Instead of starting an intro thread, and then a build thread. Figured I'd just do it in a single thread.
Im new to BMW, well, I am new to EURO cars in general. This is going to be fun, or catastrophic. Either way, I am here to learn to build my car with a track oriented goal in mind. If you have any guidance for me to get quality parts that will withstand the abuse, please post links and your review on why you suggest that.
What I have done so far...I have and will be reading on forums to get a better understanding of this platform. I will also focus on the cooling system with Aluminum Rad. What do you suggest for the rest? Im lost on where to get parts, or what parts I need to replace for preventative maintenance.
Enjoy my success/failure as I become a friend/foe with this beast. That being said, lets see how far I get on this build before I pawn it onto someone else
ROUND 2
Description:
2001 e46 5spd manual coupe
M54 making 225hp/214tq stock
Everything OEM and stock for now
SOLD ROUND 1
Description:
2005 E46 6spd manual coupe
M54 making 235hp/222tq stock
M Performance Suspension
Lowering springs/shocks (havent jacked up the car to see what they are)
BBS LM Reps 18"
To Be Cont....
Last edited by e46iFound; 03-27-2018 at 08:00 PM.
I will suggest piecing it together yourself if budget is at all a consideration. You can shop around and put together a good system for a lower cost than pre-assembled kits.
I recommend the metal propeller water pump, but shop it on eBay as well. I think that's where I found it the cheapest.
I have had name brand radiators and eBay radiators, the eBay stuff works just fine and is considerably cheaper.
I personally went with a Mishimoto electric fan, fan mount and wiring kit. It was a bit of an "easy button" having it all together and it was quality stuff.
Having gone through stock overflow tanks and having seen them fail on multiple friend's cars, I recommend an aftermarket metal tank. I personally went with Mishimoto.
Lastly, I would recommend ensuring your radiator is shrouded in a way that ensures all the air from the front dam is running through the radiator and not around it. This, for me, helped allot with both cooling and aero (I have hood vents to move the air through).
I appreciate the advice. I will piece it together.
I went ahead and swapped out the shift knob to the original one that came with the car. I found a local seller who had a new one laying around. It is a night and day. Shorter shifts than than the long neck one and feels soooo good in my fingers
Slowly getting her back to her roots
New Shift Knob in box
Out with the old, in with the new
I like fcpeuro in Connecticut. The parts it sells have a lifetime warranty.
go here, and read it all.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...t-Jack-Daniels
Charlie
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to add value to these threads, either by pictures or by descriptions, so the next person with the same or similar problem stands on your shoulders.
3 months later, and here I am with another e46. 2001 330ci 5 speed manual and all stock
Looks like my old 330Ci. Great car.
Be advised that you need to buy only original equipment (OE) or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cooling system parts. Aftermarket parts will fail and leave you with a large paperweight-an overheated M54 engine.
What company makes what:
- water pump: Scaleri or Graf
- thermostat: Whaler
- radiator: Nissens
- expansion tank+cap: Modine
- expansion tank bracket: probably Modine
- hoses: Continental
- serpentine belt: Continental
- pulleys: INA
- coolant: BMW
- distilled water: local supermarket
- engine block drain crush washer: BMW.
Nuf sed.
Gotta love CELs. And the code it came up with was so vague, that I decided to start with the most obvious one. The DISA was making a rattle snake noise at idle, and would go away when I unplugged it. I knew I needed to replace it. With the new one installed, the rattle snake is no longer in my intake manifold and purrs. I had reset the CEL and drove around for a bit. Unfortunately the CEL came back
On to my adventure...
What a mess and the filter needs to be replaced
What I had to remove
Old and cruddy. New and improved
The old one had enough play to cause it to rattle when air was flowing through the flapper
Look at all that crud inside the manifold
Was able to get my car on the lift and see where the oil leaks were really coming from. I knew there was 2 places the engine was leaking oil. The Vanos feed line and the OFHG. I was not expecting it from the oil pan gasket, trans shift selector seal, trans output shaft seal, and diff output seals.
The diff isnt leaking bad, but might as well get it fixed. The oil pan was going to get removed, so I can replace the oil pump shaft and sprocket with an upgraded one that will withstand the abuse of racing.
Time for some drinking I mean, cleaning. s***, might as well do both :
Its been a long month. Did some maintenance to keep this car on the road. Oh, and to pass track inspection
Today was the first of many track days. Today was HPDE and I couldnt be happier passing inspection.
During the month, I had replaced OFHG, Vanos hose, Spark Plugs, Gas cap, cabin filter, and flushed the brakes with DOT 4. I didnt have time to rebuild the calipers or install HP+plus pads. Didnt do to bad stopping with street pads.
Found a set of cheap 5 series wheels to replace my skinny 3 series wheels that came with the car. Due to budget restrictions, I got a new set of 245/40/17 BFG Comp 2 shoes for street/track use. Then went and did an alignment. Decided to swap out the old worn out shift knob to a ZHP knob.
Having to resort to an extension to break loose the lug nuts
Some pics from today
I just found out my TOB is squealing when I engage the clutch. Need to upgrade that.
Do you have any suggestions on stage 1 Disk, Pressure Plate, and Flywheel?
Went and did a Dyno Session on 3 pulls to see what my base HP/TQ is
On Sunday, Went to a Sovren Race Day to work as a Corner Marshall
Enjoy the Pics
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