Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...
- Thread starter mrk
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Soldato
I believe it’s so you can have warmer air passing over you, but maintain a cooler cabin (and vice versa)
It's a magnificent feature 
Soldato
*Was* a magnificent feature. In the new BMW's the physical roller has disappeared and now it's in a sub menu, of a sub menu, of a sub menu meaning the ability to quickly flick hot to cold (or vice versa) is essentially now gone, meaning the feature is now pretty much useless unless there is a quick shortcut to it I don't know about?It's a magnificent feature
It was the best feature which literally no one knew how to work.
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Would not be surprised if it's a feature that is able to be added to a shortcut button via a monthly subscription at some point knowing BMW 
Soldato
When are you alloys arriving? I used to love the E46 M3 diamond cut polished alloys which, even when mine got the white worm, is why I always held off on getting CSL alloys. Although, there's no denying - diamond cut wheels are an absolute pain in the arse to run daily. They all succumb to corrosion sooner or later, and then when you recut them - they *never* have the same longevity as the factory alloy. Most places don't even give a warranty (or a very short one) on recut alloys as they know they will start corroding.
I held off changing them on my E46, but on my E92 I bought the competition alloys which were absolutely beautiful (and a nicer wheel than the standard 19" alloy) and weren't diamond cut which means they didn't corrode at all!
I held off changing them on my E46, but on my E92 I bought the competition alloys which were absolutely beautiful (and a nicer wheel than the standard 19" alloy) and weren't diamond cut which means they didn't corrode at all!
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Soldato
Absolute beauts. A bit bling - but OEM factory style bling on an older car is legit.
EDIT: Just seen I'm still running the factory OEM tyre then too - the ContiSportContact M3. When i got the car I had around 5mm tread on them - then about 2000 miles later they were down to the wear markers! I've never known tyres to disappear that quickly - especially as I only drove it fairly sensibly! By comparison, the Michelin Super Sport's that followed them lasted approximately 25k miles at the rear!
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The wheels have been on from Oxford sfor a while now Yeah factory cut wheels have that depth to the gleam which recut wheels don't have, as you would expect as surface layering has been removed. I think Oxford's anti corrosion coating helps add some of the depth back though, something which FA Wheels did not apply. The only downside to teh coating is that up close you cans ee the orange peel effect that you get on modern car paints, it is a clear layer after all.
Next time round I may just switch to Apex or equivelant, maybe a set of used CSL wheels if I can get a set at a decent price and have them refurbed to factory finish.
Yeah factory cut wheels have that depth to the gleam which recut wheels don't have, as you would expect as surface layering has been removed. I think Oxford's anti corrosion coating helps add some of the depth back though, something which FA Wheels did not apply. The only downside to teh coating is that up close you cans ee the orange peel effect that you get on modern car paints, it is a clear layer after all.
Next time round I may just switch to Apex or equivelant, maybe a set of used CSL wheels if I can get a set at a decent price and have them refurbed to factory finish.
On the subject itself, kinda neat that motoring journos still write about these, some longing for one, others wishing they never parted with one. The circle of life repeats itself year after year lol.
www.goodwood.com
He doesn't say much, but says a lot at the same time. For me, I'm glad I got the car when I did. £13k some 8 years ago, with a total TCO currently sliding past £44k. Eye watering but the experience driving it and the feel of engine, cabin and steering/handling when making use of the power is really quite special and something that you only really fully understand driving or being driven in one.
Just yesterday a guy came to pick up an item I sold on Facebook. At the end of the transaction he looks at the car and asks if it's mine, says he's an E30 fan mostly but would buy an E46 if he could. Another guy came over whilst I was filling up at the petrol station not long ago for a chat about them, and before that a man stopped on the pavement in Southampton and just stood there looking at it.
You don't and won't get that with an M4
Hankering for the ultimate BMW M3 | GRR
"I have always thought there’s a strong argument for these M3s to be regarded as the greatest ‘M’ cars of them all, greater even than the vaunted E30..."
www.goodwood.com
He doesn't say much, but says a lot at the same time. For me, I'm glad I got the car when I did. £13k some 8 years ago, with a total TCO currently sliding past £44k. Eye watering but the experience driving it and the feel of engine, cabin and steering/handling when making use of the power is really quite special and something that you only really fully understand driving or being driven in one.
Just yesterday a guy came to pick up an item I sold on Facebook. At the end of the transaction he looks at the car and asks if it's mine, says he's an E30 fan mostly but would buy an E46 if he could. Another guy came over whilst I was filling up at the petrol station not long ago for a chat about them, and before that a man stopped on the pavement in Southampton and just stood there looking at it.
You don't and won't get that with an M4
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Soldato
I get people like that when I’m in the Puma, which is a bit of a shed!On the subject itself, kinda neat that motoring journos still write about these, some longing for one, others wishing they never parted with one. The circle of life repeats itself year after year lol.
Hankering for the ultimate BMW M3 | GRR
"I have always thought there’s a strong argument for these M3s to be regarded as the greatest ‘M’ cars of them all, greater even than the vaunted E30..."
He doesn't say much, but says a lot at the same time. For me, I'm glad I got the car when I did. £13k some 8 years ago, with a total TCO currently sliding past £44k. Eye watering but the experience driving it and the feel of engine, cabin and steering/handling when making use of the power is really quite special and something that you only really fully understand driving or being driven in one.
Just yesterday a guy came to pick up an item I sold on Facebook. At the end of the transaction he looks at the car and asks if it's mine, says he's an E30 fan mostly but would buy an E46 if he could. Another guy came over whilst I was filling up at the petrol station not long ago for a chat about them, and before that a man stopped on the pavement in Southampton and just stood there looking at it.
You don't and won't get that with an M4
It's old skool cool that people appreciate!
Worthy of an update because after 6-7 years, I finally changed the parking sensors, now have working PDC and can fully realise the graphical views with the I-BUS app
![DRebjWx.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/DRebjWx.gif])
What is really interesting is the distance to object reading, without the graphic the only notification is the tone turning into a constant tone and that only happens once 30cm from the object. Now I can be more precise.
What is really interesting is the distance to object reading, without the graphic the only notification is the tone turning into a constant tone and that only happens once 30cm from the object. Now I can be more precise.
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Fun isn't it? 
I find the fact it's now directional to be the main plus-point.
I find the fact it's now directional to be the main plus-point.
Oh definitely, just an audible tone didn't quite convey where the bollard or whatever is lol, and I just cba setting up a backup camera - I'm sure there's other stuff I've not toyed around with yet in the app so will spend some time one day to see what else is available.
Anyone ever had to clean or replace their AUC sensor before? Ages ago I noticed this error flag pop up on diagnostics but since my AC/HVAC etc were all working fine I just figured I'll deal with it as and when I had some idle time to faff about. Googling around I found that both of these error codes are connected, if the air quality sensor is faulty, then AUC heating flags are logged by the IHKA module, this can also flag an aux water pump error as it's related to heating matrix, even though petrol E46s do not have an aux water pump...
I will be checking the AUC sensor in the morning as I fully suspect the filter sponge is absolutely minging. I found a thread on a US forum where a guy did a DIY, not an M3, but should still be the same process: https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/diy-auc-sensor-cleaning.884216/
Highly doubt BMW will sell just the sponge filter alone so might be a bit of a mission to get that part... It's also likely the sensor is just old and the quality degrades over time like carbon monoxide detectors etc so probably worth just binning the old one and replacing it, like 90% of everything else in the engine bay over the years
Edit*
Done the foam filter change, had to nip to a pet shop to buy a suitable filter £3.70):
Old:
New:
The IHKA codes have not come back (yet), so will wait and recheck after a few drives. The old foam looks like someone in the past had cut and inserted replacing the OEM one, it could be likely the sensor itself has failed if the code comes back after years of contamination etc. £80 for a new one if this is the case...
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Soldato
AUC sensor faults are a bit of a running joke. Almost every BMW I have ever owned or used my scan tool on has had an error for this. They are so rubbish. I believe they're there to sense "bad smells" and automatically switch to recirc hence why most people never notice the AUC sensor fault.
This is the first time I've seen the AUC fault and I've had 3 E46s
The sponge swap didn't do anything, looks like my sensor is indeed dead, ;likely because of age and not getting fresh air for years and of course the heat the S54 generates inches behind the sensor.
I've ordered a brand new one for £80 which should be arriving next week.
The sponge swap didn't do anything, looks like my sensor is indeed dead, ;likely because of age and not getting fresh air for years and of course the heat the S54 generates inches behind the sensor.
I've ordered a brand new one for £80 which should be arriving next week.
Soldato
Nice choice of listening material.
Soldato
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Thats a lovely E46. Still miss my 2003 one in black and manual. Never forget when i had done the 1200 mile run-in and took it for a blast around N Yorks, wow. That was coming from a mk4 golf gti.This is the first time I've seen the AUC fault and I've had 3 E46s
The sponge swap didn't do anything, looks like my sensor is indeed dead, ;likely because of age and not getting fresh air for years and of course the heat the S54 generates inches behind the sensor.
I've ordered a brand new one for £80 which should be arriving next week.
Seems to be a common theme! Someone has an E46 years ago, sells it, always mentioned missing it
Not sure what I'd do if I ever sold mine, the days would feel empty without a new thing to go wrong and then replace every other month Oh yes, I always tune into to a new episode, usually on youtube of courseNice choice of listening material.