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10-12-2013, 10:37 PM | #1 |
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Out With the Old in With the New or Not So New
As some of you already know my 135i was T Boned by someone running a red. Good news was that I had no passenger, I turned out alright with just minor lacerations on my arm, and that she didn't hit my wheels or mods LOL.
After the accident I decided I wanted to get into an M car. I felt that the E46 M3 offered everything I'd be happy with at a great price. My expectations have so far been blown away. The handling on the E46 M3 far exceeds my 135i even though I had the e9x M3 front suspension + KW V2's on it. It doesn't have the power that my FBO 135i had but I feel as if the much better handling makes up for it. Only negative part is the maintenance is pretty expensive. For example I ordered an oil change kit, diff fluid change kit and tranny fluid change kit and my total came up to over $350 using all OEM fluids not including any labor I'll have to pay. The color might be a bit to flashy since on a daily basis I get asked by strangers if it's the original color of the car or not. But it definitely looks much better in person than in all the pictures for some reason. 2003.5 E46 M3 108k miles Options: Phoenix Yellow Sunroof Delete Black M-Cloth interior Non powered seats 6 Speed MT Piano Black Trim Key Hole Delete Headlight Washer Delete Mods: VMR V710 19” Matte Black Wheels (8.5F-245/35, 9.5R-275/30) w/Nitto Invos (2K miles) ST Coilovers Performance Friction Direct Drive 2 piece floating rotors w/ Z-rated pads (3K miles) BMW OEM Alarm K&N 57 Cold Air Intake w/maf screen BMW Short Throw Shift Kit Macht Schnell Shift knob Turner Motorsport Pedals ZKW-R HID lens’s w/6K bulbs Alcantara Tri-Stitch Steering wheel (w/wheel stripe) Alcantara Tri-Stitch shift and E-brake boot Autotecknic Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel Trim ACS Carbon Fiber Trunk Spoiler Custom floormats w/Yellow piping Yellow high-beam flashers 6000K HID foglight kit Euro Tray (sliding) Carbon Fiber BMW Roundels Matte Black side grills and Kidney grills Matte Black M3 emblem Color Matched Side Markers Smoked Clear Corners Adjustable Clutch Stop LED license plate lights DIY “Outer Taillight Ring” mod Last edited by cooler2442; 10-12-2013 at 10:43 PM.. |
10-12-2013, 10:48 PM | #2 |
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My second favorite colour for the E46. Glad you weren't seriously hurt.
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| Dinan S2=>MHD | e46 M3 trans mounts | Dinan CF CAI | ER CP | HKS SSQV4 BOV | RB PCV Valve | VRSF DP | N55 MP | BMW PE | OC | VRSF 7" FMIC | UUC Evo3 SSK | EBC GD Sport Rotors | EBC Redstuff | TRW F+R | | Whiteline KDT918 | H&R Front Sway | BMWP 313 | MPSS 225/255 | Scopione CF Rear Diffuser | iCarbon CF Rear Spoiler | P3 v2.1 Gauge | Interior LED Retrofit |
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10-12-2013, 11:31 PM | #3 |
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Really nice to be in a proper M car. We are all Jelly.
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10-13-2013, 01:18 AM | #4 |
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Drives: 135is :) 192/586
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That's one tastefully modded E46 M3. I'm just not feeling it with the shifter. Congrats on your new ride but sorry for your loss.
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10-13-2013, 07:20 AM | #6 |
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Garage List F15 X5 xDrive35i [8.75]
E86 Z4 M [10.00] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.43] E82 135is (Retired) [9.50] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.41] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.25] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [9.24] |
Function over form
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10-13-2013, 07:40 AM | #7 |
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Sorry to hear about your crash and lucky you are okay. I've always loved the E46 M3, especially in Phoenix Yellow. I think it's one of the best cars BMW has ever made. Congrats and enjoy. Yours is in great condition.
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10-13-2013, 08:13 AM | #8 |
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Glad things worked out for you. That is once nice E46!
It's funny though, my first thought when I saw the pic of the 135i was "damn that sucks, but at least the wheels survived." lol |
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10-13-2013, 09:27 AM | #9 |
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wow....really sucks about your 1er, man!
have fun in your new ride! |
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10-13-2013, 12:39 PM | #10 | |||||
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I might actually grab a new shifter later on. That new illuminated ZHP M5 shifter tempts me lol. |
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10-13-2013, 12:50 PM | #11 |
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Allways loved the E46/M3 Owned a carbon black/red imola back in 2005 timeframe. Gorgeous car, 8500RPM redline, stiff suspesnion, LSD diff, perfect tool for the track. More restrictions and expenses if you're looking at power mods, but hard to beat the great balance with this car.
Glad you weren't hurt too bad. Good luck with the M car!
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2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT | 255 square tire setup | Quaife 3.46 LSD | Diff lock down bracket | Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB | CDV delete | BMS Oil Tstat bypass | ER FMIC & CP | N54Tuning DP | GC Street Camber Plates | M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts | Manzo toe arms | Cobb Stg2 agressive tune | Hawk DTC70 brake pads | RB SS brake pistons | Goodridge SS brake lines | Custom brake cooling ducts
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10-13-2013, 02:11 PM | #12 |
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Awesome man
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10-15-2013, 03:04 PM | #16 |
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Drives: 12' 135i
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glad your still in the family! dope pick up!!
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Matthew Gallop: '12 N55 Mods: JB4 Flex ISO | iCarbon DP | VRSF 5" FMIC | BMS Intake | ER Charge Pipe | Race Axleback | ST Coils | Alufelgen CS7's | iCarbon 3 fin Diffuser | Blackline LCI | CarbonFiber Spoiler | Orion v4 AE's | 30% tint | red+blk roundels | Cyba Scoops | H-Style front Lip | WeissLicht LED Smoked Sidemarkers | Matte Grills | Coded | |
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10-15-2013, 08:49 PM | #17 | |
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The E46 M3 is the best looking of any BMW in the last 30 years IMHO. I kind of tear up when I see my old one at the parking lot at work (I sold it to a co-worker). |
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10-15-2013, 10:08 PM | #18 | |
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10-16-2013, 05:46 AM | #19 | |
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Posted from 1addicts.com App for Android |
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10-16-2013, 08:50 AM | #20 |
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Bolt on (intake/exhaust/cam/tune) S54s get up to ~360-370 SAE RWHP these days.
Bolt on FI takes you to ~450 SAW RWHP. More extreme FI has gone up to ~1200 crank HP, but that some pretty serious building. And, honestly, WAY too much power for the chassis to handle. I think the e46 chassis is pretty ideally suited to ~500 crank hp. If you're looking for cheap power, ebay headers (with their associated possible leaks, fitment issues, etc) and a DIY tune (easy these days) nets 25-30 hp for ~$200. S54 tuning has really moved forward in the last two years! I'm in the boat that FI is satan, so my car is currently sitting at 328rwhp... but I have a CSL intake on the way, as well as CSL based ECU tuning (MAP sensors instead of MAF), and hoping that will push me to ~340rwhp. Then I kind of want cams. After that, not doing anything till I need a rebuild (fail a compression/leak down test, hopefully not until ~250,000 miles). At which point, thermal coatings, bump it to 12:1, maybe a slight displacement increase. Once I'm 12:1, I'll remap the sport button to be a 93/91 octane switch and retard timing to keep her from knocking when on 91.
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2005 M3 Coupe, 2004 M3 Wagon, 2001 M5 Sedan, 2008 M5 6MT Sedan, 2012 128i M sport |
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10-16-2013, 11:16 PM | #21 | |
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Its been a few years since I had mine, but I still can remember that crayon smell the car had lol. |
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10-17-2013, 05:40 AM | #22 |
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Awsome e46 M3! i was also checking those out but damn the fuel economy
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Bmw 135i Convertable White... |
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