BMW E46 M3

[Diablo85]

Hi All

This is my 2003 E46 M3 SMG in Silver Grey which I have owned for nearly two years.

In some ways this car is quite special (to me) because it took me a while to find it. There are endless E46 M3's out there but trying to find one with the right specs, colour and in great condition was incredibly difficult, I had my fair share of endless disappointments when viewing M3s for sale, so a bit of luck and persistence paid off massively in the end.

One day in July 2012 I arrived back home after yet another M3 viewing disaster at a dealer located in Gloucestershire. This was pretty much end of the line, I was done with my M3 search. Then a little voice in my head told me to check Pistonheads again... And so I did and that's when I found this guy

The specs, condition and service history looked perfect - there was some 'quality' extras included too. The advert had been posted 3 hours ago, I knew I had a chance! I called the seller, the car was still available so I booked some train tickets and went to see the car in central London. Everything checked out, we did the deal and the rest is history.



Brining the ///M home

These are the first two pictures I took on my phone once I had bought the car home from London - a day I'll never forget!








... a few more pics I took with a my proper camera





















It's been a busy two years since, and I have many updates to share. I have carried out some extensive maintenance, most of which is preventative to keep the S54 engine in good health.

I will post my updates very soon, thanks for reading

[Diablo85]

boothy1987 said:

Very nice

Is that the Liberty Stadium in the background?

Thanks - It's Pride Park, or IPro as it's called now?

Alfa GTV said:

Looks great, I have just sold my E46 330CI and am now on the lookout for a well maintained un-molested M3, the search begins!

Good luck and I hope you find your perfect M3

Lynch91 said:

That looks brilliant, is it lowered?

Thank you, these pics were taken two years ago, I've been through a few suspension systems as you will see when I post the next updates. At the time these pictures were taken the car was on coilovers.

[Diablo85]

mwstewart said:

That looks great and arguably the best colour too. I'm not a fan of the grey, spaced wheels, but I can see it's immaculate.

I would like a Climate Comfort screen for mine as I think they protect the interior a bit.

Hark said:

What a cracking looking car. I like the CSL wheels as well, interior looks alot more modern that I remembererd it being.

Thanks guys - the interior has been well looked after by previous owners, its simple but functional.

aspirated said:

Like your LED front indicators, much more OEM looking than the smoked type

Cheers, I had smoked depos quite a few years ago on my 325, back then it was not as common. Smoked depos will not appear on this car, I just don't like them anymore - I'm much more into the OEM+ game.

jaacck said:

If you ever decide to sell, message me as looks like an quality example

Haha, I'll take that as a compliment bud

rossi1 said:

Looks great , Wheels look to be spaced, if so they are spot on

GregK2 said:

That looks spot on

Thanks Chaps - wheels are spaced, 12mm all round.

TheHighlander said:

Lovely.

Had 4 E46 m3s in the past 2 years.

Alpine white manual
Black Manual
Grey Manual
Dakar Yellow SMG

Loved them all :-)

The best all round car I have owned.

Wow, four M3's in two years? - Interesting to see your last one was SMG?

---

I haven't delved into the specs much because it's an ongoing thing and I have more updates to add, but for now here is the general spec:

Nov 2003 BMW M3 Coupe - (Silver Grey) 65k miles
FSH - BMW + 2 Indy
New SMG gear position sensor fitted
All Options: Heated seats, HK, Sunblind
Performance Frictions Pad with Goodrich braided hoses
Genuine Eisenmann Sport Exhaust
Coilovers (will provide more info soon)
Eibach front/rear anti-roll bars
Eibach front/rear spacers
Umnitza Orion II LED Angel Eyes
FX-R Headlight Projector Upgrade
Rogue Engineering RTABS
Evosport Steering Power Pulley Kit
Intravee + Alpine 420i Ipod interface
All OEM suspension/other parts included in original sale

• Some of these are not visible in the pics, but will be soon - just need to edit my journals

---

So a few weeks later I attended my first M3 meet in London, there were some great cars on display...












Vines BMW

In November 2012, I took the M3 to Vines BMW in redhill (near gatwick). At the time, this particular dealer had the best track record for subframe repairs. They still have a great reputation however today there are other dealers offering the same level of service. Jim (BMW Tech) located a small hairline crack in the rear boot floor. After taking some pictures the application was submitted to BMW where it was then approved one week later for a subframe repair. The subframe issue with the E46 is a common design flaw, particularly with the M3 variant. BMW will only offer to replace the boot floor with a stronger more improved version FoC if the car is within the 10 year build date. I probably should mention here that I had at least 2 documents when I bought the car that confirmed the rear boot had been checked and was crack free - these are worthless in my opinion, as most garages simply don't know where to look for such cracks. I took the car to Vines simply because I didn't trust the documents, turned out I made the right call






Evolve - Stage 1 Map

Having read such good reviews about the standard Evolve map on the S54, I decided to get this done towards the end of November. This isn't some trixy map to push the S54 to its limit - HP wise the gains are not massive at all (10-20hp), rather it improves the overall power band so that the car is much more 'drivable', particularly in city traffic.








Upon leaving Evolve, I could tell the map had made a big difference, I highly recommend fellow E46 M owners to give it a go.

That's all for now folks - thanks for reading

[Diablo85]

carinaman said:

Very nice. Good you got the boot floor done in time.

Thanks mate

---

Next update:

The previous owner had HSD coilovers installed for less than 3 months. I loved the handling they provided but unfortunately after a few months they started making all kinds of knocking noises. This is when I started to realise you get what you pay for in the suspension game.

I removed the coilovers and replaced them with stock OEM suspension. This was a temporary move as the car was due for it's subframe repair very soon. After this I would make plans to install a better suspension system.

Around May last year, the car went in for a new boot floor - here is a pic I took upon collection. As you can see it's riding a lot higher on stock suspension.





Everything turned out great, they chaps at the bodyshop had done an excellent job. I still get comments today from those who inspect the subframe area on the quality of the install.

The OEM suspension annoyed me, I just hated the increased body roll - I guess you could say I was spoilt by the coilovers.


Following day, I gave the car a good clean and took some snaps with it's new OEM ride height:












In the next update, I'll discuss more about my new suspension choice and other components fellow E46M owners may want to consider replacing.

Thanks for reading

Dal

[Diablo85]

Thanks gents!

Shortly after the subframe repair back in June 2013, it was time to start thinking about my next suspension move. My mechanic kept banging on about Bilstein dampers... I started researching them and went through a mammoth 50+ page thread on Bilstein B12 Kit, took me months to get through but by far contained the most valuable suspension info for the E46 M3 I have found to date.

The B12 kit consists of B6 dampers and eibach springs - however it should be noted that the serial/part number on these items seem to match 'off the shelf parts'. In other words the B12 kit is actually a set of B6 shocks bundled with eibach springs.

Going from coilovers to OEM suspension was never going to be fun, but I seriously underestimated just how rubbish the OEM suspension was. It had only done 30k and already felt like it was shot!

In the end I didn't go for the B12 simply because I wanted to find a more 'sport/firm' setup but at the same time a suspension that is very 'road' compliant....


Bilstein B6 Shocks




H&R Springs




Ground Control Street Plates




Rogue Engineering Rear Shock Mounts




Steering Coupler (Upper and Lower)




New OEM Drop-Links




Install






Before: Donor OEM Suspension (30k old - awful ride quality, hated everyday of it)



After Shots (B6 + H&R Springs) (not fully settled, 3 days old)














Overview
Finally the car was handling great again. I wanted to wait 2 weeks before writing up about the new suspension so that I could get a feel for it - its firm but not back breaking and very road compliant.

The B6's literally eat all the bumps in the road, its made my commute much more enjoyable, you can really feel the high pressure dampers pushing the wheels into the ground over bumps - fantastic.

This is all without wheel alignment which is what I'm about to do next - I wanted to let the suspension settle a bit first.

Ground Control Street Camber Plates:
At first this may seem like an nice extra, but there is much more to it than that. I had them specially ordered from GC in California to my spec. Having this plate allows me to enjoy the same flexibility you would have on coilovers with regards to more camber and castor adjustment - but that isn't the main reason for my purchase...

In order for a damper to be truly efficient, it must be able to use a decent amount of travel, now the B6's are intended as a direct replacement for the OEM sachs shock, and to be paired with OEM springs.... eibachs are relatively close to OEM hence the B12 is a perfect full kit 'OEM' replacement.

By using a lowering spring like the H&R's the damper travel has been reduced somewhat - this is less of an issue for B6's as they are highly pressurized, but more damper travel would mean better ride quality. So, getting back to the camber plates, their unique design means that the shock will gain an extra 3cm of damper travel without 'increasing' the ride height. When you consider that one can use a lowering spring like H&R and reduce/eliminate loss of damper travel that is truly win win

Steering Coupler
If you have a 70k+ M3 certainly get it done. I had felt some play in my steering wheel a few months ago, strange thing is it appeared to happen overnight. I've had this part for a few months, I decided to get it fitted along with the new B6 kit and it made a world of difference, now have factory razor sharp steering back.

I inspected the old part, you can't tell if its worn visually, I tried to move the linkages and they were very loose! 7/10 the lower joint is the problem, it's a cheaper option at £60... I decided to get the upper one done too just in case.



I still had a few more things planned, but the geometry setup was the next thing on the list.

I made some notes on the handling characteristics 6 months later, I'll share those soon.



For any fellow E46M owners, here are the coupler part numbers you'll need:



Upper Coupler: Part 3 (£130) #32306761571
Lower Coupler: Part 4 (£60) #32306764007



Thats all for now folks!

[Diablo85]

Captainawesome said:

Lovely car. They do get under your skin. I've spent the day today at evolve having a supersprint lightweight exhaust and their carbon air box fitted. I know it's expensive but I have literally giggled all the way home. THAT BOX!!! THE NOISE!!!!! If you can, save up and buy one. I had mine mapped with them a couple of months ago an gained 13HP, just got another 14 from the box.I can highly recommend it. Makes the car sound like a muscle car.

Mystewart has another great thread on his E46 build. They may be getting on a bit but there are plenty of us out there just starting on our E46 missions.

Thanks mate.

Wow I can only imagine how awesome your new setup it. For sure the sound made from aftermarket airbox options for the S54 are truly intoxicating!

I agree, there seems to be no lack of interest in the E46M!

[Diablo85]

Pig benis said:

OP, I am sure this is the car I have been admiring on a daily basis. By any chance, do you live in Bulkington?

How did you know? ... haha just kiddin, no I'm from Derbyshire.

Mr.Jimbo said:

This thread isn't helping me as I sorely fancy an M3 at the moment.

I've told myself to only look for an Avus blue one so I don't go off impulse buying one!

Stick to your guns Jimbo - There is a lot of choice out there. As always, buy on condition - service and maintenance.

---

So shortly after the suspension install I had the alignment done. I had the CSL spec alignment done, and took the car for a quick test on some B-roads near me...










Prior to putting on the B6 kit I had some issues during high speed driving (motorway) where the car would feel quite floaty, and I could detect slight bodyroll laterally - Of course anyone who knows these cars would automatically presume RTABS [Rear Trailing Arm Bushes]...

RTABS
However I actively refused to believe they were the cause. My car had Rogue Engineering (BLACK/STREET) RTABs fitted around a year ago (previous owner). The rear 'floaty' symptom had only started a few months ago, in other words these RTABS had 6k on them. I should add here that at the time I just replaced the rear tyres with VREDS which usually need a few hundred miles to scrub in so I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. After a few hundred miles the tyres settled down nicely, but the rear instability was still there.

