BMW E46 M3 CS Competition Package - Silver Grey Manual
Discussion
CHAPTER ONE – THE HUNT BEGINS
In early 2017, I started to get a hankering for a new car to sit alongside my Mk1 Mazda MX5 - which despite performing admirably on a ‘Ring trip in Summer ’16, had developed a long term fault that was resisting all my valiant and pigheadedly stubborn attempts to resolve. After sixth months of many attempts to get the MX5 up and running again, I was badly missing being able to simply jump in a car and go for a drive.
So, a plan for a new car slowly crystallised, with the key criteria that it had to be usable year round, available at the drop of a hat, and finally something a bit ‘special’.
Roundly ignoring most of these self-imposed conditions, I immediately started looking at Caterham’s, something I have wanted to own for many years, but it having to live on the street outside my house put me off. I briefly toyed with buying an even less sensible bike-engined Toniq R, a niche Seven-a-like which I’d fancied for a long time, but in the cold light of day a car with no roof, no windscreen and no reverse gear ticked none of the required boxes. I’d also have felt the need to have changed a host of things on the one I was weighing up, and whilst I love modifying and working on cars, I wanted something that needed absolutely minimal attention.
I mulled over an Elise, an Exige, a Cayman, Alfa 147 GTA, Clio Trophy and Ford Racing Puma and an Impreza. Whilst these are all great cars, they didn’t quite meet my own personal criteria – and I was a little worried about the MX5 becoming redundant. Also included in my search were both E46 and E92 BMW M3’s. The latter was just about in budget but better examples were out of reach and by this point I’d already seen my maximum limit creep up and up and up…
I’d had a soft spot for E46’s ever since seeing one in a very early issue of EVO magazine many years ago, and since then no less than 3 of my friends had owned them in various guises, including this gorgeous blue manual CS which was sadly written off a few years ago:
E46’s also happened to be pleasantly within budget, but as the search gathered momentum it quickly became clear there was a wide range of prices as the quality varied hugely. I decided my essentials were a Silver Grey coupe in manual; with any of CSL style wheels/split leather/M-Texture seats (very rare apparently)/carbon airbox/re-trimmed steering wheel/OEM Sat Nav being a nice bonus.
My initial plan was to find something in the £8-10k range and then spend a few £k of the budget addressing all the routine maintenance that would need doing for my peace of mind. However, it became apparent that if you looked in the right places some decent cars with solid service history would pop up for sale, and most importantly ones where the owner could demonstrate that they had recently spent a good chunk of cash addressing all the usual issues already. As the search continued, a few cars that ticked all the boxes came up, but they were either too far away or sold immediately – I was in no rush to buy, but I knew I’d have to move quickly to get a good one.
In early 2017, I started to get a hankering for a new car to sit alongside my Mk1 Mazda MX5 - which despite performing admirably on a ‘Ring trip in Summer ’16, had developed a long term fault that was resisting all my valiant and pigheadedly stubborn attempts to resolve. After sixth months of many attempts to get the MX5 up and running again, I was badly missing being able to simply jump in a car and go for a drive.
So, a plan for a new car slowly crystallised, with the key criteria that it had to be usable year round, available at the drop of a hat, and finally something a bit ‘special’.
Roundly ignoring most of these self-imposed conditions, I immediately started looking at Caterham’s, something I have wanted to own for many years, but it having to live on the street outside my house put me off. I briefly toyed with buying an even less sensible bike-engined Toniq R, a niche Seven-a-like which I’d fancied for a long time, but in the cold light of day a car with no roof, no windscreen and no reverse gear ticked none of the required boxes. I’d also have felt the need to have changed a host of things on the one I was weighing up, and whilst I love modifying and working on cars, I wanted something that needed absolutely minimal attention.
I mulled over an Elise, an Exige, a Cayman, Alfa 147 GTA, Clio Trophy and Ford Racing Puma and an Impreza. Whilst these are all great cars, they didn’t quite meet my own personal criteria – and I was a little worried about the MX5 becoming redundant. Also included in my search were both E46 and E92 BMW M3’s. The latter was just about in budget but better examples were out of reach and by this point I’d already seen my maximum limit creep up and up and up…
I’d had a soft spot for E46’s ever since seeing one in a very early issue of EVO magazine many years ago, and since then no less than 3 of my friends had owned them in various guises, including this gorgeous blue manual CS which was sadly written off a few years ago:
E46’s also happened to be pleasantly within budget, but as the search gathered momentum it quickly became clear there was a wide range of prices as the quality varied hugely. I decided my essentials were a Silver Grey coupe in manual; with any of CSL style wheels/split leather/M-Texture seats (very rare apparently)/carbon airbox/re-trimmed steering wheel/OEM Sat Nav being a nice bonus.
My initial plan was to find something in the £8-10k range and then spend a few £k of the budget addressing all the routine maintenance that would need doing for my peace of mind. However, it became apparent that if you looked in the right places some decent cars with solid service history would pop up for sale, and most importantly ones where the owner could demonstrate that they had recently spent a good chunk of cash addressing all the usual issues already. As the search continued, a few cars that ticked all the boxes came up, but they were either too far away or sold immediately – I was in no rush to buy, but I knew I’d have to move quickly to get a good one.
Edited by sparks85 on Sunday 3rd September 21:37
CHAPTER TWO – NEW CAR DAY
In July ’17 I spotted an advert for a Silver Grey CS that had popped up on Pistonheads when I was, of all places, on my honeymoon. I emailed the seller to ask if it was still for sale, fully expecting to have missed out, but I received a reply saying it was still for sale and I fired back that I would be keen to view if it was still for sale upon my return.
The advert itself was packed full of detail, with a bullet pointed service history, stacks of paperwork, evidence of all the right preventative maintenance carried out and having just passed an MOT with no issues.
The car had a very strong specification, not least the CS (Coupe Sport in the UK or ZCP Competition Package in the US) package which included quicker CSL-spec steering rack, larger CSL size front discs and carriers, CSL-style alloy wheels and the Alcantara steering wheel with its single M-Track button. On top of this it was also well stocked, with Xenon lights, TV Tuner, OEM Sat Nav, Harman Kardon sound system, rain sensors, parking sensors and heated seats.
The car had been owned for a few years but was being sold due to lack of use, having covered a mere 3500 miles in two and a half years. I later found out it made up fleet of 4 other cars, including an E30 M3 and Mk1 Golf GTI, having been also run alongside a recently departed Lancia Integrale Evo and Mitsubishi Evo V – clearly an owner of impeccable taste.
The E46 had recently (July’17) had the BMW airbag recall sorted, the air con re-gassed and the subframe inspected. In fact, there was evidence the subframe had been inspected periodically, including an inspection by Reddish Motorsport (a highly regarded BMW specialist) as well as a photographed inspection in 2015 and again in 2016.
The most recent oil change was Dec’16 when the diff oil was also changed for correct BMW spec fluid. The owner had lavished time and effort upon the car, including having both front and rear bumpers resprayed to remove stone chips and parking dings.
All new OEM shocks had recently been fitted all round, except with Eibach springs in an effort to avoid the known issue of OEM springs snapping. The CS wheels and centre caps had also been refurbished and were spotless, front and rear brakes were overhauled in Dec’16 with new rear pads and discs, and the fronts cleaned and re-faced.
The car had been compression tested a number of times over the past few years and displayed excellent readings across all cylinders, plus there was paperwork to support the Vanos bolts being changed.
The only main negative appeared to be the mileage at 126k miles since it was registered in 2005, which the advert was very honest about - however for me this was easily outweighed by the sheer level of recent documented service history. It also had Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres all around (instead of the usual Michelin Pilot Supersports), however these had plenty of life left in them.
Finally, the car had 15mm wheel spacers, which turned out to have been fitted by the prior owner and the current one had left them on - I wasn’t keen on the idea of running spacers, but they turned out to be very subtle. All in all, the car appeared excellent on paper - I appreciated the level of honesty and detail in the advert, which gave off ‘fastidious owner’ vibes – in short, exactly the kind of person I had hoped to buy from.
A week later, I returned from my honeymoon and, resigned to the fact it would have been snapped up, was delighted find it was still for sale, so I made arrangements to travel down to Hampshire to view the car one Saturday afternoon. The viewing was extremely positive – the gentleman selling the E46 was a pleasure to deal with and was clearly a huge petrolhead who cossetted his cars with no expense spared.
I saw the car start from cold and found out it was permanently garaged, which went a long way to explaining how immaculate it was externally. Once the car was warmed up, we set off on a test drive on some local country roads and I was offered a chance behind the wheel to satisfy myself everything was in order. Although it was a brief drive, the car felt tight with no noise, knocks, rattles, shakes or any other signs to cause alarm. The interior was in great condition, especially considering the age and mileage – even the drivers bolster was in good condition.
I was then offered a chance to go through the stack of paperwork at my leisure, where I checked for evidence of all key work being completed and found everything in order. I think the worst things I could find on the car were the usual rear view mirror discolouring, a few tools missing from the toolkit in the boot and a stain on the boot carpet where a bottle of oil had fallen over and leaked.
I’d happily concede that after reading the advert, talking to the seller on the phone and then meeting him in person, I was pretty much set upon buying the M3 - as long as there was nothing drastically wrong with it – as I realised I’d been lucky enough to stumble upon a great car owned by a fastidious owner. However, shortly after we started the viewing, I knew in my heart I’d struggle to find another M3 (let alone a CS) in such good condition again in my price range, and that if I was going to buy an E46 - it was going to have to be this one. I made a respectful offer, just a smidgen under the asking price to factor in some replacement mirror glass.
I wanted to snap up the car with no messing around, for fear of not being taken seriously. The owner was clearly in two minds about selling the M3, and on more than one occasion seemed to be on the brink of talking himself out of the sale… I crossed my fingers and after a short pause, we shook hands on it. I put down a decent deposit, in an effort to dissuade any later changes of heart on the sellers part!
A week later I made the return trip to conclude the sale, which all went through smoothly and I drove home the owner of this lovely car..
In July ’17 I spotted an advert for a Silver Grey CS that had popped up on Pistonheads when I was, of all places, on my honeymoon. I emailed the seller to ask if it was still for sale, fully expecting to have missed out, but I received a reply saying it was still for sale and I fired back that I would be keen to view if it was still for sale upon my return.
The advert itself was packed full of detail, with a bullet pointed service history, stacks of paperwork, evidence of all the right preventative maintenance carried out and having just passed an MOT with no issues.
The car had a very strong specification, not least the CS (Coupe Sport in the UK or ZCP Competition Package in the US) package which included quicker CSL-spec steering rack, larger CSL size front discs and carriers, CSL-style alloy wheels and the Alcantara steering wheel with its single M-Track button. On top of this it was also well stocked, with Xenon lights, TV Tuner, OEM Sat Nav, Harman Kardon sound system, rain sensors, parking sensors and heated seats.
The car had been owned for a few years but was being sold due to lack of use, having covered a mere 3500 miles in two and a half years. I later found out it made up fleet of 4 other cars, including an E30 M3 and Mk1 Golf GTI, having been also run alongside a recently departed Lancia Integrale Evo and Mitsubishi Evo V – clearly an owner of impeccable taste.
The E46 had recently (July’17) had the BMW airbag recall sorted, the air con re-gassed and the subframe inspected. In fact, there was evidence the subframe had been inspected periodically, including an inspection by Reddish Motorsport (a highly regarded BMW specialist) as well as a photographed inspection in 2015 and again in 2016.
The most recent oil change was Dec’16 when the diff oil was also changed for correct BMW spec fluid. The owner had lavished time and effort upon the car, including having both front and rear bumpers resprayed to remove stone chips and parking dings.
All new OEM shocks had recently been fitted all round, except with Eibach springs in an effort to avoid the known issue of OEM springs snapping. The CS wheels and centre caps had also been refurbished and were spotless, front and rear brakes were overhauled in Dec’16 with new rear pads and discs, and the fronts cleaned and re-faced.
The car had been compression tested a number of times over the past few years and displayed excellent readings across all cylinders, plus there was paperwork to support the Vanos bolts being changed.
The only main negative appeared to be the mileage at 126k miles since it was registered in 2005, which the advert was very honest about - however for me this was easily outweighed by the sheer level of recent documented service history. It also had Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres all around (instead of the usual Michelin Pilot Supersports), however these had plenty of life left in them.
Finally, the car had 15mm wheel spacers, which turned out to have been fitted by the prior owner and the current one had left them on - I wasn’t keen on the idea of running spacers, but they turned out to be very subtle. All in all, the car appeared excellent on paper - I appreciated the level of honesty and detail in the advert, which gave off ‘fastidious owner’ vibes – in short, exactly the kind of person I had hoped to buy from.
A week later, I returned from my honeymoon and, resigned to the fact it would have been snapped up, was delighted find it was still for sale, so I made arrangements to travel down to Hampshire to view the car one Saturday afternoon. The viewing was extremely positive – the gentleman selling the E46 was a pleasure to deal with and was clearly a huge petrolhead who cossetted his cars with no expense spared.
I saw the car start from cold and found out it was permanently garaged, which went a long way to explaining how immaculate it was externally. Once the car was warmed up, we set off on a test drive on some local country roads and I was offered a chance behind the wheel to satisfy myself everything was in order. Although it was a brief drive, the car felt tight with no noise, knocks, rattles, shakes or any other signs to cause alarm. The interior was in great condition, especially considering the age and mileage – even the drivers bolster was in good condition.
