The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[anonymous-user]

They really do look good in silver grey. The colour hides a lot of the scratches too

[mwggriffiths]

MrC986 said:

The plan is to for a full service/inspection, change front pads/brake fluid for something more suitable & get some matching tyres (the biggest planned expense currently) capable of the job before adding some Cobra Suzaka seats out of my Mini R56 & removing all the original seats before a visit to Oulton Park in less than 2 weeks!

Tyres: go the same size front and rear to balance the built in understeer. 225 45 17 (the front size) are common as muck and cheap as anything. It won't be fast but it'll be such a sweet handling car that you won't care. Alternatively going to a 245 40 17 (rear size) will allow you to keep up with much more expensive metal.

I'd also get an alignment done (0 toe front and rear to help the turn in. 2-3deg of camber would be ideal but you won't get that out of the standard suspension)

I'd also inspect the cooling system for signs of imment explosion. I run water-only on track for when the inevitable happens. I also make sure I know where the the closest EuroCarParts is!

[330ti]

Good choice for cheap track day car. I stick to standard tyre sizes front and rear. Never ever get under steer. Drove 170 miles to track yesterday , lapped all day and drove home no problem. Enjoy !

[Max M4X WW]

MrC986 said:

Another 2 PHers joining the E46 325ti appreciation society here. A joint purchase of an 03 non sunroof model today with the specific purpose of track day use - it didn't take too much "man maths"

The plan is to for a full service/inspection, change front pads/brake fluid for something more suitable & get some matching tyres (the biggest planned expense currently) capable of the job before adding some Cobra Suzaka seats out of my Mini R56 & removing all the original seats before a visit to Oulton Park in less than 2 weeks!

Looks great! Personally I didn't want to 'ruin' a Sport so did a proper job of ruining an SE and now even regret that and want a standard one to just 'drive/keep'.

[danp]

JakeT said:

When I lived in Southampton, I did use Brystone just the once, and they were polite, knew their stuff and weren't terribly priced.

However they are a pain to get to. I had to drop the car off, and then walk to Totton station, and then do the reverse to collect it. No big deal, but not the best location,

Thanks for this and the other replies, will probably stick with Brystone even tho’ as above it’s a bit of a fiddle logistically.

[danp]

MrC986 said:

Another 2 PHers joining the E46 325ti appreciation society here. A joint purchase of an 03 non sunroof model today with the specific purpose of track day use - it didn't take too much "man maths"

The plan is to for a full service/inspection, change front pads/brake fluid for something more suitable & get some matching tyres (the biggest planned expense currently) capable of the job before adding some Cobra Suzaka seats out of my Mini R56 & removing all the original seats before a visit to Oulton Park in less than 2 weeks!

They look fantastic in silver grey, reminiscent of my old CSL, especially if it’s got the alcantara/cloth inside.

Please don’t tell me it’s low mileage and in lovely condition?!

[PaulGT3]

Mines on 150k miles now, not much to report - boringly reliable at the moment!

[MrC986]

danp said:

They look fantastic in silver grey, reminiscent of my old CSL, especially if it’s got the alcantara/cloth inside.

Please don’t tell me it’s low mileage and in lovely condition?!

No, this one was in the old PH style "shed" territory (sub £1k) with 147k miles & a decent history, though with cloth/alcantara with a worn drivers bolster & sporting a beautiful selection of "ditch finders".

330ti said:

Good choice for cheap track day car. I stick to standard tyre sizes front and rear. Never ever get under steer. Drove 170 miles to track yesterday , lapped all day and drove home no problem. Enjoy !

^ that's interesting on the wheels. I'm just researching the tyre options & I'd prefer to leave the std wheels on from a visual point of view, if I can & just get the current ones refurbed. I think that putting the right tyres on and getting a 4 wheel alignment check to ensure they wear evenly should help with some of the reported understeer. A full suspension upgrade/refresh will be for the future.

Max M4X WW said:

Looks great! Personally I didn't want to 'ruin' a Sport so did a proper job of ruining an SE and now even regret that and want a standard one to just 'drive/keep'.

I'm very conscious of trying to keep as much of the car original & so the carpets/interior trim etc inside are staying. A "Sport" wasn't necessarily our choice, though it came down to the fact it was local and in our suggested budget for buying.

[Dale79]

Just got round to reading the complete thread for all wisdom & some great advise from all contributors, so far a month in with my black 6 speed facelift now & no problems or issues to report whatsoever, mind you I have only driven around 200 miles since I bought it, will do an oil change around feb/march next year & then take it into bmw for a major service on the year mark, already decided this ones a keeper! Regretted selling my previous ones & now I remember why!

[Sardonicus]

Dale79 said:

Just got round to reading the complete thread for all wisdom & some great advise from all contributors, so far a month in with my black 6 speed facelift now & no problems or issues to report whatsoever, mind you I have only driven around 200 miles since I bought it, will do an oil change around feb/march next year & then take it into bmw for a major service on the year mark, already decided this ones a keeper! Regretted selling my previous ones & now I remember why!

Major Service at a BMW dealer on an E46 you'll be needing this or similar then still you might get a free coffee

[Dale79]

Sardonicus said:

Dale79 said:

Just got round to reading the complete thread for all wisdom & some great advise from all contributors, so far a month in with my black 6 speed facelift now & no problems or issues to report whatsoever, mind you I have only driven around 200 miles since I bought it, will do an oil change around feb/march next year & then take it into bmw for a major service on the year mark, already decided this ones a keeper! Regretted selling my previous ones & now I remember why!

Major Service at a BMW dealer on an E46 you'll be needing this or similar then still you might get a free coffee

Back in the day it was around £300 all in on my very first 325ti from Stratstone Tring, what's the damage nowadays? Been out the Bmw game a while & have a couple of decent independents if it's that bad!

Edited by Dale79 on Tuesday 23 October 18:33

[Dale79]

Just got the price.... £549

[FredClogs]

Dale79 said:

Just got the price.... £549

Well... Its as if they don't want your custom some times. DIY, <£100 you could do the oil and filters, new plugs, and buy all the tools you need, it's really not a big deal.

[Dale79]

FredClogs said:

Dale79 said:

Just got the price.... £549

Well... Its as if they don't want your custom some times. DIY, <£100 you could do the oil and filters, new plugs, and buy all the tools you need, it's really not a big deal.

Agreed, it's now basically just paying £400 Just for that stamp in the service book, I will either diy or see what the independents are asking, straightforward stuff really i guess.

[Mr Tidy]

Dale79 said:

Agreed, it's now basically just paying £400 Just for that stamp in the service book, I will either diy or see what the independents are asking, straightforward stuff really i guess.

I stopped using main agents when my last service pack expired!

Since then I've always used the same BMW Indy (who is ex-Sytner anyway) but so much cheaper and more flexible - he'll do things like gearbox oil changes and CDV deletes which BMW just won't do.

I think there is a list of specialists at the top of the BMW General pages. Good luck anyway.

[Dale79]

Mr Tidy said:

Dale79 said:

Agreed, it's now basically just paying £400 Just for that stamp in the service book, I will either diy or see what the independents are asking, straightforward stuff really i guess.

I stopped using main agents when my last service pack expired!

Since then I've always used the same BMW Indy (who is ex-Sytner anyway) but so much cheaper and more flexible - he'll do things like gearbox oil changes and CDV deletes which BMW just won't do.

I think there is a list of specialists at the top of the BMW General pages. Good luck anyway.

Thank you very much, just had a look on there & noticed a local one to myself that's been recommended previously by a friend so will give them a call, I found some pictures of the 2nd of my previous one's I owned many moons ago! 52 plate pre facelift that I bought on 32k miles & sold on 64k, the car is still going at over 105k miles now!

[Mr Tidy]

Good to see you found a local Indy with a good reputation - IMO they are better than main agents!

It looks like yours started life North of the border with an SL52 plate - mine had an ST52 plate and was on 103K miles when I sold it in February.

Great cars!

[Dale79]

Mr Tidy said:

Good to see you found a local Indy with a good reputation - IMO they are better than main agents!

It looks like yours started life North of the border with an SL52 plate - mine had an ST52 plate and was on 103K miles when I sold it in February.

Great cars!

Great advice & thanks again, that one was the second of the 3 that I have owned, my latest ones a facelift 6 speed in the same colour with a different interior (alcantara as opposed to black leather) the plate on my newer one is EX so I'm guessing Exeter?

The very first one I owned was gun metal grey, same colour as the gentleman's car at the top of this page, I guess owning 3 & my missus having one & me maintaining it makes me a bit of an enthusiast!

[anonymous-user]

There seems to be quite a few of us in the Hampshire / Surrey area.
Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty ) meet.

[danp]

eezeh said:

There seems to be quite a few of us in the Hampshire / Surrey area.
Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty ) meet.

Sounds good, hot hatch breakfast club at Goodwood anyone? (Sun 4th Nov)

Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.