OT: What to do with an E46 M3 engine and gearbox???

[Dan in NZ]

A friend is importing a complete E46 M3 engine, gearbox, and wiring harness. He's wondering what he should do with that lot... Does anyone have some good suggestions I could pass on to him?

I suppose finding an E46 without an engine, and shoving it straight in would be a good idea, then just sorting out the brakes and suspension. Perhaps it would be cheaper to actually just buy a complete M3...

[bimmerd00d]

S54 + 6-spd + E34 = holy ****.

[Jason]

A friend is importing a complete E46 M3 engine, gearbox, and wiring harness. He's wondering what he should do with that lot... Does anyone have some good suggestions I could pass on to him?

I suppose finding an E46 without an engine, and shoving it straight in would be a good idea, then just sorting out the brakes and suspension. Perhaps it would be cheaper to actually just buy a complete M3...

[Jon K]

Go find an E21 with good paint! haha.

[TC535i]

I've heard that NOBODY does E46 M3 swaps, because of all the technology, etc. It's supposed to be a HUGE pain to get it working in any car it didn't originally start in...

[MarkD]

I've heard that NOBODY does E46 M3 swaps, because of all the technology, etc. It's supposed to be a HUGE pain to get it working in any car it didn't originally start in...


That's correct. All the various modules talk to each other on the communications bus, and if the DME does not see the correct modules it won't run the motor. There's a mechanic I know who dropped an E46 M3 motor into a Z3 about 2 months back, and it's sitting there waiting for him to figure out how to make it work. I'll take a pic of the wiring harness mods he's done next time I go there.

Mark

[Jeff N.]

Communications bus? Oiiii....

[winfred]

**** that bolt a set of 45 DCOE webers and msd ignition on it and roll

[632 Regal]

**** that bolt a set of 45 DCOE webers and msd ignition on it and roll

[happifella]

There are guys doing the swap to the e46 M3 motor. Yes, the electronics are the major hurdle and no one has been able to get the second cam bank to work, so they have just been locking it out.

[Dan in NZ]

The first time he told me, I immediatly thought of the electronics. I wonder what the minimum is that the iBUS requires to make the car run... ABS, SRS, DSC...

I read a review of a new 7, where they got a fault with idrive and airags, bcause the car "stopped communicating with the left b-pillar". I can see how an engine could get even more upset if it couldn't communicate with the whole damn car.

What about aftermarket fuel injection??? That's what people do with bmw v12's before sticking them in Diablo replicas... Aftermarket bi-VANOS could be a little more tricky.

[winfred]

why spend all of that money to not be able to access probably 20-30 hp, id build a bad ass s52 and match it's power and not need to deal with the issues of the touchy race spec later m3 bottom end, it took em a while to keep em from chucking a rod out the side when it first came out


There are guys doing the swap to the e46 M3 motor. Yes, the electronics are the major hurdle and no one has been able to get the second cam bank to work, so they have just been locking it out.

[TC535i]

it took em a while to keep em from chucking a rod out the side when it first came out

Hell, my buddy's E30 M3 is sitting in his garage with a hole in the side of his S14...

"They all do that!" :D

[MarkD]

Communications bus? Oiiii....


There are actually more than one bus, there is some legacy bus and then a newer one mixed in there. And the new one seems to have more than on protocol on it.

Mark

[Kamil]

E46 wagon w/ M3 engine/trans:

http://www.rebmw.com/mag/ec/
http://www.rebmw.com/mag/bimmer/

Place in NJ did it, I believe it's currently for sale too.

[Kamil]

more details...

http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=2002WAG