I posted these in the general 3 series E46 section before I saw the dedicated M section. So I thoguht I'd start this section off as well. Here's my 02 M3, individual exterior color Tourmaline Violet Metallic, OEM CSL boot lid, Eibach springs, Borla exhaust and midpipe, ZCP wheels, and other misc tidbits:
WOW...that's beautiful!!. I take delivery of my first M3 (Imola red w/ red leather interior) on (hopefully) Monday. I've waited a long time for this moment!!
Sweet ride. I have never seen one that color. Questions- Did you notice any difference in performance with the new exhaust? What intake are you running? I was thinking about the aFe stage 2. Any suggestions?
Thanks all for the comments! No, didn't really notice much of a performance gain. I don't recall what Borla claims the number increase is, but it isn't much. I did not purchase the muffler/midpipe for performance reasons though. The midpipe was done to eliminate the famous M3 rasp from the stock pipes, and the muffler to change the tone. Very pleased with the results. Personally, I feel the Borla is the best sounding setup for the E46 M3. But again, that's my personal opinion. I did not change the intake. I have a good friend who was running the AFE Stage 2 for a period of about 1000 miles and was not pleased with the results. He was also running the Borla setup, but aside from that, he had no other engine modifications. IIRC there have been reports from various people running both AFE and K&N intake/filters that start to have airflow issues with the MAF. The stock intake is a great setup and I personally would not change it.
Violet M3, Thanks for the response. I decided to keep the factory airbox and use an aFe drop in dry filter. I'll try that for now. I would hate to void my warranty due to the intake causing MAF issues. Thanks for your input.
There are really not any intakes out there that would benefit the e46 M3- at the contrary rather cause loss of power. As far as exhaust goes, the stock system is really, really good and free-flowing. However, you can still improve the system as: Muffler: for weight reduction from the 70lbs stock one, and for sound Midpipe: To eliminate the rasp, case you dont like it Headers and cats: for real performance gains at the scale of 8-10hp VioletM3- very nice and clean ride, congrats- are you running the borla midpipe v2? If yes hows the fitment, heard they improved it. I was thinking of matching it with a milltek muffler.
No, mine is V1. I have a hard time justifying the cost of getting V2 and swapping mine out for the relatively minor changes between the two. You might try talking with Bob or Mike at BPS (http://www.bimmerperformancestore.com) as BPS has a very close relationship with Borla. Borla used Bobs E46 as a test bed for both the V1 and V2 midpipes, so you can't go wrong with the information they'll be able to share with you.
I believe that e46 color is called Blue Velvet, correct me if Im wrong. Yes! it is very nice and very unique.. I saw one one the road, I chased and flagged him down to asked about his color, "Blue Velvet", He said while he noticed me and said "Hey! Arent you Blah! Blah Blah ?'. And thats how I remembered.
Nope, it's Tourmaline Violet Metallic, BMW paint code 897. Depending on the light, Velvet Blue can range from a bright, almost cartoon like purple, to a shade of blue. The paint code is 379.
