This Supercharged E46 M3 is Faster Than A 997 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Around the Nürburgring
The last time we posted about this Setra Motorsports E46 M3, it was about his door flying off at 170 mph. This time its his lap time flying off the charts. He posted a time of 7:16.927 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife with his supercharged 700+ HP E46 M3 track monster and to put that into perspective, take a look at some of the lap times of these supercars below.
2010 Porsche 911 GT2 RS - 7:18.00
2003 Radical SR3 Turbo - 7:19.00
2013 Nissan GT-R - 7:19.10
2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 - 7:19.63
2015 Ferrari 488 GTB - 7:21.63
2009 Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22.1
2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - 7:22.68
2007 Gumpert Apollo Sport - 7:24.00
2011 Nissan GT-R - 7:24.22
2004 Maserati MC12 - 7:24.29
2005 Pagani Zonda F Clubsport - 7:24.44
2011 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 - 7:25.00
2002 Ferrari Enzo - 7:25.21
Kevin's Sapphire Black Metallic BMW M235i
The BMW bug spreads real quick. My friend was interested in buying a car so he did a few months of research and decided to purchase a BMW M235i. Considering my room mate, cousin and I make up for 6 BMW cars, I'm sure we had some influence in his decision haha. It's already got a nice drop with H&R springs, a carbon fiber front splitter kit, carbon fiber diffuser, carbon fiber trunk lip spoiler, carbon fiber side mirror caps, and blacked out grills. He came by the house one day and we decided to go up to our favorite spot to do a couple roller shots. I just bought a new camera setup so I wanted to go test it out. I brought out a polarizer to pull some of the details of the car and since we went right at golden hour I can really pull down the highlights in the sky to make the sunset even more orange. I gotta say, this shoot was probably the most satisfying shoot. I purposely underexposed some of these shots to capture organic light and mimic the actual environment. Check it out!
E46 M3 Short Film "Track & Daily"
Went out for a little video shoot my E46 M3 during golden hour to test my new camera equipment. There’s a cool little 2-way road just 10 minutes down the street from my house, which was perfect since I needed to hang out the car to get some of the roller footage.
This car is my weekend/track car that doesn’t deserve as much attention as it should. It’s running our Buildjournal B-Spec Tune on a stock setup with a section 3 exhaust. Hope you guys enjoy the video!
Bimmerfest 2017 Sponsored by ESS Tuning
Bimmerfest 2017 sponsored by ESS Tuning came on the hottest day of 2017 (not really, but it felt like it) but like last year it was another good turnout. Same format as the previous 2 years, Bimmerfest took place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. It was a 2-day event starting Saturday June 3, 2017 followed by a 2nd day of events on June 4. Bimmerfest is the largest gathering of BMWs and owners from all over the states come to check out the show.
This year I bought some new camera equipment just for this event and wanted to show off the unique events that take place at the show. We don’t really think about it, but there’s not really another show this big that holds a full on track day and car show at the same time. So I thought I can show exactly that in this year’s Bimmerfest 2017 video.
As an E46 M3 owner, I tired to include all the E46 M3s that I saw, but there were too many damn E46s! Regardless if you have an E46 or not, check out the video and give me a comment if I got you in the video.
Philip's Carbon Black E46 M3 Gets B-Spec Tune
Photos by Philip L. / @pjleephotography.
Philip reached out to us to get some more power and features for his 2005 Carbon Black E46 M3 and so we got him the B-Spec Tune. He's all the way from Texas so he decided to do the E-Flash following our DIY instructions on how to extract original tune file and flashing new tune file. We created his tune the same day and diagnosed a few days after that to make sure everything was working right. Some of the free add-on features he opted for includes 6MT shift lights, CEL removal, Memory Sport Mode, and the Stage 2 Exhaust Backfire Burble Tune.
I love the tune! Definite gains in the midrange and love not having the CEL on and having to press the sport button each time! Customer service was excellent too! Questions were answered within minutes and I received the tune in the same day. -Philip L.