After installing the B6 kit, the floaty feeling was still there - abit more mild though to be fair. With an upcoming alignment scheduled I decided to bite the bullet and go down the OEM RTAB + Limiter route.

Here's what the RE RTABS looked like:







If you look at the pic you'll see a chamfered edge, this is the same for both pairs. This was done by a previous installer (before my ownership) who decided to cut off some material to make them easier to fit

So I've installed the following kit which I've had on my shelf for a few months:

OEM RTABS + Limiters



The rear is now stable again after fitting these, you can tell it's a touch softer but this has added some comfort too. I'm going to see how I get on with these, so far so good. Many owners opt for polyurethane bushes which is fine, but the OEM + Limiter route provides a nice compromise, OEM comfort with longer life.


More updates on the way, thanks for reading

[Diablo85]

joema said:

Interesting. My RE RTABs popped straight in. fingers crossed...

Sline said:

Wow what a gorgeous example! These really are starting to stand the test of time and just keep getting better looking imo.

Are the wheels genuine csl items? Also what size spacers are you running as that sits perfect

Cheers - 20mm spacers all round, these are CSL reps that came with the car. I sold them last week and will be searching for an OEM CSL set later in the year. The reps were really good in that the rear concavity was deep, like it should be. Other reps tend to not emulate this and by doing so look a little off.

95 fiesta si said:

The E46 are getting on abit now but look how good they still look. I have an E90 but still find myself looking at the E46's

Very nice car mate

Funk said:

Very, very nice. E46 M3 is the car I want next. Few years away from it yet though sadly.

Thanks - The 46m certainly has character, both good and bad at times. Sometimes in the morning the car 'feels' like a grumpy teenager (moody), but after 5-10 mins of warm-up it becomes fully awake

mwstewart said:

Out of interest, just how much difference in NVH was there between the Poly RTABS and your new OEM items? Do you know what grade of poly the RE versions are?

I've gone for Turner limiters and the later type OEM RTABs in mine.

That's a tough one. I had RE Street (Black Compound) and I had HSD suspension at the time, so it's hard to distinguish NVH solely on the RE RTABS (Because I changed my suspension). Since my car is used for daily driving it was important to me that civility wasn't compromised too much - as I'm sure you know OEM + Limiters has recently become the 'defacto' choice for such needs.

[Diablo85]

MAF Sensor Debacle



A few months after installing the RTABS I started the car one morning and noticed the engine felt a little rough and sounded sick.

Although there were no error codes on the diagnostic software (GT1/DIS), I had a strong suspicion it was the MAF.

An Autologic scan revealed that my old MAF was already on its way out, thus no amount of cleaning would ever revive it. The MAF cleaning process is based on maintenance, that is... cleaning it once a year (or service interval) rather than when it appears to be dying.

I ordered a brand new genuine BOSCH replacement MAF for £100!. Once installed (adaptations reset) the car immediately sounded healthy and normal performance returned.



Moral here is, if you feel something in the engine isn't quite right, and you have no fault codes, get it checked via an AutoLogic tool to be sure.



Parts List

[BOSCH] 0280218062 - BOSCH MAF Airflow Sensor [Lucas FDM898]

---

Ignition Coils / Spark Plugs Replacement

In the middle of the MAF issues I also decided to replace all ignition coils and spark plugs.

E46 M3's are fitted with BREMI coils from the factory. Uprated BOSCH coil replacements are considered better quality along with NGK spark plugs. The BREMI coils are known to fail prematurely, and when one does it won't be too long before others do, thus I replaced all of mine for preventative maintenance.

I found on various forums that ignition coils do not just stop working. They can actually degrade too, thus a warning may never be raised.

Having ran the GT1 Misfire Live Screen I saw no misfires reported before so they seemed ok, I will hold onto them as short term spares - the sparks however I'm glad I changed for a new set.

As I opened the bonnet to start work I noticed some of the rubber seals were looking a tad dry, you'll see in a few moments how to fix it.






Next up are the parts I ordered from Euro Car Parts, new Bosch Ignition Coils (6) and some NGK Spark Plugs (6).






Old BREMI coils and spark plugs







...all replaced with new BOSCH coils and NGK spark plugs






Gummi Pflege Stift - This is one of my favourite products. I discovered it on a forum a few years ago. The member said it was very popular in Germany for keeping door seals healthy and nourished. Today there are other products out there too, for me GPS is a bit like the trusty shoe polish in your cupboard, always there when you need it. I can only ever seem to find this on ebay!




Here is the finished job, you can see GPS rejuvenates rubber seals beautifully. I consider this essential maintenance throughout the year, more so in Winter.




I replaced the microfilter with a new part since the current one was a year old.




All done! - The whole job probably took me around 2-3 hours at my own pace. My engine bay isn't the cleanest out there, I'll make plans for an engine bay detail next year.






Parts List:

[BOSCH] 0221504464 x6
[NGK] DCPR8EKP (Laser Platinum) x6
[BMW] 64319257504 (Microfilter)


Soon after that I met up with some friends in Derbyshire. One of my friends was driving from London to Skipton on business with a short stopover in the Midlands... shortly after we went for a good drive around the peaks













That's all for now, thanks for reading

[Diablo85]

Funk said:

Absolutely stunning.

If you ever come to sell, please PM me so I can tell you I can't afford it.

0836whimper said:

Looking good there. Indicators I would keep original though.

Thanks for the Gummi Pflege Stift tip

lol, thanks chaps

---

Bit of a large post this one, you may of heard about the so called mysterious 'VANOS' issues that plague some BMW engines. I spent six months researching the VANOS and wrote up a guide to help others owners...



VANOS Lockdown - Part 1

VANOS issues are probably the biggest concern for most us with M3s. There is a lot of information out there which explains exactly what the issues are and most importantly.... solutions!

