The Barbara Chronicles

[Vass 702]

8 hours ago, Olaf said:

Back to tyres and a Summary - possible clearance issues with e46 touring by running e90 255 section tyres in place of e46 245 section tyres at rear on e90 offset.

Thanks mate! That's a solid bit of analysis there and I reckon the right conclusion. When it's time to change tyres 245's is what I'm going with. Still heaps of life left in the current tyres though so will try and get my money's worth out of them before the switch.

I believe the Eibach spring were one-size-fits-all solution for the E46 unfortunately so that might be part of the issue. Obviously with E46-specific Style 68's the rubbing is not an issue as @adro can attest to but with different offset rims and wider tyres I really am pushing my luck.

Interesting thing is, the original Touring springs I took out (I've referred to them as Msport springs a number of times now but actually still don't know if they even had separate Msport ones or they're just regular Touring-specific, RealOEM doesn't seem to give me part numbers for springs for some reason) are actually shorter than the new Eibach ones. I guess they might just be that much stiffer...?

Good news is I took the car for a good run up to Kaikoura today, a round trip of roughly 400km and with -2.5° camber and the trimming-bashing I'd done, the rubbing is now greatly reduced. Had my ~100kg dad sit in the rear left seat and there was only 4-5 instances where any sort of rubbing occurred, those being over really pronounced rough patches in the road, most other situations where rubbing had occurred previously it now handles without issues. I reckon with just myself or 1 other passenger in the car (which is likely to be the scenario 90% of the time going forward) the rubbing will be very minimal.

Will take the wheels off in the next few days and check where the remaining rubbing has migrated to. Might be able to trim back or bash in those areas some more.

All in all, another awesome road trip with the folks. Went up to Kaikoura through Mt Lyford and back down along the coast. Had never taken that route up before, a good 30 minute detour but well worth it! Encountered very little traffic along the way, awesome views and delightfully twisty roads throughout, got to put her through her paces nice and proper.

Also, to revive the Akebono debate somewhat, don't want to jinx it but I'm very much enjoying them. I do get where you were coming from in regards to the reduced initial bite but I feel like I've adjusted pretty well. You do need to press down quite hard if you want to stop in a hurry but overall I've found the pedal feel to be pretty much linear and predictable. They've handled some spirited driving quite well, no squeaking or fading and the wheels are still nice and clean. Feels like an solid upgrade in every way switching from the old rusty rotors and pads anyway.

[Eagle 1520]

Springs are calculated based on options and body style I presume hence no part numbers. Assuming no one has swapped them they are probably correct. As you know Eibachs prokit are soft and non specific, so stock touring appears to be the better choice 

[Olaf 3236]

Yes, was about to say the same as @Eagle- there are a multitude of rear springs for e46 - I think there's different springs for sunroof and slicktop!

If those are orange stripes on yours I think they're the same as mine... can't find my photo from when I bought replacements.

Re one-size-fits-all Eibachs, I think this is the real downside of their springs.  As with BMW having distinctly different springs between options and body styles/drive trains, with H&R in most applications do springs specific to different versions.  In e30 land you put Eibachs on a Vert, you get a rear end that's a bit low and a bit soft.  You use H&R Sport part numver for e30 Vert, and you get the right rate, the right height/stance, and no rub.  Springs for some people seem to be a religion Eibach/Bilstein  Koni/H&R.

I just checked the Eibach catalogue - 2067.140 is listed for e46 325i Sedan and Touring. And Coupe. And Vert.  Oh well, they meet TUV, eh?

A brief wander thru the USA H&R catalogue reveals H&R have a sport spring for e46 coupe & sedan with ///MSport (29484) without ///Msport (29485); Cabrio ///MSport (the 29484 again); for Sport Wagon (Touring) they list 29419 (323 and 325i), and there's another spring for 325Xi and 330Xi touring.  Some H&R are US-specific, so looking around in the German site may yeild more info, and the magical match for your car - they may not have done e46 330i Touring in USA.

