View Full Version : E46 M3 Goodness !
Whilst my s13 sits at work gathering dust i picked this little beauty up:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/2011-06-09155213.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/2011-06-10164723.jpg
Plans are: re map (as it costs me nothing) CSL rims, CSL bootlid, powerflex all round and maybe some kw coilovers, its such an amazing car out the box though and properly fast i love it, and with only 79k on the clock the interior is minty fresh !
Oh just one issue... the brakes are awful, like truly oh my god am i gonna stop ?
Nice :thumbs:
Another SXBMW club member :D
How much was that then? Nice motor! (best remove your license plate from the pic).
They can't be that bad... I would do the usual and check the pads/disks for worn parts and seizures, and replace fluid and bleed the lines.
samcash88
14-06-2011, 12:56
Really love these, like the sounds of your plans too, what sort of gains do you think you'll see with the remap alone?
zeppelin101
14-06-2011, 13:05
How much was that then? Nice motor! (best remove your license plate from the pic).
They can't be that bad... I would do the usual and check the pads/disks for worn parts and seizures, and replace fluid and bleed the lines.
Brakes are woeful. I don't think anyone I've asked/spoken to about M3s has had anything nice to say about standard brakes :wack:
Speak to Jim, the brakes on his are fooking awesome :D
Moby-Dick
14-06-2011, 13:08
Nice ! ( btw that photo really looks like it was taken at Haven Weymouth ;)
The brakes are shit. I got some 8 pot on my M3. Problem solved :-)
Nice :thumbs:
Another SXBMW club member :D
Cheers man, my 5th bmw to be fair though :)
How much was that then? Nice motor! (best remove your license plate from the pic).
They can't be that bad... I would do the usual and check the pads/disks for worn parts and seizures, and replace fluid and bleed the lines.
No idea how to remove the plate tbh i,m not computer enabled, cheers for the advice but i run a small tuner/garage company :thumbs:
Really love these, like the sounds of your plans too, what sort of gains do you think you'll see with the remap alone?
The last one we mapped went from 347hp to 358hp but i cant find the graph or remember the torque :wack:
Nice ! ( btw that photo really looks like it was taken at Haven Weymouth ;)
Jeez you must have been there alot!!! we went for a weekend away last week, got 34mpg average from mk to there and back which was pretty good i thought !
You're not pressing them hard enough :-p ;-)
Anyway.. here you go.. pic with plate number removed, just replace your pic with this one:
http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/attachment.php?attachmentid=73284&stc=1&d=1308059923
How much was that then? Nice motor! (best remove your license plate from the pic).
Why :confused: do you drive round with tape over your plate :confused::wack:
It's filthy and I love it. I can understand why people are buying proper BMW's like the M3 and M5, they make various excellent noises and are wonderfully quick and comfortable. I just spent 20 minutes laughing as I was tortured around MK in it :wack:
Very jealous, BUT let's not forget the S13 ;)
Nice motor :thumbs:
AP Racing is the brake upgrade of choice for E46 M3 owners :nod:
Love it :thumbs: Don't see it happening for a few years but I can definitely see me owning one at some point. The plans sound ideal, pretty much exactly what I'd want to do :cool:
Was there much of a difference between E36 and E46 brakes, or the weight of the car or anything? With decent fluids and pads mine aren't bad, sure they're not the world's greatest but they're consistent and don't fade badly on track.
Nice motor :thumbs:
AP Racing is the brake upgrade of choice for E46 M3 owners :nod:
Only if you are desparate :p Alcon are the best choice of brakes for M3 Owners :D
Only if you are desparate :p Alcon are the best choice of brakes for M3 Owners :D
I was gonna give the k sports a whirl with ds2500's to be honest, we fit them to quite a few customer cars amd they've performed well so far
, cheers for the comments guys i do fully love it :smitten:
Why :confused: do you drive round with tape over your plate :confused::wack:
Why make it easy for ringers/fuel thiefs to get a plate that matches a car? Its commonly suggested to remove plates from pics online, i am sure i am not alone in this.. but lets not ruin his thread :-)
What spec of brakes to go for? Are you tracking it at all? Edit: saw the ksport option, got a link to the kit (just interested)
Why make it easy for ringers/fuel thiefs to get a plate that matches a car? Its commonly suggested to remove plates from pics online, i am sure i am not alone in this.. but lets not ruin his thread :-)
What spec of brakes to go for? Are you tracking it at all? Edit: saw the ksport option, got a link to the kit (just interested)
Yeah i'll be tracking it plus ring trips and maybe get to spa if i can this year
http://www.ksport.co.uk/order.asp?id=106&loc=2
Looks good, I've been looking at these, be interested to see the graph after the re-map if you find it.