I am no expert on the VANOS system but once you understand 'exactly' what the problems are, you can start buying parts/kits to bullet proof the system. I'll include links for further reading at the end.

My journey into refurbishing the VANOS all began a few months ago when I performed the VANOS test in GT1. The diagnosis reported that I had an inlet leak somewhere in the system - essentially a loss of pressure in the system which means variable valve timing won't be spot on, thus a reduction in performance.



How VANOS works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WK6zilY0RM

This video is by no means comprehensive, however it does highlight in simple terms the VANOS system. Note that the S54 is a double VANOS, so it has variable valve timing for the intake and exhaust, whereas the video only shows the intake.



VANOS Issues
+ Solenoid coil pack failure - Badly soldered joints from factory and a combination of engine vibration causes cracks within the circuit board.
+ Sticking solenoid valves - Oil can clog the solenoid valves prohibiting movement, meaning oil pressure is not fluctuated properly.
+ Deteriorating solenoid sealing plate seals - will cause a leak meaning oil pressure isn't regulated. Remember seals deteriorate with age, not necessarily mileage!
+ Loose intake cam mounting bolts - appears to be common, lethal damage to engine if they break off.
+ Broken Hub Tab (Oil driver from exhaust sprocket) - Excess play between the tab and oil pump driver holes causes fatigue and if unlucky the tab may break and get caught in the timing chain - appears to be mileage independent (can happen to any M3).


The issues to worry about are the last two. If you are unlucky they can cause serious damage to the engine, especially if parts get chewed up within the timing chain.

I will tackle those in part 2, for now I'll go through the first three issues. Although these are all different parts they are all part of the vanos solenoid system - any failure within each part will cause issues with the variable valve timing.




Solutions

When it comes to VANOS solutions, there are a handful of companies/services that I am aware of:

+ Dr Vanos - Full turnkey solutions, buy uprated VANOS parts, buy a new VANOS - long time in the business.
+ Mr Vanos (UK) - full solution (fitting) quite popular with members, positive reviews - can be hard to get hold of though
+ Beisan Systems - Mechanical Engineers based in the USA, have a loyal dedicated following amongst M3 owners, they only sell parts tho.




Why I chose Beisan Systems

My reasons for choosing BS is all down to personal preference. 'Rajaie Qubain' is a mechanical engineer who runs BS in the USA. He is a prominent contributor on M3Forum.net for VANOS issues. He 'always' replies to customers and non-customers, very knowledgeable chap when it comes to the VANOS. During my rebuild I asked him many questions through email and he always replied with helpful comments.

Beisan Systems also openly shares a lot of knowledge about the VANOS with the community - their DIY guides are incredibly detailed!

With a plethora of positive reviews on other forums regarding his VANOS parts it just made sense for me to go through the BS route.




Beisan Solenoid Coil Pack / Seals Walkthrough

This isn't a pure DIY, I'll post links for that at the end




The parts highlighted in the diagram are related to the solenoid function. The large bolt towards the right is the VANOS pressure valve, it is screwed into the solenoid valve body.


I managed to get this job done in around 4 hours, can be done much quicker but I took my time.
























































































Shortly after the procedure I took the car out for a quick test. I immediatley noticed the car felt much more 'punchy'. By this I mean whenever I firmly hit the accelerator the engine responded instantaneously compared to before. Upon reflection I am pretty sure my old seals were shot.

Note: The seals for the VANOS pressure valve only come with the BS solenoid pack OR full seal kit (see below).

Seeing the deteriorated seals was enough to make me invest in the full Beisan VANOS seals kit - these are seals for the internal parts of the VANOS. Since the VANOS would be completely open during this installation it made sense to purchase the Beisan oil pump disc as well to protect against 'broken tabs'. Add in new cam/sprocket bolts along with the above and the VANOS is pretty much bullet proof. See Part 2 :thumbsup:


DIY: Always use the beisan DIY to ensure you have the latest information!
http://www.beisansystems.com/
http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/s54_vanos_... [Vanos Solenoid DIY]



Part List:

Beisan:

1. BS023 x1 - Beisan S54 Rebuilt Vanos Solenoid Coil Pack ($150 refund when you ship your old one)

BMW:
11367831906 x1 - OEM Sealing Plate (Optional, but good to have should you need to revert).
07129905554 x3 - VANOS uprated Torx bolts [long]
07129905537 x2 - VANOS uprated Torx bolts [short]
11361401971 x1 - VANOS filter cartridge

[Diablo85]

VANOS Lockdown - Part 2

In this part, we tackle the more serious issues...



VANOS Issues (Internal)

+ Loose cam/sprocket mounting bolts
+ Broken Hub Tab (Oil driver from exhaust hub)




Loose cam mounting bolts





(these are public images)

These factory bolts are known to work their way loose/snap off and get caught in the timing chain with disastrous consequences. Luckily BMW updated the bolts with stronger versions - see end of post for part numbers.


Broken Hub Tab (Oil driver from exhaust hub)






According to Raj at Beisan Systems, when the hub tabs are mounted into the oil pump disc holes there is excessive play. In other words the holes are too big, this means due to the extra space the tabs hit the sides of the holes in the oil pump disc at a much higher force. It only gets worse if indentations occur within the holes as this will technically increase the amount of travel meaning more forceful lashes. This wasn't so much an issue on other BMW engines because the 'play' wasn't as big. It is believed BMW deliberately made the holes larger on the S54 to make it easier to install the hub/oil pump disc during construction.

The consequences....












Note: these are public images I have annotated - not my VANOS.

If god is on your side, then at the very least a broken tab will stay trapped within the oil disc pump hole until you remove it - worse case scenario the tab drops into the timing chain causing major damage. I've read enough stories to conclude that mileage really has no part in this, you'll either experience it or you wont, there are no tell tale signs before the event either


The Solutions (to prevent broken tabs)

There are two solutions, option 1 is to purchase a Beisan Systems re-engineered oil pump disc which contains smaller holes to reduce travel.

