theCARhack

Cracking up: E46 Sub-frame issues

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:58:56 -0500

There is no doubt that the BMW E46 3 Series line up of cars is great. They are right sized, relatively efficient to operate and have superb all around performance. But there are critical weaknesses in the chassis-- especially in the M3 version-- that need to be addressed. We already reported on the fatigue issues with the front strut tower in an earlier blog entry. This time we will focus on the rear subframe.

Operation Touring Car: Part 3, the Weigh In

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:13:06 -0500

We finally got around to weighing the Civic Si donor car for our touring car project. It's always a good idea to get some baselines before you begin transforming a car-- be it from stock to slightly modified or from stock to race car.

And the weight of our stock Si is...

What a Drag

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:45:52 -0500

Sure, as real automotive enthusiasts we like cars that can stop as well as accelerate and turn corners as if on rails-- all in a nicely balanced package. And it’s not always the fastest car that is our favorite. But sometimes a showing of brute force is just plain old fun. Follow the jump and watch a video by Motor Trend having some straight-line merriment with four of the best performance cars currently offered: Corvette ZR1, Nissan GT-R, Ferrari 599 and Porsche GT2. Who will win, and why? AWD vs. rear engine vs. front engined power, you can make an argument for all 4 cars...

Operation Touring Car: Part 2

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:28:22 -0500

A few weeks back we announced that VRPerformance is going racing in SPEED World Challenge Touring Car. It is a daunting exercise that we are nonetheless excited to start. The first step was picking the car.

Agency Power Header Install on E46 M3

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:52:23 -0500

We have installed plenty of Super Sprint exhaust components on cars over the years. They make a superbly engineered product with plenty of research and development to back up their performance claims (and price). The biggest down side to Super Sprint is the sometimes sketchy build quality and comparatively high price. There are some good alternatives out there, including the Agency Power units we installed on an E46 M3 recently.

Operation Touring Car: Part 1

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:17:52 -0500

Time to go racing! Welcome to the first of many entries documenting our entry into the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championship. As our busy summer season winds down, we’ve taken on the task of building a race car with the goal of competing in the Touring Car category of the SPEED World Challenge. Call it a stretch goal. We’re under no delusions as to how expensive and challenging this endeavor will be, but we have the car, the enthusiasm, and hopefully the stamina to see it through to a worthwhile conclusion.

How not to do it

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:44:49 -0500

Okay, I thought this was too funny not to pass along. We actually run into customers like this every now and again...

7 Worst Ways to Modify Your Car

STi Big Turbo Install

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:14:53 -0500

Squeezing more power out of a turbocharged 2.5 liter flat four cylinder engine is as easy as swapping out the original turbo for a bigger one, right? If only it was that simple.

Fun at 25 Grand

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:38:37 -0500

Car and Driver magazine came calling a while back. They were looking for an unadulterated E46 M3 they could test for an article they were planning. And I happen to own one.

The question behind the story is not that unfamiliar to day dreaming car enthusiasts the world over: what cool car can you get for "x" number of dollars? C&D picked $25,000 for their bogey and then came up with a list of eligible used cars by combing through classified ads and price guides. (Video after the jump)

E46 M3 GT Part 2

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:19:35 -0500

A few weeks back I posted the first entry in my "M3 GT conversion" series. I mentioned that the next step in my quest to turn my 2003 E46 M3 into a true "Gran Tourismo" is installing new wheels. Well, they are here!

E46 M3 GT part 1

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:05:16 -0500

After long and careful consideration I have decided to keep my personal E46 M3. Instead of purchasing a new car I will invest some money in the old M3-- give it a mid-life makeover so to speak. And as great as the car is on the track, I really think the E46 is a better GT car than all out sports car. So my tweaks will take that into consideration. I will not turn the car into a full out track monster (which is not that hard to do, really), instead I will focus on making it a better grand tourer.

Front Strut Tower Fatigue on BMWs

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:03:52 -0500

This is a note for all of you who run heavier springs on your E36/E46 BMW. We have had a rash of M3s come into the shop with cracked FRONT strut towers lately.

The Care and Feeding of Your Coil-overs

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:30:31 -0500

Height adjustable suspensions have become quite popular of late-- even to folks who do not track their cars. Often referred to by the blanket term "coil-overs", height adjustable suspensions allow the owner to set and change the ride height of the vehicle for any of a number of reasons: to corner balance for the track, winter/summer ride height changes or just to fine tune the "look". But as high tech as some of these kits are, they do need yearly maintenance.

E30 M3 Rebuild: Differential

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:15:21 -0500

We began this project car with a clear focus on improving the performance of the suspension and the brakes, since the engine already had a thorough going over by another shop a few years back. The one speed area of the performance equation we decided to improve right from the start was changing the gear set in the differential. The biggest bang for the buck is not in adding power to the E30 engine, but changing how the exisiting power gets to the ground. This is espcially important at the track, where this car will consume most of its gas.

The First 1

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:18:10 -0500

The BMW 1 Series has only been showing up on people's driveways in the States for a few months now and already there are enthusiasts ready and willing to fine tune it. A great performance car straight out of the box, it none-the-less comes with the compromises every modern car has. We've talked about this often enough: in order to satisfy the government's regulators, insurance lobbies, and the average consumer, new cars are "sanitized for our protection."