Karter16

Yeah I'm very happy with it, half the weight of the original and won't disintegrate like the original. I got it from EMIAuto (because I was buying a bunch of stuff and they were cheapest overall). It was 111 Euro. Shipping is expensive because it's bulky so I took the opportunity to order a bunch of other stuff that fit in the box.

My order from EMIAuto arrived earlier in the week after a bit of a delay at Customs (turns out if you read the invoice properly and pay the correct amount it tends to speed things along). The most exciting thing in this package is the sound insulation for under the rear seat. As I mentioned previously this is a newer item that at some point BMW has used to replace the original butyl item that came from the factory. I've been looking forward to receiving this to see what it's like and to check fitment. It does not disappoint! It's a nicely made piece, it's a soft felt on the outside with firmer layers inside to hold the shape, with the sound material in the core. I haven't got the scales out yet but its weight feels to align with what RealOEM quote. As you can see in the photo it comes with cutout flaps for accessing the fuel pumps. Nicely the cutouts aren't quite complete so there's some little tabs that hold it all in one piece, that you can easily cut with a knife if you need to access the fuel pumps. I haven't done a full fitting yet, but I did have time the other day to do a quick check, and it looks to fit well. The only thing I wasn't able to completely validate without removing the rear seats completely was whether the isofix fittings fit through the existing cutouts. I'll check this when I have some time to get everything out of the rear bench. The other exciting parts of the package were the bits and pieces that I needed to install the CSL centre console that picked up a couple of months ago. I had some time yesterday in between renovations and plastering and got to work removing the existing centre console. Step 1 being to remove the driver's seat. Removing the centre console is straightforward, you just have to remove enough of the trim pieces and inserts to get to the screws holding the rear of the console down. My console had, at some point, been leather wrapped, and whoever did it actually did a nice job of it, it looks and feels good and is much better that what I imagine the soft-touch plastic would look like by now. The flip side to this is that some of the inserts were a bit difficult to remove due to the extra thickness of the leather. On the inside of the console there is also a fair amount of over-spray of the adhesive that they used to affix the leather (not that this affects the end result). Once the gear selector trim is lifted and unscrewed as well, lifting up the handbrake boot means you can then remove the trim at the back of the console and then lift the whole thing up and over the arm rest. This then means you can access the bolts for the arm rest. Once the three bolts are removed (being careful not to lose the metal collars which are loose) the arm rest can be removed. I took this opportunity to then give the whole thing a good vacuum. The module resting on the carpet is the "genuine bluetooth module" which, given I don't use it, I took the opportunity to remove it and wrap up it, and the connector for the rear ashtray light in the soft wrap that the phone wiring is wrapped in. At the same time I installed the new bracket for the CSL/arm rest delete console. With this done I was able to get on to the exciting bit of fitting the console! Prior to this, and not photographed, I took the mirror control and hazard light switch units and spent some time going over them with some wet cotton buds to clean them up and get all the dust and grime out of them that tends to accumulate over time. The other thing that I needed to do as part of fitting the console was make some space for the depth of the hazard light switch by depressing the carpet underneath it. If you don't do this the carpet will offer too much resistance and pop the hazard light switch back out again. With the console in place the next thing was to replace the gear selector trim with the new titan shadow trim I ordered. The car was originally spec'd with this, and at some point it has been replaced with silver trim, which is in excellent condition and very nice, but I wanted to go back to the original colour. While I was doing this I gave the window controls the same cotton bud treatment. It was at this juncture that I discovered that what I thought was a spec of cola on one of the buttons does in fact appear to be collateral damage from when the contents of the rear view mirror leaked out (prior to my ownership). This is a shame as it is corrosive and can't be cleaned off the switch, so I'll need to order a replacement. Fortunately it has only affected one of the two switch units. Once that was done I was able to reinstall the trim. Almost done! Last thing for the console was the installation of the new boot. This is straightforward, just use the factory procedure of cable tying it on and then fit it in place! The last work for the day was to replace the 3 other dash trim pieces. This is easy if you have a set of trim removal tools and in no time I was done and had the driver's seat back in. I'm very happy with the end result. The CSL console very much suits the seats. I have a couple of things left to do to finish that particular project entirely. 1: The mirror control switch currently isn't wired in. With everything that I do with this car I want to make it easily reversible (why I don't know as I intend to keep the car for a long time) so rather than just hacking the existing wiring I'm working on building an extension harness to extend the wiring from it's current location in the driver's door back to the centre console. I wanted to actually move the console and check the mirror control switch before I ordered the parts for this side quest. 2: I need to order some foam-backed 9002 Alcantara to manufacture a copy of the OE tray-insert in the centre console (since these are NLA). Speaking of NLA, the titan shadow trim I ordered was manufactured in late 2004! Which is interesting and really highlights that with these cars now being 20 years old, when the spare parts run out a lot of these sorts of projects are going to become astronomically more difficult. Anyway, a good little project for a Saturday. When I get the time, Christmas probably, I'll get into the next steps on sorting out the rear seat!

If you end up wanting a more "out of the box" option check out the likes of: https://venoxy.com/695-e46. They do customs as well as the standard options on their website.

