This review is now live on YouTube! Full build sheet at the end.
Jarod and I have known each other through the local car community and reconnected this past year shooting pistol competitions together. I knew about his E90 M3 and E46 M3, a cool alpine white pair, but hadn't seen the cars in a few years. I initially saw the E46 at cars and coffee one morning, probably 5-6 years ago, and we both chatted and shot photos.
Jarod was the photographer / content creator for local shop Parts Score which exposed him to many great BMWs. This experience is worth its weight in gold when setting up your own car, and it shows with this E46. Initially setup as a bit of a stance / cruise build, it was slammed on LMs, and went viral with its matching ski box.
At one point Jarod drove his boss' clubsport style E46 and immediately decided he wanted to focus on a hard driving setup. With the help of a pro driving friend, he began dialing the car in. The motor was addressed with a VANOS rebuild, new coilpacks, radiator, and to top it off an ESS 575 supercharger kit tuned on E85 for that magic 508whp number. This kit feels like NA power, same linear progression, just more of it.
For a soundtrack to match the performance; upfront an entertaining Tial blow off valve is paired with surging, boosted S54 induction noise, and out back a Becker 6-1 header is complemented by a titanium muffler. With all the NFS Underground 2 tuner noises, Jarod calls the E46 a video game car; its sure to keep you smiling through the drive.
With power of course... let's not forget stopping. Front brakes are 135i 6 piston rotors, and rear are 996 4 piston, EBC Yellow pads and stainless lines. Exactly what you'd want for some track days, Jarod said they need a little refresh, but my impression on a short spirited drive was that they had great pedal feel, immediate bite, and plenty of stopping power. 
Now for the good stuff, we clubsport nerds know power is great but it's all about grip, chassis, and suspension tuning. Of course the car is on BBS E88, but here in 18x10 with 275 section Cup2's SQUARE. Jarod has a few sets of wheels and can trade them from this car to the E90. The Cup2 feels fantastic, just like a 200tw track day tire, and Jarod assures me there's some magic to them. Coilovers are from ST, and the car is on full poly bushing, spherical control arms etc. (details below). Here's the important part; the chassis stiffness is sophisticated and distinct from ride quality. Ride quality is maintained with a very OEM+ feeling, while the chassis response is tight. The car feels planted, responsive, and grippy. Importantly, all E46 reinforcement was done as well.
Last but not least we have some premium interior touches that complete the build. You guys know I love perfecting the cockpit and driver inputs. Here we have an alcantara refinished wheel with a cinnamon 12 o'clock stripe to match the interior (gloves required); a Dinan short throw shifter with illuminated E39 shift knob, and the best part; matching cinnamon Recaro Sportster CS'. There's nothing better than the right seat. Stock clutch and flywheel for the OEM+ ease but it still handles the power fine.
"SO COLE TELL US HOW IT DRIVES" DUH.. right. Well its pretty fuckin' perfect if you ask me. The extent of this build is very similar to my E34, and there's a lot of consistency in the feeling and capability. While a different powertrain, the linear power is very similar to my experience with the supercharged M60. The suspension tuning and capability is similar but showed me where the next gen chassis stiffness and suspension refinements lie.
The greatest difference to the E34 is in the rack vs steering box of course. We can discuss E34 steering improvements another time, and I don't hate the box, but the E46 rack is a noticeable improvement, no dead space on center, just immediate feedback. (What do car people mean when they said "feedback" anyway? We mean the delay between the friction on the tire and the proportionate weight / effort of the steering wheel in your hands. We'll dive deeper into that some day when we address steering on the E34.)
The power was perfect in balance to the chassis, the power on a stock car would feel squirrely (sorry to any German readers ;) they notoriously cannot pronounce squirrel), BUT with the thoroughness of this build the power is equally matched by grip, predictability and control.
So, to me the car was very familiar. As you've heard me say by now, BMW engineering style translates into consistent driving characteristics across the model range, and eras. Their engineering standards are X and so the experience is Y; and thus their standards are proven. It turns out, BMW nerd tuning accomplishes the same thing in the aftermarket.
The car's personality was exactly what I hoped for. Hard brake to turn in, off the brakes at turn in, the weight shifting to the rear to free up the front tires to rotate, the power hooking the front end through the corner and giving it the beans on the way out. Just like home.
Aesthetically, I love the driver focused aspect of this build. No time was wasted on perfect paint. Paint is a luxury and a hassle. This car is focused on fun.
It goes without saying I hope Jarod will join me for some track days when the weather is right so we can see this car in action. It'll be phenomenal; I'm already stealing what I learned to bring the E34's refinement up to par.
Why do we like these characteristics in a build? Linear power, badass brakes, square tire setups, ease of experience, stiff in places, compliant in others, all the right noises, steering feel. The drivers that tailor their cars to spirited driving have a lot in common. This is what has to be done to their car in order for it to meet the driver's personality. For the car to disappear beneath you, to feel like the limits of grip and acceleration might as well be your own two feet; this happens specifically at the limit. The better the car, the closer and easier the driver can ride the edge of physics. This iterative process of familiarity with the whole of capability of the car, how to improve that capability, or tune it to your own experience over time; that's what we're after. Thank you to Jarod (@jarodlonto on IG), for trusting me to drive and for your time to shoot!
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Thanks for reading,
Cole
SPEC SHEET:
05/2006 AW factory on cinnamon 6 speed.
ENGINE:
508whp E85 HTE Tuned
ESS 575 kit
CSF Raditor
Dr Vanos/Beisan
Dinan coilpacks
Stock clutch fan
EXHAUST:
Becker 6-1 headers and section 1
stock 2
GT Haus Titanium Section 3
FUEL:
Walbro 450
APE Flex fuel
E39 fuel regulator provided by ess
BRAKES:
ECS 2 piece competition rotors
135i 6 pot brembos
996 4 pot brembos
EBC YELLOW’s
stainless steel lines
SUSPENSION:
Front:
-ST XTA Coilovers
-Turner Motorsports adjustable Lower bump steer tie rod
-Millway eccentric/offset FCAB for caster adjustment
-Lemforder OE Control arms
Rear:
⁃ V3 Reddish Subframe kit with upper cabin reinforced as well
-Millway eccentric/offset upper and lower control arm spherical bushings
-UPC adjustable Lower camber arm custom fit due to millway bushings
-Millway RTAB monoball bushings
-H&R sway bar
-Both upper and lower inner control arm bushings are oem
-OEM diff cover with powerflex black bushings
-all new hardware for axles including boots
-all new parking brake lines,shoes, and hardware
-new oem wheel bearings/hubs
INTERIOR:
Alcantara wheel with 12 Cinnamon stripe
New steering trim
E39 Illuminated shift knob
Dinan short shifter
POWERFLEX shifter bushings
OEM CSL carbon radio delete
Recaro Sportsters CS’s in Cinnamon
Macht schnell mounts
Recaro sliders (Custom mounted to get lower)
WHEEL/TIRE SET UPS
BBS E88 18x10et24
275/35/18 Cup2
MISC:
Wiper delete👌
OG Vorsteiner CSL trunk
Marina bluetooth module
2 amps
12in sub
One of the most iconic views in BMW history; the back of the E46 M3.
