DJ 6's Build Thread E46 M3

Next I bought Depo smoked indicators and side repeaters, gunsmoked Lamin-X, satin black bonnet/kidney grills and satin black wing vents.

Firstly the lamin-x. I whipped off the lights from the car and swapped them with a spare set from my old 330.

Outer lights were clean and didn't have any gunk but my inner boot lights which seems to be common on all E46's I've seen all have crud getting trapped inside the light.

I soaked them in soapy water but me being impatient I took them apart as I didn't get anywhere!

Then got started with the Lamin-X so here's my lights before:

47 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

The lenses had some mud/dirt on them as well:

48 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

They got glued back together again and let it dry for a day.

Then got started with the Lamin-X so here's my lights before:

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52 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Got cutting to shape and using the squidgy and hairdyrer got as many air bubbles out as possible. There are few left but these disappear over time as its breathable:

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53 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

And a comparison:

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The finished product!

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55 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Satin black vent grill:

Before:

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Disappeared!:

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New (I have the monochrome M3 badges to fit on just waiting on delivery):

58 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Side reps before and after with depo smoked:

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Black grills:

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Depo smoked indicators:

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And just a few latest pics of the car taken at New Forest, will be getting some more pics up soon.


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67 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Wheels were next and there was only one set of wheels that I wanted on this car and nothing else and no way I would ever fit CSL's or CSL reps.

So after searching for a while I found what I was looking for.

They are AC Schnitzer Type 3 racing in staggered M3 fitment, 8.5x19 front ET43 and 9.5x19 rear ET21. They weigh a little less than OEM's. Fronts weigh 12kg and the rear 12.5kg.

Barrels were good but the lips needed doing as they were powdercoated so they were given to Dips at Custom Cars who stripped the powdercoat off which wasn't an easy task and split the wheels apart and centres were sent off for powdercoating. All back well and good and the lips polished which have come up nicely and look loads better.

Before:





After:






I managed to find 7mm AC Schnitzer hubcentric spacers with longer bolts so fronts now ET36 and rear ET14 which bring them out nicely. Fitted them in time for a car show called DC12 and a few pics.







Next after seeing a load of E46's with white CCFL's on the web and on the roads, I decided to switch to yellow rings for a few reasons. What made me choose yellows is with the xenons you can't really make the rings on the outer whereas these because of the difference colour they stand out more and the white ones have become too common.

So after doing some searching I found a set of CCFL's in yellow from an Australian company called Euro Division which I think some of you are familiar with on ths forum. I saw a set fitted on E46fanatics and was impressed with them.

This is a comparison shot:


Now on:


With xenons:


Nightshot hard to capture but they look the part at night.


Edited by DJ Syxx - 08 May 2014 at 3:05pm

Right update time and lots of pics! I had to take care of the brakes as I was getting a squeel from the front passenger and rear drivers. Copper grease didnt help so wasn't sure whether it was the disc, or the caliper at fault. So decided to change all of it once and for all and not having to worry about brakes for a long time. So took the car off road just after Gaydon.

Prepared the car first.


146 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

147 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Caliper off

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Disc off

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Old brake fluid that hadn't been changed for a long time! I checked my book and the last time it had one was in 2006! It was very old and had a few sludge bits in it.

156 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

With rear calipers off, I bought a pair of front calipers with brackets off ebay to make life easier and I only have 2 axle stands.

So these were before brackets and calipers:

157 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

158 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

159 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

They were all sent off to Biggred a company who refurb nothing but calipers. They were re-done with the black polymer coating. Brand new seals, new pistons, new bleed nipples, new slider pins so literally like new.

So here is when they came back:


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164 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

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Bought new brake fluid:

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Ordered braided brake hoses from a company called brake-lines.co.uk. Guys a heads up do not use this company. They don't respond back to your emails or answer your calls!

So a bit of a dilemma as I had everything ready so I found a company called CAM Auto who had Goodridge hoses in stock so popped down to St Albans to pick them up.

171 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Rears ones you need to remove the bracket which was a b*st*rd as it was rusted and wedged on. Luckily it came off with a bit of persuasion!


