E9 / E3 Firewall Insulation

The E9 firewall insulation pieces came in so, as promised in another thread, here are the pictures. We are referring to part #6 in the diagram below.



What is not clear in the parts catalog diagram is that the complete shape of part #6 is actually made up of two distinct parts with part numbers 51481811933 and 51481811934, and they are (finally!) pictured below.






I bought them with the expectation that the parts would provide me with sufficient material to somehow cut them up and compose them back into a shape that would fit the E3 which I'm restoring. Well, it far exceeded my expectations and it's a 98% match. On the first picture below is the firewall insulation from the 3.0 Si along with the new E9 parts. Below that, both parts are superposed on the E3 insulation: It's a very close match.




Incidentally, the old piece weighs 5.6 pounds and both new ones only weigh 1.2 pounds. The old stuff is made of a heavy bituminous foam material, the new stuff is just a stiff rubber/foam. I don't think it'll last another 35 years as the original did...

E9 owners can stop reading now:wink:

Below is the old (what was left of it...) and new top firewall insulation for the E3

nice you came back with the pictures
another funny thing if you consider that the price of both parts is the same, is that they look so different
i was expecting somo kind of mirror shapes !
regards

I wonder if the passenger side could be installed in the coupe without pulling the down pipes?

Thanks for the above , so am I right in thinking that I need 5148 181 0724 and 5148 182 3438 to complete the e9 bulkhead/firewall insulation as well as the parts you list and will these work for RHD .
Cheers Paul

thanks Chris for pointing me to this thread that i had forgotten. my question is, how is the xx934 piece installed? the xx933 piece is obvious with the holes.

It's self adhesive but I might have added 3M spray adhesive of the extra strong variety. Warm up the adhesive and the sheet metal and press hard everywhere for a while.

many thanks Luis ... if i am still able to get these i will follow your advice

rsporsche said:

many thanks Luis ... if i am still able to get these i will follow your advice

Click to expand...

looks like the bottom two are "still avail"...or at least not universally-marked "NLA".....about 380 for the two pieces.

The top E3 piece appears totally "NLA"

I have tried multiple times to get the part with the aluminum on it, not shows in some catalogs but not available when you order
If someone finds it, let me know, thanks

I painted my insulation black with paint intended for a plastic bumper. It has additives in it to keep it flexible.

that's what REALOEM shows, the big piece is NLA. when seeing Luis' pictures, i remember seeing this on CS-Werke.de ... sure enough, they are there. and much cheaper. for those with RHD, CS-werke has versions for you too.

xx934 (left part) - 95 euro =
https://www.cs-werk.de/cs-werk-bonn...w_schallschutz_stirnwand_kruemmer_eu_version/

xx933 (right part) - 65 euro
https://www.cs-werk.de/cs-werk-bonn...bmw_e9_schallschutz_stirnwand_bkv_eu_version/

the 934 part from CS-werke doesn't have the depressed portion that the factory part has (that you can see on Luis' photo).


the 934 part doesn't have the depressions at the holes that the factory part has

Just a reminder that realoem.com is NOT accurate when it comes to availability and pricing. I find getbmwparts.com quite accurate in that regard and an inquiring email to Jason at [email protected] will bring a prompt reply.

i sent an email to Lisa at Penske. she is generally very knowledgeable and will check to see if there are any in the US and Germany

Lisa has confirmed - none in the USA and none in Germany. i have asked if BMW has any estimate. i guess i might have to buy from CS Werke even though its not exact. i wonder if it makes a difference to use BMW on one side and CSW on the big side.

rsporsche said:

Lisa has confirmed - none in the USA and none in Germany. i have asked if BMW has any estimate. i guess i might have to buy from CS Werke even though its not exact. i wonder if it makes a difference to use BMW on one side and CSW on the big side.

Click to expand...

those repops look passable for a driver but for a restoration? Terrible. Not to imply I would want to take on such a job in (small) quantity and try to do better....

Can someone tell me where to get a quilted aluminum like that?
Please be explicit, I have found lots, but the quilt pattern is to large, heavy backing etc.

For mine, I think I will try making something a little closer by laminating 2 sheets of foam to give it some depth
What else is there to do

mark99 said:

Can someone tell me where to get a quilted aluminum like that?
Please be explicit, I have found lots, but the quilt pattern is to large, heavy backing etc.

For mine, I think I will try making something a little closer by laminating 2 sheets of foam to give it some depth
What else is there to do

Click to expand...

Closest I've found although I've not used it.
https://www.heatshieldproducts.com/automotive/exhaust-heat-shield-insulation/heatshield-armor-kit

Thanks! not a fan of their website...
The product you link to has a 1/4" or thicker insulation backing, I think on the BMW firewall it is just the aluminum over the foam
Still searching their website to see if they have that
The scale of the pattern seems like it might be good

I sent them (heat shield) an email and they responded immediately! I ordered some, will let you know how it works out
Thanks!

Purists will dislike this, but I did my firewall in a dense sound sheet with an aluminum face, I was able to cut all the holes in advance and the engine was out, I then taped it off and painted the top half with Valve cover crinkle paint and left the aluminum on the lower half. The problem IMO with the BMW pieces is that the top section seems to deform- or never really start as a perfect fit, and muck and such can get caught in there. Also my car is so Non-OEM that nothing I can do at this point will fool anyone!