Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

mrk said:
Yeah, only proper gearboxes allowed ;)
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:D:D:D i'll agree with that statement more when it gives me grief lol. I actually like it due to it being my daily drive and its easy in traffic etc. Something that got my t*ts in my previous car the EVO 9. I dont have space for second car, plus i have always been a big believer in driving a car, especially as i only do 3-5k a year.

If it was a weekend toy it would have been a manual. I'm going put on my winter wheel setup next weekend. CSL reps with Vredestein Wintrac Extremes on. If that fails in bad weather then a second car will be the only option lol

You got any other plans for yours mrk or you done pretty much what you wanted with owning it a while?.

For me i want a brake upgrade, these are shocking even for a 14 year old stock car, considering its performance pedigree. My backs are in desperate need of replacement, the discs have gone off and are pitted etc.

Interior upgrades like the steering wheel, gear knob from stormworkz

I want to go through the car and replace tired old parts like suspension and frame bushes

Eventuri air intake

Upgrade my android unit, either with a 2gb one or custom install. Done all the usual tweaks with this one but its still a bit laggy. I have a nexus 7 here from my EVO install. Dont know if im daring enough to try it in this, even though i've seen plenty of people do it!!

Not sure what after that, those above upgrades wont be overnight, due to money etc so i'll see where i am and how i feel after that.

After 4-5 months ownership i still love the car and even more so now than when i bought it. Yes there are now quicker cars out there, hell my EVO was a lot quicker but this is, for me, just a lot nicer all round package and i have always been a tinkerer / modifier of cars and the wealth of options for these, for not stupid money it is great :D and the noise when your on it never gets tiring lol
 
OK, I get it with the Hardcore statement! :)

I just meant in terms of 4 seater convertibles it's a bit on the harsh side, and clearly meant to be driven hard (or in fact invites you to do so), which contradicts the idea of a 4 seater convertible imo

OT, the steering wheels look good, mine still looks passable, but can't deny it would look nice if completely new!
 
Yeah can't beat a new wheel retrim!

Cookie12 said:
:D:D:D i'll agree with that statement more when it gives me grief lol. I actually like it due to it being my daily drive and its easy in traffic etc. Something that got my t*ts in my previous car the EVO 9. I dont have space for second car, plus i have always been a big believer in driving a car, especially as i only do 3-5k a year.

If it was a weekend toy it would have been a manual. I'm going put on my winter wheel setup next weekend. CSL reps with Vredestein Wintrac Extremes on. If that fails in bad weather then a second car will be the only option lol

You got any other plans for yours mrk or you done pretty much what you wanted with owning it a while?.

For me i want a brake upgrade, these are shocking even for a 14 year old stock car, considering its performance pedigree. My backs are in desperate need of replacement, the discs have gone off and are pitted etc.

Interior upgrades like the steering wheel, gear knob from stormworkz

I want to go through the car and replace tired old parts like suspension and frame bushes

Eventuri air intake

Upgrade my android unit, either with a 2gb one or custom install. Done all the usual tweaks with this one but its still a bit laggy. I have a nexus 7 here from my EVO install. Dont know if im daring enough to try it in this, even though i've seen plenty of people do it!!

Not sure what after that, those above upgrades wont be overnight, due to money etc so i'll see where i am and how i feel after that.

After 4-5 months ownership i still love the car and even more so now than when i bought it. Yes there are now quicker cars out there, hell my EVO was a lot quicker but this is, for me, just a lot nicer all round package and i have always been a tinkerer / modifier of cars and the wealth of options for these, for not stupid money it is great :D and the noise when your on it never gets tiring lol
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Intake is definitely the number one upgrade for everyday use, the noise is just addictive :)

As for brakes, fluid and pads will make the stock brakes much better as this is where they lack the most really. I went for ATE Typ 200 fluid and PFC Z Rated pads.

I've got no other plans now really as everything is how I like it. Just keeping it maintained is the only cost!
 
Sorry for the lack of pics on photo bucket. I'd like to sell my e46 with 58k miles and buy an e92 m3. There bit expensive though for a decent one. Love the sound of the v8, trumps the e46 m3 I think.
 
Different beasts. No denying the V8 tone is sweet! I'd still miss the mechanical-ness of the S54 though, and also the build quality of everything inside :p
 
The v8 is very nice, I've driven a couple of E92's and an E93.. For me, I'd definitely want EDC (or whatever the active damping is) and a DCT Box.

The E93 in particular with the folding metal roof is notably stiffer with the roof up than the E46, and I had no complaints with the engine/exhaust noise, although two owners admitted that mine sounded a bit nicer (I have a Mille Miglia backbox that amplifies the rasp/engine note without any massive drone)..

I also can't disagree with MRK on the interior, definitely the materials/aesthetics (especially around the gear shifter) are not as nice as the E46! That and running costs are a bit higher..

It's another great 'special' M car that anyone would love to own!
 
Really like that colour and leather combo.

A number of things raise eyebrows though!

1: It says it's been kept in storage and is excellent throughout. It's been used with no floor mats, so the carpeting itself is a bit muddy and beaten up, something you can't restore or clean easily.

2: The front wing point where it meets the A pillar base looks bent :eek:

Capture_15.jpg


3: Aftermarket exhaust, I imagine this is for rasp delete, which typically also adds some drone from the lower tone increase.

4: It's running EP Tyres, tyres that come as cheap as £30 each on tyreleader!

Conclusion: It's way too high priced for the eyebrows it raises.

I don't trust traders when they say a car has had xyz. Hell, even the M3 only trader that sold me this one tried to pawn off a wing mirror that was glued back onto the mount, which then fell apart in my hands the first time I washed the car! Think I mentioned it in the thread, he ended up sending me 2x newly painted wing mirrors.

Next meet you're welcome to come out in mine! Obviously it's not going to be coupe stiff, but you'll get a good idea for how these sound and feel inside.
 
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Demon said:
The v8 is very nice, I've driven a couple of E92's and an E93.. For me, I'd definitely want EDC (or whatever the active damping is) and a DCT Box.

The E93 in particular with the folding metal roof is notably stiffer with the roof up than the E46, and I had no complaints with the engine/exhaust noise, although two owners admitted that mine sounded a bit nicer (I have a Mille Miglia backbox that amplifies the rasp/engine note without any massive drone)..

I also can't disagree with MRK on the interior, definitely the materials/aesthetics (especially around the gear shifter) are not as nice as the E46! That and running costs are a bit higher..

It's another great 'special' M car that anyone would love to own!
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Ha i didnt know that the e46 was better interior than the e92/e93.
It would be hard to sell my e46 tbh
My car now looks like this with its winter cover on
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=c...AUICygC&biw=1280&bih=869#imgrc=vBLz2yGCHe1ypM:

People are saying to me that i should drive it as things will "break" if i dont. Is this true? I dont think it is....also whats difference with inspection 1 and 2.
Anyone feel free to chime in...thankyou:)
 
If you don't drive it, some mechanical parts can seize, tyres need to be rotated else the rubber starts to perish from just sitting there bearing 1600+KG for months on end in cold weather. The AC system pipes can also build up with bacteria and moisture causing foul smells and/or perishing the lubrication in the seals resulting in AC breaking.

Most of these are if the car is kept outside of course, if inside a garage then it's less of an issue.

Inspections: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?672126-E46-M3-Inspection-I-II-list
 
mrk said:
If you don't drive it, some mechanical parts can seize, tyres need to be rotated else the rubber starts to perish from just sitting there bearing 1600+KG for months on end in cold weather. The AC system pipes can also build up with bacteria and moisture causing foul smells and/or perishing the lubrication in the seals resulting in AC breaking.

Most of these are if the car is kept outside of course, if inside a garage then it's less of an issue.

Inspections: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?672126-E46-M3-Inspection-I-II-list
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Thanks for that mrk, i guess best thing to do is drive it a few miles every few weeks then, hopefully should stop what you said can happen.
 
Dont know how true this is but i've heard smg models are particular prone to suffer from standing for long periods. Broken springs in the smg motor and things like that.

mrk i know you will say something about the smg models always breaking anyway - which is also true :D:D

As mrk said tyres etc will suffer with long periods of standing, brakes can rot and pit and get to the point beyond saving.
 
