The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[Mr Tidy]

But the unique thing about the 325ti was it was the only Compact on the UK market to come with the M-Sport suspension and seats, regardless of whether it was an SE or a Sport model.

[dubster2007]

Zener said:

achs are the M Sport OE suspension anyway BMW dont make dampers along with pretty much all other car manufacturers who dont

Correct and that's why i took a bit of time cross referencing the sachs, like to keep oem as possible but will say I'm not always too bothered with the bmw stamp/sticker if oem suppliers like sachs do aftermarket at half the price.

[zek]

Had mine for over 10 years now.

Great cars - (and good fun with 400 bhp and the CSL suspension setup )

Edited by zek on Tuesday 28th January 23:06

[chillbill]

zek said:

Had mine for over 10 years now.

Great cars - (and good fun with 400 bhp and the CSL suspension setup )

Edited by zek on Tuesday 28th January 23:06

Noice. What size and mark wheels, Apex's?

[zek]

The fonts are BBS RC 18 x 8.5 and the rears are Apex ARC-8 18 x 9.5

265 tyres fit on the rear with no modifications!

[danp]

zek said:

Had mine for over 10 years now.

Great cars - (and good fun with 400 bhp and the CSL suspension setup )

Edited by zek on Tuesday 28th January 23:06

Very nice, what engine is it to give you 400bhp?

Modded S54?

[zek]

Thanks. It's a 3.0 M54 running an ESS TS2+ supercharger kit (plus cams, smaller pulley, headers and full M3 exhaust).

I also switched the M54 drive by wire delay off in the ECU so no more lag!

[anonymous-user]

zek said:

I also switched the M54 drive by wire delay off in the ECU so no more lag!

Explain!!

[s m]

zek said:

Thanks. It's a 3.0 M54 running an ESS TS2+ supercharger kit (plus cams, smaller pulley, headers and full M3 exhaust).

I also switched the M54 drive by wire delay off in the ECU so no more lag!

The ‘sneeze factor’ mod

[zek]

eezeh said:

Explain!!

It's possible to turn off the adaptive throttle behaviour within the ECU that causes the horrible DBW delay, it's a simple case of turning it off. I can't recall the exact parameter as it's been 5 years since I changed it, but I will check it out and post back.

You will need tools and files that match your software version to edit the ECU, but they are inexpensive or free.

For those interested this is a good place to start:

https://www.ms4x.net/index.php?title=Siemens_MS43

[Krikkit]

That's absolute gold, thanks Zek.

ETA: A few more links for MS43 tuning. I think I feel a spare ECU and some tweaking coming on this summer.

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=108...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BybpM7kNcn...

Edited by Krikkit on Thursday 30th January 11:11

[MrF193]

Hi everyone, I’m putting my facelift 325ti up for sale and want it to go to a good home so thought I’d post here first before advertising on eBay, gumtree etc. It’s in exceptional condition and has been thoroughly well looked after. I’m looking for £2990 and the car will be available to collect on 1st March.

Details below:

2003 (03) 325ti sport 6 speed manual
Metallic grey with full black leather
MV2 alloys refurbished in anthracite grey by a previous owner
104k miles
5+ previous owners
Full service history (folder full of receipts)
MOT until September 2020 with no advisories
Stunning condition inside and out
Comes with a private plate included: A15 MNF

I’ve had the car just over a year and in my ownership I’ve had the following done:

Replaced rear shock absorbers (28/08/19)
4 Wheel alignment by wheelpower (16/02/19)
Replaced front and rear tyres with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (16/02/19)
Carried out an oil (Castrol edge 5W40) and microfilter change (12/01/19)
Power steering flush (02/02/19)

I’ve also added the following upgrades to the car:

Clubsport gearknob (12/01/19 £56.53)
Window tints in factory spec (26/01/19 £120)
Pioneer AVH-Z9100DAB which has Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, USB and works with the steering controls (12/01/19 £850)
Black gloss grill (24/03/19 £30)

Recent work done by previous owners includes:

- Rear brake pipes from front to back including the one across the axle have been replaced with Cupro-Nickel and all 4 flexi brake pipes replaced at the same time.(98k miles)
- CCV and all 4 pipes replaced with new gaskets for intake manifold, throttle body and all injector o-rings. (97k miles)
- Vanos repair done at 99356 miles with kit from i6 on ebay
- Disa repair done at 99356 miles with a kit from www.x8r.co.uk
- Both rubber intake boots replaced
- Both from wishbones replaced with Meyle HD ones at 99356 miles
- Fuel filter replaced at 99356
- Airbag recall done
- New heavy duty Varda battery and Bosch starter motor
- New rear discs + pads and handbrake adjustment
- New water pump, thermostat and housing plus both auxiliary belts.
- One new coil pack + replacement rocker cover gasket
- New Luk clutch and dual mass flywheel

It drives absolutely superb with no known issues and I’ll be sorry to see it go. DM me for any questions!

Edited by MrF193 on Monday 3rd February 17:31

[anonymous-user]

Bit of an odd one, car goes into limp mode when its held at 2000rpm for i'd say about a minute with light throttle inputs.
Code comes back with idle control valve mechanic on a snap on reader and "error in the mechanics" in inpa.
intake boots, icv cleaned, throttle body cleaned etc. Anyone that can chime in?
Surely if it were the icv i'd have a problem with idle, i have a used one to swap in but I don't think its going to cure the problem!

[helix402]

Test the battery (not voltage), with a battery tester. I’ve seen a similar fault on an M54 with a weak battery.

[anonymous-user]

helix402 said:

Test the battery (not voltage), with a battery tester. I’ve seen a similar fault on an M54 with a weak battery.

I'll have halfords look at it tomorrow, should be fine though i only bought it 2 years ago..
Not a cheap crap one either

[MrF193]

Further details and pics of my facelift 325ti sport manual for sale below:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

[330ti]

MrF193 said:

Further details and pics of my facelift 325ti sport manual for sale below:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

5+ owners ? What does that mean ? 6? 10? 100 ?

[MrF193]

7 previous owners. I think after 5 it doesn’t make too much of a difference! Auto trader also defaults to saying 5+ owners.

[330ti]

MrF193 said:

7 previous owners. I think after 5 it doesn’t make too much of a difference! Auto trader also defaults to saying 5+ owners.

True but 8 owners (7 previous) still sounds better then five plus , that sounds like you’ve got something to hide. Looks like a nice car , good luck with sale.

[Max M4X WW]

MrF193 said:

Further details and pics of my facelift 325ti sport manual for sale below:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

Don't take this the wrong way, but take it somewhere nice for some decent photos. I have saved searches on eBay and AT for 325ti's just because I own one and am always on the lookout for another. I saw yours pop up on ebay, but it didn't scream 'enthusiast' and I didn't really look too much closer than the price.

I'm not saying I'm an expert, but here are some examples of previous cars I have sold:

http://maxw.me/cl500/3.JPG
http://maxw.me/m3/sell/2.JPG