When you take the difference in engineering between Eibach and H&R into account, why do folks love Eibach so much with their one-size approach?  This isn't about "Red vs Blue" - and you're beyond that with the amount of engineering you've put into your Touring.  Perhaps H&Rs - with appropriate catalogue number - may be your solution.

 

On the wheels question, for my analysis some years back, I used willitfit.com

 I did things like standard 7J with 205/55/16 compared with Style 68 and 245/40R17 to baseline and contrast, won't bore you with that here.

Here's the Style 68 vs Style 194 rear comparo.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Olaf
willitfit.com pic

[Olaf 3236]

Re those Akebonos, @Vass settle in for the long run, I only ditched mine in Jan this year, such was their longevity 😂 They flat-out refused to yield!  The Hawks are a *little* dustier, nowhere near OE/OEM pads. Enjoy 👍

[Harper 465]

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

Re one-size-fits-all Eibachs, I think this is the real downside of their springs

Not sure where you guys are looking but https://www.eibach-shop.com/ has different spring sets available for E46 coupe/sedan/touring/compact, all with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder variants and even x-drive where applicable. All with different rates dependent on type. Definitely not only one size fits all. That was half the reason I went for them for my 330ti. No one else makes springs specifically for 6 cylinder compacts.  

[Eagle 1520]

Yeah when I looked I'm sure they were all the same number as Olafs. End digits may of been missed on Spareto or wherever I looking

[Olaf 3236]

3 hours ago, Harper said:

Not sure where you guys are looking but https://www.eibach-shop.com/ has different spring sets available for E46 coupe/sedan/touring/compact, all with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder variants and even x-drive where applicable. All with different rates dependent on type. Definitely not only one size fits all. That was half the reason I went for them for my 330ti. No one else makes springs specifically for 6 cylinder compacts.  

The USA site. It lists models separately though all lead to the same part number that I quoted above.

[Vass 702]

4 hours ago, Harper said:

Not sure where you guys are looking but https://www.eibach-shop.com/ has different spring sets available for E46 coupe/sedan/touring/compact, all with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder variants and even x-drive where applicable. All with different rates dependent on type. Definitely not only one size fits all. That was half the reason I went for them for my 330ti. No one else makes springs specifically for 6 cylinder compacts.  

Yeah interesting that. Just looked it up on that page and it gives E2067140_7 as the 6-cylinder touring part number but then any vendor site seems to lists them without that final digit. Demon Tweeks where I ordered mine from listed those springs as compatible to all chassis types (except the compact maybe, didn't pay that much attention).

Just lumped 4 passengers into the car for a day trip to Akaroa, looked at how pressed up into the arches the rear tyres looked even before rolling out of the driveway and decided to take the missus' Outback instead. Would not have been a pleasant experience.

I think I'll keep the fronts but throw in the old springs in the rear before setting off on the longer road trip down south in the coming week, might then look to try out the H&R's further down the track. Would have to be next year's project though, have well and truly exhausted my toy allowance for a good while. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Vass

[Harper 465]

Yeah looking at the spec sheet it does seem that all the E2067140 kits come with the same springs except the compact. The black hellbm 330ti that was for sale recently had a set of regular E46 eibach springs in it and the rear ride high was monster truck high so it makes sense they need a different spring.

https://eibachshop.com/download/E2067-140.PDF

Although it does list alternatives for the sedan and coupe but that's not what they list as included in the set on the US site.

[adro 1052]

She's looking bloody tough  💪 lots more photos please.

[Eagle 1520]

10 hours ago, Olaf said:

why do folks love Eibach so much with their one-size approach

Eibach pro-kit is basically the same ride quality as OE sport springs, but slightly lower to remove gap. They work well OE dampers and are black so look stock too. Maybe not the best choice for tourings it seems but are fine for the more common sedan and coupes.

Ive run never H&R sports but they are lower and firmer than the above, uprated dampers seem to be always suggested which bumps costs up or at least harder on stock units. May or not be an issue but it could be an expensive exercise especially if you dont like the change.

[Olaf 3236]

H&R also do OE Sport - in the USA - providing that increased rate - progressive, at OE ride height.

I'm running H&R Sport with KoniSport on my e30.It's firm but supple, the pairing works well.  I'd have been happy with H&R OE Sport, 318iS height, but exch rate and freight favoured sourcing from Germany at the time, so not an option.  The rate is excellent, the lower c of g helps, though I don't need the low.Handles well, is firm, though not jarring.

[Eagle 1520]

Yeah having Koni's and the adjustability would certainly help. 

  

[Vass 702]

Got back from a round trip down south and up the West Coast with the parents last week, clocking up around 2,400km across 6 days.

Threw in the old stock rear springs beforehand. Whilst it didn't completely eliminate the rubbing, it isolated it to only the harshest dips in the road when catching them at high speeds, but overall much better and meant I could drive with way less stress and way more confidence. Considering this was the first road trip I've taken the car on with 4 adults and a bootful of luggage on board, I can't really complain about the little rubbing still remaining. This was an outlier of a situation and with 1-2 people on board, I don't think rubbing will be an issue on the stock springs.

Some absolutely amazing roads out there and an absolute ideal place to put the car through a proper stress test after the big rebuild. Some small issues aside, the car performed perfectly and effortlessly ate up the km's. Queenstown - Glenorchy is still my favourite bit of road in the country but also enjoyed experiencing the Queenstown - Te Anau and Wanaka - Haast routes for the first time ever. The folks loved their first time in NZ as well, saying it felt like they've been to 5 different countries in the short time here, such was the variety of landscapes behind every new mountain ridge. Good good times.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Vass

[adro 1052]

Great photos! I agree that Queenstown - Glenorchy road is amazing. What a shake down 😎

[Vass 702]

Some niggly issues still present and a new one that's popped up:

• Experienced a weird no crank, no start issue for the first time ever. Old man wanted to try his hand at driving on the wrong side of the road at some point in the roadie so I let him jump behind the wheel. Stalled it the first time, forgetting to take the hand brake off. Then stalled it the second time straight when he couldn't quite get the feel of the clutch pedal right. The third time the car flat out refused to crank. Cycled the key a few times without any luck. Tried taking the key out and putting back in, locking-unlocking doors etc. I ended up jumping back behind the wheel and after a few more cycles the she started right up. Happened a few more times since then - will start the first time sometimes but will then intermittently refuse to do anything on other occasions.
  Have done a bit of Google'ing and looks like the culprit might be the ignition switch so will take it apart and clean it out in the near future the problem becomes worse. Apparently, other symptoms of a bad ignition switch can include electric side mirrors and headlights, fog lights, turn signals not working, which is interesting.
• Potentially related to the above, I've decided to get a brand new starter with my next parts order. Not sure what else to turn to to eliminate the rattle but that might be one of the last rolls of the dice. I did have a mate take it apart, check the brushes, clean and relube the insides when I did the engine rebuild but I suspect it might have taken on some damage when I briefly had it misaligned whilst hunting for the leak from the back of the block. Bit involved of a task but worth having a new one for some longevity. Not even fazed by the task of removing the intake manifold at this point anymore. Will also give me a chance to have a look at the ICV again and check what that D3 [211] code is all about.
• Been having an intermittent issue of the driver's side HID headlight not wanting to turn on. Sometimes it'll just take an extra minute for it to light up, sometimes it'll need a smack, others it'll work perfectly fine. I suspect it'll be something to do with the ballast or a loose connection as if it was a bulb then it probably wouldn't turn on at all. Will need to go on a mission of swapping components over to opposite sides to figure out what the culprit is exactly. Could even be the ignition switch, apparently, who knows...
• The seats... Quite like the look of the Msport alcantaras but damn they're really uncomfortable on longer trips. I got used to them after a couple of days but the backrest is just way too firm and eats into the lower and mid-back too much for comfort. I keep having to slide around trying to find a comfortable position and still end up with a sore back by the end of the day. Will need to take on the mission of cleaning up the X5 seats I still have sitting in the garage at some point and trying them out. Retrofitting heated seat wiring could be another cool DIY project as well.

[Eagle 1520]

Annoying. Neglected cars always seem to be the ones that have ongoing problems. Hopefully these are the last of them

Yeah E46 msport seats are probably the worse BMW seats ive experienced on longer trips. Worn bolsters dont help but ive never had any issues with other old BMW seats. My Recaro is a joy to sit in and worth every $.

[Olaf 3236]

no-crank:  I know you've already replaced the fuel pump.  Have you done the fuel pump relay?  Also the DME relay.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Olaf

[Harper 465]

3 hours ago, Eagle said:

Yeah E46 msport seats are probably the worse BMW seats ive experienced on longer trips. Worn bolsters dont help but ive never had any issues with other old BMW seats. My Recaro is a joy to sit in and worth every $.

100% agree. I have had multiple people ask me what the pole positions in my M3 are like on longer drives, and my answer is significantly better than the stock ones. If I was going on a long drive in my compact I would probably go through the effort of swapping the recaros into it because they are that much better.

[Vass 702]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:44 AM, Olaf said:

no-crank:  I know you've already replaced the fuel pump.  Have you done the fuel pump relay?  Also the DME relay.

No, those are originals still. Should have a few spares lying around but might throw in some new ones with the next parts order if they're not extortionately expensive. Only just cropped up this issue so haven't really done much on it yet. 

On 11/24/2023 at 7:02 AM, Eagle said:

Yeah E46 msport seats are probably the worse BMW seats ive experienced on longer trips. Worn bolsters dont help but ive never had any issues with other old BMW seats. My Recaro is a joy to sit in and worth every $.

 

On 11/24/2023 at 10:18 AM, Harper said:

100% agree. I have had multiple people ask me what the pole positions in my M3 are like on longer drives, and my answer is significantly better than the stock ones. If I was going on a long drive in my compact I would probably go through the effort of swapping the recaros into it because they are that much better.

Weirdly, the leather Msport seats in my old 325ci felt much better than these alcantara ones. Would have thought they'd be the same apart from the covers but those felt way more plush and didn't screw my back up nearly as much.

I'll need to dig through your build threads to see what all is involved in getting aftermarket seats installed. Would those technically require cert at all? Aftermarket seat rails and all? Haven't looked into it properly yet.

I'm quietly holding out hope for some decent E63 M6 seats becoming available at some point, those look to be the best straight swap plug-and-play solution out there. Hella rare though and asking for silly money whenever they do come up though. 

[Olaf 3236]

6 minutes ago, Vass said:

No, those are originals still. Should have a few spares lying around but might throw in some new ones with the next parts order if they're not extortionately expensive. Only just cropped up this issue so haven't really done much on it yet. 

Fuel Pump & DME relay.  They're ~20 years old and who knows how many cycles.  Don't bother with used -  just send it.  

[Eagle 1520]

1 minute ago, Vass said:

Weirdly, the leather Msport seats in my old 325ci felt much better than these alcantara ones. Would have thought they'd be the same apart from the covers but those felt way more plush and didn't screw my back up nearly as much.

I'll need to dig through your build threads to see what all is involved in getting aftermarket seats installed. Would those technically require cert at all? Aftermarket seat rails and all? Haven't looked into it properly yet.

I'm quietly holding out hope for some decent E63 M6 seats becoming available at some point, those look to be the best straight swap plug-and-play solution out there. Hella rare though and asking for silly money whenever they do come up though. 

Ive got a cloth sport ones in my E36 that isnt as bad as my leather ones but its still not that great. New bolsters may help, most seats have been quashed\foam has failed to some extend. Ive never had an issue with E39 ones, but @hunter redid his alcantara ones and they are noticeably more comfortable and support much better than worn stuff thats around. 

Yeah need a cert for seats (seat belt anchor point changed iirc). There are bases that use a modified stock\base rail (Brey-Krause) but they are cheap and not sure if they would need to be certed or not. I just take my out for the WOF since its easy in a coupe. Current one me close to 1k seat+base which is fairly cheap considering what @Harper and others have spent. I dont care about passenger one so it made it much cheaper  I think the genuine E46 base\rails for Recaro seats are hard to find now, the place in Japan i got them from delisted the drivers ones ordered it. NZKW do their generic E36\E46 one and im sure there are other around.

Its a bit of mission finding and figuring out what you want and not usually cheap, but once you find the right seat its like your favourite pair of pants etc.

[Vass 702]

Had another fun run up to Kaikoura this past Sunday with a group of colleagues. The bimmer was by far the least exotic of the bunch and might have looked a bit out of place among a group of V8's & restored classics but great fun to drive none the less. Was great fun listening to the Mustangs roar in the twisties and keeping up with the Aston on the straights.

The 240z was the highlight for me. Fully restored fellow straight-6 and looking absolutely immaculate. Awesome writeup on the project if anyone cares to know.

As expected, without any passengers on board there was no sign of rubbing from the rear. Car felt nice and planted throughout and unsurprisingly felt more nimble than the previous time on the same route without the added weight of other humans on board. The no-crank gremlin reared its head just once along the way but started up after a few turns of the key. Will need to have that addressed sooner rather than later.

Alignment & WoF next week, then cert the week after. Hoping for some smooth sailing.

[Vass 702]

Also, before the cruise I set out to finally ceramic coat the wheels, a mission I didn't manage to get around to right after the suspension refresh. Naturally, I underestimated the severity of the task and overestimated my abilities. Despite having only done around 3,000km and objectively not even being that dirty, took forever getting them perfectly clean before applying the coating. A bit of elbow grease on the plastic scraper rubbing off remnants of the old balancing weights, several cycles of regular washes followed by a good few hours on the clay bar getting after the niggly tar spots and... 5 hours later I had finished on one wheel. Madness. If only I had money left over to pay someone else to do it. Will need a good long weekend to get the rest of them over the line. Mission for the Christmas break maybe.

[Vass 702]

Tinkered with some of the electrical gremlins I mentioned previously. First took apart the ignition switch. Blew out the dust, sprayed it throughout with some contact cleaner spray, cleaned the contacts with some strips of cardboard soaked in solvent, sprayed it all down again and reassembled regreasing all the contact surfaces.

Pretty straightforward job. Trickiest part is taking it apart whilst trying not to break any of the plastic clips. Have only driven it a handful of times since but so far so good, no signs of the no crank issue but time will tell if that's fixed it.

Then took apart the lights to check for any obvious issues. Main thing I noticed is that the problematic driver's side light must have been worked on at some point already. The date label on the igniter read 03.03.18 (at least I assume that's the date) and had a generic no-brand bulb with just 4300K written on it. The passenger side read 03.04.03 and had a Phillps bulb that I assume is original. So that's great.

To start with, I just switched the bulbs over. Both lights now lit up but the driver's side took a good 5 seconds longer, so I assume the issue isn't the bulbs. Pretty weird that the driver's side light looks to have new igniter leads but is still acting up. Would be good to know why those were replaced in the first place.

Left it there for now. I guess the first step will be to get new matching bulbs at the very least, then poke further. Will keep a look out for a cheap set of xenons for sale to poke around in as don't really want to risk messing up the only set I have. Then maybe further down the line go with an upgrade kit as seen in one of M539's videos.