This one feels the same thickness and the padding is the same softness as the original leather. I've had 3 lots of steering wheel retrims over the years between both E46s and all times I've opted for double padding thickness and side perforated grips.

The first thing I noticed when I bought the M3 was that the wheel's padding was super soft to the point of feeling a bit squidgy (in a good way). This new retrim has padding that's exactly the same. All the other retrims felt slightly thicker, but were not as soft like the original leather is. Either they've changed where they source the leather padding, or they're using the same materials as what BMW used now.

In short, it's not as thick as the last retrimmed wheels, but only by like 1mm or so it would seem, but is softer padding, identical to the original E46 M3 wheel.
 
First inspection 2 during my ownership was completed today. I had a list of additional items to be checked.

- VANOS unit and seals in good shape
- Subframe and mounts are free from any issues/cracks
- Diff mounts all good
- Gearbox mounts all good
- Engine mounts all good
- New flex disc needed. I expected this to be the case as there were tell tale signs during load transfer applying sharp throttle taps at low speeds. so the car is with them another night to have this replaced tomorrow
- o2 sensors showed no issues during diagnostics and road test
- Minor surface corrosion on the rear brake lines (common), so some cleaning and protecting needed is all

Whilst a lot of other things have failed over the past 40k miles --mostly sensors-- I'm glad the engine itself has been absolutely fine. It has never needed an oil or coolant topup either.
 
Sounds good, the flex disc being the rubber guibo?? What were the symptoms of that, just a clunk at low speeds? I keep meaning to get mine looked at.


Bad news for me today, my perfect condition OEM widescreen nav developed its first cluster of dead pixels. Must've been the cold. Absolutely gutted! :(
However, I have been toying with the idea of one of these android OEM-look units for a while anyway. I think now is the opportune moment.

I've admired the one you have installed for its proper OEM look, Mrk. I understand that its of the Erisin variety. I'm really struggling to work out which one to get, their site isn't very clear as to which are the latest models at all!

From what I can tell, I think the below two are the latest offerings in the OEM button style.

Android 6.0:
https://www.erisin.com/erisin-es6046b-7-android-60-bmw-e46-car-dvd-gps-system-3g-bluetooth_p810.html

Android 7.1:
https://www.erisin.com/car-stereo-dvd-erisin-es4746b-7-android-71-dab-dvr-gps-for-bmw-e46_p941.html

The thing that's really confusing me is that the 6.0 offering looks to have more powerful hardware, for example an octa-core CPU and more internal memory. Any ideas? :S
 
Do you have the exact model code for the two you are seeing? Both those links seem to load the same product (Android 7.1 one) for me, bit weird. but as far as I recall, the newer ones all had the flat style buttons instead of the OEM style ones like on the older models like my one. If this has recently changed, then I'd be inclined to upgrade mine to one in the near future as the larger app storage space certainly would come in handy, or I could just install a custom ROM I guess, but that can also lead to instability, so am more than happy to just root the factory ROM and tweak stuff like I have done with the older model.

I would want to make sure that the image shown of the unit in the links above definitely are accurate and the item you get doesn't have the flat style buttons that do't gel with the E46 centre console buttons, if they are OEM styled, then go for the better hardware spec because in a car head unit like this, the main OS itself doesn't matter a huge amount as long as it runs the latest Google Play Services update, which even the Android 4.4.4 ones do, so will run the latest apps.

As for the guibo/flex disc,yeah if you're at a low or constant speed, then tapping the throttle in quick succession and letting go will exhibit a bit of transmission knock. You'll get some knock by default anyway even with a new flex disc as this is what BMW call load transfer between the engine and transmission. A worn flex disc just amplifies that and it's more obvious in normal driving at low speeds. If your one is over 80k miles, then get the flex disc inspected for the rubber cracking. It's easy to do if you can raise the car up and wriggle the shaft to check for knocking and excess play at the disc end, but as I don't have the means to do that, I let the indy do it during service :p
 
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