E46 330 Sport Convertible - Not A Great Drive - Fixable ?
Discussion
Hi,
Just returned from buying one - I wanted a RWD convertible to have as my sensible family car and wanted a glass rear screen so the E46 seemed the best choice.
It is a:
2004
330 Sport
6 speed
18" MV on Mich PS2 (or 3) tyres
FSH but mostly std garages
The issues:
There is a hiccup when pulling away
It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
There is little feel to the steering and none through the throttle nor seat
Basically it seems to be more of a cruiser than my wife's Mazda6 Sport, which surprises me.
Is this how they are or can I change / uprate a few things ?
Just returned from buying one - I wanted a RWD convertible to have as my sensible family car and wanted a glass rear screen so the E46 seemed the best choice.
It is a:
2004
330 Sport
6 speed
18" MV on Mich PS2 (or 3) tyres
FSH but mostly std garages
The issues:
There is a hiccup when pulling away
It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
There is little feel to the steering and none through the throttle nor seat
Basically it seems to be more of a cruiser than my wife's Mazda6 Sport, which surprises me.
Is this how they are or can I change / uprate a few things ?
V8RX7 said:
There is a hiccup when pulling away
It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
I've got a similar thing on mine (2003 330ci Clubsport 6-speed manual)- when pulling away it feels like it loses power and sometimes kangaroos a bit. Makes it very hard to pull away smoothly. Mine also starts misfiring during the warmup cycle (perfect when hot though) and I think it's related.It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
From my research it could be:
- ICV
- DISA Valve
- VANOS
V8RX7 said:
There is little feel to the steering and none through the throttle nor seat
Basically it seems to be more of a cruiser than my wife's Mazda6 Sport, which surprises me.
This seems normal. It's no sports car I'm afraid, despite the big wheels, rock hard suspension and stupid spoiler (on mine at least).Basically it seems to be more of a cruiser than my wife's Mazda6 Sport, which surprises me.
St John Smythe said:
The E46 is definitely more of a tourer than sports car. Especially when compared to a sorted E36.
Yes I preferred the feel of my E36 328 to the E46 328 Touring I had BUT a friends E46 Sport felt far better.I wanted a convertible to take the kids to school (can't get them in my MX5) and I wanted a "nice" car with a glass rear screen - so it was either the E46, CLK or A4
The CLK feels like an old mans car the A4 just isn't me even though the quattro appealed for the winter - when you look at the mpg and performance trade off the E46 3ltr Sport seems the best option.
V8RX7 said:
Hi,
The issues:
There is a hiccup when pulling away
It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
Any fault codes logged? Might be worth checking for sensors?The issues:
There is a hiccup when pulling away
It feels like it has less power than my old E36 328 low down - power comes it a bit better up top - it might be deceptive as the speedo indicates limits are reached quickly.
Is this normal or could it be due to the remap ?
northwest monkey said:
It does do this exceptionally well. Drive it like this & you'll be delighted.
Well... it might be my memory or it might have a problem or the Superchips remap but I recall my E36 328 having a lot more power low down and not needing to be revved like this does.I followed my friend back in her std 320D - I had to rev it to 6k to keep up.
i had an E46 330ci and they are heavy cars, a convertible will only add weight and make it feel more vague due to lack of solid roof
However powerflex bushes all round and on decent tyres i could made pretty good progress on all the country/quieter a roads near me. is your friend with the E46 local to you? perhaps you could get him to drive yours and see what he thinks. I will admit at first mine was like this coming from a diesel, took it to a mate who works at a well known indy garage near me and the car was fine just there was a bit of a 'nack' to smooth pull away in them
However powerflex bushes all round and on decent tyres i could made pretty good progress on all the country/quieter a roads near me. is your friend with the E46 local to you? perhaps you could get him to drive yours and see what he thinks. I will admit at first mine was like this coming from a diesel, took it to a mate who works at a well known indy garage near me and the car was fine just there was a bit of a 'nack' to smooth pull away in them
The hiccup and difficulty pulling away is normal; they all have a delay on the throttle and a clutch delay valve. To demonstrate the former, put the car in second gear at 20mph and take your foot off the throttle completely, then give it an inch of throttle - you'll notice a significant delay before the engine responds. That removes the connection between car and driver when balancing the car in corners or modulating the throttle and makes pulling away more difficult. All petrol BMWs bar the E90/92 M3 have been like that since the year 2000 for the 3 series and since 1997 for the 5. The diesel ones don't do it, which is why after owning two such BMWs I now drive a 320d.
ETA: In answer to your question, no, it's not fixable. You can buy a box that amplifies the signal, but that just makes the throttle do more in a shorter travel (like Porsche's 'sport' button); or you can remap it (like I did), which helps a little but won't remove the problem. The only solution is to step back in time to the E36, which had a cable throttle, which is what I did until it became too old and too unreliable, or buy a diesel/another make of car.
The plus points of a BMW compared with most cars these days are a much lower centre of gravity and of course rear wheel drive. Much of the 'sportiness' in modern FWD cars is just an illusion caused by the front wheel geometry - when you actually push on a bit they fall apart into understeer, not too mention all that weight over the front wheels. A BMW or Merc will feel more laid back, but they generally remain totally linear right up to and beyond the limit, which is why they're favoured by most keen drivers, and they of course have far better weight distribution and steering and drive are shared out, rather than all done by the front wheels.
ETA: In answer to your question, no, it's not fixable. You can buy a box that amplifies the signal, but that just makes the throttle do more in a shorter travel (like Porsche's 'sport' button); or you can remap it (like I did), which helps a little but won't remove the problem. The only solution is to step back in time to the E36, which had a cable throttle, which is what I did until it became too old and too unreliable, or buy a diesel/another make of car.
The plus points of a BMW compared with most cars these days are a much lower centre of gravity and of course rear wheel drive. Much of the 'sportiness' in modern FWD cars is just an illusion caused by the front wheel geometry - when you actually push on a bit they fall apart into understeer, not too mention all that weight over the front wheels. A BMW or Merc will feel more laid back, but they generally remain totally linear right up to and beyond the limit, which is why they're favoured by most keen drivers, and they of course have far better weight distribution and steering and drive are shared out, rather than all done by the front wheels.
Edited by RobM77 on Saturday 16th November 13:02
oh and you mention the service history by normal garages, is there any indication as to what oil they used? has an inspection 1 and inspection 2 been carried out?
have you checked the oil level on yours? i know it sounds simple but some of these love the stuff! mine used a 1L every 1000 - 1500 miles, fully synthetic 5W40 would see nearer the 1500 miles where 5W30 would be used up sooner
Service history every 15000 miles and should be either: oil change,inspection 1, inspection 2 or
oil change,inspection 1, oil change, inspection 2 cant remember off the top of my head
finally the Mazda 6 sport isn't the most dull car in the world either, my dad had the 180bhp 2.2 diesel and my old manual coupe was more fun and faster but a auto convertible might not be... the Mazda also has a good sporty gearbox and clutch with a very punchy engine
have you checked the oil level on yours? i know it sounds simple but some of these love the stuff! mine used a 1L every 1000 - 1500 miles, fully synthetic 5W40 would see nearer the 1500 miles where 5W30 would be used up sooner
Service history every 15000 miles and should be either: oil change,inspection 1, inspection 2 or
oil change,inspection 1, oil change, inspection 2 cant remember off the top of my head
finally the Mazda 6 sport isn't the most dull car in the world either, my dad had the 180bhp 2.2 diesel and my old manual coupe was more fun and faster but a auto convertible might not be... the Mazda also has a good sporty gearbox and clutch with a very punchy engine
V8RX7 said:
How would that help any of my problems - they are identical
The coupe is over 150kg lighter, with a more rigid shell (you'd be surprised how much this influences cornering 'urgency') I've compared both. Whilst its a superb tourer (i'd have one) the cabrio is no sports car...its just too heavy.
Rumple said:
OP don't put poly bushes on it, fit a pair of Meyle HD lollipops, this should cure your dead steering issue, I went from a 328 to a 330, the 330 does seem slower because of the low down torque on the E36 but in my case it isn't.
I did this to mine (myself too, was easy when the bushes are supplied in the metal lollipops), and the drive was much improved.the remap could be causing all sorts of issues, but I guess we wont really know unless you change this.
2 things you can try for free- there is a procedure to reset the throttle response and you do this by pressing the throttle and turning the key to a set position. I can't remember exactly but if you google it you should find it.
the 2nd idea is to turn off the ESP. If you press it down you'll first get the amber esp warning, but if you keep holding it you will get the handbrake warning up too. Now have a drive and see if it improves things for you.
crosseyedlion said:
The coupe is over 150kg lighter, with a more rigid shell (you'd be surprised how much this influences cornering 'urgency')
I've compared both. Whilst its a duperb tourer (i'd have one) the cabrio is no sports car...its just too heavy.
For any kind of modification the coupe is much better. Lighter and quicker. I've compared both. Whilst its a duperb tourer (i'd have one) the cabrio is no sports car...its just too heavy.
If not, buy the 3.2M and stop mucking about with the 3.0
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