Leaderboard

15XXXX km, Orient Blue (LOVE the colour), Msport, ZF manual converted with 3.38 diff, Full M3 interior (with inflating side bolsters), drilled rotors , front and rear strut braces and M3 mirrors. I researched getting an E46 for months as I wanted something with an older school feel but still modern enough and reasonably reliable that I could keep for a while. The 330ci seemed perfect, as I've always loved the timeless look and the M54B30 has a great reputation and enough power for our twisty roads. Manual, RWD, NA straight six, great steering and 50/50 weight distribution - can't complain! My goal is to go for an OEM+ build and hopefully end up with one of the nicest Non Ms around. I've spent a lot of time and money getting it to a high standard with OE / OEM parts: Maintenance / Performance Oil and filter / Plugs / Diff and Tranny fluid New intake boots, DISA O ring and MAF clean New waterpump / thermostat / radiator hoses / expansion tank / belts and pulleys Short ram air intake, fully heat shielded and ducted from kidney grilles Valve cover gasket & oil filter housing gasket Vanos seals & Oil line Fuel filter All new tensioners and pulleys Poly steering coupler Supersprint axle back and secondary cat delete CABs / new shock and strut mounts with front reinforcement plates Front and rear tower braces (ARC) E46 M3 front 26mm sway bar / E46 Msport Vert 20mm rear bar, new bushings and adjustable end links (upgrade from 23mm/18mm bars) ST XA Coilovers (Same spec as KW V2) - height and damping adjustable New Lemforder Tierods and boots Remap - throttle response / power (probably not) / subtle burble Fully certed for manual swap, coilovers and all mods (inc driveshaft hoops) Exterior Paintless dent removal Bonnet, side skirts and door respray Stage 2 paint correction and regular waxing M3 mirrors Euro personalised plates - 'NZ E46' ESR SR01 18x8.5 ET30 and Hankook Ventus V12 235/40/18 New headlight lenses / New clear corners / rear LCI boot lights / Dual slat front grille Boot and mirrors resprayed for cosmetic reasons New OEM front bumper colour matched Interior Fully refurbed and re-coloured M3 Nappa leather to BMW Caramel Piano black trims Armrest delete and refinished interior plastics Re-wrapped steering wheel and refinished trim - highly recommended! Billetworkz shift knob (450grams!) and clutch stop, matching handbrake handle Alcantara custom stitch shift and handbrake boots Factory style touchscreen with wireless Apple Carplay - looks OEM but with 2021 functionality Front JBL components, Pioneer amplifier and 12" sub Both front Airbag recalls done To do list $$$ IR to RF key conversion Engine mounts? Diff bushings?

I think this thread needs more spice the Z3 m coupe is hideous and should never have been built the e46 m3 is overrated and slow SMG is a manual the bmw 1m is a real M car

Lets not forget those prices were at a CHARITY auction at the biggest auction house for cars. BARRETT JACKSON, they were also cars owned by a FAMOUS actor (c grade) so those conditions add up to make for unique circumstances. Lets see those LTWs sell for 200k+ each at a small auction house, not a charity and owned by Joe Blogs.

I've done somthing similar outside. https://v.redd.it/dfz0kxoah5c41

I've often thought Dave that shooting from the hip, as you tend to do, displays a certain arrogant ignorance. Your post above removes any doubt.

"He was pretty crook. The airbag went off in his face" -TAKATA

Speaking of which: Imola GT Evo - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164042375144

As Dave said. No they don't. Better interior... no it doesn't. Even comparing a LTW to a stock rest of world spec M3 the real M3 still has a better power to weight ratio of 5.1kg per HP compared to 5.5kg per HP of the LTW. The Evo just blows it out of the water whilst listening to music with the Air Con going. It's just a Homologation car built to suite the Americans based on their "M3". They have no relevance outside of the US. The rest of world version of this car which is far superior is the M3 GT (356) or the incredibly rare M3-R from Aussie (15).

You can get them for under 1500 if importing your self. I bought a v8 one in for just under 1k.

The only things particularly special about the LTW are the limited numbers and the aero kit. Brakes are stock, I don't even think the LTW got floating rotors, the suspension is stock Euro M3, the interior is meh, and doesn't include Vaders which are an iconic e36 M3 essential, the oil pan is stock M3 euro, the fuel pumps are stock M3 euro. Most importantly it doesn't have a proper M3 engine... 3" intake, no ITB's, smaller injectors, weaker bottom end, non-forged pistons, etc, etc. Compared to the US M3 the LTW is good. Compared to anything else it pales. Sure, there are only ~125 so for that fact alone they're rare and (apparently) more valuable but as a car? Nothing special. I'd take the $38k Euro over a proper LTW any day of the week. But I also wouldn't pay $38k for the Euro, that's a stupid asking price, especially given the miles on the thing.

You keyboard warriors are missing the point about the LTW cars. Factory build race cars, quite a different kettle of fish from the basic S50 or US spec S52 M3. The US spec S50 series engines whilst producing less HP, do produce far more torque, and HP all the way up to the 7800 rev limit, and have superior suspension, bigger brakes et al. And pushing less weight, better interior, no a/c or sunroof (althought a couple had the roof) And as for the constant risible comments about the white M3 with the flags and hi riser wing, its a pretty mint car and goes like stink. Alpine white, germany's racing colours. How often have you seen a white E36M3? The price is negotiable, instead of bagging the car (and owner) if your in the market for such a car, go and see it, then make educated comments. The techno violet convertible sold a couple of weeks ago for relatively strong money too, willing buyer seller scenario, what's more there is a bit of value left in the car for the purchaser as well, so win win. NB:No affiliation with either of these cars

I bought mine from ATS Performance but you could also try mike at euro turbo. Ahhh those LCAB should work, but the SRS ones def work as i used them on my 5 stud conversion. M3 wheels do look good on it. fit well.

You can buy brackets from someone here in NZ that bolt direct to E30 rails, as those NZKW rails you will have to mount the seat belt buckles to the body as they are not certifiable being bolted to those frames. Also still looks like you need A LOT of caster adjusted on your front suspension, definitely wont pass a cert like that. with a lot smaller Tyre those 66's would have fitted. Looks like you are making great progress but would definitely look into SRS caster Lower control arm bushes

0w80

What’s the best oil to use?

The m3 LTW was a great marketing campaign for the e36 330i poverty spec.

The euro spec evo right? Lol

And the e36 M3 is the best M3 ever built!

Whats with all the newbies on the forum coming in guns blazing? Theres about three of them in the past week or so. Is it the same person with different logins? There was that one the other day about the 1M too. E: Lol, didnt even read the post directly above about those two being the same person.

Never mentioned my "scale of value" and we are all entitled to share opinions on this and other forums without such one eyed hair splitting bigotry as you are capable of displaying , and have done so yet again today. The market held the floor during the these auctions and prices were obtained that you with your expertise and comment seem to think were unworthy, and not realistic. Well be that as it may, those prices (not including buyers premiums) were achieved, so tilt away at that. Enjoy my cars, BMW included, and been lucky enough to own some of the best cars in the world, even more, enjoy a vigorous dialogue, from you it can become a diatribe, keep it coming.

Any updates?

Car is all back together, have had a short drive, all good, but running rough, just as if it is running on 6 or 7 cylinders. Have it booked in for diagnostic scan next week

Shots fiiiiired!

So this arrived today, an OEM storage pocket to replace the front ashtray because these things have poor (accessible) storage compared to an e36 which is what I'm used to. About 2 hours after ordering it I found out that you can actually use an e9x compartment and keep the ashtray cover. I think that would look better but may compromise the capacity. I'll probably install this one and see how I feel before committing to more money. Because I'm replacing the ashtray it does mean I can try and install lighting and a USB power socket in the tray pictured... a project for the long weekend perhaps...

Oh, for some reason I thought it was an actual manual @3pedals

Ahh, so that's why you need to use jack stands instead of the jack!

"he has enough cars" --- so he would not be interested in my e46 M3 Touring Tribute as a part-payment / trade in??? No?? Pity..........

Interesting discussion. The market spoke on the US lightweight cars, and there were plenty of bidders, so that's where they are in Jan 2020, keenly sought after. And its not like they were isolated sales, normally so many of the same thing on the market at the same time would lead to a slump in hammer price, especially near the end of the item lots, but not so with these vehicles. So obviously of more interest than your ordinary common garden variety 3 or 3.2 litre E36 M3. Remember this chassis was chassis of the decade (1990's) in the US, and has a strong following there. As to the pros and cons of handling and performance, from behind the wheel I doubt if any of us could differentiate between any of the models being discussed using the "seat of the pants" method. Have driven two of the Aus Frank Gardner built cars, no 15 and more recently Nov 18, no 11. Would own one in a heartbeat, if the wallet allowed.

The head-units from Ali Express. A store called Astrowind. I did a lot of looking before i took the plunge. My experience has been mainly positive. I think because i had no Nav or iDrive originally, just a Jap Panasonic Strada, it had less install issues but i'm noticing some limitations/bugs as time is going on. Example - You must have the music app opened first and it set to aux before you put the radio on or any phone call or voice directions will not come out of the left speaker. I still prefer it to replacing the radio with a 7" screen.

Yeah, I've seen it. There's nothing I have seen that says it's worth that much. NO e36 M3 is worth that much unless it has delivery miles only on it. Period. If you slow down a little you'll see that I've acknowledge LTW's are "more valuable" but that does NOT make it great car.

Have you seen it? And the market is telling you what the LTW cars are worth, why don't you listen and observe before hitting the keyboard?

Hang on, the $38k e36 3.0? If so, are you saying it was $38k with a "fair amount" of interior work needing doing? ? And you know the owner? And you're letting them market it for $38k? ? What am I missing?

'Just decals slapped on' cheapens our work a little don't you think ? Yes it's still for sale. Pretty good example too, this has since had a fair amount of interior restoration work completed. Might put this on my stand at Concours next month if you'd like to see it in person.

I got mine for $700. Cut the bellhousing up to fit my M30. They are not that expensive.

$8-10k for an engine rebuild? $1500 to tidy up the interior? What condition is the gearbox in? Then you have a 400,000 km M3? Worth $15k? Plus hassle, so $2k?

That's a tough one. Without the S50 it's worth similar value to me (a tight a$$) as say, a 328i or 325i roller - as essentially the engine sounds like junk. Rack and suspension work, meh, wouldn't expect to recover anything on those. Gearbox might be worth a grand? I'm sure the usual vendors could squeeze it for lots. I won't insult with my figure. ?

Same guy posting as willy sea. But one opinion. Do have a soft spot for the E36 M. Moreso if it were white, and as you see from the Bandit's sig , neither of the E36 are.

Disagree. Inferior M3. What part of superior performance and handling do you not understand. Read and study the comments of the guys who have owned and driven / raced one. Nothing wrong with my knowledge base either, its built up on nigh 50 years of sports and performance car ownership across multiple brand platforms.