BMW E46 330d M-Sport Touring Manual (Anyone recognise her?)
Discussion
Absolutely wicked 330d. Loving the look of the Style 32s and the Eibach springs, progress pics on it making me want to go down a similar route as you. Have a black 330d touring with only 60k and wanting to do a few bits to it. Springs etc feel as good as new so wondering whether to upgrade or not! Would like to fit new dampers, springs, bushes and wheels if I were.
Did you fit different dampers with the springs? And did you get the camber adjusted on the wheel alignment?
Did you fit different dampers with the springs? And did you get the camber adjusted on the wheel alignment?
Thanks OTB - i'm pretty pleased with her now. I've pretty much done EVERY job that needs doing on her and she truly does drive as good as any E46 ever could.
RE your questions - Nope - had a look at the standard shocks when they come off but they looked in pretty decent condition and still feel good as new - so they must have been replaced at some point in the relatively recent past... I've always had good experiences with using Eibach springs with factory shocks too. I guess they are designed to be used in conjunction with standard shocks so makes sense...
I didn't play around with the camber settings when I had the 4 wheel alignment done - just keep it factory spec.
RE your questions - Nope - had a look at the standard shocks when they come off but they looked in pretty decent condition and still feel good as new - so they must have been replaced at some point in the relatively recent past... I've always had good experiences with using Eibach springs with factory shocks too. I guess they are designed to be used in conjunction with standard shocks so makes sense...
I didn't play around with the camber settings when I had the 4 wheel alignment done - just keep it factory spec.
UPDATE:
After noticing that the old girl was taking fractionally longer than usual to fire up every time I started her, she eventually got to the stage where she would take several seconds to fire up from time to time. Having monitored when it was most prone to doing there seemed a very clear trend towards it misbehaving when the engine as warm...Very odd...
Having done some research into the likely causes I decided that an injector leak off test would be the first port of call to see if any of them weren't behaving as they should be. When the leak-off kit was hooked up it was immediately obvious that injector No.3 was not happy so a replacement was sourced & fitted and hey presto - she's back to firing up on the button every time.
Very satisfying when a mysterious glitch like that is resolved with the first thing that you try!!!
After noticing that the old girl was taking fractionally longer than usual to fire up every time I started her, she eventually got to the stage where she would take several seconds to fire up from time to time. Having monitored when it was most prone to doing there seemed a very clear trend towards it misbehaving when the engine as warm...Very odd...
Having done some research into the likely causes I decided that an injector leak off test would be the first port of call to see if any of them weren't behaving as they should be. When the leak-off kit was hooked up it was immediately obvious that injector No.3 was not happy so a replacement was sourced & fitted and hey presto - she's back to firing up on the button every time.
Very satisfying when a mysterious glitch like that is resolved with the first thing that you try!!!
A further update will follow when i've got a bit more time as I recently decided to take the plunge and take the car to East Sussex Tuning for a rolling road diagnostic session and to have a bespoke Stage 1 remap done.
I thought that i'd started to notice some black smoke under heavy acceleration and wasn't quite sure that she was pulling as hard as she used to.
I find that it's sometimes tricky to tell if you're slightly down on performance in a car that you drive EVERY day and don't regularly thrash.
Turns out that my suspicions were well founded though...
I thought that i'd started to notice some black smoke under heavy acceleration and wasn't quite sure that she was pulling as hard as she used to.
I find that it's sometimes tricky to tell if you're slightly down on performance in a car that you drive EVERY day and don't regularly thrash.
Turns out that my suspicions were well founded though...
Well...
A little while back I started noticing that I had a slight lack of power above 2,500rpm. I use the car as a daily and really don't stretch her legs very often - so i wasn't completely sure straight away whether anything was wrong or not. I attributed it to the fact that I had recently driven a friends E91 330d (which had been remapped) and maybe my old E46 now just seemed a bit tame in comparison...
Anyhoo - after a few weeks of pondering this (and noticing an ever more pronounced trail of black smoke when giving it the beans) I decided that I really ought to take some sort of remedial action.
I'd always wondered about whether a proper remap fine tuned on a rolling road would give the old girl any more poke (since I had no information about the previous remap) so I got her booked in with East Sussex Tuning.
For anyone who is local to the East Sussex area I really cannot recommend these guys highly enough. There are plenty of companies (and individual sole traders) out there who will just plug in a laptop and dump a file - but these guys do things properly, and since the primary issue was a diagnostic one - it was a no-brainer to take the car to them.
I'm glad I did.
The lack of power and black smoke was traced to a split hose and an original BMW part was sourced and fitted the same day. Since I was having a remap done with them anyway they only charged me a nominal fee for the diagnosis and fitting of the new part.
Then it was on to the remap...
The most important aspect for me was to retain a nice smooth progressive OEM feel to the power delivery and a useable powerband. Driveability for me is paramount as it's my daily vehicle. I'm not interested in a funky boosty power delivery in the pursuit of a higher peak BHP figure either. At the end of the day - i'm not looking to win any dick measuring competitions down the pub. It's a 20 year old dog carrier. I just want to be able to make the best A / B road progress possible.
The end result once I got the car back was absolutely phenomenal. I suppose the fact that it was previously down on power from the split hose will have made the difference even more impressive - but crumbs - she now goes better than I have ever known her to.
I genuinely think that she is now running absolutely flawlessly and delivering every single BHP that I could reasonably ask of her.
To say i'm chuffed would be an understatement.
She now pulls ferociously hard in every gear - but most importantly this lasts all the way up to the red line without feeling breathless or like the power is dying off. It really is a thing to behold.
Dyno pics to follow...
A little while back I started noticing that I had a slight lack of power above 2,500rpm. I use the car as a daily and really don't stretch her legs very often - so i wasn't completely sure straight away whether anything was wrong or not. I attributed it to the fact that I had recently driven a friends E91 330d (which had been remapped) and maybe my old E46 now just seemed a bit tame in comparison...
Anyhoo - after a few weeks of pondering this (and noticing an ever more pronounced trail of black smoke when giving it the beans) I decided that I really ought to take some sort of remedial action.
I'd always wondered about whether a proper remap fine tuned on a rolling road would give the old girl any more poke (since I had no information about the previous remap) so I got her booked in with East Sussex Tuning.
For anyone who is local to the East Sussex area I really cannot recommend these guys highly enough. There are plenty of companies (and individual sole traders) out there who will just plug in a laptop and dump a file - but these guys do things properly, and since the primary issue was a diagnostic one - it was a no-brainer to take the car to them.
I'm glad I did.
The lack of power and black smoke was traced to a split hose and an original BMW part was sourced and fitted the same day. Since I was having a remap done with them anyway they only charged me a nominal fee for the diagnosis and fitting of the new part.
Then it was on to the remap...
The most important aspect for me was to retain a nice smooth progressive OEM feel to the power delivery and a useable powerband. Driveability for me is paramount as it's my daily vehicle. I'm not interested in a funky boosty power delivery in the pursuit of a higher peak BHP figure either. At the end of the day - i'm not looking to win any dick measuring competitions down the pub. It's a 20 year old dog carrier. I just want to be able to make the best A / B road progress possible.
The end result once I got the car back was absolutely phenomenal. I suppose the fact that it was previously down on power from the split hose will have made the difference even more impressive - but crumbs - she now goes better than I have ever known her to.
I genuinely think that she is now running absolutely flawlessly and delivering every single BHP that I could reasonably ask of her.
To say i'm chuffed would be an understatement.
She now pulls ferociously hard in every gear - but most importantly this lasts all the way up to the red line without feeling breathless or like the power is dying off. It really is a thing to behold.
Dyno pics to follow...
Yep.
I really couldn’t be happier.
The 230bhp number is nice to know, but ultimately an irrelevance...
It’s all about the way it drives for me - and conveying the difference it has made in that respect with a few measly words just isn’t possible
I’ve just gotta summons up the resolve to get out there and give her a good clean, but this weather is putting me off...
I really couldn’t be happier.
The 230bhp number is nice to know, but ultimately an irrelevance...
It’s all about the way it drives for me - and conveying the difference it has made in that respect with a few measly words just isn’t possible
I’ve just gotta summons up the resolve to get out there and give her a good clean, but this weather is putting me off...
Cheers for that, good to know. Eibach seems the best bet at the moment as I just want to lower the front gap really. But H&R sport springs look quite good. Think my shocks should be good as it’s only on 60k!
As to your slightly longer time to turnover, mine takes about a second which I thought was normal but it’s definitely not immediate to fire up. How long did yours take before you got your injector sorted?
Remap looks good! Just wish mine was a manual to map
Have to meet up in the future in the tourings!
As to your slightly longer time to turnover, mine takes about a second which I thought was normal but it’s definitely not immediate to fire up. How long did yours take before you got your injector sorted?
Remap looks good! Just wish mine was a manual to map
Have to meet up in the future in the tourings!OTB said:
Cheers for that, good to know. Eibach seems the best bet at the moment as I just want to lower the front gap really. But H&R sport springs look quite good. Think my shocks should be good as it’s only on 60k!
As to your slightly longer time to turnover, mine takes about a second which I thought was normal but it’s definitely not immediate to fire up. How long did yours take before you got your injector sorted?
Remap looks good! Just wish mine was a manual to map Have to meet up in the future in the tourings!
Slightly delayed reply here!!! LOLAs to your slightly longer time to turnover, mine takes about a second which I thought was normal but it’s definitely not immediate to fire up. How long did yours take before you got your injector sorted?
Remap looks good! Just wish mine was a manual to map
Have to meet up in the future in the tourings!The delay before firing up on mine was about a second or so when I first bought the car, but it gradually lengthened over time, until eventually I was forced to concede that something was not quite right...
How's yours doing now???
It's 3 months or so since your last post so I would expect it to have deteriorated if it's being used regularly in that period of time...
In slightly sad & regrettable news though i'm considering selling her as she just isn't suitable for the regular tasks that I have to use her for...
I need to transport wet, muddy labradors most days, and will soon be filling her up with 4 people plus (dirty) cricket kit to travel to matches once the season is underway...
I also use need to transport garden waste, logs, rubbish for tip runs and occasionally mountain bikes plus associated dirt-ridden paraphernalia too...
When I first bought the dear old E46 I didn't feel too bad about using her for this sort of thing, but as time has gone on and i've poured more & more time effort and money into making her such a fantastic example - I just can't bring myself to abuse her like this. It doesn't seem right.
I'm also forced to concede that the little country roads around here that I use regularly are in such poor condition that something with more suspension travel and bigger tyre walls would be so much less stressful & nerve wracking to drive...
Sad times - but I think i'm going to have to let her go...
Which brings me on to the issue of what to value her at???
There can't be many more sorted manual E46 330d Tourings out there - but they don't seem to fetch a fortune...
Tricky one...
I need to transport wet, muddy labradors most days, and will soon be filling her up with 4 people plus (dirty) cricket kit to travel to matches once the season is underway...
I also use need to transport garden waste, logs, rubbish for tip runs and occasionally mountain bikes plus associated dirt-ridden paraphernalia too...
When I first bought the dear old E46 I didn't feel too bad about using her for this sort of thing, but as time has gone on and i've poured more & more time effort and money into making her such a fantastic example - I just can't bring myself to abuse her like this. It doesn't seem right.
I'm also forced to concede that the little country roads around here that I use regularly are in such poor condition that something with more suspension travel and bigger tyre walls would be so much less stressful & nerve wracking to drive...
Sad times - but I think i'm going to have to let her go...
Which brings me on to the issue of what to value her at???
There can't be many more sorted manual E46 330d Tourings out there - but they don't seem to fetch a fortune...
Tricky one...
As above, Mine was valued at around the £3k mark by the E46 Register in the BMW club if i returned it to somewhat stock form ( Wheels, suspension and brakes returned to normal)
I've seen them go for nearly £5k before but only on sub 100k ones that were mint. Would agree if you're going to sell it, price it at £3k ONVO and see what comes of it, but hold firm on your ideal price.
I've seen them go for nearly £5k before but only on sub 100k ones that were mint. Would agree if you're going to sell it, price it at £3k ONVO and see what comes of it, but hold firm on your ideal price.
That’s interesting to hear guys... I suppose it was never gonna be worth more than that if I’m honest... Just seems such a modest amount of dosh for such a well sorted (and relatively rare) BMW.
It certainly owes me WAYYY more than that - but I suppose you always accept that you’re unlikely to see a return on your investment when restoring a vehicle that is used as an everyday work horse.
Such is life!!!
Need to mentally come to terms with letting her go first!
Then I guess I’ll see about putting her in the classifieds...
That’ll be a sad day in my household.
It certainly owes me WAYYY more than that - but I suppose you always accept that you’re unlikely to see a return on your investment when restoring a vehicle that is used as an everyday work horse.
Such is life!!!
Need to mentally come to terms with letting her go first!
Then I guess I’ll see about putting her in the classifieds...
That’ll be a sad day in my household.
Sf_Manta said:
It's cause E46's are at the cusp of the low point with regards to value, E36's are going up as is E30's cause they're getting harder to find in decent condition. Give it another 2-3 years and they'll start going up in value.
They reached their lowest a few years and have already started increasing. Values will continue to rise (in particular for those with 3.0l engines) as numbers decrease due to rust and drifters.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff