Hey all!!!

[94jedi]

Hello ZHPMafia!!! Just a quick intro here.

I bought my first BMW this past September; a 2003 Blk/Blk 330i ZHP 6MT with 91k on it for $9400. I absolutely love it. It's not perfect aesthetically and it needs maintenance, but it drives wonderfully. My only regret is not buying a ZHP sooner.

Now a little about me - I'm a few years away from the big 4-0 (we'll leave it at that lol) and have been an automobile enthusiast all my life. I started with 5.0 mustangs, then VW's (initially as a DD when my mustangs became a bit too uncivilized for DD duty). After VW's, I had a brief stint with Jeep Wranglers (TJ's) and then found Audi's and Quattro and of course, the 1.8T engines. At one point, I had the second ever t3t4 (50 trim) Audi A4. After a few years, I decided to sell the A4 and bought a Mazdaspeed3. I threw everything bolt-on at it and quickly realized the 300whp in a FWD car is pretty useless. It was fun, but the car had no soul. My daughter was born shortly after that and I sold it in favor of an SUV. After 4 years in automotive purgatory (2006 honda civic), I changed jobs and no longer had a 100 mile daily commute so I started looking at cars again. After several months, I found my ZHP.

As a result of all that automotive history, I have a pretty good knowledge base to work from. I've been on various internet forums related to my past cars since the mid 90's. I'm a DIY'er mainly, but with a family and time being a precious commodity, If it makes sense to pay someone else to do it, I'll go that route. Although I have almost always heavily modified my cars in the past, this car is a bit different for me. Maybe it's due to age & wisdom, or maybe just limited funds due to family priorities, but this car feels pretty well balanced from the start and doesn't need too many "aftermarket upgrades". That point of view may change over time but that's how I see it for now. Of course, there are a few things on the wish-list but that's a topic for another thread.

I look forward to being an active and contributing member to this forum as well as learning as much as I can from all of you. Thanks for having me!

Obligatory pic of the car-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/94jedi/20130907_191935_zps96a1e21d.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/94jedi/media/20130907_191935_zps96a1e21d.jpg.html)

[kayger12]

Great intro. Welcome to the family.

[HokieZHP]

Welcome! Don't worry, you'll find one or two things to change to make the car your own haha

[ELCID86]

Willkommen. Glad to have you.

[Vas]

Welcome to the Mafia.

[Pip]

Welcome!

[94jedi]

Thanks for the hospitality fellas! One thing I forgot to mention - I owe ELCID86 (Shawn) a big thank you and maybe even a Dogfish Head or EVO craft brew for getting me accepted into "The Mafia." He found me over on e46fans, languishing in the wastelands lol.

[Lanister]

Welcome!

Sent from outer space...

[PirateZHP]

Welcome! Is that Jet Black? If so, welcome to the club!

[94jedi]

Welcome! Is that Jet Black? If so, welcome to the club!

I believe so but not positive. I've seen some Black Sapphires and they look a bit different than mine. That pic above was just after a full wash, claybar, re-wash, polish, then wax.

[3ZHP]

Nice intro and welcome to the family.


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[derbo]

Welcome sir! Dogfish or EVO sounds delicious.

Be sure to start a project thread when you do believe it needs some upgrades ;)

[johnrando]

Welcome out of the e46f.c wasteland. (Although I still dabble over there, this is home). And, welcome to the black zhp club (we have a black zhp photo thread in here). And finally, def welcome to the Jet Black zhp club if it is indeed that. Paint code 668. Sapphire black is a metallic black.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

[94jedi]

Welcome sir! Dogfish or EVO sounds delicious.

Be sure to start a project thread when you do believe it needs some upgrades ;)

I've been here less than 3 hours and I'm already eying a few key upgrades!

[kayger12]

I believe so but not positive. I've seen some Black Sapphires and they look a bit different than mine. That pic above was just after a full wash, claybar, re-wash, polish, then wax.

Pop the hood and look for your paint code on the driver's side strut tower.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/7df3022d-c0e3-422c-bce2-050d370b3e7c_zps47b5689e.jpg

[danewilson77]

Welcome

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[330blast]

Welcome to the family. You got a killer deal, way below the market price for that mileage.

Enjoy!!

[brettbimmer]

Welcome to the Mafia! I think that I may be one of the closest members to you up in Easton, MD. Not too many ZHPs around the eastern shore of MD, though occasionally I will see one headed down to the beach! If you need a good BMW specific independent mechanic, I have a great one in Easton, though it would be a bit of a drive up for you to have work done. As always, please let the family know if you have any questions, etc. on your ZHP!
-Brett

[Lanister]

I've been here less than 3 hours and I'm already eying a few key upgrades!

Speaking from personal experience (and having a zhp of similar mileage), I would suggest holding off on the mods and focusing on the immediate near-100k maintenance items, such as: CCV+plumbing refresh, oil filter housing gasket (OFHG), VANOS rebuild, DISA check, upper and lower intake boots. These are the items that are pretty much guaranteed to fail around 100k if not sooner. I'm at 92k and I just did the first two and they were toast. If you're a DYI-type of person, it will save you a lot on labor but it does take a bit of time, especially if you're doing these things for the first time.

[Avetiso]

Welcome!

[94jedi]

Speaking from personal experience (and having a zhp of similar mileage), I would suggest holding off on the mods and focusing on the immediate near-100k maintenance items, such as: CCV+plumbing refresh, oil filter housing gasket (OFHG), VANOS rebuild, DISA check, upper and lower intake boots. These are the items that are pretty much guaranteed to fail around 100k if not sooner. I'm at 92k and I just did the first two and they were toast. If you're a DYI-type of person, it will save you a lot on labor but it does take a bit of time, especially if you're doing these things for the first time.

Absolutely. Since I didn't get much maintenance history with the car save for new tires/alternator/battery/sunroof/brakes and a few other minor things, the first thing I did was take the car to my local BMW indy shop for Inspection I. (Oddly enough, the carfax showed about 18 services done but wasn't specific about what those items were) Everything seems to be fine, but of course, it was recommended to replace the basic e46 items. Cooling system, VCG, FCABs/RTABs, etc.

I also had a 4 wheel alignment done which was pretty silly if I'm going to be doing FCABs/RTABs soon. I plan on going with powerflex bushings.


Maintenance is my #1 priority with this car at this time, although I do need to find a bluetooth/streaming media/ipod solution asap.

[Avetiso]

Buy akg bushings. Ask Justin. :rofl

[94jedi]

Welcome to the Mafia! I think that I may be one of the closest members to you up in Easton, MD. Not too many ZHPs around the eastern shore of MD, though occasionally I will see one headed down to the beach! If you need a good BMW specific independent mechanic, I have a great one in Easton, though it would be a bit of a drive up for you to have work done. As always, please let the family know if you have any questions, etc. on your ZHP!
-Brett

Thanks Brett! I've seen a few others on this side of the bridge but we're even more rare out here than usual.

[Lanister]

Absolutely. Since I didn't get much maintenance history with the car save for new tires/alternator/battery/sunroof/brakes and a few other minor things, the first thing I did was take the car to my local BMW indy shop for Inspection I. (Oddly enough, the carfax showed about 18 services done but wasn't specific about what those items were) Everything seems to be fine, but of course, it was recommended to replace the basic e46 items. Cooling system, VCG, FCABs/RTABs, etc.

I also had a 4 wheel alignment done which was pretty silly if I'm going to be doing FCABs/RTABs soon. I plan on going with powerflex bushings.


Maintenance is my #1 priority with this car at this time, although I do need to find a bluetooth/streaming media/ipod solution asap.

As far as I know, there isn't a good, comprehensive bluetooth streaming solution out there yet. You could get it done by replacing the entire deck with an aftermarket option. There are a few that look very much like stock OEM decks. Here's a thread Gary (WolfN8R) developed over time:

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?10876-Eonon-d5150-install&p=293968#post293968

You could also get a DICE unit with iPod/iPhone integration but that's a wired solution.

If you're looking for something quick, get an AUX-In. That's by far the cheapest and fastest way to get music playing out of your phone on car's stereo.

[94jedi]

Welcome! Is that Jet Black? If so, welcome to the club!


...And, welcome to the black zhp club (we have a black zhp photo thread in here). And finally, def welcome to the Jet Black zhp club if it is indeed that. Paint code 668. Sapphire black is a metallic black.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

Confirmed Jet Black, paint code 668.

[johnrando]

Awww yeah!

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[PirateZHP]

Confirmed Jet Black, paint code 668.

Nice!

[RITmusic2k]

Greetings Jedi!

Welcome to the family from another jet black/black sedan! You're going to fall into a very mature kind of love with this car, if you haven't already. Looking forward to making your acquaintance across the pages!

EDIT: I'm assuming you were class of '94?

[94jedi]

Greetings Jedi!

Welcome to the family from another jet black/black sedan! You're going to fall into a very mature kind of love with this car, if you haven't already. Looking forward to making your acquaintance across the pages!

EDIT: I'm assuming you were class of '94?

Thanks! Definitely a bit of a different feeling with this car. It suits me perfectly.

My screen name is a funny thing actually - long story short, I had a foreign friend in high school that had a really old VW Jetta and for some reason pronounced Jetta as "Jedi". I was actually class of 95 but a few years after high school, I bought a 94 Jetta 2.0. I had always used a "Year/Model" convention for my screen names (88GT, 86Golf, 88GTi, etc) so 94Jetta should have been it but my foreign friend's butchering of the Jetta name-plate stuck and I've been 94Jedi ever since. So yea, I'm not even a big Star Wars fan lol. At least not anymore than the average joe.

[echo46]

Welcome

[Oli77]

Howdy from kY

[fredo]

Welcome, kind sir ! You will like this forum.

[94jedi]

As far as I know, there isn't a good, comprehensive bluetooth streaming solution out there yet. You could get it done by replacing the entire deck with an aftermarket option. There are a few that look very much like stock OEM decks. Here's a thread Gary (WolfN8R) developed over time:

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?10876-Eonon-d5150-install&p=293968#post293968

You could also get a DICE unit with iPod/iPhone integration but that's a wired solution.

If you're looking for something quick, get an AUX-In. That's by far the cheapest and fastest way to get music playing out of your phone on car's stereo.

I searched around a bit and found this. More than I want to pay, ideally, but it does everything I need.

So after plenty of searching, I think this is my only option.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5791-dice-mediabridge-bmw-bluetooth-iphone-integration-kit.aspx

[Imola.ZHP]

Welcome, there have been some people that have had "issues" with the media bridge, unfortunately (as Lanister put it) there just isn't a good solution for bluetooth streaming. Our cars are just too old.

I'm still using an ancient DICE iPod/iPhone kit with an Apple adapter for my iPhone 5. Its not that bad, sometimes there is a bit of noise in it, seems to come and go and has been gone lately.

[94jedi]

Welcome, there have been some people that have had "issues" with the media bridge, unfortunately (as Lanister put it) there just isn't a good solution for bluetooth streaming. Our cars are just too old.

I'm still using an ancient DICE iPod/iPhone kit with an Apple adapter for my iPhone 5. Its not that bad, sometimes there is a bit of noise in it, seems to come and go and has been gone lately.

A little follow up - I ended up ordering this: http://enfigcarstereo.com/DENSION_GBL3BM1.html

Seems to work well based on the little feedback I've seen. I'll let you guys know how it works for me!

[ELCID86]

Super. In for feedback.

[johnrando]

Def in for feedback, and if it works with your steering wheel controls.

[cakM3]

A little follow up - I ended up ordering this: http://enfigcarstereo.com/DENSION_GBL3BM1.html

Seems to work well based on the little feedback I've seen. I'll let you guys know how it works for me!

Looks like this kit is more suited for cars with the BMW Business Radio vice OE Navigation systems.....unfortunate.....

[johnrando]

Ah, good catch Charlie.

[cakM3]

Ah, good catch Charlie.

I try Rando, thanks! :thumbsup

[ELCID86]

Looks like this kit is more suited for cars with the BMW Business Radio vice OE Navigation systems.....unfortunate.....
I think when I emailed w/ Denison a while back they did have a NAV option. Let me check my emails.

[ELCID86]

Turns out Dension closed the case I had open w/out resolving it. I just reopened it.

[ELCID86]

I think this is where PAC lead me. http://pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1135&CategoryID=51 plus http://pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1156&CategoryID=54 does that seem correct?

#FullonHijack

These are the other options that come up:
http://pac-audio.com/productSearch.aspx?Make=BMW&MakeId=2&Model=3%20Series/M3&ModelId=1533&Year=2004&YearId=15

[Yass_ZHP]

Welcome! Nice ride!

[ELCID86]

I think this is where PAC lead me. http://pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1135&CategoryID=51 plus http://pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1156&CategoryID=54 does that seem correct?

#FullonHijack

These are the other options that come up:
http://pac-audio.com/productSearch.aspx?Make=BMW&MakeId=2&Model=3%20Series/M3&ModelId=1533&Year=2004&YearId=15

Well to continue the hijack and try to close this conversation, I have not heard back from Dension, but did recieve several emails back from autotoys.com.

Since one of your requirements is Iphone 5 compatibility.

" AUTOTOYS.COM STAFF 1: For your car with 16:9 navigation, you can use http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=25723
The PRO unit can be flashed with new firmware to support Iphone 5 natively.

In some BMWs, the tuner is actually in the back of the vehicle. If it is in the back, the unit wires in the trunk of the car. Optionally, you can buy this
http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=27934
which will extend the unit back to the front.
it doesnt connect at the cd changer, it connects the TUNERS Radio's plug.

For the other non-nav car, if your car has a prewired 3 and 6 pin cd changer cable, you can use the Dice Mediabridge
See http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=16042 "
(http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=16042)

[johnrando]

Makes sense. Essentially my DICE kit has the cable that runs to the front of the car (from the rear "computer" for the box that the phone/ipod hooks into and it also hooks right into the NAV head unit in the dash.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Welcome.