[SPARKNOTES FOR THE LAZY: 318ti, S54, 6-speed content]
[Current pic]
[Current build list]
Chassis:
- 1997 318ti
- Alpine White
- California Open-Air Package (the full retractable canvas roof)
- Sport Package (M-tech bumpers, moldings)
Engine
- S54 3.2L I6 (E46 M3 engine)
- Alpha-N software by RK Tunes
- Prototype CSL-style fiberglass airbox
- Euro catless headers
- 3" AA Race Exhaust (custom welded and adapted to 318ti)
Drivetrain
- E46 M3 6MT
- Z3 4.10 clutch-type LSD
- E36 325i slave cylinder
- Rogue Engineering stainless clutch line
- Rogue Engineering poly trans mounts
- Rogue Engineering clutch stop
- Euro crossmember and shifter assembly
- E36 M3 auto driveshaft
- Z3M Roadster axles
Suspension
- Bilstein PSS9 coilovers
- New Meyle control arms and FCABs
- New Lemforder tie rods
- E36 M3 front subframe, spindles, and sway bar
- Z3M Roadster rear subframe, control arms, and sway bar
Brakes
- Front Porsche 996 Brembos (RallyRoad adapter kit)
- E46 M3 slotted front rotors
- PFC brake pads
- Rear Z3M Roadster package
- Rogue Engineering custom front and rear stainless brake lines
Wheels/Tires
- BBS RC305 17x9 ET32 square, polished caps
- Bridgestone Potenza RE-01 245/40/R17 square
- Rogue Engineering wheel studs and nuts
- 12 mm front spacer
Interior
- Z3M Roadster cluster
- E36 M3 steering wheel
- Black Vaders (E36 M3)
- AC Schnitzer pedals
- Semi-gutted hatch and rear seat section
- Battery relocated to trunk
Exterior
- Gratuitous door dings
- Sad hood with peeling clear coat
- Cali-roof of stargazing in cruise control
#1. From Long Beach to Jersey, 2012 recap.
dasGoldfinger. A bit about me..
So where to begin...
I guess I'll introduce myself, I'm Garrett (Ragnorak), Penn State alum, working as a Nuclear Engineer in Jersey. A few of you know me from M3/Z3 partouts over the last year. All of that really started as a cost-effective way to get some upgrades for my M3 without spending money from my full-time job. We all know that this hobby is expensive and has a really bad return on investment, so I convinced myself doing this on the side would be a smart move.
No Donk. How I ended up with a hatchback.
As it progressed, the M3 wouldn't fit any of the larger parts in the trunk and it became a pain to use it to haul things. Plus any little scratches were irritating me when loading parts in and pulling them back out.
So I started searching for a parts mule and looked at a few E34 wagons, E36 wagons, etc. I even thought about chopping the rear seats/trunk out of a damaged Hellrot M3 sedan I had to make an M3 pickup (glad I didn't do that!). Eventually, I scored a nice Craigslist hit out of Long Island last February:
Specs. How Germany equipped this little guy.
To be honest, I didn't know what I bought at first. It ended up being pretty rare as far as 318ti's go. It has the following packages:
- Alpine White over Grey Millipoint
- M44, 5-speed manual
- California Open-Air (the full retractable canvas roof)
- Sport Package (M-tech bumpers, moldings, springs, swaybars)
Return to Service. Getting it fit to drive.
When I bought it, it didn't run, had flat rear tires, horrible decals, and blown struts all the way around. A spare battery, cam position sensor, MAF, and a set of DS2s later and I was dailying it.
It cleaned up pretty well, but the roof didn't work. I swapped it out with one from a parts car I bought.
After a few details:
Yes, this car can haul a lot. 2 sets of M3 wheels/tires all in the hatch, of course with no back seat.
Mod bug. I suck at having a daily.
So after riding around with some M3 struts I had laying around, I decided to start doing the car proper and it slowly evolved from a beater to something more modified. There goes my plan to have a car that I can park anywhere in the mall and not wanting to stab the guy/girl dinging my doors!
New Bilstein Coilovers, huge improvement
I still have yet to really drop the car since I never bought a proper fitted set of wheels. That will probably be the last thing I do.
Where the E36s sleep...the compact next to my M3:
Daily status, and why my girlfriend always calls it the polar bear:
As a joke, I threw the staggered Roadstars I had onto the Compact. It gives it this matchbox stance that'd pretty funny to look at. Definitely didn't stay on for long though.
Compact with Z3M shoes:
#2. Laguna Seca Heart Transplant.
WTF? Enter Frankenstein E36.