... Option 2 is buy a re-engineered hub turbotoy/Dr VANOS exhaust hub, these are pretty strong and the tabs are thicker, so in effect they reduce travel too.

At this moment in time there really isn't a comparison between the two - they are both decent options. I went with the re-engineered Oil Pump Disc from BS.


The Parts







Note: OEM hole 'play' is a full 1.00mm, Beisan hole 'play' is 0.10mm



























Engine Timing



Important - When removing the cam bolts the engine timing will be disturbed. This is almost impossible to avoid due to the movement of many parts. The BS guide covers how to re-time the engine correctly using special tools (bridge alignment, locking pin).

However, things can still go wrong if you don't know what you are doing here. Having never re-timed the S54 this wasn't something I wasn't prepared to do myself despite Beisans excellent instructions.

My indy has good experience working with the VANOS (replacing seals), and have used some Beisan parts before. They offered to install the entire kit, perform valve clearances and re-time the engine. They had the exact same BMW bridge alignment tool as featured on Beisan DIY... for me it was a total no brainer!


The Install

The downside to having them (my indy) do the work meant I couldn't take any pictures of the process. I would of done this install myself if it wasn't for the engine timing procedure.

I found these pictures of the process on the Internet, this is pretty much how my VANOS installation would of appeared when my indy was carrying out the work....

Credit for these images goes to Kaiv - a M3Forum.net member.


































Here is an example of how the BS oil pump disc reduces the 'play':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X4vNZu8wiU



Parts List

Beisan:

1. BS021 x1 - S54 Vanos Seals Repair Kit
2. BS022 x1 - S54 Anti-Rattle Repair Kit
3. BS095 x1 - S54 Anti-Rattle Helper Tools
4. BS025 x1 - S54 Re-engineered Oil Pump Disc (core refund available)

BMW:
11127832034 x1 - Valve Cover Gasket
11367831938 x1 - VANOS Gasket Plate
07129905536 x12 - Uprated Cam Bolts
07119913589 x12 - Sprocket Bolts (These are optional)
11121437395 x2 - Valve Cover Grommet
07119963072 x2 - Crush Washer
07119963129 x2 - Crush Washer (smaller)
[COLOR="DarkRed"]11367833218 x2 - S62 VANOS Diaphragm Spring Set (Read Below!)[/COLOR]

S62 VANOS Diaphragm Spring Set
I haven't discussed this component so far because I wasn't able to get it. It isn't stocked by BMW UK, so a back order had to be placed... 2 weeks later BMW Germany couldn't provide an ETA! I even tried to salvage one from an E39 M5 engine breaker on ebay... they never replied - these diaphragm springs from the S62 (E39 M5) are thicker and better made, they help reduce the VANOS noise. The Beisan guides will refer to using this part but it is by no means a show stopper. This part seems like gold dust right now - if you can't get hold of it just use your existing diaphragm springs


Links / DIY:
http://beisansystems.com/procedures/s54_vanos_proc... - VANOS overhaul using BS parts, its a long read but contains lots of valuable information!




My Review (After Installation)






Having recently picked up my car from my Indy, I am overwhelmed by the difference these parts have made to the car. As my Indy gave me the keys he wanted me to start the car in front of him (I guess he wanted to see my reaction).

The transformation on my M3 is stunning. The engine fired up really smooth - I've never heard it run this good at idle before. You can really tell by the exhaust note too, its super smooth but not '330' smooth. By that I mean there is still some rawness to it all... you know its an ///M engine basically.

By this point I hadn't even driven off yet and I was already very happy lol.
I opened the bonnet, and sure enough there was no nasty rattle - to be fair I never really had the "marbles in a can" sound anyway, it was just a low-mild rattle that is typical of many S54 engines.

Return trip was around 90 miles, so it was the perfect drive to test everything. First thing I noticed as I drove off was how much better the car pulls. I always thought the car lacked some lower end torque and that it was normal, but clearly that was wrong, now its perfect. You'll really notice it at roundabouts, when your ready to go the car will already be there

I went through some twisty A-roads and the M1, the car just felt amazing. For the first time I'm hearing fantastic exhaust notes that I've never picked up on before, so much more crisper.

On faster roads I was able test out the whole rev range, as I said before its just pulls and pulls harder than before, no hesitation, no delay.

One observation I noticed was that when I first drove the car the engine felt quite 'tight'... tough to explain, its one of those BMW quirks where you (think?) can feel the car. After 30 miles or so the engine opened up and it really felt alive - now I think this might be down to seals which need a certain amount of mileage before their performance reaches optimum (after install - one time only).

Much of what I experienced was with the sport button off, turn that on and.... damn

This job is probably one of the best things I've done to my M3 so far. Reading up about the S54 Vanos issues, solutions was one hell of a journey but I'm glad I did as its paid off big time. Icing on the cake is that its pretty much bulletproof now (vanos).

I was given the VANOS report by Autologic, all values are now within tolerance, no leaks present



Closing thoughts

I certainly recommend getting a VANOS TEST performed, even then you may wish to change your seals anyway as they deteriorate with age (rather than mileage). Just remember that BMW acknowledge some of the faults listed here with the S54 VANOS but are/have not improved on the design much, apart from cam bolts. So if you decide to buy a new VANOS directly from BMW it will still use the same inferior seals.

I have deliberately kept some of the information about the VANOS components primitive so its easy to understand - you probably have a lot of questions about how things work (eg. oil pump disk, coil pack), you can find detailed information on those on the DIY link above (Beisan Systems Procedure), they do an excellent job at explaining everything.

I hope this guide is of some use to you 46M owners, at the very least it should make you aware of the exact VANOS issues on the S54 and how they can be fixed.

