mmario 35 Report post Posted July 21 Wheels look great, my vote for BMW center caps 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted July 22 Ordered some Black/gold ones which should match better and save cutting. BBS caps are all different fitment so you have to hack genuine stuff up or play around with lesser quality aliexpress bits. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 780 Report post Posted July 22 Nice score on the wheels, do look like a cool design but that black-silver-red and blue combo just looks hella busy. Would be ideal if they were straight silver. Almost a shame they were recently redone since it makes less sense to repaint them now hahah Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted July 22 Pretty much. They were suppose to come black caps but he changed his mind hah. BBS diamond black(more of a gun metal grey) wasn't doable for various reasons so instead used a Mazda black which is appears noticeably darker but is suppose to be lighter in sun 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter 407 Report post Posted July 22 18 minutes ago, Eagle said: Pretty much. They were suppose to come black caps but he changed his mind hah. BBS diamond black(more of a gun metal grey) wasn't doable for various reasons so instead used a Mazda black which is appears noticeably darker but is suppose to be lighter in sun Be good to get some sun to see the true colour. lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted July 22 Im sure ill post some more in better light with different caps, but i dont see the sun making a massive different tbh. Main benefits are minor increase in performance, way stronger and straighter wheels, nicer ride and look with the 40 profile tyre and offset and having a square setup for easy of use and cheaper tyres. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter 407 Report post Posted July 22 I hear you on the straight wheels. I took some to get the lips refurbished today and one was wonky as once it was in the machine. I hadn’t driven in them yet. Glad I got it checked before it sent me down a rabbit hole. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil McCauley 340 Report post Posted July 22 BBS RX / RG-R are god tier wheels for the E36/46. Great choice. Can't really complain at being freshly refurbed either - I've spent stupid monies in the past doing that exercise so can totally understand not wanting to spend the money if someone else already has! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted July 22 Completely agree. Paint costs arent cheap and finding something even remotely decent in these specs and price range was way harder than i expected. They are 6k new in US before any than other expenses so i thought 2k was very reasonable. Worst case i can repaint them down the line if i really want to. Ive been fortunate in the past to own 3 sets of various used forged BBS wheels that were all under 1k at the time. You still pay the brand tax but used quality beats all low quality aftermarket junk any day with a much lower premium. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted August 25 After talking to @Vass about headers i went down that RHD E46 M54 header rabbit hole again, discovered there are 2 semi reasonable priced options in the UK - Gravity and Malian exhaust. Gravity wouldnt ship their better designed ones to NZ, at least not via their website, so i decided to try Malian\Kage ones for fun(not). Long short sort they are crap. An O2 sensor bung was clocked wrong so hit the chassis and had to cut down. Their flange positioning and\or design interferes which each bank, even after cutting it. They do clear the steering very well and have new flanges put on to fit, but im not inclined to do that without a hoist or TIG welder. In talks to get partial refund and sell them onto someone else. Early 330CI's upto >Sept '00 had M52 style headers and cats under the car, probably the best option overall but not an easy system to find. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted August 25 Good excuse to clean up the old system and re-assemble with new gaskets, nuts and E90 etc upgraded exhaust studs(shorter with e-torx head) Hand scotch pads, die grinder pads and a product called P21 polishing soap bought it up decent. Far better product to use than nasty Autosol. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted August 25 Removed the harmonic balancer to replace the crankshaft seal which had a very small leak. Decided the put a fresh Corteco one on given the mileage. Had to remove the radiator and drop the condenser down to fit my high torque Milwaukee which still took a few 5s bursts to remove it. Decided to make a tool to install given the 410nm torque and the $80 torque to yield crankshaft bolt, the local dealer surprisingly had one for decent price. My torque wrench only went to 350nm so it was that and a oomph. Was a bit careless with the flux core and welded the middle a bit on the piss but with GR\JP high tensile steel way its overbuilt for the job. New TRW LF-30 pump. Old one was starting to get noisy with glitter in P\S fluid. Not cheap at around $500 from Spareto and sadly made in China with a C&U bearing even, but at least its new and hopefully better than the other aftermarket ones or random 'rebuilt' ones Installed new belt Conti belts along with an INA hydraulic belt tensioner upgrade. Replace the stupid torx pulley bolt for a 16mm bolt to make your life easier 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1622 Report post Posted August 25 Gold caps and 235\40R18 Michellin PS5's fitted, got $500-600 off compared to average retail price so though id buy them while i can. 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmario 35 Report post Posted August 25 Gold caps look the business 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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