Used to be on a poster in my dorm: 2005 M3

[Beej]

Seems like there are tons of e36 threads on here, so bam! It's an e46, so same shit + slightly better interior and general reputation of G35 owners. I know, I know, tl;dr. But it's like 1.5 years of ownership in this first post, so bear with me.

So hello again, fellas - long time no post. But I work from home, so I still lurk quite a bit. For those who don't know, I'm an '04 grad, and I didn't join the club until my senior year despite seeing people at an autocross or two.

Anyway, after 2.5 years of living in DC without a car (Zipcar rocks, btw), I relocated to Norfolk, which doesn't accommodate the carless lifestyle quite as well as the district - not that I needed much of an excuse to get back in the game after not having a car for so long. I looked forever for 6 months, strictly at 3-pedaled e46 (specifically 2003.5+) M3's, and I was very particular about mileage (<50k), options (sunroof, nav, seats with lumbar/width, HIDs), condition (no signs of mods), and color combination (please please please white on Cinnamon or Imola). Furthering my increasing disappointment in humanity, I had a couple sold out from under me, and was just having a difficult time finding what I was looking for. After moving to downtown Norfolk in September of '10, I was up the creek a bit and had to scratch out some of my rules in order to be able to get around to buy things to live - the first one being color combo.

So I wound up with yet ANOTHER silver/black car, this one an '05 with 44k miles. Summing up nicely what I learned about public transportation while being carless, I walked to a bus station, took the bus to the train station, took the train to the Metro station, took the Metro to the airport, hopped on a plane, and was picked up by a stranger in an e30 M3 (2.5l with CF air box, drool) in Cincinnati to go pick up my new car, whose cherry I would re-pop with a 10 hour drive back through glorious, glorious roads. Though overpriced, I found Enthusiast Auto Group to be an ethical and straightforward company to buy a used car from. Plus they had two e30 tourings (!) on the lot. What's funny is that one M3 I had gotten handshake/loan (in front of the guy) to buy in Rockville (at a steal, and then the guy called me back to raise the price, at which point he was directed to fuck himself) in MD was on the lot, too. Small world.

Condition-wise, it was damn good. EAG had replaced the windshield (since replaced again), put urethane RTAB's in, and done an alignment. Front bumper had a small crease, and the rear had/has a scrape in the paint. Nothing else at all worth complaining about - it was clean. Still had 6 months of CPO too, good for a free Inspection 2 (BMW talk for expensive fluids and pretending to do a valve adjustment) - I also got a free set of brakes out of that, which ain't cheap.

Day 0:


First impressions were:
- People say this motor doesn't have enough torque?
- Holy shit, it's nice to own a car again; I'm going to Target.
- Heel-toeing sticks with you, which is nice.
- I always knew e46 M3's sounded weird (angry chainsaw!) from outside, but it's quite pleasant inside. Still BMW inline-6-ish.
- Granted it's been a few years, but this is way more fun than my e30's - yeah e46's are way heavier, but BMW did it well. Absolutely a blast to drive. I've used it before and it's still corny, but I feel more like I'm wearing the car moreso than driving it.
- Suspension was stiffer than I expected. Not bad at all, just (pleasantly?) surprised - expected more luxury from BMW.

Second impressions were:
- Motor could use more torque.
- Please just give me the smallest reason to go to Target, <3 driving.
- I love walking away from /towards the thing. It's really just a pretty automobile that somehow is both elegant and masculine.

A good friend of mine had recently picked up an '05 JB/Cinnamon SMG 'vert around the same time. Very different cars, and I'm glad I have neither the transmission nor the toplessness:


So when I bought it, I didn't have much in the way of plans. Didn't even think of getting back into motorsports (just an autocrosser historically), to be honest. And after having had it awhile, I didn't think it needed much in the way of improvement. But I met up with an old friend I hadn't talked to in years (who, coincidentally had purchased a Z4M Coupe) and realized my shifter sucked. Homework time later, I figured that like $180 on a 330d lever/ZHP knob for 90% of what $400 on a "true" SSK would do (along with a much bigger pain of taking the exhaust/driveshaft down), I was happy with the first "mod". I've since forgotten what the old shifter was like and it's like it never happened.

Chilled for awhile. Used it as a car, curbed some wheels, carried some trees:


Shit 225/255 tires on it cupped, got 245/275 Hankook v12's, meh. They feel better now (10k or so miles in) than they did new, but they're clearly not competitive or meant to be. After proving how terrible they are in snow in WV, I hit up trusty ol' 33 on the way back and passed through Harrisonburg.

I've only been here with a few hundred fewer horsepower, so that was fun:


Also, I can barely recognize Harrisonburg anymore. I mean holy shit.

Then I went to an autocross for the first time in god knows how long. Didn't realize how much I missed it. Ended up waffling for a bit before deciding on AST 4100's (550/650 springs) for a suspension - way more than I'd ever imagined spending on a suspension (and it's their entry level shit)but I'm digging it so far. Compared to stock, it's stiffer but better controlled. And honestly, until you get into bumpstop territory, rides better than OEM...but bumpstop territory does rear its head more often than before. I'm pretty impressed with it, and I like it better than GC/Bilstein and GC/Koni setups I'd tried on my e30's in the past. I also did enough forum research (before and since) to know that DJ will jump in here with some hate. Sup?

Das hardware:


Install day and a Z4M Coupe.


Silver is boring, and with the factory clear lights, I thought the car looked like a single color blob, so I back-modded or whatever with amber lights front and rear. Tamed the appearance of it down a bit, but I liked it enough for it to stick.

This was my "home" spot for a year :?




So I've autocrossed a bunch, and it's been great. It's cheap, stress-free, you can convince yourself it's competitive, and not abusive to the car - though I'll never get over standing around for 6 hours to drive for 5 minutes. But another local event popped up at NCCAR, that was a solo style one lap at a time thing...my first time on a real track. I loved it enough for it to be a Big Problem.





Splitting the Nobles during a warmup/parade lap.


I think HPDE's are a better idea. I knew I was being timed, and because of that, I wanted to beat my last time (thankfully I had no idea what other people's times were during the event). Despite an intended "be cool" approach, I found it hard to tame the red mist and wound up putting two wheels off coming onto the front straight at ~90, which was a new thing for me. Both I and the car survived, and I ended up being 7th of 40-something cars. The two Noble M400's took 1-2, and I wonder what difference a set of Star Specs or RS-3's would've made. But the thought of losing that much money in car...I'll rethink it before going back in something I'm not okay with just writing off.

At this point, I love the car, and I'm done with it. The only thing I'd possibly consider next would be a square setup with stickier tires or something.

After having not been on it for yearsfucking ebay.

This was actually a muffler (Scorza - real deal, not some ebay special) I'd been keeping an eye on for awhile. They/ALL e46 M3 mufflers are like $1200-1600 brand new, which is egregious and an affront to all that is good and holy. A boring Sunday resulted in picking this thing up a couple days later for an easily recoverable price. I love it 90% of the time, which is more than I expected for any e46 s54 muffler, because they generally sound like dammit - I don't know why the s54 sounds so different than your typical BMW I6. The black tips don't jive with my "more OEM than OEM" look, but either I'll switch or get used to it like the short shifter.



Why on earth BMW decided to make a muffler that barely fits on my kitchen table - I'd much prefer a spare tire - is beside me, but the new one, aside from being blingier, saves like 30lbs I'm sure I'll never notice are gone.

So I'm not sure what's next. Working from home and still managing to put 20k on it in a year...I really enjoy the thing. I'd love to get a set of ARC-8 wheels/ST-classed tires and pretend I'm locally competitive, but I still live in an apartment and I'm not gonna lug an extra set of wheels around. But I never thought I'd touch this car with anything but a sponge in the first place, either.

More run-on sentences and cell phone pictures to come, I hope.

[kcook]

Good read. I'm absolutely in love with e46 m's. Doesn't help that my scca racing neighbor owns an 03.5+ black e46 m3. Also, I didn't realize it until now, but you bring up an excellent point."though I'll never get over standing around for 6 hours to drive for 5 minutes" you are so right.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I hate on ASTs because of their marketing. They advertise as track suspensions and racing etc etc. My friend tried to get his warrantied when they blew up (they dont like to be bounced off curbing a lot) and they refused, saying the ASTs are not race shocks and therefore wouldnt be covered. Total Bullshit. Also had at least 3 people I know blow em up on track. For daily driving/occasional track/autocross? Yeah they are better than 99% in their price range.

I found the E46 M3 has a really stiff suspension stock too! Glad to see your out there enjoying it!

[ScottyB]

great writeup, really enjoyed it. they are really impressive cars and its hard to argue with the value nowadays on the used market.

nice to see you're back - make a sammich, stay a while! 8)

[BLINGMW]

I like the christmas tree on top :thumbup:

[xvxax]

How many times have those sway bar tabs come loose on you? If you are having trouble like I was, AST sells a new aluminum double clamp for the sway bar tab which is nice, but expensive. I think it was intended for their 5xxx line, but they have them for the 4xxx tubes, you can get them directly from AST.

[Beej]

Yeah Terry Fair over at Vorshlag is kind of a piece of work, and one of AST's biggest champions. Can't speak to any personal warranty work - seen some reports good, some bad.

I've kept half an eye on my sway bar mounts, and they haven't budged - I have the version with a threaded ring on top and bottom. The generation before mine (cheaper version of the pinch you show) make me a little nervous because I wouldn't want to pinch the tube even a little...but those look a better implementation of the same concept. It looks like on the 4150's that were announced recently that they're back to a welded tab - not a bad idea in my book.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice purchase! Good to see you back lurking and posting BJ

[Beej]

Was chilling at a stoplight and felt a cylinder miss once...then twice...then stop firing entirely - it was about time, as I figured that after 29k miles of thinking I'd dodged the known bad coil issue, one finally went. On 5 cylinders, these things sound like a Subaru, vibrate like a marital aid, and are slower than...a Subaru.

