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Daniel Drives

@dsloan.drives

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@dsloan.jpg’s driving adventures in Oregon and beyond
#M3baru • #SafariM3 • #aM3rillo • #thedandylandy • #ilovettoazzurro • #orangi3

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#M3baru by @dsloan.drives

More Safari M3! Thanks to everyone who watched the video and commented, I really appreciate it 🙏😄 by @dsloan.drives

SAFARI M3 is available now to watch on YT by @dsloan.drives

SAFARI M3 premieres on Tuesday, July 21 by @dsloan.drives

Drifting dreams in the #M3baru

🎥: @capturingthemachine
🎵: Wild Nothing - Drifter by @dsloan.drives

#M3baru driving dynamics!

📸: @capturingthemachine

What stands out most about the driving experience is how, despite all of the modifications, the M3baru still feels like an E46 with minimal compromise. Sure, the steering input feels a little slower due to all-terrain tires and no sway bars, but the chassis remains balanced and predictable up to and beyond the limits of grip, just as one would expect with an E46.

Most importantly, the M3baru excels on loose surfaces. The new Quaife front limited-slip differential pulls the front end into corners, rotating the car as one would expect from a rear-biased drivetrain. Previously, with the open front diff, understeer was more prevalent and rotating the car required intentionally upsetting the weight balance and hucking it into a corner. But no longer! The tradeoff with the front LSD is significant torque steer on dry pavement, but it’s worth it.

The additional ground clearance over the prior setup adds peace of mind, but there’s only so much a normal damper can do on a bumpy gravel road. On more-jarring terrain, it’s important to slow down for the sake of comfort, and save the speed for the smoother dirt and gravel. A fully-custom suspension would be the only possible upgrade from this point, which isn’t in the plans.

The 3.91 differential ratios ⁠— shorter than a stock M3 ⁠— help compensate for the parasitic loss in the AWD driveline and the extra weight of the wagon chassis. As a result, the M3baru isn’t noticeably slower than a RWD M3 unless you drive them back to back.

There are still a couple things to sort out, but it feels great to finally reach a point where the car is ready to drive without any compromise. by @dsloan.drives

Re-introducing the #M3baru, the AWD S54-swapped E46 rally wagon!

📸: @capturingthemachine

It’s been well over 4 years since the last time we were able to take the M3baru on a road trip or post much about it. That trip was a meandering 6700-mile journey through multiple desertscapes of the American West, from Portland to Austin and back. The latest trip was a quicker 1000-mile jaunt up to Seattle, over to central Washington (#explorshington), and back down to Portland within a few days, but it was enough to reprove the concept.

A lot on the car has changed since 2022: Most notably, it now has a front limited-slip Quaife differential, and the suspension has been raised by ~75mm (3in) by replacing the KW coilovers with stock springs and Koni Yellow adjustable dampers. I also installed OE strut spacers from the Poor Roads Package and OE reinforcement plates. To compensate for the decrease in camber with the lift, I added a pair of Turner fixed camber plates. Finally, I removed the sway bars to improve wheel travel over uneven surfaces.

Factor in the oversized tires, and it results in a ~50mm (2in) ground clearance increase over the stock 325xi wagon suspension.

So how does it actually drive now? It’s good… but I’ll go into more detail in the next post. by @dsloan.drives

Phoenix Yellow after a rainy track day 💛

#am3rillo #arizonagold by @dsloan.drives

Alright, it’s finally time to hard launch these wheels, the Compomotive TH1781 (ET35).

Ever since buying the #SafariM3 in early 2023, I lusted after these, but never pulled the trigger. After a couple more years of waiting, no other wheel would do, so last spring I reached out to Compomotive to place a special order for a set of 5 in gold, because rally.

I think they look incredible! It’s hard to imagine this car with any other wheel. They look unique, purposeful, and the gold really pops when the sun hits them. Tires are Falken Wildpeak Trails in 215/55R17.

As you’ll note from the autumnal nature of some of these photos, I’ve had these wheels installed for several months now, but never shared more than a photo or two. This is because the post-order support from Compomotive was awful, which really soured what should’ve otherwise been a very exciting time for a car enthusiast. There were 4 notable issues (continued in the comments): by @dsloan.drives

Another set of snow tires that didn’t see much snow this winter... The #M3baru is finally back on the road and better than ever after sorting out a variety of issues and getting the suspension dialed in. Looking forward to planning some trips with it soon, including hopefully taking it ice racing next winter. Who’s up for a drive? by @dsloan.drives

#thedandylandy proving that Style 67s can look good on anything

Those in the west know that we basically didn’t get any snow this winter, meaning there were very few opportunities to use my new set of snow tires, but they did come in handy to make it up to Crater Lake. by @dsloan.drives

@clurbsport and I almost went for a drive today… but we didn’t. So here are some photos from when we did last summer ☀️
#aM3rillo by @dsloan.drives