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173 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Then clipped in and secured:

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Here's the old one:

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I bought brand new discs all round. Rear ones I purchased off ECP with discount. Front ones I bought off from a Cutters member original ATE cheaper from BM's!

I also bought brand new Performance Friction Pads all round. Got them from Performance Prestige Centre via eBay reasonably priced.


161 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

162 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

With everything in place was a case of putting it back together:

So rears on:

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177 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Front was a real pain trying to take off these two 16mm bolts were incredibly tight so took a long while on both sides to remove them!

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Found that my brake pad wear sensor at the front was not connected to the pad and was taped up!

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New one fitted:

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Old hose taken out:

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New hose on and this simply slides in at the front.

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Hoses on both sides:

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185 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

And front put back together!

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186 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Brakes need bedding but so far are biting better as the car is driven more. No more squeeks or squeals. Was pretty expensive getting all the parts in but labour was free at least!

Big thanks to Voldik for helping with the brake bleeding.

Next will be getting my splitter painted and fitted.

Edited by DJ Syxx - 08 May 2014 at 3:08pm

Nice build thread, I might start one too. Good to meet you on Sunday at Players. 

Your doing well mate!

looking good 

Good work great to see - the E46 is now affordable and it's great that that you have made improvements and mods that improve the look an drive as its still a road car

That chin spoiler reminds me of the E30 Evo II chin spoiler:

Well its been a while since I've updated this build thread and a fair bit has happened so here goes lol.

Late last year I took my car to an underground car park and got a few nice shots of it. I also managed to get the wheels I always wanted the ACS type 3 one piece in staggered M3 fitment. These now serve their purpose as my winter wheels.


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I managed a few months later (early 2013) to get a very rare set of Cinnamon leather interior which really goes so well with the steel grey paintwork:

Pics before:

P1070043 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

P1070045 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

And after:

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272 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

I managed to source the design element spoke inserts for my AC splits from Rossiters.

So these are the wheels before:

275 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

These are the elements which clip into the spokes:

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And fitted to the wheel:

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Did a little bit of minor maintaince on the M around Spring time, dropped the oil and replaced with fresh and new filter last month. I finally found my vanos filter kit which I was looking for every where as was buried under a pile of crap!

Its not something that is on the service schedule but is worth replacing for the hell of it. I've seen some pictures and videos showing the filter having crud on there so was expecting the same with mine.

Simple DIY job, locate the vanos filter cartridge bolt, its a 22mm socket:


278 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Place some paper towels or a thick cloth underneath the bolt to stop any oil dripping and simply undo the bolt and carefully remove.

You need three things part numbers are:
The Filter Cartridge: 11361401971
Small black O-Ring: 11311318659
Bigger brown O-Ring: 11361403325

279 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

This is the filter cartridge and I was surprised as to how fairly clean it was:

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Simply remove the filter cartridge first with some needle nose pliers.  The O-rings, remove the black one first followed by the brown one. Using a small flat head screw driver works best to remove them.

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Refit the brown O-Ring first, followed by the smaller black one and finally clip on the new vanos filter cartridge.

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Then simply refit back into your vanos job done.

Bought amber indicators for the front and side repeaters. Had a spare set of rear lights and used amber lamin-x and got hold of facelift boot lights for a cheap price on ebay.



IMG_1581 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

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Finally got round to fitting my stud conversion I bought from CA Auto (Thanks to Phil). These literally replace your normal wheel bolts and you use an open lug nut to secure bolts. Benefits of it makes it easier to take wheels on and off specially if your doing it regularly and also zero chance of cross threading your hubs, worst case you cross thread the lug they can be easily replaced cheaply. Mounting wheels is a lot easier as the lugs hold the wheel etc..

So before:

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Gave the threads a bit of clean to get any lodged dirt out:

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Need to add a drop of loctite for bolts:

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Tighten them up:

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And job done:

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Cheers Steve :thumbs-up:

Being a little OCD sometimes when it comes to my car I just felt my car needed the valve clearances to be checked.

