My Slow Burn (E46 M3)

[eforty6_m3]

Never tried it. Reviews seem promising. I have however used VHT Caliper Paint with good results.

Hey, now I know at least one person is following this thread! 🤣 Ha, in all seriousness, I appreciate the info, man.

As for this thread, I really just do it for myself to track the journey of my M3. So no big deal. Cheers! 🍻

[Acarv_426]

Anyone have any firsthand experience with G2 High Temp Caliper Paint? I'm probably going to do the rotors/pads over next winter, but thinking of painting the calipers black in the meantime to really clean up the visible area behind the face of my wheels. Really good reviews on Amazon and Facebook, just curious if anyone has actually tried it.

Never tried it. Reviews seem promising. I have however used VHT Caliper Paint with good results.

[eforty6_m3]

Anyone have any firsthand experience with G2 High Temp Caliper Paint? I'm probably going to do the rotors/pads over next winter, but thinking of painting the calipers black in the meantime to really clean up the visible area behind the face of my wheels. Really good reviews on Amazon and Facebook, just curious if anyone has actually tried it.

[Acarv_426]

Next up. Car's getting dropped off at the body shop May 8th for this to get painted/mounted. Keeping the interior portion of the trunk bare carbon and won't be reinstalling the tool kit. Really looking forward to how this transforms the look of the car!

Very nice!!!

[eforty6_m3]

Next up. Car's getting dropped off at the body shop May 8th for this to get painted/mounted. Keeping the interior portion of the trunk bare carbon and won't be reinstalling the tool kit. Really looking forward to how this transforms the look of the car!

[eforty6_m3]

Finally had some time to install the Karbonius Snorkel and replace the Throttle Position Sensor. Snorkel was a snug fit, but I made it work. Hopefully just another week or 2 (and a bit more rain) until I can start driving this thing again. Need any remnants of salt off the roads first!

[eforty6_m3]

Looks great!


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Thank you!

Back's feeling much improved, so might pull the car cover off and get to this today or tomorrow.

[0-60motorsports]

OK, next purchase for the M3 arrived last week from IND-Distribution. I usually buy direct from Karbonius, but once I saw IND had a few in stock, figured I'd order from them to cut down on turnaround time. Even though I don't have the CSL style front bumper, I really think this will help finish off the look of the Karbonius intake:
























Hurt my back last week so I've been unable to really do much beyond walking, but really hoping to get this installed next week (we're away this weekend). Will obviously take lots of photos during and after the install.
That said, I did order something else direct from Karbonius....stay tuned!! 👀

Looks great!


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[eforty6_m3]

OK, next purchase for the M3 arrived last week from IND-Distribution. I usually buy direct from Karbonius, but once I saw IND had a few in stock, figured I'd order from them to cut down on turnaround time. Even though I don't have the CSL style front bumper, I really think this will help finish off the look of the Karbonius intake:
























Hurt my back last week so I've been unable to really do much beyond walking, but really hoping to get this installed next week (we're away this weekend). Will obviously take lots of photos during and after the install.
That said, I did order something else direct from Karbonius....stay tuned!! 👀

[eforty6_m3]

I've been wavering on upgrading the exhaust tips. I've always preferred the look of a double-walled tip, so I bought these "Eurostyle" tips from a British fellow (you may see him post on Facebook from time to time) who makes them and sells them a few times a year. Luckily, I was able to get one of his last remaining sets until he produces more:






















Once the car is out of hibernation, I'll have my old shop neighbor weld them onto the Megan exhaust currently on the car and while it's up on the lift, I'll see if he and I can mess around with fitment of the muffler. It's always been just a hair off, which is what you get when you opt for a "cheap" exhaust. That said, I've always loved the sound of it and have received many compliments on it, so why mess with it?! I know everyone has their opinion on exhausts for our cars, when it comes to drone and rasp and what not, but I'm very happy with the tone of the Megan. Now it's time to make it look a bit better than the current single-walled tips.

[eforty6_m3]

Then just plan on doing it around the next time you need an oil change anyway imo, in about a year? Gives you time to book apt and discuss shells/bolts etc with shop.

Good call. Will probably end up doing just that.

[Tbonem3]

Then just plan on doing it around the next time you need an oil change anyway imo, in about a year? Gives you time to book apt and discuss shells/bolts etc with shop.

[eforty6_m3]

I wouldnt bother with wpc oe (which I have too). Just oe or acl, maybe be - theyre popular for s65.

Good to know. Thanks, again!

[eforty6_m3]

RB job will run you slight north of $1.8k at one of the shops you've mentioned (Got mine done in 2022) - Which included all the necessary gaskets, WPC OE bearings and oil (OE rod bolts were supplied by me).

That's not awful. Appreciate you chiming in!

[eforty6_m3]

I'm suspicious of that copper you've been seeing 3 tests in a row, and oddly it was highest in 2020, though not a lot higher than the averages. Looks like you're over 104k+, not like you only have 50k. Lead is the first sacrifical layer, so no surprise if that creeps up, then you'd see it start to go back down and copper rise up * if wear is even, but that's an assumption. Seeing iron, you've gone too far. So I'm not sure why you've seen elevated (for the mileage) copper BEFORE lead - perhaps one single shell or pair wore badly and its lead is gone and has been adding copper to your oil for a while? - Just a guess.

Something to remember about the PPM is mileage. PPM will be higher on the more typical OCI of 7500. You have less than 3k.

What oil are you running? If Castrol, there should be titanium. If liquimoly, there'd be no Molybdenum. Kind of strange. Maybe you're using the BMW (shell) oil or motul? Edit, says LM, but you must be adding moly as an additive.

Hopefully RB job is cheaper where you are, but even in Socal, it's not that much higher than $1000 (labor) since ACL beraings are pretty cheap, but you'll need new bolts and other parts.

Edit: Reading these reports is like reading tea leave lol. Ultimately, it's a gut decision to do the job or not. Yes, you're over 100k, but you don't drive the car much, so failure may be years away at your current rate.

If you showed pics of the shells, I'd bet they're actually in good shape for 100k, but that's my opinion formed from looking at pics of shells, including my own, and oil reports, over the last 10 years.

Appreciate you chiming in, as always! And as you stated, I am and have been using the LM MoS2 additive at each oil change. And my goal is to drive the car more and more each year, as this past year is the most miles I've put on the car in one season since purchasing. The fact that I can get my boys into boosters in the rear seats makes it much easier to consider this car for everyday errands and what not.

I suppose we'll see how the next oil analysis looks and go from there. If new bearings are in the cards, so be it. I don't plan on moving on from this vehicle any time soon, so I'll spend whatever is needed to keep her running smoothly and happily!