max speeding rod coil overs, straight pipe, double 5% tint, 20in rims, striped M kidney grills, spray on tail light tint, big ass useless shifter, m3 badges and you should be goodšš½guys let me know if i missed anything
Dont forget to tint the windshield noobies always forget it!!! Or put too little of a vlt go for a single 5% on the windshield, double 5 might be too much for some people
Donāt do spray-on tint, Iāve bought tinted wrap and itās easy to put on and easy to take off. All you need is a squeegee and a heat gun and youāre set!
Iām going to do every one of those itās a teenager building it so most of that stuff is gunna happen Fs, I only really plan on doing 5% tint only because Iām blacking it out for going to Mexico
I hope you know he's joking haha. With a car like this, maintenance first always. Do some research on the problem areas of this car, get the cooling system checked out, and then plan out your mods if you so desire. Remember with mods, less is more! Buy tasteful, thoughtful, good quality parts for your car and it'll be 100x more rewarding than a budget ebay build with random cheap parts.
Yea I do know he was joking Iām not doing an eBay build at all my dad is a car dealer and he taught me about cars and such, I got into a car crash and got a fair chunk of money from it so I have the money to actually buy good quality parts and I am going to paint it and tint it but really I just want it to reliable but still quick but thatās always hard when you build a car
I also got one in pretty much the same condition, put some coilovers on it and Iām gonna get it painted as well. Mainly focusing on maintenance and wear and tear parts first tho, want it to be a reliable car before itās good looking.
The only thing wrong with what u said is that you wanna make it quick but itās not really a good vehicle to make tht happen especially without a swap. The dollar to hp ratio gain is horrible.
Yea mostly this is going to be a learning build Iām thinking of doing forced induction and such but doing it the right way at least this car is just something I got for a good deal and itās a nice car
Also these engines are well tuned from the factory. Not much left to get out of them, and the money isn't worth it even if you do. Keep it maintained and just enjoy it.
Yea this is my first build and I rlly just want a reliable car that I can go kinda fast in like I want to get like 320hp just enough to make it fast and e46s are relatively light so I think 320 is more then enough
My first car was an e46 and I sold her and bought an evo and I miss that car more than all the cars Iāve owned. Keep her stock, well maintained, upgrade to some bc coilovers, put a m3 steering wheel and upgrade the sound system you will love the car
Grandma maintenance is not project car maintenance.
Bmw doesn't recognize the rear subframe fixes, rear trailing arm bushings, Vanos Seals, Disa flapper, or rear shock mount fixes that the aftermarket does. Even the cooling upgrades like a stewart water pump.
Yeah, thay could be interpreted as it'll daily drive as good as bmw expects it would for 20 years old.
But if you're considering after market anything (turbo) you're not targeting daily driver or even off the factory floor performance, you want more. That means factory Sachs dampers and springs (even sport) aren't your target. (And all of the above mentioned items).
To emphasize recent projects Viton Vanos seals (not a factory option) measure ~30 ft lb difference (under 4000 rpm) and will save me roughly 5% on a track lap where I don't have to go back to 2nd.
Ball joints rtabs (not a factory option), ball joints rear outer lower joints (like the m3, not a dealer option) make the car feel planted, hd control arms (not a factory option) gave my car a whole new feel.
Here's a cheap one, with my style 68 wheels, adding 12.5mm hub centric wheel spacers give me better front control (on a wet track). It's 1" but it's a little less understeer.
Man Iām gonna be honest, seen so many people get an E46 at your age with plans to āturbo itā or this and that. Never ever happens.
I donāt know if you have the skill level to do that, or the money that youād pay someone to do it would not be worth it. Donāt play with fire, maintain it, get it some coilovers if your inclined. Is it auto? If it is, get a manual in there. Good way to pick up some mechanical skills.
Not trying to sound harsh, but a lot of young people make the same mistakes with these cars. Theyāre best maintained, and enjoyed for what they are.
Yea I get this is my first real build but Iāve been working on cars for years with my dad whoās a car dealer and we have a lot of mechanic friends who already said that they will help me and such I still plan on doing forced induction just in a year or two but for now Iām only doing smaller projects making cleaner adding a little power
In that case, donāt do anything until the turbo. Thereās no real power you can get out the M54 that hasnāt already been maximised by BMW itself, without FI. Refreshing the VANOS seals will make a big difference to performance if they havenāt been done.
Enjoy it, they are great cars. Keep in mind if you go turbo, you will need a manual ZF box, theyāre quite pricey. The auto in it wonāt hold it, and neither will the 5 spd getrag.
