[///M_Achilles]

My E46 M3 Journal







2005 BMW E46 M3
Build Date: September 2004
6-spd manual transmission
Carbon Black Metallic / Black Napa Leather
Bi-Xenon Headlights / CD Player / Powered Seats / Sunroof
Cold Weather Package
29,9xx miles

Current List of Modifications

Suspension:
TC Kline Double Adjustable Coilovers: #500/#600
Vorshlag Camber Plates
Rogue Engineering Rear shock mounts
Rogue Engineering Front Anti-sway Bar
Rogue Engineering Lower Rear Control Arms
Rogue Engineering Front Control Arm Bushings (Street)
Rogue Engineering Rear Trail Arm Bushings (Street)
Rogue Engineering Rear Spring Articulating Perches


Transmission: Driveline
Autosolutions 40% Short Shift Kit
Rogue Engineering Transmission Mounts
Rogue Engineering Stainless Steel Clutch Line
CDV Removal


Brakes
Brembo GT Big Brake Kit: 6pot Front 355mm Slotted / 4pot Rear 345mm Slotted
Ferodo Brake Pads (Street/Track)
BF Goodridge Stainless Steel Bake Lines
Motul RBF 600 Brake Fluid


Wheels
Volk Racing TE37SL ~ Pressed Graphite Finish
18 x 9.5 x 22 Square Set-up (10mm spacer for the rear)
265/35/18 Hankook Ventus RS-3
Turner Motorsport 75mm Stud Kit & Lugs
Link: http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=388550


Engine & Exhaust
RPI Scoops
Dixis Spirit Titanium Exhaust
TMS Underdrive Pulleys
Evolve Carbon Fiber Airbox (1x1 Matte Finish)
Evolve R + Alpha-N Stage 1 Tune


Lighting
Umnitza 60LED 6000K Angel Eyes
6000K Bi-Xenon Bulb
HID 55W 3000K Fog Lights
LED License Plate Bulb


Interior
Turner Motorsport *Black Aluminum Race Pedals


Exterior
OEM
OEM Euro Bumper


Thank you all for viewing my journal; I hope you enjoy it!

[djm3]

You must be all about special days. You got her on Christmas. Now you're getting a birthday surprise for under the hood.

[///M_Achilles]

Yessir, should be arriving tomorrow it'll be a special day for sure

[///M_Achilles]

February 2009

My first modification ever was actually painted reflectors for my front bumper and I immediately liked the cleaner look it gave the car. Soon after I installed Stealth Auto bulbs for my front turn signals. One thing led to another and before I knew it the mod bug claims another e46 m3 owner. I eventually researched into more serious modifications, which led me to Custom Performance Innovations. I purchased their ECIS cold air intake with a fiberglass heat shield to get my foot in the door for performance

My immediate feedback was that the car pulled "stronger" than OEM on the buttdyno, but like many of us who have experimented and learned the hard way I soon uninstalled the kit after only having it on my car for a few months.

My current intake system:

OEM airbox
BMC drop-in filter
AFE intake tube
RPI scoops

Of course, this will soon change in a few weeks

[///M_Achilles]

June 2011


I wanted to modify my M3 starting in the right direction and build the car from the ground up. So, the general plan is:

1.) Suspension
2.) Brakes
3.) Wheels & Tires
4.) Drivetrain
5.) Modifications that increase horsepower and torque
6.) Weight reduction

I ultimately wanted a car that I could track on the weekend and use as a daily driver during the week. I used Obioban's suspension guide and determined that TC Kline coilovers was the perfect kit for my application. I proceeded to talk to Ben Liaw at Rogue Engineering for further consultation and he was very helpful explaining the benefits behind the kit. I have no regrets nor negative feedback going with a TCK kit. On top of coilovers I wanted to take advantage of improving other components like the front control arm bushings and rear trail arm bushings. I added the proverbial cherry on top by also installing Rogue Engineering's front sway bar that they had just released. Although it was not recommended by Ben to get lower rear control arms at this time, I went ahead and purchased a set, because I'd eventually use an aggressive wheel that would require more camber than OEM specification. Further, I wanted to be able to tweak every parameter for an alignment. Unbeknownst to me at the time that my OEM LRCA's were defective, this modification was ill-advised; however, very much needed. I get to reap the benefits of having these installed as you will see. At any rate here's the install back June of last year.

