E46 pre vs post facelift

Hate

Hate

Hate

Soldato
Joined
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Morning guys.

Probably one that has been answered before, but aside from the engine changes - what are the main differences between post and prefacelift E46 Coupe BMWs ?

Reason behind it is that a 328ci is really quite attractively priced right now. Can these engines still be de-restricted like the old E36 versions? and do any suffer that nikisail problem?

Cheers!
 
Hate said:
Probably one that has been answered before, but aside from the engine changes - what are the main differences between post and prefacelift E46 Coupe BMWs ?
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Post facelift added new headlights, LED rear lights, etc. There were no engine changes in the facelift, but it did introduce the diesel models later on.

Reason behind it is that a 328ci is really quite attractively priced right now.
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All 328Ci's are very much prefacelift. The E46 Coupe facelift was not until 3 years AFTER the 328Ci was discontinued.
 
Hate said:
Can these engines still be de-restricted like the old E36 versions?
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Judging by the intake manifold, yes, a 330i intake manifold would make a decent upgrade from the restricted design of the 328i manifold.

The e36 325i manifold should also fit (and is nowhere near as restrictive as the 328i), and these will no doubt be cheaper to obtain.
 
Given that the block design and dimensions are the same, there is no "physical" reason the 330i (M54) intake manifold won't fit, but as I haven't seen one in depth, I wouldn't be able to comment on if it would be a direct fit onto the MAF, or indeed if there are any extra vac hoses/ancillaries that would need to be adapted.

So, yes, the M50 intake is the better bet.
 
[TW]Fox;12506865 said:
All 328Ci's are very much prefacelift. The E46 Coupe facelift was not until 3 years AFTER the 328Ci was discontinued.
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My point exactly. If there was no amazing change that couldn't be retrofitted (to an extent) then the cost of the prefacelift 328 is more appealing than the extra 3k or so for a facelift 330 (PLUS the prefacelift ones swerve the CO2 tax :p)
 
Hate said:
My point exactly. If there was no amazing change that couldn't be retrofitted (to an extent) then the cost of the prefacelift 328 is more appealing than the extra 3k or so for a facelift 330 (PLUS the prefacelift ones swerve the CO2 tax :p)
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You need a lot more than £3k more for a facelift 330Ci - the facelift is 2003 onwards. Not all prefacelift E46's beat the tax, either - Y, 51, 02, 52 and 03 plate prefacelift E46 Coupes are all hit by the morontax.
 
Yes, there are no affected 328Ci's.

One issue with the 328Ci is there was a single trim level - 328Ci. There was no Sport model, so you don't get the Sport bodykit etc. Many of them have Sports seats, and they all have M-Tech suspension, but you can't buy an actual 328Ci Sport, because they never did one.
 
Can you retrofit the sport bodykit if I was that way inclined? (i.e does the facelift one fit)

So, if i'm looking for one - they all have the suspension and some have the seats. Anything else to look for?
 
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Yes you can retrofit the bodykit if you want. They all have the worst steering wheel known to man and most of them have chrome around the windows.

Oh and they have an almighty great design flaw in the rear subframe where it corrodes away and falls off. BMW will fix it for free though.
 
If you're wanting something like a 330i sport then it's not really worth the hassle of buying a 328i and retrofitting everything. Even in the end you're still going to be ~40bhp down.
 
Does it work on the E46 though - I know it doesn't work on the E39 528i for packaging reasons but I've no idea if the E46 is the same.
 
Not sure, I wasn't under the impression that anything had changed between the late e36 328i and the e46 328i engine wise.

Never had reason to look into it though.
 
Hate said:
I wish to avoid the retardtax, which really limits the choice
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So you'd rather buy a lesser car, put a hell of a lot of work, time and money in to try and make it like one that you could have bought in the first place?
I've been down that route, been there, done it. It's always more beneficial to buy what you want in the first place.

You're not going to be able to retrofit everything. Even if you do, your resale value will be twisted and you're going to have to declare modifications on insurance.

read this for the changes between the years and models:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php?title=BMW_E46#Changes_throughout_the_E46_run

If you just want to run a 328 as it is then go ahead, you can get a cheap car. But what i'm trying to get across is that if you want a 330 sport but in a cheaper way, buying a 328 and making it into a 330 is going to cost you MORE
 
Qeffects said:
So you'd rather buy a lesser car, put a hell of a lot of work, time and money in to try and make it like one that you could have bought in the first place?
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I rather suspect the reason for his choice is that whatever budget he has in mind buys a GOOD 328 but not a good 330.

There is no denying that the 330Ci Sport is a better car than a 328Ci in every possible way. But where do you stop? Why buy a 330Ci Sport, why not just get an E46 M3? Why buy the E46 M3, you can get an E92 for only a bit more. Why get an E92 335i though, it's nearly E92 M3 money. But then for a bit more you can get an M6... etc.

That link you've posted applies to American market cars which had utterly different trim levels/specifications to the UK cars.
 
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