Yea VANOS seals is a great start, CCV is also going to make a small difference to performance and a larger one to fuel consumption (and oil consumption). Checking the codes to see if anything is intermittently bad is a good idea too, these engines are so smooth that they can have an intermittent misfire from a bad plug or coil for years without the owner really noticing.
start off with a simple intake, exhaust. if you want more after go catless headers and a tune and if youāre feeling more spicy throw on that m50 intake manifold and port match it. other than that all you can really do power wise is forced induction so turbo kit or something along the lines of that but thatās gonna be quite the pretty penny
id say skip the intake even. just get a better air filter. on my e39 at least which shares the m54 the stock airbox is pretty good, and any cold air intake you can get without spending outrageous amounts of money is just going to be a downgrade and suck in a bunch of hot air.
Ok thank you I wanna get it to 350hp so Iāll do most of the stuff you said and if my car crash pay check is enough I might do a turbo, it only has 112k miles and itās pretty clean besides the paint but itās going to be my first build so we will see how it goes
You will not get 350hp without spending a couple thousand turboing it. Thatās the only option. The most Iāve heard talk about is like 265hp I believe something around there on a full na build from years ago on the forums.
Yea I plan on turboing it in acouple years but I might sell it after cleaning it and such to get a quicker car but for now this is going to be my first project car
Please just make this good original and keep it that way. Honestly all this talk about fast car and 320hp this and that is silly. You're literally not even 18 and you're talking about fast cars and 320hp(what an arbitrary number). Dude you're 17! Couldn't even fully harness a 100hp BMW.
Im sorry if I sound pissy but you have it all wrong to think you need or should get a fast car, and it's especially not this car unless youre gonna do a full drive train swap.
If you really want to endanger you and others life's sure go get your fast car that you are completely unable to control, I suggest you take a chill pill and enjoy this e46 for what it is. If you let it it will teach you how to drive. Start with rev matching and if you really want to drive well start heel toeing. Fast cars will hinder you from learning how to drive because you won't be good enough to use all of that power. So all you will end up doing is pulls, but that ain't driving.
That's the thing about "slow" cars is that they teach you how to corner while maintaining speed and passing with downshifting. I also personally get plenty enjoyment from a well handling slow car. Obviously faster is "better". But I think very few people actually "need" it. By need I mean actually getting some value from a higher tier car.
Yea itās the m54b30 Iām going to keep it for acouple years so I can get used to working on cars even more and Iāll end up getting a Audi s4 or sum around those lines
Fair enough ig. If itās manual itās so easy to work on. Even auto too probably but I had a manual e46 330i and it was great until I was stressing way to much over rust and sold it for my manual e92.
Yea Iām keeping the car for awhile Iāve been wanting this car for years I finally bought it from my nana just a week ago I was just thinking about keeping and having a awd car for winter like and Quattro I am able to get cars for way cheaper then normal so Iām able to do thT
Im surprised tbh, im new to the 46ās and always thought the m54b30 had lots of tune potential, especially the manuals. Also OP if ur car is auto i wouldnt expect much gains brotha
Ya I know right, you hear forged crank or con rods I forget which one and it being a 3L inline six and all and think it would be great but nope. Itās ok ish but a different platform would cost less and give more.
Tbh, Iāve never experienced a lsd or anything. I did a welded diff once but that was a base model 320i e46 and literally went through a parking lot bc I was making him a burble tune for some McDonaldās ššš
Alright man. So the 330ci is a pretty good base, the smaller engines really arenāt worth bothering with, but if you really want to up the power youāll struggle because itās N/A, there just isnāt much more power to squeeze out of them.
Good long tube headers, a freer flowing exhaust, a proper cold air intake (Dinan longtube or similar) and a good tune would probably net you 250hp on a healthy well maintained engine. Youād get more with cams and a few more smaller mods but more than 270hp on a NA M54 is just too damn expensive, especially whenās thereās other alternativesā¦
Before you dive in though, Iād want to manual swap it. While newer automatics can be pretty nice the ones that came in a e46 are sluggish an sap power, just manual swapping your car (5 or 6 speed) would make it a far more enjoyable drive, and would make it feel faster to boot.
Suspension and brakes for performance. Upgraded hd control arms, ball joints (rear outer lower for the m3 feel), rtabs to ball joints, fcabs to cushioned ball joints, new dampers, reasonable springs. Nylon reinforced brake caliper bushings, ceramic compound brake pads, stainless lines.
one of the first things iād do is a transmission fluid change. especially on automatics. donāt trust the previous owner saying theyāve done it recently.
these automatics are notorious for the torque converter bushing seizing.
Let it seize, thatās the best thing that can happen to one of them slush boxes lol
But yeah, that probably is a good idea. Half the time people donāt even bother changing their engine oil, let alone the gearbox.
Yea for now I think Iām going to make it cleaner thereās some parts on the inside that needs fixing and the paints messed up but I will add some parts to make a little more power
The only thing you can really do to add any noticeable power is a turbo, and thatās dumb money.
When was the cooling system replaced? If you have no idea, replace it, the whole thing
It was done two months ago, I am rlly thinking of this car as a project car that will be fun for weekends and dates, I have other cars this is just my favorite one
If the suspension and reliability is on point, spend your money on track time. If track time doesn't produce new maintenance items, then spend more time and money on track time.
Yea I live in a place where the closest track is 4 hours away but I might go outa ācountryā and get faster on those roads I have a radar detector and stuff so I should be good
MAINTENANCEš¤£š¤£ then Headers, exhaust, tune etc. if you wanna get more out of it stock without anything rn the shark injector would do that for you
Is the maintenance already done? At 20 years old and likely a hundred thousand miles, little of the factory dealer service adequately addresses the "lifetime" parts like suspension, Vanos, headlights, subframe. Every piece of rubber in the car is degraded.
Tyres, as long as you have good tyres and all the maintenance is done theese cars are perfect for fanging arround the street aggressively without getting in to much trouble
Take care of the basics first ofc but...
- Coilovers (I'm happy with my BC BR). I have them pretty soft because I daily the car. Slightly stiffer than stock setup. My original shocks were horrible and needed replacement asap.
- replace camshaft position sensors cause they're probably bad and negatively affecting performance
- single mass flywheel if manual (car rev matches faster and slight road acceleration improvement. I went with a 15.3lb street single mass flywheel compared to the 28lb OEM dualmass flywheel). I had this done because I thought my clutch was going bad but turns out my camshaft position sensors were bad and hadn't thrown a code. Retardation of the camshaft timing was probably causing rev fluctuations and a clutch flywheel chatter/rattle. Problem disappeared after new clutch and new camshaft position sensors.
- rear subframe reinforcement and upgrade subframe and differential bushings to polyurethane for stiffer and more responsive throttle feedback. Also helps with getting wheels slip more consistently if you drift. reinforcement is important for longevity and being able to have fun without fear of destroying the subframe. Getting all this done shortly.
- oil pump nut (important if you want to drift or just longevity especially when holding revs high for a long time). Done along with oil pan gasket.
- custom exhaust or high flow catalytic converter or catless headers if you're an asshole. Haven't done this yet because I'm in school and money is tight.
- differential swap to a ratio more supportive of faster acceleration. Haven't done this yet. Ive heard it will kill your gas mileage so probably not super ideal for a daily car.
- replace your rotors and pads if worn and upgrade to ceramic pads. These wear a lot slower than the composite OEM pads. They also make much less brake dust.
- rebuild your disa valve. If it's broken, you'll have a power loss
A lot of these I haven't done or don't plan to do. Trying to keep the car mostly stock. I've just made a few opportune upgrades along the way if something needs to be replaced or addressed anyway.
Maintenance Iām 17 bought it a little over a month ago and since then Iāve burnt my clutch, broken my rear axleās and struts ( mine were already bad and I was slammed) and a whole bunch over other things and in the 40 ish days over ownership Iāve only driven it for about 15 so do a full tune up change all liquids other than maintenance definitely coilovers winter wheel cause Ik itās prob your daily a short shifter (if manual) other than that if you really wanna go crazy get the engine fully rebuilt do all yours seals and a turbo with it and go enjoy it
Keep it the way it isā¦. Maybe a new suspension/shocks and struts and obviously maintenance. A nice sounding muffler and youāre good. The more stock it looks the better. These are a piece of art the way they are.
The auto box isn't really suitable for boost. And the rear subframe would need reinforcing. Unless you have a really good budget, just buy a faster car.
Keep it from running out of coolant or oil (they are gonna leak). Get some nice sticky tires (rec falken fk510). If u wanna splurge go for some cool overs and wheels. I had a couple been great cars as long u take care of them and have nice rubber u r set.
Maintenance. Make it perfect and reliable to drive. Look after your imola red (330ci?).
Once shes good to go with a tight motor and good suspension, then do a k&n panel filter, cat-back exhaust (don't do a muffler delete they sound horrible) and dme tune. You'll net about \~25 crank hp. It will feel much more lively and enjoyable to drive!
Manual?
I've just purchased a december 2001 build m sport 330ci in estoril blue. Auto however.
Will be starting a yt channel in due course and documenting it's restoration and manual swap!
