What should I do? [Archive] - BMW E46 330 ZHP For Sale Forum

ZHP_Brandon

11-12-2015, 03:58 PM

BMWCurves

11-12-2015, 05:54 PM

I wanna do a full tune up and cooling system refresh this winter, (Preventative Maintenance) just looking to piece together everything needed then doing it over one long weekend like Thanks Giving to just know its been done during MY owner ship.

In my opinion it is always good to have your car running mechanically first before doing other modifications, so I think you're doing the smart thing. I did both a cooling system overhaul and an Inspection II (60k miles maintenance) equivalent when I purchased my car. I used kits for both from Turner Motorsport and they have worked great so far. Links to which which can be found below:

Cooling System Overhaul: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1987-complete-cooling-system-overhaul-package-1999-2006-e46-323i-325i-328i-330i.aspx
Maintenance Kit: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1065-e46-325330i-maintenance-service-package.aspx

How many miles does your car have, and what maintenance has been done? That should dictate what maintenance needs to be addressed.

Any opinions on Liqu-Moly Vs. Mobil1? Due for an oil change in the next couple hundred miles!

I don't know, but there's an entire thread here (http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?942-The-Oil-Thread) on engine oil for our cars. I'm going to go Mobil1 0W-40 on my next oil change. I currently have BMW's 5W-30 with no real complaints other than my oil level sensor is triggered every so often even though my dipstick shows my oil level is full.

Interested in running a different exhaust on her, considering headers but not 100% definite.

There's a bunch of exhaust threads on the subject. Many people opt for the UUC TSE3 exhaust. Headers would be nice but you do have to consider the emissions codes aftermarket headers can cause which can be an issue for states with emissions tests.

M3 Mirrors, and how to mount them - yes I know it is quite the task as Wilson's said it is not the easiest to get it to work.

Do you have a sedan or a coupe? I'm told it's much less work on a coupe although you still have to swap out the motors in the mirrors. You'll have to do some fabrication to get M3 mirrors to fit on a sedan.

Shark Chip? Ive heard some good but mixed reviews on what it actually does for the butt dyno :headbang:headbang:headbang:headbang

I have the Conforti Shark Injector tune and I'm not particularly impressed with it. My butt dyno says it's a little peppier at the top end, but I doubt it's really putting out more than a few whp. I don't regret buying it, but the list price of $350 can be better spent elsewhere, IMO.

Considering a brake upgrade in the distant future.

Always a great upgrade, but can be expensive! I personally am going with BMW Performance drilled rotors that a member is selling on the forum. It'll shed a few pounds of unsprung weight, should give a slight edge to wet weather performance, which is good for me living in the PNW, and looks the absolute business. I don't intend to upgrade larger calipers unless a good deal comes along.

If all else fails, Maybe I'll pull the trigger on TS2+ SC system in a years time :rofl:headbang:word, Really just making this posts for reviews on what you guys have done, pointers, and anything else that you guys think would help me out in the long run.

An ESS supercharger is my dream modification, but I don't have several grand lying around for that upgrade :crying A handful of people here have that and I believe they all love it.

Other modifications you might consider:

Suspension refresh with lower/stiffer springs and shocks and/or coilovers. Larger sway bars. New bushings. Etc. I refreshed my suspension recently with OEM parts and Koni Sport shocks and love how tight the car feels now.
Lighter wheels and stickier rubber. Our wheels weigh about 28 lbs a piece, which is a lot of weight for the shocks and springs to handle. I'm planning to buy a set of Apex wheels which are about 17-18 lbs depending on the size.
Differential upgrade with a larger final ratio and/or a limited slip. A 3.46 FD is common. A few members have gone this route and have liked the changes.
Underdrive pulleys. Some people like them for the cheap horsepower, I haven't opted for it.
New intake. Again, a lot of money for negligible power gains. Mainly purchase for the sound it will produce, such as one by BMW Performance, AFE, or Gruppe M.
Short shift kit. Several different brands but the common ones are UUC EVO3 kit and the BMW Performance kit. I have the UUC kit and I like it although UUC's customer service wasn't great.
Rewrap the steering wheel if the alcantara is worn. A lot of members like the Coby Wheel as a replacement wrap. I went with a mixed leather/perforated steering wheel that I love.
Aesthetic modifications: Gloss black grilles (I bought BMW Performance ones and like them), window tint, color-matched bumper reflectors, LED blinker lights/license plate lights/reverse lights, auxiliary input, new head units with navigation, Red/Clear/Red euro rear taillights, etc

Yes I know, sounds like a lot but I'm hoping to get some pointers from the Mafia, so I can check back on this thread until I feel i've done everything correctly an stuff
I've searched here for answers to some, and the answers are usually vague and subjective.

