RE: BMW 325ti Compact: Spotted

[cmvtec]

I really like the E46 Compact, and I've nearly been into one a few times.

The only problem I really have is the Rover 45 front headlight treatment. Even then, I could possible see past it.

Edited by cmvtec on Tuesday 18th December 05:58

[s m]

cmvtec said:

I really like the E46 Compact, and I've nearly been into one a few times.

The only problem I really have is the Rover 45 front headlight treatment. Even then, I could possible see past it.

Edited by cmvtec on Tuesday 18th December 05:58

I'm surprised they didn't make the 4 light front end by using a headlight with a plastic surround( as with the front bumper ). Instead they made the bonnet with a metal headlight 'splitter'

[greenarrow]

F4R said:

daveco said:

EVO gave the 325ti a score of 4.5/5.


The 2.5 is a peach of an engine, feels very eager and combining it will a shorter final drive and c.1400kg weight would make it about as rapid as a Golf GTI Mk V.

Yeah it's a lovely engine. My 325ti pulled well to the redline and sounded fantastic. It would indeed keep up with a Golf GTI Mk5 as long as you worked the engine hard enough as the torque isn't great.

I followed a friend of mine in a Z4 3.0i once and there was very little in it performance wise, he was very surprised to see me still behind him.

These are bargain performance cars and are great value for money. Only thing I didn't like about it was the standard suspension but it transformed it once I fitted uprated jobbies.

Yup, as quick as a Golf GTI MkV, Autocar figures, 0-60, 6.9 and 0-100, 17.8, top speed, 144....
VW Golf GTI Mk5.0-60, 6.7..0-100, 18.0

Not sure how the RWD BMW ended up being slower from 0-60 than the FWD VW. I think from memory, 2nd gear ran out at 58 MPH, meaning a change to 3rd at the wrong time for a quick 0-60 time!!!

Reading this thread I realise I really do fancy one of these! Much more appealing than a rusty E46.

[daveco]

greenarrow said:

F4R said:

daveco said:

EVO gave the 325ti a score of 4.5/5.


The 2.5 is a peach of an engine, feels very eager and combining it will a shorter final drive and c.1400kg weight would make it about as rapid as a Golf GTI Mk V.

Yeah it's a lovely engine. My 325ti pulled well to the redline and sounded fantastic. It would indeed keep up with a Golf GTI Mk5 as long as you worked the engine hard enough as the torque isn't great.

I followed a friend of mine in a Z4 3.0i once and there was very little in it performance wise, he was very surprised to see me still behind him.

These are bargain performance cars and are great value for money. Only thing I didn't like about it was the standard suspension but it transformed it once I fitted uprated jobbies.

Yup, as quick as a Golf GTI MkV, Autocar figures, 0-60, 6.9 and 0-100, 17.8, top speed, 144....
VW Golf GTI Mk5.0-60, 6.7..0-100, 18.0

Not sure how the RWD BMW ended up being slower from 0-60 than the FWD VW. I think from memory, 2nd gear ran out at 58 MPH, meaning a change to 3rd at the wrong time for a quick 0-60 time!!!

Reading this thread I realise I really do fancy one of these! Much more appealing than a rusty E46.

:nod: Definitely down to the shorter final drive. If you remove the limiter then you have a 0-60 time somewhere in the low 6's. The ZHP 330 the Americans got, had a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds and 1/4 mile time of 14.3 seconds, redline extended to 6,800 rpm.

[s m]

greenarrow said:

Reading this thread I realise I really do fancy one of these! Much more appealing than a rusty E46.

I’d certainly try one chap, you might just like it - they’re not really much cheaper than 6 years back though.

I’ve had a fair few 6-pot BMs and it’s been my second favourite - the hatch is very handy for carrying stuff too, like a mini-Touring!

[Mr Tidy]

s m said:

greenarrow said:

Reading this thread I realise I really do fancy one of these! Much more appealing than a rusty E46.

I’d certainly try one chap, you might just like it - they’re not really much cheaper than 6 years back though.

I’ve had a fair few 6-pot BMs and it’s been my second favourite - the hatch is very handy for carrying stuff too, like a mini-Touring!

Definitely worth trying one - I had mine just over 3 years and loved it.

But I fancied a change and replaced it with an E91 full-size Touring 325i as it is more practical for a daily.

I still miss my Compact though - it felt better to drive than the Touring does.

[RSTurboPaul]

vsonix said:

Kawasicki said:

I just sold mine.

Positives include super smooth engine, negatives are the understeery balance and a lot of friction in the steering.

Didn’t really find it a fun car. Give me an E30 or E36 318is anytime.

Friction in the steering would imply something wrong with it.
Same with understeery balance, they're supposed to be pretty neutral when everything is as it should be, a slight tendency to understeer, but getting on the throttle sooner will fix that.
The versions with the sport suspension will be more fun to drive by defailt, slightly bigger ARBs and stiffer.

Am I right in thinking the tendency to understeer could be remedied with some suspension alignment adjustments and decent tyres?

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Wednesday 19th December 17:35

[RSTurboPaul]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

All 325ti's SE or Sport have sports suspension/thicker ARB/purple tag rack. Though worth pointing out the vast majority of these cars are still on their original suspension and will be tired. They can be a pretty enjoyable steer but refreshing the suspension and simple mods like CDV delete are essential to experience them properly.

CDV?

Circulating Dump Valve??

[MarkwG]

RSTurboPaul said:

CDV? Circulating Dump Valve??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutch_delay_valve

[s m]

RSTurboPaul said:

vsonix said:

Kawasicki said:

I just sold mine.

Positives include super smooth engine, negatives are the understeery balance and a lot of friction in the steering.

Didn’t really find it a fun car. Give me an E30 or E36 318is anytime.

Friction in the steering would imply something wrong with it.
Same with understeery balance, they're supposed to be pretty neutral when everything is as it should be, a slight tendency to understeer, but getting on the throttle sooner will fix that.
The versions with the sport suspension will be more fun to drive by defailt, slightly bigger ARBs and stiffer.

Am I right in thinking the tendency to understeer could be remedied with some suspension alignment adjustments and decent tyres?

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Wednesday 19th December 17:35

Personally I think the staggered set-up won't help with understeer. Try not to fall into the GT86 trap and over-tyre it if you like to feel the car move about/be adjustable. Decent 205/55x16 or 205/50x17s will be fine and are both OE fitments - you don't need 245s/255s on a car like this imho

Edited by s m on Thursday 20th December 10:15

[daveco]

MarkwG said:

RSTurboPaul said:

CDV? Circulating Dump Valve??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutch_delay_valve

Its removal is a must if you have a manual e46 and like the odd hoon and/or track your car.

[vsonix]

Well, galvanised into action by this thread I just pulled the trigger on a cheap but solid 2.0td Compact.
I've been after an economical runabout for ages. Only poverty spec ES trim but if it turns out to be a keeper I'm sure it'll get bits thrown at it, and I can live without leather and climate control, I have an E38 for luxury. My main concern is the lack of front fog lights... never had a car without fog lights before, strikes me as a bad idea. But again, easy enough to retrofit.
Not gonna post up a pic til I have it in my clammy little mitts though.

Plans will be: Put it on some less ugly wheels, give it a good remap then just use it.

[ADogg]

I’ve had 2 325ti’s - a Pistachio Green one and a facelift M-Sport one in black. I didn’t really gel with either to be honest, nor get the hype. However I’ve got a 130i and I’ll be keeping it for the foreseeable!

[JakeT]

I love mine. Mine's a 2001 model. A very early demonstrator with some great options like upgraded Hi-Fi, Xenons, and a sunroof. The compact got a lot of changes over the standard E46 including:
Quick Rack,
Differnt ARBs, suspension arms, and spring/damper rates (All got sport suspension)
Sport seats, and black headliner,
shorter gearing, 60 required 2 changes, and
no exhaust flap and a pipe from the inlet into the cabin.

I'm sure there's more I've forgotten

Mine's done all sorts, been over the Welsh hills at max attack, and been to Germany and done 146 down the Autobahns. Never given a hint of trouble, and been a great daily. Bout mine at 61k, and now on 103k. Sits in the garage a lot now though, I keep thinking about selling it, but then drive it and change my mind.

[CaptainMorgan]

s m said:

RSTurboPaul said:

vsonix said:

Kawasicki said:

I just sold mine.

Positives include super smooth engine, negatives are the understeery balance and a lot of friction in the steering.

Didn’t really find it a fun car. Give me an E30 or E36 318is anytime.

Friction in the steering would imply something wrong with it.
Same with understeery balance, they're supposed to be pretty neutral when everything is as it should be, a slight tendency to understeer, but getting on the throttle sooner will fix that.
The versions with the sport suspension will be more fun to drive by defailt, slightly bigger ARBs and stiffer.

Am I right in thinking the tendency to understeer could be remedied with some suspension alignment adjustments and decent tyres?

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Wednesday 19th December 17:35

Personally I think the staggered set-up won't help with understeer. Try not to fall into the GT86 trap and over-tyre it if you like to feel the car move about/be adjustable. Decent 205/55x16 or 205/50x17s will be fine and are both OE fitments - you don't need 245s/255s on a car like this imho

Edited by s m on Thursday 20th December 10:15

I'm far from a driving god but mine seems nicely balanced, when my mate was pushing on a bit around Silverstone (he's a bit more experienced than me) he got a few handfuls of oversteer but nothing crazy. Actually I did spin it at Rockingham thinking about it It currently has crappy coilovers and square 225 wheels/tyres fitted, might make a difference.

