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

Recently my front suspension has been making knocking sounds more audibly over cobbled roads and small bumps than before. I knew this was coming though as last MOT the advisory note was slight play in one of the front ball joints but my garage said at the time it was only slight so get round to it as and when.

Now is the time.

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I've found the OEM wishbones on ECP for £469 using the current discount code, but I've also found this on eBay. Just not sure which to go for. My bushes were refreshed all round couple of years back anyway so I figure there's no need to replace the bushes, just do the wishbones?

And in the new year I'll be replacing the springs, shocks and top mounts. The car will then be riding "sweet as a nut". No reason to not keep it forever still really :p
 
You can get both those Lemforder arms on carparts4less.co.uk for £411.84 with the june12 discount code. Just searched for the same product codes as ECP and CP4L are the same anyway, would save you a fair few quid if you can wait for delivery.

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Ah amazing thanks! I had that site bookmarked from ages ago but completely forgot about it!

Checked GSF but they don't have Lemforder parts for this, only TRW and "Standard" which I assume is a no name brand, or perhaps that's Lemforder just unlabelled on the site.
 
GSF are annoying to use since they updated their website a few years back. I've ordered brakes from them (iirc they were Brembo branded discs), but when I got there they were trying to give me some random Vetec/Vtech ones. Haven't really used them since.

In other news, after seeing your head unit, I've finally bit the bullet and decided to update my factory nav unit. I used the 20% off eBay code the other day and ordered the new Eonon GA9150, will give some feedback once I've got it - are there any must have apps you'd recommend for an Android HU? :)
 
Ah good stuff!

Viper4AndroidFX is what I have installed to tweak the DAC to get the best out of the speakers. And it really does make a night and day difference. Even if you don't have HK audio, your stock speakers will sound far better than HK audio, and then some.

I can take pics of my EQ and settings if you'd like ok e you're up and running.

I suppose depending on what data connection you have, you could also install Netflix etc if you wanted, might be a bit unsafe I suppose with that level of distraction...

You'll want to root as well by entering the correct code via https://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Hui_Fei_Type#Factory_Settings_.22Passwords.22

Aside from that, I only really use Waze for nav, Spotify for music (have an unlimited 4G dongle connected in the glovebox) and Pushbullet so I can send and receive anything between car, phone, PC etc.

I have GoneMad music player installed for local music as well via a 128GB USB stick.

I use Nova Launcher for the custom front end of course as I launch apps via the buttons or homescreen gestures.
 
Ah yeah I remember you mentioning Viper4Android in a previous post - I'll give that a download if the stock audio is rubbish, there's some kind of EQ built in from what I can see in the marketing blurb so not sure how well that'll perform. I don't have HK, but I do have an upgraded BM54 so that might help the sound quality a little bit on the stock speakers.

I didn't get the 4G dongle with this one but I can always tether my phone, it looks to support screen mirroring though so I could always tether my phone via WiFi I guess. It's a shame the unit has a busy looking face, but at this point, anything's gotta be better than the OEM nav unit.
 
Viper is use din conjunction with the stock EQ really, it improves on it, which in itself is an improvement over the stock nav unit.

Let me know if you get issues with the viper apk as I have the specific apk that worked for me saved.

Do you have a link to the one you ordered?
 
I'm with you now - I've just looked at the Viper app in a bit more depth and it looks quite good. Will definitely be giving that a try once it's arrived and fitted next week! Thanks for that recommendation, I'd seen a few reviews on these Android HU's in general and the sound quality doesn't seem to be that good out of the box.

This is the one that I've ordered from a seller on eBay, with the 20% off it worked out to be £214 for the HU, and another £30 for the extension cables that I'll need to run to the BM54 in the boot.
https://www.eonon.com/Android-Car-G...-Inch-1-Din-Multimedia-Car-DVD-CD-Player.html
 
Oh yeah that busy front UX can be stripped right down. Just install Nova Launcher and you’ll have the ability to launch apps with gestures and have a clean homescreen. Or just long press and swipe away the widgets and stuff from the stock homescreen if it allows you to.

This is what mine looks like when no navigation is running and music is just playing in the BG.

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mrk said:
Ah amazing thanks! I had that site bookmarked from ages ago but completely forgot about it!

Checked GSF but they don't have Lemforder parts for this, only TRW and "Standard" which I assume is a no name brand, or perhaps that's Lemforder just unlabelled on the site.
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@mrk TRW is good. Every bit of the suspension on the E92 M3 is stamped TRW.

If you did go with the ECP Lemforder parts, search for them on eBay. They're £220 and there is a 10% eBay voucher code on at the moment (only until 8pm tonight though!) so equals circa £395. Every little helps eh? ;)

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/222154162569

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/222154162607
 
In fact if you search on eBay for the Lemforder part number (27014 and 27015) Mister Auto do them for 178.50 each before 10% discount! So all in for ~£320.

Buy them in their fast for a bit of a bargain! :)
 
Wishbones were installed by a new m8. I knew him from back in the 318Ci days when he worked at a local garage and had his E46 M3 and worked on my wishbones back then. Forgot about him until recently and got talking. He's now an MOT tester/mechanic. Has no social media, and isn't on any forums or anything. He just works on his cars and does work for other people and gets hired in by local garages for specialist work as well as MOTs. The Wishbones job cost £80 which I feel is pretty great value considering how much of a mare those are to take off on these.

His house garage has an inspection pit and has had his E46 M3 for over 9 years with intent to never sell!

Nice to have a local guy who has the same car and works on them as well with all the tools needed to do most things.

The only thing he doesn't do is valve clearance checks due to time consumption, so that job gets sent to my usual specialist. I feel I now have everything/everyone I need in order to keep the car mechanically going to a solid standard.

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Speaking of which, my power steering hose that connects pump to rack has a buildup of gunk. there are no leaks, and the fluid levels are fine. I guess this is gunk that builds up over time from high heat and hard driving going by online searches in the usual groups which then leads to the seals on each end giving way. So to avoid this I've ordered a new hose with washers and bolts from BM Conversions:

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£110 inc del. OEM ones are about £50 more expensive, and I'm always for better engineered components like these at a lower cost.
 
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T0pPredator said:
Definitely looked ready for replacement!
Although, why doesn't the replacement look anything like the original? :S
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I've been told it's a different shape but does a much better job and is of higher quality than the OEM one I have. But will fit the same of course!
 
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The gammy old one came out!

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My guy said it's likely the reason the OEM one is so long and loops like that is for cooling, which the uprated part doesn't need due to being manufactured to withstand considerably more pressure/heat.
 
Though mine does not need front wishbones, zero issues, but was able to grab a pair of Lemforders for £197 brand new couple of months ago, so just made sense to grab those. They get fitted tomorrow so will be interesting to see if I can tell any difference between the original 110k mile distance items and new fresh ones.

Did you feel any difference and did they fix whatever issue you had?
 
Two differences noticed, if your wishbone ball joints were worn like mine were then you will notice the same too.

1: No more clunking when driving over cobbled surfaces or small bumps.
2: Steering initial turn in is noticeably sharper and confident.

All my other bushes are 2 years old so in pretty much new condition still, the wishbones were the last remaining of the original bushings.
 
mrk said:
Two differences noticed, if your wishbone ball joints were worn like mine were then you will notice the same too.

1: No more clunking when driving over cobbled surfaces or small bumps.
2: Steering initial turn in is noticeably sharper and confident.

All my other bushes are 2 years old so in pretty much new condition still, the wishbones were the last remaining of the original bushings.
Click to expand...


1. Did not have this issue, only replacing due to good deal.
2. Absolutely, can feel the same.
3. My steering I always felt seemed a little lightweight with a bit of play, even though I have a solid steering coupling and the whole steering rack and linkage is brand new. Well the steering now has added weight and absolute zero play on straight ahead.


Though the old (110k miles) original items had no signs of damage, boots all good, no tears, once of the car they were very loose, loads of play, so I am very glad I changed these as anything that improves steering on any car particular a performance car is always a godsend and it was the one weakness I felt my car had but simply put it down to the nature of the car, even though I'd jumped in other M3's and noticed the steering was heavier but of course you just assume ah well running lighter wheels, solid couplers is probably why. In the end the wishbones clearly have an impact on steering weight. :)
 
Oh I also notice that the steering self centers more than before. And of course now tramlines more than before as well. Makes sense given there's zero play in the ball joints now to absorb those two things. I imagine this is how the car would have felt when brand new :p
 
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