BMW E46 M3

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Discussion

trails

3,623 posts

148 months

Friday 14th December 2018
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That colour, spec and well thought mods certainly nail your coolness requirement biggrin

mr shoddy

107 posts

123 months

Friday 14th December 2018
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That is a lovely car.

e30m3Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Friday 14th December 2018
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Thanks guys. All being well I should have it back on Monday although I figured we may as well stick it on the dyno while it's there. I had hoped to make the Sunday Service at BMW HQ on Sunday but there's no point rushing it.

I'm applying to the DVLA for the information they hold regarding previous owners and hopefully I can find out exactly who did what and when. As has been said, it's pretty clear someone spent a fair amount of cash.

Right now though, I'm just looking forward to getting it back and putting some miles on it.

squareflops

1,808 posts

182 months

Friday 14th December 2018
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Beautiful car. They really are something special and yours looks a stunning example. Enjoy smile

kin quick

207 posts

210 months

Friday 14th December 2018
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Shame about the E30 Mark, I saw it at a few PH meets and always liked it, but well done on the E46, it looks stunning in that colour!

I've got one in PY and the engine is bloody epic!

Good luck with you're future plans

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Saturday 15th December 2018
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M4CK 1 said:
That's a sweet looking car with a good spec!!!

Have you thought about replacing your seats for some recaro pole position and removing the back seats and putting CSL carpet. Should lighten the car a fair bit and increase the driving experience.
After reading Sebrings Experience these can get quite expensive. Have you any plans for maintenance, has the rear been reinforced??

Anyway enjoy!!
They certainly can, but then which performance cars aren't? Compared to an E30 I'd hope it is cheaper! but then older diesels aren't always cheap to run, and even the M135s have their share of issues.

I, a few months ago went full-circle about what to do with my M3. Sell it for a pittance and buy an M135i with a warranty or just admit I'm lumbered with it.

I have also done 20,000 miles in my too since I bought it. For a 14 year old car, I've not done too badly, and most wouldn't have touched the RACP or big ends like I did smile. Just don't look at my garage section!

But this thread isn't about me. It's about a bloke who TBH, I'm still surprised sold his E30 M3. In a number of ways, I don't get why he sold it. However, in many others, I do. Having cash tied up in a car, and putting even more cash into a car cannot be fun at times. The only time I've been in that situation is probably when I had my Series 1 Escort RS Turbo. With it being a theft magnet also, I sold that for similar reasons, as in quite a bit of cash being tied up into it.

I do love the spec of your car! As I hinted in my thread, I came very close to buying an LSB Coupe in Ireland. But at the time, mine seemed alot better and far less tired than pretty much any M3 I saw. The interior, wheels and airbox are certainly a fantastic addition to that car.

Knowing you, this car will be sorted very nicely.

It's a shame you can't come up to the BMW SS, but there will always be next time. I plan to do the RR Weekender come March, but the M3 won't be going down.



Edited by SebringMan on Saturday 15th December 02:08

e30m3Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Saturday 15th December 2018
quotequote all
SebringMan said:
They certainly can, but then which performance cars aren't? Compared to an E30 I'd hope it is cheaper! but then older diesels aren't always cheap to run, and even the M135s have their share of issues.

I, a few months ago went full-circle about what to do with my M3. Sell it for a pittance and buy an M135i with a warranty or just admit I'm lumbered with it.

I have also done 20,000 miles in my too since I bought it. For a 14 year old car, I've not done too badly, and most wouldn't have touched the RACP or big ends like I did smile. Just don't look at my garage section!

But this thread isn't about me. It's about a bloke who TBH, I'm still surprised sold his E30 M3. In a number of ways, I don't get why he sold it. However, in many others, I do. Having cash tied up in a car, and putting even more cash into a car cannot be fun at times. The only time I've been in that situation is probably when I had my Series 1 Escort RS Turbo. With it being a theft magnet also, I sold that for similar reasons, as in quite a bit of cash being tied up into it.

I do love the spec of your car! As I hinted in my thread, I came very close to buying an LSB Coupe in Ireland. But at the time, mine seemed alot better and far less tired than pretty much any M3 I saw. The interior, wheels and airbox are certainly a fantastic addition to that car.

Knowing you, this car will be sorted very nicely.

It's a shame you can't come up to the BMW SS, but there will always be next time. I plan to do the RR Weekender come March, but the M3 won't be going down.
Edited by SebringMan on Saturday 15th December 02:08
The E30 going was just economics. My health means I can only work part time at best, plus my Mrs had lent me some cash toward its engine rebuild (despite her hating that “bloody red car”) and it becoming a bone of contention) so I simply couldn’t afford or justify keeping it. I was able to alleviate the financial concerns re work, pay her back and still be lucky enough to have a great M car on the drive. smile

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Saturday 15th December 2018
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Re the front camber, I think you’ll need adjustable front top mounts to get -2.5 degs. The standard ones give some adj but not a huge amount.

e30m3Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Saturday 15th December 2018
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I plan fitting them when I finally go with coilovers. smile

ETA - Just got the video from Reddish where they did an RACP check back in February. Overall the news was pretty good with them saying it is one of the better cars they've inspected. The rear internal cavity is perfect. The other internal cavity showed 2 tiny cracks in the corner of the factory mig welds but described as 'super good underneath' and just needing the front strengthening plates doing. Underneath the left rear of the subframe panel has a tiny crack just starting that'll need stop drilling, welding and a strengthening plate there also. The right front mount is all good, although there's likely to be a cracked spot weld. The only other thing of note is the V brace has corroded, as it's thin steel anyway, so it'll make sense to replace it. So, overall I'm pretty happy but it's convinced me that now is the time to rectify things.

I plan to look into the additional rear brace and possibly replacing the OE V brace with a better aftermarket one?

Edited by e30m3Mark on Saturday 15th December 15:33

mak250300

111 posts

101 months

Saturday 15th December 2018
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Looks perfect to me. They are amazing cars and one car I would always look at as I feel they got all four sides of the car absolutely spot on. They have aged gracefully as well.

I used to own a Carbon Black M3 a few years ago and it just did everything so right even now I still look at the classifieds.

Enjoy

Nunga

332 posts

107 months

Sunday 16th December 2018
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helix402 said:
Re the front camber, I think you’ll need adjustable front top mounts to get -2.5 degs. The standard ones give some adj but not a huge amount.
Standard top mounts are good for -3.5 degrees, possibly more. The secret is you just need to swap them over left to right and you're on the way.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Sunday 16th December 2018
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Nunga said:
Standard top mounts are good for -3.5 degrees, possibly more. The secret is you just need to swap them over left to right and you're on the way.
I had heard that but haven’t tried it so don’t like to give advice unless I’m 100% sure of it.

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Sunday 16th December 2018
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Mark, sad to see you have moved the e30 M3 on (I remember talking to you about it when I collected the e23!), but that e46 looks fantastic. For me, the e46 is the ultimate M3 - the engine is exotic; the ultimate BMW straight 6 (which is BMW’s engine).

Yours looks like a lovely example, and I look forward to what I know will be a long list of improvements and upgrades.

I’m very jealous smile

e46m3Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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I still think I'm pretty fortunate to have any M3 and the E46 is definitely my next favourite after the E30.

It's due back from ARM today, once it's had a 4 wheel alignment and new tyres on the front. Hopefully it'll be going back just after New Year and have the boot floor strengthened, along with fitting a rear brace from PS Design, who do some great E46 upgrades.

MDMA .

8,848 posts

100 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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Looking very nice. Quick question regarding the brakes. Never known AP to have the G hook going against the forward motion (if that makes sense?). Are the disks on the right side?

e46m3Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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MDMA . said:
Looking very nice. Quick question regarding the brakes. Never known AP to have the G hook going against the forward motion (if that makes sense?). Are the disks on the right side?
Honest answer, I don't know. Just checked Google images and as is typical for the internet, there are plenty of cars with them facing either way. The vent grooves are correct though and I think that matters more.

My facelift LED rear lights arrived today, complete with factory wiring, but I heard a rumour that I may need a facelift light switch module too?

MDMA .

8,848 posts

100 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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e46m3Mark said:
Honest answer, I don't know. Just checked Google images and as is typical for the internet, there are plenty of cars with them facing either way. The vent grooves are correct though and I think that matters more.

My facelift LED rear lights arrived today, complete with factory wiring, but I heard a rumour that I may need a facelift light switch module too?
Yes. As long as the vanes are the right way, that's all that matters.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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Sorry to read about the health issues, but nice to see the E46 getting some TLC

Nunga

332 posts

107 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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BMW did an adaptor loom for the LED lights, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a part number for them.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Monday 17th December 2018
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Nunga said:
BMW did an adaptor loom for the LED lights, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a part number for them.
Fitting instructions here:

https://bmweba.com/eba-01-31-0-154-476/amp/