Trying to go quickly, my E46 M3

[AshBurrows]

Hello everyone. Long time lurker, first time proper poster.

So, here's how it started:







First things first. Federal 595 RSRs, Black grilles, Depo indicators and Schirmer spec KW V3s.







Then I decided I needed some CSL bits.



I then I finally decided on the wheels I needed to get the look I want and the lighness/strength for track work. 18x10J et25 in conjunction with 265/35s all round for ludicrous turn in and grip.





Once these were on it was time for proper geo and full corner waiting with my fat ass in the seat and a full tank.



I really splurged on the OEM boot but the fitment on other parts I've seen is pretty poor and the added lift reduction is probably something I'll need.







So that's basically how it sits now. I've got the following bits still to go on. Geoff Steel carbon wings, Yellow 8 pot monoblock Ksports with Pagid RS29s and PF discs, Stud conversion and pretty bolts and 20mm rear spacers(More camber when new GS arms go on):













Some people asked why I skimped on the brakes. Here's my reasoning. I was originally going to get a set of APs for triple the price, but recently autobild did a test on all the common brakes available for the m and the ksports outbraked everything else. I also spoke to a few friends in the business who reckon ksport essentially cloned a set of APs and added another pair of pistons. Really as long as the pistons are good and the calipers themselves rigid, I can't see how they'd go far wrong. Combined with the pagids and performance friction disks they should be pretty amazing. And if not, they've cost me not far off the cost of a set of replacement oem parts so I'll get the APs. There is method in the madness and a bit of gambling. Fingers crossed.



I'm toying with the idea of vinyling up the arches in the style of Jeff Koons art car. As quite frankly I'd rather spend the £650+ of a proper paint job on track time.



The car's going into Geoff Steel in a couple of months for full polybush/subframe reinforcement/CSL steering rack/Shifter rebush etc. The coilovers are also going back to KW for a rebuild and revalve. Hopefully it'll be driving better than it did when it was new.

Then the proper test:



Before September I'm hoping to grab a pair of Recaro SPGs.

Ultimately the plan is to strip and cage it, do proper aero and fit a V8. E9x V8 with FI or a LS I don't know. I love the car but it does need more power ultimately. I want to be able to chase 458s and GT3s without too much bother. It's a lofty goal obviously, but I'd rather aim high and fail than settle for the boring.

So here's how it sits currently.









Would be ace to hear everyone's thoughts and get some more inspiration and stuff. You can also all call me nasty names and mock my poor life choices. Cheers!

[AshBurrows]

stevesingo said:

I know that place; Roa Island. You local around those parts?

Nope, I was just visiting. I live in Warwick

TheWiseman said:

Looks ace mate, the wheels give it a real track car look and will help with cooling the brakes.

As for future power, what about turbo'ing the current straight six lump?

I've considered FI for the S54, I just don't think it'll be very reliable from what I've seen. And coming from drift cars, high boost turbo motors ALWAYS go pop at the worst time and cost all of the money in the world to rebuild.

supertouring said:

What size Federals did you run on the 19s?

I have only seen them in 18s

I bought the tyres before I bought the wheels. I knew I was going to be doing a square 18 setup

davepoth said:

Hope you don't mind the asking, but what's up with the front camber? It seems a bit extreme compared to a lot of the production based M3 racers I can find pictures of.

If it's "it looks good", that's all cool, I was just wondering.

This is Spires' Nurburgring geo setup. I'm pretty sure the likes of Schirmer and Geoff Steel run even a touch more on their track cars. It's only somewhere around -3.5* IIRC! I think the aggressive offset and lack of wider wings just makes it look more cartoony than it actually is

The rears will be brought more in line with it once I get those adjustable lower arms on too, it's currently maxed out with what I have now and Matt at Spires is keen to dial in a touch more. My friend Al ran essentially the same geo and his car was an absolute monster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd7-cV5Sq5Q).

[AshBurrows]

abarber said:

Looks nice

Have a look at the supercharged S54 VT2 500 run by Beedub on here and on the Z4 forum. His Z4 seems to be very reliable and damm fast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UGDfVcxyrQ

I have looked into these, but for the money, I can basically buy a crate LS3 that will do a million miles. Seems like packaging for adequate cooling is also a big issue when you start doing big power. I just don't know! Reliability is a big concern for me as it's no fun to constantly wonder if/when your motor is going to do an explode!

Thanks very much for all the comments It's nice to see what people think, even if they aren't really feelin' my ideas!

Today a bunch of sensible bits arrived to make her run beaut until the ring hopefully!
Trying out the NGK iridium jobbies after hearing good things about them.



Then I did a wheel slip and this happened.




It's rear left abs sensor which I've already replaced once so I'm going to replace both driveshafts and both sensors since the stupid metal ring it reads has probably expanded and ground on the sensor.

Once this jar is full to the brim I'm going to see Geoff Steel with my list, which so far consists of;



Replace all bushes with Powerflex poly gear.
Repair and strengthen diff mounting points on the chassis.
Fit 2 new driveshafts and ABS sensors.
Re-bush gear shifter.
Fit CSL steering rack and tie rods and fit new castor bushes to bottom arms.
Replace front and rear brake hardlines.
Remove and rebuild/revalve dampers.
Alloy camber arms.
May do valve clearances as it looks like it's been a little while from my history!

