red89mx

Trip to Dickos, two batteries + 3mins and all is well again - did not need to do any reprogramming. Once again ....ta for the input.

Ta Dudes Yeah noticed how close you had to be for the remote to work and if you were obstructed fronmt eh clown nose was difficult. Will get the new batteries and replace - simple enough. Was worried after reading all the key issues on the American BMW sites like E46 fanatics etc. At least with these keys do not have the big $$$ associated as per the rechargeable keys.

Yep It is the second style - are these re-chargable? Whilst mine is a bit manky....not as bad as the photo. Have uploaded own photo. Got adventurous and pulled the key apart, mine has two Panasonic CR2106 batteries on top of each other, seems to work better now that I have put it back together....although red led is very weak compared with other key. Any issues/tricks with swapping batteries ie do you need to do in < 30 seconds otherwise reinitialize? Looks like it is designed to be services with 1 x tab and 2 x phillips screws.

Hi All Have a 2 button E46 key that is having difficulty locking the car....does it sometimes other times easier to do manually. It seems to unlock fine ....LED is a bit dim compared with our other key which is sweet. Given that it locks 50/50 and unlocks 100% I am a little confused. Understand that the keys are recharged in use, is it possibly that the battery is nearly kaput. If so can they be replaced and have the key re-associated or is it the replacement $ 500 key scenario I have been reading about on the forum. This is a well used key (rubber a bit ratty) and looks like it has been the primary key since the car was new on 01. Look forward to your suggestions.

Bumper shocks gone

Not sure - but they are here in Plimmerton if you can find a use for them. Check out the part number on the earlier link or pose a question to some of the more experienced forum members. PM me if you want them.

Hi Sydwayz Cold be interested in the head unit if it had a CD - mine also has the MD and I cannot be bothered buying MD's (even tho brother in lay has MD recorder I can use).

F1's seem OK. Bit of noise on coarse chip (suspect this is no different to the previous). Have not had a chance to see how they track in heavy rain I suspect will not have the full story till I pony up and replace the unevenly worn contis from the front and have all 4 as F1's. Had a puncture last week, seems F1's not nail proof.......thankfully in the center and repairable. Gave the car a good workout over the Paekakareki hill the other weekend and was very composed......still thinking about suspension mods but other priorities have taken the $$$ recently. As a newbie on good performing tyres recommend you take good local guidance - I only got the F1's as priced the same as the RE001's I was looking at picking up. No science and until I try RE001's will not know if it was a good decision.

Thanks all Needed to make a decision and stop analyzing it to death. Had a chat to Johno (Mag&Tyre) very informative, thanks for the time. Had decided to go with the RE001's when the local tyre guy near work offered me the new Asymmetric Eagle F1's for the same price. Given that they seemed to be in the next class seemed a good deal, apologies to Johno - like supporting folk who share knowledge. 3pedals - quite possible the car has been in transport/storage for a period and had under inflated rears. Picked it up from Auckland as fresh import late last year B4 effects of dollar dive came through. Cracks primarily on outer rim of rears only, noticed then during a hoisted pre-purchase inspection and mentally tagged to replace at a convenient time.......should have been priority pre MP3 changer and towbar. Ordered b4 reading your comment on the Goodyears. Will see how they go, and if any significant negatives will post back. Thanks for the pointers - get shop to check suspension/rear alignment etc during process.

Thanks all - agree tyres are a personal preference, seeking NZ usage on E46 BMW. Suspect that as JiB identified most of the mid to top tyres will do the same job on the road. Have Toyo's on a 4x4 and am happy , but recently saw a full set of high end Toyo's trashed on a hard driven Celica GT4 within 12 months (mainly sidewalls and unrepairable punctures) so a little gun shy re their longevity. As a former motorcyclist, well respect the ability of grippy soft tyres to save my life...but with four on the road happy to trade a little grip for wear and or quietness. Would like 25k road life and aiming at a $250 -$350 range. Question - given the contisport fronts are still very good can they be retained if moving to a different set of rears, initial queries have the new contact2's in the $550 -$600 range each, seem a little steep based on reviews on this forum etc.

Thanks - in between posts doing some additional research. Noted the wheels data from 07 (http://wheelsmag.com.au/Tyre_Test/Wheels+2007+Tyre+Test.html?open&template=domWheels&pagenum=2) Goodyear Easgle P1 PR indicate they won overall in the 18" large rear wheel drive class - although looks quite a close run thing. What do you find better about them (Potanzas) than the Pirelli's? The continentals are meant to be good in the wet.....but during the heavy rains 3 weeks or so ago driving from Coramandel to Wellington - the 330 aqua planed a lot. Put it down to wide rubber and rubbish roads, never been so keen to see coarse chip as I was that afternoon.

Hi All Had a flat this morning on the E46 330i msport and whilst additional air seemed to do the job have taken the wheel off to for inspection (can now drive to a tyre shop for new tyres). I am running the standard msport rear setup of 245/40/17's. Removing the wheel I noticed tyre cracking (around the outside) that I had seen on pre-purchase inspection but conveniently forgot about for the past 3 months. See attached photo. Irrespective of any puncture/slow leak I assume that both rears will need replacing (both rears have the cracks - car was a fresh Jap import). Have read the car and driver 05 review courtesy of a forum link (http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/tires/tire_test_the_quick_and_the_tread_comparison_test/(page)/1) and noted reviews from owners of the Nexen, Toyo T1R and P Zeros. All existing tyres on the car are Continental ContiSport contact 2's, I note that these did well (only beaten by the Eagle F1's ) in the C&D review. Admittedly it was a performance orientated review and no comments were made re noise. Any reasons I should not continue with these? (note: have not priced them yet) Driving style - I like to push country corners when conditions and the co-pilot allow, otherwise mellow. Interested in experience/suggestions for replacement tyres.

