Kong’s E46 M3 Track to Street Car Journal

[SQ13]

August 2022
Cleaned the replacement carpet and pulled the dash. This is why I decided to turn this car into a track car after the flooding, but here I am, exactly five years later, doing exactly what I wanted to avoid doing lol.


Remaining original carpet pulled out.

[SQ13]

August 2022
Routed wiring for dash cam, AIM SOLO, and Avin Avant 4 while the car was fully stripped. Then, I installed the new carpet and dash. It felt sooooo good to see carpet back in the car.


AS Autocross SSK going in. The bitch clip is always a bitch to remove and install.


Done!


I made some space in the trunk by removing all of the nav and audio stuff on the left side, minus the amp.



Vacuumed the carpet again, then threw in the front and rear seats


996 brakes installed in the front and rear. Black looks good, but I think I’d prefer more pop with yellow painted calipers.

[SQ13]

September 2022
Cleaned and ceramic coated the wheels, then I lowered the car. The car seemed to run fine except for a loud grinding noise coming from the rear. I found that the left brake shield was grinding against the rotor hat. Fixed that pretty quickly and no issues afterwards.


Removed the unwanted stickers


Paint cleansed, then drove the car to Austin. Issues during the drive: exhaust and drone too loud, diff whine too loud (have AKG street mounts), MCS coilovers clunking, throwout bearing going out, yaw rate sensor dead.


New yaw rate sensor installed. No issues since then.

[SQ13]

Oct–Nov 2022
The Supersprint parts from the group buy finally arrived. Three out of the four sections were damaged due to poor packing.




The throwout bearing was fucked. Clutch still looks good, but I had all internal wear parts (aside from the flywheel) and 24k mile old giubo replaced anyways. The rear main seal was replaced preventively. The diff input shaft seal was leaking, so I had that replaced as well.


The diffusers also arrived. They’re not perfect..I’d say maybe 8/10 is a fair rating. They fit well tho and look better than my old happybuyitnow diffuser.

[SQ13]

Dec 2022
Last week I finally installed the Supersprint parts. This is my fourth and final header install on this car lol. Went from stock to AP to Euro to CPI to SSV1. The install was really easy..having the right tools helps a lot. I also removed the BW GroupN motor mounts and replaced them with OE mounts, and installed a new slave cylinder bc the old one was leaking. I spent a few hours over four days to install everything. The exhaust is rattling under the passenger floor, so I’m going to try using a plate to link the two sec 1 pieces at the header connection, as suggested by a member on here.

CPI headers


Thankfully some of the long studs came out with the nuts.





Stock studs and SSV1 headers installed


Leaking coolant hose had to be replaced


While I was installing the slave cylinder, it went in way too easily, so I pulled it out to try again. Well….the rod came out and I heard it roll to the bottom of the very front, deep part of the bellhousing. I went to Lowe’s to finally pick up some tools I’d been too lazy to buy, including a flexible magnetic pick up tool. Thankfully I was able to grab the rod on the second try.


Done

[BTB]

Nice lol. I’ve had to change priorities on some stuff. Replaced all wear items inside trans due to failing TOB. And I need to replace the headlight lenses soon bc one just started letting water inside.

Both cars are in Austin at the moment so lmk. Both are also still a work in progress, so they don’t look pretty.

Ahh I see-- funny as I just did a fairly comprehensive headlight restoration (lenses, seals, gaskets, xenon bulbs, plus stealth corners). Really helps refresh the front end.

I'll reach out to ya !

[SQ13]

Jan 2023

SS Sport muffler finally arrived from the painful group buy. The exhaust is quieter and produces less drone than the SS Race, which is what I was going for.


Sheesh!


Cleansed the paint


Drove on some twisty roads with member BTB

[SQ13]

Feb 2023

I really needed better seats, so I started searching for a good deal on Nogaros. I found a vendor in the UK that had a sale on Nogaros with black vinyl outers, dinamica center cushions, and black stitching. After shipping and the import fee, it cost me around $1800. I was able to snag a set of manual seat rails at the junkyard for $30.


After learning that there’s a bi-xenon upgrade for 01 cars with single xenon 2.5” projectors, I reached out to Lightwerkz to order the parts needed for the upgrade, which only cost me $360. If I could go back, I would pay the few hundred dollars in labor charges to have them install the parts. Amazing upgrade, 10/10 would recommend. Linked below is a write up I shared.

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/204992-fyi-01-m3-single-xenon-to-bi-xenon-retrofit

[cornerbalanced]

What material benefits were realized by switching from CPI to SSV1s? Did you do a before/after dyno? Did you feel a difference?

