The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
Greetings! I too have just got my hands on a 325ti after following this thread whilst deciding what to get. Mines a sport with 90k on the clock. Had her about a month and certainly not disappointed, drives well and a hell of a car considering it was just a shadow over 2k.
Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Mr Tidy said:
Good colour FredClogs! Looks like you also have the optional sunroof! 
I am guessing it is an SE based on the wheels, but if you want to confirm the Sport has small circular front fog lights and different bumpers to the SE (SE fog lights are rectangular).
Hope you get the insurance sorted soon, then you can get out and drive it as intended!
Thanks, the sunroof is a bonus, I don't know why they went out of fashion I love a sunroof.I am guessing it is an SE based on the wheels, but if you want to confirm the Sport has small circular front fog lights and different bumpers to the SE (SE fog lights are rectangular).
Hope you get the insurance sorted soon, then you can get out and drive it as intended!
It has the rectangular fog lights and full leather and wood inside so I'm guessing it is an SE.
Its going to be a long couple of days waiting now, time to read this thread in full I guess and take notes ;-)
FredClogs said:
Here she is, unfortunately tax and insurance issues have conspired to keep her off the road until middle of next week, but we've been getting to know each other in the garage today :-)
Wow that is Jolly similar to mine, as it also has a sunroof and is Topaz. Mine has 18s though. Has yours also got the trippy blue leather and blue dash?Andrew Kettle said:
Greetings! I too have just got my hands on a 325ti after following this thread whilst deciding what to get. Mines a sport with 90k on the clock. Had her about a month and certainly not disappointed, drives well and a hell of a car considering it was just a shadow over 2k.
Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Cool is that an original Colour? Regards tires on mine there crap Chinese jobbies, make it fun in the wet though. Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
245/40/17 on the rear and 225/45/17 on the front, seems kinda odd to me, is that normal fitment for these with staggered 17's.
Hil_lo said:
Andrew Kettle said:
Greetings! I too have just got my hands on a 325ti after following this thread whilst deciding what to get. Mines a sport with 90k on the clock. Had her about a month and certainly not disappointed, drives well and a hell of a car considering it was just a shadow over 2k.
Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Cool is that an original Colour? Regards tires on mine there crap Chinese jobbies, make it fun in the wet though. Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
245/40/17 on the rear and 225/45/17 on the front, seems kinda odd to me, is that normal fitment for these with staggered 17's.
205/50x17s give a nice 'feel' all round if you find them a bit overtyred and can get a few decent tyres in that size
Sticker on the driver's side door jamb gives you all the Approved fitments
Edited by s m on Monday 30th May 09:51
Andrew Kettle said:
Greetings! I too have just got my hands on a 325ti after following this thread whilst deciding what to get. Mines a sport with 90k on the clock. Had her about a month and certainly not disappointed, drives well and a hell of a car considering it was just a shadow over 2k.
Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Very jealous of that one. Ambra orange is a favourite of mine. Unusual to see it on a face lift sport.Lower intake boot tore, so I replaced that and the disa o-ring as a preventative measure at the same time. otherwise the engine seems sound.
Other than that I have only done the clutch stop mod and refurbed the leather as it was looking it's age.
Rims are crying out for a refurb and needs new tyres as the po has stretched 225/45/17's onto the rears.
Enjoy her.
Max M4X WW said:
Did you replace the rubber o-ring or the clip on the end of the flap? When I did my wife's 320i I used the i6 kit with a new flap, rod, bolt etc.
Just the o-ring - with the i6 one. Checked the valve whist it was out and it was solid, pin was still firmly in place so I left it at that.Hil_lo said:
Cool is that an original Colour?
It certainly is, BMW call it ambra, a bit of a marmite colour but I really like it. The previous owner sprayed the bottom sections of both bumpers black, which I would have preferred kept standard, but don't think I will go to the trouble of painting them back to orange.
gregs656 said:
Very jealous of that one. Ambra orange is a favourite of mine. Unusual to see it on a face lift sport.
Enjoy her.
Not actually a face lift, just has the face lift rear lights, I wanted a face lift but ran out of time waiting for a good example to come up for sale. Enjoy her.
Hi Andrew Kettle - that is a lovely looking Sport model you have there! Sounds like a reasonable price too, and from that starting point what can you really lose!
I love the colour (but then I love the current Valencia too)! Still I do just prefer Imola Red, which is lucky as that is what mine is! It's just so good to see some colours instead of the current white to black colour chart with every shade of grey and silver in between!
As someone said the 245/40 x 17 rear and 225/45 x 17 fronts are standard fit on the rims you have, which are the standard ones for a Sport model. (SE's come with noon-staggered rims and 205/50 x 16 all round).
Not sure if it was on this thread, but I did post somewhere my disappointment that mine wasn't a facelift (6 Speed would be good as most of my driving is on A roads/motorways) but was told the upside to the 5 speed was it doesn't have a dual-mass flywheel - if so then I don't mind having a 5 speed!
They just drive so well for what is essentially a practical everyday car - keep honing everyone!
I love the colour (but then I love the current Valencia too)! Still I do just prefer Imola Red, which is lucky as that is what mine is! It's just so good to see some colours instead of the current white to black colour chart with every shade of grey and silver in between!
As someone said the 245/40 x 17 rear and 225/45 x 17 fronts are standard fit on the rims you have, which are the standard ones for a Sport model. (SE's come with noon-staggered rims and 205/50 x 16 all round).
Not sure if it was on this thread, but I did post somewhere my disappointment that mine wasn't a facelift (6 Speed would be good as most of my driving is on A roads/motorways) but was told the upside to the 5 speed was it doesn't have a dual-mass flywheel - if so then I don't mind having a 5 speed!
They just drive so well for what is essentially a practical everyday car - keep honing everyone!
Edited by Mr Tidy on Monday 30th May 21:03
Mr Tidy said:
Hi Andrew Kettle - that is a lovely looking Sport model you have there! Sounds like a reasonable price too, and from that starting point what can you really lose!
I love the colour (but then I love the current Valencia too)! Still I do just prefer Imola Red, which is lucky as that is what mine is! It's just so good to see some colours instead of the current white to black colour chart with every shade of grey and silver in between!
As someone said the 245/40 x 17 rear and 225/45 x 17 fronts are standard fit on the rims you have, which are the standard ones for a Sport model. (SE's come with noon-staggered rims and 205/50 x 16 all round).
Not sure if it was on this thread, but I did post somewhere my disappointment that mine wasn't a facelift (6 Speed would be good as most of my driving is on A roads/motorways) but was told the upside to the 5 speed was it doesn't have a dual-mass flywheel - if so then I don't mind having a 5 speed!
They just drive so well for what is essentially a practical everyday car - keep honing everyone!
Who told you that? I love the colour (but then I love the current Valencia too)! Still I do just prefer Imola Red, which is lucky as that is what mine is! It's just so good to see some colours instead of the current white to black colour chart with every shade of grey and silver in between!
As someone said the 245/40 x 17 rear and 225/45 x 17 fronts are standard fit on the rims you have, which are the standard ones for a Sport model. (SE's come with noon-staggered rims and 205/50 x 16 all round).
Not sure if it was on this thread, but I did post somewhere my disappointment that mine wasn't a facelift (6 Speed would be good as most of my driving is on A roads/motorways) but was told the upside to the 5 speed was it doesn't have a dual-mass flywheel - if so then I don't mind having a 5 speed!
They just drive so well for what is essentially a practical everyday car - keep honing everyone!
Edited by Mr Tidy on Monday 30th May 21:03
Mr Tidy said:
Given that I said I wasn't sure which thread I read that on it's surely pretty unlikely I would remember who told me that??
But if you know otherwise you may be kind enough to enlighten us all?!
Ah ok, just the way I read it really - as if you meant you weren't sure that it was on this thread you'd posted re your disappointment about not having a 6-speed........and you'd been told elsewhere that the 5-speeders were a solid flywheel.But if you know otherwise you may be kind enough to enlighten us all?!
Anyway, both have a DMF, albeit different ones
The extra ratio is nice on the motorway to be fair, esp with the shorter diff the Compact has
s m said:
Ah ok, just the way I read it really - as if you meant you weren't sure that it was on this thread you'd posted re your disappointment about not having a 6-speed........and you'd been told elsewhere that the 5-speeders were a solid flywheel.
Anyway, both have a DMF, albeit different ones
The extra ratio is nice on the motorway to be fair, esp with the shorter diff the Compact has
That is the danger with threads - there can be as much dis-information as information! And thanks for the clarification. Anyway, both have a DMF, albeit different ones
The extra ratio is nice on the motorway to be fair, esp with the shorter diff the Compact has
But yes, the 6 speeder would suit me much better for what I use mine for - my 5 speed is revving at 3,000 rpm at 70 mph, although it doesn't seem to wreck economy (my OBC is showing 34.4 mpg after 18 months).
