M3_Tristan's Imola Red E46 M3 Build Journal

[m3_tristan]

Did a quick little photo shoot before putting the car in storage for the winter.

[m3_tristan]

Looks really good ! Especially the ABEs look like they were delivered by BMW !

Thanks . The ABEs have the arch at the top so it matches the oem seat very closely.

[Flow]

Looks really good ! Especially the ABEs look like they were delivered by BMW !

[m3_tristan]

Amazing

thank you

[0-60motorsports]

Amazing

[m3_tristan]

Well here is the big update. I had the chance to purchase a local M Texture interior. I jumped on it and so happy I did. The interior is now my favourite part of the car. Now with the M Texture, I couldn't keep my ABEs just leather. I reached out to AMX and had him produce M Texture inserts for my ABEs. Full replacements with new foams. Now everything is matching and I drool every time I walk by my car. Since I think M Texture is one of the best interiors BMW made, I had AMX make me a key chain to match the interior which I got the idea from someone here on the forums.

With this perfect interior, I wanted to freshen up some of the soft touch plastics. One of those parts being the rear bolster covers that sit at the rear windows. Mine were all sticky and peeling so I sent them to TexaZ3 to get them refinished. Super happy with his work. Now, I did order a new lower steering wheel trim from BMW, but the new "black" colour is so off so I sent my old trim to TexaZ3 also and now it matches the upper trim.

My interior now feels completed and factory fresh with all the new/refurbished parts.

I'd like to thank CrisSilberGrau for giving me the opportunity to purchase this interior. It's in good hands and I will keep it mint!

[m3_tristan]

How can one get in on this rear strut tower brace? The website doesn’t seem to have this brace pictured.

I think he custom made it for me. We did a big group buy here in Toronto. I would message him on IG and show him my picture.

[Arclitgold]

Next up, decided to tackle the trunk area. Replaced both plastic side compartments as mine were beat up. Snagged an oem trunk carpet along with Yurkan's rear strut bar to have that nice clean look! I precisely cut the carpet at the exact spot where the mount protrudes out. I ordered a bunch of oem clips as most of mine holding the carpet and trays in were missing. At this time, I also installed by Bluebus so I could listen to my music through bluetooth on the oem head unit. Need my tunes for those long cruises .

How can one get in on this rear strut tower brace? The website doesn’t seem to have this brace pictured.

[m3_tristan]

As working and cleaning the car, I've been noticing things that are broken/deteriorated from the previous owners. Like the steering column under panel and glove box frame. Both of them had broken mounting points so I swapped them for mint ones. Same thing goes for the hood vent. All of the clips were broken so I purchased a brand new oem one. While looking in my mint engine bay, I noticed the ///M badge was peeling, easy replace with a new oem one. Now since I have the oem alcantara shift boot, I felt like I needed the e brake boot to match. I purchased it from Coby and it was a perfect match. Glued it to the oem frame and super happy with the outcome.

Next update will be a really big one!

[m3_tristan]

Next up, decided to tackle the trunk area. Replaced both plastic side compartments as mine were beat up. Snagged an oem trunk carpet along with Yurkan's rear strut bar to have that nice clean look! I precisely cut the carpet at the exact spot where the mount protrudes out. I ordered a bunch of oem clips as most of mine holding the carpet and trays in were missing. At this time, I also installed by Bluebus so I could listen to my music through bluetooth on the oem head unit. Need my tunes for those long cruises .

[m3_tristan]

That's a beautiful car and the mods look great.

Thank you

[M3fanatic580]

That's a beautiful car and the mods look great.

[m3_tristan]

As promised, here are my new wheels! TE37SL Formula Silver 18x9.5 et 22 and 18x10.5 et 20 255/35 275/35 PS4S. I did pick up these used but they are in perfect condition except for the valve stems and stickers. Replaced them with genuine parts and ceramic coated the wheels! I love the new look, the car definitely needed it. I wasn't a fan of the black BBS wheels that came with the car.

[m3_tristan]

Pausing with the mods, maintenance on these cars is key. As on the previous build journal, the subframe was addressed but not the bearings and vanos. So I booked a date at RMP! Rocco has been servicing my BMWs for a while and he is the only person I trust. Bearings were changed to ACL and I decided to upgrade the vanos to the VAC one. The everything in the vanos was addressed and now I can finally rip on the car without any worries. The oem bearings and vanos were actually in good condition so that is reassuring the car was well maintained. At the same time, I asked Rocco to replace my steering wheel coupler as there was a lot of play in the wheel. He also addressed my AC as it wasn't blowing the coldest. Now it's icy! While addressed those items Rocco noticed my idler pully and tensioner were seizing along with my steering rack boot was torn. Those were also addressed with OEM parts. The car feels great now!






Hid the new wheel set up for now . Revealing in the next post!

[m3_tristan]

Continuing in the engine bay, I decided to get rid of the AC strut bar. The colour and bulk just doesn't sit well with my ocd. Our E46 M3 Owners group here in Toronto organized a group buy from Yurkan. I pulled the trigger on one and couldn't be happier. The finish is perfect and it's exactly what the car needed.

Please ignore the dirty engine bay, I have since addressed it lol.