I've been putting off starting this thread for a long time, and each time I work on the car I wish I had a place to drop updates. I'll start off here and fill in the details as I go along.
Background: I grew up working at my father's indy BMW/Mini shop, owned many BMWs, several Porsches and one 50 year old jag that's now electric. I'm an engineer, a couple different types by degree and trade and can't seem to leave my cars alone.
I was previously driving a '21 Taycan cross turismo 4s, which is a fantastic car, but it just didn't have the spirit of something fun and playful like some of the older cars with lower limits. I'd toyed with the idea of building an s54 e46 touring for years, and finally decided to plunge in. I called an old friend (Kaiv on the forums) who has gotten pretty good at these and asked about whether he knew of a clean black chassis wagon for sale. *Fun fact, I used to program some of Kaiv's s54 swaps some ten plus years ago, when I owned an e46 M3* Kevin did me one better and hooked me up with one of his already swapped and BAR'd cars from years past! It needed a lot of work but the engine and driveline were all in great running condition, and it saved me a lot of effort.
I picked it up in May this year as a black/grey swapped touring, lowered on soft springs (mostly bump stops) and it needed a significant amount of work to make it proper. Many invested hours later, it's now black/natural brown and has been completely gone through and drives about as close to a new e46 as any I've driven since I worked on them when they were new. It's my DD, so it must be smooth and quiet.
Some details:
2002 Sapphire black/natural brown/black cube 332iT
206k miles (time of post)
s54 engine with ~160k miles - vanos, bearings, cooling system, hoses, etc all replaced
M3 driveline, MK60, subframe, diff, suspension
ZCP+996 brakes (fit under 17s)
square 17x9 et46/et40 ARC-8 wheels (et52 with spacers)
245/40/17 PS4S tires
CSL airbox conversion, with working flap, and both sets of ducting routed to the brake duct (pre- and post-flap)
SS V1 headers + catted section 1 (joined both pipes together to keep the tubes from resonating/vibrating at idle)
Stock section 2 with welded e36 M3 muffler
Spare* SS dual 2.5" resonated section 2 and dual 2.5" e46 non-m swap muffler
ZHP bumpers and ZHP/M3 ducting
Other OEM-like retrofits:
Wavetrac diff, new CV joints
M-track mode, DSC button wired to wiper stalk "S" intensive wash button
TPMS and sport button both function correctly (all console buttons I guess)
Recaro sportster CS seats, trimmed in natural brown with OEM compatible heating and electric fore/aft + memory
Retrofitted auto headlights & wipers + quad blink turn signals
AVIN Android/CarPlay head unit
BavSound speakers
Reverse camera
Alarm siren for lock/unlock
Lighted M3 shifter/boot
M3-like sedan dead pedal
Koni shocks for the stock springs
e89 Z4 stock RTABs + outer limiters and poly subframe bushings
ECS extra-adjustable lower control arms
All other bushings everywhere are M3 and new
Low profile roof rack with two mountain bike capable bike racks [since removed]
Every piece of plastic that touches something has been felted, there are no squeaks in this car
CSL alignment specs but -2.1 camber in front
Auto-dim e46 style mirror with late-model, F10 rolling code homelink buttons and short grey clown nose
Hotchkis front sway bar with CSL bushings
CSL rear sway bar
19lb lithium antigravity battery
Cabrio steering column Bluetooth microphone
Custom DME tune
OEM gloss black shadowline window trim (a la 330i ZHP)
Rebuilt 712 14.5:1 steering rack
LPSR solid steering shaft
Stealth vincebar RACP reinforcement
Black headliner reupholstery with OEM thickness material
Custom Stealth hitches trailer hitch mount using factory BMW hitch adapter
OEM M3 washer fluid reservoir setup + check valve
Roof rack/rail delete
Slon front strut/cowl brace, new windshield cowl cover
M3 rear v-brace
I think that's the most of it, stick here for updates as they come. On to a random selection of pictures..
