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Thread: Build Tread: An E46 Slide Car

  1. #1
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    Build Tread: An E46 Slide Car

    Intro:
    This is my first drift car build, but I have made my living as an automotive fabricator for the past 12 years. So hopefully I can apply my knowledge learned from other motorsports here in my drift car build. I have been a member here for quite some time and I've always been a lover of BMW's but this will also be my first BMW car build.

    Last month I ran across my car for sale with the ad reading "wheels alone are worth my asking price". The owner had outfit the car with new "rimz" with the hopes of solving a driveline vibration. So I contacted him with the proposal to sell me the car without the dubs at a discounted price. After a short back and forth, I had myself a 99 328i that had a bad vibration and no tires or wheels.

    From their I picked up some cheap 6 series staggered wheels, dropped an automatic 3.46 welded different in the back. Ran 3" straight pipe off the collector and added a nice seat, 4 points and proper harness bar. From there I attended my first local even at Arkansas Raceway Park. It's just a little kart track, but my experience was awesome. I could do nothing but smile.

    The Plan:
    I'm located in Central Arkansas and happen to be within a reasonable driving distance of the Lone Star Drift series. So being new to the sport, I would like to build the car with the Texas Street Legal class in mind. Although I do not plan to street drive this car and will be trailering it to events I still want to keep it sensible and stick to their outlined rules. They have a really cool thing going with that series and I think I want to be a part of that scene. The idea is to keep cars "stock" or at least road legal to give new-comers like me a chance to compete, progress and be a part of the action without dumping a huge amount of money into a D1 spec'd car, just so they feel competitive. So...

    -Engine will remain stock besides the "Air in, Air out" bolt-on upgrades.
    -I've fitted an automatic 3.46 diff and welded the spiders
    -Cage will be 1.5" .120 DOM
    -Rear mounted radiator setup to keep things cool in the Texas heat
    -Solid mount the drivetrain (throwing the Condor catalog at the car)
    -Wisefab D1 legal angle kit
    -Self-Built remote reservoir coil overs (I'm not impressed by the current pice or options for quality shocks)
    -Crash bars and Nerf bars
    -Hydro brake (because the stock E46 e-brake is a joke)

    The idea is to build the car with future upgrades in mind. I want a reliable setup that keeps me in the driver seat and off the creeper as often as possible. I'm no new to racing or driving, but I don't claim to be a pro drifter. I need seat time and I believe starting with an underpowered car will benefit my progression. So for the first year I'll be leaving the car basically stock. After that, my plan is to add a supercharger with roughly 6psi. Then I'd like to increase boost from there till I reach something around the 450 wheel mark.

    With all that laid out I'll move onto the current state of affairs.
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    Last edited by welchct; 12-10-2016 at 05:45 PM.

  2. #2
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    The start of my rear mounted radiator system. Fans are from a Hyundai and measure 11.5" and 12.5". They have built in shrouds and span the 26x15 core perfectly without any air gaps they should produce around 5,000 CFM combined. The radiator is a 2" double pass core. It's overall dimensions are 15" tall and 31" wide. Outlets are both on the passenger tank and are 1.5" in diameter there's a baffle mid tank to force coolant to pass to the driver tank and then back across the core again. I'll be using 1.5" .095 DOM to plumb the system through the cabin from the engine.

    I'm building the cooling system with boost in mind in mind. I chose to go rear mount with the radiator for the additional space in the engine bay for a large intercooler and oil cooler later down the line.

    I also had everything for this system laying around the shop. That's another thing about this build. It's not something I'm spending a lot of money on. I have been building vehicles for a long time and have all sorts of miscellaneous parts laying around. So far, I've spent $600 on the car, $400 on wheels and tires, $90 on the diff, $50 Guibo to solve the vibration, and $40 on exhaust tube. I had the seat left over as well as the harnesses. So at this point, I'm out of pocket just over $1k. My goal is to have less than $4k in this stage of the build.

    I tossed a photo from my first event in the mix just because it's a great photograph.
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    Last edited by welchct; 12-10-2016 at 12:24 PM.

  3. #3
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  4. #4
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    Wisefab on a stock powered car is overkill, I'd buy the slr kit if I was you

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mikestokman View Post
    Wisefab on a stock powered car is overkill, I'd buy the slr kit if I was you
    I'm a firm believer in spending money once. You can cheap out and have to upgrade later, or you can plan ahead and make upgrades that complement the build as it progresses.

    Originally I had plans of developing my own angle kit. But after looking at the geometry needed for optimal performance, it became clear that Wisefab had a great system at a reasonable price. The SLR system is only marginally cheaper but is lacking in several departments. The biggest problem is the knuckle offset between the ball joint and strut which makes the knuckle want to hang at lock instead of self-steer once past 50°. Another big issue for me is the knuckle spacer only drops the lower control arm 28mm. This does not give nearly enough roll center correction for the ride height I'm looking for. Optimally I'd like to drop the wishbone 40mm at the knuckle, but Wisefab is close enough with a 35mm spacer. I also like the quality camber plates Wisefab uses which will work out great since I'm building my own coil overs and don't have a top hat to work with. Overall, the price is very fair for the Wisefab stuff. Not saying SLR is junk. But the price difference is minimal and the advantages for the Wisefab parts make it worth the additional money to me.

  6. #6
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    Odd, usually the biggest complaint I hear about the Wisefab is that it does not self steer, and that's why a lot of people choose the SLR over it.

  7. #7
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    I think that's due to people running the kit at zero Akerman which doesn't allow the tires to scrub any and they tend to feel "dead". I could be completely wrong though.

    I have little applicable experience building or setting up a drift car suspension. I have a lot of experience building custom suspension systems for other applications and I have done a lot of research wrapping my head around what makes a good angle kit. Only time will tell if I'm on base. I am not against the idea of improving their system with my own custom parts if it does wind up being hard to transition with. From what I've seen it's very similar to what I had in mind myself.

  8. #8
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    Nice project!

    Do you have any pictures of how you routed the coolant hoses from engine to your rear radiator?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by welchct View Post
    I think that's due to people running the kit at zero Akerman which doesn't allow the tires to scrub any and they tend to feel "dead". I could be completely wrong though.

    I have little applicable experience building or setting up a drift car suspension. I have a lot of experience building custom suspension systems for other applications and I have done a lot of research wrapping my head around what makes a good angle kit. Only time will tell if I'm on base. I am not against the idea of improving their system with my own custom parts if it does wind up being hard to transition with. From what I've seen it's very similar to what I had in mind myself.
    Could be, I know the SLR won't self steer at 0 either. I'm excited to hear what you think of the Wisefab, I don't think I know of anyone running it (aside from the FD cars of Essa, Heilbrunn, and Bluss) This thing is gonna be sweet though. I am planning on a lone star event next season, so maybe I'll see ya there!

  10. #10
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    I recommend going SLR. The quality of the parts is much better, and if you need more angle just ask Sean, I think they have a crazy Denofa setup SLR that gets some absurd amounts of lock.
    instagram @andyitslit

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Press22 View Post
    I recommend going SLR. The quality of the parts is much better, and if you need more angle just ask Sean, I think they have a crazy Denofa setup SLR that gets some absurd amounts of lock.
    I am about 90% sure Denofa runs the off the shelf "ultra" kit, same one that's on my car. They're both extremely well made kits, so I'm sure you will be happy with either one. The SLR arms are damn strong though, I put mine in to a wall pretty good and it actually bent the engine crossmember rather then the arm, the Wisefab strength I am not sure on but they don't look like they can take a hit. Wisefab comes with tophats, SLR does not. Wisefab does not allow you to run a front sway bar, SLR has sway bar provisions on the arms. Like I said, both kits are great Different, but great. Both are being used on top level FD Pro1 cars.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Novablue454 View Post
    Could be, I know the SLR won't self steer at 0 either. I'm excited to hear what you think of the Wisefab, I don't think I know of anyone running it (aside from the FD cars of Essa, Heilbrunn, and Bluss) This thing is gonna be sweet though. I am planning on a lone star event next season, so maybe I'll see ya there!
    That'd be pretty cool. I am awaiting the 2017 schedule release to know which dates I plan to attend.

    Quote Originally Posted by Novablue454 View Post
    I am about 90% sure Denofa runs the off the shelf "ultra" kit, same one that's on my car. They're both extremely well made kits, so I'm sure you will be happy with either one. The SLR arms are damn strong though, I put mine in to a wall pretty good and it actually bent the engine crossmember rather then the arm, the Wisefab strength I am not sure on but they don't look like they can take a hit. Wisefab comes with tophats, SLR does not. Wisefab does not allow you to run a front sway bar, SLR has sway bar provisions on the arms. Like I said, both kits are great Different, but great. Both are being used on top level FD Pro1 cars.
    I actually prefer that about the Wisefab kit. I wound much rather the LCA bed instead of needing to put my car on a frame machine or replace a sub frame. I also do not intend to run a swaybar and will instead be running a 675 in/lb coil in the front.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by twan81 View Post
    Nice project!

    Do you have any pictures of how you routed the coolant hoses from engine to your rear radiator?
    Not yet. I started building the rear crossmember that will act as my radiator mount and Jack point, as well as brace the rear frame rails after cutting the trunk. I may also plate the shock mounts and tie those in too. I want the car to survive a decent impact without frame damage. I am a rookie driver after all.