Quite ironic really - after my nephew drove my 325ti he decided he wanted one and I found him a face-lift 325ti which he uses mainly to go to work. His is a black facelift SE with cream leather and the electric sun-roof, and while his is a 6 speed he drives like he stole it and his OBC is showing about 22.5 mpg!
So, I had a quick spin around the block yesterday after arranging the insurance, the car won't be taxed to me until tomorrow but it was still shown as taxed on the website so - what the heck, it felt great, the steering was so good compared to what I've been driving for so long (An Smax and an ageing VW Bora) it felt really planted and the engine felt great once warmed up although there was a slight hesitation when pulling from low down, maybe my driving style and expectations from driving diesels for years.
I'm away until friday anyway so my missus will probably get the first use of it, it can break down on her if there's any major faults ;o)
Anyway I've got a couple of questions:-
1) What oil are people using? BMW spec'd stuff presumably, 5W30, 0W30? What do people suggest? It's not clear based on what I can find online. The service info on the car says there's 6000 miles until the next service but looking through the receipts I don't think it's be done for 18 months (I'm used to my high mile-ing diesel daily hack which gets new oil every six months).
2) The VANOS and Water pump/Radiator seem to be highlighted as weaknesses on this engine, is it worth the cost/time in doing these or getting them done as a precaution or do people wait until the fail (I understand the VANOS will not fail dramatically but presumably the water pump failure can be quite serious - do damage). The car is a 2002 and on 77,000miles.
3) Is there anyway to liberated a few more horses easily? I've seen a K&N induction kit for £160ish that presumably helps throttle response and makes a nicer noise, is it worth it or would the money be better spent somewhere else, high end spark plugs or even a remap?
4) Tyres? I've got some mismatched (rears and fronts are matched though) cheap things on there at the moment, last receipt showed the rears were £37 each ;o/ I'm no brand snob but I hadn't heard of them and that seems a bit cheap to me... Any recommendations?
I'm away until friday anyway so my missus will probably get the first use of it, it can break down on her if there's any major faults ;o)
Anyway I've got a couple of questions:-
1) What oil are people using? BMW spec'd stuff presumably, 5W30, 0W30? What do people suggest? It's not clear based on what I can find online. The service info on the car says there's 6000 miles until the next service but looking through the receipts I don't think it's be done for 18 months (I'm used to my high mile-ing diesel daily hack which gets new oil every six months).
2) The VANOS and Water pump/Radiator seem to be highlighted as weaknesses on this engine, is it worth the cost/time in doing these or getting them done as a precaution or do people wait until the fail (I understand the VANOS will not fail dramatically but presumably the water pump failure can be quite serious - do damage). The car is a 2002 and on 77,000miles.
3) Is there anyway to liberated a few more horses easily? I've seen a K&N induction kit for £160ish that presumably helps throttle response and makes a nicer noise, is it worth it or would the money be better spent somewhere else, high end spark plugs or even a remap?
4) Tyres? I've got some mismatched (rears and fronts are matched though) cheap things on there at the moment, last receipt showed the rears were £37 each ;o/ I'm no brand snob but I hadn't heard of them and that seems a bit cheap to me... Any recommendations?
FredClogs said:
So, I had a quick spin around the block yesterday after arranging the insurance, the car won't be taxed to me until tomorrow but it was still shown as taxed on the website so - what the heck, it felt great, the steering was so good compared to what I've been driving for so long (An Smax and an ageing VW Bora) it felt really planted and the engine felt great once warmed up although there was a slight hesitation when pulling from low down, maybe my driving style and expectations from driving diesels for years.
I'm away until friday anyway so my missus will probably get the first use of it, it can break down on her if there's any major faults ;o)
Anyway I've got a couple of questions:-
1) What oil are people using? BMW spec'd stuff presumably, 5W30, 0W30? What do people suggest? It's not clear based on what I can find online. The service info on the car says there's 6000 miles until the next service but looking through the receipts I don't think it's be done for 18 months (I'm used to my high mile-ing diesel daily hack which gets new oil every six months).
2) The VANOS and Water pump/Radiator seem to be highlighted as weaknesses on this engine, is it worth the cost/time in doing these or getting them done as a precaution or do people wait until the fail (I understand the VANOS will not fail dramatically but presumably the water pump failure can be quite serious - do damage). The car is a 2002 and on 77,000miles.
