BMW E46 M3

[mwstewart]

Diablo85 said:

I recall the CSL suspension thread on M3F from last year in which you shared your experiences. I always wondered if the car would sit too low with the CSL springs since the CSL is lighter.

Had another look at you setup pics and it looks really good... I would have expected your car to sit much lower (in a detrimental way, something I don't want, not for daily use).

Hmmm... now you got me thinking...

With 10mm rear pads it's about perfect. I've seen new shocks on eBay come and go for a very reasonable price.

mohitos said:

Do you happen to have the part numbers and will they just fit straight on a standard M3?

Here's the list I put together:

mwstewart said:

CSL Front suspension
2 x 31332282631 (Front spring with air con)
1 x 31312282505 (Front strut left)
1 x 31312282505 (Front strut right)
2 x 31332283038 (Front Support)
2 x 31332282508 (Front Additional damper)

CSL/Z4M Rear ARB
2 x 33556780707 (STABILIZER SUPPORT/ARB brackets)
4 x 07119904295 (Self-locking collar nut - ARB bracket nuts)
2 x 33552283743 (Stabilizer link - ARB links)
2 x 07119903076 (top link mount bolt)
2 x 07129964655 (Self-locking hex nut / top mount link nut)

CSL Rear Suspension Struts
2 x 33531136387 (Spring Pad 10MM2)
2 x 51718413359 (Reinforcement plate)
2 x 33522282507 (Rear CSL Shocks)
2 x 07119900402 (Rear shock lower bolts)
2 x 33532282509 (Additional damper, rear)
2 x 33532282503 (Rubber adapter with disc)
2 x 33526772864 (WASHER-GASKET / strut top gasket)
4 x 07119905374 (strut mount top nuts)
2 x 33526773882 (strut piston top nut)

CSL Rear Suspension Arms
2 x 33322283074 (CSL rear arms)
2 x 33171090824 (Hex Bolt with washer / inner bolt)
2 x 33326760364 (Lock plate / inner bolt lock)
2 x 33321095102 (ECCENTRIC BOLT / outer camber bolt)
2 x 33306786186 (ECCENTRIC flat washer / outer camber washer)
2 x 33326760668 (Self-locking collar nut / outer lock nut)

[Diablo85]

Rear Hub Carrier - Upper Bushings
Had these replaced recently. A recent inspection discovered they were on their way out. BMW wanted £80 for the pair... I managed to get the OEM Lemforder set for ..... £20 from Amazon!

Part Number
33326775551

I'll be back later with an update on the Sachs/Eibachs.






Last saturday was overcast, making it great for taking some pictures:

























BMW Car Bookazines
No doubt some of you have obtained copies of special bookazines by BMW Car. For those who haven't, it's well worth acquiring one. I purchased the M3 and M5 editions. It's loaded with content and each generation has pages upon pages dedicated to it (hence bookazine). This is very much literature for the enthusiast.



Here are some glimpses, barely a fraction of the content:

















































You can purchase copies here:
http://www.unitymags.com/BMW-Car-Bookazines-s/1831...

[Diablo85]

A month ago I noticed my current Sachs setup becoming a little too soft. The car had 'wallowing' behaviour, most noticeably in the rear. This meant the body took longer to settle over bumps, an undesirable trait on fast road.

This is no surprise with Sachs, though I was expecting this behaviour later.


Bilstein B4
I've been keen on trying out the B4s for some time. As a recap, they are intended to replace the OE dampers, so have OEM valving. Bilstein products tend to be highly durable.


Rears only
So last month I replaced the rear sachs with a new pair of B4 rears. I only did the rear for two reasons. First, I didn't want to upset the geometry up front until I have a verdict on the B4. Secondly, I felt the rear required better management than the front.


Results
After install, the rear was noticeably firm. The the front and rear suspension felt very mismatched. I was surprised at the stiffness. B4's are twin tube unlike high gas pressure B6's, they should be softer.
However, after one week of driving the 'over-stiffness' vanished. The rears became very comfortable. They have just the right amount of firmness to stabilize the chassis, making the car feel 'tighter' but not uncomfortable.
There are far fewer secondary movements.


B4 Fronts?
I have no plans right now to install B4's at the front as I am really happy with this setup. The softer sachs at the front work great on bad roads, the slightly taughter B4's in the rear catch up quickly to control the body... wonderful!

A setup like this is experimental. Daily drivers looking for new dampers with a bias towards comfort should consider Sachs and Bilstein B4.
A full set of B4's will give a nice blend of comfort and handling. Whereas Sachs is more biased to comfort... just remember a very soft mushy suspension can be 'uncomfortable' too.




















Also, spotted this shiny piece at the garage a few weeks back, can you guess what BMW model it belongs to?






Thanks for reading

[helix402]

E30 or E36 Compact.

[Diablo85]

helix402 said:

E30 or E36 Compact.

Yup E30 - a lad at the garage is restoring one. He's swapped over a 2.5 from an E36 - the e30 diff also has e36 internals

[warsteiner///M3]

Diablo85 said:

perfect.

[Diablo85]

All good things come to an end

A long overdue update...

Well, a few months back I sold my M3.

I'd had four great years of ownership, but there was a persistent itch to try something different.

I realised that I could keep the E46M forever and love each day of ownership. However, at the same time I feel I'd be missing out on other experiences.

I've had E46s for several years back to back including this M3. Far better I thought to look back later with the memories of owning a E46M than not having none at all.

Below are the last pictures I took before the new owner collected:

So what did I do next?

Bought another E46 of course!








Ok I should explain.

I hadn't made up my mind on the next performance car, I wanted time to go through options which meant I needed a "cheap" stop gap car.

Well why not an E46? ... since I know the platform well (parts, servicing knowledge etc) in hindsight something will probably go wrong at this price.

I found a high mile 2004 320d (160k) for £800 on AutoTrader, perfect for the job.

Upon collecting the car I receive a "coolant low" warning.... uh ohh

I topped it up and bought the car home nervously keeping my eye on the coolant gauge.

All it needed was a new thermostat seal and brake lines, other than that the car was happy.

I no longer have the 320d. While it may have been tired, I grew a bond with it - loved the torque for commuting, great diesels!

Next Chapter

A few months back I got a call from my local dealer - it was good news, the next motor had arrived









Soon I'll create a new thread with more M2 updates, pics and guides to share - the car is fantastic!





Thank you
A special note to all who have contributed to this thread with ideas, feedback, thank you. The positive comments encouraged me to continue sharing DIY write ups.
The platform maturity of the E46 M3 is at an all time high. You can find articles/DIY on almost anything, a great time to be an owner.


Be good to your 46Ms!
To fellow owners, do all you can to ensure your cars are highly maintained.
I say this because good clean cars are becoming harder to find.
Buyers are paying ever more attention to good maintenance.

[SuperVM]

The question is, which car do you prefer? Both your old E46 M3 and your M2 are lovely though.

[ATM]

SuperVM said:

The question is, which car do you prefer? Both your old E46 M3 and your M2 are lovely though.

Did you really just ask him that?