>TCK Double Adjustable Coilovers w/ #500/#500 spring rates
>Vorshlag camber plates
>Rogue Engineering Front Control Arm Bushings (Street compound)
>Rogue Engineering Rear Trail Arm Bushings (Street compound)
>Rogue Engineering Front Swaybar
>Rogue Engineering Rear Control Arms
>Reinforcement plates for front strut towers & rear spring perches


TCK Double Adjustable Coilovers






Vorshlag Camber Plates


R.E. Front Sway Bar


FCAB, RTAB, LRCA, Springs & a few other tidbits



I took my car to Motorsports Authority to have my new suspension installed. Bryan @ MS was very helpful and his mechanics were top notch. Photos from the install:




Toys I came to play with


Last time she was at OEM ride height




FCAB Install








OEM vs R.E. Front Sway Bar








Installing TCK Coilovers














RTABS Installed




Preparation for Rear Control Arm install (dropping the exhaust to make life easier)





As with every install that I've done on the car, especially this particular project with so many components, there's always something that doesn't go according to plan. Mine was the dreaded eccentric bolt that decided to seize within the ball joint when installing the rear lower control arms. PB blaster, torching, and a couple of grown men meant nothing to this pesky little bolt. We eventually tore the OEM control arm off and sheared off the seized bolt. I had brand new OEM ball joints and eccentric bolts shipped overnight during the weekend to complete the project the following day. Here's a couple of pictures of that annoying bolt:







After two days of working on the car at my buddy's shop, we were finally done! The initial drop was really aggressive and a few days later I adjusted the ride height as per TCK recommendation; however, the weeks to follow I found myself continually adjusting the height as the springs settled. The ride was noticeably firmer and more responsive. Unwanted vibration and harshness slightly increased, but was tolerable.











Looking back on this stage of the build, breaking up the install into smaller stages would have served me better getting oriented with the new driving characteristic of the car. Each modification has a subtle impact on the way the car handles and installing a lump sum of modifications convoluted what each part contributed. Currently, I've acclimated to the car as a whole, but I can not tell you, unfortunately, the benefit of each modification. To be fair, I was under the gun to get the new parts on the car and could not let the install drag on over time, but as it is right now, I'm extremely happy with the way car handles. As I participate in more auto cross events and eventually getting into high performance driving events, I'm wanting to experiment with the struts and shocks' capabilities of dampening the springs. This one of the main selling points for me buying the D/A kit vs the S/A as I wanted to be able to fine tune the car per track. Of course, the driver needs to be competent enough to know what to change after each lap. This will come with experience and a lot of seat time to be able to feel and know what the car should be doing in a high performance situation, so I look forward to participating in as much events as possible. Overall, the car is predictable, which gives me confidence. The car is a bit noisier with the stiffer components, but that is expected with aftermarket parts; more on this latter, as I tackle the infamous "clunk" with D/A shocks along with minimizing spring binding noise up front. Great coilover kt with complimentary components that make it a blast to drive

[///M_Achilles]

September 2011

Just some pictures of the my car back then The suspension has had time to settle and I installed new tie rods up front because they were seized when I initially went in for an alignment.

New Lemforder Tie Rods plus Grassroots Motorsports FTW!








Photos I took later that month....















A short bit on the exterior of the car up to this point....

Over the past few years I've slowly changed a few exterior tidbits here and there and for the most part, have kept it pretty simple and clean. As I said earlier in my journal, my first modification was painted reflectors for my front bumper. This lead to Stealth Auto bulbs for my turn signals, which then lead to a plethora of exterior modifications.

Exterior Modifications & Lighting

>Carbon Black Front Grills
>Carbon Fiber Side Gills
>Clear side markers with stealth bulbs
>Stealth Auto Bulbs for front turn signals
>Umnizta 60 LED 6000K Angel Eyes
>HID 55W 3000K Fog Lights
>LED license plate bulbs

[///M_Achilles]

October 2011

After my suspension upgrade, the next modification on the list was brakes as replacement of the OEM pads was needed and perhaps a simple upgrade of the lines and brake fluid. In truth, the aforementioned upgrades was all that I really needed to handle my first season in auto cross and a few driving events, but as always, I wanted a long term investment. Over the next few years, the demand for more stopping power and reduced brake fade would only increase as I participate in more events and gain experience. So, I researched into big brake kits for my M3. Here's what I wanted out of the BBK:

