Discussion
Following a trio of E90 320si (and years before that an E46 325ti and 330D) it was time for a change: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
With the sale of my Pistonheads auction Mustang: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and Clive The Corvette still away in the States, I needed a daily driver. I like the E90 shape, reliability, smoothness and simplicity of the pre-2008 N52 naturally aspirated straight six and of course rear wheel drive, manual.
After a number of false starts looking at 325i (why are so many write offs?!), I found this 330i, for sale privately, in Worcester.
+
Well priced, advertised for £2500, I haggled and paid £1600.
M Sport spec for the more hugging seats, sharper looks and Xenons.
It's not black.
Decent history.
Not written off and appears to be accident free, with original paint.
Everything works.
-
The colour is still a bit too dark for me, but I can live with the grey.
The black wheels, side indicators and front window tints have got to go.
Substantial oil leak from the cam cover and sump (normal).
Coming up due for a service.
Paint needed on the rear bumper with two scuffs.
Small amount of rust on the rear tailgate, by the number plate lights.
Stone chipping on the front bumper and bonnet, with marks on the roof from a rack.
Needs brakes all round, discs corroded, pads low with a vibration.
Tyres are almost new, but front and rear don't match and are budgets.
Fortunately for me, service, oil leaks, new tyres and brakes are all easy enough for me to sort and give me a chance to use my preferred brands.
I drove it for a week, out of necessity but also to see what other work might be needed. Fortunately, it drives superbly, no major issues I could find. I do love the smoothness of an NA straight six.
I set to work ordering various parts and got to work this last weekend. Oil leak first off.
The clever, swivel oil cap appears to be the main source of the leak, so have a new, conventional one on order. BMW supplied the wrong cam cover gasket, so am waiting on a replacement (flat, metal style for these earlier engines). I will replace the valvetronic and sensor seals at the same time.
Air filter, the old one was actually very clean.
Unlike the cabin filter, which was grim.
New spark plugs.
Front window tints removed, with heat and a LOT of adhesive remover.
Hubcentric spacers with long bolts, 15mm rear and 10mm front. I'd say that a 20mm rear would have been better, but felt more comfortable with a thinner spacer, from a safety pov. Such a shame BMW made their wheels with such conservative offsets, they look far too tucked in.
I dropped the old oil, it was dark, but not black. Once the new gasket arrives I will be using Liqui Moly's finest, with a new filter.
More work planned, with a probable track outing and future family 'Ring trip in mind, but that brings things up to date. I'm just waiting on that gasket.
Thanks, Dave
With the sale of my Pistonheads auction Mustang: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and Clive The Corvette still away in the States, I needed a daily driver. I like the E90 shape, reliability, smoothness and simplicity of the pre-2008 N52 naturally aspirated straight six and of course rear wheel drive, manual.
After a number of false starts looking at 325i (why are so many write offs?!), I found this 330i, for sale privately, in Worcester.
+
Well priced, advertised for £2500, I haggled and paid £1600.
M Sport spec for the more hugging seats, sharper looks and Xenons.
It's not black.
Decent history.
Not written off and appears to be accident free, with original paint.
Everything works.
-
The colour is still a bit too dark for me, but I can live with the grey.
The black wheels, side indicators and front window tints have got to go.
Substantial oil leak from the cam cover and sump (normal).
Coming up due for a service.
Paint needed on the rear bumper with two scuffs.
Small amount of rust on the rear tailgate, by the number plate lights.
Stone chipping on the front bumper and bonnet, with marks on the roof from a rack.
Needs brakes all round, discs corroded, pads low with a vibration.
Tyres are almost new, but front and rear don't match and are budgets.
Fortunately for me, service, oil leaks, new tyres and brakes are all easy enough for me to sort and give me a chance to use my preferred brands.
I drove it for a week, out of necessity but also to see what other work might be needed. Fortunately, it drives superbly, no major issues I could find. I do love the smoothness of an NA straight six.
I set to work ordering various parts and got to work this last weekend. Oil leak first off.
The clever, swivel oil cap appears to be the main source of the leak, so have a new, conventional one on order. BMW supplied the wrong cam cover gasket, so am waiting on a replacement (flat, metal style for these earlier engines). I will replace the valvetronic and sensor seals at the same time.
Air filter, the old one was actually very clean.
Unlike the cabin filter, which was grim.
New spark plugs.
Front window tints removed, with heat and a LOT of adhesive remover.
Hubcentric spacers with long bolts, 15mm rear and 10mm front. I'd say that a 20mm rear would have been better, but felt more comfortable with a thinner spacer, from a safety pov. Such a shame BMW made their wheels with such conservative offsets, they look far too tucked in.
I dropped the old oil, it was dark, but not black. Once the new gasket arrives I will be using Liqui Moly's finest, with a new filter.
More work planned, with a probable track outing and future family 'Ring trip in mind, but that brings things up to date. I'm just waiting on that gasket.
Thanks, Dave
Edited by Fishy Dave on Tuesday 3rd June 12:43
Just commented on your other thread too...
That looks such a good car and as said; those bits you'll have sorted soon enough (you're already half way into them)
For brakes; if you just want standard; I can highly recommend the ATE discs and their ceramic pads via Autodoc; paired with HEL braided lines and fresh fluid, they make for excellent brakes; but also very little dust
You can fit the 340mm Brembo 4 pot calipers from the F3x cars to the front of your car IIRC; plug n play, as they are on the E81/87s; and like I have on my E81 130i LE - 2 piece 340mmBrembo discs and Pagid Street+ pads; absolutely brilliant braking and not that dusty at all
Mteconline's stud conversion kits very good too; better than longer bolts and makes it a breeze when removing/refitting wheels
That looks such a good car and as said; those bits you'll have sorted soon enough (you're already half way into them)
For brakes; if you just want standard; I can highly recommend the ATE discs and their ceramic pads via Autodoc; paired with HEL braided lines and fresh fluid, they make for excellent brakes; but also very little dust
You can fit the 340mm Brembo 4 pot calipers from the F3x cars to the front of your car IIRC; plug n play, as they are on the E81/87s; and like I have on my E81 130i LE - 2 piece 340mmBrembo discs and Pagid Street+ pads; absolutely brilliant braking and not that dusty at all
Mteconline's stud conversion kits very good too; better than longer bolts and makes it a breeze when removing/refitting wheels
venster70 said:
The engine looks clean, seems a good buy.
Interesting ramps, do these not crush the sills, I thought you could only use the mounting points on modern car sills, due to potentially crushing a bunch of plastic?
They'll be on the jack pads as they protrude down a good inch or soInteresting ramps, do these not crush the sills, I thought you could only use the mounting points on modern car sills, due to potentially crushing a bunch of plastic?
Looking good, and I think you avoided disappointment by not finding a 325i!
I decided I wanted an E91 in 2018 and manual petrol 6s were hard to find and mostly expensive so I compromised and got a 325i. But after a 325ti it felt a bit lethargic so it only lasted a year until it was replaced by a manual E90 330i SE. Another compromise, but it had the split/fold rear seat option, Xenons and electric sunroof. But it seems to have got under my skin as 6 years later I still have it even though it became a Cat N in 2023 when someone drove into the back of it.
The colour looks like Sparkling Graphite, the same as both my E91 and E90. Not ideal, but better than black!
I decided I wanted an E91 in 2018 and manual petrol 6s were hard to find and mostly expensive so I compromised and got a 325i. But after a 325ti it felt a bit lethargic so it only lasted a year until it was replaced by a manual E90 330i SE. Another compromise, but it had the split/fold rear seat option, Xenons and electric sunroof. But it seems to have got under my skin as 6 years later I still have it even though it became a Cat N in 2023 when someone drove into the back of it.
The colour looks like Sparkling Graphite, the same as both my E91 and E90. Not ideal, but better than black!
Mr Tidy said:
cerb4.5lee said:
jackcactii said:
Unicorn, an e90 with xenons
Plus the manual gearbox too. 
The N52 engine cries out for the manual gearbox in my view, so you definitely made the right choice.
cerb4.5lee said:
I spent ages looking for a manual in the spec/colour combo that I wanted, so in the end, I gave up and went with the auto instead. However that was a mistake with hindsight now though, because for me the auto doesn't suit the N52 engine much at all, unless you're just happy to potter around everywhere.
The N52 engine cries out for the manual gearbox in my view, so you definitely made the right choice.
Yes the N52 really suits a manual. I've never bought an Auto when there were manual models, so I've only had 4 Autos in 49 years - two Mercs and 2 Granadas. The N52 engine cries out for the manual gearbox in my view, so you definitely made the right choice.
danb79 said:
venster70 said:
The engine looks clean, seems a good buy.
Interesting ramps, do these not crush the sills, I thought you could only use the mounting points on modern car sills, due to potentially crushing a bunch of plastic?
They'll be on the jack pads as they protrude down a good inch or soInteresting ramps, do these not crush the sills, I thought you could only use the mounting points on modern car sills, due to potentially crushing a bunch of plastic?
danb79 said:
Just commented on your other thread too...