There's a guy on M3 Cutters by the name of M3Carbon who does valve clearances and decided to get them done. So off came the rocker cover plugs etc.

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Mike inspected all 24 shims and he found 8 were not in spec. They got replaced and happy to report that the engine is that bit smoother and is a little more perkier too. It was definitely a worthwhile thing to get done and I would recommend if you haven't had them checked or your not sure when they were last checked do it as its a one of the most important things to do on these engines after oil changes.

Which now brings me up to date with this next lot:


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So got on with stripping the intake manifold and airbox out.

There is a youtube guide which shows pretty much how you take it out. So I viewed it and thought OK this is looks awkward. So undeterred I got underway with it and found it was actually straight forward and the youtube video guy makes too much of a meal of it! lol. To give you an idea of what is involved and parts you need:

Vent Hose 11 15 7833649. £18 from BM Mini Parts
Air shut-off valve 11 61 7833647 £51 from BM Mini Parts
M5 Clamps x6. 07 12 9952125 £4.60 from BM Mini Parts

Optional: 6x new throttle body clips.

And you will need a CV boot crimp tool for the throttle body clips to help remove them.

Started by removing the intake plastic, undo the airbox, remove the MAF sensor which you will need a security torx bit (T15) to remove.


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See ya later MAF sensor!

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Unbolt the airbox, there is a hidden bolt under the Xenon ballast and undo the hose clamps and simply remove.

You will need to remove the pollen filter housing and unclip the battery lead and hose from the cable tidy attached to it and remove the breather hoses attached to it and unbolt the dipstick think its 10mm bolt for that one.

The intake manifold is attached on with two 10mm bolts attached to a metal V bracket  under the box. You simply need to put your head in and you will see it. A ratchet spanner will be handy to remove them both.

The tricky bit will be removing the hose clamps attached to the throttle bodies specially as you go further up as space is limited. Now if your prepared unlike me you would get a CV boot crimp type tool. You have to squeeze it and the clamp detaches so you can remove. I used needle nose pliers with a screw driver to remove. While not the correct way of doing it got the job done but I would recommend getting the tool bit as you will likely be able to reuse the clips again. Can't use mine again as they are a little weak and bent so will get new ones at a later date with the tool to put them on.

Wiggle the box and eventually will free itself from the throttle bodies. At this stage you want to just loosen it away as you have two breather hoses attached to the bottom of the intake, one fat, one slim.

The fat one is nearest to you and you will see it by lifting the box up and simply unclip.

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The slim one is further at the back and will require you to put your hand under and feel. Once you find it unclip then the box can come out.

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If you have spare time now is a good chance to clean the throttle bodies and was left with this.

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The dipstick needs to be moved to the side in order for the carbon box to sit. You simply need to move it over the side, grab top and bottom of it and give it a bit of bend just far enough so that it sits behind the strut brace right near the MAF wiring loom case. I used some black cable ties and wrapped it round the dipstick bracket to keep it into position.

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Prepared the airbox by taking the old rubbers off the old plenum by unscrewing them. On the inside of the rubbers it has a plastic clip which you simply remove. Do this for all 6 and then fit onto the new airbox.

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322 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Rubbers attached to the airbox:

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324 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Attach the clamps and get them on tight except for the throttle body side end which you want a little loose and can tighten later.

Now before you fit the box on myself and a few others have found the breather hose attachment underneath the box (the slim one) seems to split easily. I was speaking with Crapbag who experienced this and as a consequence the slim hose is a bit loose when you clip it in. I used a cable tie and tightened it up hard to join the split together. Crapbag recommends self amalgamating tape which he used. I will speak to Will at GSR to speak to him about this as I think it needs strengthening or a slight tweak to stop this from happening.

Fitted the box onto the throttle bodies, best to get the ones furthest into the engine bay first and work it in. Now you can tighten the hose clamps on the throttle bodies. I am using normal screw clamps at the moment as mentioned as I screwed up the existing clips. If you use normal screw clamps ensure they don't foul the throttle linkages and are positioned correctly.

