Herbmiester 909 Report post Posted November 30, 2015 I bought a 2003 330ci cheap and while it was basically sound it did have a few issues not the least was the worn suspension. As I drive a a very windy road twice a day (Whitemans Valley Upper Hutt) I have become somewhat enamoured with cars that corner well and after a few cars E60, STI XR6 turbo and a gaggle of E36's I think my E46 might be the best yet. Off the forums I bought some Ohlins coilovers and Eibach sway bars (27 f 21 r )and I have fitted offset Super Pro FCAB's for more castor. The rear bushes have not been done and I can feel a bit movement mid corner so I will do them next week. The front have strut tower reinforcement plates and the rear shocks have reinforcement plates on the top as well. I also have an Ultra racing strut tower brace. Wheels are Style 68's staggered with Pirelli PZero 225 45 17's on the front and Goodyear Eagle F1 245 40 17's on the rear. Ride height sees the rear tyres just on/under the lip of wheel arch, with the front being 15mm below the guard lip. As I got it the car was sloppy but you could tell the chassis had something to offer and compared to the E36's I much preferred the steering. When I fitted the Style 68's rear grip improved but the car now under steered a bit. THe Ohlins didn't change this but made control in the corners very reassuring, Medium sized bumps just get eaten up without deflecting the car and only really big bumps cause any issues. The ride is firm but perfectly acceptable for me. The damping was initially set in the middle of the range but on the back there is a little bit of bobbing so more rebound damping will be dialed in which is very easy on the Ohlins. The sway bars made a huge difference and I suspect that the rear bar being 21mm has helped tame some of the understeer. I would still like to get a little more front end grip so will look for a set of rear style 68s (8.5 inch) and run 245's all round, I am toying with removing the strut top locating tab to get a bit more camber and setting the toe at zero to help reduce the tyre wear that camber and toe create. All in all I can see why the E46 was such a benchmark for handling in its day and subjectively It feels a bit more connected than the E90 335i Msport I drove recently. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbmiester 909 Report post Posted November 30, 2015 I managed a good drive through the valley and at higher speeds the understeer is less noticeable, turn in is sharp and it's now very easy to place the car where you want it. Can't say enough about the Ohlins ability to keep the car on line over bumps, seriously good dampers. I am going to try running the front bar on the less aggressive setting which will effectively make it act like a smaller diameter bar. After discussing the non staggered setup with a chap on the US E46 forums I am keen to run an 245 setup on the front. He is an autocross competitor with a few titles and is a big believer in plenty of tyre up front. I checked my camber setting and I have 1.8 degrees up front so will leave it as is but look to go zero toe on the front as It should be quite stable with the extra caster it now has. The rear is setup as per factory M3 settings. I will look at this again when I change the RTAB's. The big change since the suspension, bush bar upgrade is just how easy it is to place on the road and how solid it is when actually in the corner. Its also surprising that even when you think you can't get the nose to tuck in any further it actually will especially at medium or above speeds with a bit of power down. Not bad considering the moderate power output of the M54. Both the the Pirellis and the Goodyears will be gone by the end of summer so will look at putting some money into decent replacement rubber. That being said grip on the Goodyears is ok but at least they seem progressive when they start letting go. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbmiester 909 Report post Posted December 1, 2015 Yes I take your point re the tyres but at only 245 up front it's not not like the 315's on the front of the new Mustang GT350r, plus I figure an increase in mechanical grip is a fair tradeoff for a possibly slightly slower feel. The e46 rack is already quite quick and more responsive than the rack in my e36. The Caster is 7.6 degrees, I think this is about the same as an M3. BTW my road is a lot like an Autocross circuit Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
