BMW E46 M3 Widebody Build: 306whp S54 Track Car

BMW E46 M3 Widebody: Othniel Baxter's 18-Year Ownership Story

Some cars come and go. Othniel Baxter's BMW E46 M3 widebody has stayed put for 18 years, picking up Musk Customs arches, a Vorsteiner CSL trunk and a set of Work Meister S1 wheels from Work Wheels along the way, with a healthy 306whp and 278wtq coming from the S54 straight-six. Othniel is an industrial designer who has barely missed a track day in 27 years, and this M3 is a rolling mix of every car culture he loves. You can follow him on Instagram at @obeew0n, and the photography here comes from Wayne Hunter (@hunterseyephotography). Over to Othniel.

From Jamaica to the East Coast: My Origin Story

My origin story starts on the island of Jamaica, continued in North London and culminated on the East Coast of the United States. I am an industrial designer who moonlights as an amateur driver/rider. I have participated in as many track days as possible for the last 27 years without missing a year. I also travel to many F1 races and car shows. I've built a fair number of cars and motorcycles and have been fortunate enough to soak up a good bit of knowledge from many of the great people in my life.

My wife does not like cars!

Growing Up on Car Chases and Circle Tracks

My early years were captivated by classic TV shows like Knight Rider, Inspector Gadget, The Dukes of Hazzard, Car 54, Where Are You?, The A-Team, Transformers and CHiPs. I would watch these shows on the carpet of my living room with my older brother, in eager anticipation of the car chase scenes, and tolerate breaks in the action to watch my older sisters' choices of Care Bears and My Little Pony, during which I would play with my die-cast cars, emulating the chase scenes, sliding corners and jumping gorges.

Saturday evenings I could hear circle track cars racing in the distance and sometimes visited the track with my father, peeking through the fence at the racing. Like many kids, I held the light for my father working on the family cars, changing brakes, oil and tackling minor repairs. Then came the discovery of Formula 1, CART, IndyCar, MotoGP and NASCAR. Being in the States it was hard to find televised races other than IndyCar or NASCAR, but whenever possible I watched races and collected memorabilia.

My favourite uncle was a car dealer who would bring a different car and woman every time he visited. Summers in The Bronx I would sit in the various inventory vehicles my uncle had, pretending I was racing or going on a long cross-country journey. He took me to the NY auto show, where I dreamed of owning some of the greatest cars of the '90s. As soon as a driver's licence was in my possession I took the family minivan to the local quarter mile and took part in my first of many organised motorsport events.

Now, having built a modest list of cars and taken part in (and organised) a fair share of motorsport events, from drifting to motorcycle track days, I am watching my son's passion develop and hope to hand off all my vehicles and tools to the next generation.

How I Found My BMW E46 M3 Widebody

In the summer of 2008 I had just sold an RB25DET-swapped 1995 240SX drift car and was looking for my favourite M3, a 1997 Techno Violet coupe. But I came across this E46, and the engine and steering were so sharp I bought it instead. It initially served as a daily driver, but after crashing my SC300 at the track it became a track car and a daily.

As the years moved on so did my cars. However, this one remained. As it has become more rare I track it much less, as I have more capable, less rare cars to beat on, but the reward for driving this BMW E46 M3 widebody hard is still too good to retire it.

Ignoring the BMW Formula

There is a formula to owning a BMW. There's an approved list of parts that are acceptable to install and even an approved ride height. Any deviation from that can and will draw harsh criticism, especially from BMW fans. I have always done things the way I wanted to, out of a mixture of ignorance and passion. I love the car culture of many countries and disciplines, and this car is a mix of many of them along with much of my own personal styling.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, our BMW E46 M3 modification guide covers the platform in depth, and Benjamin Wieser's Rocket Bunny/Pandem E46 shows another way to take a wide E46.