Next you want to connect the two hoses underneath, connect the slim one by putting your hand underneath. It should make a loud click when it is in place. I found on mine by having the cable pointing in the 3 o'clock position it clipped in properly.

The fat one is straight forward simply push it on.

Next stage I had to do was modify the rubber intake coming from the brake duct bumper area. As Crapbag showed on his thread he cut his and squeezed it into the rubber. I decided to butcher mine and cut the top half of it so that the mouth piece can fit in and aids in getting it into the engine bay better.

At this stage screw on the IAT sensor as this will make life a lot easier. Evolve sent me out the IAT in advance so that it is ready fitted. Mine is located on the mouth piece directly in the path of the airflow which is a good spot for it.

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326 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

The 4 torx screws that the mouth piece attaches to the box I had to get the middle two on and push at the same time to line up the two outer ones. I found it was best to screw each one in evenly rather than getting just the one in tight.

You then need to fit the two new hoses for the top of the box as the existing ones won't fit.

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328 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Once that's done I fitted everything back together and started her up to make sure fired up. Got the emissions light on for the MAF sensor which is fine as now have no MAF!


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Took the steady drive down to Evolve Automotive for its all important new Alpha N map.

Arrived and Imran got on with reading my car via laptop. And Sal later came to wire up the IAT to the MAF wiring loom and upload my new map file.

After this was done I jumped in the passenger seat and Sal took me out to check the map was running correctly. He was satisfied with the map and how it was responding to the car. The midrange was improved and you could feel this in the passenger seat in that the car was pulling better.

Didn't get the rolling road test done as Sal strongly recommended I do the B&Q mod to funnel the air flow better. Took the car and had to do an errand straight after.

I started to noticed the car got better as I was driving and was responding better too.

You also have the loud growl from all 6 throttle bodies and with the foot down to the floor it sings at its loudest.

I covered over 350 miles now and so far no complaints at all. If your driving around normally round town the car drives and behaves completely normal as it did before and your none the wiser.

Is it worth it?

The airbox mod and Alpha N map while its not a massive difference its a noticeable improvement from standard. I have noticed the mid range torque from around 3500rpm onwards improve more and pulls better in all the gears. There seems to be a sense of more urgency when you need to accelerate. With the sport button its better still and responds very well when you need it too.

If your keeping the car its a worthwhile mod but if your only planning to keep your M3 for a few years I wouldn't recommend to and save the money. To break down costs the airbox was £1100, Alpha N mapping and IAT was £599 and adding the few bits I need call it £1800 all in to have it running. Add a bit extra if your paying someone or Evolve to strip and fit your airbox.

Yes you have other options like Supercharging and the money spent on this could have gone towards that route. However I think the M3 is perfect as it is and I think it would take away a bit from the character of the car.

Overall I am happy with the airbox and map and enjoying how the car performs and for me this is about as good as it gets.

I finally fitted my carbon intake cover made by Josh. Unfortunately with the GSR box the cover fouls the mouthpiece so Craig a.k.a. Crapbag on M3Cutters kindly dremeled my one at Gaydon so that it fits better clears the mouthpiece. So I got one with fitting it and put some double sided tape as well for good measure. All I need now is a carbon rocker cover to finish off my engine bay.

332a by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Lastly with the last minute .com modding with the airbox/map done I got the last piece of the puzzle and got the CSL bootlid 4 days before Gaydon. Was a pain to adjust and get it straight on both sides but just required patience more than anything. Put a new wiring loom for the license plate lights but have to say the lights to fit. I can't understand why they fit so bad. But anyway grabbed a few pics and will get some more later this really finishes the car off nicely.


IMG_2279 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

IMG_2281 by djsyxx6, on Flickr


Edited by DJ Syxx - 08 May 2014 at 3:18pm

DJ 6's E46

Great article and very well planned too. About the best Build Enhancement on an E46 I have seen on any BMW Forum. Well done and congratulations as your efforts are appreciated.

regards Tony

steveH wrote: Please speak to Matt (Editor) and get this into the mag as a feature to show what is possible with the e46 cars. Well done.