  13. #13
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    I should update this. I'm still loving the sport. But I had to come to terms with my driving skill. Sprint cars drive nothing like a drift car. So I can't say I've jumped into this gracefully. The car is quickly becoming a missile. With that said, I've decided to take baby steps with the car and try to focus on learning before doing a whole lot to the car.

    I started building my coil overs around Christmas and they're partially finished. It's just down to end caps and a strut tower plate/bearing. But I've decided to put them on hold till I decide how I want to do them. Instead I bought some cheap ebay lowering coils. The were $80 shipped and turned out to work pretty dam good. It was a gamble but they sit level, they're progressive and the car had new KYB's. So it's honestly pretty stable. Seems to have good dampening and no wheel hop or bounce. Seems better than I'd expect cheap coil overs to perform anyway. Certainly worth the $80.

    I bought Condor engine and transmission mounts. They're great! Transfer of power is much better. Almost feels like I gained a few lb/ft. Haha. I also bought a shifter bushing. I'm still not thrilled with the shifter. I think this is a project I'll want to tackle sooner than later.

    I still haven't made or bought a real angle kit. Instead I made some steering arms for the knuckles. I need to build some longer lowers still. Till then, I'm running wheel spacers to clear the sway bar. I haven't measured lock, but it's substantial. I'm running 3° camber in the front. My tires are toed out 1/16th. I adjusted the cam bolts in the rear to the most inward position. I took a lot of camber out if it. The tires were wearing on the inside badly before. It's handling quite well now.

    Speaking of wheel spacers. That's how I'm able to run the 17x7.5 Jeep Wrangler wheels. They step the car from 5x120 to 5x5 bolt pattern. I own a jeep shop so we have stacks of these wheels. I have about 18 of these. I painted some 5 spokes too. Oh and they give me wheel studs.

    I've decided to run the car on 205 40R17's. I'm just buying them off eBay. They're some 500 compound cheapies I'm giving $200 a set for, with shipping. They seem okay to learn on.

    I had developed a misfire the past two events that I couldn't seem to solve. Finally narrowed it to the DME having an issue. It was shutting down CYL 6 at four thousand RPM. So I got with Kassel Performance who hooked me up with a tuned PCM. Took the Rev limiter to 7100 RPM and added a good bit of power by the butt dyno... I can now roll on without clutch kicking from 2nd gear. Very happy with that.

    I ended up needing a water pump. It's really nice being able to strip the front clip with 2 bolts, 4 screws and 6 nuts. I have all the inner fenders and plastic crap gutted. I'm really glad I started with the E46 platform.

    I have another event this weekend. So I will hopefully be happy with all the minor changes.
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  14. #14
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    Full lock.
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  15. #15
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    Front of your car looks fine. the back looks like it's found a few walls lol.

    I'd like some pictures and more details about how you gained angle please! No video of you drafting?

    Status: Someone put glitter in my oil. Wait. Why's all my oil outside the engine? What's that knocking?

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    I was extremely hesitant when I read the words "Jeep wheels", but now that I see what you're talking about, they actually look pretty decent.

  17. #17
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    I like where this is going! I might need to play with an E46 next. Nice low-buck-ness going on here.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    Front of your car looks fine. the back looks like it's found a few walls lol.

    I'd like some pictures and more details about how you gained angle please! No video of you drafting?
    Yeah, I'll need to start looking for a new shell for when I learn to drive well. Hahaha.

    I'm not going to upload pictures quite yet. Basically I moved the tie rod end back and inboard equal amounts... I plan to make a few sets of these if they work well, so I'm not going to give away the exact measurements. But at full lock, I'm getting 50° out of the outer tire and 47° from the inner tire. There doesn't seem to be any bump steer or over center issues. I will have a better idea of how it reacts on the track this weekend. Around my shop, it feels great though. I can't get above 2nd gear though.

    Quote Originally Posted by beat328i View Post
    I was extremely hesitant when I read the words "Jeep wheels", but now that I see what you're talking about, they actually look pretty decent.
    That's been the general concensus. I think they look really good. I'll get some pictures of the 5 spokes when I get them mounted. I painted them a wild color that looks terrible with the Red though. But one day I'll rattle can this thing and it won't look bad. Till then people Can just assume I have bad taste.

    Quote Originally Posted by tptrsn View Post
    I like where this is going! I might need to play with an E46 next. Nice low-buck-ness going on here.
    Dude, I'm so pumped about the budget aspect of this. I think I'm in the whole car for around $3k at the moment. That includes a $1k seat that I already had and the original purchase price of the car along with maintenance items. But doesn't include tire budget. That doesn't even build an axle for my Rock Crawler. This is so cheap!