> Monoblock Calipers
> 2-piece floating rotors
> Able to switch brake pads easily
> Low cost of consumables
> Replacement parts are readily available

When all was said and done, I believe I accomplished two of the five goals for my ideal BBK At any rate, one guide line not listed, but I'm sure is in the back of the mind for everybody that looks into a BBK is the "bling" factor. I make no secret that big yellow calipers was what I had in mind after I couldn't get the BBK that I initially wanted. My first choice was an Alcon BBK. A solid kit that is comparable to Brembo, Stoptech and AP Racing, I chose to go with this brand because of its exclusivity and the performance it had to offer (not that I couldn't get this "performance" from other brake set-ups or BBK's). Thank God this kit never came to my door step! More on that latter. Soon after my decision I talked to the guys at VividRacing and ordered an Alcon BBK. Well, after a month lead time, the components for the BBK finally arrived from Europe; HOWEVER, the folks over at Stasis Engineering (U.S. distributor for Alcon Brakes) ordered the wrong calipers and rotors! The components were for a Mitsubishi EVO IX! I suppose things happen for a reason, because the cost of consumables and lead time for replacement components would have far out weighed the benefit of the Alcon kit itself. If waiting over a month to get parts for the kit was any indication of how down time would be I wanted no part of it! Going back to the drawing board, I did not want to wait another month for the correct components to arrive and be prepped for my car, so I consulted with Josh at Vividracing and we eventually settled on a Brembo GT kit. Aside from the near 6 weeks I had to wait for a BBK, I couldn't be happier with the way things played out nor my decision to go with Brembo.

Brakes:
Brembo GT 6pot/4pot 355/345 Slotted
Ferodo Pads
BF Goodridge SS brake lines
Motul RBF 600








OEM vs Brembo GT



There's always that pesky seized bolt or screw during install of new parts. This time it was the 5mm hex screw that secured the rotor to the hub. I had to use a Grabit bit and power driller to extract the seized screw from the hub.



Finally, installed on the car
















During the initial test drive, the first thing I noticed with the kit was the much firmer brake pedal and reduction of travel. The sensitivity of the pedal as to how much pressure correlated to stopping power also changed too. After a proper bed-in procedure and the smell of hot brake pads, I was ready to drive on my favorite country side road As I mentioned before, the firmer pedal was different, BUT made a huge impact for feel under hard braking as the reduced pedal travel allowed for more sensitive pressure adjustments. There was no longer this insane amount of slack in the OEM pedal. I loved it (still do actually lol)! Other things to note, the initial bite of the slotted rotors was phenomenal and I've never noticed any fade under prolong amounts of hard braking. I'm sure this will change when I get to harsher environments e.g. driving events. As for the brake pads, the kit came with a standard street/track pad made by Ferodo, which I think is great considering I do, from time to time, take my car out on the street to run errands. I'd eventually like to run PFC pads that are specific to track or street application. The final upgrade I'd like to install someday would be cooling ducts in the front bumper, but for now, this is more than enough for what I want to do All in all, I have no complaints and am extremely happy with the kit

[///M_Achilles]

November 2011

The next step for increasing the handling and acceleration was a good set of wheels that I could use both on the street and on the track. As a guideline, I wanted to get away from the staggered OEM set-up and reduce my consumables with a square set-up, which will allow me to rotate the tires between events. Initially, I've experimented with CSL tire sizes (235/35 & 265/30), which in my opinion didn't change the feel of the car a whole lot compared to the oem sizes. It DID, however, increase ride harshness, so when I upgraded to light weight 18" wheels & thicker tires, the ride comfort was immediately better Here some photos (with my camera phone mind you, so apologies if it's not as clear) the day I got my Volk's. Also, here's the original thread that goes into detail about the specifications of the wheels and tires. Enjoy!

Link to Volk's: http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=388550









Late in the month, I added 30% tint to the driver, passenger, & rear windows in anticipation for Arkansas summer heat; 50% reduction for the front windshield













The feel from dropping nearly 11 pounds per hub was amazing! Steering response and acceleration increased and was very noticeable. This set-up will serve as my street and track wheels for the time being, BUT I'd eventually look into getting a dedicated track set, most likely APEX ARC-8's in the same size wrapped with Hoosiers

[conzyo]

Amazing, keep it up.
So much fun to see our cars during the transformation.

[flipm3]

INSANE BUILD!!!

I love your systematic way of documenting everything!!!

Time to get rid of that ECIS intake