Whew...a good response to the post. The E46 330i I drove was Napier based (understand a bloke from Auckland purchased as a first car for daughter........hope she appreciates it). The shocks and springs were done by the original Japanese owner. The Springs were H&R 29485 VA/HA and the sway bars were 24mm front and 19mm read (not sure if these are stock). Even though I did not get the car the seller was very helpful with info ( a nice 911 turbo and A8 in the garage indicated he had a serious passion for euro performance). Back to the orig topic - I enjoyed how the E46 330i went with a modest suspension upgrade, and whilst PSS9/10's would cover all my options they are too expensive in NZ and the NZD/USD has even priced them out for private import at the moment. Happy to spend $1,500 possibly 2k tops for this, have other toys (and a missus) that want their share of my $$$. But have parked the thought. Returning to the Bilstein SP's on trademe....would these be significantly firmer than the heavy duties? if so not that interested as this car needs to be a daily driver as well.

Hi All Whilst this forum seems to be heavily E30 dominated, wondering if there is some experience out there with E46 suspension upgrades. Prior to purchasing my E46 I test drove a 2001 m-sport 330i which had Bilstein HD shocks and H&R springs. I was very impressed with the handling and the way it absorbed bumps on the road....not too hard, and this was not a low mile car (140k). Unfortunately missed out getting the car during a trademe bidding war. My 01 330i M-sport has Sachs shocks and overall they are OK, but nowhere near as flat cornering as the Bilstein/H&R package. I am not that interested in lowering as the car already has some difficulty negotiating the road/driveway transition. In saying that the Bilsteins may force a 20 - 25mm height reduction? Like the thought of adjustable coil overs (PSS9's or 10's etc) but wallet does not extend that far. I see there is a set of Bilstien SP's on Trademe - am I right in assuming these are likely to be more track orientated than the HD's....http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=207416218 . look forward to the replies.

Thanks Hybrid Will look at this- have you purchased of these guys? Is there no way to adjust the auto-leveling system to get a little more height? As the light seems ok, just does not project far enough.

Ooops more info. See http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AN56 &mospid=47644&btnr=51_3306&hg=51&f g=15 item 3. Note: there is a distinct left and right. BMW part # is 1-0124-36-426-2

2 very good condition rear impact absorbers (bumper shock absorbers) from a 2001 E46 330i Msport. I have just had a towbar fitted and these get removed as part of the process.......they look in very good condition. This is an active recycling exercise - would like someone to use them rather than me bin them. Am down in Wellington - pref someone local - but could be prepared courier....trying to avoid too much hassle.

Ok guys will get further picture from inside engine bay (during daylight) and a shot of the beams on a garage door at night (need to find someone with a level drive). Overall the low beam is a nice "White" light....it just does not project far enough, seems as though I am out driving it. Admittedly my eyes are a bit dodgy after early 90's refractive surgery. But missus complains as well and uses the high beam plenty. Off topic - was about to sell off the Bavauto.com water pump (Part # : 11 51 1 744 243) that I had stashed away for the E36 328 and was pleasantly surprised to find it also fits the E46 330. Thanks for the replies.

Uploaded photos - getting dark by time I am home. Light is white. Hope they come out ok. Tried removing for shot of back, but effort only seemed to remove front cover , left for another day after I suss out how to remove. Notice car has warning sticker near driver side light under bonnet suggesting some danger from lights ....but then again whole world has gone PC mad. Jocen - good price on the E46 coupling. Was quoted over $500 for the BMW new part and > $200 for an after market relay. The Modulite should be circa $100 with freight (bringing 2 in - one for a mate with Pirus)

Happy to post some pics of the lights. Still new to forum and have not got email settings correct yet and need to find way to find my own post easily. Hence the late reply. Not sure when bulbs last replaced as only picked up Nov 08 as a fresh Jap import. Suspect no aftermarket bits as everything else seems standard. When the lights are turned on to dip (or park) there is a self leveling action and the park dispalys a reflected type of "Angel eye". Spent some time reading and reviewing posts/pics to determine that the low beam were likely to be projector Xeons. I note the Wikipedia headlamp section suggests a HID/Xeon service life is 2,000 hours (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp) that is quite a bit of night driving. This is my first E46, previously a 96 E36 328i but got sick of the creaking seats (tried all the posted fixes short of replacement with msport seats....and that was close) and the endless list of minor electrical fixups (Expecting the E46 to throw a few as well - see door actuators are on the common list). Generally enjoy the more fluid pickup and handling of the 330 Msport...pity the steering is a little over assisted for my liking. Just completed the Alpine MP3 CD changer conversion (using good instructions from http://m3.madrussian.net/diy_alpine.shtml)....and no I do not have an ipod but will investigate extending the soundgate link for ipod integration at a future time. Currently awaiting the arrival of a modulite 119186 from the US to create trailer wiring for the new bestbars towbar - hopefully cheaper than the local quotes I got. Suspect these are topics for other posts.

Just finished a 2,000 k North island trip in my 01 330i M-sport, much of this at night. The high beams are good and retina ripping on the reflective signs, BUT the Xeon low beam unit whilst a nice white do not give out enough light when cruising at 100 - 120km/h in rural/unlit areas. Is this normal? Anyone else notice this or just my eye's. Options to investigate.... - possibly the light cover (looks a little burred) or the Xeon lenses. Looking for suggestions. Cheers Alan