Seems like this forum is really lacking E92 builds... So, here's another!
Bit about me -- this M3 marks my 15th car, and my 4th BMW build. I've worked on staff for car mags for a number of years, and now shoot commercial ads for the car manufacturers, and in (all of) my spare time, I look at car parts, dream about building, and like to go to the track.
My outgoing build is a lot of car (
build thread here), and with a baby due in November, I'm swapping a 600hp turbo widebody 135i with aero, for an 8500rpm V8. I believe the 1 could have done a sub-50 at Buttonwillow on DH's or A052's but sadly, I won't find out. Best lap in that car was a 1:52.63
I've wanted an E9x M3 for years but somehow spent 5 years driving n54-powered cars after my E46 M3. While the N54 is awesome, I've just been yearning for the simplicity of an NA build, so here we are.
I found this 2008 E92 M3 on Craigslist, owned by an awesome military test pilot out in Palmdale. Alpine white, carbon roof, 6 speed, no nav, no EDC... Perfect.
Had 95k on it with original bearings and was in need of general TLC and maintenance, but overall, car was solid, no accidents and was in overall great shape -- awesome way to start a project.
Home with its big brother for a few weeks til this car gets shipped off to its new owner in Holland!
To make the deal sweeter, it even came with StopTech St60/St40 BBK, no front end links, blown front shocks and a missing sun visor.
First things first, I sold the TR Motorsport wheels and picked up some Apex ARC-8's on CL to roll around on till I figure out what track wheels I'll go with. Bonus -- in the swap, I spent $50 total, and the ARC8's came with Trofeo R's 265/295. Rear wheels and tires are virtually new. Have always wanted to try these on the track. So far I can say they are completely miserable on the street since the sidewalls feel like concrete. Expected.
Then the car went off to
European Auto Source for some much needed love, and a few upgrades.
- Rod Bearings Service with ACL bearings & BE rod bolts
- Valve Cover Gaskets w/ new bolts
- Timing cover gasket
- New motor mounts
- Full fluid flush - Diff, Trans, PS, Brake Fluid
- Spark Plugs
- Macht Schnell X-pipe
- Macht Schnell Stage 2 Intake
- Macht Schnell Pulleys
The car instantly felt better with new plugs, and the x-pipe/pulley/intake combo was noticeable right away. This M3 also came with a Remus exhaust, and paired with the x-pipe, it is LOUD. Like, IMSA car loud. It's liveable for the most part, with some loud drone around 2300rpm, but after that it's really not bad. At full throttle, it's insane. Think I'll hold onto it for a while just for the novelty of it, but I'd love to get rid of the big rolled exhaust tips for something a little more aggressive and simple.
Happily cruising around with a CEL, I decided to call it a day with engine upgrades and top it off with a tune from Randy at
Epic Motorsports. In talking to James Clay from BimmerWorld, he said he'd never go any other way than Randy, as he tunes these cars in real race environments. One conversation with Randy and I was sold. Went with all the bells and whistles, and an 8500rpm rev limit. Really can't say enough nice things about the experience. Randy ships you a flashing module, you download the software, send him the full read of your ECU and he sends your tune back. You're back in business in minutes.
Coming from a turbo inline six, I wasn't expecting to be blown away by any of these upgrades, since NA gains are usually pretty marginal, but honestly, this tune paired with the bolt on upgrades blew me away. The car absolutely rips now, sounds healthier, revs smoother and feels like it picked up both low-end grunt and high rpm scream. I'll get on the dyno once the weather cools down here. After some time on the road, I think I'll end up going with a 4.10 diff and an LSD upgrade from Dan at Diffsonline, who I worked with on my last build as well.
I sent the car off to my buddy Ivan at
Strassesport in Irwindale to make repair the front and rear bumpers, and while he had the front bumper off, I had him shave the side markers and headlight washers, and deleted the headlight washer plumbing as well. Car looked brand new paired with LCI tails, and since the headlights had yellow film on them from years of prior ownership, the lenses were virtually new underneath. At this point, I decided to preserve the paint a bit and try something new that I've wanted to do forever -- a British Racing Green M3.
Sent the car off to
Bold Cars, in Alhambra, where Sergio and the team got to work with cleaning the paint, prepping the car and starting the wrap. I've really only owned white, black, grey and silver cars, so this is going to be an adjustment for me, but after seeing a few photos of the progress, I'm stoked!
Car should be done this weekend, and then it's back to EAS for a suspension overhaul, which I'll detail in the next post once I get the car on the lift and lay all the parts out.
Looking forward to shaking this thing down at Buttonwillow soon!
You can follow along on
Instagram for updates and track content if that's your thing.
-Alex