VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum banner

E46 M3 Cabriolet Project

11K views 136 replies 22 participants last post by  kiznarsh 
#1 ·
So like the title says, I have some questions about the E46 M3 cabriolet.

Who's driven one and how are they?

I know it's a ridiculous car to choose for track use, but I've found an Autopower roll bar that appears to eat up all of the back seat but still work with the softtop and the hardtop. I'd install the roll bar and run it with the hardtop.

Only reason I'm considering this is because one came up locally for a very good deal. Thanks for your help.
Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive tire
 
See less See more
1
#66 ·
E46 Fanatics was the only one that ever saw some action, but dead in comparison to here. There are plenty of old threads with lots of info though, and you may have better luck with the M3 specific forum as I believe I was relegated to regular ol E46 land.

Car looks great though, especially for your intended purposes. As for the seats, I spent a great deal of time trying to recondition mine...just never seemed to work out and I couldn't find anywhere locally to redo them either. You may be able to snag a set online in better condition, the vert ones tend to go for less money. What color is the interior?

I'm interesting to hear your thoughts on the SMG after you've spent some time with it. My only initial advice is treat it/drive it as though it is a manual without a clutch pedal, you'll be less likely to hate it. It simply isn't an automatic.
 
#67 ·
E46 Fanatics was the only one that ever saw some action, but dead in comparison to here. There are plenty of old threads with lots of info though, and you may have better luck with the M3 specific forum as I believe I was relegated to regular ol E46 land.

Car looks great though, especially for your intended purposes. As for the seats, I spent a great deal of time trying to recondition mine...just never seemed to work out and I couldn't find anywhere locally to redo them either. You may be able to snag a set online in better condition, the vert ones tend to go for less money. What color is the interior?

I'm interesting to hear your thoughts on the SMG after you've spent some time with it. My only initial advice is treat it/drive it as though it is a manual without a clutch pedal, you'll be less likely to hate it. It simply isn't an automatic.
The interior is black. I don't have an SMG, it's a manual. I wouldn't buy an SMG- I hate that transmission.

I think I'll see about reconditioning the leather or replacing the panels that are bad. I don't know how difficult it's going to be to change seats the in car, because the belts are integrated into the seat. If I put a rollbar in the car and harnesses, I'm either going to have to run stock seats (which is probably a no-no, except Schroth ASM 4 pt.) or full race seat and harness, in which case I wonder if the car will freak out thinking it doesn't have seats in it.

At least in an M3 there is tons of space to mount a seat (I think). My old Miata and my old Corvette have very little space, making seat choice critical. Same with the shoe, but I'm not doing anything to the shoe except keep it stock and maintain it as well as possible.
 
#71 ·
It's been pretty great to drive, but the back end has an unexpected wiggle that shows up every now and then. Something is worn out or loose- the wiggle is small enough that DSC never kicks in, but it's very disconcerting when it happens. It seems like it happens in a curve when getting off the throttle (I don't slam the throttle shut). So something is moving around when I take the load off of the drivetrain. Trans and engine mounts? Rear trailing arm bushings? Something else?

The hardtop is huge and difficult to manage, so I haven't taken the hardtop off the car since I bought it. No noticeable structural issues, car feels pretty solid. Not super stiff like a modern M3, but not bad. I don't know if it's worth it to try and remove the hardtop considering it's November and I probably won't have many days to enjoy the top being down.
 
#73 ·
Does it kind of shift sideways just a bit when you unload it? It's hard to describe but the RTAB's feel like the car shifts over when you let off throttle or when you load it up going into a corner, it feels like you lay into it and then it just notches over a bit more... My E36 M had this issue. They make some nice track oriented replacement parts.
 
#76 ·
Congrats on the purchase. The suspensions points that wear out first and can be felt are RTABs and FCABs.

