Loving the site

[sonny.j.h]

hiya chaps loving the Evotecknik site, should have joined up last year when I met up with you lot at Trax 2004, theres some nice motors on here, very nice!

well the main reason for joining this site, I might be selling the E36 in favour of a e46 325-330, so im looking on here for a bit of help and inspiration, as my knowledge of E46s is limited!

ok fellas cheers

sonny

p.s hmmm e36 m3 or e46 330?????

[BigFas]

E46 330 dude ;) There's a few guys on here with them. From stock to supercharged ;)

[peppernick]

Hi Sonny, welcome! and I'm glad you're liking the forum.

I agree with Fas, move on to an E46. The ci/vert is a very pretty car ;)

And of course if there's anything we can help with tuning, just ask away [jam

[Nickleback]

Welcome Sonny,
Got to agree with the crew, E46 330 should be your next move if poss depending on your budget. :D
There lots of owners on here, so plenty of advice if you need it ?
[read

[330-Singh]

Hi and Welcome!

I understand your situation, I too was considering an E36 M3 over an E46 330ci. I went for a 330ci clubsport - the overall package is so much better. The build quality and general feel of the car. This all seems obvious as the car is newer. I would say go drive both, I am quite sure the 330 is what you will end up going for.

Also you already have an E36, like I did too, you might find if you buy another E36 you are likely to get bored of it quicker? I know an M3 is a differnt ball game to your average 3 series.....but from the outside and in there is not alot that differentiates it to a 328 sport.

Good Luck with your quest.....keep us posted [hiya

[sonny.j.h]

Cheers for the warm welcome fellas, good to hear from you Fas And peppernick(long time no see)!

I own a e36 318is (yes the same one since the Hendon meet in july 2003..lol) and I think I could do with change, see I was going to supercharge the e36 giving me about 185bhp and a 3000k bill, hmmm or for a few extra bucks go for the e46, as above, I will not get as bored as quick as I would in a e36...lol

As my insurance has come down by quite a considirate margine, im more open the the more peaky BM.. ;)

When Im back in the uk I will try to get to one of your meets to see it in the steal!

p.s soz for posting in the wrong section :o

sonny

[BigFas]

I wouldn't supercharge the 318 man, you'll still be taken out by 325's and 328's which defeats the whole point. It'll feel more pokier that's for sure, but when there's poke off the shelf so to speak, there's no point.

[Durgesh]

Welcome mate, hope to meet you soon at a meet.

Durgesh

[sonny.j.h]

[QUOTE=BigFas]I wouldn't supercharge the 318 man, you'll still be taken out by 325's and 328's which defeats the whole point. It'll feel more pokier that's for sure, but when there's poke off the shelf so to speak, there's no point.[/QUOTE

all too true mate!

btw is the e46, such as the 328/330 restricted(inlet manifolds) in any way like there e36 counterparts, and if so can you buy the bored out throttle body for these cars?

what are the best performance routes to take with the e46, such as remap,cams ect ect

sonny

[Durgesh]

Dude... forget all that.. ECU, Cams stuff.

Just get your self a good exhaust, and stick a ASA SK+ in there.

You could put in the bigger kits and more engine mod's for more power, however as experience has shown you really have to love your car, as everything else will also need to be changed out. ££££

I think 300bhp, is the safe, everyday drive limit for a NON-M car.

Durgesh

[benny boy]

have you got any pics of your e36 got a 318 is myself [cool

[peppernick]

Don't spend too much tinkering with inlet manifolds and throttle bodies on an E46. They are pretty much optimized from the factory unlike the E36, especially the 330. You can change a set of high performance cams like Schrick but you're looking at nearly £1k for a few BHP at the very last 1000 RPM or so.

M54 engines cannot be chipped. They have to be re-mapped. Again no major power difference but you can smoothen out the power/torque curve as these engines especially larger capacity ones inevitably come with flat spots from the factory because of strict adherence to emmision law.

The only significant power gain you can get with these cars is via forced induction. Durgesh, myself and Lee all have done it so we can always give you solid advice based on experience. However, supercharging is not cheap although Infinitas/ASA has produced a true bolt-on supercharger in the form of the SK+ which will take a 330 from 231BHP to 290BHP, but way more torque than the Alpina B3S. The SK+ will cost you around £3500-ish and it's the cheapest and most reliable force induction kit.

However, you can most definitely improve driving dynamics with a shorter ratio rear diff but only if you get a 330. In fact, the newer 2004 models with the 6-speed gearbox is ideal for this mod as the older 5-speeder can get very revvy on motorway driving with a shorter diff. This is one mod you can do other than FI that you will really feel the difference.

[lee330sport]

Welcome mate.

Go for the 330 you'll be nothing but impressed, supersmooth:cool:

[Ali_]

Welcome mate, ive been from e36 to e46 and boy what a change the e46 is just such a lovely ride.... go the 330 and rock your world with a SC when you need the kick ;)

[Raj]

Welcome Sonny. As you can see already, plenty of advice to be had when buying or modding your ride. E46 all the way, and unlike me, if you can afford a 330, go for it, but like me a 328 is still wicked ;) .

[adood84]

I read once there is like about 50bhp maybe less or more that you can increase without the car need alot of change,is it true

[Durgesh]

There's no amount.. that is actually specified, but from our own past experience, we are all saying that 300bhp should be the limit for a 330, if you don't want to change a lot of other stuff.

Durgesh

[Shuriken]

Welcome to the forum mate, can't help on the new car front, but good luck all the same. :)

Shuriken.

[Tin]

welcome mate, would defo recommend go for the e46, m3 coupe's are coming down in price bigtime now too ~30k

[Afif]

welcome to the forum dude [ok.

I drive my cousins e36 316 from time to time and have driven a mates 318is. Cant coment on the ///M though :(. I prefer the ride on my e46 316 1.9 ALOT more that of the two e36 models ive driven and so do they. The 330 is even more fun though because its actually got some power under the hood aswell as other benefits :D. Like the guys said supercharge it and youll be loving it!

[M5 SC]

Welcome mate.


My girlfriends got the 330i clubsport, go for that mate, cant go wrong.

[sonny.j.h]

WOW what a response, cheers for all the advise fellas, iv taken every word in!

yes the 330 does sound nice, and the SC route does seem fun, also 3.5k also is very cheap..(btw did you go to germeny to get it fitted)???

So BMW have optimised the e46 to its full potential, not very much to mod....sounds good..lol, so just the filter and Exhuast rhing then!

like i said im just playing witha few ideas at the mo, btw I was looking at a few e46, and am I right in thinking there is also a face lif model that came out in 2002? any way they look evil....very smart!

sonny

[M5 SC]

Think it was 2004 mate, but i might be wrong!
someone on here will know for defo' though!

[peppernick]

2002 facelift saloon

2004 facelift coupe/vert

[adood84]

lee330 car is evil:D,330 is the best option

[mystic sport]

I went from an E36 320ise to an E46 318ci and it was one of the first valvetronic engined 318s. Loved the car but got bored of the engine. Problem was I had already had a 6 pot bmw and it was a bad move on my part going back to 4. Not a bad car at all and the 2.0 unit is superb but once you have had a 6 pot nothing else will do. Sold the 318ci for a 325 sport. Again a lovely car but I always had this little voice in my head saying that I should have brought the 330, so 14 months later I brought my 330i and i love it. What I am trying to clumsily say is that you should buy what you really want. The 330i is a hell of car. Sure, it is no M, but, it can really move and the noise - it sounds glorious. So, go and buy that 330 that you really need ;) .

[Afif]

on the note of going to germany. Thats what nick and durgesh and kris did. Lee got it installed by Roy (CA automotive). Sounds more fun going to germany just to be able to cane it down there and REALLY truly cane it back :D :D. Obviously youd have to pay the extra cost of going down there, hotels fuel ect..

[sonny.j.h]

2002 facelift saloon

2004 facelift coupe/vert


will the post face lift parts fit on a pre face lift model, wings,bonnet,nose cone ect ect, I really do like the face lift models, but a bit out of my budget :o

@Mystic sport: sounds awsome mate, your getting me excited now..lol....I want one!

one other Q whats the differance between a 330ci coupe and the 330ci clubman, is it just looks or performance related????

cheers

sonny

[danch]

Just looks matey as they both run 231bhp out of the box, I nearly bought a Clubsport but was just a bit out of my reach so ended up with a 330 Ci SE but with the M-Tech 1 bodykit plus a few other upgrades the previous owner had done, I have only owned it for about 5 weeks but just love it.

I am glad I chose the 330 and have already swapped the MV's for some M3 19" replicas and the modding will continue I am sure.

Cheers & Enjoy

Daniel

[Har5ha]

2002 facelift saloon

2004 facelift coupe/vert

got my facelift vert 2003...it was one of the first...but since 2003 had both facelifts and non...bmw say 2004!