Moby-Dick
15-06-2011, 11:12
Only been there the once :) just looked like exactly the same place I went with the Mrs and Litt'un a couple of weeks back !
Was there any reason you choose the E46 M3 over the later 335i M Sport?
These look two very good choices at similar money and wondered what swayed you on your choice :nod::thumbs:
Looks good, I've been looking at these, be interested to see the graph after the re-map if you find it.
Yeah no worries, well after i've done mine i'll pop up the graph :thumbs:
Only if you are desparate :p Alcon are the best choice of brakes for M3 Owners :D
I agree, I work for Alcon and alot of development went into them!!
Comparing the both Alcon are better all round!
Yeah no worries, well after i've done mine i'll pop up the graph :thumbs:
Good man, thanks:)
Was there any reason you choose the E46 M3 over the later 335i M Sport?
These look two very good choices at similar money and wondered what swayed you on your choice :nod::thumbs:
Main reason was the turbo/actuator issues on the 335i, MASSIVE money to sort when they let go !
Awesome cars :)
Was there any reason you choose the E46 M3 over the later 335i M Sport?
These look two very good choices at similar money and wondered what swayed you on your choice :nod::thumbs:
Carols brother has the 335 and doesn't rate it as a drivers car, I suppose one of the big issues is the lack of an LSD :) he preferred his 350z over the BMW. Although he also preferred his 350 over his late model RS6!
So got a spare 5 mins this morning to map the bee em, should take her to around 360hp but we'll find out next week when i strap her to the rollers:D
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/2011-06-17095021.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/2011-06-17095028.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/2011-06-17095053.jpg
Seat of the pants tells me response is much better and the annoying flat spot around 2500rpm is gone also no 155mph limiter anymore :thumbs:
Is it just a chiptune you had done or something more involved? Mine got done in a fit of weakness way back in the day :)
I have a catagory A dumbass question.
The vents in the wings. A much copied and interesting feature of the M3, bbut do they actually work, or are they just decorative to let others know theyre about to lose?
Just interested really..:)
Is it just a chiptune you had done or something more involved? Mine got done in a fit of weakness way back in the day :)
No its a proper re-flash of the file, so a read of the file is taken then sent to a guy in warwick who changes the parameters then we put the updated software back into the ecu, usually the car would go on the rollers afterwards to check afr and power etc but as its me we've not bothered for the moment.
I have a catagory A dumbass question.
The vents in the wings. A much copied and interesting feature of the M3, bbut do they actually work, or are they just decorative to let others know theyre about to lose?
Just interested really..:)
No they vent engine bay heat as far as i can see, definately functional in any case :thumbs:
Well i managed to get some time recently to play about the M3, first off was a set of 40-30 split eibach pro line springs, absolutely mega change, the car feels even more planted now and body roll is non existant, the re map got me up to 358hp which is very pleasing as initially it dynoed at 334 which is bone stock but it turned out the dyno operator had run it up in 6th gear (think 175mph terminal speed on the dyno eek).
Next up ive whacked on some 5mm spacers but really it neds some 12mm ish hub centrics, lastly i decided to get the roof wrapped in a kind of sparkly matt vinyl, some say it looks chavvy or csl replica'ish bu i quite like it....
Black grilles and wing vents on the way as i type but here are some pics along the way so far....
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/f7d96feb.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/4995341f.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/24a79cca.jpg
And here is some insiration:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/003f69d7.jpg
God i want one of these :( cracking car by the way :)
New black grille kit on, man it looks hard as nails now:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/200sex/6f5e60f2.jpg
Chriscooke
06-11-2011, 15:40
Think I may have to own one of these one day :nod:
Think I may have to own one of these one day :nod:
the savings fund has already started for me nothing being spent on the datsun apart from wear and tear. Just got to get the small prospect of a wedding to get out of the way and im good to go.
At the moment its one of these or a 996 911 (but if the porsche goes wrong im f**ked
steve_20085
06-11-2011, 17:03
If you don't mind me asking what are you paying for insurance, I've been looking at them for a while but the cheapest quote I can get is £1400 compared to £600 for my 350bhp kitted 14a it's a lot of money.
Well actually i own a garage/tuning company so the car is registered under the company name and therefore covered by business insurance, so I don't actually pay anything for insurance.
Edit: just did an online quote and it came up with £1000 fully comp, I'm 33 with no points and full no claims ; )
Was there much of a difference between E36 and E46 brakes, or the weight of the car or anything? With decent fluids and pads mine aren't bad, sure they're not the world's greatest but they're consistent and don't fade badly on track.
My 540 has the same brakes as e36 M3's and with decent pads and fluid as sam says they are good stoppers. My 5 series must weigh about the same or more than an e46 M3, saying that if you've got budget for AP's then why not :thumbs:
Nice car btw :nod:
Dunc.
EDIT: Oops, didn't realise you got this half a year ago, sure you'll have the brakes sorted by no :o
I don't know why folk are saving for one of these, remember according to this forum a Stage 1 S14a can dust one down!
Stage 1a @ 18psi. vs M3 E46, within the last 24hrs I was with my friend on a private road and there ain't a lot in it, it has an edge for sure but he couldn't ever get away.. I'd expect stage 3a to be a contender
Then he wasn't trying dude lolol.
I've got 358bhp and around 1250kg in my S14a with a lot of weight removed. Ali has 356bhp (I think) and around 1400kg in his remapped M3.
We hit a downhill slip road onto an open dual carriageway and we were exactly matched until about 110 at which point I began reeling him in at a fair rate.
I absolutely, and I mean absolutely, dust the f**k out of Stage 1's so there's either something incredibly wrong with my car, massive driver inability in other M3's or a lot of artistic licence.
And yes, it's this car in this thread lol. Anyways, I'll not drag it away, it's just we regularly laugh our arses off at his workshop about this topic.
My 540 has the same brakes as e36 M3's and with decent pads and fluid as sam says they are good stoppers. My 5 series must weigh about the same or more than an e46 M3, saying that if you've got budget for AP's then why not :thumbs:
Nice car btw :nod:
Dunc.
EDIT: Oops, didn't realise you got this half a year ago, sure you'll have the brakes sorted by no :o
Thank you,
Lol actually no as the standard brakes (in good condition) are fine, they melted on a trackday at beford buy then it's my road car so......
And lol at the stage1.232abd thing, its boring now it's not possible for a 340hp (when standard) car to be slow
This reminds me how much I miss my E36 M3 Evo :cry: I'm suffering the indignity of driving a VAG diesel crapbox (Fabia vRS) for a year or so :wack: Owning the M3 has made me not want any other car, so it will be another E36 at some point :D
This reminds me how much I miss my E36 M3 Evo :cry: I'm suffering the indignity of driving a VAG diesel crapbox (Fabia vRS) for a year or so :wack: Owning the M3 has made me not want any other car, so it will be another E36 at some point :D
I had 4 e36's before this, none were m3 but I've driven a few and they are fully awesome !!
The Simps
12-11-2011, 19:36
Nice motor! Where did you get the black kidneys from? I need some for mine!
Wolvreen
12-11-2011, 22:37
Just seen this thread.
E46 M3 is a refined powerful car, feels way different to an Sbody.
Although the brakes on an M3 are a joke, single floating pot, I always think about this when their pretensious advert comes on talking about RWD and 50/50 weight distribution. If you thought that much about a sports car then spend more then 20 quid on the brakes, ffs?
Good choice Alistair, hope its going well. I love them. Forget the new bloated model.
The Simps
13-11-2011, 01:34
Just to add to the 200 vs M3 discussion.
I had to take my stage 1 with intercooler to the lock up and got mate to dive the m3. Off private roundabout in 2nd the m3 was equal to about 80mph then left me for dust. When I hit 120mph he was bouncing off the 155mph limiter.
I got in perfect grip & gear changes too. No need to lie about my own cars.
200 "feels" quicker tho because of turbo torque kicking in.
I was aiming for an e46 m3 when saving for a car, I'm glad I spent half the money on an s14a as in comparison I've spent 6k (half an m3) and its a great package compared to the 11-12k I was looking at, to be even close to it in a drag race or seconds off on a blast on the motorway im more than happy..
