Yep, another new member!!

[rcwells]

Hey guys, just got back from Cedar Park, TX with a 2004 ZHP Imola/black leather, 6mt. Her name is Ruby in honor of my maternal grandmother. My girlfriend (Ari) bought the car for me and then drove it back the 9 hours home and said she has never "loved" a car before now. She's smitten. So am I. (with both the gf AND the car!) Eric(friend and also a member here) said she's a keeper. I have to agree.
The trip out there was hell, as my 06 Jeep Wrangler developed some clogged cats on the way and had to be towed to Hammond to Ponchatoula Automotive and kept overnight. We rented a Uhaul van to drive to Cedar Park and got there about 0130 and got a room. Met with Gerry next day to complete the transaction on the car and drove back to Hammond to turn in rental and pick up Jeep. They knocked the cats out and it runs fantastic but sounds like a log truck now, lol. Rough trip but well worth the effort it turns out.
I have owned a few bimmers, 2 E30s, an E46 sport pkg, and an E28. It's been a while since my last one and it feels like coming home.
I had forgotten how much fun they are to drive and this car was well cared for and drives like a new one, so tight, smooth and powerful.
Anyways, looking forward to the fellowship and freshening up the ZHP. Just ordered new lens covers and a hood roundel. More to come I'm sure.

RC

Me and the GF headed out and excited! Road trip!
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Jeep is sick, no bueno
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A shout out to the Tyrone and the guys at Ponchatoula Automotive in Hammond!
Wasn't feeling too good prior to this shot, but beer helps everything! (spoonful of sugar)
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That about sums up her attitude and how we both feel about this whole trip at this point....
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We're both exhausted and that look echoes my own...
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Finally got the ZHP!!
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She's a happy girl now and is about to fall in love with my new car!
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[fw_fw]

Awesome!!!!! Willkommen zu der Familie!!!!

[rcwells]

Danke schon

Ordered new headlight covers, hood roundel, and going to order full coolant system overhaul goodies tonight.

Eric and I are going to have work to do.

[Vas]

Welcome. And good color choice.

As far as the cooling system, word of advice. Go with the OE bmw kit from tischer bmw or the kit from turner motorsports.

[rcwells]

Welcome. And good color choice.

As far as the cooling system, word of advice. Go with the OE bmw kit from tischer bmw or the kit from turner motorsports.

Rationale?

[Vas]

Rationale?

Quality of the parts and how long they will last.

Tischer BMW is a stage 1 kit that covers the most important items.
Turner Motorsports covers more times if you need to replace them. The radiator is included in that kit.

[NoVAphotog]

Rationale?

Too risky to go aftermarket. Not that expensive in relation.

Welcome to the Imola Elite!! My gf and I drove about 9 hours there and back to pick up my Imola/Black Leather ZHP (story is in the top of my car's thread)! One of the best roadtrips i've been on!

[egiles14]

I've got him covered on the cooling system. We will be replacing ALL components and hoses using a combination of BMW OE, Rein, Behr, and Graf components from fcpeuro.com. The cost will be under $500 shipped, and will have a lifetime warranty on all parts. I'll be going over the car with a fine tooth comb very soon to see what other items need attention, but from the previous owner records and Bobby's observations, I don't think it will need much more for now.

Can't wait to see it in person!

[BMWCurves]

Welcome! Great reintroduction to BMWs. Hope you stick around.


Quality of the parts and how long they will last.

Tischer BMW is a stage 1 kit that covers the most important items.
Turner Motorsports covers more times if you need to replace them. The radiator is included in that kit.

Agreed. I went with the Turner kit with my ZHP and have had zero issues. Now I'm helping my sis pick out parts for her 330Xi through FCP/ECS/Tischer using BMW or OEM parts, whoever is cheapest.

[KevinC]

Welcome!

[rcwells]

Welcome! Great reintroduction to BMWs. Hope you stick around.


Thanks to all of yous. And it really is a great reintroduction. My last was the e28 and it was kind of a turd. Looked cool, but just junky. The E30 prior to that one was arguably the nicest E30 on the planet. It was amazing and I should have kept it but regrettably at the time I sold it that wasn't an option.
I was a moderator at r3vlimited.com and Eric and I over a period of 3 years or so had the car perfectly sorted. It was a gem.
This car is much smoother and more refined but the purity of that one is what made it so special.

