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Hi, I never really done a proper build thread so you may need to bare with me while I waffle on a bit!
I bought my E46 M3 around a year ago.
The previous owner had fitted D2 coilovers and made a few minor cosmetic changes that were not really to my taste.
The 1st thing was to cleanse all the nasty chrome so carbon fibre front grilles, side vents, and corner splitters were added.
At the same time a full service with valve adjustments was carried out.
A CSL bootlid was ordered along with a carbon CSL diffuser.
The fully smoked lights where then swapped for a set of red and smoked led rears.
CSL wheels went on, the coilovers were adjusted and then new tyres were fitted with a very slight stretch.
Just enough to allow spacers to go on so I could bring the wheels flush to the arches.
Carbon fog covers and Euro exhaust tips went on also.
At this point a red interior was offered to me cheap and as the black leather I had was worn I snapped it up!
The number plate bracket was removed and the plate itself was replaced by a smaller bike plate.
This is how it looked!
Next on the list was to matte black the roof, along with some subtle tint lamin-x on the headlamps.
As well as the lamin-x I smoked the inner bowls of the headlamps with stained glass paint.
This was how it looked for a couple of months until I started to go off of the corner splitters and wanted to fit a full length carbon splitter.
I decided on the AC Schnitzer style 3 piece.
This was ordered and fitted but looked slightly oversized and I couldn't decide if it was really doing it for me or not.
But it did look very low so I ran it for a while anyway.
As winter was fast approaching I started to conjure up a plan ready for the next summer.
I was aware of the e46 M3 subframe problem and planned on addressing it when I bought the car.
I ordered the kit and once the subframe was dropped this is what met me.
The reinforcement became a repair and reinforcement!
While the subframe was off I took the opportunity to replace all the mounts with powerflex bushes and change the prop and donut as it had developed a bit of play.
Once all this was out the way the fun part started and I started putting my plan to action.
A CSL front bumper was put on order and once it arrived I set about smoothing off the intake hole and number plate screws.
I have also done away with the corner splitters and ordered a full length Vorsteiner style. That should be with me next week.
The badge recess and lock on the bootlid also got smoothed in.
Along with the recess on the bonnet.
Now the real work began as the car started getting stripped and prepped ready for paint.
The colour I decided on is a Lambo colour, Grigio telesto.
This is the stage its now at.
Parts will start going back on Monday as soon as a few trims that needed refreshing arrive along with the splitter.
Then the final thing to do is the wheels, but I will keep that under wraps for now ;-)
I bought my E46 M3 around a year ago.
The previous owner had fitted D2 coilovers and made a few minor cosmetic changes that were not really to my taste.
The 1st thing was to cleanse all the nasty chrome so carbon fibre front grilles, side vents, and corner splitters were added.
At the same time a full service with valve adjustments was carried out.
A CSL bootlid was ordered along with a carbon CSL diffuser.
The fully smoked lights where then swapped for a set of red and smoked led rears.
CSL wheels went on, the coilovers were adjusted and then new tyres were fitted with a very slight stretch.
Just enough to allow spacers to go on so I could bring the wheels flush to the arches.
Carbon fog covers and Euro exhaust tips went on also.
At this point a red interior was offered to me cheap and as the black leather I had was worn I snapped it up!
The number plate bracket was removed and the plate itself was replaced by a smaller bike plate.
This is how it looked!
Next on the list was to matte black the roof, along with some subtle tint lamin-x on the headlamps.
As well as the lamin-x I smoked the inner bowls of the headlamps with stained glass paint.
This was how it looked for a couple of months until I started to go off of the corner splitters and wanted to fit a full length carbon splitter.
I decided on the AC Schnitzer style 3 piece.
This was ordered and fitted but looked slightly oversized and I couldn't decide if it was really doing it for me or not.
But it did look very low so I ran it for a while anyway.
As winter was fast approaching I started to conjure up a plan ready for the next summer.
I was aware of the e46 M3 subframe problem and planned on addressing it when I bought the car.
I ordered the kit and once the subframe was dropped this is what met me.
The reinforcement became a repair and reinforcement!
While the subframe was off I took the opportunity to replace all the mounts with powerflex bushes and change the prop and donut as it had developed a bit of play.
Once all this was out the way the fun part started and I started putting my plan to action.
A CSL front bumper was put on order and once it arrived I set about smoothing off the intake hole and number plate screws.
I have also done away with the corner splitters and ordered a full length Vorsteiner style. That should be with me next week.
The badge recess and lock on the bootlid also got smoothed in.
Along with the recess on the bonnet.
Now the real work began as the car started getting stripped and prepped ready for paint.
The colour I decided on is a Lambo colour, Grigio telesto.
This is the stage its now at.
Parts will start going back on Monday as soon as a few trims that needed refreshing arrive along with the splitter.
Then the final thing to do is the wheels, but I will keep that under wraps for now ;-)
goes well with the carbon
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