[SQ13]

What material benefits were realized by switching from CPI to SSV1s? Did you do a before/after dyno? Did you feel a difference?

So, my reasoning for the switch was kinda dumb. I was fine with the CPI headers but wanted to go back to a catted setup. The SS GB was happening at that time, and the quote I got for a standard catted sec 1 was (I think) $1k higher than SSV1 catted sec 1. So I said fuck it and got the whole 63.5mm kit, decided I wanted a quieter muffler, and also added on the SS Sport. So now my entire exhaust system is new.

No dynos, but the car definitely experienced a bump in power with SSV1s according to my butt dyno. The car also sounds meh with the oversized pipes, which I guess is fine since I’ll be installing a CSL airbox soon. I’m hoping the car will put down around 340 WHP with all of the mods (HTE AlphaN dyno tune, SSV1, Karb Race airbox, SPAL fan, 386cc injectors, and 93 octane fuel). My favorite setup was AP headers, stock midpipes, and SS Race btw.

[cornerbalanced]

So, my reasoning for the switch was kinda dumb. I was fine with the CPI headers but wanted to go back to a catted setup. The SS GB was happening at that time, and the quote I got for a standard catted sec 1 was (I think) $1k higher than SSV1 catted sec 1. So I said fuck it and got the whole 63.5mm kit, decided I wanted a quieter muffler, and also added on the SS Sport. So now my entire exhaust system is new.

No dynos, but the car definitely experienced a bump in power according to my butt dyno. The car also sounds meh with the oversized pipes, which I guess is fine since I’ll be installing a CSL airbox soon. I’m hoping the car will put down around 340 WHP with all of the mods (HTE AlphaN dyno tune, SSV1, Karb Race airbox, SPAL fan, 386cc injectors, and 93 octane fuel). My favorite setup was AP headers, stock midpipes, and SS Race btw.

Very good to know! Makes a lot of sense in that circumstance. Everyone craps on CPI headers, just wanted to see just how much worse they are than the "pinnacle".

[Tbonem3]

Very good to know! Makes a lot of sense in that circumstance. Everyone craps on CPI headers, just wanted to see just how much worse they are than the "pinnacle".

To be fair, our issue was that he copied SS and that they didn't perform like SS despite the claim/advertising. They are still good headers, and I saw a set recently for a very good price, much lower than SS v1 or v2, so it would be a good buy, used/second hand. I'm not sure how Bimmerowrld has them retail priced now, but it can't be anywhere near the $400 retail for megan headers which is the best (55mm) buy you can get. I even saw a used set of megans for $250 here today, I mean come on!

[SQ13]

These days I feel like there are only two good options: OE Euro/Megans and SSV1, depending on your goals. Funny how my thought process for parts purchases has changed over the past ten years of ownership, tho to be fair I was 16 when I first got the silver car.

[SQ13]

March 2023
Since January the engine hadn’t been running right, and at 22 years old and 107k miles, I figured I’d start throwing parts at it. So far, I’ve replaced the two TPS in the engine bay and pre-cat O2 sensors. Other stuff I’ll be installing are new spark plugs, 386cc Bosch injectors, and crankcase vent valve/oil separator. The large hoses that attach to the ICV are starting to dry rot, so I hesitantly paid a ton of money for those overpriced hoses thru the dealership. Once they arrive, I can complete the CSL airbox install. Also plan on installing OE cooler (then oil change) and slave cylinder.

Right now the hold up for me are the ICV hoses and injectors (Rockauto order is partially lost in transit, and ECS order just shipped today). Hoping to complete everything by Wed.

One of the holes didn’t line up, so I had to open it up.


Done. Easy



Painfully looking at this currently. The wait is killing me.

[SQ13]

March 2023
Last night I pulled the valve cover to replace the seals/grommets bc the guy who did my valve adjustment ~20k miles ago overtightened the hardware, causing leaks everywhere. The spark plug tube seals and valve cover were covered in grime.

It took me about three hours to clean the spark plug tubes, valve cover (did 5+ passes until it looked good again), valve cover hardware, and oil separator channel (almost no buildup thankfully); replace the oil separator; and install new OE spark plugs. I was tempted to check valve clearance, but I’ll worry about that when it’s actually time to do Inspection II.


While pulling the spark plugs, I panicked when I saw the cylinder 3 plug covered in oil. I’m hoping that everything I’m doing right now will help reduce or eliminate the leak. Will occasionally pull the plug to monitor.


Done..kinda. Just need to torque the valve cover hardware.