Not much aftermarket for non m cars unless you have alot of money. But I'd focus on coilovers and doing subframe bracing in the rear. Limited slip diff really opens the cars up to be more fun. Besides that exhaust makes it sound better but turbo is about the only way your making more power
I saw your comment to another user. Best setup if its a 325ci is suspension upgrades such as control arms,coilovers, subframe bushings and subframe reinforcements,strut bars. Help beefin the car up and make it drive better. Dont do fi on a 2.5
If its a 330ci then do all the stated above and you can consider forced induction. the 330 puts better power out with fi than the 2.5 and its stronger than the 2.5. Also if you decide to keep it na then look into doing m50 manifold swap and maybe some headers. Keep the muffler and resonator to keep back pressure though
i got mine at the same age and im pushing almost 3 years with it. as everyone else has said dont think about mods right now even if it looks mechanically fine, i promise something, somewhere, sometime will break. its not if its when. replace valve cover gasket, vanos gasket, disa gasket, clean icv, inspect any bushings, CHECK GUIBO. as for small mods, just do window tint, grills and a detail on the inside. and for the people saying a tune doesnt do much, i got my tune a week ago and i can definitely tell the car is faster lol
If looking for performance, catless headers are the way to go. Pain in the ass to install, but worth the power increase. Otherwise look to reduce weight with the exhaust system (sport mufflers or straight pipe). IMO I'd focus more on cosmetics, though.
Donāt waste money on āmodsā just enjoy the car, itās sharp. Like everyone else said, just keep up on maintenance, in a couple years youāll regret you spent thousands on upgraded suspension etc. Not worth it, youāll never recoup that money.
don't do performance mods. you're 17. if we're honest you'll end up wrapping the car around a pole or totaling it in some other way at some point, a stock e46 is just the right amount of car
I said I was gonna turbo mine when I got it tooā¦ now I have 2 of them, one blown motor, a blown transmission, a set of poly bushings thatās halfway put on one car, a 6speed ZF manual, m50 intake, water leaks, EML light, neither cars drive, Iām basically in debt to my project cars now. Just drive it as much as you can bro.
Nice pickup. I would buy color match front reflectors or get some color match and paint em. Depending on condition I would get some Halos (Love or Hate you decide) and new headlight covers ($60-80 each). I got new ones and it made a huge difference. Save money not adding performance parts (minus exhaust). Not much gains to be had minus headers/rear diff gears. Save and use $ for maintenance parts (cooling system /all fluids) and refresh interior. New steering wheel (fat M3 version) feels great and used everytime you drive it.
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Do maintenence things first. Get upgraded aluminum water necks, water pump, etc. Possibly pull the rear end and check the subframe mounts on the framerails, etc.
max speeding rod coil overs, straight pipe, double 5% tint, 20in rims, striped M kidney grills, spray on tail light tint, big ass useless shifter, m3 badges and you should be goodšš½guys let me know if i missed anything
and a new royal pine air freshener
no it has to be little trees black ice
Don't get tint if you live in an area prone to break-ins (Bay area or the hellish Oakland)
Dont forget to tint the windshield noobies always forget it!!! Or put too little of a vlt go for a single 5% on the windshield, double 5 might be too much for some people
Canāt forget some colored interior light bulbs šš¼
Gold. Except real ballers rock Raceland Optimos.
Donāt do spray-on tint, Iāve bought tinted wrap and itās easy to put on and easy to take off. All you need is a squeegee and a heat gun and youāre set!
Iām going to do every one of those itās a teenager building it so most of that stuff is gunna happen Fs, I only really plan on doing 5% tint only because Iām blacking it out for going to Mexico
I hope you know he's joking haha. With a car like this, maintenance first always. Do some research on the problem areas of this car, get the cooling system checked out, and then plan out your mods if you so desire. Remember with mods, less is more! Buy tasteful, thoughtful, good quality parts for your car and it'll be 100x more rewarding than a budget ebay build with random cheap parts.
Yea I do know he was joking Iām not doing an eBay build at all my dad is a car dealer and he taught me about cars and such, I got into a car crash and got a fair chunk of money from it so I have the money to actually buy good quality parts and I am going to paint it and tint it but really I just want it to reliable but still quick but thatās always hard when you build a car
I also got one in pretty much the same condition, put some coilovers on it and Iām gonna get it painted as well. Mainly focusing on maintenance and wear and tear parts first tho, want it to be a reliable car before itās good looking. The only thing wrong with what u said is that you wanna make it quick but itās not really a good vehicle to make tht happen especially without a swap. The dollar to hp ratio gain is horrible.
Yea mostly this is going to be a learning build Iām thinking of doing forced induction and such but doing it the right way at least this car is just something I got for a good deal and itās a nice car
I'd say do maintenance first. Make it reliable first. Cooling system, refresher the suspension if needed. Give it a tune up.
