'Upping my Green Credentials' - Meergrün E36 328i Trio
Discussion
yeah the auto box isn't bad at all, I'm glad I can have both for different applications. I find the brakes on the vert seem to be less good than on the coupé, possibly because it's heavier, and I guess it's like braking with the gas pedal slightly depressed as being an auto, it will always roll forward by itself.
dragonheart said:
Seen you Sunday, I was sat in Henry's Bar Mount Pleasant looking out of the window whilst enjoying a nice pint when you came through the lights. Must say the Coupe was looking and sounding very nice.
ah nice 
I drove past there two or three times on Sunday, haha! Do you live in the area then? Haven't updated the thread much lately but I haven't done that much to the cars either. However, today I decided I was sick of the bent diffuser so I finally fitted the M-style diffuser I bought ages ago. Looks OK, but I am wondering if I shouldn't give it a lash of primer & Satin Black as it kinda clashes a bit with the rest of the black trim. It's OK at the moment as I've just given the mouldings a generous squirt of Back to Black. On the bright side, it fits perfectly round the exhaust tips without touching and makes them look a little less gigantic, which is no bad thing. Or maybe I should paint it Meergrun to match the bodywork... thoughts?
I also did a rough touch-up of the convertible's rusty arch to tide me over until I can afford to get them both into the body shop to have their various scrapes & scars dealt with.
I love how from certain angles they both look the same!
All this is making me think, however, that I really need a Meergrun E36 touring just for the sake of having an awesome collection! Although I might need a bit of extra driveway space!
Coming soon: Style 32s for the convertible!
I also did a rough touch-up of the convertible's rusty arch to tide me over until I can afford to get them both into the body shop to have their various scrapes & scars dealt with.
I love how from certain angles they both look the same!
All this is making me think, however, that I really need a Meergrun E36 touring just for the sake of having an awesome collection! Although I might need a bit of extra driveway space!
Coming soon: Style 32s for the convertible!
Edited by vsonix on Thursday 13th June 19:21
I am, there was a chap in Ireland breaking a Meergrun 318is and I tried to buy the M kit off him but I think he decided he couldn't be arsed with couriers and whatnot... My original plan was to keep it non-M where possible but if I do see a suitable bumper going cheap I might consider it, as I'm STILL waiting for the body shop guy to get back to me with a date to do the cosmetic refresh (it's gonna be at a discount through a mate so I guess I have to wait for a suitable lull in bread-and-butter stuff).
Those E46 wheels are hideous aren't they! I cannot wait to get rid! Someone locally has a set of 5x 16" Style 32 he'll let me have cheap but I'm starting to like the idea of whacking some 5 series ones with a bit more aggressive offset and dish on there. Might just be able to get away without any arch tomfoolery!
Those E46 wheels are hideous aren't they! I cannot wait to get rid! Someone locally has a set of 5x 16" Style 32 he'll let me have cheap but I'm starting to like the idea of whacking some 5 series ones with a bit more aggressive offset and dish on there. Might just be able to get away without any arch tomfoolery!
Edited by vsonix on Thursday 13th June 21:20
sc4589 said:
The 16" ones look rubbish- hold out for a staggered set from a Z3, or some E46 ones- perfect look, as far as 32s go!
yeah that's what I'm starting to think, although these ones are cheap enough that I might just buy them anyway as winters for the coupé then get rid of all the other wheels I have knocking around (2 sets of 15" and the horrible E46 wheels) Or I might wait a bit longer until I get a bit more cash and hit eBay Germany again...
Well, I pulled the trigger on the 16" Style 32 - full set of five with tyres for the price of a night out didn't seem too much to deal with. They're a big improvement over the wheels that were on there beforehand and since I was taking the cars to a show I wanted them looking as good as possible. However, I still want more dish so I think I will keep them on there temporarily until I find something I really like, then I will probably get winter tyres fitted and use them on the coupé. Having slightly lower profile tyres than the outgoing wheels has made the front arch gap even huger and now I can't not lower it! Next up, new springs. Or maybe budget coilies - I don't intend to drive this car anything like as hard as the coupé so I can probably live with coilovers - just as long as they're TUV approved and from somewhere reputable of course!
here are the twins at South West Autosport this weekend...
here are the twins at South West Autosport this weekend...
sc4589 said:
They look great together! The 16" 32s are better than the E46 wheels too. I've got some Eibach Sportlines going spare if you want to rejig the convertible's suspension??
ooh yeah that could be an option... how much do they lower by? The car's not even done 75k yet so the stock shocks should still have a fair bit of life left in them... sc4589 said:
They're meant to be 60/40, but they're for the iron engine so will be more like 58/40... 
I've got the equivalent Bilsteins on my Touring and they look superb. Also have new rear shocks going spare, or the MTech upgraded suspension (15-25mm drop)... just got it all, really...
hmmm... almost tempting to take the H&R off the coupe, put them on the vert and get 60/40 on the coupe as I'm slightly regretting not going the whloe hog on the coupe since I have the shortened dampers n'all. Fire us over a PM with what you want for them! I've got the equivalent Bilsteins on my Touring and they look superb. Also have new rear shocks going spare, or the MTech upgraded suspension (15-25mm drop)... just got it all, really...
So I realised recently that I hadn't updated this diary thread at all in ages - I've been really busy, and haven't had many interesting photo ops lately, however there have been a few more changes to the car, which I am very happy with indeed, namely:
M50 manifold conversion - definitely believe the hype on this one. Combined with the remapped ECU from BMWsEnthusiast and the breathing mods, as well as the car being *much* quicker and more revvy and fun to drive, I've seen a whopping 15-20% increase in MPG on the motorway which is a sweet bonus.
I fitted a mint condition centre console arm rest, which was sorely missed as all my other E36s have had one there, I like resting my arm but also it means the contents of the centre tray aren't as visible, and I think makes the cabin more aesthetically complete. I also had a Cobra alarm system fitted - mostly because I was really starting to miss the remote central locking present on my other E36s
I also changed the camshaft position sensor as although the PO had fitted a new one it was a non-OEM one and as per their reputation, it failed.
Next up is new front discs and pads as the current ones are nearly gone and I'm gonna be taking her on a 2000+ mile round trip to the bottom end of France again in a couple of weeks - almost a year to the day when I drove her down there with sagging suspension and no idea if it was gonna behave or not. Now she is properly sorted (bodywork aside... that rust is gonna get sorted very soon)the road trip is going to be even more awesome...
M50 manifold conversion - definitely believe the hype on this one. Combined with the remapped ECU from BMWsEnthusiast and the breathing mods, as well as the car being *much* quicker and more revvy and fun to drive, I've seen a whopping 15-20% increase in MPG on the motorway which is a sweet bonus.
I fitted a mint condition centre console arm rest, which was sorely missed as all my other E36s have had one there, I like resting my arm but also it means the contents of the centre tray aren't as visible, and I think makes the cabin more aesthetically complete. I also had a Cobra alarm system fitted - mostly because I was really starting to miss the remote central locking present on my other E36s
I also changed the camshaft position sensor as although the PO had fitted a new one it was a non-OEM one and as per their reputation, it failed.
Next up is new front discs and pads as the current ones are nearly gone and I'm gonna be taking her on a 2000+ mile round trip to the bottom end of France again in a couple of weeks - almost a year to the day when I drove her down there with sagging suspension and no idea if it was gonna behave or not. Now she is properly sorted (bodywork aside... that rust is gonna get sorted very soon)the road trip is going to be even more awesome...
So, I've just booked my car in to a body shop who did a decent job on my mate's Fiat Coupé recently. I did have someone else in mind whose work is second to none but I was getting sick of trying to pin him down - seems there is quite a bit of truth in the saying that good bodywork people are hard to find as they're generally always flat out!
It's not gonna be particularly cheap - although I'm still getting a decent discount - but it has got to the point where I've sunk enough into the car to make it silly to allow the rust to undermine my efforts. Once I get it visually fixed up I'll probably hit lots of shows in 2014 and then just chill out and enjoy having a nice fresh daily, making sure to park it at the other end of the supermarket car park, of course!
It's not gonna be particularly cheap - although I'm still getting a decent discount - but it has got to the point where I've sunk enough into the car to make it silly to allow the rust to undermine my efforts. Once I get it visually fixed up I'll probably hit lots of shows in 2014 and then just chill out and enjoy having a nice fresh daily, making sure to park it at the other end of the supermarket car park, of course!
So, I'm as happy as ever with my Hartge wheels on the coupé but these 17" Bayern Rapp wheels popped up for a good price - clean condition with good rubber all round - so I couldn't resist. They're ET15 so as you can see there's a bit more poke and it would seem I might have to do a bit of arch work as there's a bit of rubbing at the back. Also of course with OEM SE ride height, the front looks utterly comical... so I will be getting some coilies on there sharpish - or upgrading the coupé and putting the B4/H&R combo on there - I haven't decided. Anyway, they've totally changed the look of the car, definitely less subtle but I think they still work very well with the green. Tempted to polish the lip or shadow chrome the centres though... The nice thing is they are a couple of kilos lighter each than the 16" style 32 I had on there before so I can consider them a performance upgrade and not just for looks
Meanwhile, another coupe came to visit...
Meanwhile, another coupe came to visit...
Edited by vsonix on Friday 13th September 23:53
Edited by vsonix on Monday 23 September 23:55
Few bits for the convertible today -
£cheap coilovers. Controversial choice, I know, but considering this is a car that gets used in summer only and by its very nature isn't likely to be driven especially hard round corners, and that I want some degree of control over ride height, they seem to be pretty much the only option without spending more than on a decent spring/shock package. These ones are TuV certified and have a two year warranty, so for a hair over £170 I don't think that's too bad. I also got some Z3 rear strut tower reinforcement plates (I run front and rear on the coupé) but I'm thinking about camber adjustable top mounts on the front which cost about the same and negate the need for the plates up front.
