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I've been trying to chase an annoying rattle coming from the engine bay when giving it some jandal since I bought this car in 2015. I had literally been through everything I could think of including opening up the engine, checking timing, bleeding lifters, compression test etc etc. It turn out the rattle was coming from loose exhaust manifold nuts FFS. lol. Of the 4 nuts i could access on bank 1, 2 were quite loose, and one wasn't even finger tight. I still need to check the other 4 nuts but for now the rattle has completely gone. This is a very good example of troubleshooting from the most complex and expensive part first and working your way back to the easiest and cheapest, which is very wrong. I feel like a F*cking plonker, but at the same time I'm very happy!

My grille is bigger than your grille

Plonker...

At the point where you can properly afford a 2.8 swap or a decent supercharger setup, I would personally just buy another BMW with a factory 2.5 or a 2.8 as a fun/project car, and keep the 320i as a reliable daily. Easier and cheaper to start with a more suited car from the start, otherwise things will get expensive quickly. Your wallet will thank you if the 320i stays a stock daily with the way fuel prices are going anyway. @KwS summarised it well with the pick two analogy, there will always be compromise, and if the 320i is your only car, one of the choices must be for it to be reliable and useable.

Swapping in a 2.8 is going to be WAY cheaper than any supercharger... but as above. Just drive it and pay the bills.

Trying to boost it either way (turbo or super charger) is going to be expensive to do it badly, and very expensive to do it properly. If its your daily driver then time off the road for dicking around with the build and / or issues down the track would also be something to think pretty hard about. Best advice with my sensible old man pants on would be to work on that debt you have and enjoy the car for what it is until you are in a better position to FULLY plan and cost out the build before picking up a spanner.

Hi everyone, I can't for the life of me remember my old login details so I've created a new account to start fresh! Long story short - had a stint living over in Europe/UK, came back to NZ and have gotten my mitts on another E36. I won't ruin this one with flouro wheels, sticker bombs and rusty bonnets though, went for more of an OEM(ish) build over the last 6 months. She's in for cert with Paul next week, so will be 100% more legal than the last one. Meet, Delilah: OEM+ updates: ✅ M Sport exterior. IE: bumpers and twisty sideskirts, side trim, and clears ✅ Style 66 wheels (E39 offset) ✅ 5 speed ZF manual conversion ✅ M3 3.2 clutch + flywheel ✅ ZHP shift knob ✅ E46 purple tag steering rack ✅ Headliner retrimmed in M Rain ✅ Woodgrain trim updated to black/grey to match dash ✅ Antenna and airbox baffle delete Non OEM updates: ✅ CUPHOLDERS (3D printed so technically not OEM) ✅ Fancywide rear diffuser ✅ Height + camber adjustable coilovers ✅ LED flasher bulbs Few things I'm after, I'll make a WTB post also but if you have any of these spare pls give me a buzz! M50 intake/aux thermostat. P/N: 13541730682 6cyl rear exhaust section inc free flowing back box. Eg: Supersprint, Remus, Borla, Magnaflow etc. E36 coupe roof racks or any bike transport solution. Any cheap subwoofer solutions floating about? Under seat preferred but will consider trunk option also. E36 glovebox torch(es), white coloured. P/n 82119413147 Vader restoration - have priced up skins from a few outfits overseas, but keen to hear from anyone that's restored Vaders locally in NZ. LSD, any options considered

So I will be modifying our drive way and garage floor to create enough clearance to get non-SUV vehicles (namely the E46 project car) in and out, just like regular people do. To model this correctly, and ultimately make plywood forms for the concrete folks I need to know in the real world what sort of clearance I need to generate ... no can do with mine as its still on stands and will be for a while yet. Does anybody have an E46 which has been lowered to a 'good looking' but practical level say who could check the minimum ground clearance for me ? Even stock height is a good starting point (I simply minus 40mm say) ... my current model is working with 100mm but the bimmers do tend to sit fairly low so am keen to get some real world numbers. Getting this work done and then finding it still scrapes would be super sub optimal

You're right..900 usd is a lot more than I thought they would be. Fortunately the later model part tend not to fail. It's the earlier runs that had a design flaw. Sounds like you got a good deal and glad it's all sorted.

Sold it for much less than the asking price of the one in your link unforunately. I think its crazy good value these cars honestly, I would happily recommend it to anyone who was in the market for a hot hatch that does almost everything from daily, weekend, carry lots of things in the back, and still has 4 doors and seats. feel free to PM me or ask on here if you have any questions.

I think it has some way to go to the floor since M3's and M5's typically dip below 20k before they recover, as difficult as that is to believe.

Another slow period of progress here, but have got some odd bits moving: 3D printed a mock up of the 180° -16 fitting I will need for the dry sump pump to tank connection. Should work well. Ordered some sweet sweet new parts from Speed Science Chase Bays tucked radiator, coolant overflow, washer reservoir, oil catch canm power steering cooler and AN fitting spanners Adrenalinr resonator, muffler and bellows plus some hard to find in NZ 2.25" stainless tube Making a new (proper) 3D printing enclosure with heating element and safety features controlled by Arduino Trying to get the Peterson 2 gallon dry sump tank and brackets also but might be a few more weeks for that one ... once I have that and the radiator etc arrives I can start to lay everything out !! Bit of a shame but I will have to mount the oil tank and electric power steering pump in front of the front struts ... without going full race car and having the tank in the boot its about all I can do. Here is my printer cabinet in progress and 750W heating element ...

It’s a lot of fun to drive Im always making excuses to go for a quick test drive……… Standard FJ box at the moment but I have a 5 speed ZF that really needs to go in soon I am looking at some adapters from pmc Motorsport and also considering making one , Its more like the kiwi way! Anything FJ is thin on the ground these days It seems like some e30 bits are getting that way too Off for a cert check tomorrow, See what sort of list I get👍

I need help wit finding a supercharger kit for my e36 320i I see some kits for 2.5 and 2.8 but no 2L I’m just a 17 year old tryna build his dream build I was gonna go wit turbo but it’s so expensive I went for a 2.8 swap and it’s just so expensive so imma stay wit my m50b20tu engine and try to boost it any ideas or anyone who has done a supercharge install for there 320i pls I need help I’m short on knowledge and money been working trying to save to build it but I got bills to pay and money depth that isn’t mine but I have no choice to pay could really need a hand pls

My initial total toe after changing to my M3 arms was nearly 18mm 😂😂. I was complimented for getting both sides to 8.8 and 8.7mm though. I put the tie rods back to exactly the thread they were on with the stock arms..so presumably that 18mm change is down to the longer control arms... The extra stiffness and super responsive turn in with the new arms feels amazing. I had felt that it was the rear that felt loose powering around a roundabout (at or below 50km/h of course) was slightly loose but that feeling has gone away with the front arms (which I don't fully understand). Down side is it makes one feel *very* adventurous and there is strong urge not to step the back end out given how planted the front feels. Awesome shop. Top marks for sure, this is a place that knows their stuff, regular priced too , sure you can save $20 going elsewhere but my experience with many places is you're rolling the dice.

Inb4 2.8 swap because cheap supercharger "build" blew the 2.0 up. The age old saying stands true; Fast, cheap or reliable. Pick two.

I wasn't sure that the charging time was correct, so I double checked with the fact sheet. iX Charging.pdf The 54 hour charging time is only when using the 3-pin contingency charger, which you would only really do if you were stuck somewhere away from home or a charging network. Using a wall-box charger on single phase you can get 7.4kw supplied to the car (just under 30 amps) which is a more realistic time - as tbh if you have an EV like this you need a home or office wallbox to charge from, without the need to add in 3-phase power. It is possible to open the bonnet, but this is intentionally restricted as you don't really want people poking around in a high voltage area if they don't know what they are doing.

Hey team, My 135i is up for sale on trademe. Pristine condition! First NZ owner. Sitting at about 94k. After 23.8k. Will do near offers for bimmersport members! Wellington based https://www.trademe.co.nz/3515001032

After the above if anyone has one of these or knows of any. Drive way-1 M3-0