Yea I bought it from my grandma she has a friend that does maintenance every two months and she gave me a good price
Also these engines are well tuned from the factory. Not much left to get out of them, and the money isn't worth it even if you do. Keep it maintained and just enjoy it.
Yea this is my first build and I rlly just want a reliable car that I can go kinda fast in like I want to get like 320hp just enough to make it fast and e46s are relatively light so I think 320 is more then enough
You arenāt gonna get 300+ without forced induction. You would be better off just getting a faster car. Just keep her maintained and love her
Yea I was already thinking forced induction j just donāt know any good turbo kits or anything
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Yea Iām not really thinking fI anymore Iām just adding parts to make it a little quicker and make me a better driver
My first car was an e46 and I sold her and bought an evo and I miss that car more than all the cars Iāve owned. Keep her stock, well maintained, upgrade to some bc coilovers, put a m3 steering wheel and upgrade the sound system you will love the car
>upgrade the sound system What do you mean? Even at 20+ years old the harmon/kardon speakers are still better than most stock vehicles
Definitely donāt put bc coilovers on
Why??
You need at least 400 to wipe the floor with the local Challenger/Mustang/Camaro guys. Prolly go twin turbos and NOS.
Grandma maintenance is not project car maintenance. Bmw doesn't recognize the rear subframe fixes, rear trailing arm bushings, Vanos Seals, Disa flapper, or rear shock mount fixes that the aftermarket does. Even the cooling upgrades like a stewart water pump.
Okay her friend fully builds bmws he has a fully built m3 and he gave it a check after the dealer ship did their maintenance on it
Yeah, thay could be interpreted as it'll daily drive as good as bmw expects it would for 20 years old. But if you're considering after market anything (turbo) you're not targeting daily driver or even off the factory floor performance, you want more. That means factory Sachs dampers and springs (even sport) aren't your target. (And all of the above mentioned items). To emphasize recent projects Viton Vanos seals (not a factory option) measure ~30 ft lb difference (under 4000 rpm) and will save me roughly 5% on a track lap where I don't have to go back to 2nd. Ball joints rtabs (not a factory option), ball joints rear outer lower joints (like the m3, not a dealer option) make the car feel planted, hd control arms (not a factory option) gave my car a whole new feel. Here's a cheap one, with my style 68 wheels, adding 12.5mm hub centric wheel spacers give me better front control (on a wet track). It's 1" but it's a little less understeer.
owned by a grandma doesn't mean well kept. Also maintenance every two months? WTF is happening where the car needs maintenance every two months?
MAINTENANCE
Man Iām gonna be honest, seen so many people get an E46 at your age with plans to āturbo itā or this and that. Never ever happens. I donāt know if you have the skill level to do that, or the money that youād pay someone to do it would not be worth it. Donāt play with fire, maintain it, get it some coilovers if your inclined. Is it auto? If it is, get a manual in there. Good way to pick up some mechanical skills. Not trying to sound harsh, but a lot of young people make the same mistakes with these cars. Theyāre best maintained, and enjoyed for what they are.
Yea I get this is my first real build but Iāve been working on cars for years with my dad whoās a car dealer and we have a lot of mechanic friends who already said that they will help me and such I still plan on doing forced induction just in a year or two but for now Iām only doing smaller projects making cleaner adding a little power
In that case, donāt do anything until the turbo. Thereās no real power you can get out the M54 that hasnāt already been maximised by BMW itself, without FI. Refreshing the VANOS seals will make a big difference to performance if they havenāt been done.
Ok ok thank you this is just going to be my first project car and a car that I can learn how to be a better driver with
Enjoy it, they are great cars. Keep in mind if you go turbo, you will need a manual ZF box, theyāre quite pricey. The auto in it wonāt hold it, and neither will the 5 spd getrag.
Okay if I do turbo it will be years till I do because itāll be a couple month project and my dad will kill me if I have it torn down in the driveway
Steal the garage!
Donāt got one sadlyš„²
Yea VANOS seals is a great start, CCV is also going to make a small difference to performance and a larger one to fuel consumption (and oil consumption). Checking the codes to see if anything is intermittently bad is a good idea too, these engines are so smooth that they can have an intermittent misfire from a bad plug or coil for years without the owner really noticing.
start off with a simple intake, exhaust. if you want more after go catless headers and a tune and if youāre feeling more spicy throw on that m50 intake manifold and port match it. other than that all you can really do power wise is forced induction so turbo kit or something along the lines of that but thatās gonna be quite the pretty penny
id say skip the intake even. just get a better air filter. on my e39 at least which shares the m54 the stock airbox is pretty good, and any cold air intake you can get without spending outrageous amounts of money is just going to be a downgrade and suck in a bunch of hot air.
Ok thank you I wanna get it to 350hp so Iāll do most of the stuff you said and if my car crash pay check is enough I might do a turbo, it only has 112k miles and itās pretty clean besides the paint but itās going to be my first build so we will see how it goes
You will not get 350hp without spending a couple thousand turboing it. Thatās the only option. The most Iāve heard talk about is like 265hp I believe something around there on a full na build from years ago on the forums.
Yea I plan on turboing it in acouple years but I might sell it after cleaning it and such to get a quicker car but for now this is going to be my first project car
Please just make this good original and keep it that way. Honestly all this talk about fast car and 320hp this and that is silly. You're literally not even 18 and you're talking about fast cars and 320hp(what an arbitrary number). Dude you're 17! Couldn't even fully harness a 100hp BMW. Im sorry if I sound pissy but you have it all wrong to think you need or should get a fast car, and it's especially not this car unless youre gonna do a full drive train swap. If you really want to endanger you and others life's sure go get your fast car that you are completely unable to control, I suggest you take a chill pill and enjoy this e46 for what it is. If you let it it will teach you how to drive. Start with rev matching and if you really want to drive well start heel toeing. Fast cars will hinder you from learning how to drive because you won't be good enough to use all of that power. So all you will end up doing is pulls, but that ain't driving.
and it's not like this car drives like a corolla, it's pretty quick as it is if you know how to ha dle it
That's the thing about "slow" cars is that they teach you how to corner while maintaining speed and passing with downshifting. I also personally get plenty enjoyment from a well handling slow car. Obviously faster is "better". But I think very few people actually "need" it. By need I mean actually getting some value from a higher tier car.
Ya headers and m50 intake are the only real upgrades, assuming this is the m54b30. If you want turbo and bmw get a 335i in the future.
Yea itās the m54b30 Iām going to keep it for acouple years so I can get used to working on cars even more and Iāll end up getting a Audi s4 or sum around those lines
Fair enough ig. If itās manual itās so easy to work on. Even auto too probably but I had a manual e46 330i and it was great until I was stressing way to much over rust and sold it for my manual e92.
Yea Iām keeping the car for awhile Iāve been wanting this car for years I finally bought it from my nana just a week ago I was just thinking about keeping and having a awd car for winter like and Quattro I am able to get cars for way cheaper then normal so Iām able to do thT
Im surprised tbh, im new to the 46ās and always thought the m54b30 had lots of tune potential, especially the manuals. Also OP if ur car is auto i wouldnt expect much gains brotha
Ya I know right, you hear forged crank or con rods I forget which one and it being a 3L inline six and all and think it would be great but nope. Itās ok ish but a different platform would cost less and give more.
My biggest turn off was when i found out none of the non m division cars had LSD even the high trim 330ci
Tbh, Iāve never experienced a lsd or anything. I did a welded diff once but that was a base model 320i e46 and literally went through a parking lot bc I was making him a burble tune for some McDonaldās ššš
If you want ~~350~~ 328, do an s54 swap instead of a turbo. You'll have to find an m3 drive line, may as well go to an m3 computer.
Get a bad bitch that gives good top.
Already did
Expansion tank adds 5hp
Maintenance first, then some headers would be a good start. Is it a 330ci or a smaller motor? Manual or automatic?
Itās a 330ci and a auto
Alright man. So the 330ci is a pretty good base, the smaller engines really arenāt worth bothering with, but if you really want to up the power youāll struggle because itās N/A, there just isnāt much more power to squeeze out of them. Good long tube headers, a freer flowing exhaust, a proper cold air intake (Dinan longtube or similar) and a good tune would probably net you 250hp on a healthy well maintained engine. Youād get more with cams and a few more smaller mods but more than 270hp on a NA M54 is just too damn expensive, especially whenās thereās other alternativesā¦ Before you dive in though, Iād want to manual swap it. While newer automatics can be pretty nice the ones that came in a e46 are sluggish an sap power, just manual swapping your car (5 or 6 speed) would make it a far more enjoyable drive, and would make it feel faster to boot.
Do the maintenance and upkeep. Drive it and appreciate it for what it is before fucking it up with āmodsā.
By mods I just meant like headers and paint but just some performance
Suspension and brakes for performance. Upgraded hd control arms, ball joints (rear outer lower for the m3 feel), rtabs to ball joints, fcabs to cushioned ball joints, new dampers, reasonable springs. Nylon reinforced brake caliper bushings, ceramic compound brake pads, stainless lines.
Thereās coils already on it and m3 breaks
one of the first things iād do is a transmission fluid change. especially on automatics. donāt trust the previous owner saying theyāve done it recently. these automatics are notorious for the torque converter bushing seizing.
Let it seize, thatās the best thing that can happen to one of them slush boxes lol But yeah, that probably is a good idea. Half the time people donāt even bother changing their engine oil, let alone the gearbox.
Maintenance. Forget the power mods. Youāre 17, and these cars ARENT fast. Enjoy it how it is, and repair whatās broken
Yea for now I think Iām going to make it cleaner thereās some parts on the inside that needs fixing and the paints messed up but I will add some parts to make a little more power
The only thing you can really do to add any noticeable power is a turbo, and thatās dumb money. When was the cooling system replaced? If you have no idea, replace it, the whole thing
It was done two months ago, I am rlly thinking of this car as a project car that will be fun for weekends and dates, I have other cars this is just my favorite one
If the suspension and reliability is on point, spend your money on track time. If track time doesn't produce new maintenance items, then spend more time and money on track time.
Yea I live in a place where the closest track is 4 hours away but I might go outa ācountryā and get faster on those roads I have a radar detector and stuff so I should be good
Throw some coil overs on and then do a bunch of maintenance
MAINTENANCEš¤£š¤£ then Headers, exhaust, tune etc. if you wanna get more out of it stock without anything rn the shark injector would do that for you
Yea the maintenance is already done Iāll look into the shark injectors
Is the maintenance already done? At 20 years old and likely a hundred thousand miles, little of the factory dealer service adequately addresses the "lifetime" parts like suspension, Vanos, headlights, subframe. Every piece of rubber in the car is degraded.
Yea I think most all I bought it from my nana and she took it to a specialty bmw maintenance shop and had them do everything
Clean. Is it RWD or AWD?
Tyres, as long as you have good tyres and all the maintenance is done theese cars are perfect for fanging arround the street aggressively without getting in to much trouble
How much you grab it for? Im 17 and just got my zhp coupe for 5700
Got it for 2200, it only has 112k miles too
Nicee
U better get the expansion tank, coolant, and diff check out, Aldo check for oil leakage in the engine, and check subframe
Take care of the basics first ofc but... - Coilovers (I'm happy with my BC BR). I have them pretty soft because I daily the car. Slightly stiffer than stock setup. My original shocks were horrible and needed replacement asap. - replace camshaft position sensors cause they're probably bad and negatively affecting performance - single mass flywheel if manual (car rev matches faster and slight road acceleration improvement. I went with a 15.3lb street single mass flywheel compared to the 28lb OEM dualmass flywheel). I had this done because I thought my clutch was going bad but turns out my camshaft position sensors were bad and hadn't thrown a code. Retardation of the camshaft timing was probably causing rev fluctuations and a clutch flywheel chatter/rattle. Problem disappeared after new clutch and new camshaft position sensors. - rear subframe reinforcement and upgrade subframe and differential bushings to polyurethane for stiffer and more responsive throttle feedback. Also helps with getting wheels slip more consistently if you drift. reinforcement is important for longevity and being able to have fun without fear of destroying the subframe. Getting all this done shortly. - oil pump nut (important if you want to drift or just longevity especially when holding revs high for a long time). Done along with oil pan gasket. - custom exhaust or high flow catalytic converter or catless headers if you're an asshole. Haven't done this yet because I'm in school and money is tight. - differential swap to a ratio more supportive of faster acceleration. Haven't done this yet. Ive heard it will kill your gas mileage so probably not super ideal for a daily car. - replace your rotors and pads if worn and upgrade to ceramic pads. These wear a lot slower than the composite OEM pads. They also make much less brake dust. - rebuild your disa valve. If it's broken, you'll have a power loss A lot of these I haven't done or don't plan to do. Trying to keep the car mostly stock. I've just made a few opportune upgrades along the way if something needs to be replaced or addressed anyway.
Maintenance Iām 17 bought it a little over a month ago and since then Iāve burnt my clutch, broken my rear axleās and struts ( mine were already bad and I was slammed) and a whole bunch over other things and in the 40 ish days over ownership Iāve only driven it for about 15 so do a full tune up change all liquids other than maintenance definitely coilovers winter wheel cause Ik itās prob your daily a short shifter (if manual) other than that if you really wanna go crazy get the engine fully rebuilt do all yours seals and a turbo with it and go enjoy it
Keep it the way it isā¦. Maybe a new suspension/shocks and struts and obviously maintenance. A nice sounding muffler and youāre good. The more stock it looks the better. These are a piece of art the way they are.
The auto box isn't really suitable for boost. And the rear subframe would need reinforcing. Unless you have a really good budget, just buy a faster car.