After he got the tune, we asked him to send us some pictures so we can post some pictures. He's a photographer himself so the pictures came out really nice and I thought it'd be great to showcase some of his work on here. Check out the photos in the gallery showcasing the Houston city scape and parking lot shots.
For more pictures of his car, follow Philip on Instagram / @pjleephotography.
Oscar's F30 335i Night Photoshoot at ARTIC Station
The best part about finding new photoshoot locations is that they come at unexpected times and although this wasn't entirely "unexpected" (since the ARTIC Station literally sits next to the 57 freeway) it was unexpected that we were brought here on the way to eat food. Yes, I'm a bit of a foodie person. Scroll below for a picture of what I ate that day.
The ARTIC Station finished construction less than a year ago and it was built to serve as a major stop for Metrolink commuters. As it sits right between Angel's Stadium and Honda Center, it's a perfect location for Orange County sports fans who hate dealing with game-day traffic. You can't miss it. Driving up and down the 57 freeway in Orange, CA you can't help to look at this odd looking space ship architecture. At night, it's brightly lit up. Inside the station, it's lit. Like in literal term and social media slang term. There's loud music bumping from the sports bar and there are hundreds of colored LED bulbs shining down. Now enough of the ARTIC Station. On to the BMW.
This is Oscar's daily driver, a BMW F30 335i M Sport. You know his other ride which is a TiAG E46 M3 and you probably know him as the "tuner" for our Buildjournal B-Spec Tune. When he's not tracking his E46 or coding and tuning, he's driving the F30. Also, modding it along the way.
So far the car has an M Performace Exhaust with M Performance tips, Vogtland lowering springs, Doss wheels, M Sport trunk lip, and he's done the M Sport brake caliper retrofit. He's also enabled some coding features such as windows roll up with key fob, close side mirrors with key fob, activate video-in-motion, tire pressure monitoring on TPMS display, LED turn signal retrofit, angel eye LED brightness, etc. These coding features are offered as a service on our website as well and you can get them done to your F3X. Check out the BMW F30 F31 Coding iDrive, Convenience, Lighting, Safety, HUD, Cluster page on our site for more information.
Luckily I had my camera and tripod in the car so we decided to post up in the parking lot to get a shot of the ARTIC Station in the backdrop. There are some weird light refraction effects going on in the shots, but I couldn't help it. I just slapped on my polarizing lens and edited most of it out in post.
I have to say these train station spots are some of my favorite spots to shoot. Check out my other favorite spot, the Irvine Metrolink Station on the Photoshoot Map. Oh, and yea I promised you the food photo. Here's the Korean BBQ Garlic Noodle we ordered.
I Went to Autocross a G30 5 Series at BMW Ultimate Driving Experience
We posted up free BMW event a few weeks ago for the BMW Ultimate Experience and by signing up we got to drive a brand new G30 540i, both xDrive & RWD models, on the autocross course. This was also a timed autocross competition where the fastest drivers in each city will win an all expense paid trip to Thermal, CA to the BMW Performance Center where they'll compete for the top spot as the fastest driver from the program. Pretty sweet deal right? Well we signed up for the May 13 date and I took a lot of pictures to show you how the day went.
The event took place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA. BMW rented out a huge portion of the parking lots. We parked in the BMW Owners area and headed to registration.
We confirmed our registration and received a cool little lanyard with a hard card badge.
Out in the front was a huge activation with a specific selection of BMW vehicle line ups including a pretty cool M740i. Sorry BMW, I had to put this car on the pedestal instead.
The portable tent construction was pretty amazing itself. Studio lighting rack, wood floors and super cold air conditioning. The portable bathrooms were also "luxury" style with no toilet seat covers because there was someone dedicated to constantly clean the bathrooms.
BMW always knows how to keep the girlfriend happy.
They had this cool VR setup on a bike. They seem to be pushing bikes more and more now. Introducing, the BMW ecosystem.
Here is a leader board wall with the fastest lap times from Los Angeles.
BMW ecosystem. Buy BMW everything. Including this bike!
A wall dedicated to some BMW accessories including small die cast models and wallets.
This is pretty cool. They brought the G30 they used to film The Escape. Watch the video if you haven't.