After doing the coilovers and going to Bimmerfest East, I really started to enjoy the 318ti. I actually enjoy it more than the M3. I know the compacts are the bastard children of the E36 world. But that actually appeals to me. I'm not really the type to go with the grain, and I think this build will eventually show that.
So, I decided I wanted to start putting together some big plans for the car. I really didn't want to do an S50/52 though. I already had one in my M3, and while it's a great engine, it's really not what should have been in the car.
I wanted what E36 owners lusted for out of Europe. I wanted the screaming redline. I wanted ITBs (a feature found in all of BMWs NA M-division cars). I could have gone turbo, but I've done that before one a different platform. The goal really wasn't to make the most power possible. The goal is to put BMW's pinnacle of I6 NA development, the S54, in the lightest US-market E36 chassis from the factory, the 318ti.
It's all about a unique car, a unique build, something fun to me, and the almighty power-to-weight ratio.
Once it's said and done, it'll have a ton of OEM parts (with OEM reliability) and a solid power-to-weight ratio outperforming the E92 M3. The basic rundown is this:
- Engine: S54, mild mods (E46 M3)
- Transmission: 6-speed manual (E46 M3)
- Driveshaft: E36 M3 Automatic
- Diff: E30 3.73, 3.91, or 4.10 (haven't decided!)
- Front suspension: E36 M3
- Rear suspension: Z3M Roadster
- Brakes: Z3M Roadster
- Steering rack: Z3M Roadster
- Shifter and trans mounts: Euro E36 M3
Once I'm done, nothing mechanical on the car will be original to the 318ti. It'll basically be a clusterfuck of BMW's parts bin. But a fast clulsterfuck.
The Hunt. Finding a powerplant.
I was searching for months for a wrecked Z3M with an S54 but, considering how rare those cars are, I didn't come up with anything. I eventually came across a rather clean Oxford Green Z3M that, after some debating, I parted out. Since the Z3M rear suspension is nice and beefy, includes the larger brakes, and has a decent diff, I grabbed that dropout for this build. But since I didn't want to go with the S52, I sold off the pristine powertrain.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. After a lot of searching, I found an excellent deal on an S54/6-speed dropout. The issue? It was in Maine, a good 6 hours away. My good friend had an F-250 and let me borrow it for the day. So, long story short, I left at 6 am, got back home at 2 am. Really. Long. Day.
Donor car:
And took back this baby:
I'll kick off the next installment once I get the Z3M out of the garage. I want to fully prep the motor before it's in the car so I at least have a backup vehicle for as long as possible. Once the engine is in, everything should progress pretty quickly. I'll shoot updates as I go along!
Last edited by Ragnorak; 01-06-2014 at 10:47 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Past Builds:
S54 E36 Compact Build|Thread|IG|@_goldfinger|
Current Fleet:
Z4 M Coupe - Black Sapphire Metallic over Black
Poor LSB, but subscribed.
1987 Buick Grand National
2001 BMW 540i
WHOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I love this build!
Very nice!
1995 M3 - Forged 9.8:1 2JZ, S366, MS3x, E85, LQ9s, 420g/PMC Motorsport kit, 4 clutch 3.15 LSD Large Case 757whp/710wtq
2011 X5 Xdrive35d- Blk on Cinnamon, Towing Pkg, Heat Pkg., etc..the tow rig/DD!
Oh man... that Ti is going to be downright hilarious. Please throw on a 4.10 diff in there, too. Imagine how ridiculous it would be to have almost no grip all the way through third.
Gone, but never forgotten:
'09 335i - Alpine white + Coral Red | '02 M5 - Imola Red + Imola Red
'04 E55 AMG Brilliant Silver / Anthracite .. '96 318i Alpine White / Black .. '01 330Ci Titanium Silver / Coral Red .. '96 328i Jet Black / Black
Hah yep, that's an issue I'm trying to figure out. I want to squeeze 265-285s out back (which is very do-able with the ti chassis). Considering I want three traction-limited gears that I can redline without getting arrested, I'm looking into a 3.73, 3.91, or 4.10 diff out back.
I know. I saw the car in person and was a little bummed about the car being so wrecked, but at least it'll live on in high-revving spirit.
Thanks man!
Thanks!
Last edited by Ragnorak; 02-04-2013 at 01:11 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Past Builds:
S54 E36 Compact Build|Thread|IG|@_goldfinger|
Current Fleet:
Z4 M Coupe - Black Sapphire Metallic over Black
Ohhh yeahhhh
mother of gawd
Love me some epic build!
