Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 92

Thread: Yoshi's E46 330i build

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima

    Yoshi's E46 330i build

    Crashed my E30 enough that there's frame damage and it isn't worth fixing. I don't have tons of cash so I picked up a 330i manual sedan with a blown engine for a grand. I plan to replace the motor, do the bare minimum and go play. I still have my LS2 lying around so that's where this other 330 vert comes into play. No I'm not drifting the vert but I'll explain when I have more time. I picked a sedan because I don't have a truck and trailer and the rear doors will be useful whenever the car gets a roll cage.

    Mods:
    SLR super angle kit
    Fortune Auto 510s
    Sparco driver's seat
    Welded 3.07 stock diff
    Trailing arm limiters (free!)
    welded oil pump nut
    Rear end reinforcement plates
    E36 M3 front knuckles (retaining 330 brake rotors/calipers)
    Front/Rear shock tower reinforcement plates

    Capture.jpg
    Last edited by protomor; 02-14-2018 at 12:37 PM.

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

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Denver, Colorado
    Posts
    1,483
    My Cars
    99 328i, a few more
    sedans are way cooler anyway

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    More structurally rigid!

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

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    NJ, USA
    Posts
    439
    My Cars
    '07 335I 6MT, '01 330i
    Agree 100% with the sedan superiority. Mine even has a factory slicktop! Is your e46 a 5 or 6 speed? I replaced my diff from teh stock 2.93 to a 323's 3.46 and it REALLY helped the car become more lively.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    I'm actually ok with the moon roof on mine lol. Definitely 5 speed. I wasn't expecting much for the three digit price I paid for it.

    I do have a vert right now that I'm pulling out the 3.07 diff to weld. With the 5 speed, I kind of don't want to go high on the ratio for the diff. The current chassis has collapsed springs so I'm hoping the vert ones will do something for the suspension. Fronts are some no name coilovers that are slammed so bad that the factory wheels rub.

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

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    DeWitt, Michigan
    Posts
    6,080
    My Cars
    '97 540i/6, '97 328i
    Just in case you're one of the guys who would consider such heresy, I will throw out there that my ridiculously cheap eBay coilovers ("Maxspeedingrods" brand in my case) are still going strong and working great. If you just need something to run for a while, they do the job pretty well.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    Hoonigans made fun of that set. But it's what they're running on the shart car.

    I'm pretty set on fortune auto 510s. Great quality and digressive valving for street driving.

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

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    DeWitt, Michigan
    Posts
    6,080
    My Cars
    '97 540i/6, '97 328i

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    You have no idea how much I'm penny pinching. I parted out my E30 and basically every penny has been accounted for. I'm going to have to put $1500 into the build all said and done but I still have my LS2 lying around.

    I'm also hoping to get some cash out of this 330 vert I'm parting out. I guess I should explain the vert.

    The vert was originally going to be a manual donor since finding a manual 330 sedan was near impossible at my sub 3k price. I got the vert with a dead motor for $1k delivered (just like the sedan). Now that I don't need it as a manual donor, I'm gonna sell as much as possible to get back my 1k. Then the chassis goes to a close friend and his shop to become a parts test chassis. In return, I get an LS swap kit. Essentially making the future LS swap near $0.

    Penny pinching!

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

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    NJ, USA
    Posts
    439
    My Cars
    '07 335I 6MT, '01 330i
    I was lucky enough to get into my '01 330 4 door for $1 over a 3 digit price! I absolutely love my BC Racing BR series coils, snagged therm for $500 BNIB, never installed by the guy who bought them. You're welcome to drive the car, but I see now that you're in VA which is a bit of a trek from NJ. the BR's are way nicer on the road than I thought they'd be, because I have the version with 7k front / 8k rears, making them stiff, but not crazy. The comp/rebound adjustment is linked, but I've found settings that I really like on the car.
    The 3.46 is super short, I don't blame you for wanting to keep it a bit taller. On the highway the car gets up there in the rpm's.
    Any details on teh proposed LS swap kit? Might be interested sometime in the future.....

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    After my time on the Sikky team, I'm dead set on a set of Fortune Auto 510s for the digressive valving but also my love of everything Matt. Nothing against BC. I'd like to grease the pockets of FA.

    I think the car I have right now is a 2.93 open diff and I'm going to steal the 3.07 out of the vert to weld. The M3 diff I have, I think, is a 3.64 which is very close to the factory for the GTO/T56. I will miss my 4.10 ratio with the LS. Maybe I can find something in the middle before I do the full LS swap. I'm not super sure. Tight budget and all.

    I don't really have any details on the LS swap kit for now. I do know that it will be mostly off the shelf parts with a custom made mount kit to fit them. Moroso pan and maybe some off the shelf headers. Timeline wise, I'm aiming to start the swap this time next year.

    Sorry no updates on anything. I've been in bed sick and have infected my toddler so I have no time for anything car related.

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

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    dover
    Posts
    281
    My Cars
    none
    I'm pretty sure even the fortune auto 500's have the digressive valving. I had them on my last e36 sedan and absolutely loved them I ordered another set for my current coupe project. Not trying to change your mind, just maybe some cost savings.


    IG: dimitriantoniou

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima

    For anyone who wants a boring walk around. Cataloging what I do to the car so it's always helpful to see where the car came from. It definitely looks sexy from far away but boy does it need love. I haven't even shown the missing paint on the frame rails from being so low.

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

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    Muahaha I figured out how to crack E46 DMEs. SAP delete, speed limiter delete, DBW delay delete, etc etc. I also like that I can code the cluster coolant gauge to show whatever temps at whatever notches. Gonna make 210F the second tick.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Capture.jpg
    Capture.jpg
    Also this is one of my jack pad points <_<
    I think it's fixable but it won't be fun.

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

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    DeWitt, Michigan
    Posts
    6,080
    My Cars
    '97 540i/6, '97 328i
    Did you do some computer geniusing yourself, or did you use some of the knowledge from the E46fanatics forum or the MS43 guys?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    E46 fanatics guys. They've been helping me a ton with driver issues.

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

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    DeWitt, Michigan
    Posts
    6,080
    My Cars
    '97 540i/6, '97 328i

  18. #18
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    I mean it's all public out there lol. There's WAY too many programs that do the same thing. It's just really confusing. There's a guy that made a tool this year that does ALL of it. Then he died... So some of the guys have been using that stuff (me included). you have software to pull down the full or partial files from the DME, then use something like rom raider or tuner pro to edit values, then upload them back to the DME.

    It's supposedly the same chip as a lot of subarus so there's things like boost control and (allegedly) e85 flex fuel code somewhere. I'm not getting into all of that. I just want to simplify the motor and flash out the DBW lag. Someone has code to spit flames out the exhaust too.

    All of this stuff is a bit primitive but it works. I think it's similar to your E36 but also similar to E90s. So like an N54 turbo might not be a bad idea in the near future honestly. I'd be more enthused about this if I didn't have 2 cars with 2 dead motors.

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

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    DeWitt, Michigan
    Posts
    6,080
    My Cars
    '97 540i/6, '97 328i
    Yeah, it sounds very similar to what is happening with RomRaider on the MS41, but I think maybe the MS43 development might be a little bit ahead in some ways. Watching with interest.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    Capture.PNG
    So here's an interesting thought process I'd like some input on. Right now, I have E36 M3 front knuckles/brakes, full E46 330 brakes, and full E46 M3 brakes (and spindles/etc).

    My plan is to eventually swap to the E46 M3 rear suspension for beefiness and what not and run the E36 M3 fronts. That leaves me with all the 330 stuff and the E46 M3 front calipers lying around.

    I want to be cheap and take one of the existing calipers and use them as my hydro secondary caliper. Wilwoods are expensive at this rotor diameter and are very much overkill for my purposes. So the M3 rear is 328x20. I feel like the E46 M3 fronts should work at that diameter but with 8mm less thickness, I'd be running the calipers at max thinness and then some. I suppose I could just make a 4mm spacer on each side? Or would the 330 rear caliper work? It's smaller by far but is closer to the appropriate thickness but I don't want to under size the caliper. In which case, the 330 front caliper might be a middle ground.

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

  21. #21
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    dover
    Posts
    281
    My Cars
    none
    I think what's really going to matter is the piston size. I cant seem to find the calipers that Lee recommends using, but id try and find similarly sized piston.


    IG: dimitriantoniou

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    dover
    Posts
    281
    My Cars
    none
    I think what's really going to matter is the piston size. I cant seem to find the calipers that Lee recommends using, but id try and go with the calipers with similarly sized piston. I know its a cost saving effort, but i hear that the main issue with using oem calipers is the fact that it is a sliding caliper design. Maybe a rear sti single pot brembo? I think they are vented rotors and might be around the same size. plus the benefit of more brake pad options.

    Sti rear brake rotors are 290mmx18mm

    so non 330 rear e46 rotors are almost perfect.
    Last edited by e30 394; 12-07-2017 at 11:04 AM.


    IG: dimitriantoniou

  23. #23
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    What's really all that bad about sliding calipers? Seems good enough for what I need.

    I'm 100% going with the E46 M3 rear so the caliper has to work with the 20mm thick disk.

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

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,120
    My Cars
    1985 535i
    Apparently ms43 is the shizz. I have ms45 and the place that did my tune couldn't even do a burble tune because they didn't have access to the fuel overrun maps.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fairfax,va, usa
    Posts
    6,660
    My Cars
    2 E30s and a maxima
    There's supposedly work being done on the MS45. Honestly it seems like the MS42 and MS43 JUST got figured out. It's definitely nice to know I can control every damn aspect of the DME. I really just want to remove unnecessary components like SAP and do things like clutchless starts so I can walk the car if needed. Although, I found out there's a wiring method for that... *shrugs*

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

Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 2003 E46 330i Build Thread
    By Spelyn in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 12-29-2018, 04:02 PM
  2. E46 330i ZHP Build - Need suggestions
    By Inv3ctiv3 in forum Track, Auto-X & Drag Racing sponsored by Bimmerparts.com
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 04-04-2013, 07:20 AM
  3. Ch40t1c's Build Thread: 02' BSM E46 330i
    By ch40t1c in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 61
    Last Post: 07-29-2011, 10:31 AM
  4. 92rede36 Build Thread: Alpine White e46 330i
    By 92redE36 in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 102
    Last Post: 07-26-2011, 06:01 PM
  5. E46 330i Build
    By MidnightOil in forum Track Car Builds
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-24-2010, 09:51 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •