New Guy - E46 M3 inside

[Mr. Vapor]

Hey guys,
I don't even know how i found this site, but i'm totally in love with everything that y'all do. I used to drool over on HellaFlush, but this site is absolutely killing me.

I'm Tim from NY. I just picked this puppy up and its just about all stock. I just did my RTABs and some cosmetic things (Grilles, Gills, tint, powdercoated the wheels).

It needs a drop, spacers and a few other things and we'll be up and rolling.

here is my blank canvas.....the stance will come in time, but damn all mighty, the E46 M3 is one fine looking lady in stock form if i do say so myself.

[RedE46Bimmer]

like the blacked out look homie

i also like the blank canvas expression hah

[M.Burroughs]

Welcome! We're glad you like what you see
Keep up the good work.

[vdubkid]

There are few better blank canvases. Can't wait to see it stanced.

[SeanDub]

Good start, welcome!

[southpaw]

This is gonna be amaaaazing. :drool:

[sisomphonE]

black out tails, headlights, corners, sides

[ProjektONE]

Love the look as this is what I am after. It is soo hard to get a good Stance out of an
E46 M3 being that you would offend all the purist. I dont care what others think of my car but its just hard to pull off on this car without spending gobs of money.

[Mr. Vapor]

Thanks for the kind words Gents.

i've got some new tails in the works, so those will be smoked out shortly.

as far as stance goes, i'm saving money for my suspension set up (this will come over the winter and hit the streets in full force for '10)

I just upgraded tires, and went with the CSL spec 235/265 size rather than the popular 245/275 set up. This will give me a few extra MMs to play with when it comes to spacer selection.

I plan on going with 15mm spacers up front, and 12mm out back.

here is a pic of the anticipated "flushness" (Disregard the wheels, though they share the same offset as mine)







And here is a picture of the same spacer set up with my wheels in silver:





it really is difficult to get a "stretch and poke" thing going on with this chassis, but we'll see....

[Chris@MemoryFab]

OMG

this is gonna be so good

[ProjektONE]

Is the black M on 15mm F and 12mm R? I wonder if it rubs. The best stance we can get on E46 M is flush. Im about to order spacers for mine, but I was going to get 12 F and 10 R but if the setup above works on a lowered car then Im game for that.

[SeanDub]

How is it more difficult to slam/stretch/poke an e46 compared to other cars?

[Mr. Vapor]

Is the black M on 15mm F and 12mm R? I wonder if it rubs. The best stance we can get on E46 M is flush. Im about to order spacers for mine, but I was going to get 12 F and 10 R but if the setup above works on a lowered car then Im game for that.

well it depends entirely on wheel offset, tire size and even make of tire.

many have been very successful running 15mm fronts no problem. The rears depend on the variables.


regarding the e46 issue, i'm sure its not any more difficult than the e36, it just seems that most are quite hesitant to push the envelope, so the amount of information/resources is quite slim. I'm heading into relatively unfamiliar territory for most M owners. Most are track guys who prefer meaty set ups, or are doctors who don't want to ruin the warranty and stay entirely stock.

lots of guys across the pond have really modded the hell out of the E46 M3, i just dont have access to their specs to find out what works and what doesnt. I'm not a bankroll, so i can't learn the hard way as my wife would shoot my ass. (ie. What do you mean those $200 spacers don't "fit")

[SeanDub]

Gotcha that makes more sense than the way it was worded before. Thanks for the explanation!

A lot of stance can be figured out by simply measuring gaps and what not. Dial in your wheel and tire combo (including spacers) then slam and camber accordingly. Mike is really good with offsets and if he isn't too busy I'm sure a PM to him could answer any questions you have.

[M.Burroughs]

Ask away