Power Out E46 M3 manual build
Discussion
After having an M2 for a while and deciding to sell it, i decided i hadn't finished with M car ownership yet (before these cars I only had Japanese cars).
picture of my m2 on the ring.
I picked up this clean manual 2003 E46 M3 coupe in black with 48k miles on it. I bought this car to hopefully keep for a while and make it into a decent road/track/nurburgring project.
on first inspection seemed to be free from rust, no vanos issues etc. After getting it home i noticed that the driver side window wasn't dipping when opening or closing and could see that it wasn't sensing that the door was opening. Needed a new door lock actuator as the sensor had broken, that sorted the problem out.
First thing i ordered for the car was new oil, filter, sparks, differential oil (with the friction modifier) and magnetic drain plug.
unfortunately when changing the oil myself i snapped the bolt in the filter housing
so ended up getting the car towed to Tegiwa to get it sorted out.
They checked the car over for me thoroughly while it was there and noticed i needed a new cv boot so that got replaced. After the issue with the filter housing was sorted and the engine oil/diff oil changed i decided get the subframe/bootfloor reinforcement done by Tegiwa. On inspection there was no damage at all but wanted to have this done and out the way to prevent damage in the future.
Powerflex Bushes added
great service from the guys at Tegiwa, happy with their work and happy to have the car back. Gloss black grills arrived.
I had gloss black grills on my black m2 and loved how that looked, much prefer these the the chrome versions.
official BMW motorsport 'golf ball' gear knob i ordered from Germany. I needed to buy a regular e46 shift gaiter as my m3 illuminated gear knob was one piece with the leather. Love the way this looks and feels.
Spent a couple days detailing the car.
picture of my m2 on the ring.
I picked up this clean manual 2003 E46 M3 coupe in black with 48k miles on it. I bought this car to hopefully keep for a while and make it into a decent road/track/nurburgring project.
on first inspection seemed to be free from rust, no vanos issues etc. After getting it home i noticed that the driver side window wasn't dipping when opening or closing and could see that it wasn't sensing that the door was opening. Needed a new door lock actuator as the sensor had broken, that sorted the problem out.
First thing i ordered for the car was new oil, filter, sparks, differential oil (with the friction modifier) and magnetic drain plug.
unfortunately when changing the oil myself i snapped the bolt in the filter housing
so ended up getting the car towed to Tegiwa to get it sorted out.They checked the car over for me thoroughly while it was there and noticed i needed a new cv boot so that got replaced. After the issue with the filter housing was sorted and the engine oil/diff oil changed i decided get the subframe/bootfloor reinforcement done by Tegiwa. On inspection there was no damage at all but wanted to have this done and out the way to prevent damage in the future.
Powerflex Bushes added
great service from the guys at Tegiwa, happy with their work and happy to have the car back. Gloss black grills arrived.
I had gloss black grills on my black m2 and loved how that looked, much prefer these the the chrome versions.
official BMW motorsport 'golf ball' gear knob i ordered from Germany. I needed to buy a regular e46 shift gaiter as my m3 illuminated gear knob was one piece with the leather. Love the way this looks and feels.
Spent a couple days detailing the car.
Godspeed AP kit with Ferodo DS1.11 pads
Rear Brake discs arrived from Tegiwa + JDM juice for the German whip.
painted rear callipers and had them rebuilt. Brakes all fitted now! JWS Developments did a great job fitting them and sorting a few other issues out with the car.
New wheels arrived from Japan. TE37SL wrapped in Direzza Zii Star spec tyres.
Mot Passed, No advisories !
Rear Brake discs arrived from Tegiwa + JDM juice for the German whip.
painted rear callipers and had them rebuilt. Brakes all fitted now! JWS Developments did a great job fitting them and sorting a few other issues out with the car.
New wheels arrived from Japan. TE37SL wrapped in Direzza Zii Star spec tyres.
Mot Passed, No advisories !
Paracetamol said:
I am going to sound like a hater..but please don't molest a mint low mileage manual e46 M3. I guarantee that these will be the next big thing...a bit like the e30 m3 is now.
Find a knackered one to play with!
+1Find a knackered one to play with!
A friend of mine has already done this. It became very fast around Bedford but was unusable on the road. So much so, that he ended up selling it because he was only using it a few days a year.
How do you find it compared to the M2?
Paracetamol said:
I am going to sound like a hater..but please don't molest a mint low mileage manual e46 M3. I guarantee that these will be the next big thing...a bit like the e30 m3 is now.
Find a knackered one to play with!
+2 Original, low mileage, manual cars are becoming scarce and worth keeping that way. Plenty of higher mileage, not so original cars to tinker with! Find a knackered one to play with!
ds666 said:
+3 - why take a low mileage car and change everything .
I agree with you guys, but it´s his car and if he wants to modify it he should do it and he´s not doing anything which is not reversible. It would be a completely different story if he´d cut the fenders to bolt on one of these hideous widebody kits.don29 said:
+2 Original, low mileage, manual cars are becoming scarce and worth keeping that way. Plenty of higher mileage, not so original cars to tinker with!
I don't see why as more RHD manuals were made for the UK market. If the internet stories are to be believed there should be more on the road than you think 
.SMG are also nowhere near as bad to convert to manual as some would have you believe and you get a potentially tighter 'box that way
. Albeit it won't be originalTodd Bonzalez said:
Christ go and buy a barn full of E46s and never drive them if you're so arsed you freakin' dorks.
Hi Jonathan this car is cool as heck and the wheels rule!
Indeed there are thousands of them out there, and this is his one to do with as he wishes, and very nice it looks !Hi Jonathan this car is cool as heck and the wheels rule!
J4CKO said:
Indeed there are thousands of them out there, and this is his one to do with as he wishes, and very nice it looks !
Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the thousands of manual E46 M3's for sale as i'm finding it rather hard to find a good manual car.I agree with some here, it's his car and what he has done so far is reversible, no problem with that. OP, enjoy the car in the way you want to enjoy it.
Edited by Andy OH on Wednesday 10th January 13:17
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