E46 330 Track Car Advice

E46 330 Track Car Advice

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GreenLightMS

Original Poster:

3 posts

81 months

Wednesday 28th June 2017
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Hi All,

New to this forum and was looking at some help and advice for buying a 330 E46 car to run on track days. I've got a budget of around £4K and would appreciate any pointers in what to look out for in terms of mileage, mods etc. Are there any things to avoid?

Any pointers on suspension, brakes and tyre upgrades would be useful too.

Thanks in advance beer

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Wednesday 28th June 2017
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Avoid anything too rusty unless you like welding. Check jacking points and sills. Check floor for cracks. Don't worry about mileage. Don't use cheap coilovers, they are rubbish.
The E46 responds well to thick anti roll bars. Expect to bin most of the suspension and replace it. Some like poly bushes, some don't. Do your research and make your own mind up.
Don't pay extra for a Sport as you'll be changing the suspension anyway. Don't buy a pre chavved one as they tend to be ruined. Best standard bushes are gen BMW or Lemforder, Meyle are not so good. Best water pump is genuine BMW, same goes for expansion tanks.
Remove the manifold and change all the vacuum pipes for silicon (then put the manifold back on!) Don't adjust your bonnet badly so the back sticks up, don't put so much camber on the back with cheap camber arms that it looks broken. Camber is already adj f and r from the factory.
I had two threads in Readers Cars on my E46s if you to read some real life experiences.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Wednesday 28th June 2017
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What Helix402 said.

I've owned an E36 with a mate owning an E46 328i Touring and me now having an E46 M3. If it were me I'd do the following alongside what Helix said.

-If you plan to do it in stages check all of the bushes. If that's OK rebush the subframe ; I'm shocked at the difference this made to my car. My E36 never felt as good as this car and TBH neither does a mate's 328i despite having newer dampers and bushes in places. After looking at some of the Redish videos it seems they are not too long lived irrelevant of mileage. My car went from wondering/traminling on roads which I thought was down to shot front tyres to being dead straight.
-Get the rear end reinforced.
-Get new springs and dampers. If it were me and I were on a budget I'd probably get Bilstein B8s with Eibachs or even look at the Gaz options despite the naysayers
-Give the car a damn good service all round
-Rebush the gear lever bushes ; it will make a pleasant difference. You may as well bin the CDV there ; every little helps. My friend's E46 with this is still not perfect for me but much better than my 323i was.
-I'd probably also get some fast road pads but see how you get on.
-Get some tuition if you haven't already. This made the biggest difference for me and for a few guys I know who were prepared to listen. I went from being OK on track to hassling a lot of people ; It really is that invaluable.

How invaluable? Around the Nurburgring I followed one of the instructors with a walkie talkie for us to talk across. That's it. I have better tuition before. Despite this on a wet day I still took 2 minutes off my lap time. In the car I learned a little more about gear selection, taking corners etc. That day I didn't measure myself but it certainly felt and seem a lot faster going by what I was keeping up with before and what I overtook afterwards.

Best of luck and enjoy. IMHO the 330i is the ideal E46 in many ways.

GreenLightMS

Original Poster:

3 posts

81 months

Wednesday 28th June 2017
quotequote all
Thanks guys, some fantastic advice there.

I think I'll be looking for something pretty standard to start with instead of something that's already had work done. How do the higher mileage engines cope with track use?

I'll give the mentioned threads a browse as well. Cheers

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Wednesday 28th June 2017
quotequote all
Another vote for B8s. I've had the same ones on both my E46s, Eibachs on the 328, H and R springs on the 330d. The rear B8s I found too stiff for the road so I sold them. Sure they're great on track. The fronts are great on the road.
Rebushing the gear-lever is well worth it, just done it as part of my manual conversion. Some of the new lever parts are actually modified compared to the factory items.

GreenLightMS

Original Poster:

3 posts

81 months

Thursday 29th June 2017
quotequote all
I've been looking into the rear subframe problems with the E46. Is it mainly an M3 problem or is it the same on all models?

Also, when looking for cracks etc. is it the frame itself that cracks, or around the mounting points? There seems to be several reinforcement kits out there which seem reasonably priced but i'd want a pro to do the work. Does anyone have any experience of the cost of installation by a garage?

thanks

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Thursday 29th June 2017
quotequote all
They all have the potential to crack, it's the floor not the subframe. More common on big sixes due to more power/torque.
Have a look on You Tube for Redish Motorsport's guide on finding cracks. Cost? Depends who does it. All sorts of people make repair plates now. The original were Turner Motorsport in the US, then I think Redish, now there are lots of cheaper ones. Be aware that E46 can spout extra cracks, just repaired a cracked rear suspension turret on mine.

iguana

7,025 posts

259 months

Thursday 29th June 2017
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Can't help too much ref 46, done lots with 36s tho.

Wouldn't advise going the route of separate springs/dampers, far too soft for track & difficult to upgrade spring rates later, tons of coilover choices from budget to megabucks, easy & swift to change spring rates & play round with ride heights & corner weights.

It's not all relevant as you've a 46, but bit of 36 track chat here

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

E-bmw

9,105 posts

151 months

Friday 30th June 2017
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GreenLightMS said:
I've been looking into the rear subframe problems with the E46. Is it mainly an M3 problem or is it the same on all models?

Also, when looking for cracks etc. is it the frame itself that cracks, or around the mounting points? There seems to be several reinforcement kits out there which seem reasonably priced but i'd want a pro to do the work. Does anyone have any experience of the cost of installation by a garage?

thanks
The cracks are in the floor/underbody and they can be VERY difficult to see, you virtually need to be removing the subframe to check properly & if you are doing that you may as well reinforce and re-bush it while you are there.

Unfortunately it starts with the bushes that the sub-frame bolts to coming away under torque INSIDE the gap between floor & underbody so can't be seen, generally the first sign is a "creaking" sound as you roll off/on the throttle gently.

At this point you need to cut open the boot floor & re-weld it all internally and then do the underbody reinforcement before the cracks appear and worsen.

Exactly as described above is what happened with my first 1992 e36 325, they all CAN fail e36/e46/318 to M3.

iSore

4,011 posts

143 months

Friday 30th June 2017
quotequote all
GreenLightMS said:
Thanks guys, some fantastic advice there.

I think I'll be looking for something pretty standard to start with instead of something that's already had work done. How do the higher mileage engines cope with track use?

I'll give the mentioned threads a browse as well. Cheers
The engines are fine even at 200'000. No need to rev much past 5500 tbh, five speed cars are fine. Saloons are cheaper than Coupes )well, normally) and go just as well. A standard car with good pads (EBC yellows), some decent suspension and good tyres is all you need. Secondhand M Sport seats and ARB's are all cheap enough.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Friday 30th June 2017
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E-bmw said:
The cracks are in the floor/underbody and they can be VERY difficult to see, you virtually need to be removing the subframe to check properly & if you are doing that you may as well reinforce and re-bush it while you are there.

Unfortunately it starts with the bushes that the sub-frame bolts to coming away under torque INSIDE the gap between floor & underbody so can't be seen, generally the first sign is a "creaking" sound as you roll off/on the throttle gently.

At this point you need to cut open the boot floor & re-weld it all internally and then do the underbody reinforcement before the cracks appear and worsen.

Exactly as described above is what happened with my first 1992 e36 325, they all CAN fail e36/e46/318 to M3.
Best advice IMHO.

If you are buying an E46 my question would be not if it has cracked despite what BMW may tell you but it it is beyond the value of the car to repair. By that I mean needing a new floor ; a £5k repair! Most never get that bad however and you'd have to be pretty senseless to not notice that!

iSore said:
The engines are fine even at 200'000. No need to rev much past 5500 tbh, five speed cars are fine. Saloons are cheaper than Coupes )well, normally) and go just as well. A standard car with good pads (EBC yellows), some decent suspension and good tyres is all you need. Secondhand M Sport seats and ARB's are all cheap enough.
This. I do love how people obsess over mileage.

I know between a mate's 323i at 122k (1 owner from new until 2009) and his more neglected 328i at 151k the latter is the sweeter engine by a country mile. At least that engine was serviced. It pulled better comparatively speaking, used no oil as opposed to randomly taking a litre in a week and sounds quieter!

Even on our Mondeos that's the case ; our 2.5T Saloon with 164k pulls way better than the other 2.5T, even when the latter had 120k. I'm hoping on the latter it's just a cam timing problem but I doubt it...

milburn7191

42 posts

88 months

Thursday 6th July 2017
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Hey smile

I share an e46 330Ci with a friend as a track only car; we did not set out a specific budget to start but we have sent way less than you have set out.

We bought our car on an ebay auction so managed to get it for £750...this was a risk I admit but we came up top trumps as it has not put a foot wrong!

First thing it to make sure everything that is there is in good order; the fullest of services, all fluids and filters. Make sure the cooling system it in good working order (if you have no record of the water pump and thermostats being changed then assume they haven't and do them in the beginning).

I completely agree with the comments regarding removal of the full suspension; while you are at it I would remove any rusty old bolts from the wishbones, trailing arms etc. and put on new tierods. All of these will most likely require changing at some point so get it all done early then you only have to pay for the tracking/tow and camber setting once (stick with factory standard camber, it is best all round for all tracks...you are not a race team that will be setting the car up specifically for each track).

We managed to strip an enormous amount of weight out of the car; the front end is abit more tricky but all of the air-con system should be out!
You will also be suprised how much weight is in all of the plastic scuttles and covers, especially around the pollen filter (our car stays covered while being stored so we removed all of these).

As with suspension, the sky is the limit with brakes.
Do not underestimate the importance of upgrading them; the absolute minimum if it is going on track should be the pads and fluid...and dont cheap out, you will regret it.
We use EBC yellowstuff pads and they are good enough for non-competitive trackdays, the fluid is ATE TYP200 racing fluid (not saying it is the best but it hasnt let us down).

Also be realistic (not sure if this is your first trackday car, so sorry if I sound condescending) you are not going to be building a world beater!
Buy the car, do the necessary servicing and brake upgrades, then take it on a trackday to get a feel for the car.
This will not only let you get a feel for it but also give you more enthusiasm for doing more work to the car, also you will be able to see the prgress not just physically but on the track.
Strip it out, change the suspension; do another trackday.

most importantly have fun smile

milburn7191

42 posts

88 months

Thursday 6th July 2017
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Where are you based in the country?

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Friday 7th July 2017
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Plenty of good information on here. thumbup

Just a thought, but try to find one without a sunroof as the shell will be stiffer!

iSore

4,011 posts

143 months

Friday 7th July 2017
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Very few E46's have sunroofs - I've never had one with a 'roof.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Friday 7th July 2017
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Are they really that much stiffer? I know a few specialists now fit carbon roofs onto E46s anyway...

milburn7191

42 posts

88 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
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If it is a specific trackday car I would assume a cage is going in, this will make much more difference to stiffness than a sunroof.

I was under the impression that the sunroof was just a problem due to additional weight...and at the highest point of the car

E-bmw

9,105 posts

151 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
As above, sunroof certainly doesn't add stiffness, it adds a little more rigidity to the flat(ish) panel that is the roof but adds no stiffness to the shell.