Just had my crank hub upgraded at Kies Motorsports: a worthy insurance policy!

[Tommy L Garage]

I recently had my crank hub upgraded as a precautionary measure.
I don’t intend to start a discussion whether this was necessary or not but to me it was a worthy insurance policy. I track my car and plan on getting a stage 2 eventually.

Anyways - work was done by Kies Motorsports. I installed a MaxPSI unit but in my opinion all upgrades offer similar protection. Kies recently hired a BMW Master tech who does these swaps. Picked up the car today and was very pleased with the time it took to complete, price and most importantly customer service. They are the only BMW shop I trust (other than myself - I do a lot of DIY work).

Here are some photos. Bryan kept me updated on the progress via text messages. If you’re on the fence I say do it. And their price was far less than anything I was quoted. And the customer service is attention to detail is superb!









My old hub. Not sure why it was so rusty. Anyone have an idea?

[TakeOne]

Solid upgrade at the perfect shop to do it! 👍

[chetrickerman]

Kies motorsports definitely seems like a detail driven shop.

Smart upgrade!

[domino_z]

been watching all kies' f80 build videos, very well done

if i was US based, i'd ship the car over to him without hesitation

[WingZeroX5]

That's quite a trek from where you are. Why not go to ACM?

[Tommy L Garage]

Originally Posted by WingZeroX5

That's quite a trek from where you are. Why not go to ACM?

Price and attention to detail. Although I know nothing about ACM so nothing against them of course.

[calubi]

Looking good! This is definitely something I want to do someday, I just wish there was a reputable shop that has experience with this type of job a bit closer to me. I may have to end up shipping the car somewhere.

[jclifton]

I've been seeing this pop up more and more... I'm wondering what the likelihood of failure is stock vs a decent amount of mods...

[mike@x-ph.com]

[theweebabySeamus]

Originally Posted by jclifton

I've been seeing this pop up more and more... I'm wondering what the likelihood of failure is stock vs a decent amount of mods...

Lol, theres multiple threads on this likelihood if you want to really go down that path.

[MR_X]

If you don't mind posting, how much did he charged? Looking at getting this done soon.

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by MR_X

If you don't mind posting, how much did he charged? Looking at getting this done soon.

Just ask the shop if you’re ready. That’s what I did and it paid off

Don’t ask for a quote if you aren’t ready cause the price can always change

[Tommy L Garage]

Originally Posted by aBMWfan

Just ask the shop if you’re ready. That’s what I did and it paid off

Don’t ask for a quote if you aren’t ready cause the price can always change

It was hundreds less thaN the best quote I got. And the service was top notch. Very happy with them.

[PhatLyfe]

Originally Posted by Tommy L Garage

It was hundreds less thaN the best quote I got. And the service was top notch. Very happy with them.

Tommy I saw the news on your YouTube channel you were getting this upgrade. Shouldn't you wait to get this upgrade done after the warranty expires? Just curious. Seems there are not a lot of data or recalls brim Bmw regarding the crank hubs so far. Just curious man no offense. I will have 3/36 month left on my warranty.

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by PhatLyfe

Tommy I saw the news on your YouTube channel you were getting this upgrade. Shouldn't you wait to get this upgrade done after the warranty expires? Just curious. Seems there are not a lot of data or recalls brim Bmw regarding the crank hubs so far. Just curious man no offense. I will have 3/36 month left on my warranty.

Hey I did it and I’m under warranty, not worth rolling the dice if you’ve ever tuned your car. Just upgrade imo

[Tommy L Garage]

Originally Posted by PhatLyfe

Tommy I saw the news on your YouTube channel you were getting this upgrade. Shouldn't you wait to get this upgrade done after the warranty expires? Just curious. Seems there are not a lot of data or recalls brim Bmw regarding the crank hubs so far. Just curious man no offense. I will have 3/36 month left on my warranty.

I didn’t want to risk it.
I am under warranty but I also believe that you have to pay to play. I’d feel terrible if I spun the hub and tried getting it fixed under warranty. I mean I only run BM3 with CS map but still it voids the warranty

I guess it’s a piece of mind. And it kind of makes me enjoy my car a lot more!

[THEROK]

I love that the shop owner works on the cars and that he seems to give a damn about his customers.

For example, at 4:11 in your video, he treats those $20 Preda micro grain carbide drill bits as one-time use. Integrity is something you cannot buy. You're lucky to have this Kies shop in your neck of the woods. I still haven't found a trustworthy shop here in LA.

Should I choose to keep my '18 ZCP past factory warranty, I'll definitely be adding power responsibly which makes the crank hub upgrade de rigueur.

Thanks for sharing.

[DuMa M3]

I think someone need to do a DIY on a crank hub replacement

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by DuMa M3

I think someone need to do a DIY on a crank hub replacement

I agree, but at the moment it's about a 13 hour job if you have the appropriate tools.

[Tommy L Garage]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I agree, but at the moment it's about a 13 hour job if you have the appropriate tools.

True - no sense in doing it. You need about $1800 worth of specialty tools too

[DanMpower]

I'm normally a DIY guy, very detail-oriented and rarely trust anybody working on my cars besides myself. With that being said, I would most definitely leave this to the highly reputable professionals, when it comes to timing and BMW specialty tools, best leave it up to someone who's done this many times beforehand. This ain't changing spark plugs or an exhaust, one misstep and you can wreck your motor.

I like Bryan from Kies Motorsports, he seems like a great person and just someone you would chill with and talk cars. His work seems top-notch as well, he seems humble enough to know his limits and hires a BMW master tech to do the heavy stuff, I can respect that. I would trust them to work on my car as well but I'm on the other side of the country.

To the OP, my OEM hub doesn't have any rust on it, it must be from your location with snow and salt.

I chose SSR Performance to do my crank hub because of their reputation for impeccable and detailed work. Every important bolt that they touched they replaced with a new OEM one instead of reusing. After getting my car back I literally spent hours fine-tooth combing my engine bay and it looks absolutely untouched, no traces except for shiny new bolts.

Sure, $4,000 isn't cheap but I think it's the absolute best money spent on my F80 so far for the peace of mind and to fully exploit and enjoy her. Now every time I use the kick down or do a pull, it's a feeling of bliss instead of anxiety. 4 grand is a drop in the bucket to keep my sanity.

[JamesGames]

Where do the metal shavings go when they drill? It seems like it would fall directly into the engine?