Cheers!

[Diablo85]

bozzy101 said:

Very jealous of this car, I'd love an e46 M3! Good write up too.

Thanks mate, plenty out there at the mo

---

Ok, so with all of the important maintenance out of the way, I could finally start on an upgrade I've wanted since owning my previous E46 325ci...


FX-R 3.0 Projector Retrofit/Upgrade

The E46 M3 is an aging platform, but one that is doing so gracefully in my opinion. The E46M is iconic and still attracts attention from even the non enthusiast crowd.

One thing that lets the car down though, are the projector headlights. Put simply, they suck in comparison to the advanced lighting systems we see on modern cars today, particularly on Audi's and Mercedes models. When I say suck, I'm talking about the way the light is spread, it's average at best. Also the light tends to turn a dull yellow - even changing bulbs doesn't always cure it.

The yellowing, is down to the chrome projector bowls being made out of plastic. Over the years the light burns through the chrome, thus affecting the light output and colour.

Lightwerkz

http://www.lightwerkz.net/

Thankfully, we don't have to put up with such things thanks to companies like Lightwerkz. If you think of headlights as eyes then Lightwerkz are the surgeons who operate on them. Put simply, Lightwerkz retrofit uprated projectors into existing headlight units which provide incredible light spread over the OEM projector... pretty much bringing the headlights up to modern day standards, if not exceeding them.

To be clear, this is not some cheap trixy mod like a pair of £5 HID bulbs off ebay... it's expensive but soo worth it in my opinion. A lot of work is required when retrofitting an uprated projector such as cutting and fixings - not to mention the meticulous level of precision required to make sure everything is perfectly straight as we are dealing with optics.

Morimoto FX-R 3.0 Projector

The FX-R is a retrofitters delight, it comes with a clear lens which as you'll see later vastly improves over the E46 BMW OEM (BOSCH-AL/ZKW) projector. What makes the FX-R special is that it is an aftermarket projector aimed at retrofitters.

Osram 66420 CBI D2S Bulbs

The majority of owners use their FX-R projectors with their existing Phillips 85122+ Bulbs (stock) and report great results. Whilst I am a fan of 'higher temperature' lights I am also a man of practicality. As is standard knowledge, the higher the light temperature the less lumens your lights will output.

These Osram bulbs defy that rule however. They've caused quite a storm in the industry. The bulbs produce a lovely 'white light' at 5000k without any reduction in lumens. Infact some tests indicate they can produce ever so slightly more lumens than the standard 4300k bulbs (est 3500 lumens). Now that really is having your cake and eating it!

Installation

I had to buy a spare set of headlights to send to Lightwerkz since I need the current lights on my M3 as its my DD. I found a great pair of OEM headlights on ebay - even Caesar commented on how great the condition was.

I sent off the headlights and within 2 weeks the whole retrofitting was complete. The headlights were returned on time:



Whilst the box looks a little tired, the lights are securely wrapped in $hit loads of bubble wrap and foam - this was the original box I sent the headlights in, its travelled a complete distance of 7000 miles





So here's how my previous projectors appeared:



^ A pic before the installation to serve as a reference to the old OEM projectors. Those who have been paying attention throughout my build may of noticed the Angel Eyes are missing. I took them off a few weeks ago to be installed into the new Lightwerkz units.







Installing the new FX-R headlights...

Results

Before:




After:





^ Although the headlights are not fully aligned in those pics, you can see a big difference. Notice how sharp the beam pattern is? Also if you look towards the lower right on the last picture you can see the colour band effect


As much as I like the 'demon' eyes shown in these pics, in reality the headlights look much 'cleaner' to the naked eye exactly like the image below...






After Alignment:

• Headlights were aligned at an MOT testing station using a Hella Beamsetter device:

I think the pics say it all to be honest. The output is 10x better than before, cutoff is very sharp. All this enhanced illumination with the benefit it is 100% legal and safe for other drivers.

I've had some hilarious situations most notably in traffic; the FX-Rs lights up the road up to three car lengths. In traffic I've seen drivers scratching their heads wondering where this light is coming from.

In some pictures the headlights 'look' dazzling but in reality this is not the case - you can see the light components clearly just as shown in the headlight close-up pics. As mentioned before, the everything is road legal, projectors were aligned on a MOT Beamsetter machine.

The colour flicker is very addictive even from the inside - the way the light reflects off the car bumper in-front etc. People just stare at them in awe, I think its down to the pattern being so sharp - I can't remember the last time I saw anything like it in person? Hands-down it is one of the best mods you can do to your E46M!

Well, if you made it this far thank you for reading, maintenance isn't always the most 'fun' thing to write about, so I think you'll agree this FX-R write up is a welcome addition.

Until next time chaps!

[Diablo85]

mwstewart said:

Nice upgrade. I had my eye on their quad setup but there's no decent way to retain the flash. I'll probably go for a set of their lights eventually.

Thanks - Yeah the quad setup looks amazing but has it's compromises such as the 'flash to pass' as you say. As I'm sure you know, you have to be careful what you read on US-M3 forums with regards to light setup, US-SPEC headlights (m3) are wired in a different configuration to Euro, it can be soo confusing otherwise.

On the plus side, going for a non-quad setup still retains the OEM factory look - you'd never know they are FX-Rs when the lights are off, unless of course you spot the clear lens.

gaz1234 said:

Your subframe. Do you recall where exactly the crack was?

Not exactly, they showed me a digital picture (which was sent off to BMW AG), pretty sure it was on the left side somewhere. They can develop in other areas around the boot floor though.

aspirated said:

I can but dream of you and mwstewart embarking on a joint project to create the ultimate E46 M3

You certainly don't do things by halves, so where did you ship the lights off to be retrofitted, and forgive me for being so crass but how how much did it cost?

Haha, maybe we should find an uncared for M3 and bring it back to life!

