If you were excited about our last two vehicles we built and gave away, you’re going to love this: you have a chance to win this beautifully restored and tastefully modified BMW E46 M3, built by your friends at ECS Tuning. Every $10 spent at ECSTuning.com from 01 August through 30 September 2019 will get you one automatic entry, so take care of your maintenance and modifications while you stack up chances to win one of the greatest performance cars of all time, as every additional increment of $10 gains you another entry. Once all of the entries are in, we will randomly draw three winners in the first few days of October. All three will be given a trip to the BMW CCA Oktoberfest event in South Carolina from 17-19 October. While at Oktoberfest the grand prize winner will be selected and win the BMW E46 M3, right then and there. For the other two winners, they are not leaving empty-handed. The two runners-up will receive a certificate to attend the BMW Driving School plus $500 cash to help cover travel expenses to either BMW Driving School location. During the sweepstakes, you can follow along as we take the car and add some of the best upgrades available for the BMW E46 M3, so stay tuned and keep wrenching away for your chance to take home this amazing machine!
For Official Sweepstakes Rules click here
About the BMW E46 M3
The third in BMW’s high-performance coupes developed by M GmbH as the successor to the love-it-or-hate-it E36 M3, the E46 M3 brought 338 bhp and individual throttle bodies to America, unlike it’s neutered predecessor. With a high-strung S54 inline-six under the hood, a manual 6-speed transmission, LSD rear end, and competent suspension, the E46 M3 is a great platform out of the box. That isn’t to say it can’t be improved, however, which is exactly what we aim to do. Below, we’re going to show you everything we plan to upgrade on the M3 before it finds its way to a lucky new owner who will surely enjoy our tasteful upgrades provided by our partners to help bring out the full potential of this incredible machine.
Brakes
The brakes are receiving a serious upgrade from StopTech in the form of their top-of-the-line nickel-plated calipers on their front and rear big brake trophy kit. New 355mm front rotors, rear rotors, 6-piston front calipers, 4-piston rear calipers, and braided steel lines also from StopTech will help seriously improve the braking performance, pedal feel, and help reign in all the power we hope to add to our M3.
Suspension
The suspension we chose for the M3 includes extensive upgrades to the whole system. Turner Motorsport front and rear Monoball upgrades will eliminate deflection and improve the turn-in response of the M3, especially paired with the Bilstein upgraded sway bars, bushings, and fully adjustable coilovers. Our own ECS Diff Bushings will further help eliminate deflection, while the Turner Motorsport front and rear subframe reinforcements will prevent any stress from causing damage to the notoriously weak factory mounting points. These upgrades will ensure whomever owns the M3 will have peace of mind that the subframes won’t suffer from the cracking problems normally seen on these cars after hard driving.
Engine
With bigger brakes and beefier suspension, the M3 can receive engine upgrades to increase power and performance. The Turner Motorsport CSL style intake manifold, Turner tune, and Turner power pulleys will help seriously bolster the already impressive performance capabilities of the S54, giving the powerful inline-six a hearty boost in fun when you press the throttle. Of course, a few other key modifications like the ECS braided steel VANOS line, water connecting line, and Turner IAT relocation kit will offer improvements over those wearable factory versions and ensure intake temperature readings stay accurate for better performance.
Drivetrain
Of course, upgraded suspension and engine performance mean the drivetrain can’t be ignored. A DKM clutch and flywheel setup will help put all the power to the ground while the Turner Motorsport Short Shift Kit, Turner Shift Knob, ECS Braided Steel Shift Line, and Teflon Shifter Bushing will give the driver a seriously connected feeling and incredibly engaging driving experience.
Visuals
The E46 M3 looks subtly aggressive with its reserved body lines and rounded hips, but with some simple changes, it can take on an incredibly mean appearance. The Turner Motorsport Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser, and Rear Spoiler will give a much needed motorsport-inspired theme to the high-performance BMW and match the car’s abilities with a sleek new look. Additionally, the Turner Motorsport Skid Plate will help prevent the lowered ride height from causing any damage to the undercarriage while also retaining the factory aerodynamics, which means this car can be enjoyed without worry that its expensive underbody bits could be damaged by nasty bits of road or other hazards.
Exhaust
For the noisemaker, SuperSprint is providing their hand-built stainless steel performance exhaust that will open up the pipes and let the glorious sound of the S54 sing through highly engineered exhaust designed to offer both power gains and an exceptional noise.
Interior
The black leather interior looks incredible and carries a similar theme BMW has held for years, which looks fantastic, but E46s are not known for their interior quality. We’re going to address all of that with new trim pieces, pedals, a Carbon Fiber steering wheel trim set from Karbonius, new Bremmen Head Unit, and make sure the liners everywhere are in perfect shape. Brey Krause will provide harness bars, while Schroth belts will keep the driver pinned in the seat for any hard-driving they might be inclined to enjoy. We want to ensure the new owner has a showroom-quality interior to enjoy that matches the attention to detail the rest of the car will receive, so no corners will be cut here!
Maintenance
In the restorative departments, we will tackle nearly everything needed to bring the E46 M3 back up to factory condition anywhere that isn’t receiving performance upgrades. LIQUI MOLY and HENGST are brining their expertise to handle the lubrication and filtration needs for oil, while Meyle suspension parts will help bring back the incredible handling feel the M3 had when new. Lastly, to tackle those BMW cooling woes, CSF is giving us their high-quality aluminum radiator to help combat those temperature issues known to plague BMWs of this era.
Stay Tuned and Follow Our YouTube Build
Nearly every aspect of the car will be tweaked and improved over the coming weeks with help from all the fantastic partners we mentioned. These parts will come together as one serious BMW E46 M3 that will be presented to the lucky sweepstakes winner completely finished at the BMW CCA Oktoberfest celebration. We look forward to making a one of a kind M3 that will be surely loved and driven by one of our awesome customers for years to come.
For Official Sweepstakes Rules click here
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