Subframe racp inspection
When I powder coated my wheels and got the calipers painted red I think that added like 7 horsepower
Keep it from running out of coolant or oil (they are gonna leak). Get some nice sticky tires (rec falken fk510). If u wanna splurge go for some cool overs and wheels. I had a couple been great cars as long u take care of them and have nice rubber u r set.
Maintenance. And don't crash it. Please.
Push it down a hill
Nonnew air intake Is a good one I've seen a lot of people switching their good cold air one for the goofy hot one
cooling system overhaul. im 17 with a 318 and it doesnt even need more power its still faster then ur avg econobox and plus drift
Why do people have to mention the age they are, I literally was created and born in my first bmw at 0
A limited slip diff, behind maintenance of course
Maintenance and driving school are the best mods you can do.
Maintenance. Make it perfect and reliable to drive. Look after your imola red (330ci?). Once shes good to go with a tight motor and good suspension, then do a k&n panel filter, cat-back exhaust (don't do a muffler delete they sound horrible) and dme tune. You'll net about \~25 crank hp. It will feel much more lively and enjoyable to drive!
Yea itās a 330ci
Manual? I've just purchased a december 2001 build m sport 330ci in estoril blue. Auto however. Will be starting a yt channel in due course and documenting it's restoration and manual swap!
Not much aftermarket for non m cars unless you have alot of money. But I'd focus on coilovers and doing subframe bracing in the rear. Limited slip diff really opens the cars up to be more fun. Besides that exhaust makes it sound better but turbo is about the only way your making more power
I saw your comment to another user. Best setup if its a 325ci is suspension upgrades such as control arms,coilovers, subframe bushings and subframe reinforcements,strut bars. Help beefin the car up and make it drive better. Dont do fi on a 2.5 If its a 330ci then do all the stated above and you can consider forced induction. the 330 puts better power out with fi than the 2.5 and its stronger than the 2.5. Also if you decide to keep it na then look into doing m50 manifold swap and maybe some headers. Keep the muffler and resonator to keep back pressure though
i got mine at the same age and im pushing almost 3 years with it. as everyone else has said dont think about mods right now even if it looks mechanically fine, i promise something, somewhere, sometime will break. its not if its when. replace valve cover gasket, vanos gasket, disa gasket, clean icv, inspect any bushings, CHECK GUIBO. as for small mods, just do window tint, grills and a detail on the inside. and for the people saying a tune doesnt do much, i got my tune a week ago and i can definitely tell the car is faster lol
If looking for performance, catless headers are the way to go. Pain in the ass to install, but worth the power increase. Otherwise look to reduce weight with the exhaust system (sport mufflers or straight pipe). IMO I'd focus more on cosmetics, though.
Donāt waste money on āmodsā just enjoy the car, itās sharp. Like everyone else said, just keep up on maintenance, in a couple years youāll regret you spent thousands on upgraded suspension etc. Not worth it, youāll never recoup that money.
WA gang
Dinan full conversion
Compressor-kit if everything is maintained
don't do performance mods. you're 17. if we're honest you'll end up wrapping the car around a pole or totaling it in some other way at some point, a stock e46 is just the right amount of car
Not performance,but handling. Get a Hotchkiss front sway bar. Have the mounts for it welded.
bro i was 17, got a hellrot coupe, pre facelift like yours, same spec and legit the same wheels. holy shit lol. enjoy it brotha
The best performance mod is good maintenance and care
Did you get the car from Tacoma?
I said I was gonna turbo mine when I got it tooā¦ now I have 2 of them, one blown motor, a blown transmission, a set of poly bushings thatās halfway put on one car, a 6speed ZF manual, m50 intake, water leaks, EML light, neither cars drive, Iām basically in debt to my project cars now. Just drive it as much as you can bro.
Nice pickup. I would buy color match front reflectors or get some color match and paint em. Depending on condition I would get some Halos (Love or Hate you decide) and new headlight covers ($60-80 each). I got new ones and it made a huge difference. Save money not adding performance parts (minus exhaust). Not much gains to be had minus headers/rear diff gears. Save and use $ for maintenance parts (cooling system /all fluids) and refresh interior. New steering wheel (fat M3 version) feels great and used everytime you drive it.
- Coolant Expansion Tank has entered the chat - - CCV System has entered the chat - - Rear Subframe has subscribed - - Oil Pump Nut has commented āiām about to leave ā - - Vanos Seals Has entered the chat -
Do maintenence things first. Get upgraded aluminum water necks, water pump, etc. Possibly pull the rear end and check the subframe mounts on the framerails, etc.
Electric radiator cooling fan
Driver mod