#e46

Our garage has been graced with the presence of a clean 2001 E46 330i, so we can now begin development on this E46 intake. Let's dive right in!

Stock System

The 330i stock intake system is similar to the 32X, the big difference being the size of the MAF housing. On the higher-output 330i models, this housing is larger so it can accept greater airflow needed by the more powerful, higher-displacement engine. To accommodate that larger diameter, our design will have a slightly enlarged opening on the heat shield. Everything else should fit right into place! Here are a few shots of the stock system we are working on.

Aerial shot of the 330i engine bay

E46 intake stock system

Up close shot of E46 parts

Design and Fitment

We needed to be sure that everything would fit correctly if we planned to use our previous shield as a base design. See below for how we mocked up fitment of the heat shield.

Fitment of prototype E46 parts

Fitment of prototype E46 parts

We knew going into this project that the

Interested in picking up this awesome E46 fan setup? Check out our discounted pre-sale linked below!

Mishimoto BMW E46 Non-M Performance Fan Shroud Kit Pre-Sale

Functional Prototype

In a short timespan we were able to turn our 3D models into an actual functional prototype. Check out a couple images of our first BMW E46 fan shroud!

Mishimoto prototype E46 parts

Mishimoto prototype E46 parts

As previously noted, we are using our 16" electric slim fan with this kit. This fan produces 1,850 CFM of air and has been used successfully in both our E46 M3 and E36 electric fan kits.

Mishimoto prototype E46 parts

Quite a sleek design!

Product Testing

The at-speed benefits of this shroud are undeniable, but we still need to conduct idle testing to ensure that our electric fan is up to the task of cooling the E46. To do so, we set up a long-duration idle test to evaluate the performance of our electric fan against the stock unit.

Testing Conditions

• Engine at Idle
• Hood closed to replicate on-road conditions

Interested in picking up this awesome E46 fan setup? Check out our discounted pre-sale linked below!

Mishimoto BMW E46 Non-M Performance Fan Shroud Kit Pre-Sale

Our E46 product line continues to grow. This series of articles aims to tack another offering on our list of performance cooling components. We've covered the radiator, expansion tank, and coolant hoses. The only radiator-related item left to tackle is a cooling fan solution.

The stock 3-Series E46 offers two different fan options. Automatic models are equipped with an antiquated mechanical fan, while those who row their own gears get an electric fan.

Our goal with this project is to produce a BMW E46 fan shroud solution that will function with either a manual or automatic model. We will be following our trend of successfully producing exo-style shrouds for the E46 M3 and E36 chasses. The idea behind this fan mount style is to produce greater airflow through the radiator core during at-speed driving. The reduced restriction (compared

Interested in purchasing our E46 silicone radiator hose kit? Check out our product page linked below!

Mishimoto BMW E46 Non-M Silicone Radiator Hose Kit!

The E46 BMW has been the focus for a ton of product development here at Mishimoto. Recent projects include the Mishimoto Performance Air Intake, Aluminum Radiator, and Aluminum Expansion Tank. To continue our pursuit of supplying a full cooling solution for the 3-series, we also tackled a set of radiator hoses for this model. In typical Mishimoto fashion, we will be looking to improve the durability of the stock design.

Stock Hose Setup

The stock BMW E46 radiator hose system is unique, mostly due to the inclusion of quick-disconnect fittings at each mating point. Take a look at the stock hoses pulled from our test vehicle during radiator testing and development.

Stock E46 radiator hoses

The upper hose features two quick-connect ports that mate to the radiator expansion tank. In addition, this piece features a bleeder screw that makes removing

Interested in purchasing this E46 oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto BMW E46 M3 Oil Cooler Kit

The results are in and they are exactly what we expected! This cooler provided huge gains in cooling efficiency. Let's take a look at the data we compiled. First up is the core volume comparison.

Core volume comparison

As you can see, the Mishimoto oil cooler provides a huge increase in total core volume. The fluid capacity for the stock cooler is 0.34 qt, while the Mishimoto cooler holds 0.78 qt. This is an increase in volume of 152%!

The additional fluid capacity will add 4 lb to the front end of the vehicle. Although not a huge number, we still needed to check if this added weight would produce any issues with the mounting brackets and stress-related failures. Our team used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software to ensure that the bracket would support the added weight.

FEA bracket stress testing

This analysis reveals any areas of the component that will

Interested in purchasing this E46 oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto BMW E46 M3 Oil Cooler Kit

Time to see if this cooler can make a significant impact on fluid temperatures. As before, we borrowed a test fit vehicle from the folks over at Open Road Tuning. Once we had the car on the lift, we removed the factory cooler lines and spliced our temperature sensors into the stock lines so we could collect inlet and outlet fluid temperatures.

Temperature sensors installed

Laptop prepared for data collection

Once everything was installed and checked for leaks, we hit the road. The testing conditions below were followed for both the stock cooler and the Mishimoto oil cooler prototype.

Testing Conditions

• Ambient temperature: 69°F-70F° (20.5˚C-21.1˚C)
• Humidity: 20%
• Sensor: PLX temperature sensor reading 10 times per second
• Driving conditions: 65 mph highway, cruise for 5 miles (special attention given to vehicles driving in front of the M3 to assure fresh airflow

Interested in purchasing this E46 oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto BMW E46 M3 Oil Cooler Kit

Welcome to our third installment of the build! We are nearing the completion of this project, with only some final test fitting necessary and data collection to ensure that this product performs to our standards. First, take a look at the Mishimoto oil cooler compared to the stock unit.

Mishimoto prototype oil cooler (right) and stock oil cooler (left)

Mishimoto prototype oil cooler (top) and stock oil cooler (bottom)

Mishimoto prototype oil cooler (top) and stock oil cooler (bottom)

Mishimoto prototype oil cooler under stock oil cooler

The Mishimoto oil cooler is massive compared to the stock unit. Greater size will provide improved capacity that will aid in reducing temperatures. Additionally, the Mishimoto cooler is constructed using a bar-and-plate core that our engineering team designed. This core will provide improvements in heat transfer compared to the

Interested in purchasing this E46 oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto BMW E46 M3 Oil Cooler Kit

Our team now had a functioning oil line adapter to convert from the stock oil filter housing to -AN fittings. Now we would be able to move forward with designing the actual heat exchanger for our kit. We reached out to a few of our local friends and sourced this Oxford green example!

Test vehicle on lift

Our friend Andrew at Open Road Tuning was kind enough to loan his vehicle for a week of development! First we tore off the stock cooler to get a look at what kind of space we had to work with.

Stock oil cooler removed

Our engineers set to work gathering dimensions and collecting data for mounting points. After reviewing some of the specifics, we made the decision to ditch the stock cooler shroud in order to maximize the size of our cooler with the space given. After collecting our dimensional information, a prototype was created in 3D and can be seen in the

Interested in purchasing this E46 oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto BMW E46 M3 Oil Cooler Kit

The BMW S54 won the "International Engine of the Year" award at its inception in 2001 and was consistently on "Ward's 10 Best Engines" list for four years. It's hard to argue against the E46, an 8,000 rpm, 3.2L straight-6 producing over 330 hp and 260 ft-lb of torque, with a competent chassis, an exhaust note that straightens the neck hair of all within earshot, and a body styling that is unmatched in uniqueness. Although my opinion is slightly skewed, being a fan of most BMW products, many would agree that the E46 was a fantastic vehicle for the street and even better for the track. E46 M3 pricing has trickled downward over the past few years, meaning that even those on a tighter budget can find their way into the cockpit of one of BMW's finest. We are seeing these vehicles at track days, drift events, parking lot autocross battles, and at the drag strip.

Many