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

mrk · 14 Jul 2020 at 22:04

I got the car detailed some years ago by Envy Car Care in Fareham, guy who runs it is called Tim Bomford, he will sort you out :cool:

After that point I just maintained it myself really but do want to have ceramic coating put on it again in the near future as it really is good stuff.
http://www.envycarcare.co.uk

As for tyres, give Darren a ring on DG Mobile Tyres. He's recently set up this mobile service but used to work at another mobile tyre firm so has a lot of experience. I went to school with him so know he's legit.
https://dgtyreservices.co.uk

What are you driving now btw? Fareham is down the road

Should do a 1 metre or greater meet one day

mrk · 14 Jul 2020 at 23:14

AH gotcha, yep Envy will sort that out no prob!

mrk · 5 Sep 2020 at 21:22

The arch to wheel proportions both front and back are just perfect in my eyes on these. The newer models just don't feel the same to the eyeballs.

On a less positive note though, my Lambda 2 sensor (pre-cat) has thrown an error code. I recall this happened years ago on the old engine and it cleared itself after an Italian tune-up. But I suspect this time round the sensor is on its way. Luckily they are not hugely expensive and is relatively easy to swap as long as I can jack the car up as the connection to bank 2 is the most tedious one to get to at the pre-cat location. It might be a rogue error though too as there's no change in power or economy.... Have cleared for now and will monitor.

mrk · 19 Sep 2020 at 23:07

Moeks said:
Looks lovely mrk, I haven't seen any E46 let alone an M3 that looks that nice since ...well probably OcUK meets many years ago, a decade plus now probably. I have no idea what most people I used to see are driving now, not really kept up for about the past 7 years or so.

Blast from the past! Good to see a familiar name hah :cool:

You are right too, I rarely see another E46 any more on the roads, there used to be 3 other E46 M3s around town, one house a few blocks away even had 2 on the drive for years but rarely see them any more. One had rusted arches for far too long

MOst members seem to have moved onto more models it seems, maybe I am stuck in the past? I like it though, its old skool nature but sadly I'm getting rather tired of the old skool parts slowly failing and needing replacing. Such is the way I guess.

mrk · 20 Sep 2020 at 15:38

I don't fancy a change that's the thing

Just gonna keep throwing money at it until the end of time I guess

Moeks said:
Haha well I'm keeping it sort of old school without actually been 'too old' I drive an F22 2 series Coupe with a manual gear box and a proper handbrake, it does not have an interesting or special engine though, just a 2.0 diesel. I bought it while I was commuting on the motorway a lot but I don't drive nearly as much as I used to anymore, well I suppose that's true of many right now but in this respect I mean prior to the human malware problem I dropped from a 40 mile commute to 2 miles, so started riding my bike when the weather was nicer anyway, words I never thought I would hear myself say but I'm much healthier for it. But I still prefer the 'old school' BMW's in many regards, the E46, E39 and even the E38, best looking and most fun to drive generation in my opinion and probably the best put together aswell. The F22 really reminds me of that generation in many ways actually.

I have been driving but lockdown and beyond I have been driving far less to the point I bought a CETEK as my old battery had died after ~5 weeks standstill lol. Since then though I have been just driving around the local areas, luckily I live in a coastal part of the country with plenty of sea views and winding roads to enjoy at leisurely pace roof down so early or late, always an opportunity to get some fresh air and keep the mechanicals in half decent order I guess.

I've heard the 2 is closer to the old era as a driver's car than any other, especially the M2.

mrk · 5 Oct 2020 at 21:59

New tyres got fitted today to the rear. The car came with CSL sizing all round so I always kept that as all these years CSL size worked out cheaper than standard size but this time round standard was cheaper so decided to drop to stock sizing and see if there's any difference in how the car feels. I am expecting slightly less road noise on the motorway is all I guess. The fronts are still 235 so will drop those to stock when it's time for them to be changed.

Have to say, PS4S feels like they were made for the E46 M3. So good in dry or wet and even when low on tread had not skipped a beat.

I have had PSS, CSC6 and PS4S. This will be my 2nd set of 4S whilst I had 2 pairs of PSS and only 1 set of CSC6 which I did not like and only got half the mileage out of them.

mrk · 29 Oct 2020 at 21:32

Ok so it's coming up to time I thought about replacing the Android stereo with something that has a bit more power and a nicer screen, bluetooth 5 support, Android Auto etc. I saw this video thanks to the youtube algo today and checked out the unit:

https://xtrons.com/bmw-various-android-10-hexa-core-4gb-ram-64gb-rom-pq8046bl

Everything looks quite nice, the depth of the unit is shorter than my current one too so I'll have a lot more room to tuck dongles and cable sin without having to shove stuff about like before, and that super wide screen is nice. I like it mostly because the main buttons retain the shape and style of the E46 console buttons so it still looks OEM. If I do decide on getting this them I will matte black spray the chrome knob surrounds so it's all black.

mrk · 30 Apr 2021 at 20:13

Saw this on yt today, it's a 2021 video and the first time I've seen something so detailed and informative and clearly shown about bearing shells. Really worthwhile and all the more important the job is done by a specialist.

In other news my Saleri water pump has been in for a few weeks now and everything is running perfectly.

