BMW E46 330dA Touring

[helix402]

Had to pay for work to be done on my car, this made me sad. Sadly I do not own a 4 wheel laser alignment rig so here is the result:






The toe is set to the standard spec but camber is to my taste.

[helix402]

Fitted a boot release switch today:



Wired into pin 6 of the centre GM plug.



I've programmed the car so that the key release does the glass and the interior button does the tailgate (handy when the glass button packs up, as it will)

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 1st February 19:58

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 1st February 19:58

[JakeT]

That's a darn cool app for basic Coding. What software/hardware combo is that?

[helix402]

It's Carly for BMW, wifi dongle and app. It's very good, it does all the ncs expert functions in seconds. Also does service /cbs reset in newer models, forced regens and battery registration. Some features are payable add ons.

[helix402]

Bought this:



E46 M3 conv. front anti roll bar, 27mm. Just waiting for the new bushes to arrive.

[JakeT]

Powerflex bushes?

[helix402]

Standard BMW ones, I prefer the oe ones for a better ride. Although I do have Eibach pu ones on the rear, only as it came with them. How's your Compact? I forget which one it is, is it theM3 rear axle one?

[JakeT]

No, mines the bone standard one that does a shed load of miles. Ticked over 90k this morning and still doing great. Had it since Jan '16 when it had 61k.

[helix402]

That's not a shed load of miles!

I passed a magic mileage the other day:




Apologies for the poor photo. I was expecting unicorns to dance from the tailpipes as a celebration, sadly this didn't happen. I did drive over some rubbish on the road which cut the brand new n/s/r Conti Sport Contact 5 to the cords.


Magic mileage was 234567.

[JakeT]

Well, you are right there, but it'll get there one day! My dad has had an X5 with the M54 from new and it's done 210k now. Completely original drivetrain too!

Anything else planned for yours?

[helix402]

I'm pretty much sorted with the changes to my car now. Just got the wheel arches to do. The fronts have been changed already for aftermarket ones and are just starting to rust. The rear arches are original and rusty so will be replaced.

[helix402]

M3 Conv front arb is on. I put new gen bushes on, they were over £60! It feels rather lovely and roll free. I had 24/19 bars on my 328, this has 27/21. I guess it needs the bigger bars due to the extra Touring weight and iron block.

[helix402]

Did a little job today, I didn't like the peeling plastic coating on the gear lever surround. I got a used one and wrapped it with 3m 1080 satin black.





I also got fed up with the rear arch rust:



I can weld and paint but have never changed a rear arch before, I've enlisted a friend to help. He used to rebuild MGs so has lots of rust experience.

Sadly the mileage has changed too. The buttons on the cluster packed up. I put a used in on but couldn't change the mileage without swopping the chip. It has gone from approx 236k to 175. I have documented it so I can't be accused of being a conman!

Edited by helix402 on Saturday 11th March 19:58

Edited by helix402 on Saturday 11th March 20:00

[JakeT]

Won't that illuminate the tamper dot as the LCM has mileage info stored in it?

[vsonix]

SuperVM said:

I've recently sold my E39 M5 and bought an automatic E46 330i Touring, they're just so cheap at the moment and we were meant to be buying a house, which the leave vote has well and truly killed. I told myself I wasn't going to do anything to the 330, but so far I've replaced the wood trim with carbon and done a double DIN conversion with an Erisin Android unit. I've also bought a set of Eibach springs as the front of the car is comically high.

Yours looks great! :-)

Do you still have the wood trim? I wouldn't mind replacing my scruffy metal cube trim with something else

[helix402]

JakeT said:

Won't that illuminate the tamper dot as the LCM has mileage info stored in it?

It has indeed put the dot on. I could fix it by changing the cluster chip but it's not really worth the hassle. It's not like I'm trying to hide the mileage change. I have kept the original cluster so I can refit it for the MOT and have the correct mileage recorded.

[helix402]

These arrived today:



They will replace the M3 ones that are starting to wear out. They are made by Bimmertune, I've had several of their products and always found them to be excellent quality.

[Johnny-Five]

Great read. Also have a 2001 petrol 330 Sport Touring that I bought as a bit of a workhorse. Took a bit of a chance on it as it was a pretty neglected car with no service history at all but it was a manual 5 spd and at £875 it was worth a go. A year and almost 16,000 miles later I'm glad I did. I've spent a bit on preventative stuff as I had no idea if anything had been done but it's proved to be a fantastic, relaible old thing. Currently sitting at just over 146,000 miles.

Body is in need of some tlc and the rear arches have had it so will be watching your progress with interest as that job is next on the list. Keep up the good work.

[helix402]

Glad you enjoyed it. There's are lot to be said for the good old E46.

[helix402]

Parked next to my old car today: