The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[Fishy Dave]

ethomas said:

Nightmare, did you manage to get the rest of the bolt out ok?

I am really curious to hear how you get on with the seafoam soak, my engine has a new CCV valve, and oil filter housing and rocker cover gaskets, but it still goes through oil at a tremendous rate. Since it never spills a drop in my parking spot, it much be getting burned up in the engine which points the finger at the piston rings.

Yes, I took the Vanos back off and used a pick and managed to wind it back out with no drama, thank god I didn't use thread lock. Will let you know the results when I finish it off on Sunday.

Good to read your report ethomas, I'm aiming to take mine out at Thruxton in a month or two (less than 90dB).

[Mr Tidy]

gregs656 said:

Yes it works fine, but I never use it and it's a big ugly.

If you do decide to delete it please PM me - I'd buy the motor from you!

I'd also love to know if you get those struts and they are the self-opening ones - if so I'll order a pair!

Lastly, glad you enjoyed Brands Hatch - it's a great track! How long until you book the next one?!

[ethomas]

Mr Tidy said:

Lastly, glad you enjoyed Brands Hatch - it's a great track! How long until you book the next one?!

Giving serious thought to doing another one next month, will try to drag my dad (68) along to the next one so it will depend on his schedule as well. I think another one at Brands would be a good idea, it is a nice short track but I feel like I still have a long way to master it. Fancy trying an open pit lane next, for a bit more flexibility than the sessions.

[e21Mark]

I'm seriously envious. I love Brands Hatch and found it seriously addictive. I think I did 8 or 9 track or test days in my first year. I only went off at Paddock once and managed a PB of 59.4 seconds. Were I not so fat a sub 59 could well have been within reach.

Waved off my Compact last Friday.

[gregs656]

Mr Tidy said:

If you do decide to delete it please PM me - I'd buy the motor from you!

I'd also love to know if you get those struts and they are the self-opening ones - if so I'll order a pair!

Lastly, glad you enjoyed Brands Hatch - it's a great track! How long until you book the next one?!

I wouldn't sell the unit if I deleted the wiper sorry.

I bought some magnetti struts yesterday which are also rated at 660Nm, the German ones are available on Amazon and work out at about £35 posted which is not bad, but I figure all I need is something with the right amount of shove.

Looking on one of the US forums people were buying struts rated at 660ish Nm and getting good results so we will see.

[Mr Tidy]

gregs656 said:

I wouldn't sell the unit if I deleted the wiper sorry. I bought some magnetti struts yesterday which are also rated at 660Nm, the German ones are available on Amazon and work out at about £35 posted which is not bad, but I figure all I need is something with the right amount of shove.

Looking on one of the US forums people were buying struts rated at 660ish Nm and getting good results so we will see.

Oh well, I thought I'd ask!

I hope the struts do the trick!

[JakeT]

Seeing as I had to work on Sunday, and I knew the roads would be quiet, I decided to do an Economy run into work. over 36 miles I averaged this according to the OBC.



Saw Deadpool after, which made up for the work thing. Girl I was with even said it sounded good!

[Mr Tidy]

Wow, 40.3 mpg - that must have been boring!

And how could it sound good driving for that sort of economy?

Mine shows an average of 33.7 mpg on the OBC over 9,000 miles and I never use it in the rush hour, so I do have clear roads sometimes!

Now go and drive it properly..........!

[Twin2]

That's ridiculous, I've averaging 27-28 on a mix of town, rush hour and motorway driving... Is that pretty normal or should I lighten my right foot?

[ethomas]

I reset my mpg meter before I went out for the afternoon session at Brand's Hatch. The car did 14.1mpg, mostly with my foot on the floor in 3rd gear, which I think is pretty reasonable actually.

I made a silly offer on an M3 rear axle last night (brakes, arms, subframe, LSD, ARB, etc)... Just got an email to say it was accepted. I definitely have an eBay problem!

[JakeT]

It certainly was a boring one! No holding traffic up and driving between 60-75MPH. It was showing 41 before I hit Winchester and the city traffic. With more normal driving it is back down to 34.4, which is where it usually is for me. I'm happy there and don't drive all that slowly, I just anticipate a lot.

[Mr Tidy]

ethomas said:

I reset my mpg meter before I went out for the afternoon session at Brand's Hatch. The car did 14.1mpg, mostly with my foot on the floor in 3rd gear, which I think is pretty reasonable actually.

I made a silly offer on an M3 rear axle last night (brakes, arms, subframe, LSD, ARB, etc)... Just got an email to say it was accepted. I definitely have an eBay problem!

No - you have an E-bay opportunity as I see things! I would be happy to help you with a purchase like that - not at all jealous (well not much)! (Just PM me - I'm currently not working so should be available)! B*gger!

But at least my OBC is showing an average of 33.7 mpg!

[gregs656]

That is 2 excellent eBay finds in a row I think.

I finally had the air con sorted on mine yesterday - happily just a regas, and found a really good garage close to my work in the process.

[ethomas]

Mr Tidy said:

No - you have an E-bay opportunity as I see things! I would be happy to help you with a purchase like that - not at all jealous (well not much)! (Just PM me - I'm currently not working so should be available)! B*gger!

Thanks for the offer! I am going to pick it up on Wednesday and disassemble it, powder coat the subframe and arms, and rebuild it with new bushes all round. Once that is under way (and I have sourced an M3 prop) I will give you a buzz about the reinstall. Your profile says Berkshire (I am near Stansted) so I can come to you, or we can meet at PitStop in West London and use the ramps there.

[s m]

A mention in AutoExpress too

[e21Mark]

[ethomas]

I found (I think) an error in the BMW parts database! It says that the manual 325ti uses a 78mm PCD prop coupler:
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Compact/Euro...

However, it uses the same gearbox output flange as the 330i:
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/23217566207/
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Compact/Euro...
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Sedan/Europe...

The 330i uses the same PCD coupler as the M3 (96mm/12):
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Sedan/Europe...
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Coupe/Europe...

So, I think I am right in believing that I can hook up an M3 prop to my gearbox to avoid having to modify my current prop.

it's been a slow day

[gregs656]

Struts arrived - no auto lift, but 100% better than my old ones, the near side one was totally shot and making a horrible noise although they were working in the warmer weather.

I will keep looking as it is a useful feature for me.

[Mr Tidy]

gregs656 said:

Struts arrived - no auto lift, but 100% better than my old ones, the near side one was totally shot and making a horrible noise although they were working in the warmer weather.

I will keep looking as it is a useful feature for me.

Yes, I found it useful when I had a 320td that I bought back in 2005. Even though it was less than a year old the original struts couldn't open it when the temperature got down near freezing.

Hope you find some that work - I got quoted just over £140 from BMW!

[vMPM]

I really want one of these but it is so hard to find a manual 325ti in Australia