Gabe's 2006 M3 Silver Grey/Cinnamon ZCP Journal

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Hey everyone,

I figured I'd better get a journal going before I'm in too deep with mods and maintenance. To start, I bought this car from a member on E46Fanatics after a 3-month long search for the perfect ZCP car (see pics from listing below). I'll be honest with everyone here, I didn’t haggle at all with the seller of this car because I was so fed up with letting other cars get away. I didn’t make obscene offers, it was my line of questioning most of the time that sellers were annoyed with. Fortunately, the seller of this car, Tony, put up with all my BS, and took the car over to Ace Performance for a PPI. Baer at Ace Performance determined the car would need various cooling system components replaced including the thermostat and some miscellaneous radiator hoses, as well as a battery, and the serpentine belt. Baer suggested that I have them deal with the belt, and cooling system before I picked up the car. Baer also noted the front brake rotors and pads would need to be replaced, and that the diff seals were leaking. Neither of which required immediate attention, but I addressed the brakes as soon as I returned. Regardless, the seller replaced the battery at his expense, and the following week I went to pick the car up in Massachusetts.

Here's some more about the car, and it's factory options:
VIN: WBSBL93426PN65877
Type code: BL93
Model: Мotorsport (USA)
E-F-R series: E46 2
Series: 3
Type: COUPE
Steering: LL
Doors: 2
Engine: S54
Displacement: 3.20
Power: 252 (342 hp)
Drive: HECK
Transmission: MECH
Paint code: A08 - SILBERGRAU METALLIC
Upholstery code: N5ZM - TEILLEDER W.N./Z
Prod.date: 2006-04-25

Options:
S7MA Competition package
S8SP Control unit COP
S9AA Outer skin protection
S210 Dynamic stability control
S261 Side airbags for rear passengers
S354 Green windscreen, green shade band
S403 Glass roof, electrical
S431 Interior rear-view mirror with auto dip
S441 Smoker package
S459 El. front seat adjustment w. memory
S464 Ski bag
S473 Armrest front
S490 Adjustment, seat-backrest width
S494 Seat heating driver/passenger
S502 Headlight cleaning system
S508 Park Distance Control (PDC)
S520 Fog lights
S521 Rain sensor
S522 Xenon Light
S534 Automatic air conditioning
S550 On-board computer
S609 Navigation system, Professional
S639 Preparation f mobile phone cpl. USA/CDN
S645 BMW US Radio
S650 CD player
S674 Hi-Fi system Harman Kardon
S692 Preparation, BMW 6-CD changer I-bus
S710 M leather steering wheel
S775 Headlining anthracite
S785 White direction indicator lights
S818 Battery master switch
S845 Acoustic fasten seat belt reminder
S853 Language version, English
S876 Radio frequency 315 MHz
S925 Dispatch protection pack
S946 BERUECKSICHTIGUNG PREISABHAENGIGK.
S992 Control of number-plate attachment


And here are the pics from the FS listing:

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Here are some photos of the car after I put some atrocious carbon flippers on the OEM bumper. Needless to say I hated this look. Regardless, here's a photo of my car with one of the few local E46 M's; an '05 Mystic Blue slicktop SMG. Looking forward to more drives this season. I also got some fresh rubber for the car since it was on all seasons for whatever reason despite being stored away from the elements.I also had the flaking ZCP steering wheel trim professionally repainted in as close a color as I could get to Titan Shadow (photo 2). Photo number 4 illustrates my removal of the factory phone system's shark-fin antenna, which I felt was quite the aesthetic improvement.







92,000 miles!

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Here are some photos of the car right after I had the windows tinted. While the car came with tint on it when I purchased it, it was way too light, and was showing it's age. The car was treated a variant of Llumar's 35% film, but unfortunately it was still dawning flippers in these photos:

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I bought the car, it came with both an aFe intake, and a Magnaflow exhaust. Unfortunately it had seen better days, and the tips sat way, way too low for my liking. I ended up replacing the exhaust, and installing some catless Megan Racing headers, and section 1, and well as Megan's section 2 which turned out to be a massive bottleneck for the car. In fact, for months I replaced tons of consumables on the car including spark plugs, coil packs, TPS sensors, fuel filters, and more trying to figure out where the hesitation was coming from. As it turned out, the straight-through design of Megan's section 2 was the source of my issues, and thus, I sourced a factory section 2 which resolved my issues. After the catless headers were installed, I also removed the post cat-O2s since they no longer served a purpose, and deleted the EGT sensor, which required a tune. I went with BuildJournal's OTS tune, but I'm not all that happy with it at this point in time. Below is a photo of the car on the trip home from when I bought it with the Magnaflow tips in their rather saggy position:



Here's the Megan section 1, which is actually a really nice piece with 2 large resonators to cut back on some of that infamous S54 rasp:



And here's some photos of the Megan Headers:






And some photo's of the install:




Since the Magnaflow uses proprietary fittings, and is an entire catback I also had to replace the section 3. Again, I'm not sure how long I'll be keeping this, but I bought a Scorpion section 3, which I bought from a UK seller since they're somewhat challenging to get in the States:







Here's the car with the new exhaust installed and the tips positioned how they should be!

[BMWahba]

Love this car man!

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

The most recent modification I did was a set of Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, some Turner Motorsports adjustable endlinks, new front control arm bushings (FCABs), and an H&R 30mm sway bar. I also sold the aFe intake on the car per the recommendation of countless M3F members, who suggested that it was more likely causing me to lose power than gain it. Being it wasn't something I installed, I didn't have the stock part. Thus, I was able to source a stock intake from another member with a BMC filter. To reiterate, I didn't remove the aforementioned flippers until very recently, so I apologize if they offend anyone.

Post coilover install:




I also ended up putting some spacers on to make the ZCP wheels sit a little bit closer to flush:




Ah, no more flippers at last:

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

On the interior side of things, I decided that I was sick of using an Auxiliary bluetooth adapter, and I sprung for an Avin Avant 4 that a forum member was selling for quite the deal. I've installed headunits before, but this was perhaps the most involved install I've done, and my car's factory optioned nav didn't do me any favors. My least favorite part of the whole thing was tearing the interior apart in 90 degree heat, something we're not so used to in North East Ohio. Regardless, I got it done in a matter of days, conditioning the Cinnamon leather as I progressed:

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Love this car man!

Thanks! I'll have to catch up with your build. I think the last time we talked, you hadn't even found the right car yet!

[Tbonem3]

Good to see you here

[The_Grumpy_Cat]

Good to see you here

You too, Tyler!