melonz's ZHP

[melonz]

So yesterday I flew out to Denver, CO to pay for and take this 2004 Imola Red ZHP 6MT sedan home to California.

It's everything I wanted IR, alcantara interior, xenon, 6MT so I'm pretty happy.

The most memorable moment will be getting caught in heavy snow near Laramie, Wyoming. That was my first time driving in snow and the car had summer tires on. Needless to say I took it slow but I was really nervous that I couldn't see 10 feet ahead of the car.

The car had 102,375 miles on it at the start of the trip and it's clocked in at 103,600 miles.

Mechanically it is great with no problems whatsoever.
The interior is in pretty good shape as well but has wear on the center console as expected. The previous owner did a few things like add BMW bluetooth, pre-wire for Valentine, alcantara shift boot and hand brake boot.

However the exterior is another story. I guess Denver winter driving has taken its toll on the car with multiple chips in the paint on the hood and even on the trunk of the car. There are swirl marks and fine scratches which will be easy to get out with a detail. There are also scratches on the shadowline trim and the side mirrors need replacing. Also the tint job is not great. The rear is starting to peel and I think the front side windows are too dark for CA. I'm probably going to remove it.

Despite the shortcoming of the exterior I have to say I love the car! This blows my previous 330i out the water (2001 AW). Most notably my favorite part is the steering weight and feel. Also I really like the Imola Red, even more than Alpine white. My main focus will probably be getting the exterior of the car in better shape.

Also I drove without plates or a temporary tag. Is driving the car temporarily without plates or tags illegal? It is insured and I have the bill of sale and title signed over to me. The transaction took place at the wrong date and time to get temp tags from either the CA or CO DMV so that'll be the first thing I'll be doing Monday along with getting the ball rolling to register it such as emissions test and getting it verified by law enforcement.

[Avetiso]

Looks great! Love it.

[fredo]

Very nice. IR FTW !

[danewilson77]

Congrats!

"No flamesuit required"

[Hornung418]

Welcome! Was up that way when I bought my Mysticblau in SL, UT last year. Laramie was a quiet blip on I80. Only saw some factories near the interstate. My car had a lot of roadrash as well. But a new bumper and a respray will clean all of that up. Hope to see you posting!

Porsches rule! BMWs drool!

[melonz]

Thanks everyone!

Here are some things that stood out to me that need to be fixed lol. Also the piece of the trim that fills the channel on the roof for a bike rack is faded/oxidized as well.

Does anyone know what the shadowline chrome trim is? Is it just gloss paint or is it actually the material that's glossy?

[melonz]

And here are some pics from the drive.

[derbo]

Congrats!

Alcantara shift boot and ebrake boot are factory for ZHPs :)




Make sure to smog the car and get it registered! You should be able to smog it without any registrations.

http://www.dmv.org/ca-california/buy-sell/state-regulations.php


Buying from Out of State
If you are purchasing a vehicle from out of state, you must file the change of ownership and register the vehicle in California within 20 days.

Make sure the car meets all the qualifications for registration in California.

To help you, the DMV has prepared a brochure about registering nonresident vehicles and has also prepared an excellent list of things to look for when purchasing vehicles out of sate.

[melonz]

Thanks Derek, also didn't know that the boots came stock lol, always thought people bought them seperately. Actually just got it smogged now and it's good to go. I'm heading to the DMV tomorrow as well!

[derbo]

Thanks Derek, also didn't know that the boots came stock lol, always thought people bought them seperately. Actually just got it smogged now and it's good to go. I'm heading to the DMV tomorrow as well!

Enjoy your zhp! Dane would probably want me to point you to this:

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/content.php?30-Frequently-Asked-Questions-(FAQ)-About-the-BMW-E46-330-ZHP-Performance-Package-Option

:)

[johnrando]

Congrats on the pick up! GL with the exterior work.

[330blast]

Congrats!!

I sure will be looking for an IR ZHP in Mountain View area.

[ELCID86]

IR FTW!

[melonz]

Thanks everyone! Got it registered and got my plates woo!!!!

[ELCID86]

What next?

[Vas]

Sweet

[melonz]

OK, so I have some updates.

Overhauled the cooling system and installed a Stewart Pump in January at ~103,xxx miles.
Went without a hitch.

Today I am heading over to an E46fanatic's house (Kalim) to see if my DME is at its latest update. I've been getting a 2.5k-3k RPM pulsation during accelerating so hoping that this clears it up!

[Pip]

OK, so I have some updates.

Overhauled the cooling system and installed a Stewart Pump in January at ~103,xxx miles.
Went without a hitch.

Today I am heading over to an E46fanatic's house (Kalim) to see if my DME is at its latest update. I've been getting a 2.5k-3k RPM pulsation during accelerating so hoping that this clears it up!

Hmm. If I were to go to Kalim's house it'd be for a much different reason...S54.

[derbo]

Hmm. If I were to go to Kalim's house it'd be for a much different reason...S54.

It's definitely a much further drive for you haha. Kalim does a lot of side work related to maintenance/diagnostic for BMWs on his spare time to fuel his E46 addiction. :)

[johnrando]

Nice.

[melonz]

Today I was vaccuuming the car and when I slammed the trunk closed a puff (more like a small fistful) of green dust came out of the trunk and this fell out lol

18563

Checking out the trunk I see this.

Lol, I guess I need to buy a new part.

18564

[Oli77]

That's major corrosion. Take a volt meter and make sure you can get 12V across the 2 posts. Looks like you'll need some heavy grit sand paper to clean the green stuff off. You may not need a new part.

[derbo]

Also double check the trunk latch seal gasket. Mine was leaking from there and was the root cause of the corrosion.

This is the part number:
51-13-8-236-267

[ELCID86]

If you are lucky there wires and connectors are still all in good order. Mine were mostly shot and I had to run new wires. I hope to score a replacement handle from the IR part-out car here.

[Vas]

Also double check the trunk latch seal gasket. Mine was leaking from there and was the root cause of the corrosion.

This is the part number:
51-13-8-236-267

Easy to replace?

[derbo]

Easy to replace?

i think its like 4 t20 torx bolts to remove. Difficulty 1/10 provided you have torx bits (you should if you own a bmw..lol)

the gasket cost me $8.04

[ELCID86]

i think its like 4 t20 torx bolts to remove. Difficulty 1/10 provided you have torx bits (you should if you own a bmw..lol)

the gasket cost me $8.04
Yeah, that part isn't bad. Taking the handle apart (to rewire, etc) was a tad more difficult.

[melonz]

The connector on the right is basically non-existent. It appears that the green powder that fell on the ground was the contact lol.

[melonz]

So yesterday night I was driving home when I heard a plop plop plop and thank goodness I was just about home. My tires in the passenger rear had a screw in it and was losing air. This morning I took out the donut spare and I was like wow this thing is nice and firm with a smile on my face :) but when I dropped the car down the donut tire started to really deflate :( and the rush to get to a tire store that was open began.

1) I was pretty nervous using the BMW jack as I've never used one before and the fact that the joint was made of plastic. However I'm no longer worried. As long as you have those jack pads you're good (I keep 1 spare in my trunk). It was even at a slight angle and it held its ground.

2) Check your donut wheel's air pressure!!!! When it got hot it would tighten up a little but definitely not enough. These are ~10 years old so go check em.

The previous tires on the rear of the car were Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star spec tires 255/35R-18's. In addition to the screw I was down to the wear bar for the rears. Keep in mind these tires were bought in 5/2010 @ 72,745 - it's been nearly 5 years and around ~ 36,000 miles. The fronts are still good.

I opted for the Bridgestone RE760, mainly since I was just replacing the rears and I would get all 4 changed later when the fronts wore. I wanted to try Yokohama S drive tires but unfortunately wheel works does not carry them anymore and the only other option for the tire size was the Pole Position RE970AS. On the drive home I sort of wished I got the 970's... compared to the Dunlops it was painfully obvious that I was slower off the line as well as braking distance increased - of course expected of tires that cost nearly 2x more than what I got.

[melonz]

Replaced my windshield cowl a few days ago. No need to remove the cabin air filter housing as some DIY's say.

Lots of leaves found. Second photo was gross. :(

19968

19969

Also made sure the arms were in the right place - I searched online prior to consulting the bentley manual and saw that the E90 folks have to angle the blades as well. Didn't find anything about that in the manual so I assume we don't have to.

19970

lol

http://i.imgur.com/rkGtqUol.jpg?1

Finished
19971

[derbo]

a new cowl always looks great! :) What is in that 2ndpic? gunk?

[danewilson77]

Great work.

[melonz]

Thanks Dane!


a new cowl always looks great! :) What is in that 2ndpic? gunk?

Dead leaves and dirt. I sprayed it down but I'm not sure if it leads anywhere to drain large pieces but the water did drain so I hope so.

[Dylanj17]

were you able to figure out if the pulsating between 2.5k-3k was a result of dme needing to be updated? i have been experiencing pulsating in the same rpm range and it seem to be getting worse in the past few days.

[melonz]

were you able to figure out if the pulsating between 2.5k-3k was a result of dme needing to be updated? i have been experiencing pulsating in the same rpm range and it seem to be getting worse in the past few days.

Sorry for the lack of response but YES! My DME was still on the factory update and flashing it removed the pulsating.

[melonz]

I've had a whole laundry list of things to do with the car.


Change the starter - recently, I've usually had to turn the key more than once in order to get the car to start. I could hear the starter spinning but no engagement. It was getting worse and needed up to 6 turns to get the engine started. Good thing I had a spare starter around.
Fix OFHG leak - I have the Viton gasket from Bav Auto that's waiting to go in.
Replace CCV but I managed to get my hands on an M56 valve cover and most of the necessary parts (dipstick, harness). Breather tube is still coming from AutohausAZ any day now


Just finished putting the starter in today and torqued down the M56 cover so I'll be able to get the car up and running sometime this week.

[johnrando]

Nice werk.

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