BimmerWorld - E46 M3 Street/Track Car Build

yep, i've got the high-flow version of the 16" fan, i bought the pin mounts too, but i think the fan is a bit too heavy for them, so i've ordered some of the bracket/straps as well. thanks for the quick response!

Originally Posted by delirium45

yep, i've got the high-flow version of the 16" fan, i bought the pin mounts too, but i think the fan is a bit too heavy for them, so i've ordered some of the bracket/straps as well. thanks for the quick response!

Disclaimer - while I do sometimes reply quickly, if this had been an actual business question, please direct to our office...

Agree - the 2.54" ius heavy for the pin mounts, but it is workable. The straps are my favorite option and you can slide them under the plastic shroud - will work well.

Originally Posted by JamesC

Disclaimer - while I do sometimes reply quickly, if this had been an actual business question, please direct to our office...

yep, understood, i had actually placed a call but got tied up with a prior question (availability of NT-01's) and Brian is due to call me back with word from Nitto... you just got back to me before he had

sorry for the OT, btw, fun build thus far

Not to keep going OT but will you please post a DIY for the rest of us? I'm interested in replacing the mechanical fan at some point.

James - More updates

Tim

JamesC,

I might be none of my business but what was the original budget constraint? Do you mind posting retail pricing of all the parts and labor hours?

How streetable is brake ducting and removing the brake dust shields? I know I've torn up 5 fender well liners in the 7 years I've had my car. I'm sure brake ducting would not last nearly as long.

Originally Posted by tim330i

Not to keep going OT but will you please post a DIY for the rest of us? I'm interested in replacing the mechanical fan at some point.

James - More updates

Tim

Say it ain't so...a mod (actually the owner!) theadjacking

Originally Posted by tim330i

Not to keep going OT but will you please post a DIY for the rest of us? I'm interested in replacing the mechanical fan at some point.

Will do. But really it is as easy as pulling off the mechanical fan, mounting the new electrical, and then wiring it in - probably less than an hour job and most of it is intutive or follows the instructions in the parts boxes. Will do better when I'm not at the track.

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I might be none of my business but what was the original budget constraint? Do you mind posting retail pricing of all the parts and labor hours?

How streetable is brake ducting and removing the brake dust shields? I know I've torn up 5 fender well liners in the 7 years I've had my car. I'm sure brake ducting would not last nearly as long.

I will definitely talk about the budget at some point. The number was important, but more important is constraint of the number. I had a pretty heavy filter on when deciding what parts to use. For example - the decision to spend $2500 on aero got a lot more consideration than $500 on a brake cooling kit and ducts. Everyone expects a car with 100k of race parts thrown at it to be fast. I wanted to surprise people with how fast we could go on how little money.

Now it is an E46 M3, I did want to make it representative of what I feel is the average customer's car or just a little bit more, so I think the number now is around $15k in parts (retail). More on that later.

Brake ducts are durable. You remove the hose when not at the track.

Tim, i am documenting my 16" SPAL high-flow fan install, it is a little larger in size and requires some modification of the OE fan shroud to mount flush with the rad. i'll post a link once i have completed it.

Good luck this w/e in NJ to you, James, and the rest of the BW team.

Originally Posted by JamesC

I will definitely talk about the budget at some point. The number was important, but more important is constraint of the number.

I would also request an estimate for labor hours.

At least for the stuff that def requires the skill of a professional, like the cage fabrication. Don't really anyone here really needs to include things like replacing the brake rotors, etc.

The plan with the project was to have something that could be completely built at home by the average enthusiast mechanic. At some point, we will push it a little past that point, but everything to date can be recreated with a Bentley manual, normal tools, and a bit of effort.

You mentioned fabrication specifically. As I mentioned in the early post on that, what we are doing can be duplicated by a bolt-in rollbar, which you can install - and remove down the road. We did custom because I like our part better and there was no great time savings by the time we installed another product.

A few quick shots - more on our website Project Page.

Racetech 4009W seats - the wide version fits most, including me. Built by the Kiwis, who have much more similar body types to the average American than the Italians... Schroth belts both sides as well - 6-pointers will feel nice at the speeds we are moving.


Evosport seat adaptors give a variety of seating positions and the Racetech mounts bolt right on. Remember - build it in your garage, not show what BimmerWorld can fabricate.


Tires for the UTCC? Something very fast. And something that comes up to speed quickly. There is plenty of traffic and you only get a couple of laps before you have to start running in traffic which best-case slows you down. Worst case, I don't think the majority of drivers feel comfortable facilitating a pass where I would want it. So all this leads to a full slick (fast) from Hoosier (up to speed quickly). 265/645R18 all 4 corners (slicks are done in diameter, not aspect ratio) and with an _____ compound.


Doing some scaling and setup. Initial numbers have it under 3,000 wet. The final number will impress for one of those "heavy newer-model cars" as our E30 and E36 brethren call the E46...


More later this week.

cya at VIR!

does the intake utilize the MAF or are you goin to be running alpha N?

This is the alpha-N version.

Originally Posted by JamesC

The plan with the project was to have something that could be completely built at home by the average enthusiast mechanic. At some point, we will push it a little past that point, but everything to date can be recreated with a Bentley manual, normal tools, and a bit of effort.

You mentioned fabrication specifically. As I mentioned in the early post on that, what we are doing can be duplicated by a bolt-in rollbar, which you can install - and remove down the road. We did custom because I like our part better and there was no great time savings by the time we installed another product.

Got it. Thanks! I look forward to more progress.

sick project, ill be following this as well

More updates online. Will do a writeup when I have time.

BimmerWorld - E46 M3 Street Track Project Page

James

One final update before the event tomorrow. It has been a whirlwind to get this all finished. The car is light (2900, no driver), makes good power (almost 340 wheel), and really looks pretty awesome - I was surprised how clean/street it looks given the specs. The street ride is also very nice even with the big boy springs, as we found out today when we took it for a state inspection (it passed!).

More pictures on the website, and I will do a full writeup later. For now, here it is getting prepped and ready for the weekend at VIR and Summit!

Awesome job! Lots of luck this weekend.

So, uh, 2:05?