Took my BMW E46 out for a drive today.

[slo town]

Hello:

I had the E46 out for a 150 mile drive on Hwy 58 to the summit of the Temblor Range in the California Valley - right on top of the San Andreas fault. Car needed to get out because it had been sitting for 5 or 6 weeks. This car amazes me every time I drive it. It has incredible cornering power and instantaneous transient response. It’s fairly light (3,145 pounds) and toss-able. It’s relatively softly sprung but well dampened. Roll stiffness is on the stiff side. It has Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 street legal competition tires. Notice the floating rotors. Ride is amazingly supple everything considered. Rock solid body structure helps. I love the simple cockpit. Car is 19 years old, 93.5K miles. Only person to ever work on it besides me was BMW dealer for the airbag recalls, and my hand picked alignment guy.

Scott

 

[Oillover]

Finally, some e46 pics!

 

[slo town]

Just in case someone is interested, the list of all the things I've done to the car.

Scott

2003 BMW E46 330Ci ZSP Modifications:
BBS CH 19x8.5, 35mm offset
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2; 235/35-19
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
Bilstein B8 Struts/Shocks, E36 M3 Versions On Rear
BMW Motorsport Front Strut Tower Reinforcement Plates
Rogue Engineering Rear Shock Mounts
H&R Sport Adjustable Anti-Roll Bars, 27mm front, 21mm Rear
Turner Motorsports Adjustable, Ball Jointed Front Anti-Roll Bar Endlinks
Mason Engineering Adjustable, Spherical Bearing Rear Anti-Roll Bar Endlinks
Mason Engineering Front Strut Brace
BMW ZHP Front Control Arms
BMW M3 Engine Mounts
BMW M3 Transmission Mounts
Mason Engineering Quick Shift Geometry Clutch Pedal Arm
Meyle HD 66mm Front Control Arm Bushings
BMW M3 Rear Control Arm Bushings
Turner Motorsports Rear Control Arm Bushing Limiters
BMW M3 Spherical Bearing Rear Lower/Outer Control Arm Bushings
BMW Group N Spherical Bearing Rear/Upper Control Arm Bushings
Stoptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines F/R
BMW Motorsport Cross-drilled, Fully Floating Front Brake Rotors
Jurid Sport Front Brake Pads
BMW M3 Rear Brake Pads
Turner Motorsports Brass Brake Caliper Bushings
Borla Catback Stainless Steel Exhaust
Meyle Heavy Duty Rear Differential Mounts
BMW ZHP Finned Rear Differential Cover/Cooler
BMW ZHP Shift Knob
B&M Short Shift Kit
UUC Stainless Steel, Weighted Shift Rod
Stewart Engineering Water Pump
Rogue Engineering Underdrive Pulley Set
BMW M3 Trunk Lid Spoiler Lip
BMW Motorsport Alcantara Steering Wheel
Center Arm Rest Delete

 

[JeffKeryk]

Look like a great car on a great spin on a beautiful day in a beautiful part of our state!

 

[slo town]

Y'all will probably find these interesting. Pictures of the undercarriage taken July 2020. Never once driven in the rain or on wet roads. Even so, I hand wash the undercarriage every 2 or 3 years. No pressure washing. Hand washing. Remember, this is a 19 year old car with 93.5K miles on it. I bought the car new. It looks pretty close to factory fresh. It really and truly runs and drives like a brand new car.

Scott

 

[KCJeep]

Your cars are just insane!

 

[Nick1994]

Here I am with my annual drool fest as @slo town posts his E46

 

[sparky123]

Recently bought an '04 325i w/114k. miles. I wish my suspension/brake components weren't so rusty. A great engine and platform. Truly a pleasure to drive and never a dull moment of replacing parts on a 17 yr. old BWM. Any oil leaks on your 330i? New expansion tank? Beautiful car for sure!

 

[slo town]

Recently bought an '04 325i w/114k. miles. I wish my suspension/brake components weren't so rusty. A great engine and platform. Truly a pleasure to drive and never a dull moment of replacing parts on a 17 yr. old BWM. Any oil leaks on your 330i? New expansion tank? Beautiful car for sure!

sparky:

No oil leaks or seepage anywhere; engine, trans, or diff. I replaced the expansion tank years ago with the updated version.

Your 325....so long as it has been well cared for you should get another 100K trouble free miles out of it. There are dozens of people on E46Fanatics with over 200K miles on their E46s and they're still running strong.

