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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
My Alpine White E46 330i Sport
- Thread starter KPM3_30
- Start date
that_guy_Ettiene
///Member
Looks good man
Why didn't you go for Powerbrake disc and pads?
Asking because I want to go that route but can't find a review in SA for our cars.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Why didn't you go for Powerbrake disc and pads?
Asking because I want to go that route but can't find a review in SA for our cars.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Dewald Basson
///Member
KPM_330 said:With the sale of the 335i, I was able to focus my attention (read: funds) to the 330i. I needed to replace my rear tyres and I gave some thought to changing the wheels (again) but after my experience with the 19" style 127's being too heavy and robbing the car of it's acceleration and over all ‘agility’, I decided against changing the wheels and going through the whole process again.
I managed to get Michelin Pilot Sport 4's at a great price and ended up changing all 4 tyres at the same time. Having had the stock style 44's on the car for the better part of 4 years, I wanted to do a full refurb on the wheels and change the colour to something different. At the same time I wanted to do something that I had been meaning to do on the 335i but never got around to, spray the calipers a different colour to complement the wheels.. My choice for the wheels was a custom shade of Shadow Chrome and red on the calipers, with gloss black rattle clips, simply because I love the contrast.
I had the car booked in at Total Wheel Rebuild and while they aren't cheap, I was willing to pay for the quality and customer service, I had heard so much about. I have to say, I really wasn't disappointed on both accounts. I would’ve liked to have had the wheels done for the breakfast run but unfortunately they could not accommodate me with loan wheels, so I had to wait. Halfway through the run, my front pads decided it was time to give up the ghost and I figured this would be a good time to have them changed, with all the work that was planned at TWR.
I called around and managed to get a set of Textar pads, that have been doing duty on the car for over 500km now – No complaints on my side and that’s saying a lot, I had ATE and vowed to not touch them again cause of the embarrassing brake squeal. I had tried everything to get rid of the squealing, but nothing worked, got to the point where I decided to just wait until I needed to change them.
Couldn't be happier with my choice of colour on the wheel and caliper. So far everyone that sees the car feels the same way.. I especially like the different effects the wheels have, depending on lighting conditions.. :blowheart:
A few more updates to come over the next few months.. Thanks for looking :ty:
Before I bought the 18's I wanted to make my style 44's the same colour. Looks epic :inlove:
that_guy_Ettiene said:
@that_guy_Ettiene, I replaced all my discs and pads the last time I had to do brakes (full ATE set up - squealing was horridly embarrassing). When I checked my discs this time around, it was still perfect, there was no need to even have them skimmed. I definitely want to try the Powerbrake set up the next time I have to do brakes. Textar really does make the most brake dust of all the pads I've used, helps that I now have dark wheels.
Speak to @Peter@AEW for some feedback as to these brakes, I understand he is an approved reseller for Powerbrake. I expect that these brakes are the real deal, as I doubt he would sell them otherwise. Link to thread below:
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=85815
Tinuva said:
Thanks bud. Surprisingly, this is a custom version of Shadow Chrome that I had the guys work on since actual S.C is even darker, closer to being black. Have to say that I really love the new look personally, especially the contrast of bright red behind the dark wheels. Very happy with my decision :inlove:
Dewald Basson said:
@Dewald Basson , the colour has really grown on me and I appreciate it more over time.. The gift that keeps on giving :smilebounce:
I received your PM and tried to reply but it seems your PM's are disabled? Send me your number via PM and I will message you.
Update time - Something that always irked me about the non-Mtech II e46's was the lack of anthracite roof/hood-lining.. With my hood-lining starting to sag, I had tried cleaning it once but it made things worse and it didn't look much cleaner. I decided I would either find the full kit from an e46 Mtech II or I would recover in black and have all the bits dyed to black. I much prefer the look and feel that a black hood-lining offers, plus the fact that it doesn't show dirt as easily is a definite plus.
It was always my intention to retrofit a full anthracite hood-lining to my car but I could never find one in good nick or with all the parts available (there are so many little bits and pieces that need to be changed), thankfully my luck changed. There was a 2005 model 330i Individual that was being stripped in Durban, the advert hadn't even gone up yet, but I had heard about this from a friend by pure chance. Got there on a Saturday morning with my brother and we started stripping all the parts that we needed. I ended up taking:
- Hood-lining + all the bits and pieces
- Full gloss black railings + weather strips + B pillars/quarter glass strips/mirror housings
- Motorsport door sills
- Mtech II steering wheel
- Rear ashtray roller
A few weekends ago I got around to cleaning the hood-lining and on the Sunday, with the help of my brother, we tackled fitment. Whilst it isn't a difficult job, it is a bit of ball-ache to fit everything in one go and ended up taking the better part of the day to complete.. I did the rear ashtray roller as well at the same time. That said, I am very happy with the change and it's made such a difference to the interior for me, especially with the upgraded LED's. On to a few mandatory pics...
All cleaned up:
The old hood-lining that had started to sag in a few places:
The outcome:
Over the next few weeks, I will fit the rest of the items purchased and update the thread as I go along. I am also waiting for a relatively expensive piece of kit from the UK to help modernize and add functionality to the in-car entertainment system.
Thanks for looking.