The lights were shipped to New Jersey - USA. Took around two weeks in total for the retrofit. At the time 'to my knowledge' there was no one in the UK that could do this. The cost excluding shipping was around £420 including parts and labour. For that I had the FX-Rs professionally installed, and ready to be plugged in.

A month or so later I shared those pictures with some M3 members, they started a group buy for the projector parts (same as those used by Lightwerkz). A member from totalmcars.com has been performing the retrofit for members himself. It's hardcore DIY and there are guides out there, but experience pays off here big time. I believe if you were to just buy the parts you are looking at around £200, so quite a saving.

[Diablo85]

StoatInACoat said:

Great thread and interesting pictures and writeup on the Vanos and oily bits. Lovely car, very jealous!

Thank you - honestly if you compare the cost of the VANOS bits to mods it seems silly not to get it all sorted and future proof.

---

So several months later after installing the B6 + H&Rs I wanted to go back to a coilover system, but this time on my terms, my choice. I'm fortunate with having superb country roads nearby in Derbyshire, it's such good fun on a blast. B6 + H&Rs were good, but I just missed that 'on-rails' handling I had with coilovers.

This time, I wanted to buy a decent kit, one that offers great road comfort handling and high performance when required - in the suspension game that means 'you get what you pay for'

I also decided to switch to the 18"s - now this will divide opinion I'm sure but I had an itch to put the classics 18"s on, plus I wanted to sample the difference in ride quality, if any?

Here's the kit:

The Original Gold - Ohlins Road & Track

Here is the kit in full (picture from modbargains):




The quality is immense - I felt guilty knowing they will accumulate road dirt. I've made sure they are thoroughly waxed to protect them as much as possible.

---

Ohlins Install

I've known about Center Gravity for a while, they mainly work on Porsches but work on other vehicles too, including the M3 (they have M3 CSL clients). They've worked on many high end coilover systems, so I was confident they could help me extract every bit of performance from my kit.

I won't go into detail here about the company as there is a lot of information on google. Their web site is also full of useful information: http://www.centregravity.co.uk/

Center Gravity is run by Chris Franklin, his wife Jane and Pete Leason. They are highly regarded by their clients as the best geo in the UK. Many of their clients travel from as far as Scotland, Northern Ireland and London to their base in Warwickshire (near M42/A5).

To think of 'Center Gravity' as just a geo would be missing the point... It's an experience! You'll learn soo much more about suspension geometry and you get to work with them side by side on your car

Just talk to Chris about 'what you want' from the car and he'll help you get there. Google them and read the testimonials and you'll get the point.

My aim was simple, to have a setup that could make daily drives a real pleasure on our ever increasing 'crappy' roads, whilst at the same time being flexible (adjustable) enough for me to enjoy a spirited drive on a b-road. To achieve this I really wanted to go down to 18"s - but I'd want to control the ride height without affecting the damping, thus coilovers, ideally Ohlins with their Dual Flow Valve (DFV) tech.



Ok enough reading, I'll get on with the pics...

There are lots of pics here, but who cares, right - lets roll!

DAY 1

At this point it was around 7pm and I had to leave. Chris carried on working for a few more hours...

---

Day 2

I arrived at 8:30 in the morning, all the cars were locked up overnight.

I fell in love with the GTO... wow








































































These pictures only represent a fraction of what happened over those two days. For example, the car wasn't always on the ramp, it went through quite a few test drives and then some more tweaking.

Also, with ECP, Eibach and Bilstein warehouses being soo close by, Chris was able to nip out and get any parts required within the hour ( provided they were open ).

All in all, it was a blast and I thank Chris, Jane and Pete for their excellent service.

Costs and other info can be found on their web site - it's mainly done by quotes as every 'project' is different. Of course this is not a 'low cost' service but do bear in mind a standard Road/Track alignment package will be very thorough, there is a reason why their web site tell's you to bring your own sandwiches As you've seen from my experience, there is no such thing as 'closing time' - Chris works all hours to make sure your car is ready without any compromise.

As for the car and how it handles - The drive back home was simply awesome, poised, controlled and comfortable. I drove the car over a well known rough road in my area, no jarring at all - almost felt like riding through syrup lol.

The OEM 18"s look stunning in person, quite a hard wheel to picture if I'm honest. We tried 15mm/12mm setup but the rears rubbed (due to tyre wall) so I opted for 12mm/10mm instead and this solved the rubbing issues. CSL lovers do not fear, there's always the possibility for them to return.

I'll post a my full review of the Ohlins soon.

If you've made it this far thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the pics

[Diablo85]

Cheers gents!

mwstewart said:

Superb. I will pay this outfit a visit based on your write up.

P.S. replace your steering wheel. It look like it could get up and crawl out of the car

Already on it Mr stewart - Will be visiting Jack from RSW tomorrow for a retrim.

I have loved the alcantara trim, there really is nothing quite like it. Sadly they don't last long, especially if you don't maintain them or in my case regular driving takes its toll.

Can't wait for the retrim!

[Diablo85]

Cheers guys.

Here are some pics I took a few days after the install. It's low but the ride is surprisingly great thanks to the Ohlins

---

I also had my steering wheel retrimmed by Jack over the weekend, along with some SMG paddles:


Storm SMG Paddles:
These are popular with M3 owners - I took a different route though and decided purchase 'non-illuminated' version. It's personal opinion but I think they look a lot better, the deep recess +/- makes it look even sharper.




















I'll always love the feel of Alcantara, but from a practical standpoint of a daily driver it just requires too much maintenance. I went for soft nappa leather with extra padding and have no regrets, it looks great and feels very nice too.

The SMG paddles are a real surprise, the heavier weight makes SMG shifts so much more tactile, it feels like SMG shifts are quicker - let me explain...

Before, I had aftermarket elongated paddles made out of plastic. These would often flex when I pressed them, with the Storm paddles there is no flexing since they are made out of metal. I just wish I changed them earlier!

I've left some gaiters with Jack for a retrim, will hopefully have those soon.

Thats it for now.

Thanks for reading.

[Diablo85]

martin mrt said:

What an absolute stunner of a car, and a great thread.

Many thanks

mwstewart said:

The paddles look great and actually go with the car. I've seen an SMG lever and handbrake lever made by Storm and they look absolutely foul, but what you've chosen there actually enhances the interior. Nice touch.

Funny you should say that. I've used the Storm SMG lever in person, from an ergonomics view it is wonderful but there is just something about it that feels out of place to me. Often I feel this is because of the lack of a gear diagram decal on the top. Yes there is one machined into it, but it isn't as good as a decal.

As for the handbrake lever it depends which one you are talking about imo. The only one I like is the brushed metal edition - I've used on in person, it's lovely. However I do not like the other styles at all, especially those which have half leather/alcantara in between the metal handle

I could of easily gone overboard with the wheel with a bit of alcantara, perforated leather, nappa leather all mixed into it, but I chose to keep it simple and clean and I think it works really well.

[Diablo85]

Tom182 said:

If I had an M3, this is EXACTLY how I would want it. Awesome car and project!

I'm glad I came across this thread; I've been looking for somewhere to have the geometry setup on my Clio Trophy and it turns out Center Gravity are based 25 mins from where I live. Although, I'm not sure my little Clio is of the right calibre to take there

Hey Tom

Trust me, Chris works on any car - sure he works with some premium cars most of the time but you can bring anything

---

Electric Cooling Fan Retrofit

Last week, on my drive home from work I had some issues with my AC. Of all possible days this had to happen on the hottest

The cabin was hot as I entered the car, as expected. Turned on the air con and drove off. 15 minutes later I noticed the cabin was not being cooled enough. AC with the snowflake was activated but there was no cold air, just warm

The next day, during my commute into work I turned on the AC again with snowflake and cold air was coming how the vent, strange

As I reached traffic, my eye caught the coolant gauge. It was sitting slightly higher than normal. As the traffic got denser I noticed the gauge started 'running' towards the 2nd dot.

If I carried on with my commute no doubt it would of hit the red. Past experience from owners with coolant issues virtually always states to never let the car overheat as the repair costs spiral! ... And so I did a U-turn and headed back home in clear air. The coolant temp quickly went down due to the rushing air. I parked the car at home and didn't drive it again.

A quick look on the diags revealed this:








... The electric fan sits in-front of the radiator and condenser, it provides additional cooling and is controlled by the DME. Most of the time it activated when AC is used... so this explains why I was having AC issues a few days ago.

After some in-depth reading on the Internet, it seems the number one culprit is the FSU (Final Stage) control unit which sits inside the fan shroud. Having checked the fuse (which was ok) I decided to enquire with the dealer about getting a replacement fan unit...

Going to the dealer to find out the cost of a new fan unit...

No Thanks!!

I managed to solve it using new parts, much cheaper - here's how...

The E46 Pusher Fan

Pusher Fan Replacement

Extra Info

Bumper Removal DIY:
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=24... - Thanks Obi
http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/BMW_e46_CSL_Bumper_D... - Thanks DaytonaViolet

E46 non-m3 pusher fan
The fan setup on the e46 non-m3 cars is a little different, some have puller fans so you need to be careful here. I'll include the part numbers:
P/N: 64546922554 or 64546988913


Going for new fan parts or old?
This is subjective. If you really want to make a huge saving you could buy used parts. Having gone through this I'm glad I used newer parts as its likely they'll last longer and this is not something I want to DIY anytime soon - spent all weekend on it!

In Conclusion

Although my issue is fixed I'm not stopping here. My car has 70k miles, and so I'm going to the following replaced soon:

• Coolant Temp Sensor (hose near fan)
• Thermostat
• Water pump
• New clutch for mechanical fan

That's all for now, thanks for reading

[Diablo85]

Captainawesome said:

on a side note…I recently fitted Stormwerks SMG knob, SMG surround and handbrake handle cover. I'm amazed at how much better they feel and also how much better they look. They are expensive but they are beautifully made and fitted perfectly. They are what BMW should have fitted in the first place. Well worth doing.

Good call.

If I could just somehow find a coloured OEM like decal that would fit perfectly on the Storm SMG knob I'd have it in a heart beat. The ergonomics are wonderful compared to the OEM knob. Oh and the handbrake is my favorite, it's lovely - I've used them all in a friends M3. I'll be buying that handbrake very soon.

See how you get on Chris at CG, I think there is a 4 week booking time.

[Diablo85]

Trtj said:

Great thread and lovely car, and im still reading through! But have one question. You mentioned the rubbing issue with spacers etc...

You are obviously very conscious of a good ride and handling due to splashing the cash on the ohlins etc which are lovely, so why on earth run spacers at all? You are taking the scrub radius away from optimum. Cosmetically spaced is nicer, but if you want the perfect handling then surely they have to go?

Also, do you fancy selling the Billys and H&R springs to me?

Hi, thanks for the kind words.

Valid point - Initially before making the jump to Ohlins and downsizing to 18"s I already had a vision of how I wanted the car to be. Stock 18"s with no spacers at stock ride height looks a little 'goofy' to me so the inclusion of spacers was primarily for cosmetic reasons. I've been thinking about removing them on/off for a while as I guess the car will still look fine since the ride height is lower.

I won't be able to completely eliminate them from my setup however as I have bought a used BBK which requires a spacer for fitment on OE
wheels. I'll probably drop to the lowest width spacer possible - quality stuff (hubcentric - eibach).

As for H&R/B6 ... they sold the same day I posted my Ohlins update on another forum, I didn't even have to write an ad ... however there is a B12 kit going cheap on m3cutters at the moment!