Before our 11 AM start time they brought us to a meeting room, similar to what they do at the BMW Performance Center, for a proper instructional briefing. A professional instructor came out to go over the basics of car control. It's not your basic brake pedal on the left and gas on the right as they would at your local go-cart track, but it was technical and warming instructional session. Although it was still a watered down explanation of car control (to me) it was pretty technical for the general public. They went over how weight transfer works during braking and accelerating, oversteer/understeer concept, track vision...things like that.
Now to the course! We exited the building and our track instructors were waiting for us with the G30 to shuttle us to the track.
We were assigned to track 2. There were a total of 6 tracks and 1 of those were dedicated to the final showdown.
Our instructors introduced themselves with a short career summary. We had 3 instructors. One was racing in 24 Hours of Le Mans in a few months, one was a former NASCAR driver, and the last one was an Indy Car champion? Not sure, he just flashed his ring at us during his intro and walked away.
There were cold waters for us in this "custom" cooler. BMW everything.
First the instructor drove us around the course. They showed us the proper driving line, braking point, and acceleration zones. Then they did a hot lap. The 540i packs 335 horsepower and 332 lb-ft torque with a turbocharged inline-six engine. Thanks to the 8-speed gearbox and xDrive, it feels a lot faster than you think.
Here is a little video of the course.
BMW G30 540i autocross. pic.twitter.com/brskaDMRIO
— buildjournal (@buildjournal) May 16, 2017
You get 1 warm up run, 1 practice hot lap, and 1 timed lap. The winner of each track goes to track 1 for the final battle.
Oscar actually took home the track 2 overall win and got this cool little prize.
Oscar headed to track 1 where all the other finalists went on to battle it out for the top spot. This track was a little different because instead of crossing the finish line, you had to come to a complete stop in the braking zone. It doesn't matter if you had a fast lap, if you don't optimize your braking point, your lap is done.
Oscar put it a pretty fast lap, but ended up coming in 2nd. Still not bad eh?
Like all other BMW events, this was very well put together by the BMW NA folks. A great way to promote the G30 and a clever way to promote the M series. I'm sure they'll be getting some good PR traction with the final winners from each city. We look forward to the results of the BMW Performance Center contest, and to all other future BMW events to come!
Buildjournal Tuning Day 2017 for B-Spec Tune
It's that time of the year, where thousands of BMW's from all over the states gather for one epic meet in Southern California! For all the BMW E46 M3 owners out there, we want to make your trip even more epic so on June 3, 2017 we're doing a special Buildjournal Tuning Day right here in Southern California just 10 minutes away from Auto Club Speedway.
Who: All E46 M3 vehicles
What: Buildjournal Tuning Day - $199 special for B-Spec Tune / same-day flash / on-site tuning
When: June 3, 2017 starting at 5:00 PM PT (limited scheduling available for Sunday June 4, 2017)
We will be offering our B-Spec Tune for $199 local tuning special (regularly $249 for local tune) to anyone who registers with us before June 3. Register below and we'll reach out to you for scheduling your appointment. Limited spots available. First come first serve.
The B-Spec Tune is an off-the-shelf (OTS) E46 M3 tune that delivers a smooth power band all the way to redline while improving engine performance over stock. Get up to 30 bhp with 20+ free add-on features including codes to turn off that annoying CEL for those going catless and our Exhaust Backfire Burble Tune. For more information on the tune, visit our B-Spec Tune page.
Ashley's Carbon Black Metallic E46 M3 Photoshoot
We met Ashley last year at Euroklasse's Performance Fest 2016 that ended up at BMW of Vista in San Diego, CA and we've stayed in contact ever since. He's a genuine car dude and an E46 M3 aficionado at best. Ashley hit us up a few weeks ago to schedule an appointment for the B-Spec Tune and so I thought it'd be a great opportunity to photoshoot while he's up here in Orange County. He got a new CSL front bumper and wheels ever since I last saw him. Here's an old picture of his car from the meet last year.
