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Thread: Starting to setup an e46 325i as my beginner drift car!

  1. #1
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    Starting to setup an e46 325i as my beginner drift car!

    How's it going everyone! So about a year ago i picked up a 2001 325i with just over 180k miles on it for a measly $300! Since then it's just been sitting waiting for me to decide what to do with it. Well I've made the decision to make it into a drift car that i can learn and progress with.

    When i got the car it had some issues, which was obviously expected considering what i got the car for. The main issues it had/has are
    1. Oil from the valve cover gasket is leaking onto the exhaust heat shield(new gasket on the way)
    2. Both rear springs are cracked and broken, not a big deal since i plan on doing some suspension stuff anyways(i have a question or two for you guys about what i'm doing with that)
    3. Car wouldn't run with the maf plugged in. I tested the maf from my daily 325xi on it and it seemed happy with that so i got a replacement maf and that issue went away.
    4. This is one I've never seen or heard of on an e46 but one of the front(yes front lol) springs was broken right in half lol not sure if the kid i got the car from was actually driving it like that because the tire had a deep groove from the broken spring rubbing into it haha i picked up while strut assembly from a pick n pull just so i can move the car around for the time being.

    I've also replaced the intake boots with used but good condition ones i had laying around from my xi and i replaced all the vacuum lines. I have a valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket on the way and i have a whole ccv kit i ended up not using from awhile ago that'll end up getting used on this car too. I also did pads and rotors on all four corners because the rotors were really really rusted, i couldn't even turn a wheel by hand haha I feel like i'm pretty good as far as general e46 maintenance stuff goes but when it comes to correctly setting up the car for drifting i'm in new territory for sure.

    Last week i pulled the diff out, welded it and put it back in. That's pretty much all I've done as far as setting the car up to drift haha my plan is to do the suspension and put an extension on the handbrake handle then just go drive it and do other things over time as i progress.

    I'm thinking about getting a set of BC racing br series coilovers since the price seems really good but i was looking at the feal 441 coils also. I leaning more towards the bc's. So someone had told me that a 10k front spring rate and 14k rear spring rate would work well for what i plan to use the car for. Anyone have any insight on that? I messaged bc and they said that those spring rates would work great but I'd love hear some first hand experience from people that personally drift e46s.

    Thanks in advance everyone!

  2. #2
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    Sounds like a solid setup. BC's are decent but if I was looking to pick up a set I'd save the extra to get their "DR" series digressive valved dampers. Overall for an extra $250 bucks they are well worth the extra cash.

    Everything else you have planned is solid. I'd also add a pair of steering rack spacers for a little bit extra steering angle. They can help in the learning process and are very cheap and easy to install.

  3. #3
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    Fortune auto or bust.

    The car running without the maf unplugged usually means vac leak.

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

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Piner View Post
    Sounds like a solid setup. BC's are decent but if I was looking to pick up a set I'd save the extra to get their "DR" series digressive valved dampers. Overall for an extra $250 bucks they are well worth the extra cash.

    Everything else you have planned is solid. I'd also add a pair of steering rack spacers for a little bit extra steering angle. They can help in the learning process and are very cheap and easy to install.
    I'll look into the rack spacers for sure. I was looking at the DR series also but i wasn't sure if ther benefit would be worth ther extra money. At the end of the day though I'd probably just kick myself down the line for not spending the couple extra bucks now

    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    Fortune auto or bust.

    The car running without the maf unplugged usually means vac leak.
    I'l take look at fortune autos, I've heard of them but never actually looked into them.

    Oh the car definitely had vacuum leaks lol vac lines on the back of the intake manifold just crumbled when i touched them and the lower intake boot had actually been taped up with an excessive amount of painters tape one of those things you just gotta shake your head and laugh about lol

  5. #5
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    I've got BC BR's- They're phenomenal and I found them BNIB for 50% of list price, so I can't complain at all. They're wonderful coils, although mine are 7k front /8k rear- If you want to be low, then get the harder springs. I wish I had the higher spring rates, but again, can't complain for the price. They make my car silky smooth to drive, and I was running up all the curbs without the car getting upset.
    My 330 has been a great car to learn on with stock angle, a welded, and BC BR's. I've got it toe'd out like 3/4-1", which really does help control mid corner by essentially giving a tiny bit more angle. Some sticky tires up front, burners in the rear, and send it!

