BMW 330CI E46 Build thread
Discussion
Cadwell Park
Start of the day didn't go as planned... Sighting laps went off without a hitch but only managed about 5 laps in session one before loosing power steering through through hall bends, quick look at the dash and noticed battery light on... pulled off the circuit at the end of hall bends.
Popped the bonnet for a quick look while waiting for recovery. Aux belt had popped off and the Aux belt tensioner was stuck down at the bottom wedged between the PAS pulley, fan and engine block.
Not the first time I've been pulled back by the tow truck from Hall bends and I'm sure it wont be the last. At least I managed to get off the circuit without causing a red flag
Had a good look at it in the paddock and found the two bolts holding the tensioner on had sheered off causing the tensioner to fall off and down into the PAW pulley and damaged the PAS pulley.
Had to take the oil filter housing off and drill out the snapped bolts.
Damaged PAS Pulley
Managed to find a replacement PAS pulley in Louth and pick up a new tensioner while it was in pieces and set about building it back up
Managed to get it back together with new parts and some replacement bolts from the spares box and managed two sessions before lunch.
First one to shake the car down and check for leaks or anything else visible.
Followed that up with a good 20-25 minute session before lunch.
First session back after lunchtime
Not the cleanest of photos of the E46 but not looking too bad after back to back trackdays in the same week
Managed a full afternoon of laps. Car felt fantastic on a different set of Michelin slicks and the Kaaz diff performed brilliantly around Cadwell Park. Finally managing the drive out of Mansfield without slipping the inside wheel. Spent a lot time trying to optimise the car set up but despite all of that it was just a plaster until I fitted a proper plated diff.
Start of the day didn't go as planned... Sighting laps went off without a hitch but only managed about 5 laps in session one before loosing power steering through through hall bends, quick look at the dash and noticed battery light on... pulled off the circuit at the end of hall bends.
Popped the bonnet for a quick look while waiting for recovery. Aux belt had popped off and the Aux belt tensioner was stuck down at the bottom wedged between the PAS pulley, fan and engine block.
Not the first time I've been pulled back by the tow truck from Hall bends and I'm sure it wont be the last. At least I managed to get off the circuit without causing a red flag
Had a good look at it in the paddock and found the two bolts holding the tensioner on had sheered off causing the tensioner to fall off and down into the PAW pulley and damaged the PAS pulley.
Had to take the oil filter housing off and drill out the snapped bolts.
Damaged PAS Pulley
Managed to find a replacement PAS pulley in Louth and pick up a new tensioner while it was in pieces and set about building it back up
Managed to get it back together with new parts and some replacement bolts from the spares box and managed two sessions before lunch.
First one to shake the car down and check for leaks or anything else visible.
Followed that up with a good 20-25 minute session before lunch.
First session back after lunchtime
Not the cleanest of photos of the E46 but not looking too bad after back to back trackdays in the same week
Managed a full afternoon of laps. Car felt fantastic on a different set of Michelin slicks and the Kaaz diff performed brilliantly around Cadwell Park. Finally managing the drive out of Mansfield without slipping the inside wheel. Spent a lot time trying to optimise the car set up but despite all of that it was just a plaster until I fitted a proper plated diff.
It's been a while so thought I'd have an update, lost interest with posting about things at the end of last year but thought some of the current stuff was worth talking about.
The car didn't need much doing to it after Cadwell besides checking over the Aux Belt situation.
Loaded up the night before the track day. Have the say the trailer I bought back in approx 2016 was one of the best purchases I ever made. it really has paid for it's self over the years!
As you can imagine Oulton in December last year, it was just wet all day. Full day on the wets, ECU traction control and ABS doing their thing and the car was fantastic!
Have to say I'm not a fan of the car from this angle especially the rear end. I think the wing has had it's time now, I do have a replacement boot to go on if I commit to it back to a cleaner none aero E46.
Pulled together a video from the last session of the day, track was starting to dry out but was still running wets
[url}https://youtu.be/ywvHQg_xL9E?si=PcY5ewTb0ei84SvU[/url]
It was one of my favourite days in the car, I had done a tank of fuel by lunch time and spent a lot more time on track than usual.
Did however manage to lose another brand new indicator again on the kerbs. Lost the same one at Cadwell in the summer!
Wet track days really do make everything disgusting!
Car got a deep clean and put it away until 2025. I thought at this point I would park it and not touch it...
Curiosity got the better of me, only reading, watching what friends are doing with upgrades to the car, I decided to look for areas where the car can be improved. So to improve lap times and help with wet track days I went from no ABS back to Mk60 with a Bias valve but decided to order a Mk60E5 which seems to be the next big braking upgrade, it is the last of the ABS pumps which works stand alone, uses canbus and can be programmed using BMW tools, ordered one of the latest pumps from a 330D from a E90 and with some help will upgrade the firmware to E92 M3 and change the parameters to match the E46.
Pump out and swapped over, also had to change the plugs to E5 specific plugs and repin the plug as the pin out is different between modules. I do have some schematics I have worked out and checked myself to accuracy so will post them if any ones interested.
New job was to pull off the hubs and look at sensor mounting, I haven't found anyone that has done this yet with an E5. The front wheel sensors from the E90/92 are vehicle specific magnetic sensors so I need to fit mag rings and mount the BMW sensors to the front hubs
Some drawings on the computer and some test prints on the 3D printer and I came up with version one, BMW front sensors have to mount end on to the mag ring so ideally need to be mounted in this orientation
Version 2 with improved drawing and dimensions
We experiemented with trying to use the rear hall sensors and flashing the unit to M3 firmware, E90 firmwares and programming the unit to use hall sensors such as the standard E46 sensors to see if it would work, but it appears it's only the specific E90 Hall sensors that will work in the rear so decided to convert the year to magnetic rings too, it works out nice that the same rings used on the front will fit on the shafts too.
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54297719050_fa36060541_z.jpg[img]
Made up a guide to hold the magnetic rings concentric with the shafts when glueing them in place as there was slight gap and wanted them bonded as accurately as possible when spinning at 120mph!
Had all the parts professionally 3d printed. The sensor holders in stainless and the magnetic ring and rear sensor holders in nylon.
Front sensors bolting to the hub
Stripping the standard ring off a brand new front hub bearing
Magnetic ring holder pressed onto the hub and magnetic ring installed
Finally all mounted in position, just waiting on another new wheel hub for the other side.
At the moment I have got the system all connected to the car wiring, ECU and Logger.
I've bled the system and now have access to and logging a lot more data output from the E5.
4x brake pressures, one for each calipers, front and rear inlet pressures and rear pressure after the bias valve, I have decided to keep this in place so I can adjust the bias on the fly to adjust how much effort the pump has to do with controlling the bias, but the E5 appears to do a fantastic job of controlling the brake bias on the fly from what I've seen of it on a friends Porsche.
I have also mounted the E5 yaw sensor in the OEM location.
4 wheel speeds are output as standard from the E5 pump on ID206 , the Mk60 used to send it out on ID496 so I am using the logger board to read in and send out the values on the Mk60 address so the ECU has access to the wheel speeds for traction control.
I have also a revamp of the code for the data dashboard to show a lot more data relating to the E5.
Still a fair way to go before it's ready for testing but it's been good progress!
The car didn't need much doing to it after Cadwell besides checking over the Aux Belt situation.
Loaded up the night before the track day. Have the say the trailer I bought back in approx 2016 was one of the best purchases I ever made. it really has paid for it's self over the years!
As you can imagine Oulton in December last year, it was just wet all day. Full day on the wets, ECU traction control and ABS doing their thing and the car was fantastic!
Have to say I'm not a fan of the car from this angle especially the rear end. I think the wing has had it's time now, I do have a replacement boot to go on if I commit to it back to a cleaner none aero E46.
Pulled together a video from the last session of the day, track was starting to dry out but was still running wets
[url}https://youtu.be/ywvHQg_xL9E?si=PcY5ewTb0ei84SvU[/url]
It was one of my favourite days in the car, I had done a tank of fuel by lunch time and spent a lot more time on track than usual.
Did however manage to lose another brand new indicator again on the kerbs. Lost the same one at Cadwell in the summer!
