Has anyone had any experience with Fall Line Motors in Northbrook Illinois?

I'm looking for a reputable and reasonably priced BMW tuner / maintenance shop here in the northwest burbs of Chicago and would be happy to take any suggestions. I'd love to here other's expereinces with Chicago area shops including Fall Line.

Thanks

midwest motorsports is good, they charge a lot though.

Fall Line is first rate. Stop by and you will have no doubts that they can handle anything you throw at them.

midwest motorsports is good, they charge a lot though.


My old man has been going to Midwest for years and they have done nothing but excellent work. But they do charge a lot.

where exactly is Midwest located? I live in McHenry and work in Wheeling.

Thanks

where exactly is Midwest located? I live in McHenry and work in Wheeling.

Thanks


Fall Line is a shot right down Willow. I'd trust them with anything. Everytime I'm in there I'm blown away. A few weeks ago they had a bare E46 M3 frame being built out full race spec with an M5 motor...it was sick. I swear they do the best work I've seen anywhere.

I know where Fall Line is. I stopped there myself and was also impressed. Although, they had a touch of arrogance that rubbed me the wrong way a bit.
I got the impression they were a bit out of my leauge, but I guess you have to pay to play.

Still, their shop was very impressive. All those bare E36 M3 chassis' had me licking my chops. There was a guy fabricating a roll cage for one of them and there were a couple more E46 race cars in various stages of completion. They had two E36 M3's getting Dinan superchargers installed, and their dyno was very impressive.

I guess I'm just looking for an affordable shop to help me add a bit of performance to my street M3. Or maybe I'll just do it myself. I just don't want to end up wasting money on useless mods that don't add much performance.

I've heard good things about Fall Line. The other option is to ask on the Euroteknik.com forum and ask them. The people on that forum would be able to steer you in the right direction, whatever your needs are.

www.euroteknik.com

Fall Line is always that way, until they get to know you. Short on retail personality but long on skill. This is a very busy time of year for them as race season is in full swing. The company was built on race tuning and service a plethora of cars that compete weekly as well as the Fall Line cars that race in several series. Mark Bowden is also a founding member at Autobahn CC and Fall Line is building a shop on site there to better serve the race community.

I've had work done at all the major players in Chicago over the years and you always get what you pay for. Good luck.

Truth,

I'm sure they get lot's of gawkers coming through there. No doubt they were busy when I stopped by, so I guess the fact that I got the nickle tour should count for something.

Guess I'll have to weigh my options and decide what route to take from here. The Dinan S1-M3 package looks like a tempting upgrade. My car is stock but after owning it for 8 months, I'm getting the mod bug. It's a question of value for the $$$.

Anyway, thanks for your input! Maybe I'll see you around some time. I'd love to take a closer look at your M3. I'd be curious to compair the performance of the E36 to the E46.

Harry

Has anyone heard of Rausch Performance in Lake Bluff, on route 41 just north of rt 176? I've had a few people take their cars there.

I dont mind Fall-line's arrogance because I know they mean business, and in business you want to make money. JP' is a pretty decent guy and he did my motorswap last summer, i was at the shop about a week ago for a new oil pan... over all they are decent

If you asked the previous owner of my m3, he would tell you to run away
as far as you can from that place. They also are the reason why I have
to put a new engine in.. Basically the previous owner of my car brought
the m3 in to have them up the boost and tune it.

They up'd the boost from 6.5psi to 10psi and did not have the air/fuel
correct to compensate for the higher boost. Long story short they
blew the head sky high and attempted to replace the headgasket twice,
before they realized the cylinder head was junk.

Then I basically bought the problem because #4 cylinder had low compression. When I did cylinder leakage test the rings were crap.
The car only has 50k on it and I think Fall line knew they damaged the
motor as well, but the previous owner wasnt a tech. Anyways the previous
owner was going to take them to court because they were trying to get out of it.

I would recommend not having your bimmer serviced there!

^^ I hadn't heard about that one.

It does raise the good point that it sometimes pays to be selective in the shop you choose based on their expertise. Cost is also a big factor for me.

Cage work or welding, I probably wouldn't go anywhere other than Fall Line. I had JP weld my subframe plates and sway bar plates, and he did a hell of a great job. He does come off as being arrogant, but the guys he works with are great. Steve's helped me out in the past for nothing, and Mark is always unbelievably friendly -- on one occasion dropped what he was doing on my unannounced visit to take my car for a spin to see if I set my shocks and struts to the right balance of stiffness, and on another offered me his spot for a Gingerman midweek track day he and his friends had reserved.

Regular wrenching on the car, or even engine work, there are a number of independent shops in the area, and I think all of them are not as expensive as Fall Line. Rausch, Ben Thongsai, Edva. Hell, I think Ben and Edva are half the labor rate as Fall Line and are more likely to charge based on actual time than book time. Ben just did a complete head rebuild for me and only had my car for two days. It was unbelievably inexpensive, considering how much work I had done (12 bent and burned valves). There are also a couple instructors in the Windy City club who have shops.

But hey, as mentioned earlier, just post up on Eurotek when you are thinking about getting some work done. BMW community in Chicago is a pretty tight group when you get to meet people and there are always people willing to help wrench for food/drink. Most of the stuff on these cars is EASY to do.

Hell, I'm helping a girl (read as, she's going to watch me) replace her suspension this weekend. For the cost of beers, and lunch/dinner at the bar. I'm in the city, but I know people out in the burbs willing to do the same thing.

[QUOTE=mck325isBut hey, as mentioned earlier, just post up on Eurotek when you are thinking about getting some work done. BMW community in Chicago is a pretty tight group when you get to meet people and there are always people willing to help wrench for food/drink. Most of the stuff on these cars is EASY to do.

Hell, I'm helping a girl (read as, she's going to watch me) replace her suspension this weekend. For the cost of beers, and lunch/dinner at the bar. I'm in the city, but I know people out in the burbs willing to do the same thing.[/QUOTE]


Yep, ask on Euroteknik.com for any carrelated advice. Good people and alot of knowledge. Could possibly save you some bucks.

where exactly is Midwest located? I live in McHenry and work in Wheeling.

Thanks


Midwest Motorsport is Located in Glenview. They know what they are doing there. The owner Leo gave me a tour of the shop, they do work for a few race teams also.

here is their website. www.midwestmotorsport.com