Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    2,127

    Something with a little more "go"

    After spending ten yeas, almost 200,000 miles, and quite a lot of money in my '02 325ci, I have moved on to another BMW. I will absolutely miss my old car. I put a lot of time into it and can say with a lot of certainty that I replaced almost every wear part in that car...twice. The E46 platform still stands as one of my favorites, right with the E30.

    Now for the new...

    At the end of May, I purchased (read financed) a 2017 M2. At the time of purchase, it had 8,000 miles on it. That is 120,000 miles less than my E46 when I bought it. It is Long Beach Blue with black interior, sick top, and a six speed manual. The previous owner loaded it with Dinan goodies. It has an intake, intercooler, big turbo, and stage 4 software. He also had the BMW performance steering wheel installed as well as the BMW performance coilover set. And not to mention the Passport 9500ci built in radar system. It's pretty tricked out.

    I picked it up from the local Bentley/Rolls-Royce/McLaren/Aston Martin dealership. Seems like it just wasn't quite fast enough, so he traded it for an Aston... Score for me as I get a loaded car for relatively cheap....considering all the goodies that is.

    Damn.... This thing is fast. By far the fastest thing I have ever owned. I currently have the tune backed down stage 1. I don't need to be blasting around at 450 horses all the time... Although it is fun as hell.

    One of the first things that I noticed that needed fixing was the stereo. It seems that the whole 2 series line got shafted when it comes to that category. There is no logic 7 like all of the other BMWs. Needless to say, it left much to be desired. Since there is nothing that needs fixing, a feeling I am very unfamiliar with, I can go right to solving the crap radio issue.

    The issue that I'm running into is the lack of tunability. There is no real dialing in of the sound because all they have is 'bass' and 'treble' and no sort of equalizer. Since there really isn't a "head unit" to replace, I have to look elsewhere to improve audio quality. I figure that the speakers aren't the problem or the solution here either. Replacing those can get expensive fast anyway. I determined that I need to add a graphic equalizer and swap out the factory amp to fix my issue. And I was correct. I replaced the factory amp with a compact Kenwood four channel amp, added a Phoenix Gold 9 band EQ, and added a 10" subwoofer. Thanks to TechnicPnP, I didn't have to cut any wires. They make the harness just for the job.
    I wired the front and rear speakers to the front channel of the amp and the factory subs to the rear channel. I left the center channel out because it completely throws the sound balance off. Let's say it was a drastic improvement. The factory speakers are good quality and deliver clear sound, all it needed was some tuning.

    Now that that issue is corrected, I'm very happy with the M2. It really does feel a lot like my E46 in a lot of ways, yet it is so very different. I'm just gonna say that this thing is bad ass.

    Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
    19" VMR VB3 CSL reps w/ General G-Max 3 A/S, BMW Performance short throw shifter, CDV delete, M54B30 swap, and a redneck CAI.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Congrats on a sweet ride!

    Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Socal
    Posts
    1,739
    nice. I almost ended up with that car too. went for the tesla instead. i ponder if that was the right choice sometimes lol

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Sharp car, congrats. The sound quality is very important for me, as well. Enjoy !
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Leesburg, VA
    Posts
    1,209
    Congratulations on the M2! We added a '15 228i Estoril blue coupe to the herd last year.
    2006 330ci ZHP - Silbergrau Metallic / Stoff Laser/Anthrazit / Alu Black Cube trim / Adaptive Xenon headlights / HK hi-fi system / heated front seats

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Independence KY
    Posts
    2,832
    Congrats, I love OEM/OEM+ upgrades and that thing is pretty spec’d out
    2005 BMW 330i ZHP - BMWP brakes/intake/strut bar/shifter, Coby wraps interior, BBS CHs, Eagle Eye LED tails, LED fog lights, GC coilovers, Sprint Booster/sport button mod, 4.5 LCM w/ programming, Xtrons 9inch HU, BSW stg1, dynamat, M3 sedan dead pedal, oCarbon CF interior trim, CF seat backs, 2x2 CF MTECH2 diffuser, CF cabin filter cover



  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    2,127
    Thanks all. It is definitely a big difference for me. Hoping to get some years and a lot of miles out of it.

    Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
    19" VMR VB3 CSL reps w/ General G-Max 3 A/S, BMW Performance short throw shifter, CDV delete, M54B30 swap, and a redneck CAI.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    4,903
    Wow! That's a beasty beaut!
    325i, 2005, 5MT, Silvergrey, leatherette, Sport package; CDV delete, KONI STR-T & KYB Excel-G, Weisslichts, Stewart H2O pump

    328i, 2010, 6MT, Spacegrey, dakota leather, M-sport packages; has a 330 intake but no tune - yet
    http://s900.photobucket.com/user/othibau/media/Junesig.jpg.html][IMG]http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/Junesig.jpg

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