Neal

Just seen this video on another thread .😬 Cringe worthy

He did start with building the e46 / e39 connectors so worth an email. It might be possible that bmw carried the amp connector into the next models. Below is the harness / adapter btw , if looking at Morel check out parts-express. They sell the individual drivers with good discounts. Some models have great off axis response which is important on the drivers side speakers. https://www.parts-express.com/brand/morel/121

for minimising speaker and HU cabling have a look at technics bmw harnesses . The guy reverse engineered the quad lock connector that sits in the amp . So basically his connector has rca and speaker wire hanging off it which means you can fit a small form factor amp in its place with minimal wiring effort so you can leave the cabin alone.. If your up for class D then heat is of little worry and 60wx4 rms will only need 8 gauge power and earth makking the battery run easy. The bmw e46 has a good gauge of wire on the mid bass speakers so no need to add fav 12 /14 gauge ofc. Sub,. As part of your research in terms of space . iB subs have come back to fashion and require minimal room . But also consider running passive radiators as the boxes end up small and there is no port noise. As a consideration iIm looking in a boom box project for the daughter using a Tan Ban w5 sub. Basically it only needs 20cm cube and can play down to the high 30hz. Q can be changed a bit by adding washers to its passive radiators . https://toidsdiyaudio.com/2020/02/06/mini-earthquake-an-8-cube-of-bass/

Just doing a renewal on insurance for my E46 M3. It’s a 2002 SMG with almost every option and sits at 175k. It’s had BMW servicing since I brought i48k. Insurance company suggests $28k but I suspect it should be mid to high 30s What are others insuring theirE46 M3s for ?

Goodnight

I think you’d be right , more hp and torque form the later especially and far more refinement. Issue with a daily is that Id end up with an m3 , a Motorsport project and a track day motorcycle limited edition motorcycle and probably would have to make some hard choices with parting with one of them. Not a bad problem to have but probably like many a classic bmw in great condition will come along and challenge status quo.

I had conti sports contacts on the front of my e46 m3 . Size was 225 /45 R18 on a 8 inch front. On the e46 they had the best front steering and great feel. I’ve since run 235 fronts in Bridgestone re11 and Michelin PSS and whilst these have more grip the turn in and feel imho was better with the conti. Worth putting on your list and in 17inch friendly sizes

I’m kinda caught, had a e46 m3 for last 9 years, no idea what I’d replace it with other than getting another low km one. I’ve deliberately avoided f80 m3s as suspect a drive would lead to a Mpulse decision to buy.

I ran yokos 509s in 195/65/14 on my e30 323i years back. They are an old design but were the best of the many tires I had in the 270,000 kms I drove it.

It’s similar as in quadlock pin system but connector is larger and terminates with the boot. Dogballs post is on the money.

Seems stuff via Asia is taking around 3 weeks. Ordered some essential service items for work with expedited shipping. We’d normal get this type of kit in 4-5 days. Different orders have taken 3 weeks. Part of the issue is NZ, some courier yards have become gridlocked with items beyond the warehouse and sitting in shipping containers waiting on the backlog to clear. NZ post has record volume levels as well. i think getting items quickly out of lockdown countries will be problematic for a while as with NZ returning to normal

Sorry you did say you’d got the kenwood. Time alignment made a big difference in my system. Easier to centre music. With the kenwood what about running a USB ( if it has a rear one) to an ashtray dock) Location works well for hand free calls. Below if for iPhone but easy to put a phone cable instead https://www.instructables.com/id/Ashtray-iPhoneiPod-Dock/ amp mounting works well on the side of the boot. I’d be worried about underseat as I ran my alpine front amp that way. The power cable became shorted out by feet of rear passenger. There was a bit of smoke as a result. Since that I’ve only done boot installs and made sure power areas into amps are well protected. 4 gauge is good for a dangerous 120amps before a typical slow blow fuse will go.