[oclvframe]

Welcome to the club...I have now road-tripped for 3 vehicles...twice with my son and once with a couple of friends...luckily they've not had issues getting there or back but they've always been memorable! As for cars we should've kept....between cars and motorcycles my list is way too long....oh well.

-r

[Cadeez]

Quality of the parts and how long they will last.

Tischer BMW is a stage 1 kit that covers the most important items.
Turner Motorsports covers more times if you need to replace them. The radiator is included in that kit.


Too risky to go aftermarket. Not that expensive in relation.

Welcome to the Imola Elite!! My gf and I drove about 9 hours there and back to pick up my Imola/Black Leather ZHP (story is in the top of my car's thread)! One of the best roadtrips i've been on!

First off, welcome to the brotherhood RC!

I picked up this kit from ECS Tuning almost 2 years ago and I haven't had any issues at all, the price is HALF of the OEM kits with free shipping.

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Engine/Cooling/ES2063862/

Can't beat that deal. If parts are installed properly, they will work properly. I've found that most of you guys on here are "OEM or nothing", which is completely fine, but honestly I rarely buy OEM parts unless it's the only option. The price of OEM doesn't make sense, it's only that expensive because it says BMW on it, like high end fashion. To this day I've never had a failure of a non OEM part I've installed on any of my cars. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but if I can get the exact same part for literally half the cost, that's pretty simple math...

I hate to see folks new to BMW's, or veterans for that matter, get bullied into buying OEM stuff because "it's the only good stuff" or because if you don't your car will fall apart once it leaves the garage. That simply, is just crap. It's all a matter of personal preference and opinion, so to each their own. Let's all remember that we drive used ZHP's that we bought for probably around $10k, these aren't Ferrari's fellas.

End rant :roundel

[fredo]

Welcome, man ! Glad to hear the ZHP meets your expectations.

[Vas]

I picked up this kit from ECS Tuning almost 2 years ago and I haven't had any issues at all, the price is HALF of the OEM kits with free shipping.

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Engine/Cooling/ES2063862/

Can't beat that deal. If parts are installed properly, they will work properly. I've found that most of you guys on here are "OEM or nothing", which is completely fine, but honestly I rarely buy OEM parts unless it's the only option. The price of OEM doesn't make sense, it's only that expensive because it says BMW on it, like high end fashion. To this day I've never had a failure of a non OEM part I've installed on any of my cars. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but if I can get the exact same part for literally half the cost, that's pretty simple math...

I hate to see folks new to BMW's, or veterans for that matter, get bullied into buying OEM stuff because "it's the only good stuff" or because if you don't your car will fall apart once it leaves the garage. That simply, is just crap. It's all a matter of personal preference and opinion, so to each their own. Let's all remember that we drive used ZHP's that we bought for probably around $10k, these aren't Ferrari's fellas.

End rant :roundel
I removed the ecs stage 2 cooling system from my wife's car. 30k into it, the cap leaked, hose imploded, pulleys were shot, and etc.

[ELCID86]

Welcome. Love the color;-)


---
"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous

[Cadeez]

I removed the ecs stage 2 cooling system from my wife's car. 30k into it, the cap leaked, hose imploded, pulleys were shot, and etc.

Well that's a bummer Vas, sorry to hear it. I figured after that post I'd get bombarded with stories of non OEM part failures. But the point I was making wasn't to say that non OEM parts are infallible, there are always exceptions, and I'm sure eventually they fail just like OEM parts do. The point was that OEM isn't the only option, non OEM parts can be just as good for half the price. All I ever see on this site is "OEM or DIE", so I was offering a different perspective letting some folks know that in my experience, non OEM parts work just as well.

[rcwells]

Well that's a bummer Vas, sorry to hear it. I figured after that post I'd get bombarded with stories of non OEM part failures. But the point I was making wasn't to say that non OEM parts are infallible, there are always exceptions, and I'm sure eventually they fail just like OEM parts do. The point was that OEM isn't the only option, non OEM parts can be just as good for half the price. All I ever see on this site is "OEM or DIE", so I was offering a different perspective letting some folks know that in my experience, non OEM parts work just as well.

It's cool man, i get what you were saying and I'm not opposed to aftermarket stuff either as long as the quality is there. Luckily my pocket mechanic is well informed on all this shit so I'm covered already.

