Adventures of Titanium Silver e46 330Ci ZHP

[Sreten]

Thank you!

Good to know about the M3 seats. They are on the bucket list. Are the ones with lumbar and bolster adjustment plug & play or I need some extra wiring?

I'll try to document the whole trip experience. It will travel about 30 days on a ship until it reaches north of Germany.

San, I think I would be happy too with the exhaust.

Few updates.

Got wheel spacers fromPprecision European Motorwerks.



I went with 10mm on the front and 12mm in the back. Now that I have them on the car I think I should've gone with 12mm in the front and 15mm in the back.

Thoroughly cleaned the hubs, applied a layer of high-temp anti size.



And they fit perfect. No shakes or vibration. They seem like a quality product.

Left picture with spacers and right one without.



First pic without spacers.



Few more. I also removed the M badge from the trunk. Got new 330Ci badge but I might leave it as is for now.



Got new tires from Costco. Michelin A/S 3+, $766 out of door for set of 4. Factory size.



And pair of new Xenon bulbs. Osram D2S Night breaker. PO had some cheap blue bulbs installed that were useless.



I also got a set of these projectors from TRS. I have AL adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights and they are great.
I retrofitted EVO X-R projectors in my e39 and they were brilliant in every way. I want to do something similar on this car as well.

These are the only projectors for facelift coupe that bolt on and don't require cutting and modifying the shroud.
Probably not as good as XR's but I might give them a try. Ideally I would go with FXR 3.0 projectors but those require a lot of work.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/cl...rojectors.html

While installing the spacers, I noticed that my left rear shock is leaking so new rear shocks, and possibly front struts, are happening.
Now I can't decide between OE Sachs or Koni FSD's which are around $200 more.

[anandoc]

Thank you!

Good to know about the M3 seats. They are on the bucket list. Are the ones with lumbar and bolster adjustment plug & play or I need some extra wiring?

They are completely plug-n-play.

[slater]

spacers look good! one thing to note... and i'm not sure if you've looked into this yet, but when importing a car to germany i'm pretty sure any mods have to meet TUV approval. so you might be removing some stuff when you get there (like spacers).

[ZHPizza]

Isn't it amazing how 10-15mm of spacers make the stance of the car so much more aggressive? As far as changing them out -- I think I remember seeing that 15mm in the rear will rub on OE wheel/tire sizes. Can anyone confirm?

And they're overpriced, but you may want to look into painted reflectors before you leave for Germany so you don't stand out (they don't have bumper reflectors over there): https://bimmian.com/Accessories-for-...flectors/#tabs

You could also DIY paint them: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/tou...ed-spray-paint

Or replace them with a clear version -- then you'll stand out in a not-bad-looking way: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEPO-00-03-B...175209?vxp=mtr

I have the clears, but haven't installed them yet. They're going to match the corners of the facelift coupe perfectly:

[johnrando]

I believe Bimmian sells body colored ones.

[Sreten]

They are completely plug-n-play.

That is great to hear!

I'm aware of TÜV and how strict they are. Like if they find a leaking shock, the car won't pass.
I can drive there on Cali plates up to 6 months before I have to import it.

I have front license plates but I'm not sure how to attach them without ruining the bumper. That's another thing to worry about even here in Cali.

Spacers make that much of a difference for sure. I think it should be fine with 15mm.

To blend reflectors with the bumper is on the list as well but bimmian ones are overpriced.
I plan to repaint the hood and do that at the same time but in Europe since it's much cheaper there.

[BMWCurves]

Get a license plate mounting bracket that fits into the tow hook location. Other members that use them can chime in on good manufacturers.

If my bumper didn't already have the factory front plate mount (which is drilled into the bumper ), that is what I would use since Oregon is a front and rear license plate state.

[Vas]

Impression of those michelin a/s3+?

Costco prices are very competitive

[Sreten]

Got a citation today while parked for not having front license plates.

I was thinking maybe some kind of magnetic license plate mount? The one that attaches in tow hook location seems fairly easy but it looks kinda ugly to me.

So far they are great. Car had Michelin A/S tires from 2012. A/S3+ definitely improved ride quality. Haven't given them a proper test but they are much quieter and soak up the bumps and holes much better, car is more comfortable. Will give a proper review after I put some miles on them.

I have to replace my rear shocks since the left one is leaking. Now I need opinions, should I spring for new Koni FSD kit or just get OE Sachs sport for the rear and don't touch the front struts? Front ones still feel good to me. OE Sachs kit (front and rear) is $200 cheaper then FSD's.

[BMWM3186]

Interested to see how mine would do with A/S3+'s. I have some Continental DWS 06s on there now