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In April of 2003,
SSF’s
CEO Hans
Kopecky embarked
on a project
of building an
E46 BMW Motorsports
Chassis. We were
the chosen builders
for the project.
The starting
point was a 2002
BMW M3 Motorsports
Chassis. This
is a truly remarkable
‘canvas’ to start
with. The entire
body is seam
welded, and primed.
The chassis comes
with one of the
most beautiful
cages we have
seen. All of
the roll cage
tubing has been
meticulously
TIG welded. The
shock towers
are reinforced
for extra strength,
and even the
seat brackets
are modified
for race seats.
It has been a
long and involved
process of ordering
parts, fabricating
brackets and
parts, choosing
various system
layouts, wiring
harness assembly,
and on and on….
To make it
go, Kopecky chose
to use the engine
intended for
the car- a 3.2
liter, twin cam,
double-vanos,
six cylinder
S54. On the way
in, air goes
through a K&N
cone style filter
and custom made
ducting to the
original tuned
intake plenum.
The exhaust consists
of a European
M3
header, and custom
exhaust built
on the car by
Johnny Franklin’s
Exhaust in San
Rafael, CA. The
fuel supply starts
in the 22 gallon
Fuel
Safe fuel
cell mounted
as low as possible
in the trunk
area. It is then
 pressurized
by a high performance
Bosch fuel pump,
and regulated
by an SX
fuel pressure
regulator.
All of the fuel
lines are steel
braided with
Aeroquip aircraft
style fittings
for both reliability
and safety.
The original
BMW engine management
system is very
complex and ties
in directly with
the antitheft
system, which
has an electronic
immobilization
feature. We tried
to find a way
around this system,
and our conclusion
is that you BMW
owners are well
protected! We
turned to Vic
Sias, of Sias
Tuning, for
answers. The
answer is Electromotive’s
latest engine
management system-Tec
3. We delivered
the car to Vic,
ready for management.
Vic went straight
to work on the
installation,
and the E46 was
purring on the
dyno a week later!
After a day of
fine-tuning,
we had an M3
racecar with
316hp at the
wheels!
The power is
connected to
the factory six-speed
gearbox via a
SACHS
high performance
6-inch dual disc
clutch
system. We ran
this same clutch
system on a full
season of SCCA
World Challenge
racing. Upon
inspection, that
clutch didn’t
even have noticeable
wear, so we are
confident we
have the right
clutch for this
project.
In the cockpit,
we went for a
simple, clean
and efficient
look. We used
an original dash,
trimmed only
as much as necessary.
The power control
panel consists
of the traditional
‘aircraft’ toggle
switches. We
have seen some
better looking
switches, but
they just don’t
have the same
reliability.
The steering
column is a design
specific steering
shaft
connected to
a BMW steering
rack, with a
Momo
suede Monte Carlo
steering wheel
on a quick release
hub adapter.
The driver can
enjoy the extremely
well fitting
Sparco
seat, and be
secure in the
5 point MR safety
belts. In the
driver’s direct
forward view
is a Michron
3 dash/data acquisition
display. All
pertinent information
is here-RPM,
temps, speed,
lap times, pressures,
etc. The display
takes the place
of the traditional
gauge panel,
which keeps the
look and feel
we are going
for- clean.
Below the dash
is the Tilton
pedal assembly
with dual master
cylinders. The
dual masters
attach to the
cockpit  adjustable
brake proportioning
cable, easily
within the driver’s
reach. Solid
brakes lines,
and steel  braided
connector lines
attach the brake
pedal to the
Alcon
brake system.
The rear brakes
are four-piston
calipers on ten-inch
discs, and the
front is complemented
with six-piston
calipers on 14”
discs. If you
look carefully,
you can see the
custom made BBS
18x11 wheel,
with the brake
disc behind it
in our marin
motorsports logo
at the top of
this page!
To get the
car to stick,
we used Eibach
springs and sway
bars accompanied
by fully adjustable
racing shocks
 sponsored
by SACHS.
To attach the
suspension to
the chassis,
we turned to
GroundControl
Suspension Systems,
who sponsored
many of the suspension
components on
the car. Among
these are
camber plates
with adjustable
ride height collars,
rear shock mounts,
control arm bushings,
trailing arm
bushings, sway
bar links and
rear adjustable
control arms.
Unlike some other
aftermarket suspension
components we
have seen, Ground
Control’s product
fitment and quality
are top-notch,
which made installation
very smooth.
In the cars debut
at Buttonwillow
Raceway located
in Buttonwillow
California, it
ran flawlessly
with no no major
adjustments neccesssary...more
to follow
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