Slavik's 2002 Carbon Schwarz M3 6 Speed Build

[slavik1988]

03/14/2017 Update:


Over the weekend, went ahead and replaced the Vanos bolts and the Vanos solenoid pack and oil pump disk with Beisan Systems units. The exhaust hub tabs and the Vanos bolts were all in good shape.








Wasn't able to button everything up on Sunday because my buddy slid off the road on Sunday morning on his Audi S4 and I spent the whole day helping him out.

[slavik1988]

03/20/2017 Update:


Finally the maintenance is complete. During the week a new valve cover gasket went on the car and everything was buttoned up. Things that were complete: power steering fluid, coolant, exhaust, and all of the shields under the car went back on.



My attempt of taking a picture of me removing the coolant plug on the block for a complete flush:





After everything was said and done, I reflashed the ECU with the factory headers. Unfortunately, Mateen sent me the wrong tune.🤬 He sent me a Stage 1 tune with the factory air box. Now I have a check engine light because of the MAF. Hopefully I can get the correct tune ASAP.

[slavik1988]

04/27/2017 Update:


Finally getting around to making an update. The car runs flawlessly after the maintenance that was completed. First drive was short and I wasn't too hard on the car. After all, the clutch needed to be broken in. The drive ended at a local brewery in Sylva, NC.




The weekend of April 7th, I went to the Tail of the Dragon with a few friends. At first, the weather did not seem too promising. At least not in Asheville. Took some back roads and hit snow. Needless to say, the RE 71R tires do not like the cold so I turned around and found another twisty road.



After some coffee and breakfast, we changed our route and headed south to Atlanta Motorsports Park for some go karting. Their go kart really didn't like to pull a 180lbs dude uphill after the final turn.






Unfortunately, we lost a car Friday evening because the alignment guy didn't button up the rear end of the E30. Had to limp it back home to Asheville. On Saturday, we had a full day of driving and enjoyed the VW R32 group doing there sound off. Enjoy the pictures.

[slavik1988]

05/03/2017 Update:


Received the results of my oil analysis from my Blackstone Lab.

[slavik1988]

11/05/2018 Update:


Driving to the painter to pick up my OE CSL bootlid and Status Gruppe CSL style diffuser. Took off the old parts to install the new bits at the painter's shop. It was a nice fall day for a drive:



I am super happy with the quality of the work. The paint matched 100%. This is the first time I used this painter. The way how he painted his car, I wanted to give him a try. I will be using him again. One thing that I wasn't too happy is the fitment on the Status Gruppe diffuser. Wish I would have spent the extra $$$ to go for the J-CSL.

[slavik1988]

02/11/2019 Update:


Another upgrade to the suspension of the M3. Last weekend I installed a monoball FCAB's and RTAB's. Also picked up some Turner Motorsports adjustable front sway bar links and Vorshlag camber plates.

A short test drive later I was very impressed how the monoball bushings improved turn in. It now feels very direct. Now waiting on a set of Michelin PS4S tires and alignment. Prior to alignment, I will have the M3 corner balanced.

[slavik1988]

06/16/2019 Update:


A long overdue update. A new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and an alignment were done in April:



I took the M3 on a couple of road trips. The first one is what we do with my brother and some friends annually. On the second week of April we headed to the mountains of Georga, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Always good fun to run Blood Mountain and Tail of the Dragon on the same weekend. I put in a little over 800 miles over the course of Friday and Saturday. Here are some pictures from the weekend.






I was flying out to Florida 2 hours after that picture and didn’t want the car sitting dirty for a week. The rain helped with the wash.😂





My second road trip was a "little longer":
I left on Thursday, June 7th. I drove to New Hampshire in one day. My morning started at 4AM and my first stop was at the Deleware Water Gap. I spent a couple of hours hiking up the mountain for some good views and to relax from the drive.




Then I went up to New York and via the Taconic State Parkway drove into Vermont. Cut through via VT 9 and into New Hampshire. I called in earlier into Keyser Campground if I could come in late to get some shut eye. Thankfully, they were understandable and waited for me to arrive at 10:15PM.


Next morning:



The next day included a drive at Kancamagus Hwy, and Mt. Washington. To my surprise, the roads were empty and I had a good run through the White Mountains and into Maine. Quick stop in Bangor, ME for a beer and went up to Baxter State Park. Unfortunately, the hiking trail to Mt. Katahdin was closed and all I was able to do is take a picture of it from the base.







My plans changed and on Saturday I drove down to Acadia National Park for some hiking. After a couple of hikes, I drove down to Portland, ME.



I spent a good day in Portland, ME before heading down to NC.

[slavik1988]

07/21/2019 Update:

A few pictures from a track day with Just Track It LLC. This was at Road Atlanta on July 20-21. Biggest issue I ran into was overheating on the back straight. Will definitely end up upgrading the radiator and an electric fan.

[slavik1988]

01/25/2020 Update:


My brother and I started to discuss how we can loose weight off of the E46 M3. Some research later, I stumbled up on Obioban's post regarding the secondary water pump on the CSL is smaller (used by all other E46s) compared to the one we had. It was a savings of a over 1.25lbs. Also, since I was running a CSL box, I no longer needed the air cleaner mounting point. Another 0.31lbs shaved.





While there, I removed the Evolve box to give it a clean, wax and seal. Both air filters were cleaned.

[slavik1988]

Got a good deal on a pair of Recaro Pole Position black leather seats,sliders and floor mounts. I never realized how much of a improvement these are over stock. A short run through the mountains and I was hooked. You feel like you are part of the car and do not need grip the steering wheel hard.



Deleting all of the audio from the car. Didn't weight the parts but it is quite a chunk of weight. I am not much of an audiophile and haven't used the stereo in the longest time. Removed the head unit, speakers, amplifier, and the wiring associated with all of it.

[slavik1988]

Picked up a set of Apex SM-10 from the last GB. $300 off and free shipping FTW!😁

F: 18x9" et30
R: 18x9.5" et22

[slavik1988]

Put on some Nanolex sealer on the wheels this Friday. It should make for an easier clean once they are mounted. The tires are coming being installed this Wednesday.



Weighed my old wheel/tire combo 47.3 lbs for the front and 50.9 lbs for the rear each. Curious as to what the SM-10 will weigh in at.

Front:



Rear:

[slavik1988]

I had the tires mounted on the new wheels today. Put the new wheels on the scales and got this...

Front:



Rear:



Twenty pounds less across all four corners.



A few quick pictures of them installed. Car is dusty from sitting in the garage.




While the car was on jack stands, I had a closer look at my RCAP. Found this on the driver side are near the strut...


Starting to collect parts for a topside reinforcement and stitch welding the underside areas. I knew this was coming.

[slavik1988]

Threw the M3 on the scales today after work. 3389lbs with me in it and a little less than half a tank of fuel.




Wet weight of the car by itself:



For reference: In May 2019, the car weighed in at 3374 without the driver and 2/3 tank.

[slavik1988]

Took some picture of the new wheels today. Quarantine Photoshoot: