The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
Lost a fight with my roadwheel bolts today, rounded the head on one and then sheared the breaker bar drive clean off into the socket 
b
d ham fisted tyre fitter with an impact gun. 
Awaiting parts quote for 16x new bolts, may as well replace the lot, chances are they will all be way too tight too.
b
d ham fisted tyre fitter with an impact gun. Awaiting parts quote for 16x new bolts, may as well replace the lot, chances are they will all be way too tight too.
mwggriffiths said:
Cheapstraitsix said:
Slightly jealous.
Mines nearly ‘finished’ and am heading over to spa the ring in a few months.
I know it’s not what it’s really about, but was you timing?
I know these aren’t sub 8 cars, but still intrested none the less.
If you stripped one to the bare bones it'd be an 8 min car all day long. I did a 8:31.13 with a full interior (but lightweight buckets) and the AC on! It weighs ~1350kg full of fuel without a driver. I reckon you could get that down to 1200kg but the drive there would be miserable! Mines nearly ‘finished’ and am heading over to spa the ring in a few months.
I know it’s not what it’s really about, but was you timing?
I know these aren’t sub 8 cars, but still intrested none the less.
That was achieved with 245/45R17 Dunlop Direzza DZ03Gs, ST XTA coilovers with some custom spring rates (Targeting 2Hz ride frequency front and rear - do the maths)... Oh and an M54B30! That extra 500cc really makes itself felt up Kesselchen - I was actually accelerating unlike last year with the 2.5 where I was slowing down by the top!
Here's a video of that lap:
https://youtu.be/LdZM1JEuF6c
I'm pretty happy with how mine works now. Make brakes are trashed now so I'll fit some 330i brakes front and rear shortly. After that the only things I want to do are a neat sunroof delete panel and an LSD.
Surprised you’re still on standard brakes. Mines on 6pot fronts,4 pot rears with M3 hubs/brakes/subframes all round including the LSD.
As im sure you know it’s all bolt up stuff, so could kill 2 birds on your wish list with 1 stone.
I actually have a spare diff/subframe and prop/shafts aswell.
Also wanting to do something with my sunroof, but as previously discussed the roof and glass are unique to the compact - somewhat limits options.
My rear left suspension is knocking, had it up in the air and nothing was loose. Any ideas?
The dust cover on the strut came off really easily and there looks to be corrosion on the top of the shaft with material flaking off. Will throw a picture up later.
What struts are you lot running? Don't want to pay bmw prices. Who is the OE supplier?
The dust cover on the strut came off really easily and there looks to be corrosion on the top of the shaft with material flaking off. Will throw a picture up later.
What struts are you lot running? Don't want to pay bmw prices. Who is the OE supplier?
eezeh said:
My rear left suspension is knocking, had it up in the air and nothing was loose. Any ideas?
The dust cover on the strut came off really easily and there looks to be corrosion on the top of the shaft with material flaking off. Will throw a picture up later.
What struts are you lot running? Don't want to pay bmw prices. Who is the OE supplier?
The problem is almost certainly the top mount. Pull the carpet from the rear strut mount in the boot and take a look at them. Very cheap and easy to replace, forum wisdom suggests that Meyle HD mounts are a little stronger than OEM.The dust cover on the strut came off really easily and there looks to be corrosion on the top of the shaft with material flaking off. Will throw a picture up later.
What struts are you lot running? Don't want to pay bmw prices. Who is the OE supplier?
Buy replacement struts from Sachs (the OEM): https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/c/BMW_3+Serie...
helix402 said:
Knock from rear will be: (common causes) damper top mounts, trailing arm bush, hub ball joint.
Re top mounts, Meyle are poor. Best standard ones are gen BMW M3, even these are rubbish.
Ones that last are uprated ones such as Turner or Bimmertune. I use the later.
Any opinions on the Poly top mounts Helix? got to do this job shortly inc protection/bump stop kits Re top mounts, Meyle are poor. Best standard ones are gen BMW M3, even these are rubbish.
Ones that last are uprated ones such as Turner or Bimmertune. I use the later.
ta 
helix402 said:
Re top mounts, Meyle are poor. Best standard ones are gen BMW M3, even these are rubbish.
Shrug. My Meyles were fine for about 20k miles, including some pretty stiff suspension and a few track days. Swapped the suspension back to stock just before I sold it and they still looked perfect.
Had a look at my top mounts today and both appear to be fine?
Left side
IMG20180507133804 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Not quite sure what this sealant looking stuff is? Repair or from OE?
IMG20180507134301 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Right side
IMG20180507134713 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Any ideas?
The sound is more of a rattle than a knock, in this case I doubt it would be the trailing arm bushes as that would be more of a knock.
Left side
IMG20180507133804 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Not quite sure what this sealant looking stuff is? Repair or from OE?
IMG20180507134301 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Right side
IMG20180507134713 by ee zeh, on Flickr
Any ideas?
The sound is more of a rattle than a knock, in this case I doubt it would be the trailing arm bushes as that would be more of a knock.
helix402 said:
You need to jack the rear of the car up and look at the top mounts through the wheel arch (axle stands recommend). You top mounts do not look to have failed in a big way but you can’t tell if they are a tad worn out unless you look through the arch.
I forgot I took these pictures!From the left side.
IMG20180505132558 by ee zeh, on Flickr
IMG20180505132614 by ee zeh, on Flickr
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