BMW E46 320i - M54B22 - Father and Son project
Discussion
TheLoraxxZeus said:
Thoughts on these coilovers? I've been on the fence about them because well....cheap. I'm running a set of really f
ked up Tein Streets on my MX-5 (the £500 single perch model) that I picked up for £90 on Facebook. However they ride really bad and were supposed to be a stop gap to replace the 20+ year old OEM ones that were shot.
The car does the odd trip out but mostly gets trashed on the track, so got some concerns about the life of them but I'm wondering if they do happening to develop issues it would be within the 1 year warranty.
My initial impressions are good really. I'm running standard top mounts and not mega low, I've set it at that height because that seems to be the preferred height for the track M3's etc.ked up Tein Streets on my MX-5 (the £500 single perch model) that I picked up for £90 on Facebook. However they ride really bad and were supposed to be a stop gap to replace the 20+ year old OEM ones that were shot.The car does the odd trip out but mostly gets trashed on the track, so got some concerns about the life of them but I'm wondering if they do happening to develop issues it would be within the 1 year warranty.
It's definitely not hard or crashy. Stiffer than oem but not ridiculous. It is a little bouncy at the rear but I haven't fitted the rear shocks yet so I'll post my findings once these have been fitted.
If I had the money then I would go for a set of GAZ. The GAZ I had on my 330 were something else but they were nearly 7 times the cost of the pro sport. If you're not serious about chasing lap times etc on track and just want to hav3 a good time then I would say these are more than up to the job. I've learnt with my 330 not to listen to internet rules about what you do and don't need to have fun at a track day. You don't need 1k plus suspension etc you just need a well maintained car, decent brakes and you'll gave loads of fun!
Wholesome man I love it.
Me and my father wanted to do something like this when I was a teenager but alas life does its thing, doesn't it!
Hope it all goes well dude, sure your lad will enjoy the experience and look back fondly on it later in life - with some serious car knowledge behind him too!
Me and my father wanted to do something like this when I was a teenager but alas life does its thing, doesn't it!
Hope it all goes well dude, sure your lad will enjoy the experience and look back fondly on it later in life - with some serious car knowledge behind him too!
I managed an interior overhaul on the B22 at weekend!!
My plan has always been to M sport the interior as the se seats, wheel and gearknob just aren't that great really and plus the drivers seat bolster was ripped anyway!!
So first things first I started off with a change of gearknob to a weighted clubsport gearknob!!
Old one:
I'd already removed the gaiter as it was cracked etc and new one!!
Much better and the feel of the gear change is now miles better. It a taking a little getting used to as it's a lot shorter than the old one but miles better.
Next job to tackle was the front seats and the front seats only (strange I know right) but my lot of was that the rear seats don't even look like they've been sat on so I just needed a pair of leather front seats. Try and save a bit of money as I don't need a full interior.
This parcel arrived from quarry motors and in it was a pair of coupe leather manual front seats for the sum of £120. Bargain.
Onto the fitting of these and it wasn't a bad job really. The way the seat belt fastens into a coupe is different to a saloon so I had to swap the outer seat runner and also removed the folding handles as they're in a saloon now so don't need them.
Only two 10 mms holding the runner on so it was a nice easy job to swap over.
Old seats.
New seats!
Again massive improvement on the driving position and feel of the car and don't nearly fall out of these now when I go around a corner!!
Next and last on the m sport refresh was the steering wheel.
Old wheel. Se bus wheel.
I got an M sport steering wheel off eBay and the steering wheel buttons didn't seem to for properly when the new wheel arrived. A little bit of investigation later and the button tabs are snapped (probably because someone coulsnt access the screw with a slim t20. The button packs are the same (se to M sport) so a switch over was required.
Bare wheel.
Broken tabs.
Swapped and done.
Fitted.
I think I've got lucky with this steering wheel as I paid the going rate for an M sport wheel on ebay but I think it's been retrimmed. I've had a few m sport e46s and for some reason this wheel just seems different to me, maybe someone else can see what they think.
That's it for now really. M sport interior overhaul complete.
My plan has always been to M sport the interior as the se seats, wheel and gearknob just aren't that great really and plus the drivers seat bolster was ripped anyway!!
So first things first I started off with a change of gearknob to a weighted clubsport gearknob!!
Old one:
I'd already removed the gaiter as it was cracked etc and new one!!
Much better and the feel of the gear change is now miles better. It a taking a little getting used to as it's a lot shorter than the old one but miles better.
Next job to tackle was the front seats and the front seats only (strange I know right) but my lot of was that the rear seats don't even look like they've been sat on so I just needed a pair of leather front seats. Try and save a bit of money as I don't need a full interior.
This parcel arrived from quarry motors and in it was a pair of coupe leather manual front seats for the sum of £120. Bargain.
Onto the fitting of these and it wasn't a bad job really. The way the seat belt fastens into a coupe is different to a saloon so I had to swap the outer seat runner and also removed the folding handles as they're in a saloon now so don't need them.
Only two 10 mms holding the runner on so it was a nice easy job to swap over.
Old seats.
New seats!
Again massive improvement on the driving position and feel of the car and don't nearly fall out of these now when I go around a corner!!
Next and last on the m sport refresh was the steering wheel.
Old wheel. Se bus wheel.
I got an M sport steering wheel off eBay and the steering wheel buttons didn't seem to for properly when the new wheel arrived. A little bit of investigation later and the button tabs are snapped (probably because someone coulsnt access the screw with a slim t20. The button packs are the same (se to M sport) so a switch over was required.
Bare wheel.
Broken tabs.
Swapped and done.
Fitted.
I think I've got lucky with this steering wheel as I paid the going rate for an M sport wheel on ebay but I think it's been retrimmed. I've had a few m sport e46s and for some reason this wheel just seems different to me, maybe someone else can see what they think.
That's it for now really. M sport interior overhaul complete.
Court_S said:
helix402 said:
You’ll have to resist the F10 M5 illuminated gear knob!
I’m tempted to fit one to the 330i even though it’s already got the weight gear knob.But despite that I bought one for my Z4M Coupe - just need to find the brave pills to get it to fit.
Court_S said:
I’ll look into it properly; I assume power is just taken from the cigarette lighter.
Sorry OP for threat hijack! It was a while ago that I fitted one. It needed a ground and switched illumination positive. The knob comes with a connector. I made a short loom with a plug to make things neat. No problems on the thread chat, it all makes interesting reading!!
I did a little bit on B22 this morning. It was in desperate need of a back end refresh, tailgate light was missing, no idea what had happened to the 320 badge and the inner right off had gone.
First job was to sort the rear light, I got a replacement off eBay for £5 I think it was so I set about removing the old one, simple case of popping the rivets off the boot lid trim and removing the tool kit with the cool little furry screws!!
Removed the light and was left with a load of sort so I cleaned it up!!
Cleaned.
The new light didn't come with a bulb holder but luckily the old one miracously survived so refitted it all.
Another little job was to remove the 320 badge.
I got some wire from work to cut the badges off but there was no need because they just fell off in my hand. I then used a toffee wheel on a drill to get the remaining glue off (great bit of kit) and was left with.
Had a right result too this morning! Eagle eyed viewers will notice in the above pic the inner right pdc is there, well I had a reach up behind the bumper and guess what was just swinging round in there.....the sensor still plugged in so put that back in too!
New light makes the old one look pooh but it'll do for now.
Also for the bmw people out there I've seen an exhaust on ebay for a 318i, it's a y piece from the manifold into a 1 piece system to a back box. Anybody any ideas of dimensions of the y piece flanges will be the same as a 6 cyl m54 exhaust?!
I did a little bit on B22 this morning. It was in desperate need of a back end refresh, tailgate light was missing, no idea what had happened to the 320 badge and the inner right off had gone.
First job was to sort the rear light, I got a replacement off eBay for £5 I think it was so I set about removing the old one, simple case of popping the rivets off the boot lid trim and removing the tool kit with the cool little furry screws!!
Removed the light and was left with a load of sort so I cleaned it up!!
Cleaned.
The new light didn't come with a bulb holder but luckily the old one miracously survived so refitted it all.
Another little job was to remove the 320 badge.
I got some wire from work to cut the badges off but there was no need because they just fell off in my hand. I then used a toffee wheel on a drill to get the remaining glue off (great bit of kit) and was left with.
Had a right result too this morning! Eagle eyed viewers will notice in the above pic the inner right pdc is there, well I had a reach up behind the bumper and guess what was just swinging round in there.....the sensor still plugged in so put that back in too!
New light makes the old one look pooh but it'll do for now.
Also for the bmw people out there I've seen an exhaust on ebay for a 318i, it's a y piece from the manifold into a 1 piece system to a back box. Anybody any ideas of dimensions of the y piece flanges will be the same as a 6 cyl m54 exhaust?!
There's been a few more updates on the B22 over the last few months. I've done a little bit of maintenance and a little bit of modifications so a nice mix of everything really.
One of the things that I've done is replaced a certain item on the vehicle that shall we say wasn't the easiest thing to access and even when you access it the fun isn't over. I'll just put up a picture of this item and if you know you know!!
With the above sorted and things operational again this led on to my next bit of maintenance on the old girl.
No surprise to say that absolutely no gas at all came out of the car so I think it's never had an ac service in it's life. I vacced it for about 30 mins and it passed the pressure check so I gassed it with 745g which is a lot of ac gas. It's brilliant now though, especially at this time of year the screen clears really quickly, I also let of an ac dedoriser in the car at the same time which gives a nice smell when you use the aircon.
The next item on the list was a modification. One that I was really looking forward to! I collected the below for the bargain sum of £170. Had to drive up to the north east from Manchester to collect it but it's a small price to pay because I think to have the equivalent item made would be pretty expensive.
Its a full stainless 2 into 1 exhaust system with what looks like a res in the middle and then quite a large back box so it shouldn't be too loud and should fit nicely. It looks as if it's a full custom job so someone will probably have paid a lot of money to have the system made up. I'm looking forward to getting it fitted because the m54b22 is such a smooth quiet engine you don't even know it's running sometimes so a bit of nice will be good.
One of the things that I've done is replaced a certain item on the vehicle that shall we say wasn't the easiest thing to access and even when you access it the fun isn't over. I'll just put up a picture of this item and if you know you know!!
With the above sorted and things operational again this led on to my next bit of maintenance on the old girl.
No surprise to say that absolutely no gas at all came out of the car so I think it's never had an ac service in it's life. I vacced it for about 30 mins and it passed the pressure check so I gassed it with 745g which is a lot of ac gas. It's brilliant now though, especially at this time of year the screen clears really quickly, I also let of an ac dedoriser in the car at the same time which gives a nice smell when you use the aircon.
The next item on the list was a modification. One that I was really looking forward to! I collected the below for the bargain sum of £170. Had to drive up to the north east from Manchester to collect it but it's a small price to pay because I think to have the equivalent item made would be pretty expensive.
Its a full stainless 2 into 1 exhaust system with what looks like a res in the middle and then quite a large back box so it shouldn't be too loud and should fit nicely. It looks as if it's a full custom job so someone will probably have paid a lot of money to have the system made up. I'm looking forward to getting it fitted because the m54b22 is such a smooth quiet engine you don't even know it's running sometimes so a bit of nice will be good.
Fitment was quite straight forward but I did run into a few snags along the way. First was the studs on the flanges. I knew these were going to be an issue as id checked them out proper to starting the job and wasn't greeted with great things.
I soaked them in penetrating fluid but three of them snapped on undoing and the 4th nut had evaporated by this point anyway!
To remove the studs I got in with a grinder on the ones I could access and notched a slit on the flanges to relieve the pressure on the stud, it was just a simple case of tapping them out then! I couldn't access one with the grinder so I used heat and a mighty hammer which has bent the flange slightly but I think the mating surface is still straight so it should be right!! Anyway fitted!!
It sounds great and looks great. Really happy with it!!
I soaked them in penetrating fluid but three of them snapped on undoing and the 4th nut had evaporated by this point anyway!
To remove the studs I got in with a grinder on the ones I could access and notched a slit on the flanges to relieve the pressure on the stud, it was just a simple case of tapping them out then! I couldn't access one with the grinder so I used heat and a mighty hammer which has bent the flange slightly but I think the mating surface is still straight so it should be right!! Anyway fitted!!
It sounds great and looks great. Really happy with it!!
Looking brilliant, I've never understood why OEM exhausts almost exclusively used captive studs which evaporate rather than easy-to-replace through-bolts that could be sold in a little kit with the gaskets. The only manufacturer I've seen use it is PSA on the 106/Saxo.
On a BMW for example the OEM exhaust might last 15-20 years as they're such good quality, but the bolts are long since dead and gone.
On a BMW for example the OEM exhaust might last 15-20 years as they're such good quality, but the bolts are long since dead and gone.
Great project; it’s coming along really well 
One of the best looking BMWs
Keep your eyes on the front wings! The arch liners rub away on the lip on the inside of the wings and the rust gradually emerges. I replaced the front wings on my 53 plate Touring, only for the (genuine BMW) replacements to go the same way. The rear arches are prone to tin worm too
One of the best looking BMWs Keep your eyes on the front wings! The arch liners rub away on the lip on the inside of the wings and the rust gradually emerges. I replaced the front wings on my 53 plate Touring, only for the (genuine BMW) replacements to go the same way. The rear arches are prone to tin worm too
Edited by Escort3500 on Wednesday 22 November 22:35
Thanks for the comments everybody!
I'll keep my eye on the tin worm, strangely before this car came into my ownership it had been neglected more than my old 330 but is actually in better condition bodywise.
The exhaust sounds great, it's actually q little backwards but it's probably a little too loud on idle but then seems to quieten down as you accelerate until you're really moving and then it has a lovely S54 type rasp to it which is nice!
I'll keep my eye on the tin worm, strangely before this car came into my ownership it had been neglected more than my old 330 but is actually in better condition bodywise.
The exhaust sounds great, it's actually q little backwards but it's probably a little too loud on idle but then seems to quieten down as you accelerate until you're really moving and then it has a lovely S54 type rasp to it which is nice!
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