e46 to e90

[Andy70]

well, I have owned BMW's on and off for years now, I had an e36 325i, e36 328i, e36 m3, e46 m3 at the moment an e46 325i compact in amongst other cars like TVR's Audi S4 and impreza STi's. Not in a position any more to own fast versions but I still like exciting cars. My partner is down grading to a medium size hatch so I'm going to have her 2005 330i e90 its reasonably quicker than my compact but doesn't seem quite as sharp at low revs (maybe that's to do with gear ratios?)and the compact is quite nimble in comparison, however the e90 is so much more smoother, lovely drive and rather boring but its a great car and I'm sure I'll find a way to make it a bit more interesting, tastefully of course, so some encouraging posts would be good ta :-), just have to sell the compact now :-(

[helix402]

At least the E90 won’t go rusty.

[Andy70]

No very true, a bit of lacquer peel on the front bumper though but I can live with that. I got a push button start too 😀

[bigalx]

I to some extent have a similar car history - had an E46 330ci - took a job with a silly commute (4.5 hours a day!) and ended up in a 320td compact. Then took a job much closer to home and binned the compact for an E90 330i 2005 manual.

Whilst I didn't have a 325 to compare the performance I also have a weekend car which I just swapped an E36 M3 for an AC Schnitzer ACS30 Touring. So can literally jump out of the E46 into the E90 as a comparison (although the E46 is far quicker since its supercharged).

I agree with your observation about the E90 engine though - I find a bit like the E36 M3 you do have to want to drive it quick to make it go quick - other than that its pretty placid. I toyed with getting it mapped but haven't bothered since I paid so little for it on eBay that it essentially is to cheap to get rid of currently. One thing I have done is picked up a space saver (you will need a 17" since the 16" wont fit over your brakes) and changed the tyres to non-runflats - a stack load cheaper to buy the tyres and a far better ride in my opinion.

Other than that as ever I toy with exhausts and so on but being essentially my "commute" car it comes second to anything I want to do with my other car.

Ive had it for 2.5 years and all its had is a new solenoid for the Vanos which was circa £70 and about 10 mins of my time fitting it. I average about 27mpg which seems a little low but my commute isn't that far and normally stop start and its nice to have that poke when you want it. I picked it up with about 63k miles on it and its now at 87k and as said I just can see what else for the money with similar engine, miles and manual you could go for so its currently a keeper to be honest.

Boasty pic below - apolgies (number plate came with the car - I know its not a V8!)


[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/OfSS2r0Z

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[Andy70]

I was looking at getting a ported throttle body and some kind of exhaust and see what a remap can do, not much I know but if it could be a bit livelier at low revs then all good, I do miss my audi v8 though, but that wasn't flawless, great engine but loads of understeer and over 1700kgs too as it was the avant model

[Mr Tidy]

helix402 said:

At least the E90 won’t go rusty.

But Compacts don't seem to do that either (unlike other E46s).

If you want some entertainment and don't need back seats an E86 might be a better idea than an E90!

But I am biased:-

[Andy70]

I need the back seats unfortunately, besides it's easier just to hang on to my partners car, how much is an e86 any way?

[njw1]

Mr Tidy said:

helix402 said:

At least the E90 won’t go rusty.

But Compacts don't seem to do that either (unlike other E46s).

They don't seem to rust as badly as other e46's but they're certainly not immune to it, I've seen them with rotten front arches and my mates old one had started to go underneath near the rear o/s jacking point.

[Andy70]

njw1 said:

They don't seem to rust as badly as other e46's but they're certainly not immune to it, I've seen them with rotten front arches and my mates old one had started to go underneath near the rear o/s jacking point.

mine has a couple of shopping trolley dings, but its clean of rust, just have to put the car up for sale now I suppose, front arches are common in all e46's isn't it?