BMW E46 M3 Widebody Build List and Specs

Stock, the S54 was a 3.2-litre naturally aspirated straight-six making 338bhp. Othniel's version runs headers, a tune and a stack of supporting parts, and puts down 306whp and 278wtq at the wheels. Wheel figures always read lower than the factory crank number, so that is a solid result for a car that still gets used hard. The full list is below, and it is a long one. It is also a build that was put together over nearly two decades rather than in one hit, which shows in how well the parts work together. Here is how the BMW E46 M3 widebody breaks down, section by section.

Engine and Drivetrain

• S54 engine
• Dinan N-Series coilpacks
• K&N intake
• Catless headers
• Cat-back stainless steel exhaust
• Epic Motorsports tune
• Getrag 420G gearbox
• ACT single mass flywheel
• ACT Stage 3 6-puck clutch
• Drive Shaft Shop single-piece driveshaft
• Rogue Engineering short shifter

Suspension and Chassis

This is where a lot of the track focus lives. Stance Suspension coilovers on Swift springs sit alongside Eibach sway bars, adjustable arms and a good dose of bracing, all aimed at keeping the BMW E46 M3 widebody flat and predictable when it is driven hard.

• Stance Suspension true coilovers with Swift springs
• Eibach sway bars
• Parts Shop Max sway bar end links
• Parts Shop Max adjustable spring perch delete
• Parts Shop Max adjustable lower control arm
• Parts Shop Max front upper strut tower bar
• Bevinsee trailing arm toe plates
• Reddish subframe reinforcement
• Mason rear strut tower/subframe brace
• Turner solid diff bushings
• Garagistic DSSR
• AutoPower roll bar

Brakes

Stopping power gets just as much attention, with Porsche calipers, bespoke brackets and CSL rotors fitted to the BMW E46 M3 widebody.

• Porsche 996 calipers
• Rally Road caliper brackets
• CSL 2-piece rotors
• Brembo pads

Wheels and Tyres

The wheel setup is a big part of the stance on this BMW E46 M3 widebody. Three-piece Work Meister S1 wheels in Burning Black fill the Musk Customs arches, with adapters to swap the factory bolt pattern.

• Work Meister S1 3-piece in Burning Black
• Ichiba 15mm 5x120 to 5x114.3 adapters
• Kenda Kaiser KR20 front
• Valino Greva 08D rear

Exterior

The Musk Customs widebody kit sets the tone, and the Vorsteiner and Hamann pieces finish the look of the BMW E46 M3 widebody without shouting about it.

• Musk Customs widebody
• Vorsteiner CSL trunk (switched with the factory trunk with LTW wing)
• Vorsteiner rear diffuser
• Hamann roof wing
• Hamann eyelids

Interior

Inside, it stays simple and purposeful. Sparco buckets keep the driver in place, and the roll bar listed under chassis does the rest.

• Sparco Grid bucket seats

Who Did the Work on This BMW E46 M3 Widebody?

The car was purchased on my 25th birthday. The tune and engine work were done by the previous owner. Over the course of the past 18 years (the longest a car has stayed in my garage) all the modifications have been added by myself with the help of good friends.

Future Plans for the BMW E46 M3 Widebody

No car is ever done, but this may be the end of the road for the modifications to this car. The rear wheels will likely get relipped to a deeper and lower offset, and perhaps a retune from RK Tunes. Other than that the car will get new rod bearings and be driven hard.

That mix of rare-car respect and hard driving is what makes an owner-built car like this one worth featuring. It is not a showroom piece and it is not trying to please the BMW purists, it is simply a car that gets used and loved.

Fancy more wide BMW inspiration? Take a look at Ethan Nguyen's widebody M4 on the site.

Shout Outs

Thanks to @hunterseyephotography, @basurabwoy666, @george_lysenko_1, @farzam, @infantkicker, @bspecautosports, @onemotiongarage, @industrygrage, @clubloose, @fantasticvoyagesunlimited, @donmusk, @stanceusa and @workwheelsjapan.

Not on IG: Glenford, Sydney, Eric, Chester and Orville Baxter, and Jeremiah Brown.

Dream Car

An orange Lamborghini LP670SV.

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