HPF Drag M3 Creation - First Released Photos of the Build

Our service team had just a couple short weeks to produce the HPF Drag M3. There was a tremendous amount of customization, new product development and engineering that went into this build in a very short period of time. They started with a completely base shell of an E46 M3 to make sure that there would be nothing added back to the car that wasn't needed. As a result the final weight of the car complete is only 2640 lbs!

None of the factory wiring is in this car. They ditched the drive by wire and installed new pedals and the drive by wire eliminator kit. If you watch the video at the end you'll see how fast this car free-revs. This is the engine that was run in the HPF track M3 for the past two years and it free revs like a motorcycle. They designed and implemented all the wiring to run the car and engine from scratch and utilized the HPF/AEM EMS to control it. They completely removed the front of the car after the strut tower and built a custom front end to hold everything in place. They also developed a cooling system with a horizontally mounted radiator for both the transmission and oil neither of which we can seem to get hot. You can literally touch nearly all of the motor as it never gets above 120 degrees.

They designed the front end so that it can come off in a few seconds for servicing. Doc Race came in at the last minute and cranked out the turbo manifold for us. They did a great job. This manifold was built with massive 1 7/8" runners and was designed for nearly zero back pressure. We're running twin Tial 44mm wastegates for precise boost control. We built a massive 4" exhaust pipe that goes literally 2 feet and out the hood and twin wastegate pipes that exit in the same location. John and his crew built a completely new rear brake assembly so the 15" wheels could fit underneath with the super sticky 15" MT slicks. They then altered the car so we could get the Weld wheels to fit as they only come in standard bolt patterns.

They developed a full Th400 implementation into the E46 M3 Chassis and S54 engine. The TH400 required the first ever TH400 to S54 adapter plate that they built out of a single super heavy super thick solid piece of aluminum. Our guys engineered this to locate the Th400 transmission so we could run a standard GM torque converter. They also designed a flywheel that could centrally locate the torque converter and connect it to the flywheel. They then widened the chassis in the middle and built a stout transmission mount. They then had the driveshaft built with a full custom rear flange that connects to the differential. They installed DSS drive axles, a complete new "Drag" M3 coil over setup from KSport. They also engineered it so we could continue to use the factory starter in the factory location. They relocated the steering to mount to the roll cage and made it a more optimal steering location. They added new pedals, a new TH400 shifter, new switch panel. They removed the firewall behind the back seats and built a completely custom 2 gallon fuel tank setup in the rear of the car with a massive Weldon pump. All of the fuel lines were also custom made.

John built a new tune for the TH400 and dialed the car in on the dyno. Surprisingly the car is relatively quiet when not in boost.

What's also so impressive is that during these two weeks, they also built a completely new high compression sleeved engine for the orange track M3 from scratch and installed it in the car. They also completed the full 15 gallon fuel cell implementation and wired in a Walbro pump with all the lines, fuel pressure regulator, etc. They removed the entire engine harness from that car and built a full new harness from scratch and installed it. When they were done building both cars they dynod tuned both cars and had them ready to race.



Here are some pics.












[IMG]http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/miscellaneous/m3turbokit/hpfdragm3/HPFDragM341.jpg[/IMG

wow great video of the monster! Crazy burnout aswell! I'd imagine it would take awhile for you to scrape all that rubber off of the headquarter parking lot!

Yeah we really need to see some more videos of this thing asap. I know that youre taking it to the track soon and we expect big things

zomg!

Why didn't this car run at MFest?

Originally Posted by AudiEtr

Why didn't this car run at MFest?

It wasn't finished.

Originally Posted by AudiEtr

Why didn't this car run at MFest?

The truck towing the track car was involved in a serious accident with a semi and employees necessary to get the drag car running were involved as well. But we are happy to hear they are well

Ya I saw pics of the accident, glad everyone was ok. When we saw the drag car at the track day on Sat I never got a chance to ask why it didnt run on fri night

Originally Posted by xixixi

It wasn't finished.

I'm pretty sure it was finished, but as bmw323i was saying, no crew to prep it I guess. either way wish I could have seen it go. would have been sweet up against the 1000whp porsche or Marcus.

Originally Posted by BMW323iWhite

The truck towing the track car was involved in a serious accident with a semi and employees necessary to get the drag car running were involved as well. But we are happy to hear they are well

Just saw your sig, lil OT but what set up do you ride? What board? Bindings? Mountain? etc? Love to meet up this fall! Soon to be kent area

I am not 100% sure bu I think Marcus stands no chance in his drag car he is building versus this. I like Marcus but I think he talked himself into a bad race situation for him.

Originally Posted by BMW323iWhite

The truck towing the track car was involved in a serious accident with a semi and employees necessary to get the drag car running were involved as well. But we are happy to hear they are well

Yeah we really need to see some more videos of this thing asap. I know that youre taking it to the track soon and we expect big things

The laptop to remove the rev limiter on the drag car was in the trailer involved in the accident. We tried to get our other laptop to connect and it just wasn't having it. We made the best of it though. We will be out on the track on the 12th in this beast for some NHRA license passes.

Originally Posted by MachRc

wow great video of the monster! Crazy burnout aswell! I'd imagine it would take awhile for you to scrape all that rubber off of the headquarter parking lot!

Thanks. The rubber is still there. Ha ha.

Chris.

Originally Posted by jacobs323i

I am not 100% sure bu I think Marcus stands no chance in his drag car he is building versus this. I like Marcus but I think he talked himself into a bad race situation for him.

