Driftworks puts some... cool, but ultimately stupid, headers on their s85 e46

[bigjae46]

Whatever I need to do to get my car to sound like this...I will do it...

[George Hill]

Interesting wagon. But the question is still why? What does it bring, other than noise, that a far easier and less costly V8 doesn’t achieve? Don’t get me wrong I do understand cool factor and being able to say I did that but outside of that I don’t see the reason given the difficulty and cost. Because let’s face it most aren’t going to DIY this. Congratulations to that dude by the way. I’m sure he loves it.

A proper LSx or S62 swap with everything functioning (incl A/C) is going to be $20k+ and if you pay a shop add another $10k minimum (most people aren't going to DIY an S62 swap either). The S85 is definitely above and beyond that so the cost vs either of those swaps is certainly not equal. But if you have driven a V10 car there is nothing like it, when someone asks me about this swap I tell them the ONLY reason to do it is because you love the engine platform, any other reason is silly. The emotion that the car has from 80-150mph is just something that has to be experienced. IF we are going for power vs dollars then an E46 M3 is not top of that list either.

Same reason we like these cars is the reason people like V10s, which I want to believe is the same reason they built this exhaust....

[oceansize]

This one is legit a daily driver. Honestly it can't be described, there is nothing like it in the BMW world that I have driven. If I was only going to have one "custom" or modified BMW it would likely be a S85 powered E46.

Interesting wagon. But the question is still why? What does it bring, other than noise, that a far easier and less costly V8 doesn’t achieve? Don’t get me wrong I do understand cool factor and being able to say I did that but outside of that I don’t see the reason given the difficulty and cost. Because let’s face it most aren’t going to DIY this. Congratulations to that dude by the way. I’m sure he loves it.

[Nate047]

Cool work. Probably sounds crazy as hell.

[George Hill]

V10 in the E46 M3 is 100% overkill unless you are building a drag strip car. Where is anyone going to drive this and have fun? It isn't a back roads car. I guess it could be cool on a track if one has the skills.

This one is legit a daily driver. Honestly it can't be described, there is nothing like it in the BMW world that I have driven. If I was only going to have one "custom" or modified BMW it would likely be a S85 powered E46.

[oceansize]

I feel like cool is overriding common sense. Why not the proven easier swap with an LS3 or S62?

V10 in the E46 M3 is 100% overkill unless you are building a drag strip car. Where is anyone going to drive this and have fun? It isn't a back roads car. I guess it could be cool on a track if one has the skills.

[bigjae46]

It's cool but I would have gone a different route for a DD which is what I thought the project goal was. What is really screwing them over is RHD and they are unwilling to move the engine forward a little bit. For a LHD E46, it looks like going with a dry sump solves a lot of issues like engine height. I think you'll still have to modify the subframe and steering shaft.

I really like their channel. They seem to fully disclose their failures and issues. They definitely put a damper on my E46 V10 dreams. But damn I would love to build one!

[George Hill]

I do hope this swap becomes more manageable over the years, my friend is an E60 M5 fanatic, I am an E46 M3 fanatic so it would be a great long-term project. I am already looking into rollers and we have an engine/trans diff.
May just keep it simple and buy an M5, they are pretty nice imo, even starting to appreciate the looks.

It IS getting easier, but it'll never be "easy" IMO.

[stephen]

The tunes and deletes cut 100ish lbs off a 335d, especially if you delete the DEF tank. No idrive is about 40 lbs lighter as well.

Yeah it's fully deleted with no DEF tank. Does have iDrive though. I'm surprised that iDrive alone would add 40lbs, has anyone compared two E90s with like-for-like options with the only difference being iDrive?

[EthanolTurbo]

FWIW my deleted 335d came in at 3653. Sunroof but not a whole lot of options. 1/2 tank no driver. E90s aren’t light cars.

The tunes and deletes cut 100ish lbs off a 335d, especially if you delete the DEF tank. No idrive is about 40 lbs lighter as well.

[Obioban]

FWIW my deleted 335d came in at 3653. Sunroof but not a whole lot of options. 1/2 tank no driver. E90s aren’t light cars.

Yeah— I wasn’t kidding when I said the e60 chassis is ~70 lbs heavier than the e90 (e.g. e90 330i automatic rwd vs e60 530i automatic rwd). BMW went through a lot of effort to make the e90 M3 lighter, compared to previous m cars (and e60), and it still ended up the heaviest M3 (including the car that came after it).

[stephen]

FWIW my deleted 335d came in at 3653. Sunroof but not a whole lot of options. 1/2 tank no driver. E90s aren’t light cars.

[Obioban]

How much is a stripper E90 M3? 3550 lbs? Wouldn't an S85 just bolt right up to the trans and drivetrain? So then how much does an S85 weigh vs S65? 100 lbs? 150 lbs? So you might end up 300-400 lbs less than E60 M5. Would probably be a lot less effort and cost to just do lightweight mods on an E60 M5 (carbon roof, lightweight wheels, lightweight exhaust system lightweight battery, lightweight seats, etc). That's probably around 300-350 lbs right there.

When I had HofmeisterKinky‘a stripper e90 m3 on my scales (Lightest option spec-- slicktop, 6mt, no iDrive, 18s), it was 3638 lbs (half tank of gas). With an s85/supporting mods, probably 200 lbs less than an e60 M5.

[heinzboehmer]

EDIT: But srsly, how do you fit an intake now?

Velocity stacks?

[EthanolTurbo]

E90 chassis is only ~70 lbs lighter than e60, given the same engine/trans/drive train. Might as well just buy an e60 M5 at that point.

How much is a stripper E90 M3? 3550 lbs? Wouldn't an S85 just bolt right up to the trans and drivetrain? So then how much does an S85 weigh vs S65? 100 lbs? 150 lbs? So you might end up 300-400 lbs less than E60 M5. Would probably be a lot less effort and cost to just do lightweight mods on an E60 M5 (carbon roof, lightweight wheels, lightweight exhaust system lightweight battery, lightweight seats, etc). That's probably around 300-350 lbs right there.