3) Is there anyway to liberated a few more horses easily? I've seen a K&N induction kit for £160ish that presumably helps throttle response and makes a nicer noise, is it worth it or would the money be better spent somewhere else, high end spark plugs or even a remap?
4) Tyres? I've got some mismatched (rears and fronts are matched though) cheap things on there at the moment, last receipt showed the rears were £37 each ;o/ I'm no brand snob but I hadn't heard of them and that seems a bit cheap to me... Any recommendations?
Mine will be serviced on Thursday with Mobil 1 5w30, seems good to me and mine uses about 1 litre of oil per 5,000 miles. Also, mine is on a 10k service interval. That is where I'm happy to be honest. Rad and water pump are best changed by 100k if they're original. Radiators bow at the bottom over time. VANOS is pretty fine on the M54, I haven't seen any issues and me and my parents have probably put 350k on three of these engines over the years. I'm away until friday anyway so my missus will probably get the first use of it, it can break down on her if there's any major faults ;o)
Anyway I've got a couple of questions:-
1) What oil are people using? BMW spec'd stuff presumably, 5W30, 0W30? What do people suggest? It's not clear based on what I can find online. The service info on the car says there's 6000 miles until the next service but looking through the receipts I don't think it's be done for 18 months (I'm used to my high mile-ing diesel daily hack which gets new oil every six months).
2) The VANOS and Water pump/Radiator seem to be highlighted as weaknesses on this engine, is it worth the cost/time in doing these or getting them done as a precaution or do people wait until the fail (I understand the VANOS will not fail dramatically but presumably the water pump failure can be quite serious - do damage). The car is a 2002 and on 77,000miles.
3) Is there anyway to liberated a few more horses easily? I've seen a K&N induction kit for £160ish that presumably helps throttle response and makes a nicer noise, is it worth it or would the money be better spent somewhere else, high end spark plugs or even a remap?
4) Tyres? I've got some mismatched (rears and fronts are matched though) cheap things on there at the moment, last receipt showed the rears were £37 each ;o/ I'm no brand snob but I hadn't heard of them and that seems a bit cheap to me... Any recommendations?
As for horsepower, not a whole lot can be done to release more. Keep it serviced and in tip top shape is my recommendation.
I seem to mention this all the time, but on my 18inch wheels I put a full set of Michelin Pilot sport 4 tyres on recently. Excellent tyres, in both wet and dry. Cost me £534 for a full set with an alignment but definitely worth it so far.
JakeT said:
Mine will be serviced on Thursday with Mobil 1 5w30, seems good to me and mine uses about 1 litre of oil per 5,000 miles. Also, mine is on a 10k service interval. That is where I'm happy to be honest. Rad and water pump are best changed by 100k if they're original. Radiators bow at the bottom over time. VANOS is pretty fine on the M54, I haven't seen any issues and me and my parents have probably put 350k on three of these engines over the years.
As for horsepower, not a whole lot can be done to release more. Keep it serviced and in tip top shape is my recommendation.
I seem to mention this all the time, but on my 18inch wheels I put a full set of Michelin Pilot sport 4 tyres on recently. Excellent tyres, in both wet and dry. Cost me £534 for a full set with an alignment but definitely worth it so far.
Thanks, I'm taking notes... Just one more thing (best Columbo impression)...As for horsepower, not a whole lot can be done to release more. Keep it serviced and in tip top shape is my recommendation.
I seem to mention this all the time, but on my 18inch wheels I put a full set of Michelin Pilot sport 4 tyres on recently. Excellent tyres, in both wet and dry. Cost me £534 for a full set with an alignment but definitely worth it so far.
The handbook seems to suggest 98 Ron fuel is best, is that what everyone uses or is normal 95 Ron ok?
I run mine on 95 RON as it's fine - they are designed to cope with lower ratings than that.
Saying that it may be a little bit more powerful on SuperPlus, but I tend to only treat my Z4 to that!
Glad you have got it on the road from tomorrow - but don't let the wife use it, just in case she likes it! (Cos if she does you won't get it back)!
Saying that it may be a little bit more powerful on SuperPlus, but I tend to only treat my Z4 to that!
Glad you have got it on the road from tomorrow - but don't let the wife use it, just in case she likes it! (Cos if she does you won't get it back)!
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