Bernooo's E92 M3 Clubsport Build

[berns]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

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

[Kelse92]

Awesome man! Welcome to the dark-side of e92 M3 ownership.
Just saw the feature video of your 1 last week and loved the attention to detail you put into every piece on that build and that it was 100% track setup, quick, and functional while still looking incredibly OEM+
Can't wait to follow what you do with this one. Cheers!

[//steve\\]

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing what you do here.

I've been following you on IG for quite a while.

Similar mindset to what I'd ultimately like to do. 4.10s are on my short list of things I want bad. Already have stage1 tune from Epic which I've been happy with and will inevitably do Primary deletes + intake in a similar fashion.

[MisterClutch888]

Cant wait to see what u do to it.

Looking forward on the final product.

Ur 135 is definitely epic, so dope!

[tsk94]

Welcome to the M3 side of things, Alex.

Your 1 series build was great and beautifully done, can't wait to see the progression of the M3. Love the wrap color btw!

[fsmtnbiker]

Buttonwillow Oct 17 with Speed Ventures?

Progress looks great, excited to see the wrap all done!

[berns]

Originally Posted by Kelse92

Awesome man! Welcome to the dark-side of e92 M3 ownership.
Just saw the feature video of your 1 last week and loved the attention to detail you put into every piece on that build and that it was 100% track setup, quick, and functional while still looking incredibly OEM+
Can't wait to follow what you do with this one. Cheers!

That means a lot! Thanks -- that was 100% the plan, so I'm glad it seems that way to others haha.

Originally Posted by //steve\\

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing what you do here.

I've been following you on IG for quite a while.

Similar mindset to what I'd ultimately like to do. 4.10s are on my short list of things I want bad. Already have stage1 tune from Epic which I've been happy with and will inevitably do Primary deletes + intake in a similar fashion.

Thanks! Not totally sure how this car will end up yet, but I'll try to enjoy the process for a bit haha.

Yeah... You know, I kind of wish I got a DCT car, because I've had manuals for so long, but I like the simplicity and weight savings of manual too. I just think the gearing and lightning shifts make the E92 feel way faster on DCT vs Manual.

Originally Posted by MisterClutch888

Cant wait to see what u do to it.

Looking forward on the final product.

Ur 135 is definitely epic, so dope!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tsk94

Welcome to the M3 side of things, Alex.

Your 1 series build was great and beautifully done, can't wait to see the progression of the M3. Love the wrap color btw!

Glad to be here. I was always bummed sharing info on the 135i build because the e82 forum was so dead most times! Feels good to be back in a proper M car after 6 years.

Originally Posted by fsmtnbiker

Buttonwillow Oct 17 with Speed Ventures?

Progress looks great, excited to see the wrap all done!

Oct 17th seems like a reasonable goal, and would probably be my first track day since January, and my last track day before the baby comes (11/29), so, I'll aim for this. No idea what to expect from this car, but excited to see!

[roastbeef]

nice dude.

[911r]

After following your E82 build journal, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the E92...what are you leaning towards in regards to wheels & tires?

[berns]

Originally Posted by 911r

After following your E82 build journal, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the E92...what are you leaning towards in regards to wheels & tires?

Thanks man -- I created big shoes to fill and now I feel pressured to make this thing awesome. There's a chance it'll remain pretty chill for a while haha.

As for wheels and tires, I'm not sure yet. I loved running Nexen Sur4G's on the 1, but I'd like more rubber on this build since it's heavier and we've got the room. My track setup will be 18x10.5 with 295's all around. I'd like to try the A052's, AR1's and the new Falken RT660's. Haven't decided on wheels yet.

In other news, that's a wrap! After years of owning white, silver and grey cars, this is a huge change, but I'm so glad I went for it. The guys at Bold Cars really killed it on the details -- you'd really have to get close to see any white paint underneath, and out of the highly lit shop, this car looks totally painted. Will enjoy this for a while!

They also removed a small layer of clear coat from the carbon roof which had 12 years of grime, polished it, waxed, and then covered it with PPF that should look great for another 10 years.

Here are some photos in the shop.

Hoping to take over a lift at EAS this week and tear into the suspension. I'll be doing coilovers and all the front arms. Then it's time for seats, an Antigravity battery, corner balance and alignment.

I signed up for a track day at Chuckwalla on 10/11. Some spots available still if anyone wants to come out. Fresh tarmac there and a good event with good people. Might do Buttonwillow the following weekend with Speed Ventures still, but we'll see how the month looks with work and progress on the car.

[911r]

Originally Posted by berns

Thanks man -- I created big shoes to fill and now I feel pressured to make this thing awesome. There's a chance it'll remain pretty chill for a while haha.

As for wheels and tires, I'm not sure yet. I loved running Nexen Sur4G's on the 1, but I'd like more rubber on this build since it's heavier and we've got the room. My track setup will be 18x10.5 with 295's all around. I'd like to try the A052's, AR1's and the new Falken RT660's. Haven't decided on wheels yet.

Glad you mentioned the RT660s, they seem on par with RE71Rs, just ~$400 cheaper per set. BRG looks absolutely mega!

[kyippee]

Very cool green and looking forward to seeing this become a beast too

[Kelse92]

Loving the green!
18x10.5 or 18x11 setup would be perfectt with 295's or bigger.
Also in the camp of can't wait to try some 660's.

[jid2]

The need for gold wheels is high with the green wrap.

[roastbeef]

loving the green.

[reidetailing]

Green = drool. <3

[MVEED3]

Swap in a fresh set of tranny mounts before your track event. It's a simple DIY.

Suspension work ahead or keeping factory configuration?

[Rochen_00]

Incredible build he did on that 135i, a spectacular job and taking care of every last detail.
I can't wait to see how this new project continues on the e92 platform. Cheer up with the project!

[DallasLife345M]

Beautiful. Love it! The e92 is my all time favorite M car.

[Lady Jane]

Impressive. Love the green machine!

[jeff@autocouture]

Awesome, Saw this on IG. What film? Avery?

[F32Fleet]

So are you going to stick with 10w60 or run something like Redline 5w50