Just seen this thread.
E46 M3 is a refined powerful car, feels way different to an Sbody.
Although the brakes on an M3 are a joke, single floating pot, I always think about this when their pretensious advert comes on talking about RWD and 50/50 weight distribution. If you thought that much about a sports car then spend more then 20 quid on the brakes, ffs?
Good choice Alistair, hope its going well. I love them. Forget the new bloated model.
Cheers Paul, only just seen this I love the m3 and the brakes (now I've put new pads in etc) are absolutely fine for everyday driving tbf, track time is a no no unless ambient temps are v low though lol .
@jc I don't understand why you have posted on my thread?? Please don't again unless you have a useful contribution, I have a very very fast s13 and don't need comparisons between s bodys and my daily thanks
Yeah it's a bit of an odd contribution isn't it, you just have to get used to some of the stuff that people say. I found that my outlook on what made a great car changed when I got my M3 but that there are some times when the S13 reminds me why I built a great car (with help ;))
Then again when you are concentrating on drag's and quarters and forgetting why a car has a steering wheel, I guess you are missing most of the point :wack:
The whole versus issue is really a non event, they are two very different types of vehicles and shouldn't be compared.
Yeah it's a bit of an odd contribution isn't it, you just have to get used to some of the stuff that people say. I found that my outlook on what made a great car changed when I got my M3 but that there are some times when the S13 reminds me why I built a great car (with help ;))
Then again when you are concentrating on drag's and quarters and forgetting why a car has a steering wheel, I guess you are missing most of the point :wack:
The whole versus issue is really a non event, they are two very different types of vehicles and shouldn't be compared.
Well said sir!!
Fine looking car and your future plans are worth following
E46 m3's have been taking up a lot of my potential new car browsing - something that needs very little work (compared to sbodies) out of the box to make a proper track weapon. My next car will eithrer be one of these or a golf r32 i think
Jim's is an inspiration for this - it looks seriously good on roads and track - i must get a p ride at some point
ive been looking at these lately, if i sold everything i own car wise i could afford a cheap one but im worried about running costs,
what are they like, say in comparison to an s14a, ??
ive been looking at these lately, if i sold everything i own car wise i could afford a cheap one but im worried about running costs,
what are they like, say in comparison to an s14a, ??
Average around 20mpg with a mix of fast and slow driving, tyres arent too bad if you get one on 18s, a full inspection 2 service will cost you £300-£400 in parts from BMW, go fast bits are very expensive with exhausts starting at £1k, thermostats and water pumps are common fails but are easy peasy to do, fuel pump relay is also common, front discs and rear discs are ally bell steel rotor and cost £2-300 for a pair, pads need to be genuine or ds2500 as cheapo pads do not work, all in all the absolute best car i've ever owned !
This car opened my eyes. Scarily fast entry speeds :eek:
A 385bhp s14 would walk away from an E46 M3 in a straight line.
I race one pretty much every day, and its a quick one that I've driven round a CSL in. My car with a bar of boost is a tiny bit slower, like half a car length to well over 100mph.
They are amazing cars though, if I could afford one I'd have one in a heartbeat.
Perfect at everything, and so cheap at the moment! Suspension, polybushes, brakes and they are incredible round a track, if a tiny bit slow on the road (my perception of power is a bit warped :wack:)
Which KW's and spring rates do you have?
What pads are you using on the stock brakes? Have you bled the fluid/checked they're not binding?
Stock brakes with good pads are perfect for 90% of people.
M3 > everything else. :nod:
E92 M3 > E46 M3 though ;)
E92 M3 > E46 M3 though ;)
Interestingly BMW/Ring legend Tom Schirmer takes the V8's out of his E92's and puts the S54's back in, apparently.
Then charges you £130k extra :wack:
Really? That surprises me TBH, I was never a great fan of the S54 ion the E46, thought it could have handled a lot more power. As can an E92 TBF, but the noise makes up for it :D
That's Nurburgring hear-say, so its probably bullshit. I haven't actually seen one.
I think they're a good trade off of power, driveability and reliability, anything more and I think some of that would have been sacrificed.
E46 BTW, I haven't been in an E92.
Think the e46 CSL is still the quickest out of the lot round the ring? Perhaps even including the new M3 GTR stripped out thing (not 100% sure on that last bit though)
It's mighty :nod:
Dunc.
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