I think you keep missing the important parts of my post. I'm going to highlight the following part:
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I found the MTech dampers. The red sticker still exists. Granted, only the fronts, but you can still buy them. I linked them in my recent thread and here on page 2.
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Now whether the ZHP came with those (or rather their Boge predecessors) from factory is a different matter. There is a lot of debate about what dampers came on M package cars in the German forums as well.
As for proof, to me the mere existence of the red sticker Sachs Advantage (and previously Boge Turbo) for our cars is a pretty obvious sign that some E46s came with special MTech dampers. The question is which trims/packages/years/models received them?
If ZHPs came with the blue sticker, then I don't know which trims in America came with the red sticker. I could not find definite "proof" that European M package cars came with the red sticker MTech dampers, but in
this video the guy appears to have pulled red sticker shocks from his E46 to replace the top hats. I can't tell what package his car has. On second glance it looks like MTech I (sport package prefacelift???). So this means:
- Pre-facelift sport package cars received MTech dampers.
(True according to BMW part number lists/compatibility filters, although on a side note, the red stickers also listed as compatible for M Sport package II on FCP, but that doesn't necessarily mean that those cars came with MTech dampers from factory, only that they are compatible. It also suggests that European M package cars got MTech dampers but not the ZHP, because the ZHP is the Performance Package, not M Sport, but this might just be a generalization or error/inaccuracy in naming so I wouldn't read too much into it.)
- ZHPs received Super Touring.
- M package received probably Super Touring? Maybe MTech? The answer is unclear on this one.
It makes some sense though. The M package and ZHP package only arrived later in the lifecycle of the E46 (can't remember the exact dates but I think M package started in late 2001 or early 2002 and ZHP started sometime 2003). So we are talking about different trims available for different years.
Now, early E46s (1998, 1999) were criticized for being "soft". In response, BMW (according to internal memos) upgraded the dampers sometime in 2000. This is probably when the sport package received the MTech dampers. The sport package E46 was available in America at this time as well (mid 2000), which is probably why the red sticker dampers are available in the US even today. They are spare parts meant for those very specific 2000/2001 sport package cars that received the upgraded suspension in response to the criticism.
MY SPECULATION (I have no proof) is that the E46 as a whole was never meant to get red sticker/high performance dampers, BUT, in order to appease critics in a time BEFORE a dedicated performance package (ZHP, M Technik II) existed, BMW decided to TEMPORARILY equip the sportier trims with the fabled MTech dampers (red sticker).
Then, when they released the M package and later ZHP, they offered re-engineered Super Touring line shocks that were more in line with BMWs original vision for the E46, offering better comfort than the red sticker and higher performance than the old softer shocks that people criticized. But because a bunch of E46s were now out there in the world with red sticker dampers, Sachs would of course have to continue providing spare parts for them, hence why we can still buy red sticker MTech dampers.
I'm sure Sachs isn't too happy about all this complication, which MIGHT explain why they tried to combine shocks and recently did exactly that with the MTech rears, merging them with the Super Touring rears to create one part to replace both the old red sticker rears and blue sticker rears. There is now only one white sticker rear.
At the end of the day, I don't know how long BMW used the MTech dampers and if they really were only available on certain 2000/2001 models or if some later cars received them too. But I have one final funny thought: Ever wondered why we call the red sticker Sachs "MTech" dampers? Maybe it's because they came on cars with the MTech I body kit? Wouldn't that tie my theory together nicely? Still only speculation, but the takeaway here is:
MTech dampers are real.
Some E46s had MTech dampers.
You can still buy the front MTech dampers right here.