Original vs Poly Flex Disc - E46 Review & Install

In this video i test the difference in steering feel with worn oe flex coupler, vs new oe vs polyurethane one.
Parts used
1x 32301094703 (Flex Coupler)
1x 14701-bl (solid coupler made for Nissans!)

[@michaelblacktree]

Great video! BTW, taking the slack out of the steering rack is pretty simple.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Really? How would you tackle this?? The rebuild kits i can find are in england and are super pricey imo

[@michaelblacktree]

You can adjust the preload on the pinion, to take the slack out of the rack. There's a big adjuster bolt on the steering rack. And there's a set screw that locks it in place. You can loosen the set screw, and turn the adjuster to adjust the preload. I had to do this with my E46 (plus a new coupler). It made a big difference! Edit: I show how to do this in my steering coupler video. Not sure if I can post a link.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@@michaelblacktree thats something im definitely gonna try as i have the entire front end apart right now to freshen everything up. A big thank you for the tip. Much appreciated I have done this on my e39 m5 but that was a recirculating ball type. I added a solid e34 coupler too. Helped immensely with the steering feel imo

[@dexietyy7922]

@@michaelblacktreeis it that big nut on the right hand side of the rack? Currently got my exhaust manifolds off so I have great access to it

[@HiFiGuy1]

Love the videos! Keep 'em coming when you can.

[@tannervallejo1340]

i really enjoy your videos and love these cars, keep up the awesome work!

[@OEMplusRESTO]

That means alot to me. Thank you. I love the e46 as well, and i hope it shows

[@29860-k]

Great quality content for e46 here. Highly underrated channel for e46 modding. I'm the prowd owner of 2001 325i sedan in France and I have done a lot of mods in the style of yours.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thats very kind of you. Thank you. What mods have you done if i may ask? Im always looking for improvements to my e46

[@HaleySVG666]

I reccomend Poly bushings in the whole back of the car , what ive done to my e46 328i sedan. Also the front control arm ( strongflex i got a mix of yellow and red Also Motor mount but u will feel and hear the engine alot more

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@@HaleySVG666 but is that a good thing? That you can feel the drivetrain more? For a race car id do it. But in too old lol to do it for a street car

[@HaleySVG666]

@@OEMplusRESTO i personally like it , now i want the strongflex yellow steering coupler too xd. I drift sometimes with my daily e46 and then feeling what ur car does is a huge plus , i like a bmw on the stiffer side its just how theyre meant to be in my opnion.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@HaleySVG666 its both cheaper and easier to replace with poly so i can relate

[@wot48320]

Appreciate these comparsion videos.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thank you. I appreciate your feedback

[@TOTALdAk1nG]

Great comparison! Was always wondering if changing that one was necesarry on mine :) i guess it will do just fine Thanks! :) And great video as always ofc :D

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thank you. I learned something new here as well:)

[@FraxinusExelsior]

Such a great channel

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thank you. This warms my heart

[@fransb8543]

Mine had terrible play around the center because of a loose coupler. After removal I could actually move the rivited parts 1-2mm before they engaged the rubber. This tiny bit of play was multiplied by the leverage of the steering wheel and translated into significant slop. I replaced it with an OE coupler and it literally took 20 years off my car. This, together with new shocks, springs, bushings and a decent alignment was the best investment in my E46, I now massively enjoy it whereas before it felt wholly unsorted.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Some parts have a disproportionate big impact on how well a car drives!!

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Quick note.. its entirely possible to install it one spline off, so be wary of that. That is what i did wrong in the video, thus the error codes. As soon as i installed it correctly, the steering wheel was straight and the error code dissapeared after a short drive and steering wheel side to side 3x times

[@E306cyl]

Great video had a good laugh What computer and software are you using to read your codes ?

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thank you:) An old windows 7 laptop and inpa or sometimes dis.

[@M54ftw]

I installed the z4m Bushings too! Sometimes i feel like the right self centering has more zest to it. But i think it could also be because of tramlining🤔.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Hi. I havent noticed one side being more self centering. How is your alignment? Maybe you can see from The tires of one or both have excessive toe

[@M54ftw]

Hi there I‘ve got a little OEM+ Idea for you. Ever heard of the Banjo Bolt with check valve in the e46 Steering Rack? Some people remove the valve to get better flow. So a less restricted steering feel. Im gonna try it myself soon too. Hope you enjoyed my suggestion🙋‍♂️✌️ Greetings

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Thank you. Now that you mention it i wish i had included it in my “cheap upgrades” video. Its a great idea. Not everyone likes the heavy steering

[@WHaas-rh5ef]

Great video! I was wondering if the Polyurethane spacer was better then rubber. My problem is the steering wheel doesn't return to center after a turn. I've replaced the pump, reservoir and hoses. I am trying to figure out why my steering gets hard during turning. At this point, I think it's the rack. Car has 195,000 miles, but I just love how it drives and sticks to the road!

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Is the car aligned? Alignment and to some extent wheel specs play a role as well. If you want great centering you should try the z4m lca bushings i did i a video as well. But alignment is whats best

[@lorrisl5026]

Also depending on the pump brand you got, you may not resolve the problem. I have a ridex pump and it simply doesn't work under 1000-1400rpm. I guess ebay crap are the same.

