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E30_318is

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This is my latest project, a E46 M3:

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It has major history with Redish Motorsport who looked after it for the previous owner (12k in receipts!) but most of the suspension was still original, so it drove like crap.

A re-bush quickly spiralled into an underside restoration...

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Every bush, arm, bearing, pipe/hose & nearly every fixing is new. Struts, springs etc too. The car practically drives like new now, I don't think there are any "consumable" bits on the car left to change. It doesn't look much different on the outside to when I originally bought it, but it behaves like an entirely different car now.

Some tasty upgrades along the way - trying to keep it OEM+, only using bits off other BMWs.

Modern 4 pots off an M140i/240i (same 4x40mm Brembos off an F80 M3, but smaller discs to fit under factory 18"s)

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The engines had a bit of preventative work - road bearings, VANOS, chain etc.

I won't document everything here, but I have a build thread here, covering all I'm doing & associated costs:


Also have another project 3er, an E30:

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That's on the back burner whilst the M3 steals all my money & time..
 
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I got an E46 330CI sport 2004 I’ve had from new. It’s an individual in brass ( candy pearl/ green over bronze ) At one point I worked as a contractor at a BMW dealership, they had an E46 M3 six months older than mine, it had been the press car and had all the extras you can imagine, I came so close to trading in. I’ve a great picture of mine at one of my fishing spots on Anglesey when it was about six months older, a great picture, I’ll try and get it on my phone from my PC and post it 👍
 
Yep, but nowhere near that serious.

F21 M135i here, few modest upgrades, mainly internal cosmetics, as original owner had done a lot of factory and dealer fit options.

One of the first things I did though was fit a M-Performance limited slip differential, as I hated the way that the traction control braked one of the rear wheels on the three 5 series diesel touring I had previously, so I knew a big increase of power and torque on a lighter car was going to irritate me, and wear out the traction light on the dash.

Speaking of projects, paging @Fixedwheelnut
🙃
 
fixedwheel said:
Yep, but nowhere near that serious.

F21 M135i here, few modest upgrades, mainly internal cosmetics, as original owner had done a lot of factory and dealer fit options.

One of the first things I did though was fit a M-Performance limited slip differential, as I hated the way that the traction control braked one of the rear wheels on the three 5 series diesel touring I had previously, so I knew a big increase of power and torque on a lighter car was going to irritate me, and wear out the traction light on the dash.

Speaking of projects, paging @Fixedwheelnut
🙃
Click to expand...

The MP diffs make a massive difference on the M lites. I don't think BMW specced them as standard as it significantly closes the gap between M lites and the full fat Ms in the way they put the power down. Agreed that they are pretty much mandatory if you're going to drive one as intended, nice that you can retain the warranty too.
 
E30_318is said:
The MP diffs make a massive difference on the M lites. I don't think BMW specced them as standard as it significantly closes the gap between M lites and the full fat Ms in the way they put the power down. Agreed that they are pretty much mandatory if you're going to drive one as intended.
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Yep, and agree that it was probably a marketing decision not to put one in as standard.

Other thing I bought was another set of standard wheels. The OEM PSS* are rubbish in cold or damp, and lethal with standing water, so I use CrossClimates as my winters, and last autumn got set of the new CrossClimate Sports, which have ben fab for mixed conditions.
 
fixedwheel said:
Yep, and agree that it was probably a marketing decision not to put one in as standard.

Other thing I bought was another set of standard wheels. The OEM PSS* are rubbish in cold or damp, and lethal with standing water, so I use CrossClimates as my winters, and last autumn got set of the new CrossClimate Sports, which have ben fab for mixed conditions.
Click to expand...

I have PS4s on the E46, but they're from 2019/2020 - prev owner only did 100 mile a year! Weighing up giving Sport Contact 7s a go when they're due.
 
fixedwheel said:
Those wheels and tyres look way too small for an E60, and way too far inside the arches.
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Yes, you probably correct on both counts, but he doesn't listen to me.

A few months back he rang me stating that the car wouldn't start and that he suspects the starter motor had packed up, I asked how he could be so sure and he said that he had been on a BMW forum, explained his issue and was assured by the "knowledgeable" folk there that it was the starter motor. I arranged for him to pick up a replacement from his local Halfords but he then decided that it might be the alternator so I had to cancel the starter motor. I went to see him to assess the issue for my self and it turned out that due to the lack of fuel in the tank and the route the fuel feed takes from the tank to the fuel pump that there wasn't enough level to feed the pump, so the engine died and he sat there cranking it over and killed the battery. The solution was put some fuel in and jump start it, the car works fine... if you keep the fuel level up and not rely on every other Tom, Dick or Harry with a workshop manual!
 
fixedwheel said:
Yep, but nowhere near that serious.

F21 M135i here, few modest upgrades, mainly internal cosmetics, as original owner had done a lot of factory and dealer fit options.

One of the first things I did though was fit a M-Performance limited slip differential, as I hated the way that the traction control braked one of the rear wheels on the three 5 series diesel touring I had previously, so I knew a big increase of power and torque on a lighter car was going to irritate me, and wear out the traction light on the dash.

Speaking of projects, paging @Fixedwheelnut
🙃
Click to expand...
@E30_318is another E30 fan 🙌❤️ I was a BMW Senior tech for 25 years before leaving the trade to work on Trains 🙌
are you are member of E30Zone and E30ownersUK?
Here is my 335i M30 3.5 E30 Touring
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As for your E46 project contact Nick Jupp at E46 German Car Spares in Swanley, Kent he breaks E46 and posts worldwide
 
I've got a couple.
An E30 318i. This was my daily driver for 5 or 6 years, but is in need of some light restoration now, so is sat on the drive.
And a cheap and cheerful Z3 which is my current daily driver.
I almost bought a Z3M coupe about 10 years but ended up getting a Clio V6 instead 😂
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GTS_Dan said:
I've got a couple.
An E30 318i. This was my daily driver for 5 or 6 years, but is in need of some light restoration now, so is sat on the drive.
And a cheap and cheerful Z3 which is my current daily driver.
I almost bought a Z3M coupe about 10 years but ended up getting a Clio V6 instead 😂
View attachment 953426View attachment 953427
Click to expand...

Your E30 looks familiar - did you bring it to an AGF meet a few years ago?
 
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