My E46 M3 Coupe

Author
Discussion

e21Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Saturday 30th April 2016
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Lovely car and about the only 'modern' I still have an itch for.

Personally not a fan of the smoke or de chrome kidney but just personal tastes.

The best mod by far is a carbon air box from Geoff Steel. Induction noise over exhaust every time. smile

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Saturday 30th April 2016
quotequote all
em177 said:
Funnily enough I've just done the opposite on mine and gone back to standard...

Before:



After:

Ha! Will be keeping my originals in case I change my mind.

I think the smoked indicators suit certain colours better than others. I also think different brands can look more or less tinted. Yours seem quite dark whereas I think mine are a little lighter and suit the lamp unit perhaps a little better?


JakeT

5,406 posts

119 months

Saturday 30th April 2016
quotequote all
Lovely car, that and as Mark said having a specialist inspect the subframe is a great idea. I don't mind the smoked indicators, but amber would do it better for me. As an owner, all of the best E46s are Topaz Blue. wink

em177

3,127 posts

163 months

Saturday 30th April 2016
quotequote all
JakeT said:
Lovely car, that and as Mark said having a specialist inspect the subframe is a great idea. I don't mind the smoked indicators, but amber would do it better for me. As an owner, all of the best E46s are Topaz Blue. wink
Amber were the on my list but it's almost impossible to find a set of screw in ones (most are clip in and don't fit the M3)

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Saturday 30th April 2016
quotequote all
em177 said:
Funnily enough I've just done the opposite on mine and gone back to standard...

Before:



After:

Ha! Will be keeping my originals in case I change my mind.

I think the smoked indicators suit certain colours better than others. I also think different brands can look more or less tinted. Yours seem quite dark whereas I think mine are a little lighter and suit the lamp unit perhaps a little better?


rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Monday 9th May 2016
quotequote all
Had the front seats and a couple of small bits refurbished by Rob from Leather Better (leatherbetter.co.uk).

Really impressed with his work. Colour match is perfect and the finish is exactly what I was after. A few before and afters...










Edited by rainmasterb on Monday 9th May 22:42


Edited by rainmasterb on Monday 9th May 22:45

mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Monday 9th May 2016
quotequote all
Good job.

Fermit The Krog and Sarah Sexy

12,787 posts

99 months

Tuesday 10th May 2016
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Glad you're pleased with it, and a pleasure to be of service smile

rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Tuesday 10th May 2016
quotequote all
Fermit The Krog and Sarah Sexy said:
Glad you're pleased with it, and a pleasure to be of service smile
Take it you don't cover West London?

Fermit The Krog and Sarah Sexy

12,787 posts

99 months

Tuesday 10th May 2016
quotequote all
rb5er said:
Fermit The Krog and Sarah Sexy said:
Glad you're pleased with it, and a pleasure to be of service smile
Take it you don't cover West London?
We don't as a rule, but the OH's parents live near Marlow, so if you're in no rush we could tie up with that? What's the requirement?

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Tuesday 16th August 2016
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Well, finally got the car serviced and new (old) wheels fitted.

Car hadn't been serviced in 18 months and this was the first time in my ownership (since March), so was quite a 'squeaky bum' moment. Went for an inspection 1, including the valve clearances, and luckily everything checked out very well. Was there when the car was on the lift so had a good look underneath and between us we couldn't spot any subframe issues, and the indie knows them very well and is also a M3 owner. Rear pads and disks will need changing soonish but other than that, just a few minor error codes that don't need addressing anytime soon, if at all.

Really prefer the look of the OEM 18s on my car. They're in the standard grey finish which I much prefer to the polished 19s, and also prefer to see a bit more tyre, and have some dish on the rims. Very pleased with them. The ride is certainly improved, as expected, and it also feels like turn-in has sharpened up a little?

Also had the e60 545 shifter fitted, which is an OEM short shift solution and huge improvement over standard. Still quite notchy but much more direct and positive. A great mod.

Finally managed to find an OEM grill with black slats today on eBay, so that'll be the next mod. Might be done on aesthetics then? Still not 100% with the depos, but prefer them to OEM. Have been considering ambers but again, not 100%.

Aside from either a new steering wheel or at least OEM refresh, just coilovers and exhaust to go, but not desperate for either - I think it looks just about low enough on the Eibach springs.




Cheers, Ben.

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Monday 12th September 2016
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Recent very important change that has transformed the car.....;-)

Swapped the chrome kidney grill slats for the OEM black plastic ones. Much prefer the look.

Before

After

darreni

3,759 posts

269 months

Monday 12th September 2016
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Lovely, the E46 still looks great I think, one of BMW's design highlights.

rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Monday 12th September 2016
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Teal shame about the tinted headlights..looks nice if it wasn't for those cheapening the look.

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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A few cosmetic updates to report....

Managed to find a brand new OEM gearknob emblem in Poland! Minor part, massive improvement!



Then decided to bite the bullet and go for Amber rear and side lenses. Just don't get on with the fronts. Same as the OEM clears, I just don't think they suit the headlamp unit, as the lights themselves sit so far back, compared to the indicator units having block colour at the very front and therefore not having any depth.

Won't be to everybody's taste, but I'm really pleased with them. They give a nice contrast to the blue paint and they date the car a little, which was the plan.



Finally, a private plate. To be honest, I've never been a fan of them. But when my Grandad passed away a few months ago, following my Grandmother a few years before, he left me a little bit of money and I wanted something to remind me of them. They were Jack and Vera, hence the letters, but does anybody spot the significance of the S2? Bit corny, but I love it! I've been really surprised what a difference the plate has made to firstly the overall appearance of the car, and secondly, my feelings towards it.



That's it for the outside. Steering wheel refurb and that's the inside done. Ordered the B4 dampers on the group buy, so suspension refresh next year, followed by steering components and brakes. Then that'll be me done.

Maybe.

Max M4X WW

4,788 posts

181 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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Looking good, is the S2 meant to be a heart?

Markbarry1977

4,027 posts

102 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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Speak to jack at royal steering wheels if your after a steering wheel refurb. His work is fantastic as is his customer service.


rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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Max M4X WW said:
Looking good, is the S2 meant to be a heart?
10 out of 10!

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
quotequote all
Markbarry1977 said:
Speak to jack at royal steering wheels if your after a steering wheel refurb. His work is fantastic as is his customer service.
Had originally planned on doing just that, but the wheel itself is in great condition and I'd like to keep it original where possible, so I'm going to give it a good clean and spray the trim as it's lost a bit of paint in places.

rainmasterb

Original Poster:

371 posts

206 months

Tuesday 24th January 2017
quotequote all
Few small updates...

Finally fell out of love with the smoked depos but still felt the OEMs were too bright, so I tried a light smoked tint film on them. Really pleased with the result.



Then on the interior I replaced the black after market mats with OEM grey ones. I know there's not a lot of love on here for the grey interior but I love it and the mats complete the look.

Also replaced the steering wheel trim. My OEM black multifunction had a few marks and I fancied something a bit different. Never been a fan of the fussy multifunction panel so went for a blank and sprayed them both a matt primer grey in an attempt to match the dash. It's ended up a little lighter than I would have liked and it looks lighter still in this image, but it's a very similar bluey-grey tone and I'm really happy with the finish, so I'll leave it as is for now.



Suspension refurb imminent.