It was always my intention to retrofit a full anthracite hood-lining to my car but I could never find one in good nick or with all the parts available (there are so many little bits and pieces that need to be changed), thankfully my luck changed. There was a 2005 model 330i Individual that was being stripped in Durban, the advert hadn't even gone up yet, but I had heard about this from a friend by pure chance. Got there on a Saturday morning with my brother and we started stripping all the parts that we needed. I ended up taking:
- Hood-lining + all the bits and pieces
- Full gloss black railings + weather strips + B pillars/quarter glass strips/mirror housings
- Motorsport door sills
- Mtech II steering wheel
- Rear ashtray roller
A few weekends ago I got around to cleaning the hood-lining and on the Sunday, with the help of my brother, we tackled fitment. Whilst it isn't a difficult job, it is a bit of ball-ache to fit everything in one go and ended up taking the better part of the day to complete.. I did the rear ashtray roller as well at the same time. That said, I am very happy with the change and it's made such a difference to the interior for me, especially with the upgraded LED's. On to a few mandatory pics...
All cleaned up:
The old hood-lining that had started to sag in a few places:
The outcome:
Over the next few weeks, I will fit the rest of the items purchased and update the thread as I go along. I am also waiting for a relatively expensive piece of kit from the UK to help modernize and add functionality to the in-car entertainment system.
Thanks for looking.
Dewald Basson
///Member
Nice one, been thinking of doing this to my e46 too.
Side note where did you buy the nr plate delete trim from?
Smg bmw in century city said they can't be a helpfull bunch. :rage:
Side note where did you buy the nr plate delete trim from?
Smg bmw in century city said they can't be a helpfull bunch. :rage:
@KPM_330 - New interior looks awesome. You very lucky to have gotten hold of it when you did!
Just ask for #7 on https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AY72-EUR-05-2003-E46-BMW-318i&diagId=51_4519
Part# 51118195304
They may need to import from Germany.
Or was the cost of it too high?
SMG Cape Town (in century city) actually gives great service at the parts deperatment. Even had items delivered to me at no extra cost.Dewald Basson said:
Just ask for #7 on https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AY72-EUR-05-2003-E46-BMW-318i&diagId=51_4519
Part# 51118195304
They may need to import from Germany.
Or was the cost of it too high?
Dewald Basson
///Member
Tinuva said:
They were uninterested, we had the parts drawing open on their system. And they just said "we can't import it".
I will try another dealership
Another quick update - Yet another little niggle of mine was the chrome trim pieces/window surrounds that come on non-Mtech II 6-pots. I had tried to have this remedied last year with black vinyl that was professionally installed, the finish was one of the things I wasn't extremely happy about given that you can spot the difference between vinyl and paint easily. Also the fact that the vinyl had started to peel in certain places after a few months annoyed me, because I had to keep recovering certain portions.
Knowing that paint would be the best way forward, I had 2 options, either paint the existing trim or source a set from another vehicle.. Thanks to my recent trip, I was able to find the bits I needed and more.. Found some time a weekend ago and made a trip to a mate's house, to have my original trim pieces removed and the new ones installed.. Yet another job that required quite a bit of man-hours and patience, given that:
- The mirror housings were changed to gloss black, I had to swap the mirror glasses and mirror caps from my originals. Have to be so careful not to crack the glass and break the clips.
- Gloss black B & C pillar strips, this required removal of the door pads and the window rubbers to expose the hidden screws.
- The weather strips and window surrounds where changed to gloss black, which was all I initially wanted.
- Finally we had popped off the old chrome door trim plates and installed the Mtech II ones.
Really happy with the outcome and its these little things that make all the difference for me. A few pics I had taken soon after, mind the dirty car, as I had to wait for the adhesive to fully cure before washing the car.
The parts cleaned up, prior to being polished:
All fitted:
I had sent my Mtech II steering to be recovered but the guy made a hash of it, so still need to find a good, reliable upholsterer that does steering wheels to have this recovered. I have tried many places but given the man-hours needed, many top shelf upholsterers don't offer this. Feel free to drop me a PM if you have received good work in the past, either Dbn or Jhb. Also still waiting on my head unit to be shipped from the UK, which should leave next week.
:ty:
Knowing that paint would be the best way forward, I had 2 options, either paint the existing trim or source a set from another vehicle.. Thanks to my recent trip, I was able to find the bits I needed and more.. Found some time a weekend ago and made a trip to a mate's house, to have my original trim pieces removed and the new ones installed.. Yet another job that required quite a bit of man-hours and patience, given that:
- The mirror housings were changed to gloss black, I had to swap the mirror glasses and mirror caps from my originals. Have to be so careful not to crack the glass and break the clips.
- Gloss black B & C pillar strips, this required removal of the door pads and the window rubbers to expose the hidden screws.
- The weather strips and window surrounds where changed to gloss black, which was all I initially wanted.
- Finally we had popped off the old chrome door trim plates and installed the Mtech II ones.
Really happy with the outcome and its these little things that make all the difference for me. A few pics I had taken soon after, mind the dirty car, as I had to wait for the adhesive to fully cure before washing the car.
The parts cleaned up, prior to being polished:
All fitted:
I had sent my Mtech II steering to be recovered but the guy made a hash of it, so still need to find a good, reliable upholsterer that does steering wheels to have this recovered. I have tried many places but given the man-hours needed, many top shelf upholsterers don't offer this. Feel free to drop me a PM if you have received good work in the past, either Dbn or Jhb. Also still waiting on my head unit to be shipped from the UK, which should leave next week.
:ty:
raise:
