Replacement for my E90 M3

[Move Over]

Good afternoon guys - As many of you know, I recently parted out and sold my E90 M3 after some "healthy" debating with myself, finances, and what I can truly afford to be tracking (and still get to do other things). So here it is. 2002 E46 M3, essentially a full race prep. Solid everything, rear is gutted, Roll bar, seats, suspension, 3 sets of wheels, bimmerworld race exhaust, traqmate, brake ducts etc... Got a solid deal on it out in Colorado and had it shipped back.

I was a little nervous taking a "step back" or "downgrading" but after running this thing last weekend, it is 110% an upgrade as a track toy. Weighing nearly 600 lbs less (corner balanced at 3050lbs) I ran nearly 3.6 seconds faster at my local track. Personal best with the E90 was 1:24.2 and with the E46 was 1:20.6. I was pleasantly surprised, and I am absolutely thrilled with my decision. I started the day on street tires and ran a 1:28, ended the day on NT01's at a 1:20. This thing is a HOOT!

Anyways, I'll still be around this side of the forum, as I enjoy the comradery around here.






Headed Home!

My old e90 - She shall be missed.

[Jhanksm3]

Looking good man, good luck

[roastbeef]

lookin good. is it stripped or what? tell us more about it. its amazing what less weight translates into... tracking my car definitely changed my perspective when it came to mods.

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

lookin good. is it stripped or what? tell us more about it.

I'll post some more pics of it.

From the front seats back it is 100% stripped, sunroof delete. The best part about it is my 2.9lb AntiGravity battery, Exhaust weighs 26 lbs fromt he header back Thing is the size of my fists and is awesome. It still has its front interior, AC and radio. Keeps my sanity when i hoon around on the weekend lol.

Definitely never realized how much weight translates to speed around the track. I can brake SO much later, and get on the throttle way, way sooner. Correcting my mistakes is a breeze. The e90 was not a "difficult" car to drive per say, but this thing is simple. It does exactly what you want it to do, when you want it to do it. The grip is insane.

AST suspension/Vorshlag plates
All solid bushings
Turner Subframe reinforcement
Turner Sway bars
Oreca Start FG seats
Traqmate Classic
Bimmerworld Race Exhaust (26lbs)
DTC-70's (currently shopping new brakes)
Bones Custom Roll bar
AFE intake
Came with a set of street wheels, ARC 8's with NT01's and a set of EC7's with Hoosiers lol.

[Kong Sheng Han]

Congrats! E46 > E9X imo. You forgot to post interior photos.

What do you think of the Oreca seats? I have it on driver side, and I like it. It's sort of an "off brand" seat, but I think it's very comfortable and supportive. Oreca owns some of the well-known seat companies and products are FIA certifies, so I'm very comfortable with rocking their product.

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by Kong Sheng Han

Congrats! E46 > E9X imo. You forgot to post interior photos.

What do you think of the Oreca seats? I have it on driver side, and I like it. It's sort of an "off brand" seat, but I think it's very comfortable and supportive. Oreca owns some of the well-known seat companies and products are FIA certifies, so I'm very comfortable with rocking their product.

I didn't have any good pics to put up!! I'll get some though.

I like them! The car came with some Buddy Club P1 seats in a Large, which were too wide for me, so I have a friend who is an Oreca dealer and for the price I don't think you can beat them. They do weigh about 5 lbs more than the Buddy Clubs, oh well. Pretty sure they are a rebranded EVO. Wish they had them in an Evo2 size, since I have a big back. Guess I'll stop lifting. I love it though, very good purchase.

[msan]

New car looks fun!!! That e90 looks fast just sitting there though...

[cvstar9M3]

Nice! Congrats. the E46 definitely looks race/track ready. That last picture of the e90 looks amazing though in all black! I have an jet black e90M too. I have been thinking about some wheels and wasn't gonna go with black wheels. But I might reconsider though. Can you please tell the type of wheels you got on there? arc 8?

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by cvstar9M3

Nice! Congrats. the E46 definitely looks race/track ready. That last picture of the e90 looks amazing though in all black! I have an jet black e90M too. I have been thinking about some wheels and wasn't gonna go with black wheels. But I might reconsider though. Can you please tell the type of wheels you got on there? arc 8?

Yessir. They are ARC8's 18x10, et 25. PSS 275/35/18 all around. I did have a 5mm spacer front (for coilover clearance) and 15mm rear spacer.