As well as the coilies, some skinnier tyres for the rears (currently 215/45/17 dropping to 205/40) so they will be the same as the front... Hopefully with the drop this will mean a perfect fitment with no arch roll!
I also managed to snag another M50 manifold, conversion kit and remapped ECU for a decent price so I'm gonna go M50 on the 'vert too. I was planning to leave it standard but the MPG gains I have got since adding the remap to the coupé I'm finding the relatively high consumption coupled with the standard unmodded sluggishness a bit much to bear! So looks like the convertible's set to become a bit of a beast too!
£cheap coilovers. Controversial choice, I know, but considering this is a car that gets used in summer only and by its very nature isn't likely to be driven especially hard round corners, and that I want some degree of control over ride height, they seem to be pretty much the only option without spending more than on a decent spring/shock package. These ones are TuV certified and have a two year warranty, so for a hair over £170 I don't think that's too bad. I also got some Z3 rear strut tower reinforcement plates (I run front and rear on the coupé) but I'm thinking about camber adjustable top mounts on the front which cost about the same and negate the need for the plates up front.
As well as the coilies, some skinnier tyres for the rears (currently 215/45/17 dropping to 205/40) so they will be the same as the front... Hopefully with the drop this will mean a perfect fitment with no arch roll!
I also managed to snag another M50 manifold, conversion kit and remapped ECU for a decent price so I'm gonna go M50 on the 'vert too. I was planning to leave it standard but the MPG gains I have got since adding the remap to the coupé I'm finding the relatively high consumption coupled with the standard unmodded sluggishness a bit much to bear! So looks like the convertible's set to become a bit of a beast too!
Edited by vsonix on Friday 20th September 22:03
So, got my coilovers (and strut tower reinforcement plates!) on the convertible... As usual the components were scrutinised by Cat Scan to investigate their suitability.
Yes I know she is a teeny bit low, and will be coming up a centimetre or so as I've already caught a couple of speed bumps in the immediate vicinity of my house! However, I actually really like the firm ride and the handling's tightened up loads. Obviously I haven't really driven her hard yet, but I think actually for £170-odd these coilies are OK, I mean they have a 2 year warranty and they're TuV approved so they can't be too awful, right?
Also, my M50 manifold and remapped ECU arrived but I will probably wait until the spring to fit it.
Yes I know she is a teeny bit low, and will be coming up a centimetre or so as I've already caught a couple of speed bumps in the immediate vicinity of my house! However, I actually really like the firm ride and the handling's tightened up loads. Obviously I haven't really driven her hard yet, but I think actually for £170-odd these coilies are OK, I mean they have a 2 year warranty and they're TuV approved so they can't be too awful, right?
Also, my M50 manifold and remapped ECU arrived but I will probably wait until the spring to fit it.
Edited by vsonix on Thursday 26th September 21:30
Got a Boston Green hard top off of FleaBay for the 'vert... I actually like the 2-tone contrast with the darker green roof, but unfortunately in bright sunlight you see the very obvious difference in the metallic flake between the two shades. Whilst hopefully in very bright sunlight I'd have the top down anyway, I still think it could do with remedying so I'm going to have a look at Fern Green or Oxford Green to see if they'd be a better match, or possibly look at plasti-dipping the hard top in a colour that is closer to the original colour of the soft-top (which is quite badly faded and will be getting dyed soon).
There is also the option of colour-matching, but I'm not sure if I like the look of the hard top so much when it is a lighter shade...
Thoughts on the various options?
Oh, and I brought the ride up an inch or so as the sound of the X-brace scraping on things was making me cry. Stupid bad roads. My road hasn't been resurfaced in well over fifteen years and has developed undulations that rival the most fierce of speed bumps...
There is also the option of colour-matching, but I'm not sure if I like the look of the hard top so much when it is a lighter shade...
Thoughts on the various options?
Oh, and I brought the ride up an inch or so as the sound of the X-brace scraping on things was making me cry. Stupid bad roads. My road hasn't been resurfaced in well over fifteen years and has developed undulations that rival the most fierce of speed bumps...
Paul S4 said:
Perhaps get the hard top resprayed in black...I have a metallic violet 328 cab and bought a metallic black hard top. Black suits any colour and is easier to sell on as well!
I actually tried a black one on for size, it looked kinda drab by comparison. I once saw a 'vert the same colour with a black soft top and that didn't really look right either. I think it's basically a choice of three options, (a) colour code (b) choose a better contrasting shade of green (c) plasti-dip a similar shade to the soft-top and leave it like a matte finish (almost like an oldskool vinyl hard-top)... Well, plasti-dip is a cheap, non-destructive option so I think I am gonna try a shade of plasti-dip similar to the soft top first of all, and if I don't like it, I'll go for a colour match... When it comes to resale (heaven forfend!) I may find it more lucrative selling a mint Boston Green hard top separately at the right time, than bundling it with the car.
Edited by vsonix on Tuesday 8th October 00:45
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