The Evolution of Nanners (e46 ///M3)

First let me start off by saying that I, like many others have been hypnotized by the Motorsport Division of BMW. The first time i ever saw an E46 ///M3 roar by me, in my mothers car. I was maybe 13? I was hypnotized, not by the sound, the lines/body or the ego the driver had of himself. But by the color, it was LSB. It ran under the shade of an overhanging tree, I triple glanced at it and i will never forget how many different colors i saw within the few takes of the car. It was... beautiful. He stomped it and disappeared through the traffic. That memory will be instilled in me forever. Now, i have always supported my car habits. I am currently 20 working a full time job @ 17$Hr. So i could be doing worse....but it supports my sickness of modifying my cars. Before the hate ensues, ive paid my dues...And well, still do thanks to this car payment.. Almost paid off though!

First truck was a ford ranger....ugh.

Second vehicle bought brand spankin' new after highschool. Spent thousands modifying this truck. Even traveled over half of the country to obtain these wheels.





Fast forward two years later, i saw yet again an e46 M3 (they really arent around these parts!) You know when you hear a song and it brings back the same feelings/memories you had when you initially listed to it?, doing whatever you were doing. Seeing another LSB just brought back the desire. I made up my mind, put my truck up for sale. Sold it for 17k the day after i put it on auto trader.

Didn't have a car for about 4 months while looking for a "rare" color which is subjective, yes.... I dreaded the thought of having an SMG (no disrespect!) And the though of having a Tiag. It was so unbelievably hard to meet these seemingly easy standards. Met up with a younger guy (my age) around the 5 month mark to see a 2002 PY , beforehand i had traveled to PA to see a LSB...which was in outright terrible condition for 23k :screwy:

Anyways the PY (2002, Cold weather package, NAV, Nappa Leather)....well, needed work. A trailer backed into the hood. making a nice dent in between the kidneys. Other random paint chips and spider cracks in the paint on the rear bumper. All bushings were toast. Needed a valve adjustment. All fluids. Normal maintenance for a car approaching 90k. Needless to say the car had been mistreated. So i walked. He buckled the price time and time again until i decided to undertake the project of resurrecting/restoring the car. The color was....meh..unique. As time goes on. It grows on you like cancer, i probably wouldn't choose another color of the E46 after owning this. Its such a chameleon, people always asking me if it was an OEM color. "Is dat **** lime green!?!?!" It does look green under lighting at night....anyways

The day i picked it up (happy camper)


After a week of ownership.....misfire. Replaced all coil packs/spark plugs/air filter and the engine oil/filter.....Misfire fixed, however it would hesitate at 4k RPM's. New MAF sensor fixed that. Sadly i did not take pictures of the last 3 months worth of work...which is extensive, considering my clutch went, so here is the list ive compiled on my phone (some mods, some maintenance):

VCG kit from Tischer
Valve adjustment at 95k
Fuel pump
Fuel filter
LUK clutch
LUK pressure plate
Resurfaced flywheel
Clutch spring
Clutch fork
Pivot pin
6 new coil packs
6 new spark plugs
BOSH OEM battery
Wiper blades
Clutch arm bushing
Trans fluid
Diff fluid
CDV
CPV o ring
Cleaned ITBS (God damn were they bad....)
new MAF
RSMS
Air filter
Bmw Short shifter kit
Khoalty Halos
55 w 5k low HIDS
55w 3k fog HIDS
M floor mats
LED corners
Yellow drl light bowls
LED tag lights
CF interior wrap
CF roundels
Headlight Slightly Tinted Laminex (Still iffy)
Smoked markers/Corner lights
Monochrome badges
M-Stiched Shift and e brake boot
Tein springs (Hate them)
Rear Sagging Bumper clips
Realigned Front Bumper (Was Sagging)

Although i don't have pics of all of the things ive replaced. Here are the ones i have at the moment.

Before everything!






Blacked out reflectors....will get them color matched again soon. They came on the car but they were chewed up!


Member Dafoe helping me with my Valve Adjustment! All Cam sprocket bolts tight! :thumbsup2:


Halos, HID's, Laminex (This is Pre Bumper Alignment) See the dent in the hood? You can see ive hit it with touch up paint and a few other rock chips around the car.



