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FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

We are known for our great customer service. If you have a question about something, check the FAQs below. If you don't find the answer to your question, just shoot us an email at support@condorspeedshop.com and we'll do our best to help.

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Q. What is the hardness of UHMW?

A. Shore D 68    (See Hardness Scale)

Q. Why use UHMW?

A. UHMW is a self-lubricating polymer and requires no additional lubrication. It is great as a bushing material because it absorbs some vibration and keeps its form. It is unlike polyurethane because it will never require lubrication and since it is machined from a solid piece, it will not come apart over time. It is very resistant to abrasion and will outlast the life of your car. We use them on all our race cars and our street cars.

Q. How do Condor bushings compare in noise and vibration to stock rubber?

A. You will see almost no increase in vibration when upgrading your rear subframe bushings, front control arm bushings or rear differential bushings. Most of the time, the added NVH comes from engine and transmission mounts... predominantly our transmission mounts. We use UHMW for our bushings & mounts which is harder than rubber so you may see a slight bit of noise and/or NVH. Some customers report that they feel almost no increase in NVH. Either way, once you feel the increase in performance you will realize Condor bushings are well worth it.

Q. Do I need to grease my bushings when I install them? Will they begin to squeak over time?

A. No, they will not squeak ever. This is a benefit of using UHMW. It is a self-lubricating polymer that requires no additional lubrication at install or over the lifetime of the product.

Q. I ordered your motor mounts.  They are ½” taller than the stock mounts I removed.  I am not sure that I got the right ones. I am concerned that having the motor sit ½” higher is going to throw off the driveline geometry, and raise my CG.?

 A. You have the right engine mounts. We see this a lot. 10-25-year-old rubber mounts compress over time, and when you change them out the new mounts are a bit taller. There's nothing to worry about, your new Condor engine mounts are the same size as the OEM mounts were when they were new.

 

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E30 Questions 

Q. Can I upgrade just my transmission mounts?

A. We always suggest you pair your transmission mounts with a set of engine mounts. Running solid transmission mounts with softer engine mounts can cause unnecessary strain on the transmission mounting tabs.

Q. What is the benefit of Offset CABs vs Centered CABs?

A. Offset Control Arm Bushings add more caster and give a more direct & solid steering feel. The car has more straight-line stability and feels more responsive. They also allow the steering wheel to more easily return to center. If your car has centered bushings from the factory, upgrading to our centered bushings will not affect caster. Unless you have a track car and specifically require more caster, we recommend sticking to centered CABs (OEM geometry) on most e36 & E46 chassis.

Q. What is the proper way to install Offset CABs?

A. Installation orientation is as follows: Line up the indicator marking on the bushing with the indicator on the carrier. The offset hole should be rotated towards the outside edges of the car. The flange/lip points towards the front of the car.

Q. What is the benefit of the Eyeball Arm Mounts?

A. They are specifically designed for track cars. The main benefit is steering response is greatly improved due to less deflection. Our offset version gives increased caster, and increased camber at turn-in. The smaller footprint allows for more exhaust clearance on V8 swaps.

Q. What is the install orientation for the regular E30 subframe bushings?

A. The thick half goes on top.

Q. What is the install orientation for the E30 12mm Riser bushings?

A. The thin half goes on top. 

Q. Do I need to use washers when I install my E30 subframe bushings?

A. Yes, there are two OEM washers that need to be reused or you can purchase new ones here.

Q. I'm swapping my e30. What swap specific parts do I need?

A. We do have the following:

1. 24V engine swap mounts
2. G260 Swap Brace (you only need this if you are using the factory 5 speed transmission from the e30.)
3. Wiring solutions for OBD1 and OBD2 swaps

Q. What is the install orientation for 24V Swap Mounts, & how do I install them?

A. The angle goes on top and faces outwards. The easiest thing to do is to set the motor on the mounts and tighten the bottoms first. Don't do one all the way. Do each side bit by bit. As you tighten the bottoms, alternate between the left and right sides. The engine will center itself. Make sure the trans mounts are loose. Tighten the tops last.
 

Q. What engine arms are required to be used with your M5X/S5X swap motor mounts? The e36, e46, or stock e30 engine support arms?

A. Our swap mounts are designed to be used with e36 engine arms. All 24v swaps must use these arms.

Q. How do I know what Short Shift Kit to get for my E30?

A. The split for the SSKs is 6/86. Before requires the “early” SSK kit and after requires the regular “late” SSK kit.

Q. What kind of SSK kit do I need for an IX?

A. For an IX you will need the E30 “Late” or regular SSK kit with an IX carrier subbed in. 99% of the time this carrier can be reused.

Q. Should I get regular or 12mm subframe riser bushings for my track car?
A. We don't suggest getting the 12mm riser bushings for a race car. They are designed to reduce camber, and for racing, you actually want to increase it. The other drawback to using the 12mm riser bushings in race cars is less room for the "weld-in" toe/camber adjusters. We definitely suggest getting our regular subframe bushings for a race car.

 

Q. Do the 12mm subframe riser bushings raise my subframe by 12mm?

 A. Yes, The 12mm risers do move the subframe up into the chassis, but they don't change the ride height since the springs stay in the same place. They will not effect rear wheel gap either. They are designed to change the trailing arm geometry and reduce negative camber. The benefit is increased tire life on extremely low street cars. They have become popular for drag racing and drifting due to the decreased camber.

Q. Do you have any installation info you can share on the 3 install types/options for the side rear window installations?

