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

[mrk]

Yeh, just painting the base. Hopefully it should match the mirror housing and the rest of the car too!

With grey/silver you tend to notice any differences mostly in sunlight as the rays will refract/reflect differently based on the paint/lacquer quality and layering, at least that is from my experience in the past having had trim and wing resprayed by body shops and the went back to have it done again after observing on a sunny day!

But the wing mirror mount is small and in an area surrounded by black trim edging so shouldn't be easily noticeable if it is a bit different

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The Parrot Asteroid Smart arrived the other day, the double din fascia should be arriving today, will pick up a BMW to normal antennae adapter later on today and will fit it at the weekend after modifying the existing single din harness to internally accommodate the Parrot unit. Looking at it all it seems really quite simple. Way simpler than pictures and posts online seem to suggest,

I guess that's the upshot of seeing what you're working with in front of you as opposed to visualising it through the internet.

All in all, what was needed for this job was:

1: Double din fascia @ £39 (CT23BM07).
2: Steering wheel controls + ISO adapter @ ~£25 (CTSBM003.2, the Parrot allows you to customise what button does what).
3: Aerial adapter @ £3.49 (WNB5-100).
4: Head unit @ £300.
5: Flat mount bracket pair @ £3.50 (Halfords AV section).

 

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BMW, wanting to help you? Hehe

 

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(ignore the gap on the right side, that's just the way it's resting on my makeshift thingy )

Managed to spend 30minutes after work before it got dark to take out the existing HVAC and surround to install into the new trim and have a quick look at how it all "should" look once in the car.

The double din fascia out of the box did not have the same finish as the rest of the BMW plastic, it was shinier and blacker. I had some spare flat black heat resistive paint in the shed so applied a few layers which resulted in a finish that was as close to the BMW finish as possible and it also has a similar matte texture too, which is nice.

Tomorrow I'll put it all together, some fiddly work left to do such as figuring out how best to secure the Asteroid to the existing single din harness post modification. It will be easy once it's in front of me I guess.

 

[mrk]

Hi Jez,

Yeah the Parrot uinits are shallow depth so plenty of room back there and no need to get a dremel out and cut bits of heater piping like with other double din units that aren't OEM style (Dynavin/Navall etc).

As for the how it will fit in, there's a few cm of dashboard trim between the bottom of the fascia and the top of the HVAC so it won't be sitting on top of it, it sits flush with the dashboartd curve hence why the bottom edges aren't flat

Example pic off Google:

The sides having no buttons will initially feel odd and I agree it isn't OEM looking and to many this is wrong, but it's really the only decent non OEM solution and at least it will be clean and flush with no buttons in odd places like other aftermarket units.

If I was an Apple user then the Dynavin would be a no brainer of course. I think what I will do with the empty right side is install a discreet magnetic phone holder, at least make use of the new free space.

 

[mrk]

Ok so, the existing cage was modified (cut up to only end up being the front bit that the bracket can attach on to) as such:

The rest of the install is plug and play, it required a couple of hours of faffing around tucking cables in and around to get a flush fit all round. I decided to poke the USB cable for sticks and things into the glovebox, didn't need to take that apart as the hole in the glovebox roof was big enough to reach into from the centre dash.

^Routed the GPS aerial cable between the trim strips and placed it out of the way using 3M sticky pads, easy.

(The gaiter I have is looking tired, certainly isn't lasting like the old car's alcantara one did, I'll soon be replacing it with a thick leather one)

Edit*
Mic moved to the steering column, more out of the way there:

^Routed the dual mic again through an existing trim hole beneath the strip and stuck it to the right of the fascia, seemed an ideal position for it and the final install seems to look decent.

Everything seems to work out of the box just fine, the sound quality is good and contact photos are pulled down from Google Contacts nicely too. I think I will get a large SD card to store all music on just because it's a simpler and less battery draining task than via my phone and simply leave bluetooth tethering for 4G/3G access.

I'm going to root the unit in a moment and install the latest Waze and compatible Google Maps as well as Clipper+, Firefox, Pushbullet and TuneIn/Spotify. These will allow me to send stuff to the car from phone and PC be it text, addresses for navigation or URLs and contacts or files ready for use when I start the car app.

The phone aspect is really quite cool, it's basically a replica of the phone app on my phone and voice commands work rather well too.

 

[mrk]

Cheers m8s, means a lot

Tom, I would if it was less of a ballache of a job lol. It's not difficult at all but a lot of faff is required especially with removing the centre vents. Thought I broke mine at one point the amount of cracking I heard

No Stairway

 

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At least I will only need to do it once more when the Android Auto model is released

Knowing my luck I'll end up breaking it and need to buy one from a salvage yard or something. Really looking forward to that scenario!

 

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I believe HK requires a few more additional things to be done. Bound to be lots of owners forum guides on what to do if you have that

 

[mrk]

Any pics of the current BMW ones? Last time I had them off a dealer they were £34 and were a near 1:1 replica to a pair of eBay ones that cost £7 right down to the plastic retention clips on each end.

Still feel Tesco flat blades suit the E46 arms the best. The BMW ones still have the centre wedge the hook goes into that sticks out beyond the hook and looks a bit odd!

 

[mrk]

If you find standard Bosch ones that are exact replicas of the original BMW Bosch ones let me know. I've tried many and none of them have had the same for on the arm like the original ones did. Snows BMW said they were Bosch specific to the E46 and are no longer made. The off the shelf ones fit but the spoiler doesn't hug the arm and make it look flush like the original ones do

Flat blades just don't compare to fixed arm ones for high speed wipes tbh.

 

[mrk]

No, the Alca ones are completely different in design to any other flat blade. Over the years I've had a few pairs and they've all been good though I wouldn't put it past them having different batches made in different places like most cheap stuff these days I guess.

Yeah the £7 ones have integrated spoilers too just like the Tesco/BMW ones, like this.

I'm currently using a set of Tesco ones and I also have the Alca ones. The Alca are completely flat without integrated spoiler, probably why they aren't so good at high speed but s you've seen, they're fine at normal speeds, at least the ones I've had anyway.

Here is what the Tesco ones look like and they seem to perform exactly the same as the BMW Aero ones as well as look very similar, apart from in the middle on the attachment base which fits flush with the arm hook, this is why I prefer the Tesco ones over any other (inc BMW) Aero flat blade:

 

[mrk]

I am jealous of everything about this car. It is sublime.

I have driven it twice since the weekend, twice!

But this is what I love about it, and in many ways, the 318Ci as well. I drive so little during the average working week that when I do, I completely enjoy it. The 318 didn't have masses of power but it did have an excellent balance of handling and available power to put down without DSC intervening whereas in the M3 I have been finding it somewhat tedious the past few weeks to put the power down in 1st and 2nd gear and in some cases, 3rd (when rolling).

These road conditions are not for this kind of power and that's with 265 Super Sports!

Cannot wait until the warm weather though

I have a couple of pics not yet uploaded, so please enjoy!

 

[mrk]

Looks seriously, seriously nice.

Are those alloys OEM diamond cut/polished finish?

Nope I had the option of keeping the diamond cut OEM finish and having a few curb marks re-furbed or instantly having the wheels swapped with a new set of American Chrome finished OEM wheels. I much preferred the finish of the latter so opted for that and am quite glad I did as they look better than the stock diamond cut Shadow Chrome, to me at least anyway

 

[mrk]

What are the specs on the microwave?

I don't understand

Lovely car, had one just like that a few years ago, and then a supercharged E46 m3, the supercharger totally ruined the car. Yes it was quick but the brakes, suspension and chassis didnt deal with the power well.

Still looks modern and love the screen

Oh that's really interesting to hear, on other boards all people rave about is how much extra the power from the SC makes things amazing but as you say, there's going to be a compromise to be made and I dont' want to change anything about the engine and drivetrain at all really as it's just right stock

 

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Indeed!

 

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Small world! My first part time job during study years was in that building

 

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Oh!

Keen eyes haha!

 

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De-tangoed the front indicator bulbs and side strip bulbs. Was hedging on the Philips SilverVision but decided it would look smarter being LED bulbs to match the OEM rear LEDs.

Amazing how quick easy it is to change indicator bulbs on the E46 M3 vs the normal E46 facelift.
No idea why BMW gave the facelift non M E46 coupe/convertible rear LEDs, LED side strip bulbs but not the front indicators and neglected to give side LEDs to the M3. Oh well, did it myself anyway

 

[mrk]

^They are the Weisslicht Spektrum.

Really like that, did you buy direct from the company or get family to ship them over?

Got extremely lucky with order timing (9th). Canadian cousin is over here as of yesterday

 

[mrk]

Well the 3 day weekend is over completing the longest drive and time in the car since purchase. All seats occupied and the boot filled until not even a shoe box would fit either!

500~ miles covered and the Asteroid Smart didn't skip a beat (I use the stock Bluetooth music player and Waze for navigation). I am quite chuffed with it and am happy to keep it even after the Android Auto one is released. It will save me the faff involved of removing those centre vents and things again I guess. I'll only update it once I've reached the limitations on what it can offer me in the future.

As for the car, well it's been everything I have expected.

I had 4 adults in the car with the boot full of suitcases and equipment for the drive up and down from Stoke. The S54 doesn't feel like it was being weighed down. Overtaking uphill was effortless and I know big engine diesel or petrol Bi-Turbo owners will look at the 365Nm and go "lol" but the way in which the power and torque is delivered and the duration of that delivery and the noise makes it thoroughly enjoyable.

I had people of all ages asking for passenger rides, girls seem to like it the most and make it known p), and rear seat occupants remarking at good levels of comfort on a long drive. The only niggle being some seat fold faff to tend to as per any coupe. It also served as a bridal car for a short moment at the bride's request, roof down, which was pretty cool.

I'm really impressed with how the E46 M3 Convertible satisfies many uses from utility to fun and just generally cruising up and down wherever, while at the same time seating 4 in comfort and having boot space when the roof is up. I'm glad I finally got one and as per my Op, I cannot imagine wanting to get rid in mere years to come, at least not while I still enjoy a manual gearbox anyway.

I've been in the E92 and while it's more modern design inside, I still think the E46 cabin has a more nicer direction to the quality of materials used. The doors are heavy, the door handles inside have weight to the pull, the seat backs are padded and not hollow plastic, the plastic sills are all smooth and solid instead of scratchy light plastic - List goes on.

Tomorrow I'm coding the Bi-Xenon flasher mode in exchange of the default E46 Halogen = flasher, and also a few other bits (walk me home duration, triple indicator, additional comfort access and lighting stuff etc).

I know some will comment amongst themselves about it being the "wow M3" phase but that passed within a week and since then I've been looking at where it maybe doesn't quite satisfy my uses in any given scenario that pops up during the week/month - I haven't found one yet

I also love how you can tailor the E46 to your own tastes and all without straying away from what mostly looks completely OEM to the untrained eye.

Anyone thinking of maybe getting an E46 M3 and then going for it will hopefully have no regrets, providing you avoid the many ropey ones out there