Subzero, our resident electronics guru has come up with another mod that makes life better. He has been talking about this since last year and after months of design and testing, he's finally completed it.
What is it?
For those people who have retrofitted an M3 SMG steering wheel onto their steptronic E46's/E39's, this mod eliminates the need to switch to Sports/Manual mode by flicking your gear lever to the left. Pull the "+" and "-" paddles together, and Sports/Manual mode will be activated. To switch back to Drive mode, simply pull both the paddles together again.
Subzero has tested a prototype version and the actual refined version on his own car for more than a month, and any unforseen problems have been thoroughly ironed out. The refined version is made of the best possible components according to him. Subzero is a renowned engineer who has won international accolades, and I believe him when he says that. This module is totally plug and play. No cutting or soldering is involved and installation takes 15 minutes. I'm very honoured to be the first car to be fitted with this mod besides his own.
So here goes the process:
The inventor with his invention
Front view of the chip
Back view of the chip
Removing the gear console parts to get to the wiring
Connecting up the existing wiring to his module
After connecting the wires, he then tests if everything works
After determining that everything works, this is the final resting pace of the module. It's hidden neatly just below the right hand side window controls
Putting everything back
Here's a little "documentary" I made that shows the mod in action. Feel free to laugh at my voice and the music choice:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xytazNzQRKM[/YOUTUBE]
Try this of youtube is too slow:
http://www.vimeo.com/clip:188456
After driving around with it, I feel that this is definitely one mod that improves the quality of driving an E46. Now I don't have to remove my hands from the steering wheel at all to switch to Sports/Manual mode and back to Drive mode. It allows me to concentrate on the road more, especially when you need to execute fast overtaking manoeuvres, or stealthy manoeuvres to launch off quickly from stationary.
My salute to Subzero for his love of car modding...
What is it?
For those people who have retrofitted an M3 SMG steering wheel onto their steptronic E46's/E39's, this mod eliminates the need to switch to Sports/Manual mode by flicking your gear lever to the left. Pull the "+" and "-" paddles together, and Sports/Manual mode will be activated. To switch back to Drive mode, simply pull both the paddles together again.
Subzero has tested a prototype version and the actual refined version on his own car for more than a month, and any unforseen problems have been thoroughly ironed out. The refined version is made of the best possible components according to him. Subzero is a renowned engineer who has won international accolades, and I believe him when he says that. This module is totally plug and play. No cutting or soldering is involved and installation takes 15 minutes. I'm very honoured to be the first car to be fitted with this mod besides his own.
So here goes the process:
The inventor with his invention
Front view of the chip
Back view of the chip
Removing the gear console parts to get to the wiring
Connecting up the existing wiring to his module
After connecting the wires, he then tests if everything works
After determining that everything works, this is the final resting pace of the module. It's hidden neatly just below the right hand side window controls
Putting everything back
Here's a little "documentary" I made that shows the mod in action. Feel free to laugh at my voice and the music choice:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xytazNzQRKM[/YOUTUBE]
Try this of youtube is too slow:
http://www.vimeo.com/clip:188456
After driving around with it, I feel that this is definitely one mod that improves the quality of driving an E46. Now I don't have to remove my hands from the steering wheel at all to switch to Sports/Manual mode and back to Drive mode. It allows me to concentrate on the road more, especially when you need to execute fast overtaking manoeuvres, or stealthy manoeuvres to launch off quickly from stationary.
My salute to Subzero for his love of car modding...
