The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
Muzzman said:
That both surprises and disappoints me. I've got a 330ti, I'm in two minds whether to strip it out completely as it's mainly used on track, or leave it as is, which is back seats removed and seats swapped for buckets.
My issue is I drive once a year to the Nurburgring and the thought of doing that in a completely stripped car isn't that appealing. If a fully stripped car is coming in at that weight I might not bother. I was expecting alot less
The reason I specifically chose the Compact, was I thought was the lower weight. If I'd have done my research, and realised that a 330 ci was only another 30kg more in weight, I would have gone for the bigger engine version. How did the 'compact' get so porky..!! Am very surprised of the weight, the half cage probably adds 40kg, so in theory the basic car would stand alone at around 1225kg in its stripped form, once you remove driver/cage/fuel. The front standard seats seemed to weigh around 15-18kg each. My issue is I drive once a year to the Nurburgring and the thought of doing that in a completely stripped car isn't that appealing. If a fully stripped car is coming in at that weight I might not bother. I was expecting alot less
For me the car is trackday only (and driven there/back) and with the rear stripped as is, it is quite a droning sound when sitting at a constant speed. I also have no radio/speakers, so taken to wearing noise cancelling ear buds (and put some music on), which takes all of the sound away. I'm not sure I would like to travel 2/3 hours trying to talk to a passenger in mine, let alone the distance to the 'ring. Although if I was prepping a car from scratch for my use again, I would still strip the rear out, if nothing else makes it feel more purposeful, and the ability to easily carry some more wheels is very handy.
jj
Muzzman said:
My issue is I drive once a year to the Nurburgring and the thought of doing that in a completely stripped car isn't that appealing. If a fully stripped car is coming in at that weight I might not bother. I was expecting alot less
I've only ever had one stripped and caged car and that was pretty horrible on the road just going from Surrey to Goodwood, Castle Combe, etc. No way would I have wanted to go to the Nurburgring in it!
dubster2007 said:
What type have you got? self opening (lifts tailgate unaided) or standard lift version?
I know from experience the self opening version can be a pain especially on colder days, so i've gone to taking them off in the winter and putting on some standard versions which i picked up cheap from eurocarparts, to be honest i didn't even know they did different lengths, weaker or stronger versions, ecp ones just said fitment e46 compact.
I have tried others struts in the past but they have been a waste of money ( the same as these OEM ones) but its only during the colder weather when temperatures get to below - degrees when they start to fail. The OEM ones have a spring as well as the gas strut but at £150 a set I expect them to last longer than the warranty periodI know from experience the self opening version can be a pain especially on colder days, so i've gone to taking them off in the winter and putting on some standard versions which i picked up cheap from eurocarparts, to be honest i didn't even know they did different lengths, weaker or stronger versions, ecp ones just said fitment e46 compact.
Astburycompact2 said:
I have tried others struts in the past but they have been a waste of money ( the same as these OEM ones) but its only during the colder weather when temperatures get to below - degrees when they start to fail. The OEM ones have a spring as well as the gas strut but at £150 a set I expect them to last longer than the warranty period
So you have the self lifting versions like i have.Im on my third set and they are pretty rubbish when the temp drops, but lucky for me none have actually broke.
btw, when you said failed in your post what do you actually mean? total failure wont lift anymore or jammed?
dubster2007 said:
So you have the self lifting versions like i have.
Im on my third set and they are pretty rubbish when the temp drops, but lucky for me none have actually broke.
btw, when you said failed in your post what do you actually mean? total failure wont lift anymore or jammed?
They wont lift the tailgate and it seems as though the spring binds and when lifting manually the strut shows resistance and then cracks/bangs as it opens.Im on my third set and they are pretty rubbish when the temp drops, but lucky for me none have actually broke.
btw, when you said failed in your post what do you actually mean? total failure wont lift anymore or jammed?
They are not fit for purpose but BMW refuse to accept any default in them but the original ones 20 years ago lasted 7/9 years.
Standards have dropped and so have the companies commitment to their customers which will come back and bite them in the end.
I am looking for another car for my wife and this time it will be a Mercedes unlike the 3 BM's she has had previously.
Astburycompact2 said:
They wont lift the tailgate and it seems as though the spring binds and when lifting manually the strut shows resistance and then cracks/bangs as it opens.
They are not fit for purpose but BMW refuse to accept any default in them but the original ones 20 years ago lasted 7/9 years.
Standards have dropped and so have the companies commitment to their customers which will come back and bite them in the end.
I am looking for another car for my wife and this time it will be a Mercedes unlike the 3 BM's she has had previously.
Thats the same problem i had on my second set, you get a horrible bang as you manually lift the tailgate.Found out it was the longer of the two plastic covers popping off the strut body.They are not fit for purpose but BMW refuse to accept any default in them but the original ones 20 years ago lasted 7/9 years.
Standards have dropped and so have the companies commitment to their customers which will come back and bite them in the end.
I am looking for another car for my wife and this time it will be a Mercedes unlike the 3 BM's she has had previously.
It feels like they weren't meant to be lifted manually, but when you want to get in the boot and feel resistance you got no choice to give it a harder shove.
So far my third set have done a couple of years, but as i said they now only get used in the warmer months where they lift no problem.
dubster2007 said:
Thats the same problem i had on my second set, you get a horrible bang as you manually lift the tailgate.Found out it was the longer of the two plastic covers popping off the strut body.
It feels like they weren't meant to be lifted manually, but when you want to get in the boot and feel resistance you got no choice to give it a harder shove.
So far my third set have done a couple of years, but as i said they now only get used in the warmer months where they lift no problem.
Its a pity that we could not force BMW into supplying parts that made to last instead of fobbing us off with these duds.It feels like they weren't meant to be lifted manually, but when you want to get in the boot and feel resistance you got no choice to give it a harder shove.
So far my third set have done a couple of years, but as i said they now only get used in the warmer months where they lift no problem.
I have tried others but they are just gas struts and only hold the tailgate open and not lift it.
Good idea though of replacing the good ones with others during the winter months, I will have to see what I can do as I have 2 compacts!
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