Wet track days really do make everything disgusting!
Car got a deep clean and put it away until 2025. I thought at this point I would park it and not touch it...
Curiosity got the better of me, only reading, watching what friends are doing with upgrades to the car, I decided to look for areas where the car can be improved. So to improve lap times and help with wet track days I went from no ABS back to Mk60 with a Bias valve but decided to order a Mk60E5 which seems to be the next big braking upgrade, it is the last of the ABS pumps which works stand alone, uses canbus and can be programmed using BMW tools, ordered one of the latest pumps from a 330D from a E90 and with some help will upgrade the firmware to E92 M3 and change the parameters to match the E46.
Pump out and swapped over, also had to change the plugs to E5 specific plugs and repin the plug as the pin out is different between modules. I do have some schematics I have worked out and checked myself to accuracy so will post them if any ones interested.
New job was to pull off the hubs and look at sensor mounting, I haven't found anyone that has done this yet with an E5. The front wheel sensors from the E90/92 are vehicle specific magnetic sensors so I need to fit mag rings and mount the BMW sensors to the front hubs
Some drawings on the computer and some test prints on the 3D printer and I came up with version one, BMW front sensors have to mount end on to the mag ring so ideally need to be mounted in this orientation
Version 2 with improved drawing and dimensions
We experiemented with trying to use the rear hall sensors and flashing the unit to M3 firmware, E90 firmwares and programming the unit to use hall sensors such as the standard E46 sensors to see if it would work, but it appears it's only the specific E90 Hall sensors that will work in the rear so decided to convert the year to magnetic rings too, it works out nice that the same rings used on the front will fit on the shafts too.
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54297719050_fa36060541_z.jpg[img]
Made up a guide to hold the magnetic rings concentric with the shafts when glueing them in place as there was slight gap and wanted them bonded as accurately as possible when spinning at 120mph!
Had all the parts professionally 3d printed. The sensor holders in stainless and the magnetic ring and rear sensor holders in nylon.
Front sensors bolting to the hub
Stripping the standard ring off a brand new front hub bearing
Magnetic ring holder pressed onto the hub and magnetic ring installed
Finally all mounted in position, just waiting on another new wheel hub for the other side.
At the moment I have got the system all connected to the car wiring, ECU and Logger.
I've bled the system and now have access to and logging a lot more data output from the E5.
4x brake pressures, one for each calipers, front and rear inlet pressures and rear pressure after the bias valve, I have decided to keep this in place so I can adjust the bias on the fly to adjust how much effort the pump has to do with controlling the bias, but the E5 appears to do a fantastic job of controlling the brake bias on the fly from what I've seen of it on a friends Porsche.
I have also mounted the E5 yaw sensor in the OEM location.
4 wheel speeds are output as standard from the E5 pump on ID206 , the Mk60 used to send it out on ID496 so I am using the logger board to read in and send out the values on the Mk60 address so the ECU has access to the wheel speeds for traction control.
I have also a revamp of the code for the data dashboard to show a lot more data relating to the E5.
Still a fair way to go before it's ready for testing but it's been good progress!
dhutch said:
As always very interesting to see and read, particularly the ABS upgrade.
Presumably just a much finer resolution 'cleverer' system which will give a much more modern feel to the abs and traction control?
This is the idea, the E5 being from the E9X generation cars it's a lot newer, newer technology and developed strategies. Will be interesting to see the difference, I am led to believe the control of the individual wheel pressures is a lot more refined and has the ability to learn throughout the session regarding grip levels and bias, where as the Mk60 has to make these decisions every time the brake pedal is pressed. This is only what I have read though some of the technical documentation.Presumably just a much finer resolution 'cleverer' system which will give a much more modern feel to the abs and traction control?
The real test will be doing some logging and seeing how it feels when driving, I found the Mk60 brilliant at Oulton park in the wet especially when braking on the wet line/off the main braking zone but interested to see what the difference is with the E5, like you say a more developed system.
Spring arrives which brings with it the first track day for 2025 so I have had to get the car all working ready for Oulton Park which meant finishing off some of the on going jobs from over winter.