Depends what you're looking for. People will definitely help you along with maintenance stuff. There are probably 3-4 guides minimum for any DIY maintenance work. Just make sure you have all the tools and take your time.

Don't bash me for all the questions I have, I figured I'd ask them all at once instead of making 4 posts in one day! :gun1:gun1:gun1:gun1

No bashing here, that's what's great about this forum. Everyone wants to help each other!

BCS_ZHP

11-12-2015, 06:30 PM

Interested in a few minor but notable modifications to my ZHP

I wanna do a full tune up and cooling system refresh this winter, (Preventative Maintenance) just looking to piece together everything needed then doing it over one long weekend like Thanks Giving to just know its been done during MY owner ship.

Any opinions on Liqu-Moly Vs. Mobil1? Due for an oil change in the next couple hundred miles!

Actual Mod List:

-------------------------------------

Interested in running a different exhaust on her, considering headers but not 100% definite.

M3 Mirrors, and how to mount them - yes I know it is quite the task as Wilson's said it is not the easiest to get it to work.

Shark Chip? Ive heard some good but mixed reviews on what it actually does for the butt dyno :headbang:headbang:headbang:headbang

Considering a brake upgrade in the distant future.

If all else fails, Maybe I'll pull the trigger on TS2+ SC system in a years time :rofl:headbang:word, Really just making this posts for reviews on what you guys have done, pointers, and anything else that you guys think would help me out in the long run.

Yes I know, sounds like a lot but I'm hoping to get some pointers from the Mafia, so I can check back on this thread until I feel i've done everything correctly an stuff
I've searched here for answers to some, and the answers are usually vague and subjective.

Don't bash me for all the questions I have, I figured I'd ask them all at once instead of making 4 posts in one day! :gun1:gun1:gun1:gun1

Brandon,
I've had an e46s or two, so here's some feedback on your inquiry, my opinion is worth the cost of me typing:

- cooling system: use Turner or ECSTuning (which bought Turner), good kits and pretty reasonably priced. You are right there and have to remove them to get to the cooling system so replace your belts and tensioners too, another $300-400 of parts. You're also only an alternator removal away from the oil filter housing gasket, a $5 item, do this to save a future headache. I'd say do this over the belts & tensioners.

- tune up is basically spark plugs. But a leading cause of our frustrations are on the intake side, not with the spark. Buy new upper & lower intake boots ($50-60), buy the "F" connector ($5) that goes with it. Remove all of that stuff and pull your DISA valve to clean and/or rebuild it, the GAS DISA rebuild kit is $100. You're down that far, pull your idle control valve (ICV), use carburetor cleaner to get all carbon buildup off of it.

- oil, change it and send some of the old oil off for an analysis and in the meantime use BMW 5w30; after the analysis results follow the oil recommendation they give you

- exhaust is a personal preference, there are lots of choices, go catback to free up restriction and get more power. My recommend is this be your last mod though, fix other things with stock exhaust in place so you can hear any noises or peculiarities.

- mirrors, Charlie is the guru, Ask him for advice. Again, this should be separate and not part of this initial maintenance weekend, little issues can and will pop up, they will deflate your initiative, don't let this happen, do this one separately.

- Shark chip - this chip is a learned system, it retains the last the maximum on your fuel air mixtures. So if you drive like a grandma for a week and then punch it, you'll be disappointed cause it's gotta relearn fast mode. If you drive aggressively on a fairly regular basis, it will remember aggressive. I had a shark on the 323ci and was initially unimpressed, it was my 16 year old's car and he was just learning to drive a manual. A couple months later I drove it after he was more affluent with a stick and the performance was noticeable. I test drove Kayger's car before he bought it, the Shark was installed, I suspect everyone who tested that car had revved it up. That was and still is the most inspirational ZHP ride I have ever had and one of the reasons I love them so much. Keith can confirm the punch is still there, you have to open her up regularly for her to remember where her top end is, that's the nature of the Shark.

