Just been out for a run in the M3W, after fitting the G56 Stage One kit. It was quite a long and fiddly job of around 7 hours, especially single handed, trying to undo and do up nuts and bolts either side of a bulkhead, etc. Also due to severe spinal arthritis, I have to stop every half hour for a good five minutes to let everything unwind.
You have to strip out most of the interior, seats and panelling, to get at the nuts holding the original exhaust brackets, to replace them with the new stainless steel ones. The silencer is noticeably larger in diameter in order to do the silencing by absorption rather than by baffling and restriction. The ECU is also quite tricky to change in its position underneath all the electrics and you have to access from under the dashboard. The air intake is a 5 minute job. I did have a set of long shaft T handle Beta hex drivers, without which some of the jobs would have been even trickier.
Was it all worth it? The first thing you notice is the sound is completely different. It is much deeper and now actually sounds like a Vee Twin from the driving seat. There is a BIG step in performance. I would guess the mid range torque is up by around 30%. The engine now revs very freely and the pinking has gone completely. I did not realise quite how much it was pinking until it stopped. The car now feels quite seriously quick and you now have to be a bit more careful not to unstick the back end on slower corners. Very definitely worthwhile and I would recommend it for any M3W without hesitation.
Bad points - only one really and a typical bit of British cheeseparing. G56 do not give you a set of 4 replacement rubber/metal bobbins for the exhaust mounts. You are supposed to re-use the originals. I had replaced my 4 manky originals a few weeks ago with just two larger bobbins (30mm x 30mm M8). Luckily I had two extra 30 x 30 bobbins in stock. In France rubber/metal bobbins are rarer than dents de poulet and you can't just go down to your local Halfords and buy them. As G56 knew this kit was coming out to France, at over £2,000, you would have thought they could have included them.
Last edited by WilsonLaidlaw; 06/07/16 07:05 PM.
