2002 E46 M3 // Build Thread
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Got the new shocks from TCK already! Time to swap the GC camber plates on and get these installed. Still not sure if the factory end links will fit. If not, maybe that'll be an excuse to replace them and upgrade front sway bars too.
I'd suggest going with a shortened or adjustable sway bar link. The stock ones are made for the stock height. You're going to change the pre-load on the sway bar and could impact your handling if you stick with the stock sway bar links and lowered height.
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I'd suggest going with a shortened or adjustable sway bar link. The stock ones are made for the stock height. You're going to change the pre-load on the sway bar and could impact your handling if you stick with the stock sway bar links and lowered height.
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Just know that heim joint sway links can be noisy. So if that doesn't bother you, go for it! I have them on my Z3 Coupe and will be switching them out for some adjustable ball joint style sway links to quiet things down. Just an FYI
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Just know that heim joint sway links can be noisy. So if that doesn't bother you, go for it! I have them on my Z3 Coupe and will be switching them out for some adjustable ball joint style sway links to quiet things down. Just an FYI
He won’t hear it over the Ed Sheeran he listens to
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I'd suggest going with a shortened or adjustable sway bar link. The stock ones are made for the stock height. You're going to change the pre-load on the sway bar and could impact your handling if you stick with the stock sway bar links and lowered height.
Honestly fairly new to the intricacies of suspension tuning so I reached out to TC Kline and got this response
someone said:
Just so you know our take on the situation... We have never put adjustable end links on any of our track cars(specifically our E90 M3 track car). If your car is set to the appropriate ride height (equal on the left and right side) there is no need for adjustable end links. The only time you will put 'pre-load' on the sway bar is when the left and right ride heights are not set equal (and there is no reason they should be unequal).
I could see how adjustable links could come into play with corner balancing, but I've also read BMWs are pretty well balanced from the factory. I'll definitely do my best to test out all this info and report back though!
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Waiting on some suspension parts yet so I started the header install. Have to say that this is MUCH harder than the downpipe install on my F30. Since there's such limited room to work I had to remove the coolant reservoir tank, turkey basting out all the coolant so I didn't make an absolute disaster. Still probably spilled 1/2 gallon on the floor that came out the other end though lol. Even with this and the heat shielding out of the way, access to the 18 nuts is still pretty grueling. Just kept swapping out swivel, wobble and regular extensions, as it seems like each nut requires a different approach. After a few hours I finally got the old set out, woohoo! Still waiting on new gaskets and nuts, but should be here in about a week or so and I can get the new headers installed.
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Just so you know our take on the situation... We have never put adjustable end links on any of our track cars(specifically our E90 M3 track car). If your car is set to the appropriate ride height (equal on the left and right side) there is no need for adjustable end links. The only time you will put 'pre-load' on the sway bar is when the left and right ride heights are not set equal (and there is no reason they should be unequal).
If that's what they say then I'd go with that! I know when KW sent me my coilovers they came with a new set of shorter sway bar end links to avoid the pre-loading and I know others that do it as well. I'm sure it's like everything else handling related where it's heavily opinion based on independent results. If it works it works!
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In the future I would suggest invest in an Airlift. You can suck all the coolant out of the system without spilling much. As far as getting to the manifold bolts, I feel your pain. lol
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Got the ports all cleaned, fresh gaskets, fresh hardware and the headers bolted up. Now just have to sort through the O2 sensor wiring because I’m an idiot and didn’t mark them. I'll have to fire up Ecuworx too and code out the downstream O2 sensor and secondary air pump so we don't get a CEL.
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Since I went with catless headers, I decided to delete the whole secondary air injection system since I don't think it serves any purpose besides helping in the cat heating sequence (saves 4lbs too). Got this nifty little aluminum block off plate from Achilles Motorsports that looks pretty sweet, even though it will never be seen.
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Since it was looking pretty tired out, I decided to replace the fan blades and fan clutch with a new Mahle one. Better preventatively than to see it grenade and take out the hood or radiator. Personally prefer this setup to an electric fan swap, because it just works. No overheating in hot weather while stopped, no blasting heat in the middle of summer or messing with fan shrouds etc. Easy enough to service so I’ll keep it.
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Personally prefer this setup to an electric fan swap, because it just works. No overheating in hot weather while stopped, no blasting heat in the middle of summer or messing with fan shrouds etc
Why do I feel like this is a jab at me.
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Why do I feel like this is a jab at me.
Lol! The moment I saw you in 90 degree traffic with the heat blowing and your shirt off I said, that doesn’t look fun.
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Is there not a good efan solution for those cars? Is it a space constraint?
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Is there not a good efan solution for those cars? Is it a space constraint?
Great question. Most run the 16" SPAL like the one in this BuildJournal thread: https://thebuildjournal.com/diy/n15-design-e46-m3-electric-fan-mount-diy/. It seems to cover as much as the clutch fan, but maybe it has to do with the fact it deletes the aux fan and the clutch fan? Not entirely sure.
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Got the front suspension installed with the reinforcement plates, replacing the OE Bilstein kit. Definitely a lot of stuff to balance together while you line them up by yourself. Set them as close to factory height as I could for a good starting point and -2.5 camber. Totally overkill for the factory wheels right now, but plan to get something else before I actually pull it out in the spring.
Full setup is:
- Front
- TC Kline Single Adjustable coilover (uses a Koni shock)
- Ground Control Race Camber/Caster Plate
- 500lb Hyperco Springs
- OEM BMW Reinforcement Plates
- Rear
- TC Kline External Adjustable Rear Shock
- TC Kline Buna Rubber rear shock mounts
- 600lb Hyperco Springs
- Rogue Engineering Spring Perch Reinforcement Plates
- Rogue Engineering RSM Reinforcement Plates
- Front
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Got an awesome christmas gift from @Rekpoint, a genuine BMW fire extinguisher and seat mount kit. These are pretty dang hard to get into the states because they're considered a dangerous good with the pressurized canisters.
The brackets and seat are only drilled from the factory and require a M6x1.25 thread to be tapped. Luckily the included hardware is self tapping, just requires some pretty small tools to properly install everything.
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