My introduction!

[BMWCurves]

So, many of you may have seen me lurking around and posting on the classifieds since November and thought "who's this clown?" Well it's high time I formally introduce myself so you can get to know that clown.

I'm a young guy from Portland named William. I was lucky, in my opinion, that both of my parents drove sporty cars with manual transmissions while I was learning to drive. As a direct result I now have that indoctrinated love of manual transmissions and haven't looked back. I have always enjoyed the styling of the early 2000s BMWs (E46, E39) and I was fortunate enough to be able to drive my father's 1998 E39 540i from time to time (possibly the best grand touring car I have ever driven, and an intoxicating amount of torque). I moved to Philly for school and after I graduated, I saved up and purchased a fully loaded Orient Blue Metallic 2003 330Ci MT5 at a great price. I loved that thing. It got me around town with no fuss, even though it was hell driving on the terrible roads in the Northeast. After about two years of ownership, life dictated I move back to Portland in July of 2014 and I figured why not drive across the country? The trip was amazing, but sadly, my car was not destined to survive the trip. Early in the morning of America's birthday, just south of the Grand Canyon, I collided with an antelope at about 60 mph. Both me and my friend were alright, but the accident totaled the car. We decided we should soldier on and use a rental for the rest of the trip.

More details about the trip can be seen here: http://imgur.com/a/jRldz

So in August of last year I really wanted to replace my car with something similar. After looking for a few months and having little luck in good condition 330i's or 330Ci's, 2010+ GTIs, or A3/A4 Avants, I decided I would look into the ZHP which had previously not been attainable on my budget. Fast forward to November I joined ZHP mafia originally for the classifieds, but have begun to see how solid a community is on here and look forward to becoming more involved. I told myself that I wanted a ZHP sedan with the Cold Weather Package or at least fold down rear seats (they had been very helpful in my 330Ci and I couldn't live without them). After months of searching I took home today a 2005 BMW 330Ci ZHP in Orient Blue Metallic and Black leather interior with PDC and heated front seats, and only 49.4k miles! I didn't think I would be going back to a coupe, but the condition and the price were right and I pulled the trigger. Two pictures are below (sorry for the poor lighting, that was about 3 minutes after I got home). I have some maintenance to do (fluids front to back, check/replace thermostat since it seems to run cold and isn't an electrical code issue according to the mechanic, balance/align the wheels, rear brakes soon, etc), and plan for a few mods such as an AUX input, Shark Injector (will hold off for now), new alcantara wheel (would prefer to find a leather-wrapped wheel), tint, etc. I am incredibly excited!

http://i.imgur.com/2YQDS4L.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dZUe1jd.jpg

[UdubBadger]

Nice pick up. Welcome (officially)!


GoingHAM mobile

[ELCID86]

Welcome and thanks for exceeding my FS thread count! Nice car.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[Vas]

Welcome and nice car.

[BMWCurves]

Welcome and thanks for exceeding my FS thread count! Nice car.

Haha, my pleasure! I put everything I found during my search for my own car up there.

Does anyone know the best source for a ZHP leather steering wheel? OEM is ~$900, but that's way too expensive for my taste and is money better spent elsewhere (see: maintenance).

[johnrando]

Welcome
You can get a quality rewrap for the mid $300's I believe.

Sent from mobile

[danewilson77]

Welcome

"No flamesuit required"

[3ZHP]

Welcome, nice find.

[slater]

welcome! looks great.

you can get an OEM leather wheel from tischer for $495....been scoping that out myself!

peter

[oldzilla]

Welcome, excellent find.

[BMWCurves]

Welcome
You can get a quality rewrap for the mid $300's I believe.

Where from? I saw some on eBay for around that price and below, but I'm not sure of quality/reliability.


welcome! looks great.

you can get an OEM leather wheel from tischer for $495....been scoping that out myself!

peter

That's a thought! I'll keep my eye on that.

[UdubBadger]

Where from? I saw some on eBay for around that price and below, but I'm not sure of quality/reliability.
.

Cobywheel.com top quality


GoingHAM mobile

[johnrando]

It's a place in the Bay Area, I'll look for the name. William and I both got re-wraps from them in leather. If Coby Wheel does leather, use them, but I thought he was just Alcantara

[Hermes]

welcome! looks great.

you can get an OEM leather wheel from tischer for $495....been scoping that out myself!

peter

But that is for a smooth leather one, right? The perforated one is usually around $1000 new

[BMWCurves]

It's a place in the Bay Area, I'll look for the name. William and I both got re-wraps from them in leather. If Coby Wheel does leather, use them, but I thought he was just Alcantara

Yeah, I thought Coby Wheel only does alcantara rewraps. Let me know if you find the guy/place in the bay area that does leather wraps that look similar to the OEM ZHP leather ones. Thanks!

[KevinC]

Welcome! Your car looks spectacular, looking forward to seeing more of it.

[Hermes]

Also, welcome!

[cakM3]

Welcome William!


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[Ssparrow]

Good looking car!

[jwalther]

Welcome (officially)!

[fredo]

Welcome and congrats on the ZHP ! Sorry to hear about your first e46. But, she saved two souls (you and your friend). Your ZHP looks fantastic. Hope she will be up to your standards in no time.

[JupiterBMW]

Welcome to the family! Great looking car, and sounds like just a few little items for you to take care of. Personally, I like buying a car that needs a couple things, gives you a sense of accomplishment when you take care of them. Enjoy the car and keep us updated on her progress...

Also, glad to hear you and your friend managed without injury during your accident. :thumbsup

[ClimRox]

Welcome. Love the color!

[pfr]

Welcome, good luck! Looks like a great find!
- Peter

[Hornung418]

Welcome officially! Great that you found a better version of your first coupe!

[johnrando]

Found it. DCT Motorsports. The wrap is quality, looks good, and has perforations. But the perforations are not a small as the ZHP ones so it doesn't feel the same, and it doesn't QUITE look exactly like the ZHP wheel, but it's close. I'll see if I have a pic handy.

Look at post #159 in my thread. We both got the extra thick steering wheel wrap.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?4241-Jet-Black-ZHP-quot-Mini-quot-Mod-A-Palooza&p=229466&highlight=steering#post229466

[ELCID86]

Check with Mike at Coby. He was working on leather wraps. I got a custom partial for my son's Bday.

18780


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[UdubBadger]

Yeah, I thought Coby Wheel only does alcantara rewraps. Let me know if you find the guy/place in the bay area that does leather wraps that look similar to the OEM ZHP leather ones. Thanks!

GetBMWparts.com has the nice perforated leather ones for about that price.


GoingHAM mobile

[UdubBadger]

Check with Mike at Coby. He was working on leather wraps. I got a custom partial for my son's Bday.

18780


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

Nice!


GoingHAM mobile

[BMWCurves]

Found it. DCT Motorsports. The wrap is quality, looks good, and has perforations. But the perforations are not a small as the ZHP ones so it doesn't feel the same, and it doesn't QUITE look exactly like the ZHP wheel, but it's close. I'll see if I have a pic handy.

Look at post #159 in my thread. We both got the extra thick steering wheel wrap.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?4241-Jet-Black-ZHP-quot-Mini-quot-Mod-A-Palooza&p=229466&highlight=steering#post229466

Thanks! That looks pretty good to me. I checked out DCT Motorsports website (I think), and it doesn't look like they do a leather wrapped wheel in the OEM ZHP leather style. http://www.dctms.com/product_ST_BMW_E46.html. I'll have to keep looking I guess. Liked the mods in that thread though!

[BMWCurves]

Check with Mike at Coby. He was working on leather wraps. I got a custom partial for my son's Bday.

Shawn, that's very clean, looks great! Any idea how much that ran you for the custom job?


GetBMWparts.com has the nice perforated leather ones for about that price.

Seth, thanks for the heads up. The only one I could find there though was the OEM BMW one for $895, not just the wrap.

[az3579]

Found it. DCT Motorsports. The wrap is quality, looks good, and has perforations. But the perforations are not a small as the ZHP ones so it doesn't feel the same, and it doesn't QUITE look exactly like the ZHP wheel, but it's close. I'll see if I have a pic handy.

Look at post #159 in my thread. We both got the extra thick steering wheel wrap.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?4241-Jet-Black-ZHP-quot-Mini-quot-Mod-A-Palooza&p=229466&highlight=steering#post229466

I've driven Rando's car. The extra thick wheel feels NICE! It also looks amazing.


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[johnrando]

I've driven Rando's car. The extra thick wheel feels NICE! It also looks amazing.


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Thanks BP.


Thanks! That looks pretty good to me. I checked out DCT Motorsports website (I think), and it doesn't look like they do a leather wrapped wheel in the OEM ZHP leather style. http://www.dctms.com/product_ST_BMW_E46.html. I'll have to keep looking I guess. Liked the mods in that thread though!

Just send them a pic of what you want, they do custom. Oh, and thanks for the compliment.

[ELCID86]

The leather/alc wheel was @$25 more than just alc as I recall.


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[mysticzhp]

Welcome to the family and congrats on your sweet ride

[Oli77]

I rewraped my leather wheel (non-ZHP here) with a wheelskins.com purchase.
I have no complaints after 4 years. Solid product. Beats the tear that was there.
I went on top of the old leather.
Welcome.

[danewilson77]

I rewraped my leather wheel (non-ZHP here) with a wheelskins.com purchase.
I have no complaints after 4 years. Solid product. Beats the tear that was there.
I went on top of the old leather.
Welcome.
Been there, done this as well. I echo your comments.

"No flamesuit required"

[BMWCurves]

Just send them a pic of what you want, they do custom. Oh, and thanks for the compliment.

Just shot them an email, I'll see what they say. Thanks for the lead. In the meantime I plan to just clean the alcantara and see if that helps (it's pretty worn/greasy on the left side).


The leather/alc wheel was @$25 more than just alc as I recall.

Oh that's not bad at all! I'll keep my eye on that.

The other retrofit I have my eye on is the E90 mirror with auto-dimming and compass. I remember seeing a thread about it somewhere, I'll have to dig it up. Anyone here done it personally? Thanks again for all the help! While I was enjoying the weather at a scenic viewpoint around Portland I couldn't help myself and I snapped another couple pics:

http://i.imgur.com/DvVglTH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/FySkitL.jpg

[BMWCurves]

The leather/alc wheel was @$25 more than just alc as I recall.

I sent Mike an email and he said he doesn't do all leather, and prefers not to work with leather much anyways since he wasn't as familiar with it. Thanks for the suggestion though!

I think I'm going with John's suggestion of DCT Motor Sports. They quoted me $349 plus shipping to have my wheel done in a mix of perforated sides and Napa leather top and bottom with ///M tricolor stitching. That sounds fairly decent to me. Thanks for the help, John!

After getting the service records from the local BMW dealership where the car was serviced it looks like most of the fluids are original aside from the motor oil (per BMW's skimpy maintenance schedule). Even though the fluids only have 50k miles on them, they're 10 years old so it's time for them to go, along with several other maintenance parts. I've decided to buy the parts and wrench myself. I've only ever done oil changes and spark plugs on my old E46, but checking out DIYs and several videos, I don't think the following will be too difficult. I'm looking to pick up Turner Motorsport's maintenance service kit (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1065-e46-325330i-maintenance-service-package.aspx) and their cooling system overhaul kit since the thermostat is failing and I see potential cracks on the upper radiator inlet (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1987-complete-cooling-system-overhaul-package-1999-2006-e46-323i-325i-328i-330i.aspx).

Planned Maintenance List:

Change all fluids (power steering, motor oil, differential oil, transmission oil)
Filters (fuel, motor oil, air, cabin)
Cooling system overhaul (thermostat, sensors, radiator, expansion tank, water pump, hoses, etc)
Belts
Idler pulleys
Spark plugs

Brake service (needs to be done in ~5k miles), alignment, and charging the AC unit I plan to leave to a mechanic. I might do the CDV delete while I'm down there, I haven't decided. Can anyone chime in to how it feels without it?

[johnrando]

You're welcome. Pics when you get it.

[cakM3]

The other retrofit I have my eye on is the E90 mirror with auto-dimming and compass. I remember seeing a thread about it somewhere, I'll have to dig it up. Anyone here done it personally?

I have done this and it's posted in my ZHP project thread but mine also has the home link buttons at the bottom part of the mirror. It is completely plug-and-play. :thumbsup One of the easiest mods you can do :)

[trancenation]

I have done this and it's posted in my ZHP project thread but mine also has the home link buttons at the bottom part of the mirror. It is completely plug-and-play. :thumbsup One of the easiest mods you can do :)

Is it really plug-and-play? If I can recall, some pins may have to be swapped because of the bmw assist configuration.

[BMWCurves]

I have done this and it's posted in my ZHP project thread but mine also has the home link buttons at the bottom part of the mirror. It is completely plug-and-play. :thumbsup One of the easiest mods you can do :)

The part actually just came in the mail from eBay! Rooting around on various DIY threads, it looks like mine won't be quite plug and play because my original one doesn't have auto-dip or any other electrical function apart from the clown nose. I think I have to tap into one of the power sources in the upper console, but shouldn't be too difficult. I'm excited to get that done soon, along with all of the maintenance work.