Sunroof liner install – Check!
So I’ve owned this M3 for over 6 years now and until tonight, it never had a sunroof liner installed. (I know right??? lol)
Anyways, I picked up a used one and cleaned it up nice. Came out great!
More E30 M3 + S54 talk
I thought i’d share a couple pics of a swap that was done a little while ago. This an E30 M3 with S54 in it using the factory ECU.
This looks so damn clean, right? I thought that the plastic would be too much for the E30 engine bay but am now having second thoughts. I’ve noticed that they also painted the reservoirs black. Normally I’d think that was weird but it completes this look very nicely. It doesn’t make checking the fluid levels any easier, but it looks damn good.
For those of you that are not familiar with this engine, it came in the BMW E46 M3 (2001-2006) and a few other cars. It’s another high revving (8k rpms) 3.2L six cylinder that without the crappy US cats, puts out about 340hp.
BrenTuning – Tuning event
I just got back from the tuning event at BrenTuning here in Auburn MA.
It was hot as hell out but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. There were some really nice cars in attendance and I hope that my crappy pics will show that.
OE Tuning was on site at the BrenTuning facility and together they were pumping out some impressive custom tunes and flashes.
Here are some examples. Baseline power first and new tuned power second.
AMG SL55 from 450 – 500 WHP
2006 ///M Z4 from 297 – 317 WHP
2007 ///M6 from 475 – 500 WHP
Thank you to Brendan, Nick, Jeremy and company for having me over, as well as getting the ball rolling on a custom tune for my Euro engine.
Pics first and video second.
Video:
Future Project: E30 M3 Convertible replica, powered by an S54
So now that the M3 is pretty much done (once the Carbon Fiber Box is installed) I was thinking of what my next car is going to be. I’ve always loved the E30 looks so the logical next car would be a convertible M3 replica. I say replica because the US never received a Convertible E30 M3.
Nowadays, you can pick up a E30 vert in rough shape for peanuts. Probably between 1-2k. Then you need the E30 body panels, a new paint job and the exterior is all set. Of course the E30 stock 6 cylinder won’t be enough for me 
so the S54 from the E46 M3 will do just fine. The S54 is even more powerful then the S50B32 that’s in the M3 now and can rev higher. An S54 can be had with low miles for around $4500 so the car could probably be built somewhere around 12-13k all in.
If this vert project happens then the M3 will certainly begin hitting the track. I’ve been itching to get out there but afraid to break something serious and then not have a car to drive to events during the season.
Here are a couple examples:
This 1st car is more along the lines of what I’m going for. More of a stock look and white on Black
Sorry for the quality of the pics, they look to be from a cell.
Then there’s Vlad’s car. An amazing replica which had alot more detail done to it then I am looking to do.
Lev’s photos from UMASS Show
My buddy Lev just sent over some photos he took at the UMASS show we attended in May. Some great stuff here so I had to share.
You can find more great pictures on his site:
July 4th Weekend @ Rancho Relaxo
So even though the temperatures were through the roof and my AC isn’t working yet, I decided to head down to North Haven to visits some good friends and just hang out.
The 335i in these shots is my buddy Matt’s car. He picked this one up not long ago and it sure is a beauty. I had never seen a 335i up close and let me tell you, it’s sweet ass car. Plus I’m a sucker for white 
Chris is always ready to shoot so we jumped on I91 for a few rolling shots.
German Car Day at the Larz Auto Museum
I headed out to Brookline MA this morning to attend German Car Day at the Larz Auto Museum. I was thoroughly impressed. They had an awesome collection of older BMW’s, Mercedes, Porsche’s, Audi, etc… that showed up.
I can’t remember the last time I wen to a show that had more older cars then newer ones.
Anywho, I took alot pics. Enjoy.
DYNO visit round 2
You may be asking yourself “Didn’t he just go to the dyno?”. Well you’re right but I needed to revisit to obtain some info.
The last time, I used the ECU with the AlphaN flash. Seeing as how I wanted to see if there was any difference between the factory tune and this supposed AlphaN tune, I had to go back for real figures.
This information will be valuable to anyone else running a euro S50 engine and thinking of going the AlphaN route.
Now that you know why I returned, I can get on with the info.
We did the following 4 runs:
Stock ECU with HFM connected.
Stock ECU without HFM connected.
AlphaN with HFM
AlphaN without HFM
The good news is that I had an even better run this time. On the first try the M3 put down 286 WHP. Keep in mind this was done using the stock ECU.
I still feel that the AlphaN tune will only be beneficial once I install a new Carbon fiber airbox and or cams, but only time will tell.
Memorial Day at Lime Rock Park
This Memorial day I met up with some friends over at Lime Rock (CT). The Grand Am and GT series were racing that day, but I was more interested in hanging out with the homeys
The weather was awesome and the collection of cars even better. There was a Porsche Corral there that day so we had plenty of German Muscle check out.
Most of these shots are mine (cheesy ones) but there are a few that were taken by my friends Chris and Corwyn.
My 1st Mark’s Cruise Night
I had been wanting to attend this event for a couple years now but never had a chance.
There had to be something like 800 cars there. Very impressive. Mostly Hot Rods but several Euro and Imports as well. They even had a darn Interceptor. ( For those of you that don’t know, that’s the car Mel Gibson drove in the MadMax movie. The thing was MINT! )
It was really interesting how they have you pull in. The cars enter in a line and you have to pass through the main area where the food and tables are (Basically where the majority of the people are). Essentially it’s like being in a parade and everyone is there to see. Very Cool
I took these shots with my phone so I apologize for the quality. I hope to return again next week but this time I’ll have a photographer with me, but he just doesn’t know it yet ( Pat! )
Enjoy