After the m3forum net died(owner moved onto other things and just didn’t pay the fees), guys opened nam3forum.com (na M3 forum), it’s not as active as the previous forum but it is the most active E46 M3 forum.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#78 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong, but monoballs are not going to work for a car that gets driven year-round, including rain, light snow, etc.?

I had a heim-jointed sway bar endlink setup on my old Miata and that didn't last much more than 1.5 years before they developed a ton of play, probably from being exposed to bad weather constantly.

Is there something not as extreme that lasts longer than stock and works better?
 
#79 ·
The RTABs are completely sealed monoballs and will work for years. FCABs are not exposed but not completely sealed, it is recommended to add some grease every spring, many guys run them for years without a problem. Neither of these are exposed heim joints.

I also went with Turner Motorsports sway bar end links, those are sealed joints also and haven’t failed me in years. Since my car isn’t a track car, I will never go with exposed heim joints.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#82 ·
Before polys and sealed monoballs, I went with stock bushings and limiters, it’s a bandaid but it works somewhat. FCP carriers the sealed monoball RTABs so that means if they ever fail, you can exchange them under their lifetime warranty at no extra charge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#81 ·
Your other option is poly bushing but they don’t offer the articulation of the monoballs plus you can feel more NVH in the car. I tired poly bushings and went to sealed monoballs.

Never get poly bushing for diff, everyone that has done it has regretted it.

Apologies for multiple messages and the format, sitting at a winery on a Monday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#83 ·
If the monoballs work better than poly, that's good- but they're not like putting in rocks for bushings?

I put a monoball top strut mounts / camber plates into my Volvo- that was a big mistake- made the ride really bad on bumps.
 
#101 ·
I am one of those people that can’t tolerate a loud or rattly car, my M3 is no comfort cruiser but it surprises everyone how comfortable it is for a car that is built for twisties.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So I’ve had the Syncro Design Works RTABs in the car for three days now. The “weirdness” in the back end is gone. Totally feels planted now. It has made some graunching sounds a couple times, like backing up my inclined driveway. But other than that, feels totally like stock. Thank you for the recommendation. The mechanic that installed them liked them as well.
 
#94 ·
I attempted to do the RTABs, ended in complete failure. The two tools I had on hand to pull the bushings out did not work- first one literally pulled the threads off of the threaded rod, second one only punched the center out of the bushing. Put it back together and am taking it to a professional mechanic Tuesday.

I started fixing some small bits as my parts order came in- found some very poorly "fixed" items, like the driver's side mirror. It was stuck on with double sided tape and a wood screw. So when I went to replace the mirror, I broke the plastic as I thought it was mounted the factory method (plastic tabs snap into a plastic ring). So now I need both mirror motors and possibly both mirrors. Have them ordered, so hopefully, everything will be fixed properly in a couple days.

The radio antenna was looking bad:
Hood Water Vehicle Automotive mirror Motor vehicle


I had to unscrew it with pliers- comparison to new antenna:
Water White Boat Watercraft Vehicle
 
#102 ·
Cool comparison, thanks. Yes, it looks brand new now, even though I haven’t done anything else yet- still needs a thorough cleaning.
It’s also interesting that the left pic was on a sunny day and the grey looks very blue, while the right pic was taken on an overcast day and it looks properly grey.
 
#100 ·
ONe of the big perks of the M3's, they never got the LCI head lights which were sealed and would not allow for lens replacement.
 
#115 ·
So we had a pretty cold January, when stuff like this happened:
Snow Plant Car Fence Vehicle


But then February had some nice weather, even had a Cars and Coffee with a decent turnout:
Wheel Car Tire Land vehicle Vehicle


And then yesterday, with 70F weather, got to wash the car and even put on a coat of wax:
Car Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire


Still haven't fixed that faded grille yet. I had to have the pinion seal in the rear differential replaced, as it was leaking badly. With that, also replaced the flex disc (giubo) since it had to come out anyway.

I'll soon have some more parts installed, but today it's 35F and cold again.
 
Top