Awesome! I Can't wait to see the progress. And I love seeing more Ti threads on here. But when you eventually finish the swap, You should come out o Bear Mountain for a small shoot with the Ti crew. You can get a nice shot in a line of swapped Ti's lol. 2 of my buddies have swapped out for JDM though, 1 swap done with a 13b Rotary & the other has an RB26Dett that he's just about finished up with
Past Builds:
S54 E36 Compact Build|Thread|IG|@_goldfinger|
Current Fleet:
Z4 M Coupe - Black Sapphire Metallic over Black
Finally someone not trying to stuff a V8 in there. Looking great! Ill drink to this...
Epic build is epic.
Can't wait to see progress Garrett!
I wish I could get them to sign up on a forum, they're both pretty much anti-internet all together lol. But the 13B belongs to the owner of the shop I work on my Ti at, I'll be sure to snap some shots this week. As for the RB, I'll try & get him to e-mail some photos but his car is currently out of commission until he gets his wiring harness issue worked out
#3. Ignite. Add equal parts wallet and 93 octane.
Schalten. RealOEM time.
When I was pricing out this build, I didn't think I'd be able to get an OEM Euro shifter easily so I searched around for aftermarket options. Between UUC and Rogue, I was facing about $400 for an aftermarket short throw shifter. I really don't like SSKs though, they've always been notchy in my experience. I really liked the throw on the Z3M and wanted something similar.
I said screw it and wanted to price out parts new from BMW. I thought they'd kill me on it but I gave it a shot. Parts diagram coming:
Major parts I needed, obviously, were:
[1] - 25112227893 Shifter Arm (Carrier)
[5] - 25117527255 Shift Lever
[9] - 25112228055 Selector Rod
It turns out that the shift lever is the same one used in the E39 M5 and the E46 M3. Nice score for me since the 6 speed came with the shift assembly! I simply ordered the shifter carrier, selector rod, and euro 6-speed crossmember straight from BMW. $91 and 2 days later and I have my Euro parts on my desk.
After doing a cross-reference search, it seems the rest of the bearings, clips, and washers are just standard parts for BMW transmissions. I thought they might be specific. For reference, the shifter wear items that I bought new as well were:
[2] - 25117507695 Carrier Bush Bearing
[3] - 25117529079 Carrier Bearing Bolt (aka bitch clip, clips to transmission)
[4] - 25111222015 Rear Carrier Bushing (clips to chassis)
[10] - 25111220439 Plastic Washers x 4 (important to eliminate as much slop as possible)
[11] - 25117571899 Selector Rod Clip x 2
I inspected the shifter cup bushing as well as the gearshift rod joint [12 above] as they were still tight, so I left them be.
Last edited by Ragnorak; 03-20-2013 at 09:22 AM.
Past Builds:
S54 E36 Compact Build|Thread|IG|@_goldfinger|
Current Fleet:
Z4 M Coupe - Black Sapphire Metallic over Black
Its always awesome to see fellow Penn Staters doing great things, and this damn sure qualifies as great!
Infiniti G35S Turbo BMW M3/4/5 Ninja ZX6R 636
Penn State University '08...better than your school since 1855
Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Incorporated
UTI Class of '10, BMW "STEPchild"
Acurazine.com Mod Squad
285s are definitely easy to fit in the back. As for traction, a 245 held the lm7 and ls1 in first and second. If you dont have grip, youre doing something wrong.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Look at this guy.
hello sexy
Dead LSB
Epic build for sure tho!
Dead LSB
Epic build for sure tho!
REEKRIS this gon be sweet!
Follow me on Instragram @bassrebel
2003 2014 X1 X3.5i 2016 MB C300 4Matic
I think Tony's V8 build is pretty sick, it just wasn't the direction I wanted to go in. Regardless,
Thanks Vik! I'm sure you'll be one of the first to see it running. Gotta rep ET strong.
Nice, definitely post some up when you get them!
For dear old State!
Thanks for the fitment advice on wheels and tire combos. That's pretty impressive that you still have traction. My M3 with an extra 450 pounds of weight doesn't even have traction in first gear on 245s. Do you have relatively high gearing or something? Or does the suspension design change grip compared to the E36/E46?
That car was pretty clean before it was rolled. I don't know how people drive M3s in Maine outside of the summer months. The roads up by where I picked the car up were pretty iced up and rough.
Thanks!
Last edited by Ragnorak; 02-05-2013 at 10:11 AM.
Past Builds:
S54 E36 Compact Build|Thread|IG|@_goldfinger|
Current Fleet:
Z4 M Coupe - Black Sapphire Metallic over Black
Damn! I now miss my Ti
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