So I replaced my #2 coil for a whopping $35. Decided just to go with 1 for now (and a spare, meh), we'll see how the rest of the originals last.


Probably the quickest and most immediately rewarding repair I've ever done. Apparently the SES light doesn't go away on it's own though. Wiped down the hamster house while I was in there...better but not fancy. New M badge too, for duh purposes.


Also decided to get amber side markers - curiously enough off of an e38 - for completeness' sake. Not sure if I dig how much it sticks out, but I'm sure I'll begin to not notice it soon.


Also, one can't always park far away. My first whopper of a door ding - it's like an inch long:


Bye bye, original paint I longed so long for. Found a local body shop that seems to cater to enthusiasts, so she'll go there in a week or two.

Up next:

• Ordered some Gliptone for a long overdue leather treatment - my first go at such a thing.
  
• Gonna order an obscenely expensive valve shim kit and do an adjustment since I have no way of proving when it was last done.
  
• Replace VANOS sealing plate. Replaced o-rings/filter which had evidence of a leak, looks like that does too (bottom of first pic).
  
• Had a discount code at Pelican Parts so ordered some new engine/tranny mounts. The engine mounts are hilariously more stout than the ones on both my e30 318 and e30 s50.
  
• Needs a claybarring, bad.
  
• Tinker with muffler/hangers. After it warms up and the exhaust expands, it rubs against the rear diffuser a pinch

I'll also edit the title of this thread if I can. I'd forgotten another witty and creative M3 owner had already used 'douchebag' in his title, and I'm sick of feeling like I stepped on his toes when I see it. I apologize to anyone who thought they were opening up another sick thread about an e46.

[ScottyB]

i like the amber markers, personally. they add a little punch on a silver car.

did you just pull coils to find the dead cylinder or is there a diag. tool that does it for you? glad to hear it worked out. plug 'n play repairs are the best.

[Dave]

That ding is ridonculous! I hate people...

[Beej]

did you just pull coils to find the dead cylinder or is there a diag. tool that does it for you? glad to hear it worked out. plug 'n play repairs are the best.

Little of both. The generic OBD thing at Autozone just reported a misfire on #2. Then I just unplugged a few while running, checked out the plugs, and swapped coils around to rule out anything else.

[Feersty]

Great write up BJ. Cinnamon or black interiors are definitely FTW! Been looking at 330ci's around here, but man it is hard to find what I want. Not a fan of the amber signals, but to each his own.

[ViPER1313]

That ding is ridonculous! I hate people...

A good PDR guy should be able to get the ding itself out without touching the paint.

[B1MM3R]

Nice car, the drop looks good, i think perfect height.

[Tyler.M]

I wonder if they make a roof rack specifically to carry christmas trees? It's like a whole untapped market no one has thought about yet!

[BLAIR]

Amber lights are awesome! It's like unmodding. Which is cool!

[Beej]

I find myself tonight with the energy to do a "catch up" post for the stuff that was lost with the server crash.

73,992: Alternator died


74,335: Motor mounts (preventative), driver's door pull (flaking paint)

75,880: Valve adjustment


Somewhere in there: Gliptone leather cleaning (sorry, unequal lighting)


Before:



After:



~79k: 18x9.5 square Apex ARC-8's and 275/35 Hankook RS-3's







July, first HPDE at VIR



I think that about brings the picwhoring up to the point of what was lost.

[Beej]

And, to present day.

After about a year, my driver's side camber plate bearing went out - just clicked a lot, but that's pretty weak. Although there is apparently no warranty, Vorshlag send out a loaner bearing/holder that I was able to use while they examined/replaced my old bearing (at cost, I believe), which was indeed bad. I heard a clicking again this week, but...fingers crossed.

I autocrossed for the first time on the RS-3's, and square setup, this weekend. She actually felt a bit different, and I think it took me a bit to get used to it. I'm rarely a cone-hitter (take from that what you will), but I hit a few this weekend because I think the car actually turned more than I expected it to. It took me too long to realize it, but I had to set turns up differently because it just understeered less. My "relative" (to usual-local-guys) times went down a little, but not as much as I'd hyped myself up that it would. Then I did some fun runs where I got a little more comfortable/aggressive, and whereas I only knocked 0.7 seconds off during the event, I actually knocked an additional full second off afterwards (and my best "feeling" run was on a screwed up timer). Regardless, I'm excited. I may have jumped the gun on my talent by going to stickier tires, but I think there's still a lot to learn on these.

They're seriously loud during daily driving though.

I know panoramic photos are gonna be all over the place with the iPhone 5 zomgs, but I thought this was pretty cool, and shows just how shitty our local venue is:


Gripfest this weekend at NCCAR!

[D_Eclipse9916]

Good stuff, I am surprised you were able to get the RS3s to temp with temperatures the way they have been. We look forward to you coming back out to the track, and this time drink with us; instead of being a total bad ass and doing HPDE/Wedding same day.