The E46 is relatively easy to work on, which is a big plus. My wife's E90 is a PITA in comparison.

Scott

 

[alcyon]

Luckily its a coupe..

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

A man and a car after my own heart.

When I was into BMWs, the E46 was brand new and the E36s were the ones making the rounds. I may have had an E30 myself.. the E46 is an excellent and amazing car. A classmate of mine had a blue 2001 either 328Ci or 330Ci. Beautiful.

Awesome, amazing car and all I can do is hit Love.

 

[Astro14]

Scott - that's a wonderful car in truly amazing condition. Well done on both your choice of cars and on keeping it so clean!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

E46 coupe is one of the best looking BMWs of all time.

 

[slo town]

Thanks all. Besides the BBS CHs with the Michelin Cup 2 tires, I have a set of BMW Style 225Ms with Michelin Pilot PS4 tires. I switch things up every so often to change the look. I think both look great but the CH/Cup 2 package is 6 or 7 pounds lighter per corner than the 225M/PS4 package. I can feel the weight difference when I drive (not to mention the Cup 2's superior grip). Perhaps surprisingly, the 225s are made in Italy.

Scott

BMW Style 225M

BBS CH

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Thanks all. Besides the BBS CHs, I have a set of BMW Style 225Ms I put on every so often to change the look. I think both look good but the CHs are 3 or 4 pounds lighter per wheel than the 225s, and I can feel the difference when I drive it. Perhaps surprisingly, the 225s are made in Italy.

Scott

BMW Style 225M
View attachment 85707

BBS CH
View attachment 85708

Delphin Grey?

Your cars are GORGEOUS.

 

[slo town]

Thank you! You're very kind. It's Steel Grey Metallic.

FWIW, my wife's Alpine White E90 M Sport.

Scott

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Thank you! You're very kind. It's Steel Grey Metallic.

FWIW, my wife's Alpine White E90 M Sport.

Scott

View attachment 85710
View attachment 85711

Only giving well-due praise! And. Again, even if not a ZHP car.. (is it?) It is pristine! Nicer than mine

Not a de-rail but I found paint code Delphin Grey on a Euro model, do you see a similarity?

 

[slo town]

Only giving well-due praise! And. Again, even if not a ZHP car.. (is it?) It is pristine! Nicer than mine

Not a de-rail but I found paint code Delphin Grey on a Euro model, do you see a similarity?

View attachment 85712View attachment 85713

Mine is a ZSP (Sport Package). The only ZHP thing I truly miss is the 6 speed. Mine's a 5 speed. At 80 mph my motor spins at 3,200 rpm.

Yes, very similar colors. Probably the same thing renamed!

A few more E46 pictures for you. In some ways I've rendered the thing useless. I won't take it anywhere where I have to leave it parked. We live in the California Central Coast wine country. Hwy 1 is literally 25 minutes from our house. A fantastic road, but I seldom drive it there because I don't want to drive it in a salty coastal climate. And even if I take it out for only a 100 mile drive, I'm prone to washing it afterwards. Sadly, I about the only time I take it out is to keep it from sitting too long. I put less than 700 miles on it in 2021. I've put this magnificent machine in a cage!

But I still change engine oil and filter, power steering fluid, and bleed brakes and clutch EVERY YEAR. Trans and diff fluids get changed every year or two and coolant changed every 3 years. Check out my maintenance logs! Those are 4 inch binders, not the narrow ones.

Scott

 

[tblt44]

Trying to get rid of my daughters e46.
189k to many issues, not expensive stuff just month after month a p.i.t.a

 

[slo town]

Trying to get rid of my daughters e46.
189k to many issues, not expensive stuff just month after month a p.i.t.a

I'm not saying your daughter's car is, or has been, but you'd never want to own a BMW that had been poorly maintained or mistreated.

I've owned 31 cars in my lifetime and only three were a POS no matter how well I treated them. And all three were bought new by me. Two begin with "M" (but different makes), the other begins with "S". I had a dealer mechanic of one of the "M" makes privately tell me it that model vehicle was a POS and I should sell it. This was a car with 10K or 15K miles on it. The service manager of the other "M" car privately told me the maker had no fix for the problems I was experiencing - a 5K mile old car. The "S" brand, one of the most incompetent, sleazy dealer networks I've ever experienced in my life. They were flat out crooks.

Scott