Watch me ruin a Z4M Coupe: build thread

[WeekendWarriorz]

Hell yeah man can't wait to see you figure this out!

[mattfwalters]

Presented without comment:

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by mattfwalters

Presented without comment:

The time and brain matter to do this....this is amazing.

[mattfwalters]

AEM just confirmed that my solution is almost identical to what they have baked into the PnP harness. So this is going to work.

[mattfwalters]

Didn't really do anything useful today, but did rough in the routing for 4 of 6 gauge sensors (fuel pressure, oil pressure / temp, water temp; the other two with sensors are wideband O2 and will be much easier to deal with wiring), changed the harness to use the intake air temp sensor with the Evolve airbox, removed some connectors and wires from the engine harness that I won't be using, and cleaned up / re-loomed a bunch of other wires that have been straggling around and bothering me:

[mattfwalters]

No photos, but the interior is stripped to the forward carpet and the dash is now free. Having a bit of a time trying to get the steering column / controls / wheel removed so the dash can come out but I'll get there tomorrow. I mocked up one of the two dash panels using very thin aluminum and I was pretty happy with it, so as soon as I can get the dash pulled and the rest of the wiring I don't need pulled out I will start the process of integrating the Infinity harness with the E86 harness and creating new bits of harness where required.

On a related note, although I did manage to scar the vinyl on the back edge of the drivers' side door card a bit (I would suggest transplanting the Sepang leather to your existing door card, it's on a separate metal panel so should be doable), I now have complete Sepang Bronze over black carbon-weave leather interior available. I'd like to sell the seats and door cards together, and same deal if somebody wants the three carbon-weave leather inserts. If anybody needs plastic interior trim pieces or is interested in the seats, trim, or steering wheel, hit me up.

[mattfwalters]

I had a funny feeling that I was missing something obvious about the steering wheel removal - and I was. I had noted the airbag / center unit release holes on the wheel before but hadn't pressed the spring hard enough. A couple of hours today got me to here:



And an hour of work got the gauge / control panel to here:


(This is not painted, this is bronzed aluminum)

I've fished (almost) all of the wires I care about through the firewall and am about to head back out and start wiring up the main power distribution / relay / fuse stuff, after which I will get the ECU mounted (in the cabin) and start wiring it up and testing things.

Lots more unused wiring to come out, but this part of the project is really starting to come together.

Here's some photos of the piles of stuff I've ripped out of the car. PM offers if you see anything here you need / want, or PM requests if there are things you don't see here that you need / want. Good chance I'm getting rid of it.

[Michael9218]

Welcome to the dark side...

[mattfwalters]

Originally Posted by Michael9218

Welcome to the dark side...

It's cozy over here! And way easier to work on stuff.

Wiring and mounting of electronical stuff has begun!

[Steeler]

Throw an ad in the for sale forum for all those interior bits. You will get a lot more traffic.

[mattfwalters]

Really getting into it today. Main fuse panel, fuel pump / fan relays, main 60A fuse, ignition / fuel / fan switches all wired and functional:




..and the ECU lives!!


So tomorrow I'll build the tach / indicator panel, prep relays for the starter solenoid and oil accumulator solenoid, and then move this mess into the car and start merging the harnesses. Exciting!

[mattfwalters]

Originally Posted by dbarton62

Throw an ad in the for sale forum for all those interior bits. You will get a lot more traffic.

I will do once I feel like sorting through and photographing everything. Until then, folks following the build thread can probably get a really good deal on stuff since I'm lazy.

[racerbruce]

GO Matt F....ing Walters!
This looks slightly more technical than when i replaced my rear turn signal bulbs with LED lamps....you're freaking amazing.

[Michael9218]

Ok, so I'm curious why you didn't go with an AEM CD-7 dash data logger in place of 7 gauges?

[mattfwalters]

Originally Posted by Michael9218

Ok, so I'm curious why you didn't go with an AEM CD-7 dash data logger in place of 7 gauges?

I like gauges. I don’t like LCD multifunction displays. The Infinity is also a logger. I wanted to take a crack at building out the whole dash / electrical system myself. So.. personal / aesthetic preference and indulging myself.

[mattfwalters]

Today I set up the dash panel for behind the steering wheel: tach and indicator lights. Wired up indicators for main ignition and the oil accumulator solenoid (damn thing draws a full amp when it's energized, ugh); set up relays and switches for the accumulator solenoid and starter switch. Moved the works back into the car:




And then I got irritated with the stock chassis wiring harness and started ripping it apart.



My goals for tomorrow are:

1. Finish ripping out the stock chassis loom
2. Wire up fuel pump power
3. Drain fuel tank with the fuel pump like I should have done before starting the project
4. Wire up starter / solenoid
5. Wire up crank / cam position sensors
6. Wire up gauges and sensors
7. Finish the oil system plumbing
8. Put oil in the car
9. Spin the engine with the starter and verify that the Infinity tracks the crank / cam position sensors!

Then there's still a big list of stuff to do but it's in relatively small increments. So close to running I can almost taste it.

[mattfwalters]

Stock loom is cleaned up:



Gauges are all wired up and are alive:



ECU is driving the fuel pump, which I used to empty the fuel tank without getting any of that nasty old gas in the new fuel rail / injectors.

That's where I got to today.

[Azeka1]

Great progress. Just curious, are you building your car for any particular class?

[mattfwalters]

Originally Posted by Azeka1

Great progress. Just curious, are you building your car for any particular class?

Thanks!

Not really building for any specific class, but planning to do against-the-clock type racing rather than wheel-to-wheel. At least for now.

[mattfwalters]

Originally Posted by WeekendWarriorz

"....clearly emit an offensive, harsh, excessive noise or"

WELCOME TO 2019, where exhausts can be harsh and offensive to the new generation of millennial snowflakes... oops sorry I mean our beloved kids that we're raising!

Although I'm guessing this was meant for a different thread, I'm pretty sure my car will make offensive, harsh, excessive noises. So thanks for the heads-up!

[EMagnuson]

They are going to use "Sound" judgement for excessive noise. Do you think the person writing that did it on purpose?

[WeekendWarriorz]

Originally Posted by EMagnuson

They are going to use "Sound" judgement for excessive noise. Do you think the person writing that did it on purpose?

Hahaha no, I meant to post this in the thread for the new California exhaust laws passed for 2019. I use the mobile app so it gets a bit buggy, my mistake back to topic of this awesome build