330Ci ZHP

[HarryB]

I respectfully disagree; they are hell of fast cars on straights, but weight shows quite a lot during cornering or braking. That being said, I would love something like that complementary to my NB.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Weight and brake management isn't something I really have to pay *that* much attention to on my previous Miatas. I drive most cars as momentum cars on the track, moving to a heavier, more powerful car is something I don't have a lot of experience with in that environment.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Long story short, I took the easy route. Picked up a low-mileage Estoril Blue 428i M-Sport in September and am happy with it so far. I wanted a smooth, quiet, comfortable daily driver that could accommodate my family for weekend adventures. The power folding hard top is great, it’s got plenty of power for me, the ZF8 makes it quick despite having “only” 240hp, it looks good.

I still think the E46 are great cars and love the sound of naturally aspirated inline-6. But I wanted something that was easy to live with. I’ve got the Miata and 3 motorcycles that all have needs, so I didn’t want to add an older BMW with needs to the To Do List. But I’m still really enjoying living vicariously through you and watching your build thread. Keep up the good work!

Does your plate end in 615? If yes I think I was next to you today on 85N heading out of downtown.

[— freedomgli —]

Does your plate end in 615? If yes I think I was next to you today on 85N heading out of downtown.

No. I’m in Northern Virginia so it must’ve been someone else with exceptional taste

Coincidentally, this afternoon I pulled up at a stoplight right next to a sweet looking BMW Z4 (E89) sDrive35is LCI in Estoril Blue. It was neat to compare and contrast. The Z4 obviously offers a more dynamic driving experience. But you can tell our cars were designed by the same people.

[— kung fu jesus —]

BMW has often produced some of my favorite shades of blue.

[— kung fu jesus —]

One of those 10 minute #detailsmatter jobs…

New side marker lights.



Old, UV-damaged on the left, minty fresh on the right



It’s been rainy, car is dirty, ceramic coating works like a champ though.

Old:

New:


The car has wheel locks. I hate wheel locks. Even though I have two keys, I don’t trust them to always work. I also don’t want to be searching for the key when I need it most, so I replaced them with new OE wheel bolts.

Wheel lock on left, key in front, OE bolt on the right.




A few ugga-duggas later, and some click-clicks on the torque wrench, job done!

[— kung fu jesus —]

70 degrees on 12/26, time to do some work.

Replaced the AC tensioner and belt this is literally a 20-30 minute job.

The pulley was definitely at EoL. I could hear it chatter sometimes at start up or shutdown.



Easy access after dropping the splash tray.



Loosen one 16mm bolt.



Put a t55 here and rotate clockwise to release tension on the belt to remove.



Finish removing the 16mm. New vs old below.



Belt was alright, but starting to show signs of cracking and glazing.





A few spritzes of brake clean to tidy the area.



Install new tensioner and belt.



Moved on to the fuel filter. This filter has the fuel pressure regulator built in. It is under the left side of the car, inboard of the structural rails, behind the front wheel a bit, under a protective metal cover.





For Alex:





I can tell it has been replaced by the clamps. I would have to look up when, but the fuel tank was replaced due to a recall in ‘08 IIRC, so maybe that’s when this was done. They didn’t replace the little connecting bits of fuel hose nor the vacuum line pig tail to the FPR. The vacuum line was very brittle. Fortunately, I had plenty in my tool chest to replace them. I also had replacement clamps too.








Not a lot a spillage. I capped the ends as I took the hoses off. Just worked cautiously and deliberately to prevent a fire.

Tidied everything up and reinstalled the cover.





Next up was the oil change. It’s a little early, but I wanted to take advantage of the weather. WIX XP oil filter and 7 quarts of 5w30 synthetic. I love the density of the filter material and number of pleats on these Wix XPs. Worth_it.



After that, a much needed wash and vacuum.



With the new coils, plugs, filters, oil, this engine definitely feels noticeably more responsive and stronger.

[— kung fu jesus —]

It dawned on me that a lot of these parts have the build date printed or stamped on them. The date on the new fuel filter reads 4/2021 for instance. I dug the old filter out and found 03/03/10, so it makes sense and coincides with records that came with the car.




I also dropped by a reputable BMW indie shop, Harrison Motorsports, to book rear subframe reinforcements for the unibody, AKG bushings, and a few odds and ends while the car is there. Goes under the knife 1/17.

[MaRcOp01o]

Hell yeah, love the BMW updates Steven.

It is surprisingly easy to work on!

[— kung fu jesus —]

A little more info on the repairs coming up I decided to have done.

The locations where the rear sub frame (RSF) mounts to the body is prone to cracking under hard use. I don't suspect mine has this issue, but I do intend to occasionally track the car. This is an inherent, known flaw to all the e46s. There are a lot of different methods to solve this, and as many different 'kits'. I'm going with a welded-in systems of plates.

You can see examples of the cracking here.

I will be using the Synchro Design Works kit and having it done professionally. It entails dropping the entire rear subframe, exhaust, diff, and fuel tank. This kit wraps around the problem areas more than others and uses thicker material. Some kits don't reinforce the area or spread the load out enough and the cracks can still happen.

subplatekitwebphoto_1024x1024.jpg

When completed, would look similar to this:

100335460005-BimmerWorld-E46-Rear-Subframe-Reinforcement-4-finished-lg.jpg

Additionally, all the bushings in the rear will be replaced:

AKF rear trailing arm bushings (with integrated lateral limiters)

RTAB369-650.jpg

AKG subframe bushings

SF469-650.jpg

AKG differential bushing

DM469x650.jpg

I will also have the shifter replaced with the factory short shifter, the mechanicals replaced too. A nice OEM+ upgrade.

K5Ialoz.jpg

523094_x600.jpg

And the flex disk (guibo) between the driveshaft and transmission will also be replaced.

[— kung fu jesus —]

New Year Day drive into the north Georgia mountains, wound up in Helen, GA.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

What a beautiful scene!

[— kung fu jesus —]

They have a German Alpine aesthetic. Maybe a little too much, but it’s interesting. Streets are Strasse (even on Google maps voice).

It’s about 75-90 minutes away taking 50/50 back roads and freeway.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Reminds me of Leavenworth, WA. https://leavenworth.org/webcams/. It is a neat little Bavarian town high up in the Cascade mountains about 120mi drive through the mountains from Seattle. One of my favorite drives.

1A0A623C-8FE5-4B8C-80A2-F2AEF2DF53B8.jpg

[— kung fu jesus —]

Small update, some further study combined with previous experience, I decided to go with OE rear trailing arm bushings instead of P/U. I have had enough suspensions where rotating P/U bushes have caused a lot of noise and required some re-lubricant to stay quiet.

Given the location and dynamics of this point, it seems like rubber would be the prudent way to go. I will be adding lateral limiters that go in either side of the bushings to reduce lateral deflection and dynamic toe.

Here is how this looks, the limiters are shown in white:




And look like this: