How to Build a Reliable & Affordable Drift Car | Dirt Cheap E46 - Intro & Build Review 

It’s a 50/50 car (50 feet away at 50mph). I would love a clean version of it that isn’t so beat. I love the chassis but this one is not the cleanest. I have also hit a wall in it lol

@@SDSGarage89 it's a drift car, u are supposed to hit a wall in it and it's not supposed to be clean 👍

Hell ya! Good scoop! Enjoy it!

Good find

how it's been going ?

Good luck! Keep it simple, make it reliable and beat on it like it owes you money.

Not true at all. CCVs don’t provide enough crankcase pressure causing problems with low tension rings. Along with that it’s also been proven that the ccv under sustained high revvs likes dumping oil in the intake

Thanks man!

My go too tires are 205/55/R16 and I run them around 30PSI or less to try and get some sort of grip out of them. I am planning on going up a tire size to 225/50/R17's this summer. I have driven on 225's a bit and it has way more grip so it carry's more speed. I run 225's at about 35PSI

Glad you enjoyed it!

I have always been curious about an M52/M54 turbo. They sounds pretty mean but I don’t have much experience with turbo kits. The complexity combined with it being a bit less common makes me shy away from it. Might be a false comparison for complexity considering you would be boosting the motor that came with the car vs slamming a truck motor into it lol

@@SDSGarage89 turboing these cars is honestly quite easy and being that you have a b28 the rotating assembly is forged besides the pistons, you have to pull the engine anyways and it would be much easier to turbo it and then have it tuned stock ecu, you can very safely make 500 whp just with head studs and a gasket kit

@@jayherrmannn thanks for the info. Definitely worth considering. not sure what i am going to do with it at the end of the season. It is so damn reliable as it is. Just had the first event and went through 16 tires in a day with zero issues. It is absolutely lacking in power though. I have heard going to link is better for boost on these. A friend of mine is trying boost with a stock ECU and it's not going so well.

They are becoming extremely common that is for damn sure. From the support side that is great but it’s less exciting. Believe me when i say i have gone down the S54 rabbit hole and thought about swapping it but the dollars in per fun out is a tough argument with the price of S54. Turbo could be the winner.

Thanks brother. Quite surprised tbh and not really sure what else to film on the drift car 🤷🏻‍♂️

@@SDSGarage89 lol just keep going I'm only starting out

I found it on Kijiji (craigslist of Canada) in the early fall about 4/5 years ago. Prices have for sure gone up since then but i still see some decent looking bmw’s sometimes newer around $2500. Fall is a good time to pick them up if your live a more northern place cause people don’t wanna store them for the winter. Only downside is you can’t drive it for a few months. Facebook market place, drift pages. All good spots to look. Takes time tho. I looked for a month or so before i found my car

The parallels are standard staggered setup. I honestly cannot remember what they are it’s been so long… 8.5 up front and 9.5’s out back?

It should have come with 193 if I’m not mistaken from the factory, with cai and headers and extra fuel you’re probably getting an extra 15-20 hp from that. I own a M52tub28 with the MS42 and tune it personally.

Up here it is about $60 a day from U-haul. You gotta book about a week or so out to make sure a location close to you has one. They are not as nice as some dedicated care trailers but you don’t have to store them or worry about insurance so the convenience of not having to deal with it all the time is nice

328CI. And she’s GUTLESS. Hard to say how much power is gone after 328,000km but still good fun. Drive it hard and keep your foot all the way in it.

328CI, it had maybe 180hp. I believe a 325 would be about the same. It definitely doesn’t have the most power in the world but it gets the job done.

It may sound counter intuitive but starting with something that doesn’t have gobs of power will make you better in the long run. You’ll need to throw a low power car around way more to get it to do what you want to do but in the long run you will be better for it. I also would say don’t worry about a hand brake for the first year either. Good luck!

Yep. Condor speed shop makes a great kit for these

I have never had the pan off but I do know about the oil pump nut working itself loose. For some reason I thought they were more an issue on M54’s but could be wrong. Figured I’d just let it ride

Yes they do😎

Let be honest no car is “affordable” to build anymore. Unless you do all the work yourself.. like ALL THE WORK

Just say you're poor ... I have an e46 as a second car and it was cheap for a clean manual . And mods are cheap , around the same price as my 370z mods .

Hey man, it is impossible to answer that with any kind of certainty. Depends what state, country or place you are looking on. I'd say either buy one that a little old lady is trying to get rid of, or one that has some good parts. Stay away from anything that is non running, needs a clutch or serious work to get going. You will burn yourself out before you get to drive it. Good luck.

If you find one that’s already been drifted and beat on, (meaning it’s already built to drift at least a little) you don’t want to pay more than 8-9k probably. At least in my area, there are plenty of examples of pretty sweet and unclapped e46’s that typically go around 10k or maybe a little more. Now if it’s not perfect, and has over 170k miles you can find them at or under 5k all day. For exact numbers, it realty just depends on where you live and the exact car you find. Maybe try to talk them down if you see rust or if it needs new brake rotors, or has leaks unless its already priced for that.

The diamond plate aluminum i found in my girlfriends (now wife) garage as i was cleaning it out for her. Was just a big sheet that i took and cut into a floor piece. Bent up a little support to hold it in place and that was it.

Something with a lil more jam wouldn’t hurt BUT anything rear wheel drive and manual will have the right stuff. Less power just means you gotta drive it harder which at the end of the day will make you a better driver and more entertaining to watch.

You don’t. Pull it and weld it.

If you can get a 325 330 i'd go with that. Trueth is anything rear wheel drive with a welded diff will rip. You just need to drive it hard which in the end will make you a better driver and much more entertaining to watch .

Yes. Reliability of the motor you swap, the parts and ECU you use all matter and will make it work great or be a total nightmare. Do your home work and buy good parts

@@SDSGarage89 well honestly i hope to get the bmw you have and ls swap it. i’m new to the car scene

I am struggling with the LS swap problem currently. I have had the car for 4 years and with a stock power train and all the changes i have made to it, it’s been dead nuts reliable. While it doesn’t have a ton of power it has been a cheap reliable car to drift with and get seat time to work on my driving. Now i’m at a cross roads. Do i spend 10 grand + on swapping an LS into it OR sell it as is, take that money plus 10k and buy something that already had a better power plant like a corvette or GTO. As much as i like the adventure and challenge of swapping a car it is a metric shit ton of work. You can do it fast for big dollars, or do it slowly for less money but still a good amount work and you run the risk of it beating you down and giving up. Personally i would get an E46, make it as good as possible with stock power and then see where your at.

@@SDSGarage89 nice thanks for the advice.

The guy who tuned this is named Mark Dasylva and is located in Toronto Ontario. You should be able to find his website if you google him. Just need a windows comp, Dcan cable and he can do the rest.

The subframe mounts were already reinforced when i bought it. Pulled the subframe to verify. Would 100% recommend doing it out of the gate before it tries to delete itself

@@SDSGarage89 i dont drift my car, only canyon driving, u think subframe will take a shit?😅

@@georgesmbyd6603 i have heard various things from keyboard commando’s. Never known anyone to have it tear out, especially with normal driving. Would be worth keeping an eye on at the very least. E46fanatics is an awesome forum to get more info on that subject

@@SDSGarage89 i appreciate the help 👌

It has the reinforcement plates yet. I did not personally do it, the previous owner did. 1000% do it if you are going to beat on these cars.

@@SDSGarage89 Thanks so much for the quick reply, was thinking you'd have to be crazy for not reinforcing it. Great deal though on the car for it coming with that though!

@@jonathanandrade3669 no worries. When i bought it i had no knowledge about E46’s or their issues. Was just dumb luck that it already had them done. I still drop the subframe every once in a while to check it.

9.5” wide M pars. No spacers but big drift arms on it. That’s why the poke so much.

A 325 probably has about the same power this thing does if i had to guess. If it's a good solid car that isn't a rot box then i wouldn't hesitate to do it tbh. I find people get way to obsessed with swaps and power way to early, myself included, when the main thing they need is seat time to practice and figure out if you can sustain doing this.

@@SDSGarage89 yeah , its just that its my first time getting a car to build but i cant find a decent e46 thats cheap, not abused or has its mods already.. only one i can find is one at a small dealership . idk if that would be my mistake to get one from them or from the street .

It's a tough call man. I have always been of the opinion you will get a better deal from buying it privately from somebody else but you need to work for it and be ready to do the deal immediately. Hard to say what the market is like by you. Patience will always pay off

Depends. E36’s are great cars and a 328 will be comparable to my old E46. A 318 is going to be an absolute dog.

thas the same doubt i have... i own a 2003 tho

My advice is based on my experience, Don’t do it. Buy a car that needs basic stuff (coil overs and welded diff) not a motor swap. If you are wanting to learn how to drift, the learning curve is steep enough, you kick it off by swapping a motor and you are more than likely doomed. Pay a bit more for a car that needs less. Start with driving not building, plenty of shit will break that will need fixing on a good car.

Didn’t rub enough for it to be an issue.

328ci

@@SDSGarage89 thank you!

They weren’t as nice up close, trust. 15 footers. Can confirm they are brick shit houses and can take a hit though.

lol, brother I can assure you the paint is anything but nice. It was a 50 footer.

Was a 328ci

Rough estimate, parts, money spent getting parts. Some work done by a shop when i got lazy. Adds up over the years and that 10 k includes the car.

Sorry to hear man. These cars have gotta very expensive since I bought it a few years ago.

@@SDSGarage89 im trying to find a new chassis to drift, looking to spend >5k but it seems all driftable cars are very expensive now. Any sites to check besides CL or FB? Or chassis recommendations?

@@2wofacejefe Hey man, the pricing and market that you are dealing with can vary so much depending on where you are located. As far as places to find them, i would recommend Facebook, both market place and drift or race car groups, Craigslist is also good but a pain in the nuts to search multiple areas, Kijiji (if you are in Canada) and i don't know if Zilvia.net(?) is still a thing. As far as what to buy, something that is mildly "Built" to drift (coilovers, welded diff, some drift spares and anything else, maybe a hydro but i would recommend learn to drive without it, it will make you better) will save you time and money as long as it as been done somewhat well. What type of car, the most common i see are E46, E36, G35, G37 (sedans and Coupes), 350Z's, foxbox mustang, SN96 Mustangs. Buying them for 5k will be a trick depending on where you are. Some up and coming chassis i think could have potential are Hyundai Genesis (3.0 fuck the turbo) and this is way off but the Cadillac ATS. Hopefully that gives you some stuff to work off. Lastly, I wouldn't get too attached to buying a "specific car" just look for a deal and be ready to jump on it that day with cash and a trailer. I knew nothing about E46's other than it was cheap and was could drift exactly as it sat. Good luck man!

No dice homie.