[@finnax3418]

If it doesn’t return to center on its own, it’s probably the preload of your steering rack which should be adjusted. There’s a bolt in the rack, try to loosen it a bit ✅

[@Sharas95]

Hej Tim, jeg har selv lige fået skiftet min til polyuretan da jeg havde MEGET slør i rattet, det hjalp virkelig meget på køreoplevelsen. Desuden, grunden til din rat ikke stå lige er fordi du kom til at dreje på ratstammen ved afmontering, derfor få du også den steering wheel aligment fejl. Man skal nemlig være forsigtig når man af og påmonterer det nye

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Hej. Tak for forklaringen. Jeg har haft dem af og på nogle gange og ingen af gangene synes jeg at jeg har ku få den til at tage en anden stråle.. jeg må prøve igen, ellers sporer jeg den og nulstiller fejlen med inpa, og håber på det bedste lol

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Hej Sharas. du havde 100pct ret. Den sad en spline skævt. Tak for tippet min nye ven🙌

[@AndiSelaj]

On the E36 at least, the metal steering shaft, at one point is so thin that it actually twists due to the torque applied via the steering wheel. Meaning that even if you have a solid bushing or joint, the smallest diameter steering shaft has flex so :/

[@OEMplusRESTO]

I didnt know that! Thank you for the insight. I installed it one tooth off as the next video will show:)

[@AndiSelaj]

@@OEMplusRESTO I actually didn't know either to be honest. I found out through instagram, a engineer in Quebec, Canada pointed it out. Sometimes mods get advertised as improvements yet there's underlying stuff that doesn't get mentioned and you think you've done a good job. If you notice on proper race cars, the whole steering column gets replaced, not just for this purpose of course but the piping that takes place of the OEM is much thicker/stronger against flexing.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@AndiSelaj great input. I appreciate it. And i think youre spot on. Often times mods get praises because people replaced a worn part. I had a friend that did this poly flex disc conversion too, and he was overwhelmed by how big of an improvement it was. And it is. But his flex disc was really worn. I try my best to compare old vs new vs upgraded where i can to no “sell” people false hopes of big improvement in whatever

[@jacekp8366]

hey, do you have an lf-20 or an lf-30 power steering pump installed? i'm curious if it's worth doing a conversion from 20 to 30

[@OEMplusRESTO]

I actually dont know!! I’ll check next time im underneath the car. What should i look for?

[@jacekp8366]

​@@OEMplusRESTO the luk lf-20 bracket has a more "soild looking bracket". You'd have to google to see the difference between them, because i can't add links here. The LF30 pump bracket looks like something you'd find laying in the corner of a workshop, but apparently the pump itself has better steering assistance. I am having problems with my steering returning to center. I bought a yellow tag rack from a 320d and rebuilt it, then replaced my OE 330ci silver tag rack with the rebuilt one. In addition, I have a poly steering coupler and new ball joints. I will be swapping my MTS coilovers for AP coilovers + sachs shock mount bushings and the Z4M wishbone bushings. I hope that will help. I have BBS RS 744/745 wheels on my car, ET26 up front. Maybe that is the issue? I am all out of ideas...

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@jacekp8366 i will google it then. My self centering is near magic but im running regular style 68 witj oe size tires, have had an alignemt done, and use the z4m bushings.. the self centering was good before the z4m bushings were added, but the bushings definitely added more of it. Im no expert but i think maybe youre right in that the wheels offset couldnhave something to do with it as well. Sounds like a super cool 330ci you have there. I should be able to tell you which pump i have in a few days. But my steering is very “hard”.. but not i a bad way imo. Weirdly enough the z4m bushings also made it steer a little easier it felt like

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@jacekp8366 do you an instagram or something like it. Would love to see that car with those wheels

[@jacekp8366]

​@@OEMplusRESTO i don't have IG unfortunately, only FB and whatsapp. I can take a few photos today when I clean the car and upload them somewhere, maybe imgur. As for the car, it has 285kkm on the clock atm. I have a lot of plans for it, schmiedmann headers + metal cats, eisenmann soundrohre and eisenmann sport 2x76mm rear muffler. I still have to buy the cats and the soundrohre and i can get to installing. Next year, i will be installing H&R swaybars which are thicker than the msport ones, 27mm front, 21mm rear vs OE m sport 23,5mm front, 18mm rear. After that, racemode N54 intake conversion and a 3.15 racing diffs phantom grip or whatever they call the thing they insert into open diffs. Not selling the car, ever ^^ I know that's a lot of money to put into "just" a 330ci, but I love my car. The n54 kit should get me to around 285hp, there was one 330i for sale near me with this exact same setup, oe air filter and oe rear muffler, 285hp/340nm with stock cams and a 6,8krpm redline

[@BatRadichev]

Which steering rack do you have?

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Yellowtag

[@BatRadichev]

​@OEMplusRESTO 712 is the ZHP 3.0, right? Mine is gold tag and it's not the best one. I have a purple one with a broken case and i will try to swap the internals this spring.

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@@BatRadichev i actually dont know much about the zhp’s but i think yes. But theyre common in europe and cam be found on diesels as well.. imo the best rack i have tried in any bmw

[@OEMplusRESTO]

@@BatRadichev that would be a cool project too

[@karastark]

Promo-SM 😊

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Not sure i understand?