So I've build told that I need to start a build thread so here it is.
I bought this E46 to replace my NA6 that I bought 12 months ago to use in supersprints, because MX5s suck and I don't like them and anyone who says otherwise is probably soft in the head.
The plan is to get this as a road legal club spec racer that I can use in the NSW supersprints.
The car is mechanically okay, not great, body is okay, but its a somewhat neglected 260k kms 330CI E46 Auto, owned by an aspiring real estate agent - infer what you will from this. Motor seemed to pull well however it's vomiting oil from it's every orifice.
The plan for this from the outset is 2 phase.
Phase 1: Setup the chassis, suspension and replace the 5speed auto with a 7 speed DCT from a 135/335 and race the car with the M54B30 for a year while sorting out the teething issues
Phase 2: Remove the M54B30 and replace it with a Honda K24 with a turbo chucked on the side.
The reason for this two phase plan is that the DCT will bolt to the M54B30 with little hassle, and the 3.0l makes okay power, even if it does it in a very mediocre 6100 revolutions
This is where my K24 would go - if I had one
The first step was to get the car weighbridged and start losing weight, with 20l of fuel it came in at exactly 1500kg. Rear seats have been deleted, sound deadener removed, the novelty sized stereo harness and computer stack have been removed from the rear boot
I've been weighing most things as they come out, so far approx 85kg have been removed, with another 35 odd KG in the sunroof to be removed, and similar weight per front seat that'll get replaced with Velos. The aim is to get this as close as possible to 1300kg before going to fibreglass panels.
After the weight stripping I starting on the sieve of an engine, front main, sump, factory catchcan/ccv, rear main, oil filter housing gasket all leaked.
The oil pump nut was also tac welded (poorly) these have a habit of backing out under sustained track use, hopefully this will help and not cause its own issues.
The DCT has arrived and for the DCT controller I have gone with a HTG ECU - these seem to be the most developed ones on the market and I am currently waiting for it to arrive from somewhere in the weird part of Europe. The internal wiring for the mechatronics is reasonably intimidating to tackle and in my opinion somewhat prone to failure in a motorsport application so I have also ordered an installation PCB from Domiworks in sweden, this greatly simplifies the installation and neatness of the install. This will go into the Mechatronics housing and connect to the pins of the DCT, and the to the HTG Standalone controller.
Because I'm cheap I decided to 3d print a sequential shifter - I'm not sure I will go to flappy paddles however the ECU has the capability to support both options.
So thats it for now.
Currently I need to finish piecing together the resealed engine, and fixing a few broken ancillaries, and then I need to wait until the DCT controller shows up so I can start on that install. The rough plan is to get the car ready for Round 1 of the 2020 supersprint series.
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