[NoGuru]

I would think any decent tuner can make that happen for you. Just need to specify where and how you want the power band.

Wedge
I user B Q tuning
David Shoup
V8bait I think tunes.

Pretty sure I have or someone has a thread about who is tuning these days. I'll see if I can link if I find some extra time.

[KnighTT]

What a week. On the down side, I spent almost a week with a house full of flu ridden kids and then, inevitably, I got it too. On the up side, the day I started to show symptoms I was able to strike up a great deal on some used racing wheels locally.



TR Motorsports MT-1 18x9.5 ET35 - square setup. Exactly what I was looking for.

I had actually seen these for a while sitting on Craigslist but had never really liked how they looked in comparison to the concave designed I was after. I looked at VMR's, and CSL wheels from the M3, and the 335is 313 style wheels, and then Foregstars and Apex's like everyone else. Mostly 19"s and definitely because the way they looked.

Later I kind of came to my senses when I started to research racing wheels vs wheels with style. 18s vs 19s. Racing wheels aren't designed to look great. They are designed to last and function. So I started to look over the exorbitantly prices sets and came back to the above set when I came across how much they weigh.

They weigh in at only around 18lbs. Super light. They were even marketed specifically as a set for the E46 M3.

Once I got some more pictures, I offered $500, and went and picked them up. They actually are concave in person. Bonus. All of them have minor curb rash but one of them has a good cosmetic chunk taken out of the lip. I may just take them in to the the outside edge machined down to get rid of it but it really doesn't matter. They will go gloss black sooner or later.

Right now they are wrapped in 265/35 up front and 275/35 in the back. I can tell from the inside lip that they were made to be wrapped in 275. The inside lip sticks out a bit from the sidewall tire. I will fit these front and back to check for rubbing on the 275s as I would like to run all four in 275 in the long run. All 4 tires aren't high performance grade, so they are just temporary, but it is a start. I look foward to seeing just what the suare step feels like out driving. I think I've got 225's all around now.

Still getting over the flu so I won't be test fitting these until the weekend.

Merry Christmas folks.

[KnighTT]

Yeah, it's been a while.....

But this happened. Plus much more. Let's all get caught up shall we?

[KnighTT]

Hey look...UPRIGHT....like it always should have been BMW. Making me hide my turbos where no one can see them. How am I supposed to show my face next to that RB26DETT with all the goods trapped underneath? Shameful.

[KnighTT]

OK, now for some disassembly porn.....

[KnighTT]

[KnighTT]

This is really the only gunk build up I found. Right near the hottest part of the engine. I think that cyl 4-5 area. I was seriously impressed with how clean the engine was besides the patina. After 160k...not bad at all.

[KnighTT]

Getting it all out and labeled. Learned a head lesson on this before. Bag and tag EVERYTHING....immediately. Nothing like seeing a pile of bolts 3 days later and having no recollection.....

[KnighTT]

[KnighTT]

Very useful. Amazon purchase. Makes yanking the vlave sprigs a breeze.

[KnighTT]

So, after tear down I only found one part that really needed replaced. Besdies all the wear down parts.

The cam ledge for the exh side(i believe)had the notch dug into it from the metal cam seal. The other one was just fine. So I got a used one off eBay with some very good pictures for under $100.

[KnighTT]

Ok, getting closer to being caught up.

So, I deep cleaned the block. Primed it, and did a nice coat. I want to make sure that in the future, if I have a leak, it will be easy to spot as well as easy to clean off. Cast aluminum is kind of hard to keep clean.

[KnighTT]

This stuff works very very well on aluminum.

[KnighTT]

Then COVID happened...got laid off in April.

So, while we sit and wait for the next step, it's time to start planning how this is all going back together.

My goals are ~600AWHP. Functional and supported. I'm not looking to putting this back together and have my goal be the bleeding edge of what it can do so I want some good overhead.

I have the DAW stg2+ turbos but I am thinking about moving up to 19T's so I can have more room overhead. Lengthen the life.

Also, there is a question on rods and pistons. Right now I am planning to go with forged JE pistons. std or 84.5. I'm wondering with my power goals if that is really needed?

[DerekGates]

Wow that cleaned engine looks great!

I've been reading that low lift cams (Schrick, for example) are great for increasing power but head work doesn't have great ROI. You could consider cams along with the turbo upgrades and rebuild?

[whyzee125]

Dang this is some progress!

Funny, there was an identical color car for sale a while ago that had me tenpted. Same wheels and 160k miles! But it was a rwd and up north. Keep the updates coming!

[Vulcan50]

Originally Posted by KnighTT

THEY HAD 3 IN STOCK and tried to tell me they were super rare. Sure, the silver one with red interior was like 1 of 49 but the 335is is not fetching collectors prices. Sure they are rare-ish but are only worth KBB value at this point.

How can you sit on a car for 6 months and not even be interested in taking $1 off the price? They even tried to say they couldn't finance people from out of state.

Too many red flags.

I know this post was from about a year ago, but I used to sell cars and we had an issue like this (but worse).

It was this POS GTO that had a myriad of issues. Not the least of which was the lemon law recalls.

They wouldn't move a penny nor fix anything. I don't understand it, the amount it did for reputation was worth just taking it back to auction and take the loss.

[KnighTT]

I think in the long run I'm glad I got the 335ix with the 6spd stick. The DCT would have been easier for the commute but this is no longer a daily driver.

That being said, I do want the 335is styling. The 335is Mtech front and rear bumper are on the top of my list right now. I just think the 335i M3 "look" isn't as aggressive as the real M3 and is starting to get dated. As well as everyone has it.

[KnighTT]

So I am really trying to rack my brain here.

I think that for the track(road course) 550-600AWHP is my goal as well as the top of what this car really needs for that kind of setup. At 550HP what will matter on the track will be more tires, susp, and brakes more than blistering straight line performance.

I have no desire to ever drag race this car.

In keeping with the budget this car is supposed to have, I am trying to figure out if I should go with forged pistons or not. At $900 for the pistons I wonder if I will really need them for my power goals or will the stock pistons with new rings perform just as well?

Let's be real here. With a fully rebuilt engine, and all the supporting mods for the stg2 hybrid turbos, I feel like I have heard enough through the web that the stock internals will be fine up to 600WHP.

I'm up for debate if anyone wants to chime in.

[KnighTT]

So, what do you guys think?

- Forged JE pistons - Standard size. I'd rather not bore out the block.
- Forged Molnar connecting rods with ARP bolts
- ARP head studs
- King Performance main and rod bearings

That should make the block pretty bullet proof for auto-cross and track days(road corse).

[1Bad335turbopsi]

Nice color!!!

[Emilime75]

How much road course experience do you have? If minimal, I certainly wouldn't be building a 550-600 horse power car as a starting point.