensure that braking works flawlessly

-Knowing this I just remembered one problem about the car that I will have to solve first...

 

The last owner of the car forgot to set the E-brake and the car rolled backwards into a tree, nothing was damaged just the compression shocks on the back bumper on the right side were pushed in (which my dad and I just yanked out via rope tied to a hitch on our other car)

 

We are not sure, but rolling into a tree may have caused another problem that the previous owner neglected to mention (or didn't even notice). The first day I owned the car my dad and I (I couldn't drive stick dependably for a couple days haha) took the car into les schwab for re-alignment and new 70k tires (still on 13' rims). Almost wanted to upgrade the rims to newer-nicer ones (they had been upgraded around the time the car came out to non-steel, lighter rims) until the maintenance people came up to me and said:

"The camber on the rear left wheel is real messed up and would need a complete rebuild for it to be aligned properly, so don't brake to hard until you get that fixed"

 

Not knowing what camber was, my dad explained

We then took the car down fairly steep hill at about 65 miles per hour, and pressed the brakes (not to hard at first because we didn't know how bad it was)

-Long story short it pulls to the left pretty bad when you slam on the brakes anywhere 40+ mph

 

We did order brake pads and we will take the wheels off to do that as soon as the white rim-paint ships from online, so we can let two things happen at once to save time.

 

Realizing this I should probably get that fixed before anything

 

P.S. I was trying to start a blog (or at least add cars to my garage) on this website but I can't figure out how to do it. I'd love to detail my progress and upload a few pictures but I can't seem to figure out how to do it

 

ALSO* Thanks everyone for your support! you can't imagine how thankful I am being new to car ownership haha

EDIT*** Got the blog working, head there for more information/plans for the car. ANY advice is welcome thank you!!

[FB73tii]

took the car into les schwab for re-alignment...

the maintenance people came up to me and said:

"The camber on the rear left wheel is real messed up and would need a complete rebuild for it to be aligned properly, so don't brake to hard until you get that fixed"

Long story short it pulls to the left pretty bad when you slam on the brakes anywhere 40+ mph

 

 

As you now know, camber is the angle of the wheels from vertical when the car it sitting on flat ground, as viewed from the front or rear. It is negative when the top of the tires are tipped in toward the car. While negative camber (generally more in the front than the rear) helps handling, excessive negative camber wears out the inside of your tires quickly. Camber is not easily adjustable on stock 2002's, that requires aftermarket camber plates in front and aftermarket camber adjusting bushings or slotted mounts are added to the rear, or some other aftermarket modification such as bending the front struts.

 

I would get a second opinion on your rear camber. You can even measure it yourself with a plumb bob (ask your Dad ) and a ruler. If it is really off, then you need to figure out why--bad rear subframe bushing or ones installed incorrectly come to mind. Or perhaps a rusted and failing rear trailing arm. It would take a hard hit on the side to change rear camber--certainly not tapping a tree with the bumper as you mentioned. Does one of the rear tires show more wear on the inside than the other?

 

Asymmetric rear camber could possibly create braking issues, though I would think asymmetric rear toe (also non-adjustable in the rear without aftermarket mods) would be a lot worse. More commonly pulling to one side under braking is improperly bled brakes, a sticky piston in a brake caliper, or old rubber flexible lines that are gunked up and acting as a one-way valve. If your flexible lines are still rubber, consider upgrading to stainless steel braided lines. (We had a recent conversation on those here)

 

Let us know what you find when you check the rear camber. It you have the printout from the alignment, please post the all of the data they provided for all four tires so we can see what the issue they pointed out is. --Fred

Edited July 7, 2014 by FB73tii

[Simeon]

Is there any visible difference between the left and right rear wheels? Look closely and take measurement for comparison.

Ride height, clearance between the wheel and the wheel arch, position of the wheel within the wheel arch (when viewed from the side). Squat down and look closely from the rear how the wheel fits in the wheel arch / under the car.

These cars are not Swiss watches, engineered to millimetre tolerance so there will always be some small differences - just let us know if you find anything that you think is remiss.

Get your plumb bob, let it fall from the lip of the wheel arch and measure with a ruler from the string to 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock on the rim. Repeat on the other side and report back your values for each side. Plumb Bob = nut on a piece of string if you don't happen to have one.