[RSTurboPaul]

daveco said:

MarkwG said:

RSTurboPaul said:

CDV? Circulating Dump Valve??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutch_delay_valve

Its removal is a must if you have a manual e46 and like the odd hoon and/or track your car.

Thanks for the useful info, chaps. It's good to know these things before diving in!

[RSTurboPaul]

CaptainMorgan said:

s m said:

RSTurboPaul said:

vsonix said:

Kawasicki said:

I just sold mine.

Positives include super smooth engine, negatives are the understeery balance and a lot of friction in the steering.

Didn’t really find it a fun car. Give me an E30 or E36 318is anytime.

Friction in the steering would imply something wrong with it.
Same with understeery balance, they're supposed to be pretty neutral when everything is as it should be, a slight tendency to understeer, but getting on the throttle sooner will fix that.
The versions with the sport suspension will be more fun to drive by defailt, slightly bigger ARBs and stiffer.

Am I right in thinking the tendency to understeer could be remedied with some suspension alignment adjustments and decent tyres?

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Wednesday 19th December 17:35

Personally I think the staggered set-up won't help with understeer. Try not to fall into the GT86 trap and over-tyre it if you like to feel the car move about/be adjustable. Decent 205/55x16 or 205/50x17s will be fine and are both OE fitments - you don't need 245s/255s on a car like this imho

Edited by s m on Thursday 20th December 10:15

I'm far from a driving god but mine seems nicely balanced, when my mate was pushing on a bit around Silverstone (he's a bit more experienced than me) he got a few handfuls of oversteer but nothing crazy. Actually I did spin it at Rockingham thinking about it It currently has crappy coilovers and square 225 wheels/tyres fitted, might make a difference.

I think you may be right re: the staggered vs square setup, thanks for the suggestion - I guess the staggered setup might have been chosen because it looks better in a lot of buyers' opinions, and because the untrained general public are probably more able to deal with unintentional understeer than oversteer.

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Thursday 20th December 20:03

[s m]

CaptainMorgan said:

I'm far from a driving god but mine seems nicely balanced, when my mate was pushing on a bit around Silverstone (he's a bit more experienced than me) he got a few handfuls of oversteer but nothing crazy. Actually I did spin it at Rockingham thinking about it It currently has crappy coilovers and square 225 wheels/tyres fitted, might make a difference.

Yes, I think same size front and back helps - they’re pretty much 50:50 weight distribution

[vsonix]

CaptainMorgan said:

s m said:

RSTurboPaul said:

vsonix said:

Kawasicki said:

I just sold mine.

Positives include super smooth engine, negatives are the understeery balance and a lot of friction in the steering.

Didn’t really find it a fun car. Give me an E30 or E36 318is anytime.

Friction in the steering would imply something wrong with it.
Same with understeery balance, they're supposed to be pretty neutral when everything is as it should be, a slight tendency to understeer, but getting on the throttle sooner will fix that.
The versions with the sport suspension will be more fun to drive by defailt, slightly bigger ARBs and stiffer.

Am I right in thinking the tendency to understeer could be remedied with some suspension alignment adjustments and decent tyres?

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Wednesday 19th December 17:35

Personally I think the staggered set-up won't help with understeer. Try not to fall into the GT86 trap and over-tyre it if you like to feel the car move about/be adjustable. Decent 205/55x16 or 205/50x17s will be fine and are both OE fitments - you don't need 245s/255s on a car like this imho

Edited by s m on Thursday 20th December 10:15

I'm far from a driving god but mine seems nicely balanced, when my mate was pushing on a bit around Silverstone (he's a bit more experienced than me) he got a few handfuls of oversteer but nothing crazy. Actually I did spin it at Rockingham thinking about it It currently has crappy coilovers and square 225 wheels/tyres fitted, might make a difference.

OEM 17 tyre size is 225/45 not 205/50. Subtle difference but I think there's way more choice and better prices on 225/45 because they're a bigger seller.

[s m]

vsonix said:

OEM 17 tyre size is 225/45 not 205/50. Subtle difference but I think there's way more choice and better prices on 225/45 because they're a bigger seller.

225/45 is certainly front size on a staggered set up ( along with 245/40 rears ) on the Sports but you could also get 205/50x 17s as a square set up as well as 205/55 x 16 square
Later 125i Coupe used this square set up too and it’s fine for this weight and size of car