- SC'ing, Reach out to Jon Estrella (Au2bahn), he had one that he engineers to perfection, I drove it and it scared me. He's a Porsche guy now, doesn't frequent here too often, look up his info in the members section and email him. Jon is great people and he'll willing feed you what he learned. If you don't have his cell number, PM me and I'll get it to you.

My cell # is in the members' roster, call or text if you have questions.
Bruce

ZHP_Brandon

11-13-2015, 06:26 PM

[QUOTE=BMWCurves;458079]
Cooling System Overhaul: Thank you! I've had the car for a few thousand miles, since the late spring - like end of may if my memory serves correctly.
I've really babied her, Oil Change done immediately, topped off all fluids, inspection, breaks, I rebuilt my disa valve with the aluminum kit as well. Just done my best to make sure that she's staying in tip top shape. Now I just wanna make sure she has a long life ahead of her.

Mileage: At the moment the car has I believe 144,xxx - not 100% sure of her history at all, I purchased this car from Pete Moore Volkswagen in Pensacola Florida. The car came with Depo Corners, Headlights, Euro Tails (RCR) & White Side markers instead of Yellow. I want to say this car didn't come with the Bi-Xenon Option but I don't know how to know for sure. I know as much as anyone else about the car, I have a car fax but I find it to be super vague in terms of info on the vehicle itself.

I'm considering going 0W-40 Mobil1 and a Mobil1 Oil Filter along with it, I have a 20$ Coupon to AdvanceAuto so I don't want it to go to waste lmao

Exhaust: I've heard of a few great things about the UUC TSE3 exhaust, I heard a TSE4 is coming to fruition soon? I wonder how true that is. I want a deeper note and growl, I've considered the Euro MTechII Rear diffusor on my car that allows for the quad exit exhaust and just running a pipe from barrel to barrel to get a more aggressive rear end, I know not exactly conventional lol my brothers call me crazy but I like the way it looks

M3 Mirrors: I have a sedan, I've heard of some shaving of the base of the mirror and yes the dreaded motor swap, I want to do it but I question if its worth it at times.

Shark Injector: I wouldn't mind spending the 350, but yes that money will be spent on the Bi Xenon Upgrade from the RetroFitSource.com for my spare ZKW headlights from my Crashed ZHP Sedan from over a year ago.

Tomorrow Marks 1 full year since the night of my accident with my Black Sapphire Metallic ZHP Sedan, I'll always hold a special place in my heart for that car. I'll be posting a graphic I've designed of the car in my current Imola Red ZHP's present Image.

I want to do this brake upgrade, https://www.ecstuning.com/ES2594511/
I just don't know if I should pull the trigger until after the winter - but my rear rotors are "cut up", I can see dashed lines on the rotors face - assuming there OEM Spec and not aftermarket. Should I just do new pads all around, or wait till after Xmas and buy these?

Supercharger: I've always wondered what you have to do to the motors internal to make it Stage 3 Capable, I believe the peak Hp for the stage 3 was 400HP+ which is insane considering modern M4's get this with a Twin Turbo.

ZHP_Brandon

11-13-2015, 06:32 PM

In response to BMWCurves!

Supercharger: I've always wondered what you have to do to the motors internal to make it Stage 3 Capable, I believe the peak Hp for the stage 3 was 400HP+ which is insane considering modern M4's get this with a Twin Turbo.

I don't know if I'd opp for a suspension refresh, I've considered getting coil overs for the car since adjustable ride height is nice to have. My brother had Koni Yellows and Eibach Springs on his Imola E46 M3

Wheels: I absolutely love Apex Arc-8 face and concavity, relatively comfortable in price and the weight reduction is significant since Style 135's are so heavy, but I absolutely adore these wheels. I have an OEM spec set up, and I recently attained a Full Square 8.5 / Style 135 Setup, with tires and all

Diff: I've seen a few Diff Upgrades, I've Highly considered running the M3 rear end conversion but the money in it makes me reconsider because I can just buy a LSD built for our current specs and just bolt on... always hit or miss for me but I know it does make the car feel a lot more open :roundel

Underdrive pulleys - I bought some cheap A** pulleys from rock auto after finding out my tensioner pulley and idler were weak and the belt was worn, I never mounted them so I may return these, and then purchase some Underdrive Pulleys from Turner Motorsport

Intake: I feel like Intakes are super subjective, but If I had money I'd get the BMW Performance Intake for the engine bay Candy, but idk. I've found Dinan Intakes for pretty cheap and from what I can tell based on reviews, they sound a lot better.

Short shift kit - I've heard of many people opting for this, just not 100% sure why. Enlighten me for being a noob to this alley of options ?:conversation

Steering Wheel: I recently contacted CobyWheel but I fear I'll have to shell out the extra 250$ for the core charge because of some scuffs to the rear leather on the steering wheel. He said it may clean up, but I don't wanna run the risk, the steering wheel looks great but is terrible in feel. They tustve tried to clean it with a leather cleaner and sealed up every single pore on the alcantara causing it to look like cheap cracking aged leather, I can post pictures since I have so much to say on this but my god does it bother me.

I want gloss black grills, I plasti dipped mine since I don't care for the chrome and it still looks pretty good. I want to paint all of my exterior trim Piano Black as it looks great but I don't know if I should. Aside from that I want to get the hard ware for the front bumpers license plate as I have mine Zip tied to the front end at the moment, I got a ticket in august at a checkpoint and got hit for Tints and License plate, I paid almost 400$ in fines setting me back considerably for the Shift Boots, Brake Boot, and Steering wheel rewrap :(..

"No bashing here, that's what's great about this forum. Everyone wants to help each other!"

^^^^
That makes me very happy, On E46F everyones a critic and legitimately bashes me for Owning a ZHP half the time lol, its quite obnoxious but I just ignore and keep shifting into 6th Gear while they shift into 5th (LOL :p:cheers) [/QUOTE]

ZHP_Brandon

11-14-2015, 12:01 AM

Brandon,

- cooling system: I'm deffinetly buying the kit from ECStuning, I see that its comfortably priced. I purchased idler, tensioner, and belts from Rockauto on a budget buying spree, but now I'm considering buying a under drive pulley kit from Turner to attain the metal pulleys instead of plastic. Is changing the oil filter gasket hard? I wouldn't mind doing all of that in one day, I'd just need to know in advance what to expect.

- tune up Yeah I've considered going for the Mishimoto Silicone boots, but I can't see why it should be a 150$ purchase. I rebuilt my disa a few weeks after owner the car, and where is the ICV's location? This actually sounds like a reasonable 2 hour job opposed to the many other projects I'm aiming for.
- Oil - yeah thats coming up very soon, send it on an analysis?? Where and how, that I'd like to know because I'm afraid of sludge build up internally

- exhaust: Yeah its just for future reference, I wanna know what I have in terms of actual exhaust options and not fart can exhausts off of eBay

- mirrors: Yeah its a mod I hope to accomplish before this Spring or over the winter, I wanna attain the said Mirrors, then swap my working motors, then cut the bases to make sure it fits my sedan.

- Shark chip - I would've never known this at all, I'll be happy to purchase this later on, I like the sound and nature of this simple and easy mod.

- SC'ing, This would be my final mod, ever of course. This will come when I've had enough of the M54's spirited Power dip and look for much MORRRR POWAAA' (Jeremy clarkson voice):drool

thanks a lot for the response Bruce, not many people care to respond to someone they don't know on any of these forums anymore. I'm here to learn and simply fall in love with the car that saved my life a year ago today. I lost my first ZHP a year ago today 11/14/14 in a terrible car accident. Someone cut me off and I lost complete control of my car spiraling into oncoming traffic, crossing over the yellow lines and being struck in my passenger side quarter panel - completely decimating my car. I'm currently being sued by the guy who struck my car, its deemed my fault on account of how I crossed the yellow lines and no 3rd party owning up to cutting me off obviously. Its been one hell of a year, but my new (to me) 6MT Imola Sedan makes all of this 100% worth every gray hair I'm growing from the law suit.

RIP, Thanks for starting it all
22585

22586

Recently taken at a park where I parked illegally on the grounds :eeps:rolleyes