I was then offered a chance to go through the stack of paperwork at my leisure, where I checked for evidence of all key work being completed and found everything in order. I think the worst things I could find on the car were the usual rear view mirror discolouring, a few tools missing from the toolkit in the boot and a stain on the boot carpet where a bottle of oil had fallen over and leaked.
I’d happily concede that after reading the advert, talking to the seller on the phone and then meeting him in person, I was pretty much set upon buying the M3 - as long as there was nothing drastically wrong with it – as I realised I’d been lucky enough to stumble upon a great car owned by a fastidious owner. However, shortly after we started the viewing, I knew in my heart I’d struggle to find another M3 (let alone a CS) in such good condition again in my price range, and that if I was going to buy an E46 - it was going to have to be this one. I made a respectful offer, just a smidgen under the asking price to factor in some replacement mirror glass.
I wanted to snap up the car with no messing around, for fear of not being taken seriously. The owner was clearly in two minds about selling the M3, and on more than one occasion seemed to be on the brink of talking himself out of the sale… I crossed my fingers and after a short pause, we shook hands on it. I put down a decent deposit, in an effort to dissuade any later changes of heart on the sellers part!
A week later I made the return trip to conclude the sale, which all went through smoothly and I drove home the owner of this lovely car..
Edited by sparks85 on Sunday 3rd September 21:40
HybridAero said:
Stunning car, congrats.
Only thing I'd do to that is get a CSL airbox. The noise....
Thank you kindly - still pinching myself that I've bought it to completely honest. I've not heard the carbon airboxes these in person, so I need to see if there's a local M3 meet somewhere near me (and also sample different exhaust noises I think too).Only thing I'd do to that is get a CSL airbox. The noise....
Beedub said:
arhhh....... lovely.... Still one of the very best engines EVER... so so so evocative!
All my friends who have owned these, this was the first thing they raved about when I mentioned I was considering one.SuperVM said:
I take it this is David's old car?
It looks very nice, I hope you have fun with it!
Yes it is, how do you know of it - I couldn't find any owners thread etc of it online, so guessing you know him personally?It looks very nice, I hope you have fun with it!
samoht said:
Photos are filling the screen nicely on my desktop monitor, looks good.
Car looks great, it's great when you get the feeling you've found a car that's been cared for by someone who knows what's what.
Thanks for the confirmation. It's great having the peace of mind it's been looked after properly.Car looks great, it's great when you get the feeling you've found a car that's been cared for by someone who knows what's what.
FELIX_5 said:
Congratulations on the purchase, looks great! That was a good read, I enjoyed that.
Thanks for the kind words - I find that once I start writing, I struggle to stop - so expect more long posts as I plan to keep a regular diary of ownership.Mike1990 said:
Great write up. Enjoyed reading it and with a smile as i adore the CS's.
Enjoy
Thanks!Enjoy
Nunga said:
As an M3 owner, I have a vested interest in seeing your detailed posts to follow and hopefully years of fulfilling ownership ahead. Car looks lovely, though SG has been done to death so I'd have been just as pleased to see any other colour!
It being such a great car in excellent condition, do you still intend on tracking it to some extent? It would be tempting to just keep its use down to nice weekends and watch as the values surely climb up slowly.
No plans at all to track the M3 - that's what the MX5 is for. Due to a mixture of accelerated depreciation, cost of upkeep for maintenance if it was tracked, plus the risk of stuffing it on track! Also the MX5 you can drive it at 100% yet be doing relatively reasonable speeds, I suspect I would struggle to get anywhere near the limits of the M3's capability on track. It being such a great car in excellent condition, do you still intend on tracking it to some extent? It would be tempting to just keep its use down to nice weekends and watch as the values surely climb up slowly.
Silver Grey is the colour in my eyes suits it best, though Titan Silver and Imola Red were both considered. It looks great in all colours though.
CHAPTER THREE – ODD JOBS
My first impression of the car, as I wound my way through some country backroads immediately after completing the sale, was how incredibly wiiiide the car felt. This was I suppose only natural given the step up in size from an MX5! However, I acclimatised very quickly and whilst it is a cliché, the car really did seem to shrink around me.
The steering was absolutely sublime, weighted and firm, but precise and offering excellent feedback – the thick rimmed CS wheel is a perfect form. The gearshift felt notchy with a very short throw meaning you have to be precise and firm with each change – although I understand that to be one of its characteristics rather than anything wrong with it. I found out later that a previous owner fitted a ZHP gear knob fitted with an alcantara gaiter.
As I drove around the M25 in rush hour, I didn’t have a chance to really stretch the M3’s legs – I was too preoccupied with dodging every single Van Man who wanted sit a few feet from my rear bumper. I kept an eye on engine and oil temperatures given this was my first extended drive in the car, however they were rock steady (and not in the dial-is-broken kind of way).
As my journey home drew to a close, I finally found a break in traffic and got the chance to give it some beans as I joined a dual carriageway and gosh, did the thing accelerate in a completely different way to anything I have driven before! I made it home without incident and had to pinch myself a few times over the coming days as I couldn’t quite believe I owned an M3!
I had promised myself this car would stay fairly stock but there are a number of smaller tweaks and bits I want to tidy up. The rear window appears to have been tinted and the tint is peeling away at the edges – I thought this was condensation from sitting in a lockup when I first saw the car, but it’s much clearer in direct sunlight – I’ll have to figure out if I can remove this cleanly, but already I can see this being an awkward and time-consuming job to do properly. I might have it re-tinted to match the rear quarter windows.
The car came with a GPS Snooper of unknown vintage that the previous owner hadn’t even tested out – I have no idea whether it functions, if it is totally outdated or you need a subscription for these things. I’ll give it a go at some point and if it’s no good, then I’ll take the opportunity to remove the power wiring that sits on the dash to the right of the steering wheel.
I bought myself an ‘M’ tricolour keyring as the main key didn’t even have a hoop attached to it. I though the keyring might be a bit cheesy and cheap, but it’s a lovely little thing and nice to add a splash of colour. The keys themselves are looking a little tired, so to spruce them up, I’m considering swapping it to a replacement key which look to be about a tenner from eBay.
The rear boot centre carpet section suffered from an oil spill under the previous owner, so I’m on the hunt for a replacement OEM item. Apparently, BMW don’t make these anymore so I will keep an eye on the breakers.
The toolkit in the boot lid was missing a few tools – the towing eye, the wheel brace and one of the spanners. I was going to buy replacements individually, but found someone on eBay selling half a toolkit which co-incidentally had most of the tools I needed, so I ordered that and slotted the missing tools in when it arrived. I’m still missing a couple and can’t figure out what they are..
Before:
After:
The chrome exhaust tips looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in about 5 years and really let the car down - though admittedly the whole car needed a damned good clean from top to bottom. I set to work with some Autosol, an old toothbrush and some microfibre cloths. For some reason I decided the best time to do this was in direct sunlight, in the middle of a boiling hot day. I got bored after ten minutes (there may have been a hangover involved) and gave up, though the one side I did do looked a whole lot better. The insides of the tips are really thick with carbon deposits that even the mighty toothbrush couldn’t shift, so I will have another go with wirewool or a scotchbrite pad at a later date.
I’d always preferred silver grey E46 M3’s with darker kidney grilles rather than the OE chrome items, so I purchased a set of matte black grilles from SSDD Motorsport. I know these aren’t to everyone’s tastes but the chrome really isn’t for me. I looked at a few on eBay but most seemed to either be items shipped from China (with a long delivery time and possible customs charges) or ones where the seller couldn’t confirm if they would fit the M3 – apparently the E46 3 series had a facelift where the kidney size changed. The SSDD items were a few pounds more expensive but I didn’t want to mess around with cheaper alternatives that may or may not fit.
The new matte black kidney grilles arrived promptly and well packaged, so reassured by a step by step guide of how incredibly easy they were to install, I attempted to remove the old chrome items. ‘Don’t bend the tabs back too far as they will snap’ seemed to be the biggest thing to worry about. Of course, I promptly snapped several but the old grilles came out easily enough. I gave the exposed paint a quick clean and popped in the new items.
Buoyed by the quality of the SSDD items and disliking the mismatch between the black kidney grilles and the chrome side vents, I purchased myself a set of matching matte black side vents (also from SSDD) which again turned up promptly and well packaged.
These proved slightly more tricky to install however – online guides suggest it is ‘simply’ a matter of using some small flathead screwdrivers to prise up two tabs inside the bottom edge of the existing vent, and they would pop right out. In practice this was far more fiddly and the tabs wouldn’t seem to bend up as expected – my patience was tested but they eventually came out, although I mangled the tabs quite badly so I’m not sure how snug they would be if refitted in the future. Again, I took the opportunity to give the paintwork on the lip a clean before the new items went in.
My first impression of the car, as I wound my way through some country backroads immediately after completing the sale, was how incredibly wiiiide the car felt. This was I suppose only natural given the step up in size from an MX5! However, I acclimatised very quickly and whilst it is a cliché, the car really did seem to shrink around me.
The steering was absolutely sublime, weighted and firm, but precise and offering excellent feedback – the thick rimmed CS wheel is a perfect form. The gearshift felt notchy with a very short throw meaning you have to be precise and firm with each change – although I understand that to be one of its characteristics rather than anything wrong with it. I found out later that a previous owner fitted a ZHP gear knob fitted with an alcantara gaiter.
As I drove around the M25 in rush hour, I didn’t have a chance to really stretch the M3’s legs – I was too preoccupied with dodging every single Van Man who wanted sit a few feet from my rear bumper. I kept an eye on engine and oil temperatures given this was my first extended drive in the car, however they were rock steady (and not in the dial-is-broken kind of way).
As my journey home drew to a close, I finally found a break in traffic and got the chance to give it some beans as I joined a dual carriageway and gosh, did the thing accelerate in a completely different way to anything I have driven before! I made it home without incident and had to pinch myself a few times over the coming days as I couldn’t quite believe I owned an M3!
I had promised myself this car would stay fairly stock but there are a number of smaller tweaks and bits I want to tidy up. The rear window appears to have been tinted and the tint is peeling away at the edges – I thought this was condensation from sitting in a lockup when I first saw the car, but it’s much clearer in direct sunlight – I’ll have to figure out if I can remove this cleanly, but already I can see this being an awkward and time-consuming job to do properly. I might have it re-tinted to match the rear quarter windows.
The car came with a GPS Snooper of unknown vintage that the previous owner hadn’t even tested out – I have no idea whether it functions, if it is totally outdated or you need a subscription for these things. I’ll give it a go at some point and if it’s no good, then I’ll take the opportunity to remove the power wiring that sits on the dash to the right of the steering wheel.
I bought myself an ‘M’ tricolour keyring as the main key didn’t even have a hoop attached to it. I though the keyring might be a bit cheesy and cheap, but it’s a lovely little thing and nice to add a splash of colour. The keys themselves are looking a little tired, so to spruce them up, I’m considering swapping it to a replacement key which look to be about a tenner from eBay.
The rear boot centre carpet section suffered from an oil spill under the previous owner, so I’m on the hunt for a replacement OEM item. Apparently, BMW don’t make these anymore so I will keep an eye on the breakers.
The toolkit in the boot lid was missing a few tools – the towing eye, the wheel brace and one of the spanners. I was going to buy replacements individually, but found someone on eBay selling half a toolkit which co-incidentally had most of the tools I needed, so I ordered that and slotted the missing tools in when it arrived. I’m still missing a couple and can’t figure out what they are..
Before:
After:
The chrome exhaust tips looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in about 5 years and really let the car down - though admittedly the whole car needed a damned good clean from top to bottom. I set to work with some Autosol, an old toothbrush and some microfibre cloths. For some reason I decided the best time to do this was in direct sunlight, in the middle of a boiling hot day. I got bored after ten minutes (there may have been a hangover involved) and gave up, though the one side I did do looked a whole lot better. The insides of the tips are really thick with carbon deposits that even the mighty toothbrush couldn’t shift, so I will have another go with wirewool or a scotchbrite pad at a later date.
I’d always preferred silver grey E46 M3’s with darker kidney grilles rather than the OE chrome items, so I purchased a set of matte black grilles from SSDD Motorsport. I know these aren’t to everyone’s tastes but the chrome really isn’t for me. I looked at a few on eBay but most seemed to either be items shipped from China (with a long delivery time and possible customs charges) or ones where the seller couldn’t confirm if they would fit the M3 – apparently the E46 3 series had a facelift where the kidney size changed. The SSDD items were a few pounds more expensive but I didn’t want to mess around with cheaper alternatives that may or may not fit.
The new matte black kidney grilles arrived promptly and well packaged, so reassured by a step by step guide of how incredibly easy they were to install, I attempted to remove the old chrome items. ‘Don’t bend the tabs back too far as they will snap’ seemed to be the biggest thing to worry about. Of course, I promptly snapped several but the old grilles came out easily enough. I gave the exposed paint a quick clean and popped in the new items.
Buoyed by the quality of the SSDD items and disliking the mismatch between the black kidney grilles and the chrome side vents, I purchased myself a set of matching matte black side vents (also from SSDD) which again turned up promptly and well packaged.
These proved slightly more tricky to install however – online guides suggest it is ‘simply’ a matter of using some small flathead screwdrivers to prise up two tabs inside the bottom edge of the existing vent, and they would pop right out. In practice this was far more fiddly and the tabs wouldn’t seem to bend up as expected – my patience was tested but they eventually came out, although I mangled the tabs quite badly so I’m not sure how snug they would be if refitted in the future. Again, I took the opportunity to give the paintwork on the lip a clean before the new items went in.
King James said:
oof. I regret selling this car, wish I hadn't seen this. I spotted the expensive cup holders and thought it must be it! Congrats!
Sorry to hear that (well, not really otherwise the key wouldn't be sitting in my hall!) but if it's any consolation the guy I bought it from has also been in touch to say he wished he hadn't sold it! Panthro said:
Enjoy it. I sold mine in June, which was almost identical in spec except it had red leather and less miles. They aren't cheap to run and maintain, but will give you a huge smile every time you get into it.
I'm definitely going to try to make the most of ownership. It's refreshing to have a car where I'm not constantly thinking about the To Do list of things I need to finish just to get it running again - if I fancy a drive then off I go. jwwbowe said:
Very nice, looks great. completely get the reasons for not tracking it. Worth keeping not for rising prices but just to have a decent clean example, there's a lot out there that are in a poor state having been neglected. Had a standard non-cs e46 M3 coupe with a manual gearbox and it was great I've not driven another car with a quicker throttle response. Fantastic combo of daily usability and rewarding when driven spiritedly. Like the black grills completely agree with the chrome, BMW used to do a "shadow line" trim option in days gone by where all the chrome was replaced with black trim, think they still do this under a different name (probably using the "M" badge like every other option, diluting the title further imo) which is something I would tick on the options list were I in a position to buy a new BMW M car.
It's just too expensive (for me anyway) to risk either crash damage (self inflicted or other parties) or catastrophic bills from sustained, hard track use. I didn't buy it to speculate on prices, at the end of the day they can go up and down, but if it holds it's value that would be nice. There are a lot out there that aren't maintained or are modded for the worse, hopefully staying on top of the preventative maintenance in a sensible way will keep mine in great condition. A lot of credit must go to the previous owners who looked after it so well. The black grilles are personal touch - someone on Cutters showed me a photo of a Steel Grey one with the outside of the kidneys colour coded to match the body and it looks pretty tidy - will have to consider doing this at some point. Perhaps I'm allergic to chrome - I've seen too many MX5's end up looking like a Demon Tweeks catalogue!bobski1 said:
Regarding the window tint I believe this is an issue of applying the tint over the black dot matrix
Great shout - apparently you can get around this by having a strip of black vinyl applied over the dot matrix before the tint is applied. It sounds a bit dodgy but having seen photos of this technique it looks very tidy indeed, you wouldn't realise it wasn't OEM.e30m3Mark said:
Lovely. Just needs a finishing touch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0MOOvg4zfw
https://www.geoffsteel.co.uk/shop/e46-csl-carbon-a...
Yes, I suspect that may be on the shopping list soon. If you listen carefully you can hear my wallet weeping.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0MOOvg4zfw
https://www.geoffsteel.co.uk/shop/e46-csl-carbon-a...
5harp3y said:
With the boot carpet, just take it out and wash it with a jetwash or as i do, get in in the bath and use the shower head and some interior cleaner / carpet cleaner
I'll give this a go (nothing to lose) - although the owner of the blue CS in the original post has offered me his boot mat so this problem might have solved itself.Nunga said:
I just had a few clips snap on one of my kidney grilles; what was the turnaround time on your SSD items? I'm not sure I like the matt black but was planning on painting mine body colour (mystic blue)..
From memory the SSDD items turned up within two days. I think I will end up painting the outer in body colour to be honest - currently the plain black is a little too obviously not OEM.chilistrucker said:
Lovely car and great posts 
I'd quite like 1, or another E 34 M5 in the future.
Thank you kindly. An E34 would require a certain amount of contingency funds set surely.. a friend of mine spent a fortune on engine work on an E39 M5, I assume they have the same potential to be ruinous!I'd quite like 1, or another E 34 M5 in the future.
krisdelta said:
Lovely car, I ran a 2004 car for 3 years and the only thing that could lever me out of it was a V8V, great cars, lovely noise and lots of fun to drive. Desperately wanted Silver Grey but couldn't find a nice one, so settled for silver. Enjoy, they are one of the greats.
Titan Silver or Imola Red would have been my second/third choice colours but I'm glad I held off for SG.Filos Hippos said:
Lovely cars!
Congrats!!!
Here is mine. Very fond of it indeed.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/t1zdhnkM.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/hgAwF2Sz" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/hgAwF2Sz.jpg)
Is that white or just the lighting in the photo? Looks great with the graphite wheels.Congrats!!!
Here is mine. Very fond of it indeed.
SebringMan said:
Compared to specialists who do the job correctly BMW aren't that horrendously overpriced. ETA Motorsport may be one exception.
JoshMay said:
The last full service (non-BMW of course, they are a rip-off of note!), was £400 and it hasn't missed beat in the 3 years I've owned it.
mwstewart said:
The service prices above sound really good. Mine's going to BMW in a couple of weeks for an oil change which has gone up from £199 to £230. If I was running mine as a daily I would definitely use a specialist.
pSyCoSiS said:
No M car is cheap to run, but they aren't horrendous as long as they have been maintained correctly and a lot of the running costs are general wear and tear.
Spitfires said:
I was going to use BMW for my routine servicing since my local specialist isn't very local, but the impression I got from them during the airbag recall (thanks SebringMan, it was your thread that highlighted this to me) left me vowing to never go back there again.
Thanks all for the feedback on maintenance and servicing. At some point I'll go through the paperwork that came with the car and jot down the mileages for each bit of work, to see if there's anything that needs priority attention from a servicing point of view. ETA Motorsport are about 8 miles from me and they were going to be my first point of call. I've not had a chance to read through SebringMan's thread - what's the deal with ETA - are they expensive (and are they worth it?).
CHAPTER FOUR – A GOOD CLEAN
So a couple of weekends ago I gave the M3 a thorough clean from top to bottom (not the interior just yet, for reasons to be revealed later). My brother is a bit of a car cleaning nut so I took advantage of his range of cleaning products and willingness to help out. We jet washed the car using a Karcher, then gave the car a thick coating of Autofinesse Cherry snow foam and let it soak for a few minutes, then jet washed this off.
The boot lid drain channels and inside the fuel filler lid were given a good clean using one of the cleaning brushes as they’d got pretty grubby. The wheels were soaked in Autofinesse fallout remover and wheel cleaner, then agitated with wheel brushes – this was repeated several times with them being jet washed each time. I jet washed the arches as best I could with the slim arch gap at the moment.
Before the winter I plan to have each of the wheels off to clean the inside and apply a wax or sealant. At the same time I will scrub the arch liners clean and apply some kind of wax, and check there is no trapped dirt or muck built up that could cause any corrosion. As an MX5 owner this becomes second nature as they are hugely susceptible to rusting arches, front wings, rear sill… The centre of the brake discs (the un-swept part) and the outer lip of the discs are a little mucky so I’ll also clean these up and give them a coat of silver paint, and probably give the calipers a good clean too.
Once the wheels were cleaned, the car was cleaned with Chemical Guys Wash and Wax car shampoo, rinsed down and then clayed with a clay cloth. The paint is already in great condition, so the claying didn’t have a huge effect but better done than not. There’s literally nothing in the way of scratching or swirls that I could find, so there was no need for any kind of polishing stage. The car was given a single coat of Chemical Guys Body Butter wax, some of the plastics and rubbers cleaned with Aerospace 303, some tyre shine applied and the glass was cleaned with good old Mr Muscle.
A second coat of wax would have been in order but after a few hours cleaning I was thoroughly bored. I always seem to start with good intentions, but I rapidly lose enthusiasm – I can happily spend hours working on the mechanical side of things, but I find the bodywork side of things pretty tedious, possibly because I know the car will end up dirty again a week later. Fast forward a few weeks and surprise surprise, the car is pretty dirty again.
Apparently building up the layers of wax makes it easier to clean the car using snowfoam (i.e the dirt doesn’t adhere to the paintwork but instead is picked up and carried off by the foam), avoiding the need to clean it (as much) with a sponge and ultimately in doing so you avoid scratching and swirling the paint with sponges/cloths. I guess I will try to power through and get a couple more coats of wax in next time, but for now I was pretty pleased with the end result.
So a couple of weekends ago I gave the M3 a thorough clean from top to bottom (not the interior just yet, for reasons to be revealed later). My brother is a bit of a car cleaning nut so I took advantage of his range of cleaning products and willingness to help out. We jet washed the car using a Karcher, then gave the car a thick coating of Autofinesse Cherry snow foam and let it soak for a few minutes, then jet washed this off.
The boot lid drain channels and inside the fuel filler lid were given a good clean using one of the cleaning brushes as they’d got pretty grubby. The wheels were soaked in Autofinesse fallout remover and wheel cleaner, then agitated with wheel brushes – this was repeated several times with them being jet washed each time. I jet washed the arches as best I could with the slim arch gap at the moment.
Before the winter I plan to have each of the wheels off to clean the inside and apply a wax or sealant. At the same time I will scrub the arch liners clean and apply some kind of wax, and check there is no trapped dirt or muck built up that could cause any corrosion. As an MX5 owner this becomes second nature as they are hugely susceptible to rusting arches, front wings, rear sill… The centre of the brake discs (the un-swept part) and the outer lip of the discs are a little mucky so I’ll also clean these up and give them a coat of silver paint, and probably give the calipers a good clean too.
Once the wheels were cleaned, the car was cleaned with Chemical Guys Wash and Wax car shampoo, rinsed down and then clayed with a clay cloth. The paint is already in great condition, so the claying didn’t have a huge effect but better done than not. There’s literally nothing in the way of scratching or swirls that I could find, so there was no need for any kind of polishing stage. The car was given a single coat of Chemical Guys Body Butter wax, some of the plastics and rubbers cleaned with Aerospace 303, some tyre shine applied and the glass was cleaned with good old Mr Muscle.
A second coat of wax would have been in order but after a few hours cleaning I was thoroughly bored. I always seem to start with good intentions, but I rapidly lose enthusiasm – I can happily spend hours working on the mechanical side of things, but I find the bodywork side of things pretty tedious, possibly because I know the car will end up dirty again a week later. Fast forward a few weeks and surprise surprise, the car is pretty dirty again.
Apparently building up the layers of wax makes it easier to clean the car using snowfoam (i.e the dirt doesn’t adhere to the paintwork but instead is picked up and carried off by the foam), avoiding the need to clean it (as much) with a sponge and ultimately in doing so you avoid scratching and swirling the paint with sponges/cloths. I guess I will try to power through and get a couple more coats of wax in next time, but for now I was pretty pleased with the end result.
CHAPTER FIVE - MIRROR MIRROR
When I bought my M3, I’d already read up on the minor issues suffered with both the internal rearview mirror and the external wing mirrors. The internal glass has an auto-dimming feature, with a conductive liquid sealed between two plates of glass. Over time, the seal fails and air creeps inside, resulting in a discoloured patch on the glass. These can suffer a catastrophic failure with the liquid leaking out and ruining the cabin interior. This is a common problem on E46 M3’s and there is a well respected specialist called MirrorJohn who not only explains the issue in more detail, but offers replacement glass and a step by step guide to replacing them. You can find his site here:
http://mirrorjohn.com/index.php
My rear view mirror was displaying these symptoms:
My wing mirrors were also suffering from some discolouration.
It’s small things like this that I think really make a car show it’s age, so these were on the list of things to tidy up. I ordered both a replacement rear view mirror and a pair of wing mirror glasses from MirrorJohn, which turned up promptly and well packaged.
The wing mirror glass is changed by tilting the mirror upwards, then using a small screwdriver to push a tab at the bottom of the plastic retainer, releasing the glass. That’s the theory anyway – when I attempted it, I couldn’t get any positive feeling of the tab releasing, and with a firm pull the glass came out, with both the mirror and the plastic intact. I cleaned up the inside of the wing mirror housing and push fitted the new glass back in place.
Old vs New
Discolouration
New glass fitted
The rear view mirror has a simple two piece plastic casing hiding the support arm that needs to be pried apart gently. Twist the mirror and arm anti-clockwise to remove it from the windscreen, then push down the tab on the single electrical connector and it should pop off easily. The two halves of the mirror casing are held together with male/female style tabs and again need to be pried gently apart.
The MirrorJohn guide says “You will probably break some of the internal retaining clips as you separate it. Don’t be disheartened; you will always break a few. It doesn’t affect putting it back together.” I managed to divide the casing without, so I thought, breaking any whatsoever – fantastic I thought, moving onto the next stage.
The PCB on the back of the mirror glass has a single electrical connector that needs to be popped off. Then using a soldering iron, the existing positive and negative connections are un-soldered from either side of the mirror glass. The PCB and the old glass are stuck together, and need to be prised apart – I used a plastic trim removal in the absence of the recommended sharp blade.
Then the PCB is stuck onto the replacement glass – checking it is orientated correctly to tally with the positive and negative connections - using the remnants of the original sticky material. The connections are then soldered to the edges of the metal surround of the mirror glass, and the single electrical connector is re-connected to the other half of the mirror casing.
You may feel that this was all going far too smoothly – as did I at the time – and if you did, you’d be entirely correct. Having successfully reached this point by taking my time and being methodical about each step, I went to reassemble the two halves of the mirror casings with the new glass in place, only to find a real showstopper. The aforementioned male/female tabs on each half of the plastic mirror casing were broken – pretty much every single one of them. I couldn’t understand how this had happened, as I’d not seen or heard any plastic snapping when splitting the housing apart, nor found any bits of broken plastic. Any attempt to push the casing back together resulted in a big gap as the two halves fell apart again.
I was pretty annoyed by this, as the casing was in mint condition externally and quick look on eBay showed that visibly worn ones started around £60. After a cup of tea and a few minutes to consider my options, I spotted a mint condition rear view mirror for sale…with a replacement ‘MirrorJohn’ piece of glass fitted.
Pondering why on earth I always manage to make life difficult for myself, a short while later I was the new owner of said mirror assembly, which arrived in excellent condition and was reinstalled into the car as soon as it arrived. A quick test – by covering the forward facing sensor - revealed the autodimming function worked perfectly. The new mirror glass I had purchased and fitted to my old assembly was packed away carefully and will be up for sale shortly. Sigh.
When I bought my M3, I’d already read up on the minor issues suffered with both the internal rearview mirror and the external wing mirrors. The internal glass has an auto-dimming feature, with a conductive liquid sealed between two plates of glass. Over time, the seal fails and air creeps inside, resulting in a discoloured patch on the glass. These can suffer a catastrophic failure with the liquid leaking out and ruining the cabin interior. This is a common problem on E46 M3’s and there is a well respected specialist called MirrorJohn who not only explains the issue in more detail, but offers replacement glass and a step by step guide to replacing them. You can find his site here:
http://mirrorjohn.com/index.php
My rear view mirror was displaying these symptoms:
My wing mirrors were also suffering from some discolouration.
It’s small things like this that I think really make a car show it’s age, so these were on the list of things to tidy up. I ordered both a replacement rear view mirror and a pair of wing mirror glasses from MirrorJohn, which turned up promptly and well packaged.
The wing mirror glass is changed by tilting the mirror upwards, then using a small screwdriver to push a tab at the bottom of the plastic retainer, releasing the glass. That’s the theory anyway – when I attempted it, I couldn’t get any positive feeling of the tab releasing, and with a firm pull the glass came out, with both the mirror and the plastic intact. I cleaned up the inside of the wing mirror housing and push fitted the new glass back in place.
Old vs New
Discolouration
New glass fitted
The rear view mirror has a simple two piece plastic casing hiding the support arm that needs to be pried apart gently. Twist the mirror and arm anti-clockwise to remove it from the windscreen, then push down the tab on the single electrical connector and it should pop off easily. The two halves of the mirror casing are held together with male/female style tabs and again need to be pried gently apart.
The MirrorJohn guide says “You will probably break some of the internal retaining clips as you separate it. Don’t be disheartened; you will always break a few. It doesn’t affect putting it back together.” I managed to divide the casing without, so I thought, breaking any whatsoever – fantastic I thought, moving onto the next stage.
The PCB on the back of the mirror glass has a single electrical connector that needs to be popped off. Then using a soldering iron, the existing positive and negative connections are un-soldered from either side of the mirror glass. The PCB and the old glass are stuck together, and need to be prised apart – I used a plastic trim removal in the absence of the recommended sharp blade.
Then the PCB is stuck onto the replacement glass – checking it is orientated correctly to tally with the positive and negative connections - using the remnants of the original sticky material. The connections are then soldered to the edges of the metal surround of the mirror glass, and the single electrical connector is re-connected to the other half of the mirror casing.
You may feel that this was all going far too smoothly – as did I at the time – and if you did, you’d be entirely correct. Having successfully reached this point by taking my time and being methodical about each step, I went to reassemble the two halves of the mirror casings with the new glass in place, only to find a real showstopper. The aforementioned male/female tabs on each half of the plastic mirror casing were broken – pretty much every single one of them. I couldn’t understand how this had happened, as I’d not seen or heard any plastic snapping when splitting the housing apart, nor found any bits of broken plastic. Any attempt to push the casing back together resulted in a big gap as the two halves fell apart again.
I was pretty annoyed by this, as the casing was in mint condition externally and quick look on eBay showed that visibly worn ones started around £60. After a cup of tea and a few minutes to consider my options, I spotted a mint condition rear view mirror for sale…with a replacement ‘MirrorJohn’ piece of glass fitted.
Pondering why on earth I always manage to make life difficult for myself, a short while later I was the new owner of said mirror assembly, which arrived in excellent condition and was reinstalled into the car as soon as it arrived. A quick test – by covering the forward facing sensor - revealed the autodimming function worked perfectly. The new mirror glass I had purchased and fitted to my old assembly was packed away carefully and will be up for sale shortly. Sigh.
Edited by sparks85 on Tuesday 3rd October 19:13
The next few posts will be very specific to E46 owners - normal service will be resumed afterwards!
CHAPTER SIX - ANDROID HEAD UNIT INSTALLATION
During my search for an M3, I kept an eye out for a car with an OE Sat Nav unit – this was by no means an essential requirement, but it would have been a welcome bonus. If I’m being truly honest, I always fancied having one for the rather childish reason of having a TV tuner in my car.. As luck would have it, the car I ended up buying did in fact have the widescreen factory navigation unit. I know you don’t buy a 12 year-old car for the in-car entertainment system, however it only took a week or so of using it to tire of the slightly dated, blocky 90’s interface. I was also experiencing issues moving between the Sat Nav and Radio screens – mine would freeze on the Nav screen and refuse to switch to any other function, for no apparent reason and with no obvious cure.
Researching the options for an aftermarket head unit to replace the factory item with revealed that, surprisingly for such a popular model, the options were fairly limited. There are several higher end units (~£1k) that were ruled out due to being both out of budget and for not being of the same appearance as the original factory unit. They all appeared to be tablet style units mounted in a blanking plate façade that filled the aperture left by the original unit, with an obvious plastic border between the screen and the centre console. I’m sure these are good quality items, but I wanted something that retained the factory look.
It became clear that the alternative was one of the Android head units that are marketed under a variety of brands – Erisin, Xtrons, Eonon etc. These are manufactured in the Far East and are effectively Android tablets with a specific automotive interface. They mimic the appearance of the factory BMW Head Unit but with a modern Android GUI on a touchscreen, and can run features such as music and video players, Google Map and other navigation apps, OBD reader, radio, reversing cameras, Bluetooth, line-in/aux inputs, USB charging points, 3G/4G dongles, internet browsing and pretty much any Android app available on the Playstore.
I’m neither experienced or confident when it comes to either automotive wiring or in-car entertainment, so I was hoping to find a comprehensive step by step guide that could talk me through any install from start to finish. I did a huge amount of research - and I mean hours of reading - about the various options. Everything I found was frustratingly vague, as no one seems to be able to definitively confirm there was a plug and play option for the E46, and those that had got a unit installed and up and running weren’t clear about what steps they took to do so. It also became apparent that the E46 had a variety of factory stereo and navigation options throughout its life cycle, and what worked for one might not work for another – in particular, I struggled to find anything that confirmed the Android units would work with the factory Harman Kardon (HK) system that my particular car came kitted with. All the HU manufacturers seemed to be under the impression their E46 Android units weren’t compatible with HK systems. Another worry was DSP – Digital Sound Processing - took me some time to establish this was never fitted as any part of any E46 whatsoever!
Eventually I found a few people on a German M3 forum who indicated they had managed to get a particular Android unit installed with minimal fuss alongside the HK system. By all accounts, if you have the widescreen factory navigation unit, the only equipment in the dash is the screen itself – the Amp, Nav Unit, Aerial, TV Tuner and all the related gubbins is located in the boot. This necessitates the installation of an extension loom to run from the new head unit to the wiring in the boot area. I read in various places (including on Xtrons own site) about a “Connects 2” loom (CT53-BM0) for connecting to the HK system but it turned out this was not needed for successful installation.
I favoured the Xtrons unit because of the positive feedback on compatibility from the German M3 forum, as well as the fact Xtrons appear to offer a range of peripherals and addons which gave me reassurance they would work with their own head unit (rather than ordering from different suppliers and finding they weren’t compatible). I also figured ordering directly from Xtrons might offer more technical support (in case of install issues) or warranty (in case of product failure) than buying from one of the many resellers on eBay.
I ended up choosing the Xtrons PB7646BP Head Unit, given it was Octa Core and had 2Gb of RAM, running Android 6.0 – previous models only had Dual or Quad cores and 1Gb of RAM with Android 5.0. One of the criticisms levelled at the Android units (and similarly, cheap Android tablets) in the past is that, over time, their performance degrades because they are stuffed full of apps by the user and cannot handle the volume of apps running, or more processor power intensive apps. Whilst I plan to keep this HU to the bare bones in terms of apps, I didn’t think it would hurt to buy the most powerful unit, especially when there seemed to be no more than £50 difference on a ~£300 purchase price.
Head Unit Fascia
Peripheral Cables including short harness and GPS mouse
Extension Loom
I should mention at this stage that I’m in no way affiliated with Xtrons – this is simply what I decided to go with for the reasons noted above. It’s also worth noting that there are discount codes for Xtrons floating around - I emailed them directly and got a 15% off code. I would however calibrate your expectations from any of these manufacturers or resellers in terms of warranty and technical support. Whilst not my own first-hand experience, I get the impression that returning any faulty units could prove expensive and/or fruitless. When I got stuck with my installation, technical support from Xtrons directly was completely useless – basically, broken English emails instructing me to cut into two random parts of the wiring loom and join them together.
I took the plunge and ordered an Xtrons PB7646BP, the EXL005 Extension Loom (6m ISO Harness with quadlock connector), DAB aerial and finally the ANT001 radio aerial extension cable. Having placed my order, it arrived promptly, well packaged and with courier tracking information. Conspicuously absent were any kind of installation instructions, though by this stage I thankfully wasn’t expecting any.
Product Links:
Head Unit:
http://xtrons.co.uk/pb7646bp-7-hd-digital-octa-cor...
Extension Harness
http://xtrons.co.uk/exl005-extra-long-6-meters-iso...
Aerial Extension Cable
http://xtrons.co.uk/ant001-extra-long-6-meters-rad...
CHAPTER SIX - ANDROID HEAD UNIT INSTALLATION
During my search for an M3, I kept an eye out for a car with an OE Sat Nav unit – this was by no means an essential requirement, but it would have been a welcome bonus. If I’m being truly honest, I always fancied having one for the rather childish reason of having a TV tuner in my car.. As luck would have it, the car I ended up buying did in fact have the widescreen factory navigation unit. I know you don’t buy a 12 year-old car for the in-car entertainment system, however it only took a week or so of using it to tire of the slightly dated, blocky 90’s interface. I was also experiencing issues moving between the Sat Nav and Radio screens – mine would freeze on the Nav screen and refuse to switch to any other function, for no apparent reason and with no obvious cure.
Researching the options for an aftermarket head unit to replace the factory item with revealed that, surprisingly for such a popular model, the options were fairly limited. There are several higher end units (~£1k) that were ruled out due to being both out of budget and for not being of the same appearance as the original factory unit. They all appeared to be tablet style units mounted in a blanking plate façade that filled the aperture left by the original unit, with an obvious plastic border between the screen and the centre console. I’m sure these are good quality items, but I wanted something that retained the factory look.
It became clear that the alternative was one of the Android head units that are marketed under a variety of brands – Erisin, Xtrons, Eonon etc. These are manufactured in the Far East and are effectively Android tablets with a specific automotive interface. They mimic the appearance of the factory BMW Head Unit but with a modern Android GUI on a touchscreen, and can run features such as music and video players, Google Map and other navigation apps, OBD reader, radio, reversing cameras, Bluetooth, line-in/aux inputs, USB charging points, 3G/4G dongles, internet browsing and pretty much any Android app available on the Playstore.
I’m neither experienced or confident when it comes to either automotive wiring or in-car entertainment, so I was hoping to find a comprehensive step by step guide that could talk me through any install from start to finish. I did a huge amount of research - and I mean hours of reading - about the various options. Everything I found was frustratingly vague, as no one seems to be able to definitively confirm there was a plug and play option for the E46, and those that had got a unit installed and up and running weren’t clear about what steps they took to do so. It also became apparent that the E46 had a variety of factory stereo and navigation options throughout its life cycle, and what worked for one might not work for another – in particular, I struggled to find anything that confirmed the Android units would work with the factory Harman Kardon (HK) system that my particular car came kitted with. All the HU manufacturers seemed to be under the impression their E46 Android units weren’t compatible with HK systems. Another worry was DSP – Digital Sound Processing - took me some time to establish this was never fitted as any part of any E46 whatsoever!
Eventually I found a few people on a German M3 forum who indicated they had managed to get a particular Android unit installed with minimal fuss alongside the HK system. By all accounts, if you have the widescreen factory navigation unit, the only equipment in the dash is the screen itself – the Amp, Nav Unit, Aerial, TV Tuner and all the related gubbins is located in the boot. This necessitates the installation of an extension loom to run from the new head unit to the wiring in the boot area. I read in various places (including on Xtrons own site) about a “Connects 2” loom (CT53-BM0) for connecting to the HK system but it turned out this was not needed for successful installation.
I favoured the Xtrons unit because of the positive feedback on compatibility from the German M3 forum, as well as the fact Xtrons appear to offer a range of peripherals and addons which gave me reassurance they would work with their own head unit (rather than ordering from different suppliers and finding they weren’t compatible). I also figured ordering directly from Xtrons might offer more technical support (in case of install issues) or warranty (in case of product failure) than buying from one of the many resellers on eBay.
I ended up choosing the Xtrons PB7646BP Head Unit, given it was Octa Core and had 2Gb of RAM, running Android 6.0 – previous models only had Dual or Quad cores and 1Gb of RAM with Android 5.0. One of the criticisms levelled at the Android units (and similarly, cheap Android tablets) in the past is that, over time, their performance degrades because they are stuffed full of apps by the user and cannot handle the volume of apps running, or more processor power intensive apps. Whilst I plan to keep this HU to the bare bones in terms of apps, I didn’t think it would hurt to buy the most powerful unit, especially when there seemed to be no more than £50 difference on a ~£300 purchase price.
Head Unit Fascia
Peripheral Cables including short harness and GPS mouse
Extension Loom
I should mention at this stage that I’m in no way affiliated with Xtrons – this is simply what I decided to go with for the reasons noted above. It’s also worth noting that there are discount codes for Xtrons floating around - I emailed them directly and got a 15% off code. I would however calibrate your expectations from any of these manufacturers or resellers in terms of warranty and technical support. Whilst not my own first-hand experience, I get the impression that returning any faulty units could prove expensive and/or fruitless. When I got stuck with my installation, technical support from Xtrons directly was completely useless – basically, broken English emails instructing me to cut into two random parts of the wiring loom and join them together.
I took the plunge and ordered an Xtrons PB7646BP, the EXL005 Extension Loom (6m ISO Harness with quadlock connector), DAB aerial and finally the ANT001 radio aerial extension cable. Having placed my order, it arrived promptly, well packaged and with courier tracking information. Conspicuously absent were any kind of installation instructions, though by this stage I thankfully wasn’t expecting any.
Product Links:
Head Unit:
http://xtrons.co.uk/pb7646bp-7-hd-digital-octa-cor...
Extension Harness
http://xtrons.co.uk/exl005-extra-long-6-meters-iso...
Aerial Extension Cable
http://xtrons.co.uk/ant001-extra-long-6-meters-rad...
Step By Step Installation Guide
I’m by no means an auto electrician or in car entertainment expert – what follows is simply the guide documenting the process I followed. It’s also not exhaustive in detail – it’s easy enough to find specific guides online to accomplish certain steps in my overall process. With the best will in the world, I can’t accept any liability for any issues you come across – if in doubt then hand it over to a professional. I would strongly recommend getting a trim removal kit – available for a few quid online – rather than using screwdrivers to pry things out. You will also need a pair of stereo removal keys – I bought some generic ones as I struggled to find any specific BMW sized ones for sale. In essence these just need to have a flat edge, there’s no recesses or teeth etc that are found on keys for some others makes.
My car had the factory widescreen head unit with the Harman Kardon soundsystem, TV Tuner, Bluetooth Module and Sat Nav options. This is pretty much the most extensive and complex set up the E46 came with from the factory. Whilst I’ve only performed the install on my set up, it’s my understanding that it’s easier to install the Android units on simpler factory set ups. I really cannot stress enough how much value there is in finding out what connections you have on the back of your existing head up and what components and connectors you have in the boot, before committing to buy one of these units.
The whole guide contains descriptions that might not make sense when reading them on paper but should become clear when you have your car in front of you. Like many things, when you’ve done it once, you’ll be able to do it again in half the time. I’ve indicated where you can be rough or need to take care with certain parts. My best tip would be to take your time with this – don’t rush. Start off by unboxing your unit and checking you have all the necessary components. Familiarise yourself where all the smaller peripheral cables connect in the back – the new head unit should have a diagram sticker on the side. Test fit all the connections in the warm and dry of your lounge so you know how it all fits together, and so you don’t end up having to do this outside in the dark.
Boxed HU
Xtrons PB7646BP unboxed
Input/Output Diagram
Rear of head unit
Short Harness
[B]Short Harness – Main Quadlock to Extension Harness (left); HU Connector (top); Canbus box (right); other connectors surplus
[/B]
Extension Harness – Boot connectors on LHS, HU Connector on RHS
Short Harness - Male Quadlock
Short Harness – Female Quadlock
Short Harness – Canbus Box
Short Harness – HU Connector
Short Harness – Video In and Spare Wires
Radio Aerial Extension
Radio Aerial Extension (HU end)
Radio Aerial Extension (Boot end)
I’m by no means an auto electrician or in car entertainment expert – what follows is simply the guide documenting the process I followed. It’s also not exhaustive in detail – it’s easy enough to find specific guides online to accomplish certain steps in my overall process. With the best will in the world, I can’t accept any liability for any issues you come across – if in doubt then hand it over to a professional. I would strongly recommend getting a trim removal kit – available for a few quid online – rather than using screwdrivers to pry things out. You will also need a pair of stereo removal keys – I bought some generic ones as I struggled to find any specific BMW sized ones for sale. In essence these just need to have a flat edge, there’s no recesses or teeth etc that are found on keys for some others makes.
My car had the factory widescreen head unit with the Harman Kardon soundsystem, TV Tuner, Bluetooth Module and Sat Nav options. This is pretty much the most extensive and complex set up the E46 came with from the factory. Whilst I’ve only performed the install on my set up, it’s my understanding that it’s easier to install the Android units on simpler factory set ups. I really cannot stress enough how much value there is in finding out what connections you have on the back of your existing head up and what components and connectors you have in the boot, before committing to buy one of these units.
The whole guide contains descriptions that might not make sense when reading them on paper but should become clear when you have your car in front of you. Like many things, when you’ve done it once, you’ll be able to do it again in half the time. I’ve indicated where you can be rough or need to take care with certain parts. My best tip would be to take your time with this – don’t rush. Start off by unboxing your unit and checking you have all the necessary components. Familiarise yourself where all the smaller peripheral cables connect in the back – the new head unit should have a diagram sticker on the side. Test fit all the connections in the warm and dry of your lounge so you know how it all fits together, and so you don’t end up having to do this outside in the dark.
Boxed HU
Xtrons PB7646BP unboxed
Input/Output Diagram
Rear of head unit
Short Harness
[B]Short Harness – Main Quadlock to Extension Harness (left); HU Connector (top); Canbus box (right); other connectors surplus
[/B]
Extension Harness – Boot connectors on LHS, HU Connector on RHS
Short Harness - Male Quadlock
Short Harness – Female Quadlock
Short Harness – Canbus Box
Short Harness – HU Connector
Short Harness – Video In and Spare Wires
Radio Aerial Extension
Radio Aerial Extension (HU end)
Radio Aerial Extension (Boot end)
PART ONE
1. Remove any CD’s you might have in the head unit, autochanger or Nav DVD drive! Disconnect the battery. This is in the boot on the right-hand side. There’s a couple of plastic screws that need to be removed and the black plastic tray above the battery should wiggle out. Remember for future reference that whilst the battery is disconnected the centre locking and boot release button doesn’t work, so don’t shut your keys in the boot by accident.
2. Access the stack of in car entertainment equipment. This is in the boot on the left-hand (near) side behind the boot side carpet. To access it there are several plastic screws holding down the black plastic tray in the rear left-hand corner of the boot floor, then a couple of round trim clips visible in the carpet that you need to prise out – one of mine had a plastic screw, the rest just popped out with a trim removal tool.
3. The black plastic tray is hooked under the carpet, and the carpet hooks around a couple of bits of trim, including the left-hand boot interior light (in the corner behind the brake light) which for me just popped out. It can be a bit fiddly, but you can be firm as you’re unlikely to break anything.
4. Once you’ve removed the plastic tray and screws/clips, fold the side carpet (that covers the left-hand wheel arch) over into the centre of the boot. This is fairly rigid and keeps wanting to flap back into place, so I’d suggest weighing it down with something to keep it out the way. Don’t worry about permanently creasing it, you can be firm with it and it’ll be fine.
5. Examine your ICE equipment. For my particular set-up (and yours may well differ) I had three rectangular units of varying appearance mounted side by side vertically, then a black metal frame with a further three units stacked horizontally on top of the first three.
6. The three vertical units are (from inside to outside – i.e the order in which you’ll come across them) the Digital TV Tuner; the BM54 Radio Tuner Module; and the Harman Kardon Amplifier.
7. The three horizontally stack units (from top to bottom) are – the Bluetooth Module; the 6 disc CD Autochanger; and the Sat Nav Drive.
All the modules in the boot – vertical ones are (R to L) DTV Tuner, BM54 Module and HK Amp
Horizontal three modules – Bluetooth, CD Autochanger, Sat Nav Drive (top to bottom)
8. I strongly suggest at this stage you take plenty of photos, both wide angle and close up, as a reference for future use. Take pictures of the wiring layout, what plugs into where, how units are mounted etc.
9. Remove the Digital TV Tuner first – it’s a couple of screws and pop off the two connectors (one blue, one white)– they have a simple retaining mechanism that you squeeze down the tab and slide the black plastic handle over. There’s also two right-angle aerial connectors that pop off. Put the DTV unit to one side – you no longer need this.
Digital TV Tuner (Boot) – main connectors removed but DTV aerial still plugged in
Digital TV Tuner (Boot) Connectors
Digital TV Module – Rear panel
Modules in boot – DTV tuner already removed, BM54 centre of photograph
10. With the DTV unit out, you can access the BM54 Radio Tuner Module. Undo the screws holding the module in. There is a Quadlock connector (a big square plug about 50mmx50mm) plugged into the back of it. Inside this connector are two smaller connectors, one black and one white. Pop these two smaller plugs out first. You will then be able to remove the main Quadlock by sliding it’s small black handle over its retaining tab and pulling the connector out.
BM54 Module (boot) – Factory Quadlock still plugged in
Black and white connectors from inside the factory Quadlock
Rear of BM54 module
BM54 Female Quadlock (factory) disconnected from BM54
Radio Aerial (Factory) disconnected from BM54
BM54 Module - label
11. For reference later, you will see the half of the connector that you have disconnected is the female pin part side; and you’ll be able to see the black handle you opened has little slots either side that hook into corresponding discs in the male side. The purpose of this whole mechanism is to firmly join the male and female sides, and then prevent them from wiggling loose in the future.
12. The BM54 module also has a single right-angled radio aerial connector – disconnect this and put the BM54 module to one side – you no longer need this.
13. Take your new Android head unit, the short harness it comes with and your 6m extension harness. The next step is to first test the Android unit without running in all the cabling etc in case of any faults. My head unit came with two separate short harnesses. The first had 40-pin square connectors with flat pins (confusingly it doesn’t actually have 40 pins). The second was the 17-pin smaller rectangular connectors (which confusingly has 14 round bullet connector style pins). Both of these short harnesses also have a white connector that fits into the Canbus Decoder box – this is the size of a matchbox and should be fitted to one of the two short harnesses, but can be transferred to whichever short harness you are using. Both harnesses also have a small rectangular connector with 20 female receivers; a yellow female AV receiver and a couple of individual wires which are both labelled.
14. I used the 40-pin connector short harness for my setup, so disregard the 17 pin harness (you won’t need this at all) and make sure the Canbus Decoder box is connected to the 40-pin short harness you have chosen. Then plug the short harness into the rear of the Android unit, using the small rectangular 20 pin connector (labelled ‘K’) on the wiring diagram provided.
15. Connect the male Quadlock connector on the short harness to the female Quadlock connector on one end of the 6m extension harness. At the other end of the extension harness, there is a large male 40 pin Quadlock connector – connect this to the female Quadlock you removed from the BM54 module in point 10. The short harness has a spare female connector and the extension harness has a spare 17 pin connector. These are both redundant.
Main connection in boot – Extension harness (lower) and factory BM54 Quadlock (upper)
16. You can also plug in your aerial extension cable – one end into the back of the Android unit and the other into the aerial cable you disconnected from the BM54 in point 12.
17. Reconnect the battery. Put the key in and turn the key until your dash lights up. Go back to the boot and your new Android unit should be starting up for the first time – it takes about 20 seconds the first time.
18. Go to the radio app and tune into some local stations to check the aerial is working correctly and that sound is coming out of all your speakers in the car and the sub in the boot. I would also recommend you connect your phone via Bluetooth and play some music through.
19. If you hear any crackling or interference that is common across the radio and Bluetooth, there is a good chance this is due to the aerial connection between the aerial extension cable and the aerial cable in the car that you connected in point 16. I found that whilst the male/female connection was correct, the plug surrounds on both cables did not mate firmly and left a little wiggle room. Both of these plugs are also bare metal and susceptible to interference. I used black electrical tape to firmly join the two together and cover the bare metal, then used a small cable tie over the top.
20. You can also connect the GPS antenna that comes with the Android unit and check it is receiving a signal.
21. At this point you should have a working Android unit that is playing sound, picking up radio stations and receiving a GPS signal. If you don’t, then this is the time to resolve these issues before you start pulling your car apart to route cables etc.
1. Remove any CD’s you might have in the head unit, autochanger or Nav DVD drive! Disconnect the battery. This is in the boot on the right-hand side. There’s a couple of plastic screws that need to be removed and the black plastic tray above the battery should wiggle out. Remember for future reference that whilst the battery is disconnected the centre locking and boot release button doesn’t work, so don’t shut your keys in the boot by accident.
2. Access the stack of in car entertainment equipment. This is in the boot on the left-hand (near) side behind the boot side carpet. To access it there are several plastic screws holding down the black plastic tray in the rear left-hand corner of the boot floor, then a couple of round trim clips visible in the carpet that you need to prise out – one of mine had a plastic screw, the rest just popped out with a trim removal tool.
3. The black plastic tray is hooked under the carpet, and the carpet hooks around a couple of bits of trim, including the left-hand boot interior light (in the corner behind the brake light) which for me just popped out. It can be a bit fiddly, but you can be firm as you’re unlikely to break anything.
4. Once you’ve removed the plastic tray and screws/clips, fold the side carpet (that covers the left-hand wheel arch) over into the centre of the boot. This is fairly rigid and keeps wanting to flap back into place, so I’d suggest weighing it down with something to keep it out the way. Don’t worry about permanently creasing it, you can be firm with it and it’ll be fine.
5. Examine your ICE equipment. For my particular set-up (and yours may well differ) I had three rectangular units of varying appearance mounted side by side vertically, then a black metal frame with a further three units stacked horizontally on top of the first three.
6. The three vertical units are (from inside to outside – i.e the order in which you’ll come across them) the Digital TV Tuner; the BM54 Radio Tuner Module; and the Harman Kardon Amplifier.
7. The three horizontally stack units (from top to bottom) are – the Bluetooth Module; the 6 disc CD Autochanger; and the Sat Nav Drive.
All the modules in the boot – vertical ones are (R to L) DTV Tuner, BM54 Module and HK Amp
Horizontal three modules – Bluetooth, CD Autochanger, Sat Nav Drive (top to bottom)
8. I strongly suggest at this stage you take plenty of photos, both wide angle and close up, as a reference for future use. Take pictures of the wiring layout, what plugs into where, how units are mounted etc.
9. Remove the Digital TV Tuner first – it’s a couple of screws and pop off the two connectors (one blue, one white)– they have a simple retaining mechanism that you squeeze down the tab and slide the black plastic handle over. There’s also two right-angle aerial connectors that pop off. Put the DTV unit to one side – you no longer need this.
Digital TV Tuner (Boot) – main connectors removed but DTV aerial still plugged in
Digital TV Tuner (Boot) Connectors
Digital TV Module – Rear panel
Modules in boot – DTV tuner already removed, BM54 centre of photograph
10. With the DTV unit out, you can access the BM54 Radio Tuner Module. Undo the screws holding the module in. There is a Quadlock connector (a big square plug about 50mmx50mm) plugged into the back of it. Inside this connector are two smaller connectors, one black and one white. Pop these two smaller plugs out first. You will then be able to remove the main Quadlock by sliding it’s small black handle over its retaining tab and pulling the connector out.
BM54 Module (boot) – Factory Quadlock still plugged in
Black and white connectors from inside the factory Quadlock
Rear of BM54 module
BM54 Female Quadlock (factory) disconnected from BM54
Radio Aerial (Factory) disconnected from BM54
BM54 Module - label
11. For reference later, you will see the half of the connector that you have disconnected is the female pin part side; and you’ll be able to see the black handle you opened has little slots either side that hook into corresponding discs in the male side. The purpose of this whole mechanism is to firmly join the male and female sides, and then prevent them from wiggling loose in the future.
12. The BM54 module also has a single right-angled radio aerial connector – disconnect this and put the BM54 module to one side – you no longer need this.
13. Take your new Android head unit, the short harness it comes with and your 6m extension harness. The next step is to first test the Android unit without running in all the cabling etc in case of any faults. My head unit came with two separate short harnesses. The first had 40-pin square connectors with flat pins (confusingly it doesn’t actually have 40 pins). The second was the 17-pin smaller rectangular connectors (which confusingly has 14 round bullet connector style pins). Both of these short harnesses also have a white connector that fits into the Canbus Decoder box – this is the size of a matchbox and should be fitted to one of the two short harnesses, but can be transferred to whichever short harness you are using. Both harnesses also have a small rectangular connector with 20 female receivers; a yellow female AV receiver and a couple of individual wires which are both labelled.
14. I used the 40-pin connector short harness for my setup, so disregard the 17 pin harness (you won’t need this at all) and make sure the Canbus Decoder box is connected to the 40-pin short harness you have chosen. Then plug the short harness into the rear of the Android unit, using the small rectangular 20 pin connector (labelled ‘K’) on the wiring diagram provided.
15. Connect the male Quadlock connector on the short harness to the female Quadlock connector on one end of the 6m extension harness. At the other end of the extension harness, there is a large male 40 pin Quadlock connector – connect this to the female Quadlock you removed from the BM54 module in point 10. The short harness has a spare female connector and the extension harness has a spare 17 pin connector. These are both redundant.
Main connection in boot – Extension harness (lower) and factory BM54 Quadlock (upper)
16. You can also plug in your aerial extension cable – one end into the back of the Android unit and the other into the aerial cable you disconnected from the BM54 in point 12.
17. Reconnect the battery. Put the key in and turn the key until your dash lights up. Go back to the boot and your new Android unit should be starting up for the first time – it takes about 20 seconds the first time.
18. Go to the radio app and tune into some local stations to check the aerial is working correctly and that sound is coming out of all your speakers in the car and the sub in the boot. I would also recommend you connect your phone via Bluetooth and play some music through.
19. If you hear any crackling or interference that is common across the radio and Bluetooth, there is a good chance this is due to the aerial connection between the aerial extension cable and the aerial cable in the car that you connected in point 16. I found that whilst the male/female connection was correct, the plug surrounds on both cables did not mate firmly and left a little wiggle room. Both of these plugs are also bare metal and susceptible to interference. I used black electrical tape to firmly join the two together and cover the bare metal, then used a small cable tie over the top.
20. You can also connect the GPS antenna that comes with the Android unit and check it is receiving a signal.
21. At this point you should have a working Android unit that is playing sound, picking up radio stations and receiving a GPS signal. If you don’t, then this is the time to resolve these issues before you start pulling your car apart to route cables etc.
PART TWO
22. Disconnect the battery again and disconnect the Android unit connections you made in points 15 and 16. Your work in the boot is done for now, so jump in the front passenger seat. I spread a few towels strategically over the lower dash, gearstick surround etc to protect from falling tools and parts.
23. Gently prise off the dash trim, starting with the passenger side piece that stretches across above the glovebox. The trim has plastic recesses moulded into the back of it, in which four metal pins are held in with a friction fit. The main dash itself has four holes behind this trim strip, in which sit four red rubber grommets. The aforementioned metal pins squeeze into these red grommets and the friction fit of all these parts is what holds the trim to the dash. As you prise the trim away, work your way back and forth the length of the trim, pulling it out little by little. This technique should avoid breaking the moulded plastic that the metal pins sit in. Some of the red blocks may come away with the pins – you can pull them off the pins later and refit them into the dash holes.
Trim Removal Tools
24. Next, the central trim piece above the stereo and the adjoining right hand trim piece can be removed – I can’t remember if these had a screw or two holding them in but it was self-explanatory once you saw it.
25. Put the trim pieces somewhere safe where they won’t get damaged or scratched – don’t put them in the boot or the rear seat as you’ll be working in these areas shortly.
26. There are two screws holding in the twin central air vent part – remove these and pull out the central air vent. This really took some persuading with mine – it felt like it was on the verge of breaking but as long as you get a grip on the body rather than the vent blades, you can be really firm with this. It’ll pop out eventually – just place the whole unit on the centre of the dash under the windscreen – there’s no need to disconnect the cable.
Dash Trim and Central Vents removed
27. Take your stereo removal keys and slot them into the groove (that runs around the whole stereo fascia) in the bottom right and left corners. Some guides say that you can do this earlier when the power is still connected and have the fold down screen open but I didn’t need to do this. Insert the keys with the flat edges facing the outside of the car, and the curved knife edge of them facing into the centre. Hidden away on each side of the stereo head unit are metal spring tabs that hold the head unit into the dash – these keys pull the tabs flat and allow the unit to slide out.
28. Once the keys are fully inserted, grab one in each hand and pull the key handles towards the outside of the car (i.e away from each other). Keep the pressure up on them and at the same time pull both keys towards you (i.e towards the rear of the car). In doing this you are flattening both the retaining spring tabs and pulling the unit away from the part of the dash that holds them in. Again, unhelpfully, this will make more sense once you have the unit out.
With a bit of persuasion, the head unit should slide out. Be careful not to dig the keys into the plastic of the head unit or dash, or get frustrated and bend the keys as they’re only thin metal. If you are struggling to get the unit out, enlist a helper to put their hand into space recently vacated by the central heater vents and pull the head unit outwards from behind whilst you work the keys.
Factory HU removed with keys – note the sprung catch on the side that is pulled back by the key
29. Once the main head unit is out, remove the keys and pop off the two connectors from the rear (one blue, one white – identical to those you removed from the TV tuner in the boot).
Connectors on rear of factory HU
Factory HU label
30. A side note here – during my installation I ordered and attempted to fit a DAB aerial. This involved taking the A pillar trim off and routing the aerial (which is rather unsightly) in the top corner of the windscreen. Getting the cable down into the dash was a huge pain and to top it all the aerial didn’t work. I later read that in car DAB is not all it’s cracked up to be as DAB relies on a steady position to receive a clear signal. I can honestly say in my experience it’s not worth adding one of these – as a result I have omitted my efforts from this guide.
31. Next up, you need to remove the glovebox to enable you to feed the harness into the back of the dash and route the cables properly. It also helps as when you fit the Android unit into the dash you can reach up and pull back the slack cabling as you go. There’s loads of glovebox removal guides online, but in essence it’s about 7 screws and it pops out in a few minutes.
Glovebox partially removed – note two wire connectors that need to be disconnected
32. Remove the black interior trim strip on the passenger side that is between the passenger sill and seat. Hook your fingers underneath it and pull upwards and inwards – the trim is held in place with clips that pop out. Start at the front end and work back and forth bit by bit until all the clips are free.
33. Take the passenger side door rubbers and pull them free from top to bottom (roof to floor) next to the B-pillar - no need to remove them in their entirety. Get into the rear passenger space and unscrew the rear passenger side door card – this is a couple of screws from memory. Jump out again and remove the rear lower seat bench – this is just clipped in but comes free with a firm pull. It’s a bit awkward to get in out the car, but with both seats pulled forward and the passenger side rear door card loose, there’s sufficient space to wiggle it free.
34. Once the bench is out, pull the door card away with an upward and inward movement – it’s hooked into the rear quarter window (hence the upward motion) and also held in with some trim clips around it’s perimeter that should pop free. Take your time doing this to avoid damaging any clips. The objective is to pull the door card away enough to be able to route your extension harness behind the bottom of the door card. Finally, remove the passenger side corner bolster – this just pops free with a firm tug.
Rear Passenger Side – Door Panel detached, Rear Bench removed, Rear Bolster removed
Behind Rear Bolster – note foam grommets both above and below seat belt buckle
35. Now take your extension harness and route it from the stereo head unit area, down behind the glove box, into the channel that runs down the passenger interior sill area. There’s other cables here, just tuck yours down alongside the existing. Route the harness under the passenger door card and up towards the rear corner bolster area. There’s a couple of existing foam apertures through the metal bulkhead in this area – push the Quadlock connectors through the larger one. Then head to the boot and pull most of the slack through. Repeat this exercise with the radio aerial extension cable. Leave sufficient slack up front to give you some wiggle room. I found cable tying the harness and aerial behind the glovebox area helped keep the cables in position and prevented you pulling your intentional slack with you.
36. The next thing you need to decide is whether you want to remove all of the redundant units – basically everything except the HK Amp - in the boot (for tidiness and weight loss) or do you want to keep your options open in case you want to refit and reconnect the old system in the future? I ended up removing all of mine because I had an existing bad connection tucked away somewhere. The units in total end up weighing around 10kg and the space is much cleaner and tidier.
37. In the boot, remake the connections that you tested in point 15 & 16. (Quadlock and radio aerial).
38. Route the peripheral cables. Mine came with 2no USB extension cables and an Aux input which I routed to the glovebox. With the actual glovebox removed, I cable tied these in place to hold them in situ whilst the Android unit was put in place. If you’re fitting a reversing camera, DTV aerial, DAB aerial etc now is the time to fit these into place. Whilst you have access, use electrical tape to wrap the two factory connectors (one blue, one white) in the dash.
39. Fit the short harness to the extension harness and then to the new Android unit up front in the cabin as you did in points 14 & 15. Connect the aerial extension to the back of the Android unit. You can loosely rest the head unit in the slot. Reconnect the battery and double check everything works as it did when you tested it previously. Disconnect the battery.
40. With everything routed into place, now you need to fit the head unit into place. Some of the peripheral cables don’t have a huge amount of slack. Plug the GPS aerial into the back of the head unit but you don’t need to route the ‘mouse’ bit of it anywhere – it’s magnetic and can be stuck to the top of the head unit or the metal dash reinforcing bar without any deterioration of signal strength. Plug the peripheral cables, the main short harness and the radio aerial into the back of the head unit. Bear in mind there is very limited clearance between the back of the head unit and the back of the dash when fitted into place.
41. Slide the head unit into place and as you do, from underneath the glovebox area, pull through the slack bit by bit on the various cables. Use the hole where the central air vents were to reach over the top of the unit and route the cables if they get twisted or stuck. Having two sets of hands at this point could be incredibly useful. Take your time with the final fitment- if you don’t get it snug fitting then the fascia of the unit can sit a few millimetres proud of the dash and look like it’s been bodged. It took me seven attempts and lots of swearing to get everything fitting perfectly but it was worth it.
42. Reconnect the battery and test everything is working. This includes checking the GPS signal, checking the USB cables both charge a phone, check the radio is receiving a signal, the aux input receives music from a phone, and that all the speakers and the sub in the boot place music clearly. My particular Android unit has a EQ/fader feature where you can divert the sound to front/rear/left/right – this is useful for checking sound is playing at equal volume in each corner. I would drive around for a few days to test this under driving conditions and root out any loose connections etc. This avoids the need for stripping out the dash and interior parts again if there are any issues.
43. Once you are satisfied all is in order, replace the various interior parts starting with the glovebox. Leave a small loop of slack tucked up behind the glove box so you have enough free in future to remove the Android unit without damaging the cables. Fit the glovebox and then start pulling any slack through towards the boot. Fit the sill trim, replace the rear bolster, rear seat bench and refit the door card. All the extension harness and radio aerial slack should be in the boot now.
44. Spend some time now tidying the new and existing cables away. I used a proliferation of cable ties to tuck everything away to prevent anything rattling or working free over time. I’d read that when powered up, some of the various pins on surplus connectors (both existing and new) are live, which you obviously don’t want floating around exposed. I wrapped everything in black insulating electrical tape and sealed this tight with cable ties. Finally, refit the boot carpet.
22. Disconnect the battery again and disconnect the Android unit connections you made in points 15 and 16. Your work in the boot is done for now, so jump in the front passenger seat. I spread a few towels strategically over the lower dash, gearstick surround etc to protect from falling tools and parts.
23. Gently prise off the dash trim, starting with the passenger side piece that stretches across above the glovebox. The trim has plastic recesses moulded into the back of it, in which four metal pins are held in with a friction fit. The main dash itself has four holes behind this trim strip, in which sit four red rubber grommets. The aforementioned metal pins squeeze into these red grommets and the friction fit of all these parts is what holds the trim to the dash. As you prise the trim away, work your way back and forth the length of the trim, pulling it out little by little. This technique should avoid breaking the moulded plastic that the metal pins sit in. Some of the red blocks may come away with the pins – you can pull them off the pins later and refit them into the dash holes.
Trim Removal Tools
24. Next, the central trim piece above the stereo and the adjoining right hand trim piece can be removed – I can’t remember if these had a screw or two holding them in but it was self-explanatory once you saw it.
25. Put the trim pieces somewhere safe where they won’t get damaged or scratched – don’t put them in the boot or the rear seat as you’ll be working in these areas shortly.
26. There are two screws holding in the twin central air vent part – remove these and pull out the central air vent. This really took some persuading with mine – it felt like it was on the verge of breaking but as long as you get a grip on the body rather than the vent blades, you can be really firm with this. It’ll pop out eventually – just place the whole unit on the centre of the dash under the windscreen – there’s no need to disconnect the cable.
Dash Trim and Central Vents removed
27. Take your stereo removal keys and slot them into the groove (that runs around the whole stereo fascia) in the bottom right and left corners. Some guides say that you can do this earlier when the power is still connected and have the fold down screen open but I didn’t need to do this. Insert the keys with the flat edges facing the outside of the car, and the curved knife edge of them facing into the centre. Hidden away on each side of the stereo head unit are metal spring tabs that hold the head unit into the dash – these keys pull the tabs flat and allow the unit to slide out.
28. Once the keys are fully inserted, grab one in each hand and pull the key handles towards the outside of the car (i.e away from each other). Keep the pressure up on them and at the same time pull both keys towards you (i.e towards the rear of the car). In doing this you are flattening both the retaining spring tabs and pulling the unit away from the part of the dash that holds them in. Again, unhelpfully, this will make more sense once you have the unit out.
With a bit of persuasion, the head unit should slide out. Be careful not to dig the keys into the plastic of the head unit or dash, or get frustrated and bend the keys as they’re only thin metal. If you are struggling to get the unit out, enlist a helper to put their hand into space recently vacated by the central heater vents and pull the head unit outwards from behind whilst you work the keys.
Factory HU removed with keys – note the sprung catch on the side that is pulled back by the key
29. Once the main head unit is out, remove the keys and pop off the two connectors from the rear (one blue, one white – identical to those you removed from the TV tuner in the boot).
Connectors on rear of factory HU
Factory HU label
30. A side note here – during my installation I ordered and attempted to fit a DAB aerial. This involved taking the A pillar trim off and routing the aerial (which is rather unsightly) in the top corner of the windscreen. Getting the cable down into the dash was a huge pain and to top it all the aerial didn’t work. I later read that in car DAB is not all it’s cracked up to be as DAB relies on a steady position to receive a clear signal. I can honestly say in my experience it’s not worth adding one of these – as a result I have omitted my efforts from this guide.
31. Next up, you need to remove the glovebox to enable you to feed the harness into the back of the dash and route the cables properly. It also helps as when you fit the Android unit into the dash you can reach up and pull back the slack cabling as you go. There’s loads of glovebox removal guides online, but in essence it’s about 7 screws and it pops out in a few minutes.
Glovebox partially removed – note two wire connectors that need to be disconnected
32. Remove the black interior trim strip on the passenger side that is between the passenger sill and seat. Hook your fingers underneath it and pull upwards and inwards – the trim is held in place with clips that pop out. Start at the front end and work back and forth bit by bit until all the clips are free.
33. Take the passenger side door rubbers and pull them free from top to bottom (roof to floor) next to the B-pillar - no need to remove them in their entirety. Get into the rear passenger space and unscrew the rear passenger side door card – this is a couple of screws from memory. Jump out again and remove the rear lower seat bench – this is just clipped in but comes free with a firm pull. It’s a bit awkward to get in out the car, but with both seats pulled forward and the passenger side rear door card loose, there’s sufficient space to wiggle it free.
34. Once the bench is out, pull the door card away with an upward and inward movement – it’s hooked into the rear quarter window (hence the upward motion) and also held in with some trim clips around it’s perimeter that should pop free. Take your time doing this to avoid damaging any clips. The objective is to pull the door card away enough to be able to route your extension harness behind the bottom of the door card. Finally, remove the passenger side corner bolster – this just pops free with a firm tug.
Rear Passenger Side – Door Panel detached, Rear Bench removed, Rear Bolster removed
Behind Rear Bolster – note foam grommets both above and below seat belt buckle
35. Now take your extension harness and route it from the stereo head unit area, down behind the glove box, into the channel that runs down the passenger interior sill area. There’s other cables here, just tuck yours down alongside the existing. Route the harness under the passenger door card and up towards the rear corner bolster area. There’s a couple of existing foam apertures through the metal bulkhead in this area – push the Quadlock connectors through the larger one. Then head to the boot and pull most of the slack through. Repeat this exercise with the radio aerial extension cable. Leave sufficient slack up front to give you some wiggle room. I found cable tying the harness and aerial behind the glovebox area helped keep the cables in position and prevented you pulling your intentional slack with you.
36. The next thing you need to decide is whether you want to remove all of the redundant units – basically everything except the HK Amp - in the boot (for tidiness and weight loss) or do you want to keep your options open in case you want to refit and reconnect the old system in the future? I ended up removing all of mine because I had an existing bad connection tucked away somewhere. The units in total end up weighing around 10kg and the space is much cleaner and tidier.
37. In the boot, remake the connections that you tested in point 15 & 16. (Quadlock and radio aerial).
38. Route the peripheral cables. Mine came with 2no USB extension cables and an Aux input which I routed to the glovebox. With the actual glovebox removed, I cable tied these in place to hold them in situ whilst the Android unit was put in place. If you’re fitting a reversing camera, DTV aerial, DAB aerial etc now is the time to fit these into place. Whilst you have access, use electrical tape to wrap the two factory connectors (one blue, one white) in the dash.
39. Fit the short harness to the extension harness and then to the new Android unit up front in the cabin as you did in points 14 & 15. Connect the aerial extension to the back of the Android unit. You can loosely rest the head unit in the slot. Reconnect the battery and double check everything works as it did when you tested it previously. Disconnect the battery.
40. With everything routed into place, now you need to fit the head unit into place. Some of the peripheral cables don’t have a huge amount of slack. Plug the GPS aerial into the back of the head unit but you don’t need to route the ‘mouse’ bit of it anywhere – it’s magnetic and can be stuck to the top of the head unit or the metal dash reinforcing bar without any deterioration of signal strength. Plug the peripheral cables, the main short harness and the radio aerial into the back of the head unit. Bear in mind there is very limited clearance between the back of the head unit and the back of the dash when fitted into place.
41. Slide the head unit into place and as you do, from underneath the glovebox area, pull through the slack bit by bit on the various cables. Use the hole where the central air vents were to reach over the top of the unit and route the cables if they get twisted or stuck. Having two sets of hands at this point could be incredibly useful. Take your time with the final fitment- if you don’t get it snug fitting then the fascia of the unit can sit a few millimetres proud of the dash and look like it’s been bodged. It took me seven attempts and lots of swearing to get everything fitting perfectly but it was worth it.
42. Reconnect the battery and test everything is working. This includes checking the GPS signal, checking the USB cables both charge a phone, check the radio is receiving a signal, the aux input receives music from a phone, and that all the speakers and the sub in the boot place music clearly. My particular Android unit has a EQ/fader feature where you can divert the sound to front/rear/left/right – this is useful for checking sound is playing at equal volume in each corner. I would drive around for a few days to test this under driving conditions and root out any loose connections etc. This avoids the need for stripping out the dash and interior parts again if there are any issues.
43. Once you are satisfied all is in order, replace the various interior parts starting with the glovebox. Leave a small loop of slack tucked up behind the glove box so you have enough free in future to remove the Android unit without damaging the cables. Fit the glovebox and then start pulling any slack through towards the boot. Fit the sill trim, replace the rear bolster, rear seat bench and refit the door card. All the extension harness and radio aerial slack should be in the boot now.
44. Spend some time now tidying the new and existing cables away. I used a proliferation of cable ties to tuck everything away to prevent anything rattling or working free over time. I’d read that when powered up, some of the various pins on surplus connectors (both existing and new) are live, which you obviously don’t want floating around exposed. I wrapped everything in black insulating electrical tape and sealed this tight with cable ties. Finally, refit the boot carpet.
POINTS OF NOTE
As my M3 is a CS, I do not have any steering wheel controls to test but from what I gather these do work on these units.
I also experienced an annoying loss of sound issue where the sound would cut out at random – initially I thought this was the Android unit at fault having read of people’s mixed experiences. I eventually traced this to a loose pin in the existing factory boot wiring that had come away when I was removing the redundant modules. This has all been refitted properly and cable tied in place to prevent movement or flex from popping the pins out again.
During my research I had read that some people got the Android unit working but had no sound whatsoever. They apparently resolved this by connecting the two single wires on the short harness, which is said to provide power to the HK amp – I however did not come across this issue with the Xtrons, mine worked straight out of the box.
[*]I’d also read that some Android units couldn’t read files from the USB memory stick or MicroSD card inputs if there were more than 4GB of files on the storage, no matter how big capacity of the stick or card. I’ve tested this with the Xtrons and had no issue.
All the Factory equipment weighs a significant amount:
In terms of sound quality, I’ve read that a lot of people aren’t keen on the OE Harman Kardon system. Having driven high quality automobiles such as a Ford Ka, Ford Escort, Fiat Punto and Mazda MX5 I’ve never been too fussed about sound quality – as long as the stereo works without any distortion that’s fine for me. What I would say, from an audio perspective, is that people often mistake louder systems to be of better sound quality. Loudness can be achieved by more powerful systems or using compressors, but the quality of the speakers will to a large extent determine sound quality. Having tested the Android unit with the factory HK system, it seems absolutely fine for my purposes.
In terms of the setup of the Android unit, there was no bloatware on mine to uninstall. I installed Pulsar+ which is a fantastic music player app, particularly in terms of GUI and how your library is displayed and I’ve store my library on a USB stick in the glovebox. Google Maps needs your phone to be tethered for data purposes, or, I believe, you can use a standalone 3G/4G dongle - which I haven’t tried. I’ve read good things about MapFactor and Sygic which are both apps that allow you to download regional maps for use offline on a MicroSD card. I’ll give them a go at some point and report back.
The unit has a built-in radio app which has storage space for 16 presets and the interface is very good. I’ve not tried a video player of any kind but I would probably install VLC player if I was intending to, and I haven’t tried any of the OBDII Bluetooth readers but there is an app pre-installed I believe. The Bluetooth connection works fine, as does the Wi-FI connection. To be honest, there’s not much more to it than that – the GUI is fairly straightforward and user friendly - if you’ve ever used an Android phone or tablet it’ll be second nature, and Apple users won’t struggle with the transition.
What remains to be seen is how the unit performs over the next 12 months. I’m pretty sure that the reports of the generic Android units degrading in performance are due to their poor computing power and memory, and also due to them being stuffed full of apps and not being kept clean and tidy. For now though, I have to say that at less than £400 all in for the unit and cabling, it is proving decent value for money.
As my M3 is a CS, I do not have any steering wheel controls to test but from what I gather these do work on these units.
I also experienced an annoying loss of sound issue where the sound would cut out at random – initially I thought this was the Android unit at fault having read of people’s mixed experiences. I eventually traced this to a loose pin in the existing factory boot wiring that had come away when I was removing the redundant modules. This has all been refitted properly and cable tied in place to prevent movement or flex from popping the pins out again.
During my research I had read that some people got the Android unit working but had no sound whatsoever. They apparently resolved this by connecting the two single wires on the short harness, which is said to provide power to the HK amp – I however did not come across this issue with the Xtrons, mine worked straight out of the box.
[*]I’d also read that some Android units couldn’t read files from the USB memory stick or MicroSD card inputs if there were more than 4GB of files on the storage, no matter how big capacity of the stick or card. I’ve tested this with the Xtrons and had no issue.
All the Factory equipment weighs a significant amount:
- Bluetooth Module and frame: 1136g (1.1kg)
- Sat Nav DVD drive and frame: 1740g (1.7kg)
- 6 Disc CD Autochanger: 2192g (2.2kg)
- BM54 Module: 709g (0.7kg)
- Digital TV Tuner: 1257g (1.3kg)
- BMW Factory Widescreen Head Unit: 2854g (2.9kg)
- TOTAL: 9888g = 10kg
In terms of sound quality, I’ve read that a lot of people aren’t keen on the OE Harman Kardon system. Having driven high quality automobiles such as a Ford Ka, Ford Escort, Fiat Punto and Mazda MX5 I’ve never been too fussed about sound quality – as long as the stereo works without any distortion that’s fine for me. What I would say, from an audio perspective, is that people often mistake louder systems to be of better sound quality. Loudness can be achieved by more powerful systems or using compressors, but the quality of the speakers will to a large extent determine sound quality. Having tested the Android unit with the factory HK system, it seems absolutely fine for my purposes.
In terms of the setup of the Android unit, there was no bloatware on mine to uninstall. I installed Pulsar+ which is a fantastic music player app, particularly in terms of GUI and how your library is displayed and I’ve store my library on a USB stick in the glovebox. Google Maps needs your phone to be tethered for data purposes, or, I believe, you can use a standalone 3G/4G dongle - which I haven’t tried. I’ve read good things about MapFactor and Sygic which are both apps that allow you to download regional maps for use offline on a MicroSD card. I’ll give them a go at some point and report back.
The unit has a built-in radio app which has storage space for 16 presets and the interface is very good. I’ve not tried a video player of any kind but I would probably install VLC player if I was intending to, and I haven’t tried any of the OBDII Bluetooth readers but there is an app pre-installed I believe. The Bluetooth connection works fine, as does the Wi-FI connection. To be honest, there’s not much more to it than that – the GUI is fairly straightforward and user friendly - if you’ve ever used an Android phone or tablet it’ll be second nature, and Apple users won’t struggle with the transition.
What remains to be seen is how the unit performs over the next 12 months. I’m pretty sure that the reports of the generic Android units degrading in performance are due to their poor computing power and memory, and also due to them being stuffed full of apps and not being kept clean and tidy. For now though, I have to say that at less than £400 all in for the unit and cabling, it is proving decent value for money.
CHAPTER SEVEN – LEATHER REPAIR
The front two seats in the CS are in decent condition but have a couple of wear spots, particularly on driver’s outer bolster. This was by no means the most urgent thing to be addressed, so whilst I had a brief look at getting the seats refreshed professionally, the money has gone elsewhere for the meantime. For the record I have to say the upholstery specialists who do re-trimming, reconditioning and connolising might appear to be expensive, but if you consider the time, skill and craftsmanship needed to bring back interiors to mint condition, they’re well worth the money.
With the rear seat bench and rear bolsters out of the car – as I was fitting a new head unit and cabling from the boot to the dash – I decided to try out some leather conditioner and dye. I’d used Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditioner on a different car previously with some decent results, so purchased a bottle of their Intensive Cleaner for the whole interior, and a bottle of Scuff Master leather dye.
I found a bit of spare time one evening and was initially just going to launch into doing the whole rear bench, as it was out of the car, but – thankfully – I decided to test out the product on one of the rear bolsters. I’ll caveat my experiences by saying this – I had thoroughly cleaned and dried the bolster, and I’d done plenty of research on the best way in which to apply the leather dye. I aimed to apply the product to small areas bit by bit, applying it the dye in thin, even coats using a fine sponge. The leather and product were in a warm, room temperature environment.
I don’t know where I went wrong, or if I got a duff bottle of dye (apparently, they are mixed specifically for your vehicle/interior) but the end result looked absolutely horrendous. Every little stroke and difference in consistency showed up and appeared patchy when the dye dried. I caught a couple of the edges of the dyed patches when I was doing the adjacent area, and the skin of the semi-dry dye started peeling back like sunburnt skin. The next day it was obvious exactly where the dye had been applied as it look like someone had ham-fistedly attacked the bolster with a can of emulsion. I cleaned the entire bolster back with the Intensive Cleaner and a gentle scrubbing brush, and set about more research.
Dyed section on the left, original on the right - mid cleaning the dye off
My second attempt I tried thinning the dye very slightly with water and using a hair dryer to dry each patch as I worked, as per some of the official Gliptone tutorial videos. Unfortunately, this attempt was no better – as the hot air evaporated the wet dye, you could immediately see where the slightly thicker drops of dye from the sponge were. Once it had dried, the end finish was a shiny gloss in appearance and again highlighted even the smallest variation in application. At this stage, I gave up – if a product is this hard to work with in even small areas, I wouldn’t want to risk trying to dye the front seats. This meant another frustrating hour with the cleaner and brush scrubbing back to the original leather.
Thoroughly chastened, I have banished the dye to the back of my understairs cupboard, never to see daylight again. What I found most annoying was so many people reviewing this product on the internet appeared to be successful, yet my efforts ended in abject failure. I’d be genuinely interested if anyone has any pointers as to what I did wrong...
The front two seats in the CS are in decent condition but have a couple of wear spots, particularly on driver’s outer bolster. This was by no means the most urgent thing to be addressed, so whilst I had a brief look at getting the seats refreshed professionally, the money has gone elsewhere for the meantime. For the record I have to say the upholstery specialists who do re-trimming, reconditioning and connolising might appear to be expensive, but if you consider the time, skill and craftsmanship needed to bring back interiors to mint condition, they’re well worth the money.
With the rear seat bench and rear bolsters out of the car – as I was fitting a new head unit and cabling from the boot to the dash – I decided to try out some leather conditioner and dye. I’d used Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditioner on a different car previously with some decent results, so purchased a bottle of their Intensive Cleaner for the whole interior, and a bottle of Scuff Master leather dye.
I found a bit of spare time one evening and was initially just going to launch into doing the whole rear bench, as it was out of the car, but – thankfully – I decided to test out the product on one of the rear bolsters. I’ll caveat my experiences by saying this – I had thoroughly cleaned and dried the bolster, and I’d done plenty of research on the best way in which to apply the leather dye. I aimed to apply the product to small areas bit by bit, applying it the dye in thin, even coats using a fine sponge. The leather and product were in a warm, room temperature environment.
I don’t know where I went wrong, or if I got a duff bottle of dye (apparently, they are mixed specifically for your vehicle/interior) but the end result looked absolutely horrendous. Every little stroke and difference in consistency showed up and appeared patchy when the dye dried. I caught a couple of the edges of the dyed patches when I was doing the adjacent area, and the skin of the semi-dry dye started peeling back like sunburnt skin. The next day it was obvious exactly where the dye had been applied as it look like someone had ham-fistedly attacked the bolster with a can of emulsion. I cleaned the entire bolster back with the Intensive Cleaner and a gentle scrubbing brush, and set about more research.
Dyed section on the left, original on the right - mid cleaning the dye off
My second attempt I tried thinning the dye very slightly with water and using a hair dryer to dry each patch as I worked, as per some of the official Gliptone tutorial videos. Unfortunately, this attempt was no better – as the hot air evaporated the wet dye, you could immediately see where the slightly thicker drops of dye from the sponge were. Once it had dried, the end finish was a shiny gloss in appearance and again highlighted even the smallest variation in application. At this stage, I gave up – if a product is this hard to work with in even small areas, I wouldn’t want to risk trying to dye the front seats. This meant another frustrating hour with the cleaner and brush scrubbing back to the original leather.
Thoroughly chastened, I have banished the dye to the back of my understairs cupboard, never to see daylight again. What I found most annoying was so many people reviewing this product on the internet appeared to be successful, yet my efforts ended in abject failure. I’d be genuinely interested if anyone has any pointers as to what I did wrong...
CHAPTER EIGHT – ALIGNMENT AND RATTLE
Having driven the M3 for a couple of months I’ve noticed that on the motorway, it would pull slightly to the left – not a huge amount, but enough to warrant needing to hold the steering wheel with a little force at all times – if you hold it loosely between your hands with no pressure, the car starts to drift across. I was also experiencing a slightly worrying rattle when accelerating in gear between about 1800-2500rpm, something the internet diagnosed as anything between a rattling heatshield and a failed head gasket.
I decided to book it in for an alignment and investigation of the rattle, given the potential repercussions of leaving it unaddressed. Following some research and recommendations from M3Cutters, I found I’m lucky enough to have no less than 3 well known BMW specialists within 15 minutes of me, all whom have a good reputation. I booked my car in with one that was the most convenient in terms of location.
Now, I’m not an internet drama queen and I won’t be naming or shaming anyone, but unfortunately, I had a pretty poor experience (hence the lack of photos). I’d booked the car in for a specific timeslot and made it clear I would need the car back the same day, something I reiterated when I arrived and explained I would be waiting whilst the alignment was done. I explained about the rattle and was told it was probably the outer skin of the catalytic convertor – this could be tack welded to the main body of the cat to solve the rattle.
Reassured that it would take no time at all, and leaving my mobile number so they could call when finished, I popped off to find a café or something close by for a cuppa. After nearly two hours had ticked past with no contact, I wandered back to find my car sitting unattended and the work unfinished. The staff were working on a different car and mine hadn’t had been taken for a test drive to check the alignment was satisfactory, meaning another half an hour wait. By this point I just wanted to get away and the garage was clearly more anxious to finish their other job, so I was waved away with reassurances the work had solved both the pulling to one side and the rattle.
Frustratingly, within about two minutes it was clear that both the problems remained. I would have had no complaints if the alignment hadn’t solved the drifting issue, and the welding hadn’t solved the rattle – if further work was required, I’d rather know - but I was disappointed that I was told both issues had been cleared up when they clearly hadn’t. I didn’t receive a print out of the before and after alignment measures either – this might be innocent and be to do with the equipment used, but I’ve always received print outs in the past.
All in all, it was a very poor experience – the quibbles might seem minor but basic good customer service costs nothing – don’t book me in if you don’t have the time to do the job. What was most frustrating is that over the next 12-18 months I’ll be after a specialist to do some of the larger jobs for me, such as the rod bearings and probably preventative reinforcement of the RACP. A good experience on the smaller jobs would have pretty much been a guarantee of business for the larger ones.
The postscript to the exhaust rattle it that I took it to be inspected at one of the other specialists in my area – BM Sport in Bexleyheath. I dropped it in at 9:30am and received a phone call at 11:30 saying they had identified the rattle as the exhaust midpipe rattling inside flange clamp set where it joins the back box. I decided not to get the repair done just yet (spoiler: new exhaust parts incoming) and when I went to pick the car up – fully expecting to pay for perhaps an hours labour – they waived the fee and gave me a printed quotation for the repair work - I’ll definitely be returning!
Having driven the M3 for a couple of months I’ve noticed that on the motorway, it would pull slightly to the left – not a huge amount, but enough to warrant needing to hold the steering wheel with a little force at all times – if you hold it loosely between your hands with no pressure, the car starts to drift across. I was also experiencing a slightly worrying rattle when accelerating in gear between about 1800-2500rpm, something the internet diagnosed as anything between a rattling heatshield and a failed head gasket.
I decided to book it in for an alignment and investigation of the rattle, given the potential repercussions of leaving it unaddressed. Following some research and recommendations from M3Cutters, I found I’m lucky enough to have no less than 3 well known BMW specialists within 15 minutes of me, all whom have a good reputation. I booked my car in with one that was the most convenient in terms of location.
Now, I’m not an internet drama queen and I won’t be naming or shaming anyone, but unfortunately, I had a pretty poor experience (hence the lack of photos). I’d booked the car in for a specific timeslot and made it clear I would need the car back the same day, something I reiterated when I arrived and explained I would be waiting whilst the alignment was done. I explained about the rattle and was told it was probably the outer skin of the catalytic convertor – this could be tack welded to the main body of the cat to solve the rattle.
Reassured that it would take no time at all, and leaving my mobile number so they could call when finished, I popped off to find a café or something close by for a cuppa. After nearly two hours had ticked past with no contact, I wandered back to find my car sitting unattended and the work unfinished. The staff were working on a different car and mine hadn’t had been taken for a test drive to check the alignment was satisfactory, meaning another half an hour wait. By this point I just wanted to get away and the garage was clearly more anxious to finish their other job, so I was waved away with reassurances the work had solved both the pulling to one side and the rattle.
Frustratingly, within about two minutes it was clear that both the problems remained. I would have had no complaints if the alignment hadn’t solved the drifting issue, and the welding hadn’t solved the rattle – if further work was required, I’d rather know - but I was disappointed that I was told both issues had been cleared up when they clearly hadn’t. I didn’t receive a print out of the before and after alignment measures either – this might be innocent and be to do with the equipment used, but I’ve always received print outs in the past.
All in all, it was a very poor experience – the quibbles might seem minor but basic good customer service costs nothing – don’t book me in if you don’t have the time to do the job. What was most frustrating is that over the next 12-18 months I’ll be after a specialist to do some of the larger jobs for me, such as the rod bearings and probably preventative reinforcement of the RACP. A good experience on the smaller jobs would have pretty much been a guarantee of business for the larger ones.
The postscript to the exhaust rattle it that I took it to be inspected at one of the other specialists in my area – BM Sport in Bexleyheath. I dropped it in at 9:30am and received a phone call at 11:30 saying they had identified the rattle as the exhaust midpipe rattling inside flange clamp set where it joins the back box. I decided not to get the repair done just yet (spoiler: new exhaust parts incoming) and when I went to pick the car up – fully expecting to pay for perhaps an hours labour – they waived the fee and gave me a printed quotation for the repair work - I’ll definitely be returning!
SebringMan said:
Ouch! Please don't say it was the place I recommended? I was going to go there for my rod bearings or Autobahn near me. You can PM me if you wish.
At least you are making progress and getting there.
Mine has now been stored while I smoke around in the new motor.
PM'ed you but no it wasn't the place you recommended!At least you are making progress and getting there.
Mine has now been stored while I smoke around in the new motor.
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