The early alpine stuff can easily overwhelm the factory alternator / electrics which is what I found with a multi amped setup in an e30.People are into 80/90s class ab nostalgia but I found that my old high end PG amps (e36 system) that the likes of modern sound stream ( Philip board actually) had similar sound quality at 1/3 red the price. Reminds me I still have my amps and equaliser from my late 80s system. Reminds me that I should sell these at some stage. Modern amps so much better, psu’s are far more efficient and they have every kind of protection and modern smd components means the old days of matching components is almost gone in relation to car audio. Anyway , this stuff is IMHO. I like your idea of running active up front. Just put a capacitor across the tweeter to protect it from accidents in tuning or setting crossovers. It the unit has speaker out only open it up and mod it. Grab the audio stage after the OPamps or preamp transistors and put some RCAs out the back . Should give you a cleaner audio section and get the best out of those tdk90s which from memory handed the heat better than maxwells and did a reasonable transfer. Speaker choice is a very personal thing and knowing your standards nothing really to add other than if I were to replace mine and one lotto I’d put Focal utopias into mine. With Angs CX-5 I’m looking to put https://stereointegrity.com/product/tm65-6-5-woofer/ and matching tweeter in. This brand is one guy who designs speakers with amazing mechanical abilities which punch well above there price tag and a few top end comp Hilfi cars are running these. Power wise looks like your heading to towards 4 gauge cables for the amp(s) Amp power on could be as simple as connecting to your power antenna . Just check the operation of the head unit to ensure antenna stays up in tape mode. This was the brand of distribution block that I showed you. Nice as small profile. Might have got mine via trade me. http://www.tspeconline.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5 sub wise I’ve go a box calculator bass box pro so if you find the sub too boomy we could design a box with a bass q more to your liking. Could build something that bolts up to the ski pass area and punch out the panel. Bass will fire straight thought back seat cushion on e30s. other thing I did on my e30 was put the biggest battery that would fit in the front (mine was 323i) Other thing to consider is doing the big three which is to put a larger gauge alternator charging wire and bigger earth cable. Helps with electric stress and light dimming if pounding the system. For the rears speakersI run mine at -30db compared to front. I still feed mine with a 100rms but head unit ( warning , running head unit amp for rears can cause ground loops sometimes) or a micro class d amp. Sub wise go class D simply to give the car electrics an easier time. My current combo of 4x100 ab with 1x600d doesn’t kill the charging system and battery voltage in the way my 4x25rms (cough) PG amp with bridge rear channels run sub did. ( mind you that amp peaked at 95 amps at 13.8volts) so someone was lying about its modest power output.

No , was 98 blend. The station concerned went back to selling 96

The local Mobil did advertise the 98 as a ethanol blend. Was written on the pump. I think they sell both but I no longer use the brand.. i did try running my e46 m3 on it. It seem to engine knock more than normal 98 so I stopped using it. That was before I discovered the issue with the bike. ive since learnt that Ducati still recommend that you don’t use it on bikes. It was causing the plastic fuel tanks to bulge and swell. BMW saying ok to use after certain dates but I’ve lost trust in it. The good thing for myself was my bike no longer started which I thought was just stale fuel. I might have ended up with high pressure fuel being sprayed over my lower body and engine exhaust headers. Could have got very nasty quickly.

Get it out now. Check all lines before using car in anger. Alternatively take it for a ride on guy fawkes

Ran Mobil 98 in. Car and bike for a few years. Didnt ride the bike much and had in the tank too long. Tried to start bike ( Ducati 748r) no go. left it for a few months more and then got dealer to pick up. basically fuel lines had turned to a snot / marshmallow substance, fuel pump fckd , sender stuffed. Basically $1400 in parts. i won’t use ethanol blends again.

Have driven a 320d sedan and 328i touring. I think you can’t go wrong with either, With the 320d I had a back to back timed slalom with my e46 m3. The result was .25 of a second faster in the 320d despite having 100kw less. The torque and less wheel spin was the key difference but was no slug. Not related to BMW , but my wife brought a cx5 2.2D turbo. We drove the company demos for 2.2d and NA 2.5. We used the demo cars actual fuel consumption figures and based ownership cost on those figures. Basically the 2.2D was close to $1000 cheaper per 10,000 kms to run. So 6.6 litres per 100km average for a1600kg suv with 800 km between with a 150km reserve. Im also a diesel convert. I’d love a 340d x3 next ?

What’s your ideal m3 and price bracket? Been a few good examples lately like the silver manual on with CF airbox / csl style boot lid for example. Was also another silver one in Wellington with 66000 kms . Really great car to own ( had mine 8 years now) and still enjoying it.

Most of the shark fin aerials where for car phone kits . I don’t think they cover fm frequency’s. I did however reuse mine as a Bluetooth aerial when I removed my jap phone cradle and retrofit a ULF for handsfree and voice commands. the old analogue tv aerials which sit between the body and rear bumper may work be an option . I’d connect it to the rear radio antenna behind the lh c pillar trim. It needs to be powered via 12 volts to its white wire. fm antenna is normally built into rear window btw

USA retail price is also low. The 1M was retailing for the same amount as I paid for an 8 year old e46 m3 at the time. Couldn’t believe the base spec was $43k USD which was about $50k NZ at the time. 1M retail was $100k nzd but slightly higher spec Drove the M3 today outside of normal commute mode?. If people have the means you’ve got to own one at some stage in your life. Bucket list car

SMG / CSL parts bin are a plus for me. The red interior seems to be a common UK thing . It’s going to be more collectable than standard models. Biggest expense on these is worthy tyres in my experience.. People worry about bearings / smg pumps , subframes , vanos , biff bolts , cam bolts , steering hoses , coil packs , gear position servos , head gasket , alternator replacements etc. With mine it’s done 160,000 and I’ve driven 115,000 of them.over past 7 years. biggest expenses... $9k on rubber. Or $25k on gas. , $21k on parking , and $1200 per year in dealer serving and parts. I think some times we focus on the maintenance costs on e46 M3s where as the costs are elsewhere. $30k for the cs seems like good value for a car that is a joy to drive.

The e46 has a built in alarm and immobiliser but many either didn't have the wiring or the sensors. If your e46 has the alarm wiring then id be more inclined to get the siren / ultrasound sensor and appropriate headlining cover / tilt switch / bonnet switch and add them yourself. Then its just a simple code option via a dealer or BMW specialist. The original retrofit with wiring loom is no longer available , but you get the alarm components from eBay or ecs tuning Eg https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E46-325Ci-330Ci-328Ci-323Ci-328i-325i-330-M3-Siren-Alarm-Kit-Set-/282815365033 Instructions attached alarm.pdf

Think it would be quite a process and from what I’ve been reading with my own car project ( 63 mini race car without vin) there are quite a few stages) from memory if 60 percent of the original 2002 is present then its modification . The key would be use a car that’ can be proved to have been registered and on the road. Using s 2002 would mean some of the impact and airbag rules might not apply. if it’s beyond 60% then your building a low volume scratch built car which in some ways is a easier Cert process. However, the rules around almost every aspect of the modifications apply. i thing the key to the project would be around any welding carried out to be done by a certified welder with careful consideration as to how the body / chassis/ suspension came together. A low volume Certifier would be required every step along the way. The key to the project is making sure that you can get a vin or re-entry vin line of sight sorted. Otherwise you may build it and find you can’t re vin the vehicle ( I’m stuck at this stage with trying to returning a old race car with no vin onto the road) Id probably start with posting a how would I go about this and get the lower volume car constructor manual for the current regulations. Would be a cool project https://m.facebook.com/LVVTA/

Thanks for the give a little links. Condolences to family and friends. Just heartbreaking !