SW2 E46 M3

SW2Tuning / Dewstain's Die Walküre E46 M3


Dewstain's SW2 M3 during testing


While prepping for the 2007 COTY issue... Almost all testing has been put on hold. Since I have a close relationship with BMW, I always try to find time to test one out. After seeing Dewstain's Samual Adams livery, I knew I could make the time to drive it.

After campaigning a GTR model in the FLMS Series, I was all too aware of what the BMW's were capable of. So during the winter break, I had a chance to try what was, for me, one of the most highly anticipated tunes, the BMW E46 M3 by Dewstain for SW2 Tuning.

Knowing the difficulty of tuning these cars, I wondered to myself how well it would race. I have to say that I was not disappointed. The car likes to be driven hard through the corners, but unusually for a modified M3, has a ton of grip!

You'll notice what feels like understeer upon initially taking to the track. This feeling has little basis, as the lightweight M3 turns easily and seldom gets out of shape. During testing, the slides were so predictable that I actually slowed to a near stop and stalled a couple of times during intentional drifts.

This isn't a drift car, mind you, but I was trying to see where the car fell in regards to understeer/ oversteer. It has a particularly odd balance, having grip under acceleration and pitching into slides under heavy braking. This car definitely likes to be driven hard and tossed around.

After getting the release info, I learned that some favorable testing had been done in Japan at the Suzuka Circuit. A quick trip there confirmed the reports. The car almost seems tuned for that track. A lot of people I've talked to have commented that they dislike the kink leading onto the main straight, and I have had my issues with that particular section as well, so I was interested to see how the M3 performed there...

In this car, you need not worry about those tight sections. It is, simply, the absolute fastest car I have driven through that section, bar none. I was able to make up roughly 50 meters on my ghost in the kink alone, easily outrunning my fastest ghost.




Blasting around Suzuka on a cold December morning...


That said, Suzuka proved too long of a track for me to really take advantage of. In less than 5 laps, I managed to break my personal best easily, but not with a top time.

I will mention that in the first half of the track, I was 2.1 seconds ahead of my personal best 2 different times, which would put the car easily into the top 500 by an average driver. At 5 laps, I know with certainty that I can put "The Valkrie" in the top 500 with just one clean lap.

My erratic lines aside, this is the best E46 M3 tune I have driven to date. It is great on the track and excellent in multiplayer. Dewstain has tweaked this car for maximum performance and it shows, with great balance and incredible drivability.

SW2's tester zT EnZo has managed several top 200 times with this ride, and it is easy to see why.




An oustanding livery goes along with an outstanding BMW tune!


Note: FCF iNFERNO prefers Octoberfest to Winter Lager... However, the Winter Lager livery colors are beautiful and the livery itself is as clean and brilliantly executed as the tune.

It has earned a permanent spot in my garage, and it'll do the same for you... Pick one up!


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