[cvstar9M3]

Originally Posted by Move Over

Yessir. They are ARC8's 18x10, et 25. PSS 275/35/18 all around. I did have a 5mm spacer front (for coilover clearance) and 15mm rear spacer.

What did you think of the black on black? have to keep it clean all the time to keep it nice? did you use it for street use as well or just track? I was gonna go with arcs 8 in hyper black or anthracite (was leaning more hyper black). But your all black got me thinking... I'm wondering if it's blue calipers that is making them look extra good.

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by cvstar9M3

What did you think of the black on black? have to keep it clean all the time to keep it nice? did you use it for street use as well or just track? I was gonna go with arcs 8 in hyper black or anthracite (was leaning more hyper black). But your all black got me thinking... I'm wondering if it's blue calipers that is making them look extra good.

I loved them. Get yourself some solid wheel cleaner and clean them every 10 days or so. Here's this pic, with no brakes

These are for sale too. Lol

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Move Over

The best part about it is my 2.9lb AntiGravity battery

sweet, i didn't know about that company. i was looking at voltphreaks vph900 battery. similar specs, but VP is $500 more and 3lbs less... i think i'd rather use the $500 to add lightness somewhere else. i'm excited about this!

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

sweet, i didn't know about that company. i was looking at voltphreaks vph900 battery. similar specs, but VP is $500 more and 3lbs less... i think i'd rather use the $500 to add lightness somewhere else. i'm excited about this!

I keep it on a lithium charger. It works well, they have several to choose from.

[roastbeef]

yea, i was planning on it. i might have my original battery from 2011 still... but even if it was replaced right before i got the car (i doubt it), the battery is four years old, and for the last two years, the car has not been my daily driver. sometimes i don't drive it for two weeks at a time. fortunately it starts up fine, but i feel like a new battery is in my near future. i figured i'd use a tender to help out whichever lighter weight battery i got.

[Mantii]

Beautiful! Been following a lot of you guys through the chit chat thread and a couple other ones since the F80 track section is kinda slow.

I went on track last year for the very first time after I had gotten my F80 and was hooked the moment I was legally going 110mph down the straight of my local track.

I didn't want to "abuse" my new car so I went shopping and bought an e46 m3 as well. It was all stock and now it's slowly getting converted.

The e46 is a lot of fun just due to the fact it's much smaller and can be made pretty light. Looking forward to seeing more of this beast.

I have been bombarding M3 Number 86 with requests for an e46 M3 Race Render template haha...so over the weekend I had some time and made one myself. I think it looks decent. Let me know if anyone wants to test it out. Got my first track day this weekend in the e46, can't wait.

[M3 Number 86]

You mean your second e90?

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by Mantii

Beautiful! Been following a lot of you guys through the chit chat thread and a couple other ones since the F80 track section is kinda slow.

I went on track last year for the very first time after I had gotten my F80 and was hooked the moment I was legally going 110mph down the straight of my local track.

I didn't want to "abuse" my new car so I went shopping and bought an e46 m3 as well. It was all stock and now it's slowly getting converted.

The e46 is a lot of fun just due to the fact it's much smaller and can be made pretty light. Looking forward to seeing more of this beast.

I have been bombarding M3 Number 86 with requests for an e46 M3 Race Render template haha...so over the weekend I had some time and made one myself. I think it looks decent. Let me know if anyone wants to test it out. Got my first track day this weekend in the e46, can't wait.

Lol sorry man! Let's see it! It's so hard to make. E9x is easier because it's a black dial.

[Mantii]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Lol sorry man! Let's see it! It's so hard to make. E9x is easier because it's a black dial.

Haha no worries man. It was a bit of a pain but I think I got it working. I dont have a connection to the ecu to check if the Oil Gauge is working properly, but if anyone can test it out, that would be cool. Shoot me a pm with your email and I can send over the file. Here is what it looks like

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by Mantii

Haha no worries man. It was a bit of a pain but I think I got it working. I dont have a connection to the ecu to check if the Oil Gauge is working properly, but if anyone can test it out, that would be cool. Shoot me a pm with your email and I can send over the file. Here is what it looks like

That's pretty good! A lot better than the one I had partially made lol

I know my oil temp reads but it's through CAN not obd.

Are those the photo needles or the program ones?

[Mantii]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

That's pretty good! A lot better than the one I had partially made lol

I know my oil temp reads but it's through CAN not obd.

Are those the photo needles or the program ones?

Thanks...I actually used your template and modified it, including the needles. So everything should be working. I tested the speed and rpms captured via obd, but can't test oil gauge this way.