Discussion
Finally, these were in stock at a time that fits with a trip to the US, so discs ordered and will be back here ready to fit in October. No rush! There are a few little jobs to do on the Alpina at the moment but time has been short and none of it is urgent. The important stuff like green powder coated front subframe and antiroll bar is done, of course. And will all be fitted with the brake conversion.
It's great to seen an Alpina getting some love, and at least one which doesn't have a 'proper' 'box.
The calipers look awesome in that blue! The prices you have given for the brake upgrade do not seem too excessive in all honesty.
I do sometimes wonder if I should have gone with an Alpina like yourself. In many ways they do appeal to me and IMHO are probably more refined than an M car.
I see you are getting your RACP reinforced from ETA. If you do are you planning on getting the subframe bushes changed? If not I would. Out of the many jobs I've done on the car since my ownership it's the one that made the biggest difference ; it was a night and day change.
The calipers look awesome in that blue! The prices you have given for the brake upgrade do not seem too excessive in all honesty.
I do sometimes wonder if I should have gone with an Alpina like yourself. In many ways they do appeal to me and IMHO are probably more refined than an M car.
I see you are getting your RACP reinforced from ETA. If you do are you planning on getting the subframe bushes changed? If not I would. Out of the many jobs I've done on the car since my ownership it's the one that made the biggest difference ; it was a night and day change.
Finally booked in at ETA for a number of things. Unfortunately not until Dec 7th. But they will do the Brembo/ECS 2 piece brakes, braided lines, Alpina green powder coated subframe, new engine mounts, green powder coated Eiback AR bar, Purple tag rack (still black and purple, the shame!), track rod ends, and steering jointy thingy. And getting the CCV replaced and fuel purge valve.
This means I will win my boot space back!
I have also bought a second Alpina...
This means I will win my boot space back!
I have also bought a second Alpina...
I encourage you not to book your car in for work too far in advance... in the waiting period, I'm accumulating an ever larger collection of parts to be fitted and replaced!
While most give a nice dopamine kick, replacement Eibach springs, even the front strut top reinforcement plates, I have to say that today's purchase of anti vibration shims for brembo calipers at £65, has not released any dopamine at all. Maybe I'll release less cortisol when the brakes don't squeal instead!
Roll on December and all this stuff finding its way onto the car.
While most give a nice dopamine kick, replacement Eibach springs, even the front strut top reinforcement plates, I have to say that today's purchase of anti vibration shims for brembo calipers at £65, has not released any dopamine at all. Maybe I'll release less cortisol when the brakes don't squeal instead!
Roll on December and all this stuff finding its way onto the car.
I think the Alpina typewriter needs to go back to Buchloe for some work. Although it has no rust, which is a pleasant surprise. I think the rust only came in when Alpina started being associated with BMW.
Anyway, while I'm in the 40 days in the desert without big fat Brembo brakes, I've at least prepped them with a few layers of G techniq C5. This is specifically for wheels, so I've probably killed a detailing unicorn somewhere, but I think the nano tech has decided to stick to the calipers much as if they were wheels. Here they are. I thought better of applying it to the discs.
And it's still making progress on its way to the moon. About 80k miles to go, I believe.
Anyway, while I'm in the 40 days in the desert without big fat Brembo brakes, I've at least prepped them with a few layers of G techniq C5. This is specifically for wheels, so I've probably killed a detailing unicorn somewhere, but I think the nano tech has decided to stick to the calipers much as if they were wheels. Here they are. I thought better of applying it to the discs.
And it's still making progress on its way to the moon. About 80k miles to go, I believe.
Really enjoyable read! I've an e46 coupe 330cd and im dearly fond of the old rusty thing, i half wish it was a pre-facelift so i could find wings etc easier. I've considered replacing the car on numerous occasions but they are just so nice to drive with a few changes. Love what you're doing with your Alpina and keep it up!
Thanks for the comments.
A couple of updates on the E46.
The brakes are unsurprisingly excellent. They should be, and it's worth noting that for Alpina E46s, the upgrade is more involved than for standard BMW E46s...
It's not for the faint hearted. On a standard BMW, you need M3 325 or 345mm discs, calipers, brackets and conversion brake lines, Hel do braided lines that are E46 at one end, Brembo at the other. Oh, and a wear sensor- even those are offered for this conversion. That's everything you'd expect for such an upgrade. But on the Alpina, there's one more element.
I've been running hub centric 12mm spacers for 2 years, no issues with them or their impact on the drive at all. So the new brakes should certainly not have fitment issues behind the Alpina wheels? In fact, in the end, the wheels/ calipers necessitated a 23mm spacer. This is a "B" type spacer, that bolts to the car and then uses the original wheel bolts to hold the wheel. I would never have considered using this width of spacer before.
But the worst I expect is a more frequent replacement of wheel bearings. On a car that does 3-5k miles a year and that has a thorough approach to upkeep. That's not a problem for me. So far there is no discernible effect on the way it drives. It's at ETA next week and I'll have them drive it and consider their expert opinion too. Anyway, the key point is that this upgrade is not a simple bolt on for Alpinas as it is with standard BMW E46s.
And the second update. After having my key in a bag all day, it wouldn't unlock the car. I suppose it was being activated all day by the other contents of my bag. This would be ok if I still had the second key. So after replacing the battery in the fob, which is a pretty quick and simple soldering job following a you tube video, it should have worked. Alas! It needed resynching to the car. In the end I drove the 30 minutes to the excellent bmkeys.com in East London and he cut and programmed a new key and synched my repaired one. He could easily have sold me two new keys, but saved me money, and fixed the repaired key. Very pleased. He charges £70 per key- cut and programmed. Obviously you either need to have the car there or send your GM5 unit by post.
Well, I can use the car again after it's had a week languishing several streets away, and it's nearly time for its Christmas treat visit to ETA.
A couple of updates on the E46.
The brakes are unsurprisingly excellent. They should be, and it's worth noting that for Alpina E46s, the upgrade is more involved than for standard BMW E46s...
It's not for the faint hearted. On a standard BMW, you need M3 325 or 345mm discs, calipers, brackets and conversion brake lines, Hel do braided lines that are E46 at one end, Brembo at the other. Oh, and a wear sensor- even those are offered for this conversion. That's everything you'd expect for such an upgrade. But on the Alpina, there's one more element.
I've been running hub centric 12mm spacers for 2 years, no issues with them or their impact on the drive at all. So the new brakes should certainly not have fitment issues behind the Alpina wheels? In fact, in the end, the wheels/ calipers necessitated a 23mm spacer. This is a "B" type spacer, that bolts to the car and then uses the original wheel bolts to hold the wheel. I would never have considered using this width of spacer before.
But the worst I expect is a more frequent replacement of wheel bearings. On a car that does 3-5k miles a year and that has a thorough approach to upkeep. That's not a problem for me. So far there is no discernible effect on the way it drives. It's at ETA next week and I'll have them drive it and consider their expert opinion too. Anyway, the key point is that this upgrade is not a simple bolt on for Alpinas as it is with standard BMW E46s.
And the second update. After having my key in a bag all day, it wouldn't unlock the car. I suppose it was being activated all day by the other contents of my bag. This would be ok if I still had the second key. So after replacing the battery in the fob, which is a pretty quick and simple soldering job following a you tube video, it should have worked. Alas! It needed resynching to the car. In the end I drove the 30 minutes to the excellent bmkeys.com in East London and he cut and programmed a new key and synched my repaired one. He could easily have sold me two new keys, but saved me money, and fixed the repaired key. Very pleased. He charges £70 per key- cut and programmed. Obviously you either need to have the car there or send your GM5 unit by post.
Well, I can use the car again after it's had a week languishing several streets away, and it's nearly time for its Christmas treat visit to ETA.
The poorly 'pina is at ETA again for the cam cover gasket and all of the diff and rear subframe bushes, a new guibo and centre bearing, and some suspension tweaks to ensure the wider track and a little too low nose stops rubbing on fast corners, speed bumps, freshly laid smooth Tarmac, that sort of thing.
Had a nice chat with ETA Matt about bikes (pedal variety) as he is building up a very quirky cannondale in the workshop and I was leaving for the station on mine. They always offer a lift to the station if they can but he's on his own today and I am enjoying the variety of routes to get to Eynsford station.
I'll update on the driving when I pick it up.
Had a nice chat with ETA Matt about bikes (pedal variety) as he is building up a very quirky cannondale in the workshop and I was leaving for the station on mine. They always offer a lift to the station if they can but he's on his own today and I am enjoying the variety of routes to get to Eynsford station.
I'll update on the driving when I pick it up.
It's back! And driving better than ever. It's possible to enjoy the benefits of the wider track, big brakes, new roll bar and springs and the slightly quicker rack, now that the suspension has been raised a touch and the centre bearing is fixed.
ETA replaced all of the rear subframe and diff bushes as well as the centre bearing guibo. And they replaced the cam cover gasket meaning the car doesn't fill with oil fumes on start up. Sorted.
Geoff picked us up from the station and showed my son what proper driving is- always within the limit, unnoticeable gear changes, looking way ahead on the road, which was nice as he then got to sit in C3BMW's E30 M3 trackcar when we got to the workshop, he's still beaming now I think!
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ETA replaced all of the rear subframe and diff bushes as well as the centre bearing guibo. And they replaced the cam cover gasket meaning the car doesn't fill with oil fumes on start up. Sorted.
Geoff picked us up from the station and showed my son what proper driving is- always within the limit, unnoticeable gear changes, looking way ahead on the road, which was nice as he then got to sit in C3BMW's E30 M3 trackcar when we got to the workshop, he's still beaming now I think!
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