[AshBurrows]

Wall05 said:

Also loooong time lurker here,but sitting on a beach on holiday gives time to actually comment for a change. Love the work on the m3, I am slowly trying to build up courage to buy an e46 m3 as a weekend toy.

Not sure about the wheels, but also great to see someone making their own stamp on a car while taking function into account for a change! It all (mostly?)about the driving experience after all right?

Look forward to following the progress!

It's 100% about the driving of the thing, but there's no reason it can't look different and insanely cool to me as well at the same time!

Today kind of sucked though.

I lost my current employment, problems of a contractor I guess, and then I got recovered after throwing lights and having no power



Quick scan a bit later and boom:



So HOPEFULLY it's a coilpack. I've ordered a new Bosch set and they'll arrive Friday and I fit them along with the new plugs over the weekend! Fingers crossed, no more bad news for a while please!

[AshBurrows]

ManOpener said:

S62B50s from E39 M5s are quite cheap. They'll push 450bhp pretty easily and don't weigh much more than an S54.

Fit quite nicely in an E46 too.



Personally I'd rather stay BMW than go LSx if I was looking at an engine swap, but I see the appeal in the latter.

I must admit, a BMW V8 is tempting. But they're so complex compared to their American counterparts. I have a couple of friends who've had big VANOS issues with the E39 M5s and if I'm aiming to exceed 600hp reliably, I just don't think they're the way to go. I understand the "soul" of the original car may be lost, but the overall package will be objectively better in my head

[AshBurrows]

stef1808 said:

I want 600 bhp from my e46 also but how do you plan on getting this?

[AshBurrows]

HELLO!

A lot has happened since I last updated. I sold many things.
Got rid of the CSL boot.
Got rid of the BMW Performance seat.
Got rid of the carbon wings.
Got rid of my dreams.

BUT:
BMW sorted me out with brand new wings and wing paint under warranty for free! They also sorted out the corrosion on the sills! So body, other than bonnet stone chips is absolutely immaculate!

Here's the state of the body now:



Then the past 2 weeks it has been living at Dynotorque over in Birmingham.



Front and rear subframes were off. Exhausts were off. Fuel tank etc etc was off. Basically full chassis removables OFF.

New cupronickel hardlines on
New stainless goodridge lines on
New CSL steering rack on!
New solid engine mounts (vibratechnics) on!
Stud conversion and super cool badman jdm nuts on!!!
New poly bushes on!
New calipers, disks and pads (Pagid RS29s) on!!!!!
Steering coupler
Tie rod ends
Shifter rebush



So that's the front basically complete. Amazing.
The rear end is being done this week and consists of:

Subframe reinforcement with first cage tie in point
Solid rear subframe setup
Hardlines
Pads/Disks/Stainless Goodridge lines
Drive shafts and ABS sensors
Front and rear ARBs
Fuel filter etc etc

Unfortunately my aggressive geo has murdered my tyres so I need to put new ones on and wind off toe/camber a bit!



What a ballache!!!

Anyway I figured out my aero ideas and the reason I sold the CSL boot is because I'm gonna run THIS wing through the boot and into the chassis! (OEM Boot sold for £800, new carbon rep to cut up £400!)



Then the front setup will be from flossman over in Germany. Splitter/flat underbody/canards in proper carbon. Yay!!

[AshBurrows]

DaveCWK said:

Looks awesome but I don't understand that brake comparison chart. How can replacing calipers & discs reduce stopping distance like that, where the limiting factor is tyre grip?

Also don't those large calipers throw the brake balance off?

The limiting factor isn't tyre grip?
Dunno, I haven't driven it yet! I have a few friends running just large fronts with no issue though so I'm optimistic

[AshBurrows]

Hello. I went to the Nurburgring.





Here is my lap video.

Obviously I would have liked to go quicker in trip 1 but I am happy being into mid 9s. Starting to put together more and more of the track and hopefully will click next time.
Damp conditions and lack of knowledge were incredibly intimidating. I think I did go faster on a lap afterwards but not filmed so ignore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_AnA-04HDo

Saw some insane other bits and pieces out there. Got merked by a Gumpert out of the karrousel one lap which was awesome.













Also got to do a bunch of laps with this fella in a Schirmer E92. 7:20s all day long. Overtaking literally everything. Bonkers bonkers cars. Guy daily drives a Speciale and said this is different league.

[AshBurrows]

n90acc said:

Car is looking great mate, look forward to seeing some more progress.

I was out at the ring this weekend also, I see you got out before the rain on Sunday. The speed some of the locals get in the e92s & 911s is ridiculous, would have loved to gte out for a quick lap like that. The chap in the Gumpert was abusing it all weekend which was great to see also.

What site did you get those photos from? they look great.

The ones of mine and Nige in the Schirmer E92 are from Michaela at http://www.ms-ringpics.com/?l=en. Really great quality!

Yeah I was there at 8am over the weekend to bang some laps out before people started stacking em!

What car were you in??