Thanks Steve will probably do so once I get some more work done on the car.

issus wrote: DJ 6's E46 Great article and very well planned too. About the best Build Enhancement on an E46 I have seen on any BMW Forum. Well done and congratulations as your efforts are appreciated. regards Tony

Thanks Tony means a lot.

Haven't done a lot since the last update so going to lift it from journal on other forums:

I obtained an engine cover in carbon, got a temp M badge on but will need to get the original one at some stage. Completes the engine bay.

333a by djsyxx6, on Flickr

334a by djsyxx6, on Flickr

335a by djsyxx6, on Flickr

Attended a car show called Rollhard at the Duxford War Museum. It was held on the 14th Sept

I decided to put my winters back on so just a few pics of it with the Ambers which have now been taken off.


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Onto the bad news but not the end of the world. I was working on the car a few days ago recoating my rear arches and while waiting for the coats to dry I decided to check my subframe for any potential problems as it is known that the E46's have subframe floor issues.

The most common place for them to go is on the rear left handside. I checked the right but it is a little difficult as there is more things in the way but seemed ok. However upon inspection of the left handside I had noted some corrosion starting to appear on the spot welds around the subframe bush mount which is one telltale sign of a potential problem.

Secondly above the antiroll bar where the floor folds upwards on the seam I spotted a small few mm corrosion forming. I didn't get a chance to see if the corrosion continued upwards but there is a good chance it is as its an unusual place for corrosion to form which means there is a crack developing.

First two pictures you can see corrosion has started around the spot welds and in the last picture I have circled the small corrosion area. There maybe a possibility that there is other cracks forming possibly under where the subframe bush mounts to the body but obviously won't know once the whole back end gets dropped.

Click these links to get a full zoom picture where you can see it clearly.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/101120460@N04/10300011663/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/101120460@N04/10299892086/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/101120460@N04/10300075576/sizes/o/in/photostream/

So the next thing will be to get this repaired with the subframe kit Redish Motorsport sell and Dips at Custom Cars will be carrying out the repair.

[/url]
P1070418 by djsyxx6, on Flickr

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Edited by DJ Syxx - 08 May 2014 at 3:20pm

Nice write ups just found this great work

Thanks Mike, mileage is not as low as yours but its on 59k now. I recognise your car btw from an E46 zone meet ages ago from the plate and colour.

Looking good fella, it suits the schnitzers!

Love this car  its just like all the stuff i would with M3 E46, 

In April did some maintenance on the car. Needed its annual oil change and I also decided to tackle replacing the fuel filter as I had no record or idea of it ever being changed. So first thing was to drive the car around to get the oil nice and runny to drain out better and watch oil run free.

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Old filter out and new OEM one waiting to go in.
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The filter kits always come with the crush washer for the drain plug,
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Along with the crush washer for the oil filter housing, bolt and seal,
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Fresh oil courtesy of ECP:
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Gave the oil filter housing a clean, I cleaned it up more after this pic and got it very shiny :lol:
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Cleaned the filter housing cap and fitted the new seal:
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Filter in its new home:
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And filled up with around 5.5 litres of the good stuff.

Next task was to fit the fuel filter. Before carrying out this job, I removed Fuse 54 to stop the fuel pump working started the car up a few times till it cut out to relieve the pressure. This helps in stopping a lot of fuel spraying everywhere under pressure. This was a little difficult doing it on the floor as you need to remove the two plastic shields and the metal one protecting the filter.

I started at the front and you need a 19mm spanner and a monkey wrench or vice grip etc to loosen it from the fuel line. As you will see I loosened it already. And disconnect the breather pipes attached.
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New vs old filter.
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As you see the build date for my new filter is recent:
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And this is the old, the same build date as my car so original one from factory!!!
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New one now fitted:
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Lastly since fitting my coilovers I was advised by a few and read on the internet to fit reinforcement plates for the rear top mounts to reduce stress on the mount. You can buy Z3 ones or get ones made by Phoenix Motorsport so I ordered a pair from them and slipped them on for added protection. Thanks to Kash for the recommendation.
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Simply go over the top and bolt them down:
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