You can slightly see the yellow'd DRL bowls through the laminex..which im still on the fence about


CF interior wrap, SSK, CF Roundals


Everything has since been changed to monochrome or black/silver CF badges. Its the little stuff that matters


She looks like she got hit in the face with a shovel...


Plastidipped the wheels to ensure i would like the look without scuffing the original finish...Also blacked out side markers




Although this thread is mainly focusing around maintenance. That's how its supposed to be at first (at least when saving a car from imminent death from the PO) Once i get her in perfect operating condition. I will be dumping my money into aesthetic/performance mods.

And here is how she sits today. Reliable, beautiful and begging me to get off work! I am personally very proud of how far this car has come in such a short time. I will update this thread frequently. Be on the look out for all future mods! Thanks for looking :hattip:

Bumpers realigned/fixed....biggest petpeve...besides the hood.

Nice. Welcome to the forums. Only comment would be too loose the headlight tint. Otherwise you have an amazing car, and have obviously taken care of it. Congrats.

Im also iffy on the laminex, however i think it has the potential to be menacing once the halos are in there!

I said it more for practicality reasons. You're tinting your headlights, which will diminish visibility. May not be so bad on a clear night, but a whole different story if it's raining or something.

The money pic makes you a tit. And nobody cares that you bought a 15k M3 out of high school you boob.

Originally Posted by moiz21

I said it more for practicality reasons. You're tinting your headlights, which will diminish visibility. May not be so bad on a clear night, but a whole different story if it's raining or something.

Thats why i got 55wat HID's on the way. Im afraid they will be a tad to bright.

Originally Posted by Dcha

The money pic makes you a tit. And nobody cares that you bought a 15k M3 out of high school you boob.

That money was from the sale of truck. All of these pictures are from one album, i uploaded them all. 15k? You drunk?


The only boob you have ever seen is on this website, get out of here "tit"

Nah, doubt it will be TOO bright. I have 35w ballasts for my HID's, and I sometimes I want to go to 55w.

Originally Posted by moiz21

Nah, doubt it will be TOO bright. I have 35w ballasts for my HID's, and I sometimes I want to go to 55w.

May i ask where you bought them from?

Umnitza. They have CANBUS ballasts, since my car came with halogens, they cancel out any error lights I may get on my cluster.

Looks good man. Are you going to keep the stock wheels?

Congrats! I like the look of it with clears and polished rims but the all black is nice too. Get a set of smoked LEDs to complete the look.

Understood, i bought DDM's for my truck and never had a problem i hope this time around is the same deal. Considering they have non existent customer service and ship from China.

Originally Posted by MagicFan

Looks good man. Are you going to keep the stock wheels?

As winter wheels, i want some gun metal VMR's i think.....Not entirely sure yet

Originally Posted by Studdly_Studright

Congrats! I like the look of it with clears and polished rims but the all black is nice too. Get a set of smoked LEDs to complete the look.

100% In all reality i need to focus on things such as the cooling system and bushings first. This website isnt helping with the mod bug hahaha

i would have refinished the wheels instead of dipping them in black. kudos for saving up and picking up an m. to go with your theme, maybe some carbon fiber splitters and diffuser?

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

i would have refinished the wheels instead of dipping them in black. kudos for saving up and picking up an m. to go with your theme, maybe some carbon fiber splitters and diffuser?

God yes, im just not willing to spend 150-200 on the cheap Taiwan ****. If im going to buy CF for the exterior i want it to be good quality. I only dipped the wheels so i didn't have to ruin the original finish of the wheels. Im pretty sold on it now though, ill get them powder coated

On my old 323i, I had halogens.

I bought my 35w HID kit from DDMTuning (no error-code eliminator was even necessary, but I bought it just in case), and one of the HID ballasts blew after like, ehh...maybe 6 months. I was pretty pissed, considering that kit is not exactly cheap, and eBay kits last longer than that..

So what did I do? Buy 2 ballasts on eBay!!
And then what did I do? Got rid of the 323 and bought an M3!!

So now, I have 2 ballasts in my room. May try and sell them.


Anyways, I dig the car. I personally prefer the chrome over the black on those particular wheels.
I think you need a new/better sig too!

Don't like the tint on headlights. Or the black wheels. But welcome. Curious to know what "drop springs" you got.

Instagram "photographer"