Which E46 should I go for?

[Tyresmoke]

Hi guys, first post.

Was looking for an E46 forum in the UK and finally found this. Was recommended by ChippedUK.

Anyway, looking to buy an E46 for myself. There is already an E46 325i Sport Manual in the family which i quite liked but its simply not powerful enough.

Thinking of E46 330i 4 door Sport with the facelift lights.

Are these alot quicker and have alot more useable power than the 325i's? I just found the 325i to have a really flat top end but ok'ish bottom end grunt.

Also, what year did the 6 speed box start appearing?

The other option was a 330D Sport. Having driven a Merc 270Cdi I was serioulsy impressed but the huge amount of grunt it had. All I know is that the 330D has more grunt and is even quicker.

Opinions?

[Raj]

Welcome [hiya
The 330 is an excellent car. The engine has something like 231bhp and is a lot better than the 325 engine. You will be very impressed. It is worth going to your local dealer and taking a 330/330D for test drives to compare.
I am sure some of the other peeps will be along to give more advise. Good luck.

[peppernick]

330i Sport for me. They are very cheap now especially the E90 is out. 330 has more grunt than your 325. Difficult to quantify but best thing is to test drive one and you'll see. I personally feel it's worth getting the 330. Fuel consumption is no worse than the 325 but then it depends on how you drive, even for the 325.

Facelift saloons came out in 2002 but I think the 6 speed gearbox came out in early 2003.

330D is a brilliant car but not as refine as the 330. If you like to rev your engines, I would stick to 330i. 330D is highly tunable too, costs less to extract more HP compared to the 330i where the only significant way to boost HP is via forced induction.

Enjoy your stay.

[Tyresmoke]

Thanks for the reply,

I am really going towards a 330i rather than a Deisel simply because its a bit more fun to rev. The other thing is there are more tuning parts out there.

Ive heard the latest stuff from UUC Autowerks, the Corsa exhausts are fantastic and there is a host of brilliant intake systems out there. If I did have get a 330i it would go straight to ITG and I would have a intake system made up for it.

The potential list of upgrades is already entering my head!! lightweight flywheel, UUC short shifters.......H&R suspension......Supercharger!

[Tyresmoke]

330D - how tuneable?

Whats the BHP/Torque figures for these? I know they changed a bit and Ive heard they give around 218bhp in some BMW models.

Whats the most gain you get from a 330D without sacrificing durability?

[peppernick]

330D - how tuneable?

Whats the BHP/Torque figures for these? I know they changed a bit and Ive heard they give around 218bhp in some BMW models.

Whats the most gain you get from a 330D without sacrificing durability?
You can easily get 250-260BHP with LOTS of torque but 400NM is probably the at threshold the gearbox and drive components can take.

Gumball 330 sports 305BHP with 500+NM, that car is a beast.

[Lucky Bob]

Tyresmoke

You can get incredible torque increases with the 330 diesel, and as Nick sayes the only problem is the gearbox, but I don't think that a car that is intended for daily use would have gearbox troubles.

You need to look at DMS, they tuned a 330 D which was road tested againstan M3, theres a write up in February 2005 BMW car mag

I wanted a 330D coupe sport when I was buying my car, just could not find one.

However the 330i is a very good car and, it can be tuned for about a Grand ( some people will / have paid less), but without a SC your not really going to see more than 15-17 bhp, but it's the torque that you want.


LB

[Tyresmoke]

Thanks guys,

I love big torque and in the real world I think the 330D with a tuning box would out peform a 330i in real world driving conditions unless the 330i is driven very very well.

I am well aware that tuning NA cars doesnt really result in big gains. The max you could really do is modify the intake, work on the exhaust/manifold for better flow, uprate the cams to those with higher lift and duration and then go along for a remap using a unichip (available soon for E46). If the right components were used you would still be realy really lucky to see a 25-30 bhp gain. However I bet the driving experience would be really vastly improved.

How did the 330D with tuning box respond to the mighty M3?

[peppernick]

However I bet the driving experience would be really vastly improved.


If you're after improved driving experience and not just HP on paper, try a shorter rear diff. The standard 330i comes with a 2.93 rear diff but if you put in a 3.46 and if you have a 6-speed gearbox, it will really liven up the car. It'll be so much snappier.

Check out this video of Ant and Pete's D3 (tuned 330D 305BHP and +++++torque) Long video but worth it [ok

http://videos.onestopwebhosting.com/Videos/RicksCafetoMarrakech.wmv

[MistaSmiff]

Do your reserach and think about resale. I nagged BMW car salesmen for months and monitored their used car sales. The 330 is a nice car but depreciates faster than the 325. The most sought after 3 series is the 325ci Sport model :D . They have a waiting list as long as your arm desperately waiting for these to become available. The 330's are cheap for a reason..but if your bothered about all that then get the 330 for it's power.

I enquired about a part ex the other week, and I could'nt beleive it when they offered me more than what I paid for it [jam

[fight ..

[Lucky Bob]

If you're after improved driving experience and not just HP on paper, try a shorter rear diff. The standard 330i comes with a 2.93 rear diff but if you put in a 3.46 and if you have a 6-speed gearbox, it will really liven up the car. It'll be so much snappier.