How do you figure? I think it'll come down to the tuning of the cars. Physical formula is the same: big turbo, slicks, stripped out, auto, suspension - all that knowledge already exists, it is just buying the right parts. Hell, I think Marcus could basically mimic the entire HPF build in his driveway if he wanted to. The real difference - and this is in my vho, so I could be wrong - is going to come down to what sort of numbers can be pulled out by the ProEFI tune vs what HPF gets out of the AEM. That is also just thinking on the vehicle level, not taking driver ability into account.

I think it is a win win for Marcus in the end - If he wins, he gets the parts for free plus he beat a shop built car in his driveway. If he looses but is close he came close to beating a shop built car with a huge budget (theoretically, at least) with a car he built in his driveway.

No matter who wins, I just want to see the race, and hopefully I'll be able to make MFest next year to see it in person. Regardless of who wins, this will do nothing but greatly benefit the community with the amount of knowledge that will come out from both builds. Good luck to both.

Originally Posted by Rob1796

How do you figure? I think it'll come down to the tuning of the cars. Physical formula is the same: big turbo, slicks, stripped out, auto, suspension - all that knowledge already exists, it is just buying the right parts. Hell, I think Marcus could basically mimic the entire HPF build in his driveway if he wanted to. The real difference - and this is in my vho, so I could be wrong - is going to come down to what sort of numbers can be pulled out by the ProEFI tune vs what HPF gets out of the AEM. That is also just thinking on the vehicle level, not taking driver ability into account.

I think it is a win win for Marcus in the end - If he wins, he gets the parts for free plus he beat a shop built car in his driveway. If he looses but is close he came close to beating a shop built car with a huge budget (theoretically, at least) with a car he built in his driveway.

No matter who wins, I just want to see the race, and hopefully I'll be able to make MFest next year to see it in person. Regardless of who wins, this will do nothing but greatly benefit the community with the amount of knowledge that will come out from both builds. Good luck to both.

Well said! +1

Anybody salivating over the tubular exhaust mani?

I think the auto trans will be the greatest advantage. I think Marcus said he was staying 6 speed? If so, that will be the difference.

Originally Posted by supersickbimmer

I think the auto trans will be the greatest advantage. I think Marcus said he was staying 6 speed? If so, that will be the difference.

Pretty sure Marcus is going with an auto transmission as well for his drag car, he's keeping the 6MT for the cookie monster however.

Originally Posted by Rob1796

How do you figure? I think it'll come down to the tuning of the cars. Physical formula is the same: big turbo, slicks, stripped out, auto, suspension - all that knowledge already exists, it is just buying the right parts. Hell, I think Marcus could basically mimic the entire HPF build in his driveway if he wanted to. The real difference - and this is in my vho, so I could be wrong - is going to come down to what sort of numbers can be pulled out by the ProEFI tune vs what HPF gets out of the AEM. That is also just thinking on the vehicle level, not taking driver ability into account.

I think it is a win win for Marcus in the end - If he wins, he gets the parts for free plus he beat a shop built car in his driveway. If he looses but is close he came close to beating a shop built car with a huge budget (theoretically, at least) with a car he built in his driveway.

No matter who wins, I just want to see the race, and hopefully I'll be able to make MFest next year to see it in person. Regardless of who wins, this will do nothing but greatly benefit the community with the amount of knowledge that will come out from both builds. Good luck to both.

Easy win to Marcus if he back halfs his car. But Chris will not rest with the current configuration I'm sure ...

Originally Posted by jacobs323i

I am not 100% sure bu I think Marcus stands no chance in his drag car he is building versus this. I like Marcus but I think he talked himself into a bad race situation for him.

This could be true, but either way it will be fun!

Originally Posted by Rob1796

How do you figure? I think it'll come down to the tuning of the cars. Physical formula is the same: big turbo, slicks, stripped out, auto, suspension - all that knowledge already exists, it is just buying the right parts. Hell, I think Marcus could basically mimic the entire HPF build in his driveway if he wanted to. The real difference - and this is in my vho, so I could be wrong - is going to come down to what sort of numbers can be pulled out by the ProEFI tune vs what HPF gets out of the AEM. That is also just thinking on the vehicle level, not taking driver ability into account.

I think it is a win win for Marcus in the end - If he wins, he gets the parts for free plus he beat a shop built car in his driveway. If he looses but is close he came close to beating a shop built car with a huge budget (theoretically, at least) with a car he built in his driveway.

No matter who wins, I just want to see the race, and hopefully I'll be able to make MFest next year to see it in person. Regardless of who wins, this will do nothing but greatly benefit the community with the amount of knowledge that will come out from both builds. Good luck to both.

Exactly.. I'll enjoy the competition regardless, and to me thats a win!

Originally Posted by supersickbimmer

I think the auto trans will be the greatest advantage. I think Marcus said he was staying 6 speed? If so, that will be the difference.

Originally Posted by deadpass

Pretty sure Marcus is going with an auto transmission as well for his drag car, he's keeping the 6MT for the cookie monster however.

Deadpass is correct. The LSB car will still be a six speed street car that I drag on occasion. This will be a separate build.

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

Easy win to Marcus if he back halfs his car. But Chris will not rest with the current configuration I'm sure ...

I don't plan on doing anything to give me an unfair advantage (goal here is to race in the same 'class') .. different turbo, compression, etc.. sure.. but I will probably run with the same tires, and near weight.. also with an auto.

No dyno video no care :/













Jk