That looks such a good car and as said; those bits you'll have sorted soon enough (you're already half way into them)
For brakes; if you just want standard; I can highly recommend the ATE discs and their ceramic pads via Autodoc; paired with HEL braided lines and fresh fluid, they make for excellent brakes; but also very little dust
You can fit the 340mm Brembo 4 pot calipers from the F3x cars to the front of your car IIRC; plug n play, as they are on the E81/87s; and like I have on my E81 130i LE - 2 piece 340mmBrembo discs and Pagid Street+ pads; absolutely brilliant braking and not that dusty at all
Mteconline's stud conversion kits very good too; better than longer bolts and makes it a breeze when removing/refitting wheels
They do look good, really good. Given this is supposed to be my daily, I decided to stick to a cheaper option, with upgraded pads (EBC Blue Stuff all round) and EBC undrilled discs. That looks such a good car and as said; those bits you'll have sorted soon enough (you're already half way into them)
For brakes; if you just want standard; I can highly recommend the ATE discs and their ceramic pads via Autodoc; paired with HEL braided lines and fresh fluid, they make for excellent brakes; but also very little dust
You can fit the 340mm Brembo 4 pot calipers from the F3x cars to the front of your car IIRC; plug n play, as they are on the E81/87s; and like I have on my E81 130i LE - 2 piece 340mmBrembo discs and Pagid Street+ pads; absolutely brilliant braking and not that dusty at all
Mteconline's stud conversion kits very good too; better than longer bolts and makes it a breeze when removing/refitting wheels
Some nice, high temperature Liqui Moly race fluid, from Matty Evans Racing.
Having just posted that this is my daily and would therefore be maintained well, but with minimal upgrades......I decided to spend some money and buy a limited slip differential! 
When I'd previously owned an E46 325ti and the trio of E90 320si a lack of LSD wasn't a big problem. They didn't really have the power to overcome traction very often. However, the 330i did like to scrabble with the budget tyres fitted and having a little slide now and again is part of the fun of rwd.
Having looked at plated diffs, I couldn't justify spending almost the purchase price on one, so have gambled on a cheap, torque-biasing lsd, from Blackline. £550 delivered from Matt Lewis Racing, maintenance free and uses the same, stock-spec diff oil. Sure, it wouldn't a drifters choice, nor one for a serious track car, but it should suit a daily driver looking for fun and extra traction.
The case required a little fettling to ease fitting and I changed a few seals whilst I was in there.
My little 5 year old helped by coming on and off the brakes, whilst I tightened up each splined bolt on the halfshafts. It used all his strength, but he did it, perhaps due to his Crocs?
New Liqui Moly diff oil went back in and the test driver revealed..... no change in sound or feel at all, perfect! Traction and DSC off + roundabout delivered a nice drift with no wimping out, excellent.
Driving back from work I pressed the wrong window button, the drivers rear window dropping, but then refusing to go back up. New window regulator required, less than £20 from ebay and an easy hours work to fit.
The horrible vibration at speed remained, but whilst it was on my lift I could see why, the original BMW wheels were in various states of buckle or previous welded repair. A search for used wheels revealed just how many have been repaired previously, so I looked at the aftermarket. I settled on a set of anthracite STROM STR-F1, staggered set, 9" rear, 8" front. The offsets are horribly conservative, still requiring spacers to maximise visual effect, but they are flow-formed and seem like a good balance between weight and strength. I really wanted silver, but I could live with the satin grey; I certainly prefer them to black.
Tyres were an easy choice: Yokohama. As a company they have been brilliant to work with, supporting me on two Clive The Corvette adventures now. Before that arrangement I bought a set of V105 on the Corvette and am still using them now, on the USA road trip. They have been superceded by the V107, so that's what I went for. They are a nice performance road tyre, sure footed in the wet and dry, though not a track tyre. I could have gone for something a little wider, but stuck with the stock sizes.
With a North Weald handling day coming up and not a chance of getting the C6 shipped back in time, I knew I would have to use the 330i. Not ideal for a new set of wheels and tyres, but as it is potentially the last ever day there (now Google are building a data centre) I didn't want to miss out. Just one final change to help turn-in and protect the tyre sidewalls and that's adding more negative front camber. With careful measurement, an equal amount of strut tower was die-ground and slotted. A quick toe-by-eye and we were off.
Too much grey? Do you like the design?
The day had a selection of 21 cars, including the odd Caterham, hot hatch and 2 seater. The latter category was well represented by the Corvette Club UK, with 6 cars, a pair of C3, a C4, pair of C5 and a C8.
I was really impressed with the BMW. Considering it's 150k mile vintage and original suspension it did well. The brakes and grip were genuinely impressive, delivering a best time of 1:13.6 around the timed Motorsport UK sprint course. This was the 5th best time of the day, out of the 21 cars. The LSD didn't really show itself much, perhaps because the tyres had more grip than the limited power could overcome.
I had to remove the 10mm front spacers (thanks to one of the Westfield guys for helping and lending me a jack) as the track is so bumpy that when applying steering lock the loaded outer tyre edge was catching the inner wing. Other than that, the car was perfect. The spacers went back on when I got home and it's been back to daily driver duties since.
Video here:
When I'd previously owned an E46 325ti and the trio of E90 320si a lack of LSD wasn't a big problem. They didn't really have the power to overcome traction very often. However, the 330i did like to scrabble with the budget tyres fitted and having a little slide now and again is part of the fun of rwd.Having looked at plated diffs, I couldn't justify spending almost the purchase price on one, so have gambled on a cheap, torque-biasing lsd, from Blackline. £550 delivered from Matt Lewis Racing, maintenance free and uses the same, stock-spec diff oil. Sure, it wouldn't a drifters choice, nor one for a serious track car, but it should suit a daily driver looking for fun and extra traction.
The case required a little fettling to ease fitting and I changed a few seals whilst I was in there.
My little 5 year old helped by coming on and off the brakes, whilst I tightened up each splined bolt on the halfshafts. It used all his strength, but he did it, perhaps due to his Crocs?
New Liqui Moly diff oil went back in and the test driver revealed..... no change in sound or feel at all, perfect! Traction and DSC off + roundabout delivered a nice drift with no wimping out, excellent.
Driving back from work I pressed the wrong window button, the drivers rear window dropping, but then refusing to go back up. New window regulator required, less than £20 from ebay and an easy hours work to fit.
The horrible vibration at speed remained, but whilst it was on my lift I could see why, the original BMW wheels were in various states of buckle or previous welded repair. A search for used wheels revealed just how many have been repaired previously, so I looked at the aftermarket. I settled on a set of anthracite STROM STR-F1, staggered set, 9" rear, 8" front. The offsets are horribly conservative, still requiring spacers to maximise visual effect, but they are flow-formed and seem like a good balance between weight and strength. I really wanted silver, but I could live with the satin grey; I certainly prefer them to black.
Tyres were an easy choice: Yokohama. As a company they have been brilliant to work with, supporting me on two Clive The Corvette adventures now. Before that arrangement I bought a set of V105 on the Corvette and am still using them now, on the USA road trip. They have been superceded by the V107, so that's what I went for. They are a nice performance road tyre, sure footed in the wet and dry, though not a track tyre. I could have gone for something a little wider, but stuck with the stock sizes.
With a North Weald handling day coming up and not a chance of getting the C6 shipped back in time, I knew I would have to use the 330i. Not ideal for a new set of wheels and tyres, but as it is potentially the last ever day there (now Google are building a data centre) I didn't want to miss out. Just one final change to help turn-in and protect the tyre sidewalls and that's adding more negative front camber. With careful measurement, an equal amount of strut tower was die-ground and slotted. A quick toe-by-eye and we were off.
Too much grey? Do you like the design?
The day had a selection of 21 cars, including the odd Caterham, hot hatch and 2 seater. The latter category was well represented by the Corvette Club UK, with 6 cars, a pair of C3, a C4, pair of C5 and a C8.
I was really impressed with the BMW. Considering it's 150k mile vintage and original suspension it did well. The brakes and grip were genuinely impressive, delivering a best time of 1:13.6 around the timed Motorsport UK sprint course. This was the 5th best time of the day, out of the 21 cars. The LSD didn't really show itself much, perhaps because the tyres had more grip than the limited power could overcome.
I had to remove the 10mm front spacers (thanks to one of the Westfield guys for helping and lending me a jack) as the track is so bumpy that when applying steering lock the loaded outer tyre edge was catching the inner wing. Other than that, the car was perfect. The spacers went back on when I got home and it's been back to daily driver duties since.
Video here:
I love the look of your Strom wheels, but maybe there is too much grey given the colour of your car?
Mine is an SE and came with 2 sets of horrible Style 158 wheels. It looked much better after I fitted a cheap set of Style 290s (E89 Z4) wheels and ran them for a few years, but I sold them before they needed tyres!
Mine is an SE and came with 2 sets of horrible Style 158 wheels. It looked much better after I fitted a cheap set of Style 290s (E89 Z4) wheels and ran them for a few years, but I sold them before they needed tyres!
Thanks all, yes, I agree, too much grey, but given the LSD and new wheels are approaching the purchase price, I'll have to live with them.
Well, if the all-grey look divided opinion, what do you think about this?
My wife hates it, my 5 year old thinks it's cool.
This 48 year old isn't sure, maybe ok on a track-prepped M3? It has at least added some colour.
Well, if the all-grey look divided opinion, what do you think about this?
My wife hates it, my 5 year old thinks it's cool.
This 48 year old isn't sure, maybe ok on a track-prepped M3? It has at least added some colour.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff