Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...
- Thread starter mrk
- Start date
No delivery yet, I guess Monday it is!
I really want to get the M3 boot liner carpet, but it's at least £50. I don't need it, just want it, hence not wanting to pay £50 for it
What boot liner carpet? - M3 Logo on it? - I want a proper set of floor mats, OEM with M3 logo on. Rocking horse poo though by the looks of it and the few that are about mega money. So again like you, i dont need it, just want it lol
Finished my bits of spraying off today. Weather was a pain again though.
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Caporegime
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 28,319
- Location
- Boston, Lincolnshire
All that faff masking up it would have been easier and quicker just to remove the wheel. Also surely that plastic trim piece can be removed?
I spot some overspray on the wheel! I'd have expected your steering wheel trim to be black, mine is the same colour as the top piece of trim, and my dash/door trims are the same colour as yours. Also, the lower steering trim comes off super easy, takes 10 minutes max.
After 2 years, my steering wheel is finally showing some signs of wear, notably on the lower right grip. I'll let it get a bit more obvious before contacting Royal Steering Wheels once more.
This is the mat I was looking at for the boot.
After 2 years, my steering wheel is finally showing some signs of wear, notably on the lower right grip. I'll let it get a bit more obvious before contacting Royal Steering Wheels once more.
This is the mat I was looking at for the boot.
Well actually it didnt take long to mask off and do.
Also i looked into taking it off and you have to take the airbag out to remove the trim. If i removed the steering wheel you have to take the flappy padals off which ive heard is a pain to do and reattach. Even if i just remove the airbag that means disconnecting the battery, and taking the time and patience to remove the airbag. Then having to reset my android head unit up. So the time to do that and so on is probably longer than masking it off.
Secondly do you guys own an e46 and does it matter, it's done isnt it and no skin of your noses.
Also i looked into taking it off and you have to take the airbag out to remove the trim. If i removed the steering wheel you have to take the flappy padals off which ive heard is a pain to do and reattach. Even if i just remove the airbag that means disconnecting the battery, and taking the time and patience to remove the airbag. Then having to reset my android head unit up. So the time to do that and so on is probably longer than masking it off.
Secondly do you guys own an e46 and does it matter, it's done isnt it and no skin of your noses.
You won't need to re-set the head unit back up, all your settings and things are stored in the ROM. I forgot yours is SMG, the manual is obviously quicker, but disconnecting battery and removing airbag really is minutes worth of a task. It's also one of those things for those who like to tinker and see how things fit together.
I did the same job last year. I did it properly by removing the trim pieces which are in your picture, and getting someone to rub them down properly and spray them.
Yes you have to take the airbag out, but I takes 10 seconds to do this. The paddles are only a faff to get off if you're not prepared to take the airbag off!
If I was in your position, I'd take it all off, clean up the overspray, rub the trim pieces down again and do it properly. All of the parts are easy to separate and spray (e.g. The little mirror switch blank should have been done seperately). The overspray would annoy me a lot more than scratched trim.
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Do you need to own an E46 to have a view then? Seems an odd prerequisite to express an opinion on a discussion forum.
I don't have an E46 but I do have an E39 with exactly the same steering wheel. Doing it that way is madness, removing the airbag takes about the 3-4 minutes and from there the trim simply unscrews.
E46 comment was stupid. But second half of that sentence still applies.
i have now updated the OP as it was hilariously out of date given everything that has been posted since. Makes photos and stuff much easier to find in such a long thread
Its a superb example of a convertible
I've noticed you have a couple of the mods that are on my now extended wish list lol. The Evolve remap and Eventuri air intake. Sounds immense in the video clips you posted. I assume both are worth the money
With mine being SMG i also want the CSL software, rev matching and intertia updates. - Most SMG owners rate it as the best single upgrade to do.
Eventuri was £500 with cutters discount when I got it, it's now £750!! But still, for over a grand less than a CSL style airbox (GSR, for example), you're getting nearly CSL sound, without the extra wallet damage. If you can get a used one, do so. It requires no ECU changes either, whereas the CSL boxes require the Alpha-N or direct CSL ECU to be installed. The former comes with its own issues when just driving in normal traffic.
I would recommend the Eventuri and SMG CSL firmware update. Those two alone will bring a grin to your face every time.
The Titanium knob and handbrake handle arrived today. I chose the V1, which is inspired by the E30 M3 knob design, and also opted for the OEM style top plate.
Let me tell you this, to get the old handbrake handle off, I had to call upon my inner HULK, I kid you not. I have never pulled out something so stiff in my life..
Before:
After:
Angles:
The knob is considerably heavier than even the BMW short weighted Sport knob. It's slightly taller however, but not as tall as the standard E46 M3 knob. It's just about middle ground between the two. It's pretty ridiculously pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for.
I would recommend the Eventuri and SMG CSL firmware update. Those two alone will bring a grin to your face every time.
The Titanium knob and handbrake handle arrived today. I chose the V1, which is inspired by the E30 M3 knob design, and also opted for the OEM style top plate.
Let me tell you this, to get the old handbrake handle off, I had to call upon my inner HULK, I kid you not. I have never pulled out something so stiff in my life..
Before:
After:
Angles:
The knob is considerably heavier than even the BMW short weighted Sport knob. It's slightly taller however, but not as tall as the standard E46 M3 knob. It's just about middle ground between the two. It's pretty ridiculously pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for.
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Yup, well £744 on their site. Not sure if they still do the 10% discount for forum members though:
http://www.evolveautomotive.com/eventuri-carbon-fibre-intake-system-bmw-e46-m3.html
http://www.evolveautomotive.com/eventuri-carbon-fibre-intake-system-bmw-e46-m3.html