MK60E5.
Will document a few bits of this which I have found out along the way.
I am using - 6789303/6789304 - This is from the 6 cylinder E9x Models, It is important that all the parts used are from the 6 cylinder variants, I found this out the hard way again.
With some help of a friend we have experimented with flashing to M3 software but had an issue with a pump losing some inlet valve calibrations and being unable to rerun the calibrations with a 5DD0 Fault code which I was unable to clear on one unit, I bought a spare unit and just left it as the standard 6 cylinder firmware and updated some of the onboard settings using tool32.
Once I have used the ABS with the standard software I will update it to M3 in the future.
Sensors are front wheel speed sensors from 3.0 versions - 3452670424 - The white plastic gives them away as being 6 cylinder versions.
Originally I ordered the following Yaw sensor, the internet tends to say these are compatible with all model of pump - Guess what they're not!
The following is for Pre LCI but also appears to work with an E92 M3 pump too
676269-04
The correct Yaw sensor to use with a Post LCI unit as documented above
6850375
This later Yaw sensor uses a different style plug too as well as a different pin out
4 Pin Yaw Sensor
1 - Yaw Sensor Ground
2- Can Low
3- Can High
4- Yaw Sensor V+
With all that sorted and no more fault codes in the system other than missing data like the E90 instruments, Canbus messages and steering angle It was back to the mechanical side of things
I wanted to get the sensor wiring as far away from the disc as possible.
Ground away some of the plastic which wasn't needed where the wiring went into the sensor
Added thick heat proof sleeving rated for 400+ degrees
It is close but no issues so far at the time of writing this I have tested it and no effects from heat at the moment. Going up to E46 CSL discs would create more space here which is an option for the future
One important part of keeping these set up working is going to be cooling.
I have refitted the 3" brake ducts from the front fog lights to the front of the hubs
While on the topic of the E5 - Screenshot of a log from Oulton this weekend just passed.
Brakes going into EBV - Brake biasing when the rear wheels are reaching their limit of grip.
If wheel slip is detected on the front wheels then it goes into ABS
Overall the feel of the ABS is very good, no pedal feedback which was my biggest issue with the standard MK60 from the E46.
I was getting to grips with the brakes again at Oulton at the weekend and if anything over braking for corners but with a little more seat time I will get used to how late I can brake as well as getting used to how hard I can press the brakes, still only hitting just over 1000psi on braking, once or twice I hit 1200psi without any wheel slip or ABS it's just getting used to it again after years of having no ABS.
Pulled off the new tensioner I fitted at Cadwell Park last year when the bolts snapped in the block and replaced it for a S54 tensioner and idler, if it's good enough for 8k revs on an S54 it'll be much better for this engine.
Hopefully proves to be more reliable and pass the forces from the belt to the block more effectively with the larger clamping area an 3 bolts
With this tensioner you need to run the idler at the top near the alternator to take up the slack in the belt that's created with this tensioner being in a slightly different location
Modified the mounting of the splitter to raise the back edge it slightly to give a better rake angle on it and hopefully a little more front end grip, with the replacement bumper the splitter angle ended up pretty much flat so likely not doing a great deal
Interior - No major changes - Just been working on ensuring the instrument cluster works correctly
I have set up the Centre ABS Light to work with the MK60E5 to light up when there is an ABS fault
Speedo working correctly using one of the wheel speed outputs from the E5 directly to the cluster as it uses a PWM input
Red and Yellow ABS lights disabled.
Ordered a new wing to try at Oulton Park
Slghtly smaller than the chasis mounted wing
Safe to say I noticed a big difference at Oulton without the larger wing, throughout the day I adjusted the smaller wing all the way to it's maximum setting, but the car was no where near as stable as it normally is with the larger wing, I think this is something I will go back to. Function over form on this one.
Gave the alignment a once over as I'd replaced the front right inner tie rod and track rod end and it was ready for Oulton Park
The day got off to a great start, it was fairly quiet out on circuit and had a passenger in for the first 20 minute session, looking back at the logs I ended up putting in a 2:00 dead lap in the first session of the day. I think back now for how many years I was trying to get Oulton down to a 2 minute lap!
Changed a few things during the day, Ran the front ARB on full soft and full stiff. Prefer it on the soft setting which is way stiffer than the OEM bar anyway.
Turned up the dampers and tried a few different settings away from my usual base line settings but again preferring to run the dampers in the middle of their settings rather than full hard being one way dampers.
Checked the car over in the middle of the day and noticed that one of the Nylon press on fittings for the ABS had expanded and was no longer a push fit, I had decided to epoxy one side on, but the first side I built up I'd left as a push fit, I quickly rebuilt the first side with some epoxy resin and carried on the day without issue with the ABS
Got the car on the weighbridge at lunchtime.
The car was 1255 with 22 litres of fuel - 1230kg.
There is some weight I can loose easily from the car like foot plates, fire extinguisher, as well as around 15kg in splitter and splitter mounts but it's not worth it in my opinion for what they add.
The car was going really well until I suffered a random battery failure at 3pm. Hitting the inner curb at Cascades the whole car turned off and when diagnosing the fault the battery reads a flat 0v, prior to this everything was perfect on the logger showing 14.2 volts all day. I have ordered a different/new battery to replace the Lucas battery I was running. I will be rubber mounting this one though rather than it being solid on the metal floor
Obviously theres a video. Not my tidiest of laps, could be a lot smoother if I wasn't using so much kerb unsettling the car too!
MK60E5.
Will document a few bits of this which I have found out along the way.
I am using - 6789303/6789304 - This is from the 6 cylinder E9x Models, It is important that all the parts used are from the 6 cylinder variants, I found this out the hard way again.
With some help of a friend we have experimented with flashing to M3 software but had an issue with a pump losing some inlet valve calibrations and being unable to rerun the calibrations with a 5DD0 Fault code which I was unable to clear on one unit, I bought a spare unit and just left it as the standard 6 cylinder firmware and updated some of the onboard settings using tool32.
Once I have used the ABS with the standard software I will update it to M3 in the future.
Sensors are front wheel speed sensors from 3.0 versions - 3452670424 - The white plastic gives them away as being 6 cylinder versions.
Originally I ordered the following Yaw sensor, the internet tends to say these are compatible with all model of pump - Guess what they're not!
The following is for Pre LCI but also appears to work with an E92 M3 pump too
676269-04
The correct Yaw sensor to use with a Post LCI unit as documented above
6850375
This later Yaw sensor uses a different style plug too as well as a different pin out
4 Pin Yaw Sensor
1 - Yaw Sensor Ground
2- Can Low
3- Can High
4- Yaw Sensor V+
With all that sorted and no more fault codes in the system other than missing data like the E90 instruments, Canbus messages and steering angle It was back to the mechanical side of things
I wanted to get the sensor wiring as far away from the disc as possible.
Ground away some of the plastic which wasn't needed where the wiring went into the sensor
Added thick heat proof sleeving rated for 400+ degrees
It is close but no issues so far at the time of writing this I have tested it and no effects from heat at the moment. Going up to E46 CSL discs would create more space here which is an option for the future
One important part of keeping these set up working is going to be cooling.
I have refitted the 3" brake ducts from the front fog lights to the front of the hubs
While on the topic of the E5 - Screenshot of a log from Oulton this weekend just passed.
Brakes going into EBV - Brake biasing when the rear wheels are reaching their limit of grip.
If wheel slip is detected on the front wheels then it goes into ABS
Overall the feel of the ABS is very good, no pedal feedback which was my biggest issue with the standard MK60 from the E46.
I was getting to grips with the brakes again at Oulton at the weekend and if anything over braking for corners but with a little more seat time I will get used to how late I can brake as well as getting used to how hard I can press the brakes, still only hitting just over 1000psi on braking, once or twice I hit 1200psi without any wheel slip or ABS it's just getting used to it again after years of having no ABS.
Pulled off the new tensioner I fitted at Cadwell Park last year when the bolts snapped in the block and replaced it for a S54 tensioner and idler, if it's good enough for 8k revs on an S54 it'll be much better for this engine.
Hopefully proves to be more reliable and pass the forces from the belt to the block more effectively with the larger clamping area an 3 bolts
With this tensioner you need to run the idler at the top near the alternator to take up the slack in the belt that's created with this tensioner being in a slightly different location
Modified the mounting of the splitter to raise the back edge it slightly to give a better rake angle on it and hopefully a little more front end grip, with the replacement bumper the splitter angle ended up pretty much flat so likely not doing a great deal
Interior - No major changes - Just been working on ensuring the instrument cluster works correctly
I have set up the Centre ABS Light to work with the MK60E5 to light up when there is an ABS fault
Speedo working correctly using one of the wheel speed outputs from the E5 directly to the cluster as it uses a PWM input
Red and Yellow ABS lights disabled.
Ordered a new wing to try at Oulton Park
Slghtly smaller than the chasis mounted wing
Safe to say I noticed a big difference at Oulton without the larger wing, throughout the day I adjusted the smaller wing all the way to it's maximum setting, but the car was no where near as stable as it normally is with the larger wing, I think this is something I will go back to. Function over form on this one.
Gave the alignment a once over as I'd replaced the front right inner tie rod and track rod end and it was ready for Oulton Park
The day got off to a great start, it was fairly quiet out on circuit and had a passenger in for the first 20 minute session, looking back at the logs I ended up putting in a 2:00 dead lap in the first session of the day. I think back now for how many years I was trying to get Oulton down to a 2 minute lap!
Changed a few things during the day, Ran the front ARB on full soft and full stiff. Prefer it on the soft setting which is way stiffer than the OEM bar anyway.
Turned up the dampers and tried a few different settings away from my usual base line settings but again preferring to run the dampers in the middle of their settings rather than full hard being one way dampers.
Checked the car over in the middle of the day and noticed that one of the Nylon press on fittings for the ABS had expanded and was no longer a push fit, I had decided to epoxy one side on, but the first side I built up I'd left as a push fit, I quickly rebuilt the first side with some epoxy resin and carried on the day without issue with the ABS
Got the car on the weighbridge at lunchtime.
The car was 1255 with 22 litres of fuel - 1230kg.
There is some weight I can loose easily from the car like foot plates, fire extinguisher, as well as around 15kg in splitter and splitter mounts but it's not worth it in my opinion for what they add.
The car was going really well until I suffered a random battery failure at 3pm. Hitting the inner curb at Cascades the whole car turned off and when diagnosing the fault the battery reads a flat 0v, prior to this everything was perfect on the logger showing 14.2 volts all day. I have ordered a different/new battery to replace the Lucas battery I was running. I will be rubber mounting this one though rather than it being solid on the metal floor
Obviously theres a video. Not my tidiest of laps, could be a lot smoother if I wasn't using so much kerb unsettling the car too!
Edited by tombate911 on Wednesday 19th March 23:05
Unlike me I barely touched the car since March up until the Anglesey track day in May.
I did fit a new battery to replace the failed one from Oulton Park. When I removed the original battery it was completely flat 0v so something has broken/become disconnected inside.
Fitted the new battery and checked the voltages and everything looked good.
The return of the BGW
Anglesey Coastal
After the months of beautiful weather it was forecast a dry morning at least on Anglesey. Expected to get a lot of rain in the afternoon so tried to make the most of the morning weather
Car was faultless all day, nice to only have to check tyre pressures and suspension settings
Rolling out for some morning laps
It doesn't always go to plan. Returning back to the circuit from the infield.
Just before lunch the heavens started to open. On with the wets
Some artistic garage photos
I did fit a new battery to replace the failed one from Oulton Park. When I removed the original battery it was completely flat 0v so something has broken/become disconnected inside.
Fitted the new battery and checked the voltages and everything looked good.
The return of the BGW
Anglesey Coastal
After the months of beautiful weather it was forecast a dry morning at least on Anglesey. Expected to get a lot of rain in the afternoon so tried to make the most of the morning weather
Car was faultless all day, nice to only have to check tyre pressures and suspension settings
Rolling out for some morning laps
It doesn't always go to plan. Returning back to the circuit from the infield.
Just before lunch the heavens started to open. On with the wets
Some artistic garage photos
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