From an E46 ///M3 to IS350
From an E46 ///M3 to IS350
I'm new to the forum b/c I recently sold my E46 M3 ZCP and picked up this IS350. Its stock right now but I have a bunch of parts on order...
I bought this car b/c of having a 3 month old baby, its nice to have 4 door car that is fun to drive and a new project to mod. Lots of aftermarket plans for this car
Stay tuned...
Here are some pics of my M3:
My 06 IS350 Bone stock, for now
I bought this car b/c of having a 3 month old baby, its nice to have 4 door car that is fun to drive and a new project to mod. Lots of aftermarket plans for this car
Stay tuned...Here are some pics of my M3:
My 06 IS350 Bone stock, for now
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The very first thing you should do to make the IS350 feel a little bit closer to the M3 in terms of handling is to get both front and rear F-sport sway bars.
Edmunds insideline track data on (2002) E46 M3: http://www.insideline.com/bmw/m3/200...-bmw-335i.html
Edmunds insideline track data on IS350: http://www.insideline.com/bmw/3-seri...us-is-350.html
The important figures to note here are the lateral skidpad and slalom speeds. The stock E46 M3 posts an impressive .89 g's (skidpad) with a 71 MPH slalom figure.
The stock IS350 posts a respectable but inferior .87 g's (skidpad) with a 66.8 MPH slalom figure.
The F-sport front and rear (I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get both front and rear sway bars despite popular opinion that the rear only is sufficient) sway bars will greatly reduce that deficit.
As far as I recall, an F-sport front and rear sway bar-equipped IS350 pulled .89g's in the lateral skidpad according to Road and Track. I don't recall the slalom MPH figure off hand, but I want to say it was around 69.x MPH.
The IS350 comes with a lot of body roll bone stock, and coming from a track monster like an E46 M3, I'd say you'll tend to notice the negative effects of that body roll on handling even more.
Before you do anything else, definitely get the F-sport front and rear sway bars. It won't be E46 M3 good (handling-wise) but it'll be much, much closer than it is now.
Edmunds insideline track data on (2002) E46 M3: http://www.insideline.com/bmw/m3/200...-bmw-335i.html
Edmunds insideline track data on IS350: http://www.insideline.com/bmw/3-seri...us-is-350.html
The important figures to note here are the lateral skidpad and slalom speeds. The stock E46 M3 posts an impressive .89 g's (skidpad) with a 71 MPH slalom figure.
The stock IS350 posts a respectable but inferior .87 g's (skidpad) with a 66.8 MPH slalom figure.
The F-sport front and rear (I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get both front and rear sway bars despite popular opinion that the rear only is sufficient) sway bars will greatly reduce that deficit.
As far as I recall, an F-sport front and rear sway bar-equipped IS350 pulled .89g's in the lateral skidpad according to Road and Track. I don't recall the slalom MPH figure off hand, but I want to say it was around 69.x MPH.
The IS350 comes with a lot of body roll bone stock, and coming from a track monster like an E46 M3, I'd say you'll tend to notice the negative effects of that body roll on handling even more.
Before you do anything else, definitely get the F-sport front and rear sway bars. It won't be E46 M3 good (handling-wise) but it'll be much, much closer than it is now.
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Your M3 is beautiful. Can I ask why you switched? More people who posted threads like this on CL are going the other way (or considering it), from an IS to a 3-Series. I personally considered the E46 M3 but decided on the 350 because of the reliability and maintenance costs.
Thanks for all the positive comments, cant wait to start this project...
Yea i did notice the body roll, and the sway bars are a must, i was going to put the coilovers on first, see how much of a difference it made and then go from there.
Nothing crazy: Coilovers, Wheels, molded Wald trunk spoiler, intake, exhaust, front & rear lips, update the lighting and maybe a couple more minor things.
Thanks, i LOVED that car! It was really hard to give up and i'm sure ill regret it one day, but its not like i couldnt build another one.
I had the car for 3 years and did everything i really wanted done to it. So i think the combo of the mod bug itching again, work and family life being demanding, I needed a change. With a new baby it makes sense to have a four door car and I have been putting a lot of miles on my cars for work and the M3 had really low miles on it and it seemed like a waste to rack miles on that car. Plus i was switching off with my Rubicon and it gets ab 10 MPG so i needed something half way decent gas mileage.
I ended up getting the IS for ab half the price i sold my M for, so its nice to have a car and some extra cash.
I guess it really depends on what your going for. If i was single and wanted a fun daily driver that i could track every weekend the M3 is far superior.
But in m case the IS fits exactly what i need, fun to drive everyday, plenty of power, nice overall car (nav, blue tooth, heated seats etc..., four doors, and can look pretty baller with the right mods
The very first thing you should do to make the IS350 feel a little bit closer to the M3 in terms of handling is to get both front and rear F-sport sway bars.
The IS350 comes with a lot of body roll bone stock, and coming from a track monster like an E46 M3, I'd say you'll tend to notice the negative effects of that body roll on handling even more.
Before you do anything else, definitely get the F-sport front and rear sway bars. It won't be E46 M3 good (handling-wise) but it'll be much, much closer than it is now.
The IS350 comes with a lot of body roll bone stock, and coming from a track monster like an E46 M3, I'd say you'll tend to notice the negative effects of that body roll on handling even more.
Before you do anything else, definitely get the F-sport front and rear sway bars. It won't be E46 M3 good (handling-wise) but it'll be much, much closer than it is now.
Nothing crazy: Coilovers, Wheels, molded Wald trunk spoiler, intake, exhaust, front & rear lips, update the lighting and maybe a couple more minor things.
Your M3 is beautiful. Can I ask why you switched? More people who posted threads like this on CL are going the other way (or considering it), from an IS to a 3-Series. I personally considered the E46 M3 but decided on the 350 because of the reliability and maintenance costs.
I had the car for 3 years and did everything i really wanted done to it. So i think the combo of the mod bug itching again, work and family life being demanding, I needed a change. With a new baby it makes sense to have a four door car and I have been putting a lot of miles on my cars for work and the M3 had really low miles on it and it seemed like a waste to rack miles on that car. Plus i was switching off with my Rubicon and it gets ab 10 MPG so i needed something half way decent gas mileage.
I ended up getting the IS for ab half the price i sold my M for, so its nice to have a car and some extra cash.
I guess it really depends on what your going for. If i was single and wanted a fun daily driver that i could track every weekend the M3 is far superior.
But in m case the IS fits exactly what i need, fun to drive everyday, plenty of power, nice overall car (nav, blue tooth, heated seats etc..., four doors, and can look pretty baller with the right mods
I know the IS350 is not a car that can be modded to get power gains, i only plan on doing a cat back and intake for sound. I think the gains if any, are a couple HP...