Aussie’s Classy And Mighty BMW E46

Being a military brat, I had a chance to travel to some amazing places. From Hawaii to Japan, each place gave me a souvenir of memories that intertwined itself with Fitted Life. It was that sense that no matter where I was in this world, there was always something unique and fascinating out there. Even with our love of cars and style, depending on where you are located, the take on the idea is something personal to that place. Here in California we have a varying degree of car style from slammed hot rods to dropped and flushed cars, but elsewhere in the world, there is a different take on what auto styling embodies.

Australia has been one of those places rich in car culture and diversity. Though I’ve never travelled physically to Australia, through photographers and writers featured here on Fitted Life, I’ve had a taste of the Australian car scene. With the help of Christopher Lim’s auto post cards, we get a closer look on what that scene is all about. Check out Chris’s photos of Peter Tran’s proper 2004 BMW E46 while the man himself, Peter, tells his tale of this mighty E46. - Michael Cabuco

My first car was a Mitsubishi Lancer GSR with a full EVO 2 conversion. However, the car got rear ended and was written off in 2010.

In 2011, I wanted to buy a luxury car that had a little bit of power. Something that I would not modify as much. I initially wanted a Mercedes SL55 AMG but it was way too expensive. I have always loved the fat look of the E46 M3 so I did a search and found this clean one in the yard of Doncaster BMW with only 57000kms.

Within a few weeks of delivery, I decided to visit SouthernBM in Moorabin in search of some coilovers and an exhaust. Johnny from OTR helped out with the rims. This was meant to be the maximum extent of mods but things quickly got out of hand.

I ended up being enticed by a supercharger kit at SouthernBM. After the charger went in, I decided the car needed some brakes and so did a brake overhaul on the car.

I then decided the car needed some cosmetic mods so I went with a Strassentech copy lip and genuine Vorsteiner boot lid and diffuser and some angel eyes.

During this time, I also purchased a 1989 BMW 325is M-tech 2 as a daily. I have since fallen in love with old school BMW’s and I want to track it in the near future so look out for this!

As much as I love the E46, I have decided to sell it. It will be hard to let it go, but I want to build something for track that won’t hurt the pockets as much if I bang into a wall.

SPEC SHEET
*Active Autowerke HKS Level 1 Supercharger kit with Active Autowerke water/meth kit
*Upgraded fan clutch
*Eisenmann race rear muffler.
*Brembo 6 pot 380mm front and 4 pot 330 rear
*Bilstein PSS9 Coil over suspension kit
*Rear adjustable camber arms
*Volks TE37SL 18×10.5 (R) 18×9.5 (F)
*SMG upgrade software
*Vorsteiner bootlid and Diffuser
*Strassentech copy Carbon fibre front lip spoiler
*Angel eye upgrade

Dyno’d at 269rwkw.

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