A. Option 1. Rivet on. To install you need to remove all the widows, seals, and parts. They are riveted or riv-nuted to the pinch weld of the window.
Option 2. Pop Out. To install you need to have pop-out windows. Disassemble and remove the glass from the window. Replace the glass with Polycarbonate and re-install like the factory Pop-out windows.
Option 3. Fixed. To install you need to have fixed windows. Disassemble and remove the glass from the window. Replace the glass with Polycarbonate and re-install like the factory fixed windows.

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E36 Questions

Q. What is the install orientation for the E36 subframe mounts?

A. Thick half on top.

Q. Which Control Arm Bushings do I need for my E36 M3, centered or offset?

A. Since the control arms were a bit different between the 95 & 96+. The offset CABs only came on the 95 e36 M3. The 96 and up e36 m3s came with centered CABs.  In order to keep the wheel centered in the wheel well, you should choose the bushing version which matches the year of your car. This will keep the correct geometry.

Q. What belt do I need to use when deleting the power steering from an M5X/S5X motor?

A. Dayco 5060555 6PK1410 (S50 Swapped E30, E36) or K060560  (99 318ti m44, E30 4cyl, E36 4cyl) or Duralast 525K7 for the E92.

Q. Will the E36 Steering Shaft Conversion Kit fit RHD models?

A. Yes, we can confirm that it will fit all RHD models.

Q. What is the thickness of the reinforcement plates?

A. 1/8 steel which is approximately .125 thick. That's about 3.175 mm.

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E46 Questions

Q. How much caster increase will the “Solid Control Arm Mount” (Control Arm Mount | E46 Control Arm Bushing | BMW Racing – Condor Speed Shop) and the “Control arm bushing Offset“ (BMW E46 Control Arm Bushing | BMW Alignment | BMW Racing – Condor Speed Shop) give compared to OEM bushings?

A. Caster increase depends on many factors like adjustable caster/camber plates, suspension ride height, and control arms. On a spec e46 our offset bushings appear to have helped increase caster by around 1.5 - 2.0 degrees going from about 6.3 to 8.3 degrees of caster on both sides. This is with the camber/caster plates adjusted on the top of the strut tower as much as possible. For an e46 M3 the caster increase is less, closer to 0.5 - 1.5 degree since the housing is smaller. 

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Torque Values

Q. What do I torque the Motor Mounts to?

A. 8-10 ft.lbs.

Q.  What do I torque the Transmission Mounts to?

A. 8-10 ft.lbs.

Q. What do I torque the UHMW power steering delete to?

A. Appx. 15 ft.lbs.

Q. What do I torque the Aluminum power steering delete to?

A. Apx. 30ftlbs.

Q. What is the torque for the wheel stud and nut kits?

A. For studs, 25 ft lbs or hand tight to the hub with medium thread lock. Use factory torque on the nuts, we use 80 ft lbs on our race cars.

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Harness Adapters

Q. I have a European E30/E36, which I'm currently swapping in an M5x/S5xengine. Will your harness adapter work?

A. Yes, our adapters will work for all euro e30 and e36 swaps. The Euro S50 and South African 333i are a bit different, but if you let us know in the notes, we can make them work.

Q: I placed an order for the s54 swap harness in my 1998 e36 m3 Do I need the EKP module for the fuel pump for the car to run or can it be hardwired straight to the fuel pump?

A: You can use the S54 EKP module fuel pump relay, and it will be plug and play, with no modification necessary. If you do not want to use the S54 EKP module relay, we suggest to definitely go through a relay of some sort.  You can use a standard 4-pin relay by making a small modification. This would be the "Euro style" relay option.
The relay is numbered 1 - 9 on the housing. There are two options.

* Option 1: Move pin 1 to pin 4. The relay will be ground by the ECU.
* Option 2: Move pin 7 to pin 4. The relay will be grounded on the chassis.

Q. Can I get a pdf of the 24V swap wiring harness instructions?

A. These instructions are customized based on each specific order.
We only provide the pdf instructions to customers who have already ordered from us.

Q. What do I need for an M52TU, M54, S54, M62, M62TU, S62 swap?

All of these engines (M52TU, M54, S54, M62, M62TU, S62) will need their specific Engine harness, DME, Pedal harness and matching transmission/o2 harness.  They will need the complete harness combination (main engine harness, transmission/o2 harness, and ignition coil harness). 

Q. What else do I need for an S54 swap?

The only piece that you will need for the S54 harness is the S54 fuel pump relay (Part# 61357892976). You will need to have the EWS immobilizer removed from the DME. Everything else needed for the swap is included.

Q. Will The M54 Swap harness for e30 allow for A/C operation?

You should be able to use your original E30 wiring. However, if you experience stalling when coming to a stop while the A/C is on, then you will need to use an additional CANbus controller. These controllers can be purchased from Gary Peterson (gpeterson) on the R3vlimited forums. We don't provide his modules. We can pre-wire the harness for his CANbus module if you plan to go that route, just let us know in the notes when you place your order.

Q. Will The M54 Swap harness for e36 allow for A/C operation?

For the larger harnesses (M52tu, M54, S54, M62tu, & S62), you will need to use an additional CANbus controller. These controllers will allow the A/C and CEL to function normally. These controllers can be purchased from Gary Peterson (gpeterson) on the R3vlimited forums. We don't provide his modules.

Q. Will the S54 swap harness for E36 retain use of the following: Original Cluster, Speedometer, OBDII port,  AC, Cruise, Check engine light?

A. The following will not function: A/C, cruise control, check engine light, and the fuel economy gauge. The rest of the cluster will function like normal.
We can provide instructions for getting the cruise control to work.