+1 on checking for sticking caliper pistons and brake hoses. Remove the pads when you go to change them, very gently push the brake pedal an inch or so (don't stamp on it). Examine the pistons and how much they now protrude - any stragglers? You will then need to lever them gently back into the caliper. Do they slide in slowly but steadily or can you feel them catching, holding up or even refusing to budge. Again, report back on what you find.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Simeon

[Cartorious]

Is there any visible difference between the left and right rear wheels? Look closely and take measurement for comparison.

Ride height, clearance between the wheel and the wheel arch, position of the wheel within the wheel arch (when viewed from the side). Squat down and look closely from the rear how the wheel fits in the wheel arch / under the car.

These cars are not Swiss watches, engineered to millimetre tolerance so there will always be some small differences - just let us know if you find anything that you think is remiss.

Get your plumb bob, let it fall from the lip of the wheel arch and measure with a ruler from the string to 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock on the rim. Repeat on the other side and report back your values for each side. Plumb Bob = nut on a piece of string if you don't happen to have one.

+1 on checking for sticking caliper pistons and brake hoses. Remove the pads when you go to change them, very gently push the brake pedal an inch or so (don't stamp on it). Examine the pistons and how much they now protrude - any stragglers? You will then need to lever them gently back into the caliper. Do they slide in slowly but steadily or can you feel them catching, holding up or even refusing to budge. Again, report back on what you find.

This is what I was able to find in a folder where I keep all receipts for the car, is this enough information?

There is no visible difference, I'll measure and compare everything once my dad gets home from work

[Rustpile]

Removing the front bumper should take no more than 30 minutes, alone,regardless of experience.

[FB73tii]

This is what I was able to find in a folder where I keep all receipts for the car, is this enough information?

There is no visible difference, I'll measure and compare everything once my dad gets home from work

 

Thanks for posting your alignment specs--this is exactly what is needed.

 

So the front left has a touch more negative camber than the front right (about 0.6 degrees) and about one degree less caster, but that is probably not unusual for a 40 year old car. Worth noting that in some cases race cars use different front camber on left and right for a particular track.

The rear has one more degree negative camber on the right than the left. It's not perfect, and I am not an expert on this, but I doubt it would make much difference under braking. When you said the aligned shop said rear camber was "way off", I imagined 5 degrees or something that would point to a structural issue.

It is also worth noting that the factory specifies the suspension be settled and a weight placed in the front seat mimicking the drivers weight when checking and setting the alignment. I don't know how much effect that weight has, but it must be some, and I would not be surprised if many alignment shops don't put it in.

I suggest you start a new post called "Alignment Questions" or something similar, and post your alignment printout along with a reformulated question specific to this issue. There are a lot of folks on this FAQ who could help on alignment questions but have not read this post as they are not interested in side draft intake manifolds.

Based on your post, I suspect the brake pulling is a brake issue, not a rear camber out of spec issue. --Fred

Edited July 8, 2014 by FB73tii

[GoFaSSter]

As hard as it sounds like your car is pulling, I would look to the brakes (specifically the front) as well. Although no rear brakes does suck, it usually doesn't cause pulling.

[Cartorious]

Thanks for posting your alignment specs--this is exactly what is needed.

So the front left has a touch more negative camber than the front right (about 0.6 degrees) and about one degree less caster, but that is probably not unusual for a 40 year old car. Worth noting that in some cases race cars use different front camber on left and right for a particular track.

The rear has one more degree negative camber on the right than the left. It's not perfect, and I am not an expert on this, but I doubt it would make much difference under braking. When you said the aligned shop said rear camber was "way off", I imagined 5 degrees or something that would point to a structural issue.

It is also worth noting that the factory specifies the suspension be settled and a weight placed in the front seat mimicking the drivers weight when checking and setting the alignment. I don't know how much effect that weight has, but it must be some, and I would not be surprised if many alignment shops don't put it in.

I suggest you start a new post called "Alignment Questions" or something similar, and post your alignment printout along with a reformulated question specific to this issue. There are a lot of folks on this FAQ who could help on alignment questions but have not read this post as they are not interested in side draft intake manifolds.

Based on your post, I suspect the brake pulling is a brake issue, not a rear camber out of spec issue. --Fred

Thanks for the advice I'll start a new help thread once I get home.

[76ohtwo]

Carter,

Welcome and congratulations on your new 2002--looks nice. To get more power from an engine you need to understand it as a system. Here are a few links to get you started, and there are further links within these that lead to good content. While the first topic is "engine rebuilding", we get into a lot on the performance side and you will see all the questions that you need to answer before investing your hard-earned money.

Engine Rebuild

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/151699-engine-rebuild/

Creating Low End Power In A 2002?

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/149077-creating-low-end-power-in-a-2002/

"quicker" Acceleration

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/148358-quicker-acceleration/

Bang For Your Buck Go Faster Mods

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/147599-bang-for-your-buck-go-faster-mods/

How Much Hp From My Bmw 2002?

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/146686-how-much-hp-from-my-bmw-2002/

I will echo some of what others have said above--we all want more power, but the place to start with any car is safety (first and foremost--seat belts good, seat mounts solid, brakes good, etc). The tried and true is "make it stop (brakes), make it turn (suspension), and last make it go (higher diff ratio, lower weight, more power)." If you want to be fast from a stoplight you need more power. If you want to be fast in the curves (closed-circuit for any real speed) then you need to learn car control and how to carry momentum. I.e., spend your money on high-performance driving schools, not power upgrades. This has the added benefit of making you safer on the road--increased situational awareness, refined psycho-motor skills, ability to remain calm in an emergency situation and more.

Do your research and we will be happy to respond to your questions. Please do look into a driving class such as Tire Rack Street Survival if you have not already. This is a one-day class for about $75 that gives you 3 hours of-in car with an instructor on a skid pad and other exercises to learn car control. There is one coming up in Portland, Oregon on October 12.

Tire Rack Street Survival

http://streetsurvival.org

Very worthwhile, I think something like this should be required of ALL drivers before they get (and renew) their licenses.

Best, Fred

That second thread you linked was started by me. I can advocate for the following after a few months with my car:

Swaybars, shocks, springs, weber. It's all you need for now. Seeing as you just turned 16 and can't drive yet, you don't really understand how little the actual numbers matter. The experience of the car is what's fun, not "180 horsepower". If you still want more after the suspension and 32/36, like I do, go for the 38 weber and 284 cam. Plenty of car for a kid to handle. Check out Ireland Engineering for the suspension parts - that's where your budget is best spent.

[TobyB]

 

 

 took the car into les schwab 

See, you just learned something there that you don't ever need to do again!  

 

Seriously, from your numbers, your car is leaning slightly to the left, as many do, from having 

been driven around a bunch!  There probably isn't much wrong- but it WOULD be a good idea

to go under it and check things carefully.  In order, the usual failures are:

 

Rear trailing arm bushings

Front radius arm bushings

Carrier bearing (center driveshaft bearing)

Shifter bushings

Center track rod

Driver's side motor mount/subframe bracket

Front ball joints

 

...and then it goes on from there...

 

The brakes pulling is not the alignment- it's time to go through

the front calipers at a minimum, and while you're there,

changing the rubber hoses and the rear wheel cylinders isn't a lot

more work.

 

Welcome!

 

t

[FB73tii]

For those interested, this thread continues here under a new topic:

 

Camber Problems
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/155853-camber-problems/

 

I think this is a great thread as we have a new, young 2002 owner ready to carry the torch of the BMW faithful forward. And a common first post--how do I get more power--led to the identification of a current safety issue (brakes!) and will result in getting them fixed and a safer car on the road. It also led to input from other 2002 owners that power is not the be-all and end-all. In fact, in the larger scheme of things, absolute power matters very little, except in a straight line. We have many stories of 2002s outperforming more powerful and more capable cars in closed-circuit controlled environments (race track, autocross) because it is the driver and their skill that really matters. This comes to home in an emergency situation--knowing how to control a car is extremely important to the driver, their passengers, and others on the road. As many have said, it is much more rewarding to drive a "slow" car fast than a fast car slow. And I recommend leaving driving a fast car fast to the pros, they get a new car from their sponsors if they crash theirs, we don't.

 

Best regards--Fred

Edited July 9, 2014 by FB73tii