Check out this video of Ant and Pete's D3 (tuned 330D 305BHP and +++++torque) Long video but worth it [ok

http://videos.onestopwebhosting.com/Videos/RicksCafetoMarrakech.wmv

Nick

what is the 3.46 diff like to live with , has anyone had one fitted to 6-speed ( I bet Lee has, but he has a SC ) I guess this won't be a OEM BMW unit ?

So who manufactures the diff , and where can you buy it from, and do you have any idea of the cost.

Cheers

LB

[peppernick]

The 3.46 diff comes off a 325 convertible auto. 100% OEM. You can get 3.23 as well (from E46 328). Try breakers, these are scrap items lying around. I got my 3.46 for £350 from Fab Direct for my old 330.

My old car was a 5-speeder. Cruising on motorway at 75MPH I was doing 4000 RPM with a 3.46. You need a 6-speed gearbox or go for a 3.23 if you have a 5-speeder.

But the kick in the back in 2nd and 3rd was AWESOME!!

[Lucky Bob]

Thanks Nick,

The other day you posted a reply regarding upgraded brake disks, and you took a picture of OEM which is guess were for your old CS, been looking at that picture and trying to read the part number, would you know the part number as my dealer does not know what i'm talking about [hmm


Cheers

LB

[scorcher]

I'm planning on coming back to BMW in 18 months or so (the missus would kill me if it was before then!)

Once the new shape estate (yeah I know... :o ) has been out for a while, I'm going to grab myself an E46 330 Sport Touring when they come down a bit more. Loving the Lexus, but missing my BMW mods.

Have driven a 330d, and whilst grunty, didn't make the right noises :rolleyes:

[Tyresmoke]

Looking at E46 m3 prices......I'm thinking of going for one of these instead.

[peppernick]

Looking at E46 m3 prices......I'm thinking of going for one of these instead.
Good man [ok

[Tyresmoke]

SMG or manual?

Ive heard some very good things about the latest SMG M3's but is it any good is the question? Reliability?

[peppernick]

SMG or manual?

Ive heard some very good things about the latest SMG M3's but is it any good is the question? Reliability?
SMG dude [cool

[Tyresmoke]

Where can I read a proper review on the SMG version?

Is it slower to 60? Does it behave like an auto governed by electronics?

[lee330sport]

SMG is a manual. Try one, its the only way you will know if you prefer i to the manual.

[peppernick]

Where can I read a proper review on the SMG version?

Is it slower to 60? Does it behave like an auto governed by electronics?
SMG is not an auto gearbox. It's an actual manual gearbox powered by hydraulic shift mecahnisms. It has a clutch. You be faster to 60 I can almost guarantee you, unless you're a race track driver handling a manual car :p

All you need to know about the SMG2 (http://www.leo.nutz.de/BMW.php)

[Tyresmoke]

Lee,

Your car looks EVIL!

[peppernick]

Happy b'day BTW Tyresmoke! [jam

[Tyresmoke]

Thanks!! I'm 28 today.

Just read that link you gave on the SMG2 and im serioulsy impressed.

Viewed some of trhe videos and the gearchanges are insane.

I just had a conversation with a guy who works for a BMW specialist in Kent and he went on and on about how shit SGM2 is and how its just there waiting to wrong and how it costs £6000 to fix. Then he went on about how detatched it makes the driving experience and how the gearchanges are crap bla bla bla.

from the link it suggest that he doesnt know what he is talking about and probably hasnt spent enough time in one (probably went out for a quick test drive).

I think I'm more attracted to the SMG version now, before I was eliminating the SMG cars when going through the classifieds.

The plan is almost 100% to buy an SMG E46 M3 in Carbon black now.

[Tyresmoke]

Should also mention that this bloke then went onto say how badly put together the E46 was and how plasticky it was......I'm thinking he hates E46 M3's and I should dismiss everything he says.

[peppernick]

I just had a conversation with a guy who works for a BMW specialist in Kent and he went on and on about how shit SGM2 is and how its just there waiting to wrong and how it costs £6000 to fix. Then he went on about how detatched it makes the driving experience and how the gearchanges are crap bla bla bla.
Don't forget a lot of BMW specialists in the UK are dinosaurs who have very little experience with new technology. I was trying to get my short shifter installed by a 'well known' BMW specialist in London and they haven't a clue what the heck they are talking about, giving in at the end to 'the E46 is a very new car nobody has much experience with it.......' I was like WTF, it's just about being phased out from the factory to make way for the E90 and he's telling me as if the car was brought out just yesterday :(

[Tyresmoke]

Which Short Shifter did u have fitted? UUC?

[peppernick]

Rogue Engineering Octane with the new WSR and Powerband.

[Tyresmoke]

Not bad stuff that.

Its unfortunate UUC isnt available here as Rogue copies everything UUC does (Rogue used to work for UUC).

[lee330sport]

I didnt like the SMG. Thats because i listened to all the other ' its not a proper gearbox' crowd. But after Mattj took me out in his, i would take it anyday.