  19. #19
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    Oh so you cut and welded the knuckles. Gotcha.

    Status: Someone put glitter in my oil. Wait. Why's all my oil outside the engine? What's that knocking?

  20. #20
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    Basically. I actually built a steering arm that bolts on. But yes, it's the same geometry someone could obtain by just cutting the knuckles.

  21. #21
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    It will be interesting to see how yours differs from all of the others that are available currently.

  22. #22
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    Well, wrapped the car up last night. So other than washing it and loading it into the trailer, it's finally ready.

    I went ahead and bought some Nexen s5000 for it. They're a 300 compound instead of the 500 Thunderers I had mounted up front before. I was nervous about pushing on a hot track. It's supposed to be in the 70's and sunny tomorrow.

    I also built a little hand brake extension last night. Cool fact. 1" .095 DOM fits over the e-brake handle perfectly. It's almost a press fit. I added a few socket cap screws to secure it in place though. I then finished it off with some tan paint, a twin sick knob from an Atlas II then heat shrunk a grip onto it. It works way better than I figured it would. I thought it would be awkward to pull on because it lifts too. Honestly, it pulls so easily you hardly notice.
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  23. #23
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    That's what I used for my drifty handle too, but I welded it on. I'm thinking of bringing it up a little higher for this year too, but maybe not as high as yours.... Dunno.

  24. #24
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    that ebrake extension doe
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  25. #25
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    Angry

    First event is in the bag. I had such a blast last night. The car was night and day better than it's ever been. I'll run through the mods and what my thoughts were.

    •The steering- It felt amazing! Although angle requires grip, which I did not have with the 205's in the rear. But it was very controllable and I was actually able to pull off a few reverse entries with the setup once I swapped over to some 235's I brought. I still want to build some wider LCA's but that's honestly not a big deal to me right now with some of the other more pressing issues I have to deal with still. The spacers worked out great and I didn't have any rubbing issues.

    •Tires- Thunderer eBay tires are cheap. But I was not very happy with how long they lasted. I think I was able to make around 6-8 laps on a pair of them in 205/40R17's. I still had quite a bit of tread left on some 235 cooper RS-3's so I finished the night off with those. Which felt amazing! I was able to trow way harder without spinning out or stalling speed mid corner with the angle. So I'll probably continue to run the 205's in a name brand grippy tire and swap to something wider in the rear. I didn't get any push with the Nexen's up front. They did 25 laps probably and still have plenty of life left too.

    •Hand brake- this bar works soooo well. I let a few guys drive the car and everyone was floored by how great it felt. I also really enjoyed entries with it. I wasn't even having to clutch kick. I would roll up really hot into the entry, just barely blip the hand brake, as I tossed it in and the car would just set up perfectly. Then I'd just control the car with throttle from there. So happy with this thing. There were 3 other BMW's there and they all want an e-brake handle and steering arms from me. This is probably the best modification I made. I was not riding on it or anything. I'd just lightly pull it as I started the entry. You can't rip on it hard or the car will spin. It's very sensitive and locks really well.

    •Engine- Reliable and plenty of power sums it up. I ran back to back laps all night, barely ever getting out of the car. It had gobs of power too. I did try to use 3rd and it just blew through the clutch though. So I'll be needing to upgrade that now that I have more power. But the car never got hot, it ran consistently, and I could just lay of the throttle to break it loose. I can't ask for much more than that.

    •Suspension- I'm still not thrilled with it. I definitely need to finish my coil overs to get the right spring rates in the car. I had pretty bad front end dive. The car honestly still felt pretty good on entries but the transitions was a bit difficult when I was being aggressive because of the weight transfer. It would always seem to throw me further than I expected. So stiffer coils are a big item on the to-do list. Also I still have too much camber in the rear. I think I could have gotten some more life out of the tires and probably a lot more grip, had I been able to tale another degree or two of camber out of the car. With the suspension squat I currently have, the tires were tucking hard and leaning in pretty badly. I may be able to stick with cheaper 205 tires if I can remedy this.

    :On the immediate list of things to upgrade:

    • Clutch - I need to be able to put more power to the tires. Currently the clutch is holding me back by slipping.

    • Spring rates - Stiffer rear coil and try to finish my coil overs.

    • Rear Camber - I need more adjustment in the rear. Traction is addicting with angle and the tires aren't wearing evenly.

    • Tires - Going to try a different brand and maybe a different size.

    • Air Conditioning - I need the AC working. I didn't recharge the system after pulling the radiator. So that's and easy one that will greatly improve the fun factor. Especially when waiting in line.


    I'll try and get a video together in the next week or two.

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