E46 Cooling System Refresh Kit – Non-M (M54 & M52TU)

MSW’s Take: We’ve been racing E46’s in the Spec E46 and multiple endurance series for quite a while and we’ve found what works.  There are lots of more expensive fancy parts for your cooling system out there, but they usually aren’t needed.  The major improvements are made by simply replacing your aged and brittle components. 

This components in this kit were carefully selected and thoroughly tested with hundreds and hundreds of hard race use.

Items included:

• Stewart High Performance Water Pump – The absolute best water pump available for most BMW 6 cylinders (E46 and prior).  This alone will improve your cooling capacity.
• CSF OE+ Radiator – For the majority of naturally aspirated M54 powered cars, the CSF OE+ is more then enough.  Tested in grueling Summer heat of Sebring.  Bonus is that they are inexpensive enough to carry a spare and they drop right into the OE mounts.
• Rubber Radiator Hoses – More pliable than silicone options, which we’ve found can put unwanted pressure on the sealing o-rings, creating leaks.
• Expansion Tank – Made by Rein, we’ve had very good reliability out of these tanks.
• Zionsville Mechanical Thermostat – 80C Thermostat immediately lowers your engine operating temperature and is more reliable than the stock electronic unit.*
• Aluminum Water Pump Pulley – The OE plastic pulleys are known to crack or even disintegrate during operation.
• Spal 16″ Medium Profile Fan – Provides increased cooling, lower weight, and more clearance in front of your engine.**
• Fan Mounts – These stainless steel mounts securely mount your fan to the radiator.
• Red Line Water Wetter – Use 1/2 a bottle on an empty system to improve cooling and protect against corrosion.  Should be mixed with distilled water.

This kit was designed for track or race cars, though can be used on street cars, taking into account:

*The mechanical thermostat will throw a code, as the electronic thermostat is no longer functional.  This has no performance impact.
**The Spal fan wiring is up to the installer, though we can provide guidance.  It is designed to run at one speed and is a straight blade fan, which is noisier than your factory curved blade fan.  We purposely selected a straight blade fan for better flow and so that you can hear it come on when idling.  If you have a street car and are keeping your air conditioning, we recommend maintaining your stock fan setup.

Kit assembled in the US with worldwide part.