E46 330i Touring

[adro 1084]

216,9xx km 

Gavin at Euro-Italia supplied me with a high pressure hose and some new washers. Not sure what the brand is but it says ‘Germany’ on it. 

This wasn’t done during the engine swap as the original engines one looked good. Wasn’t till later and I was doing the vanos that I realised this one was leaking. 
 

lockdown has postponed a tyre purchase. Hoping there will be some specials once we are back at level 2. 

[Olaf 3341]

Got one in my parts stash waiting to go on, along with high pressure fuel hose.  Mine's a Rein brand, I'm finding their stuff of good quality and durable.

[Michael. 2313]

On 8/27/2021 at 9:14 PM, adro said:

216,9xx km 

Gavin at Euro-Italia supplied me with a high pressure hose and some new washers. Not sure what the brand is but it says ‘Germany’ on it. 

This wasn’t done during the engine swap as the original engines one looked good. Wasn’t till later and I was doing the vanos that I realised this one was leaking. 
 

lockdown has postponed a tyre purchase. Hoping there will be some specials once we are back at level 2. 

I remember doing this on my parents 330i too, pesky things haha 

[adro 1084]

217,100km

New tyres.

Went with Continental Max Contact 6's all around 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17 rear. They were on special at Tyre Clinic and as all tyres the online reviews were mixed and also from Aussie so hard to really gauge what that meant for NZ conditions. In the end it was between the Conti's, Potenzas and PS4's...since this car mostly has at least 1 child, if not two onboard at all times it seemed I wouldn't experience the higher performance of the more expensive tyres anyway so I went with the cheaper option and with the few km's I've driven both wet and dry since having them I am delighted. Quiet, grippy and comfortable. I'm guessing they won't last very long but thats ok for now (probably won’t feel this way in 12 months). The car is so different with the new tyres , I really can’t believe the transformation. 

 

Edited September 24, 2021 by adro

[qube 3570]

find this man a msport front bumper!

[adro 1084]

1 hour ago, qube said:

find this man a msport front bumper!

Yes please! I’m on the lookout. 

[adro 1084]

217,700km

Fuel filter replaced. Probably should have paid someone to do this as it was a real PITA on my back in the driveway..but anyway. Replaced the soft hoses too, feel good item that I've been wanting to tick off for ages.

upon the start up test before I put the cover back and dropped the car I had fuel pissing out the front hose as the clamp hadn't been done up tight enough...what a smelly mess.

Original looking filter. I replaced it with a Mahle one i got from FCP....should be good for another 200,000km

[Sammo 2550]

Oh yes, a really enjoyable job on ramps 😂 not a whole lot of space under there although I did manage to avoid investing any premium unleaded

[Olaf 3341]

First time I did it, it was on my back in my mate's driveway.  You always remember your first 😁.

I think they're Inspection II or 50k km item, from memory?

[adro 1084]

Found some M54 buddies. 

[displayname 35]

Wagon looks so good!
 

How does the touring compare to your old E39 V8? Miss it at all?

[adro 1084]

3 hours ago, displayname said:

Wagon looks so good!
 

How does the touring compare to your old E39 V8? Miss it at all?

Tbh the 330i has enough power for me and the running I’m doing, it’s not that much better on gas either (12.5L/100km compared to 15L/100km round town) Will always miss the torque of the V8 and less road noise in the sedan without fold down seats but I think the biggest difference is the steering. The E46 is just so much more responsive and it makes the car feel nimbler. Also I don’t have to buff my headlights every week and touch wood I don’t have any weird vibrations yet. 

[adro 1084]

On 10/16/2021 at 3:37 AM, Olaf said:

First time I did it, it was on my back in my mate's driveway.  You always remember your first 😁.

I think they're Inspection II or 50k km item, from memory?

Sounds about right. I expect it would be easier to pry the fuel lines off with the smaller interval too.

[Olaf 3341]

On 10/24/2021 at 7:10 PM, adro said:

Sounds about right. I expect it would be easier to pry the fuel lines off with the smaller interval too.

I replace the small sections of line.  Easier to plumb it up before installation, then just slip onto the hard lines.

[adro 1084]

218,xxx km

this week marks 1 year with the touring. 
probably close to spending double what I was intending to spend but that’s old cars for you. 

Passed it’s WOF with no notes last week. First WOF in my ownership so I’m very happy. 

thanks to @Sammo for spotting this steering wheel on FB. It arrived yesterday and with a bit of a clean up it’s come up a lot better than the initial photos of it. Still will need to be wrapped again down the track as there is some deterioration on right hand side, but good enough to use now. 

installation wasn’t quite as straight forward as the bracket the airbag clicks into had a sticky spring and was also missing a couple of springs that fit underneath it meaning the airbag stuck out horribly.

3 torx 30 screws and it was easily swapped over.

Iv also swapped my original airbag out as it supposedly had been updated with the Takata recall, however I noted it’s still a Takata bag that’s in there? I’ll have to do a bit more research. The govt website is saying no recall required for my plate, however previous owner insisted it had multiple airbag recalls done. 

Now I will look at getting the old one fixed up, it’s got some stitching coming undone. 

Turned the car on and it didn’t explode, no airbag light either. It’s quite a bit thicker than the original wheel so am looking forward to a test drive. 

Edited November 3, 2021 by adro

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

You should enjoy it, these are a nice steering wheel. The rim thickness and smaller diameter makes a huge change. Also the cruise control and sound buttons are very economically placed. Some manufacturers get this really wrong but I reckon BMW nails it with this steering wheel.

[adro 1084]

On 11/4/2021 at 1:44 PM, Young Thrash Driver said:

You should enjoy it, these are a nice steering wheel. The rim thickness and smaller diameter makes a huge change. Also the cruise control and sound buttons are very economically placed. Some manufacturers get this really wrong but I reckon BMW nails it with this steering wheel.

Driven a few km’s with the new steering wheel and I love it! That extra squish really makes for a comfortable drive, and I do love those little pads for your thumbs.
 

I got another scanner for PA Soft and it’s working nicely. Finally I have been able to change the remote unlocking to flash the lights (it was only flashing lights for locking). Tried to do the temp re-calibration but couldn’t find the line of hex I’m looking for so will save that for another day. 

 

 

[Cement 892]

Very nice wheel, I would love one for me 318Ci !! Have not researched them as yet but are they hard to come by ? I have no control buttons currently and will need some shortly plus maybe the airbag is different so not sure how that works.

[adro 1084]

3 hours ago, Cement said:

Very nice wheel, I would love one for me 318Ci !! Have not researched them as yet but are they hard to come by ? I have no control buttons currently and will need some shortly plus maybe the airbag is different so not sure how that works.

REALOEM is your friend for airbag part numbers.

I don’t think they are that hard to come by as there’s so many m-sport E46’s around. For reference Weitz was selling one for $280 recently which I was too slow to get and I got this one for $220. 

Edited November 11, 2021 by adro

[Cement 892]

Thanks @adro, just had a quick look at mine and as it was a 318 with cable throttle M43 it never had any cruise ... or any steering wheel controls for that matter so its just a plain 3 spoke wheel. Will investigate later what might take its place. Hopefully the airbag itself is the same just with a different cover etc 👍

[adro 1084]

218,500 km

oil change time! Super cheap had a sale in the weekend. I managed to score the last 7L of HPR 5W40 for $91. Thanks to @Mikan for the stash of oil filters. I do like how the Mann filters come with the o ring and crush washer. 

 

Edit: I should add that I am absolutely thrilled with where this car is at now. It’s finally at that point where if you drove it and had to guess the mileage you wouldn’t believe it’s done 218k. I also prefer to drive this daily over the E30 now. I think it’s the steering rack that gives it the edge. 

Edited November 23, 2021 by adro

[Sammo 2550]

Nice, have run a bit of the HPR5 in my M54 last two changes - seems good.

Edge 5w40 was on special this time around - got 10 litres for $100.

[polley 916]

Seems good in what way? What change did you notice 

[Olaf 3341]

I used to use Edge.  Gave it away.  

 

My M54 and N62 run smoother on Penrite HPR5, use less oil between changes, and when you buy on special in 20 litre containers it works out at about $8 and change per litre.  Unbeatable for quality and value even at twice the price.

[Sammo 2550]

2 hours ago, polley said:

Seems good in what way? What change did you notice 

Seems good as in no real difference except a little less consumption vs Edge 5w30.

I tend to change my oil every 5km anyway so get what ever appropriate synth is on special.