  6. #6
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    I don't necessarily want to go crazy low or anything, i don't want to be monster trucking but not completely slammed either. Really i just want to set it up whatever way drives best, whatever that is haha

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jasonn325xi View Post
    I don't necessarily want to go crazy low or anything, i don't want to be monster trucking but not completely slammed either. Really i just want to set it up whatever way drives best, whatever that is haha
    That's always my first goal. I don't want to rub while drifting, but I want to be as low as that permits. Who knows. SLR is going on the car this week so I'll have a totally different front end to figure out. I'm waiting till that!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by awp235 View Post
    That's always my first goal. I don't want to rub while drifting, but I want to be as low as that permits. Who knows. SLR is going on the car this week so I'll have a totally different front end to figure out. I'm waiting till that!
    I'l keep an eye out for when you do that, slr is definitely a someday future plan i want to do. Just not quite yet for me lol they just look so dang cool though haha

  9. #9
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    So i took your advice and i was looking at the recent rack spacer thead. I decided to try and make some at work tonight and i think they came out alright. Initially i was looking for some washers i could just stack up but couldn't find any the correct size, then i found a piece of pipe in the scrap bin that was 1"OD and .75"ID

    I couldn't find anything around this dang place to measure in mm so i cut the pieces at .2" which is just a hair over 5mm. Then i gave em a quick spray with some textured black spray paint and they're just about done drying as i'm typing this! I'm guna try and put them on tomorrow when i get out of work.20180622_213051.jpg

  10. #10
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    Why paint?

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

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

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    Why paint?

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
    Just for turds and chuckles

  12. #12
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    BC is great, I prefer them to the fortunes. Plus if you call them Chelsea can spec you out the perfect coil over for whatever you want.

    As far as ride height, everyone reports that higher ride height = more rear grip (to an extent obviously), at stock power that isn't really a concern though.

    There's some super cheap angle blocks on Ebay a lot of guys run, but when you start to get serious about it you're going to want to talk to Piner about some of that SLR goodness.

    I'd plan on reinforcing that rear subframe as soon as possible, its a known issue on E46s

    check out the nerptech handbrake extensions if you aren't wanting to go hydro right away

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Novablue454 View Post
    BC is great, I prefer them to the fortunes. Plus if you call them Chelsea can spec you out the perfect coil over for whatever you want.

    As far as ride height, everyone reports that higher ride height = more rear grip (to an extent obviously), at stock power that isn't really a concern though.

    There's some super cheap angle blocks on Ebay a lot of guys run, but when you start to get serious about it you're going to want to talk to Piner about some of that SLR goodness.

    I'd plan on reinforcing that rear subframe as soon as possible, its a known issue on E46s

    check out the nerptech handbrake extensions if you aren't wanting to go hydro right away
    Yeah I've been thinking about getting the reinforcement plates, I'll probably go with the redish ones. Thanks for pointing me towards the nerptech extension, looks well worth the cost of it!

    I've seen those angle blocks before but never really heard much about them. Awhile back I saw a video of a guy installing what i believe was those angle blocks and he had to cut the tie rods, is that right?

  14. #14
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    While reinforcing the subframe, since it needs to come out, it's worth it to do all the bushings for it (poly or solid) and the diff too- as eventually you'll want to do them and taking the subframe out twice doesn't seem like fun after doing it once!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by awp235 View Post
    While reinforcing the subframe, since it needs to come out, it's worth it to do all the bushings for it (poly or solid) and the diff too- as eventually you'll want to do them and taking the subframe out twice doesn't seem like fun after doing it once!
    Yeah you're definitely right about that! I have a spare rear subframe laying around that I've already got all the old bushings out of and i have new oem bushings i still need to put on it. That subframe and bushings are supposed to be for my 325xi but now i'm learning more towards using them on this 325i since the xi doesn't really need them.... i have some new cables for the handbrake I'll probably use on the 325i too.

    On Saturday i did the valve cover gasket and i was going to do the oil filter housing gasket but once i got the airbox and power steering reservoir out of the way i looked under the intake manifold with a light and to my surprise everything is dry as a bone under there! So i didn't even bother doing it yet.

  16. #16
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    How's it going everyone! Just a quick update, i ended up ordering a set of bc coils and i'm just waiting for them to show up then they'll be installed on the car. There's a couple other little things i'm going to do before i bradf to my first event but not really anything else of much importance i don't think. I'm planning on going to a clubloose north event towards the end of August! Oh yeah and i fixed two of the windows yesterday that's a plus lol

  17. #17
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    Hopefully BC DR series or better. This thread needs more pix.

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

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by protomor View Post
    Hopefully BC DR series or better. This thread needs more pix.
    I ended up emailing denofa and he said it's actually a good idea to use BR series in the rear of the car. So the set that i'm getting is BR in the rear and DR in the front. I don't know what sort of spring rates or shock valving he decided on but i'm assuming that those factor a lot into the different series front to back.

    This past monday was exactly 3 weeks since the order was put in so hopefully i go home to a shiny set of suspension soon i can't wait to actually do some driving in this car!

    Tomorrow i'l get some pictures of the car to satisfy the picture need lol

  19. #19
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    Fortune Auto and BC are both Taiwan garbage brands, first of all. Get some real coilovers like Bilstein or K&W/ST.

  20. #20
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    ^ Even though I agree with you that's a bit harsh. I wouldn't call them garbage, their digressive setups are passable

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jasonn325xi View Post
    So i took your advice and i was looking at the recent rack spacer thead. I decided to try and make some at work tonight and i think they came out alright. Initially i was looking for some washers i could just stack up but couldn't find any the correct size, then i found a piece of pipe in the scrap bin that was 1"OD and .75"ID

    I couldn't find anything around this dang place to measure in mm so i cut the pieces at .2" which is just a hair over 5mm. Then i gave em a quick spray with some textured black spray paint and they're just about done drying as i'm typing this! I'm guna try and put them on tomorrow when i get out of work.20180622_213051.jpg
    Really not a good idea to paint those. Have you ever seen painted hardware before? Of course not, because it will interfere with its ability to stay tightened. That paint is going to cause a problem.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Liquidity View Post
    Fortune Auto and BC are both Taiwan garbage brands, first of all. Get some real coilovers like Bilstein or K&W/ST.
    Quote Originally Posted by Liquidity View Post
    Really not a good idea to paint those. Have you ever seen painted hardware before? Of course not, because it will interfere with its ability to stay tightened. That paint is going to cause a problem.
    Simmer down there lol i'm sure bc suspension will be just fine. I completely agree there's much better brands for suspension out there but for me they're cost effective and will probably do their job fairly well.

    Thanks for the tip on the painting of the rack spacers though! I had planned on checking them every so often just to be safe but i'l definitely keep an even closer eye on them now.

    And sorry for the lack of pictures everyone! To be honest i'm kind of embarrassed of how the car looks right now lol covered in pine needles and crap since the only spot i have for it right now is under a pine tree. And the interior is complete junk(part of the reason i paid what i did for the car). I'll get pictures though! I'm going to be doing the fuel pump and front control arm bushings things weekend so I'll get some pics of that if anyone's interested in it haha
    Last edited by Jasonn325xi; 08-21-2018 at 12:15 AM.

  23. #23
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    So i ordered the nerptech handbrake extension and it showed up last weekend. I don't know if i'm missing something or i'm just dumb but i'm not seeing how it's going to hold the release button down?

    It has two tiny set screws and silver "release button" thing. The set screw closer to the bottom in assuming is to hold the extension handle to the actual handbrake handle. The one closer to the top i was thinking was to hold down the silver "release button" thing once it's pushed down but the silver piece has allot of play inside the extension handle and the set screw only sticks into the pipe about 1-2mm once fully tightened. Am i doung something wrong?

  24. #24
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    You have to pull out the stock button, remove the spring inside the stock handle, put the extension on then screw in the silver button.

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