Background: I grew up working at my father's indy BMW/Mini shop, owned many BMWs, several Porsches and one 50 year old jag that's now electric. I'm an engineer, a couple different types by degree and trade and can't seem to leave my cars alone.
I was previously driving a '21 Taycan cross turismo 4s, which is a fantastic car, but it just didn't have the spirit of something fun and playful like some of the older cars with lower limits. I'd toyed with the idea of building an s54 e46 touring for years, and finally decided to plunge in. I called an old friend (Kaiv on the forums) who has gotten pretty good at these and asked about whether he knew of a clean black chassis wagon for sale. *Fun fact, I used to program some of Kaiv's s54 swaps some ten plus years ago, when I owned an e46 M3* Kevin did me one better and hooked me up with one of his already swapped and BAR'd cars from years past! It needed a lot of work but the engine and driveline were all in great running condition, and it saved me a lot of effort.
I picked it up in May this year as a black/grey swapped touring, lowered on soft springs (mostly bump stops) and it needed a significant amount of work to make it proper. Many invested hours later, it's now black/natural brown and has been completely gone through and drives about as close to a new e46 as any I've driven since I worked on them when they were new. It's my DD, so it must be smooth and quiet.
Some details:
2002 Sapphire black/natural brown/black cube 332iT
206k miles (time of post)
s54 engine with ~160k miles - vanos, bearings, cooling system, hoses, etc all replaced
M3 driveline, MK60, subframe, diff, suspension
ZCP+996 brakes (fit under 17s)
square 17x9 et46/et40 ARC-8 wheels (et52 with spacers)
245/40/17 PS4S tires
CSL airbox conversion, with working flap, and both sets of ducting routed to the brake duct (pre- and post-flap)
SS V1 headers + catted section 1 (joined both pipes together to keep the tubes from resonating/vibrating at idle)
Stock section 2 with welded e36 M3 muffler
Spare* SS dual 2.5" resonated section 2 and dual 2.5" e46 non-m swap muffler
ZHP bumpers and ZHP/M3 ducting
Other OEM-like retrofits:
Wavetrac diff, new CV joints
M-track mode, DSC button wired to wiper stalk "S" intensive wash button
TPMS and sport button both function correctly (all console buttons I guess)
Recaro sportster CS seats, trimmed in natural brown with OEM compatible heating and electric fore/aft + memory
Retrofitted auto headlights & wipers + quad blink turn signals
AVIN Android/CarPlay head unit
BavSound speakers
Reverse camera
Alarm siren for lock/unlock
Lighted M3 shifter/boot
M3-like sedan dead pedal
Koni shocks for the stock springs
e89 Z4 stock RTABs + outer limiters and poly subframe bushings
ECS extra-adjustable lower control arms
All other bushings everywhere are M3 and new
Low profile roof rack with two mountain bike capable bike racks [since removed]
Every piece of plastic that touches something has been felted, there are no squeaks in this car
CSL alignment specs but -2.1 camber in front
Auto-dim e46 style mirror with late-model, F10 rolling code homelink buttons and short grey clown nose
Hotchkis front sway bar with CSL bushings
CSL rear sway bar
19lb lithium antigravity battery
Cabrio steering column Bluetooth microphone
Custom DME tune
OEM gloss black shadowline window trim (a la 330i ZHP)
Rebuilt 712 14.5:1 steering rack
LPSR solid steering shaft
Stealth vincebar RACP reinforcement
Black headliner reupholstery with OEM thickness material
Custom Stealth hitches trailer hitch mount using factory BMW hitch adapter
OEM M3 washer fluid reservoir setup + check valve
Roof rack/rail delete
Slon front strut/cowl brace, new windshield cowl cover
M3 rear v-brace
I think that's the most of it, stick here for updates as they come. On to a random selection of pictures..
I remember that you have more diff whine than I do and I'm sure it is mostly due to the poly bushings. Diff whine is my main concern for this car..
Though, I used to road ride and can see the appeal of not being out on the open roads with people who text and drive, but still get the same kind of burn you can only get with road-bike geo and flatter terrain (i.e., not singletrack or downhill).
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