I wish prices for M parts would also tank hard. 😵

Quick update - today the replacement auto-dimming mirror glass for the rear view mirror arrived. I've been meaning to get this sorted since I bought the car in 2015!!! I also received notification over the weekend that the shipment of parts I'm waiting on is with NZ Customs, so just waiting for them to send me the bill and then it will be cleared for delivery. I'm particularly looking forward to getting the rear seat sound insulation and the bracket and handbrake boot for the centre console!

“I don’t need a professional, I’ll just do it myself” what they did:

It’s expired certificate time again admins 🙂

ah lucky you! right on your doorstep!

The Coromandel coast road is a great drive when there's not too much traffic. I like to pair it with Kawakawa Bay to Miranda road if I have time - that road really suits the E46 M3.

It’s to reduce noise coming into the cabin through the rear seat. The seat itself actually does a lot of this. You can certainly just remove it and have the seat on bare, that’s how I’ve been driving round the last few weeks. So not strictly necessary for sure.

Well doesn't time fly when you have children and a busy job! Since my last post I've spend a lot of time with children in hospital and busy with a major go-live at work. I have however managed to drive the car a number of times and enjoy the CSL seats. They make such a difference to the driving experience, you feel so much more connected to the road, held in place, and also means a noticeably quieter interior as they don't move or squeak at all. I've also been working on furthering the refresh of the interior. To this end I dropped by M3_Power's the other day and picked up this: It's a slippery slope.... The quality of the console is amazing, and I was surprised how lightweight it is (which I shouldn't have been given its carbon fibre). Replacing the standard console with this one gives me multiple benefits. Firstly of course it's awesome, secondly it will be nice to not have my elbow bumping into it, thirdly it gives me the opportunity to properly pull the standard one apart and rebuild it without the squeaks (I purchased a number of replacement parts for it some time ago, so will be able to get to work on it once I've swapped it out). I have an order coming for the other bits and pieces I need for the console-swap (mounting bracket, handbrake boot, etc.), so actually swapping it in will probably be a Christmas holidays job. The other thing I picked up from M3_Power was this: The MSport interior (G7AT) uses the same Laser cloth centres as the CSL seats, and the bolsters are Alcantara. The Alcantara is very close in colour to the Amaretta that comes on the CSL seats, it's a couple of shades different, but close enough that you can't tell unless you put them side by side. This is great for me as it means I can put my black leather rear seat into storage along with the fronts to keep them in good condition and can have rears in the car that pretty much match the CSL fronts. I need to give these seats a clean, but also before they go in the car I have a few other things to do. Under the rear seat is a butyl-like sound deadening insulation. As we know this goes brittle over time. I removed mine intending to replace it, but when I looked up the part number to replace it I encountered something interesting. The part number on what I removed is 51488204055 and is indeed the butyl-style item. Checking on realoem, etc. however this part is not listed as ever having been spec'd to the M3, only to the standard 3 series! As we know realoem isn't infallible, so likely what has happened is that it was used from the factory and then superseded at a later time, and realoem isn't showing the history. I intend to dig into it in more detail when I get a chance. The item that realoem lists (51488252759) is a newer woolly type item as used on newer BMWs. It's very lovely and it looks like this: Although it's not the original item, it should be better in every respect, will last better, weighs less than half as much, etc. So I decided to go ahead and order it. It's on it's way and again will hopefully be here in time for the Christmas break. The other thing I need to do with the rear seat out is remove the access covers for the fuel pumps, strip them and repaint them, as they are rusting along one edge where moisture has presumably come down through the seat. At the same time I'll strip and repaint the ISOFix anchors as well. Once all that's done then I'll put the new to me rear seat in. In the same order I've ordered a bunch of other bits and pieces, notably including Titan Shadow dash trim to replace my silver set. I've also ordered some BM-3109 fabric to have a go at redoing the A/B/C pillars. I object to the current price of new ones, and also many people have had trouble recently with the fabric not matching on new items from BMW, so I'll go the DIY route first. If it's not successful (e.g. if I'm not skilled enough at upholstery) then I'll stump up the cash. Oh and I finally ordered a replacement ISOFix cover which was actually the very first part I put on my "parts to purchase" spreadsheet back in 2015! Anyway - lots of bits and pieces on the go, hopefully everything arrives in time for the Christmas break, when I will hopefully have some time here and there to apply some of the increasing pile of parts to the car 🙂

My goodness - the plate history on that car is dizzying Plate Effective Date CKE614 22-Dec-2004 MMMPWR 09-Oct-2004 CDC836 02-Jul-2004 DDGDD 30-Apr-2004 BTT129 30-Jan-2004 E46M3 13-Jan-2004 BSW377 05-Jan-2004

a boy-racer'd silver E90 on Quay St this evening. The burble and pop tune was so over the top that the car sounded like a truck jake braking every time he lifted off the gas 🤦‍♂️

A lovely silver E39 on Glenfield Road this evening. Came up behind it and was admiring it as I drove past. The driver then caught up with me to complement my car. Such beautiful cars!

Good stuff! Glad it’s going to someone on here!!