2003 BMW 325ti Sport
Discussion
Mr Tidy said:
Hi OP - good to see another fan of these!
I bought a 325ti Sport last December and it never fails to put a smile on my face when I drive it, although it is a pre-facelift so does not have the 6 speed gearbox.
Foolishly let my nephew drive it early this year, so then I had to find him one - managed to find a black facelift SE for him with the rare electric sunroof, so recruited another fan!
Very nice.I bought a 325ti Sport last December and it never fails to put a smile on my face when I drive it, although it is a pre-facelift so does not have the 6 speed gearbox.
Foolishly let my nephew drive it early this year, so then I had to find him one - managed to find a black facelift SE for him with the rare electric sunroof, so recruited another fan!
I saw a Imola 325ti sport for sale about 3 weeks ago and was going to have a look at it with an eye to replacing my Red E36 compact with it, however by the time I had chance to ring a week later it had sold. Hence as per my other posts I now have a Imola 330Ci and will have so see how I find the fixed parcel shelf life!
Daniel
About time I posted an update. Big news is that I finally fixed the handbrake! Now it holds at about 4 clicks on even the steepest hills, a massive relief from before. I need to get back in the habit of using it, and not trying to do hill starts in idle on the foot brake 
I also retrofitted heated M3 seats. These have powered bolsters and lumbar support, and are generally an upgrade. Eventually I found really some really mint seats, the first pair I found (unheated but in nice condition) are still for sale, as are my old sports seats. It turns out that the heated seat switching centre does not fit in the stock dashboard frame, so I took the opportunity to replace the rather tatty old frame, and to an ashtray delete at the same time.
Pictures once the car has had a clean
I also retrofitted heated M3 seats. These have powered bolsters and lumbar support, and are generally an upgrade. Eventually I found really some really mint seats, the first pair I found (unheated but in nice condition) are still for sale, as are my old sports seats. It turns out that the heated seat switching centre does not fit in the stock dashboard frame, so I took the opportunity to replace the rather tatty old frame, and to an ashtray delete at the same time.
Pictures once the car has had a clean
So I am terrible at updating this thread and taking photos
Another big pile of things have been done on the car recently (roughly chronological order):
- Replaced the OEM 18" wheels with 17" Pro Race 1.2s. This improved the ride a lot, and also made the car feel a little lighter.
- Upgraded the suspension to a Bilstein B12 kit
- Replaced the front door speakers with some half decent Focal drive units
- Fitted new front ARB bushes (made a bigger difference than I expected).
- Upgraded the front brakes (BMW 135i calipers, 345mm CSL discs, stainless hoses) and flushed the brake fluid
- Replaced the front bearings with nice new FAG bearings as the old ones were starting to get noisy
Still on the todo list (parts waiting):
- Fit turner motorsport anti roll bars (30mm/25mm) and poly bushes (bought these cheaply from M3cutters)
- Upgrade the rear brakes (M3 discs, Porsche 986 calipers) and fit an M3 master cylinder
- Drop in an E46 M3 LSD, subframe, and associated bits
The last part has taken up quite a large amount of time already. I picked up a complete M3 rear axle assembly back in February, with the intention of stripping it down, getting the parts cleaned up and painted, and then reassembling with new hardware where required. It turned out to take a lot longer than expected, one driveshaft was stuck in a trailing arm and neither heat nor hydraulics could shift it. Several bolts welded themselves inside ball joints, and I ended up finding so much rust in the subframe that I picked up a clean one (with no bushes!). I have now polybushed the second subframe, and fitted a new OEM front diff bush. Trailing arms and wishbones are getting blasted and coated as I write this, and I have all new parts to connect everything back together. I also have an M3 driveshaft which *should* be a perfect fit. I picked up a cheap set of Porsche 986 calipers in great condition, so I will use these with Creation motorsport brackets to have brembos all round.
I expect the powder coating to be done in two to three weeks (they are very very busy), at which point I will reassemble the shiny things, and at the end of May take the lot to ETA motorsport near Brands Hatch for a subframe reinforcement job, and a bolting up of the new kit. Since the reinforcement is a subframe-off job, this is a good time to do it. They are smart enough to deal with any unforeseen problems (like if the driveshaft doesn't fit).
I promise to take photos next time, for now, check out the new brakes!
Another big pile of things have been done on the car recently (roughly chronological order):
- Replaced the OEM 18" wheels with 17" Pro Race 1.2s. This improved the ride a lot, and also made the car feel a little lighter.
- Upgraded the suspension to a Bilstein B12 kit
- Replaced the front door speakers with some half decent Focal drive units
- Fitted new front ARB bushes (made a bigger difference than I expected).
- Upgraded the front brakes (BMW 135i calipers, 345mm CSL discs, stainless hoses) and flushed the brake fluid
- Replaced the front bearings with nice new FAG bearings as the old ones were starting to get noisy
Still on the todo list (parts waiting):
- Fit turner motorsport anti roll bars (30mm/25mm) and poly bushes (bought these cheaply from M3cutters)
- Upgrade the rear brakes (M3 discs, Porsche 986 calipers) and fit an M3 master cylinder
- Drop in an E46 M3 LSD, subframe, and associated bits
The last part has taken up quite a large amount of time already. I picked up a complete M3 rear axle assembly back in February, with the intention of stripping it down, getting the parts cleaned up and painted, and then reassembling with new hardware where required. It turned out to take a lot longer than expected, one driveshaft was stuck in a trailing arm and neither heat nor hydraulics could shift it. Several bolts welded themselves inside ball joints, and I ended up finding so much rust in the subframe that I picked up a clean one (with no bushes!). I have now polybushed the second subframe, and fitted a new OEM front diff bush. Trailing arms and wishbones are getting blasted and coated as I write this, and I have all new parts to connect everything back together. I also have an M3 driveshaft which *should* be a perfect fit
. I picked up a cheap set of Porsche 986 calipers in great condition, so I will use these with Creation motorsport brackets to have brembos all round.I expect the powder coating to be done in two to three weeks (they are very very busy), at which point I will reassemble the shiny things, and at the end of May take the lot to ETA motorsport near Brands Hatch for a subframe reinforcement job, and a bolting up of the new kit. Since the reinforcement is a subframe-off job, this is a good time to do it. They are smart enough to deal with any unforeseen problems (like if the driveshaft doesn't fit).
I promise to take photos next time, for now, check out the new brakes!
PaulGT3 said:
Nice work.
I'm finding I am spending enough money fixing all the little things with the car to be spending money on upgrades too! Hate to think how much that front brake setup has cost you!
I have a bunch of eBay searches saved that notify me when things turn up that I might be interested in (such as S54 + engine I'm finding I am spending enough money fixing all the little things with the car to be spending money on upgrades too! Hate to think how much that front brake setup has cost you!
). I actually got lucky on the brakes, found the calipers second hand on eBay for a good price - they hardly ever come up for sale. The discs were 149 euros each from a company in Germany (now price has gone up to 174 each) which is pretty good for big floating discs. Best was finding brand new Mintex pads for £19!I discovered a great site for OEM parts too: http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-ersatzteile/
They have everything available to the dealer network, but they have cheaper prices than any UK dealer, and a really easy to use catalog (available in English!). It works like realoem, just browse to the parts you need and then pop them in your basket. Saves a lot of time on the phone reading long lists of part numbers. If you register and tell them you use a BMW forum (pistonheads would probably work), they will set you up for an additional discount of 10-20%!
Thanks for the comments guys!
One more small job done tonight, put the car up on my shiny new ramps (so much easier than jacking the sodding thing with my crappy jack) and replaced the stock anti roll bar with a Turner motorsport job. The new one is a bit meatier:
I have put it on the middle setting for now, given I still have the stock rear bar (until the end of May), I may be better off on full soft for now. I took it out for a quick drive around the roundabouts of the bypass, but immediately the heavens opened and rain fell everywhere. I will leave it for another day, but I was happy that there is no increase in NVH, despite the thicker bar and poly bushes
The big test will be at Snetterton next Wednesday evening, here's hoping for a dry track.
One more small job done tonight, put the car up on my shiny new ramps (so much easier than jacking the sodding thing with my crappy jack) and replaced the stock anti roll bar with a Turner motorsport job. The new one is a bit meatier:
I have put it on the middle setting for now, given I still have the stock rear bar (until the end of May), I may be better off on full soft for now. I took it out for a quick drive around the roundabouts of the bypass, but immediately the heavens opened and rain fell everywhere. I will leave it for another day, but I was happy that there is no increase in NVH, despite the thicker bar and poly bushes
The big test will be at Snetterton next Wednesday evening, here's hoping for a dry track.
Snetterton was a blast! I wrote about the track and my driving in the track day post, I thought I would post a bit about the car here.
With Snetterton being flatter than Brand's, it was easier to understand what the car was doing. The first thing I noticed is that the new ARB makes the car pretty understeery, this is great for not spinning, but not the best for balance. Until I fit the matching rear bar, I am going to move it to the softest setting (from medium). This should be closer to the stock bar, and help to restore the normal handling balance.
The second thing about my car is that I think I need wider wheels for the tyres I have. I currently have 7" wheels with 225 section tyres. This looks great, makes it impossible to curb the wheels, and drives fine on the road, but on a track there is just too much "roll" in the front tyre. It is possible to feel the tyre rolling around on tight corners, which feels pretty strange and reduces the sharpness (cannot think of a better word) of the steering. Since 205/50/17 tyres are seemingly much more expensive than 225/45s (and I think 225 is a good size for the car), I think the best long term solution is 8J wheels all round.
Once again though, the car aquitted itself really well. It is incredibly forgiving and easy to drive on a track. Once again I didn't get anywhere close to spinning or hitting the grass. A couple of wobbles hitting the brakes at the end of Coram (long fast right hander that is followed immediately by a very tight left hander) were easily controlled. I recommend anyone on this thread to find a track day and give it a go
(from my final session)
With Snetterton being flatter than Brand's, it was easier to understand what the car was doing. The first thing I noticed is that the new ARB makes the car pretty understeery, this is great for not spinning, but not the best for balance. Until I fit the matching rear bar, I am going to move it to the softest setting (from medium). This should be closer to the stock bar, and help to restore the normal handling balance.
The second thing about my car is that I think I need wider wheels for the tyres I have. I currently have 7" wheels with 225 section tyres. This looks great, makes it impossible to curb the wheels, and drives fine on the road, but on a track there is just too much "roll" in the front tyre. It is possible to feel the tyre rolling around on tight corners, which feels pretty strange and reduces the sharpness (cannot think of a better word) of the steering. Since 205/50/17 tyres are seemingly much more expensive than 225/45s (and I think 225 is a good size for the car), I think the best long term solution is 8J wheels all round.
Once again though, the car aquitted itself really well. It is incredibly forgiving and easy to drive on a track. Once again I didn't get anywhere close to spinning or hitting the grass. A couple of wobbles hitting the brakes at the end of Coram (long fast right hander that is followed immediately by a very tight left hander) were easily controlled. I recommend anyone on this thread to find a track day and give it a go
(from my final session)
Sorry, I have been terrible at updating this thread
Highlights of recent changes (roughly in order):
Highlights of recent changes (roughly in order):
- Replaced front brakes with 135i calipers and CSL discs
- Reinforced boot floor at ETA Motorsport (there was one pretty big crack)
- Fitted 3.64 M3 differential, prop, driveshafts
- Replaced rear subframe and arms with E46 M3 parts
- Replaced rear brakes with Porsche 996 calipers and M3 discs
- Fitted braided lines all round
- Replaced the brake master cylinder with a late model M3 cylinder
- Removed the crap stock CCV system and replaced it with a closed loop catch can
- Replaced the Bilstein B12 suspension with KW V3 coilovers (yesterday)
5harp3y said:
van i have more details please?
Front brake swap is pretty common on M3s using BMW performance calipers from the E90 (same as 135i calipers) and custom brackets. I got the brackets from here:http://www.epytec.de/de/bremsentechnik/bremssattel...
These go with stock CSL discs (345mm floating). If you can find second hand calipers, it is a pretty cost effective upgrade. I have a todo job to replace my front hubs with M3 hubs, since these have the little dowels to perfectly locate the brake disk and take the braking force. On stock non-M hubs the brakes are putting a hell of a strain on the single retention screw.
The subframe and trailing arm swap is needed to fit the M3 LSD to a non-M E46. You need the subframe, trailing arms from the M3, you can reuse the control arms. You get a nice upgrade to rear brakes for free since all the M3 brakes fit. Cheapest way to do all this is to buy a complete rear axle assembly from eBay, mine was 400 quid all in (diff, driveshafts, subframe, arms, brakes).
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