When he got here, we first flashed his car with the B-Spec Tune. Along with the tune itself, we gave him a list of add-on features he can add to the car. He opted for SMG shift lights (for 6MT car), Sport Enhanced Mode, Sport Button Memory, Increased Redline, and a few other options. We flashed it in 20 minutes, took it for a test drive, and then headed for the shoot spot.
We headed out to my favorite spot, the Irvine Metrolink Station, which you can find on our Photoshoot Spot page. As I'm driving there I'm thinking about the lighting and how much detail I can get with the Carbon Black Metallic. Easy thing about my Alpine White is that no matter the light condition it's pretty damn easy to get a clean shot. Even when the car is filthy dirty. Good thing is I brought a tripod and a polarizing filter so I just hoped for the best.
We got up there and a police was watching over the spot. Lately there have been some shenanigans going on up top. Apparently a lot of people have been going up there whether it was for hanging out, car shoots, or burnouts. On the way up we saw three Subaru dudes coming down. Apparently they got kicked out. Luckily the officer was chill with us and he was okay with us shooting. Maybe he was a BMW fan?
There's lot of hard light at the parking structure so I had to edit a lot of the reflections out in Photoshop. I couldn't get everything out, but it turned out okay. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Follow Ashley on Instagram / @damn_daniel__e46.
Dennis Gets B-Spec Tune on His 01 TiAG E46 M3
Dennis has a 2001 E46 M3 in TiAG in 6MT transmission and he's running the B-Spec Tune with Stage 3 Exhaust Backfire. Since he had a cable and computer, he decided to do the E-Flash.
Dennis used our How to Extract & Flash BIN File with BMWFlash and How to Read & Diagnose Check Engine Light via BMWLogger articles to do the flashing himself. He was able to send us his stock tune with our recommended K+DCAN FTDI cable and we turned around his tune in less than one day. Shout out to Dennis for making the process very easy.
You can follow Dennis on Instagram / @paqman909.
My Apex Arc-8 Wheels Story: Silver, Black, ET22, ET35, Wut
Silver and black. Those are the only 2 colors I've had for my wheels and they're both Apex Arc-8 wheels. I don't know why, but I can't really convince myself to get any other color. I've always liked gold wheels and that's a 3rd option that I really considered, but I felt like I was stepping into the STI fan boy territory. Over the course of 5 years of ownership, I went through 2 sets of wheels with 4 different color changes.
I originally wanted this blog post to be just a simple photo gallery of my old Hyper Silver setup, but mid-writing I was reminded about my constant back and forth of color choices. So as you take a look at my "Phase 3" setup in the gallery above, here's a little story of my Apex Arc-8 Wheel setups.
Phase 1
My first set of wheels for the E46 M3 were Apex Arc-8 in 18x9.5" +22 in a squared setup with 265/38/18 tires. The color I chose was Hyper Silver. I ran about -3 camber in the front and -1.8 in the rear. Yeah, they were pretty aggressive considering I daily drove with that setup.
Phase 2
I liked the look a lot, but after a few months I wanted to switch it up. I resprayed my wheels to semi-gloss black with Plastidip! Yeah I went there. Although the white on black is a super common "Panda" themed look, I liked it a lot. But then I would cruise around the city and realize how many damn Panda's there are. I quickly got tired of black.
Phase 3
It was only a few months after I sprayed my wheels that I decided I'd go to the local Home Depot and get a crap ton of Goo Gone to strip the Plastidip. If I had known how much of a pain in the ass it would be to strip the paint, I would've never dipped. I lost 5 hours of my time and a fingerprint on each thumb after the removing process was over. It was back to Hyper Silver.
Phase 4
After a few months I decided I didn't like running -3 camber so I decided to get the same Apex Arc-8 wheels, but this time in a different size and different color. I thought really hard about what color to get and finally I chose the 18x9.5" +35, in black.
Phase 5
I don't know what I want now, but I really want to try a different color and possibly a different wheel style entirely. If you have any suggestions, comment below and maybe even post a picture of your ride.
New Shopping Page is Live
We just updated our site with a brand new shopping cart functionality. Browse through Buildjournal Tuning Labs page for tunes and coding for your BMW E46 M3 and F30/F31 3-Series.