Interesting to note too in that video he says oil change every 3-5000 miles. I knew people changed oil mid-services but 5000 miles is pretty frequent! I might just get oil change every MOT time regardless now. Keep an eye on ECP offer codes and just stock up on the oil ready.

mrk · 30 Apr 2021 at 23:35

Oil? For the bearing shells lifespan as the guy (and countless other specialists) says based on their experience with this engine. Redish also mentioned it as a bit of advice when I had the donor engine installed by them way back. It's probably more valid for the UK where it's kept on a driveway and the vast majority of our weather is cold so the oil remains colder for longer.

mrk · 1 May 2021 at 10:33

Maybe it has something to do with this: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-change-truths/

But condition based driving factors more it seems. Those who infrequently drive their cars, especially these sorts of engines should ideally be doing more frequent oil changes going by that whilst those who regularly pile on the miles can stick to the book?

Good thing I suppose is the instrucment cluster mileage countdown to the next service is condition based on these cars so I guess this whole debate is less important lol.

mrk · 2 May 2021 at 23:36

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale...myDsyBESjwPcQNksk3ZvznXkA6ALbuwJGwWhb4xQnqehg

Look what these are going for lately, a prefacelift tatty one that is in serious need of a interior refresh and bodywork and a concoction of tyre brands fitted goes for nearly £15k, and that's the average... WeBuyAnyCar have been offering North of £14k too to a number of people on the E46 FB group.

The E46 M3 with manual box bubble has begun....

mrk · 4 May 2021 at 14:50

Yeah the OEM waterpump I didn't go for because BMW reduced the quality (plastic impeller vs metal) and increased the cost for some reason. The Saleri was £120 ish delivered direct from Italy and came with all the gaskets and bits needed. I'm sure the "revised" OEM pump would last no problems but the thought of a lesser quality item for more money I wasn't going to stand for that when a higher quality Saleri one is so cheap and all metal components with the same water flow rate as the OEM one.

mrk · 28 Aug 2021 at 18:58

Had a great week away exploring Wales this past week. The M3 was absolutely superb in every right. There were 16+ of us visiting and a bunch swapped around in my car each day as we drove to each destination with kin who have never been to area of such awe before (I have done NC500 and always wanted to do Wales too). The roads were totally epic and everyone had such a great time, it helped the weather was sunny and hot the whole time. A mix of roof up (with windows all down for pano side views) and down.

The induction noise echoing off the rocks each side

Not far off 700 miles total and £217 in fuel. Not bad all things considered with a full occupancy and boot packed. No V Power anywhere nearby there where we stayed, There was a Shell 7 miles away but even when I reached that it had only unleaded and V power diesel which IMO is absolutely pointless. What a waste of space lol.

BP regular however was absolutely fine.

mrk · 31 Aug 2021 at 10:54

Thankfully the fuel bill was split two ways so that was quite nice, but yep 24MPG ish is what I averaged and mostly did drive safe for the conditions, I don't think I ever went above 5000rpm for example, all shifts were between 3000 and 5000 rpm where the bulk of the induction noise and smoothness is as well as ideal fuel economy. Even still, this is the way it is I guess with relatively short driving and the regular slowing down and speeding back up as you move between NSL A roads and small villages that drop to 30 for a few miles at a time.

All part of the experience though I suppose!

One of the 5 cars in our group was an Audi A4 diesel 2018 model. They mentioned that they were likely going to do the whole round trip on one tank. I was slightly jealous until the following day when the roof was down again

I think once EVs get long range solid state batteries things will be quite neat. I'd be tempted to hire one for a trip to Wales and experience another side of driving on those roads in total silence. Needs to be a convertible EV though and just whisk through the mountain air soaking it all in without any noises to distract.

mrk · 31 Aug 2021 at 12:41

I also did notice a lot of average speed cams set up on a number of those nice roads too which I wasn't expecting. I thought Waze was a bit confused until the signage appeared up ahead. I guess maniacs were being maniacs for too long on those parts

Not an issue however, those AVG zones were still 60MPH and you can have a lot of fun with a noisy engine with that.

mrk · 31 Aug 2021 at 13:19

Ah man sorry to hear that

mrk · 16 Sep 2021 at 11:55

Finally a thing that has been bugging me for a long time now, bubbling door handle trims which affects all E46s that have the plastic trim, the aluminium ones simply go shiny or scratch leaving silver which is equally annoying really but this is really nice now.

The original E46 door handle trims bubble over time and need to be stripped to bare plastic and done properly with modern paint that doesn't bubble the same way. Got mine from a cutters member, £35 each. Nice nice.

Look at that finish:

mrk · 16 Sep 2021 at 12:22

Yup it is, it's a member called Lovatt - £35 per side. I used the exchange option though, so he sends these first, then I send my bubbled ones to him :cool:

mrk · 17 Sep 2021 at 17:46

Tis the way with these now

I installed the door trims today, quite a bit of faff getting the old trims off, everything is so tightly clamped together and the guides online don't mention the metal retaining clips either so had I followed those guides I'd have smashed those clips right off and broken pins... FIgured it out with a bit of visual reverse engineering

After / before:

Interior is nearly like new

The gen2 XtremeVision bulbs are in now too, forgot you have to take the airbox out to get to one of the bulbs which was also a faff. Old ones were 50% more vision, these are 150%, intrigued to see how they fare at night!

mrk · 8 Mar 2022 at 17:23

Updated the phone charging system from the old DIY mod to a custom unit that replaces the slide out cubby/cupholder unit. Made by INDUKTIV in the USA, not cheap but they're the only people doing something like this. Taps into the 12v lighter socket for power.

The wedge thing is a bumper/stopper you can move up and down to stop the phone sliding back and forth. The cupholder insert is soft silicone for easy cleaning, not that I drink in the car anyway...