APR Z4M Splitter on 3.0si Roadster

[dc_wright]

Finished installation of the APR Z4M splitter on my 3.0si today. Had to make a slight mod on the splitter to clear the non-M under tray, and needed to make it easily installed and removed since I can't run it for autocross and stay in Street Class. I used U-nuts so that the hardware would be captive. It needs a little shimming to address the bit of pucker on the corners, but other than that the fit is pretty good!

[TRiCC]

Dope! Is the splitter bumper mounted?

[dc_wright]

Mounted to the lower edge of the bumper cover. I was looking for some metal body points to fabricate something so that it was attached to something less flexible, but there's nothing under there that's close enough.
I replaced all the lower front end plastics so at least they're at max strength to support the added stresses.
I might circle back in the future and look at adapting these E46 splitter mounts.

[3002 tii]

Very nice, didn't realize the 3.0si bumper wasn't entirely flat underneath. I've been toying with idea of installing one on my aero but not sure how I'd fill in the center gap since there's no M stache equivalent for the Aero bumper.

[WickedNy]

Don't know if your car is lowered or not but , had the same setup and something small like possum or raccoon ran out in front me while I was driving. The end result was I needed all new hardware that keeps the bumper mounted to the car, new bumper new fog light and fender liner....the splitter however stayed intact

[Vanne]

Looks great .

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

Very nice, didn't realize the 3.0si bumper wasn't entirely flat underneath. I've been toying with idea of installing one on my aero but not sure how I'd fill in the center gap since there's no M stache equivalent for the Aero bumper.

The bottom of the bumper is pretty flat. It just has a slight upward arc (maybe 1/4"?) from the center out to the edges. It's small enough it's hard to see it just by eyeball, but once the splitter was on and bolted down you could see it in the splitter. I'm going to use some Nylon washers to shim it so that it's flat. What required clearancing was the plastic under tray. On the M is looks to be flat, but on the non-M there's a bulge that protrudes down slightly below the bottom edge of the bumper cover.

Originally Posted by WickedNy

Don't know if your car is lowered or not but , had the same setup and something small like possum or raccoon ran out in front me while I was driving. The end result was I needed all new hardware that keeps the bumper mounted to the car, new bumper new fog light and fender liner....the splitter however stayed intact

I've got the M Sport suspension so the car sits 1/2" lower than standard suspension. Even without the splitter, the low point under the car is 4 inches clearance so pretty much any critter other than a snake is going to make contact if you straddle it and it goes under the car. Good to know the splitter has a chance of surviving!
Note that one of the reasons all the plastics were replaced was from wear and tear (literally) from autocross cones, so the under side of the car has already seen some action. I believe I've replaced all 4 jack pads at least once each. For some reason, the cones have a tendency to grab BMW (and Mini) jack pads and strip them off the car.

Originally Posted by Vanne

Looks great .

Thanks Vanne! It gets its first track test at Sebring on 2/9. Hoping to see some lap time drop from reduced under steer.

[WickedNy]

Yea mines slightly lower, have hr race springs...critter never made it past the splitter, I guess from the speed etc, it ended up being wedges and lifted up as opposed to going completely under...for the gap between bumper I ended up using some hard plastic washers I scrounged up at work with 3m on the bottom to not scuff the splitter and ran extend bolts through it

[steffenme1]

Looks awesome, way to get it fit.

Do you have any idea how thick the APR splitter is? It looks pretty thin (maybe 3/8") but it's super hard to tell in pics??

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by steffenme1

Looks awesome, way to get it fit.

Do you have any idea how thick the APR splitter is? It looks pretty thin (maybe 3/8") but it's super hard to tell in pics??

It's 0.20 inches thick. It is pretty thin, but hopefully will be rigid enough....

[dc_wright]

Splitter got it's first test yesterday and it's definitely made a difference. Also ran 255/35 tires on the front which probably also helped, but I've run them up front before without feeling much improvement. Previous best lap was a 2:27.9 pushing pretty hard. Ran pretty consistent low 2:26's with just a bit in reserve. The push is pretty much gone and the car is much more neutral. I was able to carry at least 10 mph more speed in 1 and 17 and could probably carry more through Bishop's but need to get more comfortable with how the car feels before pushing any harder. Not much room for error on the Sebring layout.
Next outing will be the school course at Daytona in April, then back to Sebring, and then the full IMSA course at Daytona in May.