BMW E46 Coupe (318Ci) Modding List

[Mitevo7]

Dear all,

Have a BMW E46 318ci, engine M43 1.9 L mated with automatic transmission. Asking help from BMW drivers who have experience in modding this car to help answer some of my queries :)

1.) Engine mod - supercharge / turbocharge it ? Is M43 suitable for F.Induction or just replace another engine (troublesome but fast way to get power)? Targeting at 280 ps for power making.

2.) Transmission - I dislike but not hate the 4 speed auto can do to me, but i think a manual transmission is better, what are the necessary stuffs to get before i transplant?

3.) Rims - Currently am running on 16" wheels, if i am going upsize, is 17" sufficient enough to handle, lets say, 250 bhp?

This is going to be daily drive also, so sleeper looks and quiet exhaust. Please enlighten me :)

 

[Tom]

i would advise against spending money on the current engine because it'll not be worth your effort for serious power. I don't know exactly how much but i'm sure half cuts such as from the 330i are pretty affordable now?

You can even order it in the exact type you want, so your wish for a manual and better brakes is done. At 230bhp / 300nm, it's great for a daily for a while.

You can then turbo it if you want. There are people here who are running almost daily 500hp with a 3.0 base with success.

if you're looking to go wild, there's always the 340hp/8000rpm S54 in either manual or SMG. Or the V8s and V10s.

 

[LesleyAprotto]

Yes you are right.

My friend bought a halfcut but one unit W211 for RM25K

All parts transferred to Malaysian registered car chasis.

Because he was converting a W211 E-270 CDI into a W211 E240

He bought the E270 CDI dirt cheap RM70K, now he has a E240 worth RM120K after this conversion.

Most of his headaches are from the ECU and electronics but managed to solve these issues.

 

[Mitevo7]

i would advise against spending money on the current engine because it'll not be worth your effort for serious power. I don't know exactly how much but i'm sure half cuts such as from the 330i are pretty affordable now?

You can even order it in the exact type you want, so your wish for a manual and better brakes is done. At 230bhp / 300nm, it's great for a daily for a while.

You can then turbo it if you want. There are people here who are running almost daily 500hp with a 3.0 base with success.

if you're looking to go wild, there's always the 340hp/8000rpm S54 in either manual or SMG. Or the V8s and V10s.

Dear Tom,

Yes exactly what i think, swap engine is not really worth the money spent, furthermore sourcing parts is one hell of a job. I personally prefer turbocharging the M43 with 1.0 bar of boost is more than enough. Not sure the internal can handle the extra boost. Targeting power is still 280ps - 320ps as i think is more than enough to take the car up to 200km/h in a shorter time.

Can i use e36 manual gearbox if e46 gearbox is not available?

Yes you are right.

My friend bought a halfcut but one unit W211 for RM25K

All parts transferred to Malaysian registered car chasis.

Because he was converting a W211 E-270 CDI into a W211 E240

He bought the E270 CDI dirt cheap RM70K, now he has a E240 worth RM120K after this conversion.

Most of his headaches are from the ECU and electronics but managed to solve these issues.

Not experience with Mercedes dude, never like them anyway ... Thank you for your input.

 

[Tom]

you can turbo the current engine for a little bit of fun. It's not common here though.
As for the manual conversion, yes if you can't find an exact one that bolts onto the bell housing you can always use the ones from the E36, or similar, but you'll need to either make an adapter to match. Long shaft can be lengthen or shorten to fit and bmw clutch and brake pedals are pretty much identical across the models of that era, so it's easy to find

 

[Mitevo7]

you can turbo the current engine for a little bit of fun. It's not common here though.
As for the manual conversion, yes if you can't find an exact one that bolts onto the bell housing you can always use the ones from the E36, or similar, but you'll need to either make an adapter to match. Long shaft can be lengthen or shorten to fit and bmw clutch and brake pedals are pretty much identical across the models of that era, so it's easy to find

Not common to turbocharge it eh ... ? Sad to hear that as it's quite a nice ride to play around.

Btw, what worried me the most is the ecu, due to mine now is an automatic, not sure can i still find a manual m43 ecu in malaysia. Its very rare !!

 

[modifyme]

try supercharge ~~

 

[Mitevo7]

try supercharge ~~

Are there any BMWs that originally fitted with supercharger ?

 

[esthapo]

Are there any BMWs that originally fitted with supercharger ?

Nope as far as I remember but there's old turbocharger engine produced by BMW & the latest N20 engine....

 

[Mitevo7]

Nope as far as I remember but there's old turbocharger engine produced by BMW & the latest N20 engine....

I see ... hmm ... i wonder is M43 pistons' compression ratio can take the beat up ... Anyone can advise ? I ask a mechanic who know how to wield custom turbo manifold ... The cost is about RM2k ... Am i being ripped off ?