[Cadeez]

It's cool man, i get what you were saying and I'm not opposed to aftermarket stuff either as long as the quality is there. Luckily my pocket mechanic is well informed on all this shit so I'm covered already.

Good to hear man, best of luck with the new ride and the upcoming maintenance!

[3ZHP]

Welcome! I'm one of the guys that's very anal about OEM parts but I did opt for a Stewart water pump when I did my second pump and system overhaul 1-1/2
Years ago.


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[danewilson77]

RC,

Welcome to the Family.

Sent from an S6 Edge

[ZHP_Brandon]

Happy to see another Imola Sedan [emoji1417].. I swear seeing the OEM Corners/Sidemarkers & Tails makes
Me wish my car had them in the first place!

Good call on the cooling system first shot, I'm still waiting for some loose funds to do mine [emoji1417]

Car is beautiful


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[rcwells]

Happy to see another Imola Sedan [emoji1417].. I swear seeing the OEM Corners/Sidemarkers & Tails makes
Me wish my car had them in the first place!

and here i am thinking about going clear. probably will. trade for oem amber stuff? what clears do you have?

[slater]

welcome from another imola sedan owner. :) car looks great! is it on stock suspension? looks lowered...

[rcwells]

welcome from another imola sedan owner. :) car looks great! is it on stock suspension? looks lowered...

I believe it to be stock. I haven't looked but no info from po on any mods. Probably just some 12 yo spring sag :blink:

[Lublisha]

Welcome!


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[D1ESEL]

Love the Imola!

[Dual]

Welcome to the family!

[johnrando]

Welcome... Enjoy the ride! :)

[GotZHP]

Very nice ZHP, welcome. Cooling is on my project list. After speaking with other members, I am going with the Turner Kit. Every cooling part including sensors and new radiator was around ~$700. Need to pull the trigger but few other projects first. Should get to it in a few weekends. Check out my build thread for updates. Ill post a lot of info up when I do it

[rcwells]

Ordered everything already, along with a few parts not related to cooling was about $650 from fcpeuro. Should arrive in the next few days, and then have to schedule a work day. yay (with as little enthusiasm as I could muster).

[SCA]

Welcome! Nice to see you here from Rev. Great find and Congrats!

[Oli77]

Welcome to the family.

[Edo]

RC, did the FCP kit include radiator? I plan to do this in a week or so and was leaning to the Bav Auto kit as it has everything, including belts and idlers. my car has 69,000 K. Plan to do the cooling one time.

Thanks Ed

[cakM3]

I'm just catching up after spending a week underwater from my sub ride. Looks like you got yourself a fine Imola mistress! Welcome! :thumbsup


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[rcwells]

RC, did the FCP kit include radiator? I plan to do this in a week or so and was leaning to the Bav Auto kit as it has everything, including belts and idlers. my car has 69,000 K. Plan to do the cooling one time.

Thanks Ed

Ed, email me and I will forward the info.

rcwells200269@hotmail.com


I'm just catching up after spending a week underwater from my sub ride. Looks like you got yourself a fine Imola mistress! Welcome! :thumbsup


Sent from my iPhone6S using Tapatalk

Thanks bud. I'm pleased with it!

[egiles14]

RC, did the FCP kit include radiator? I plan to do this in a week or so and was leaning to the Bav Auto kit as it has everything, including belts and idlers. my car has 69,000 K. Plan to do the cooling one time.

Thanks Ed

Ed,

Bobby wanted me to answer your question since I put the order together for him. I didn't order a kit put together by FCP...I chose what is pretty much an all-encompassing cooling system kit by picking the parts individually off of their website. I believe I chose the Behr radiator for around $137.

I just prefer to pick and choose the components needed, as I might like a different manufacturer for one part than what the vendor includes. Also, sometimes those kits either include some items that might not really be necessary for everyone, and likewise might leave out a part that I feel is important.

Speaking of Bav Auto...I used to order from them years ago with good results. In fact, I just went to their site to help Bobby find some embroidered floor mats. Good grief that website is atrocious and hasn't changed in over a decade. To some it might not matter, but to me FCP's site is so much more informative and easier to use.

[Edo]

Thanks to both Eric and Bobby. LMFAO about website. My funny story is I called to ask about the kit (BAv Auto) and the sales associate said he would not replace anything till it failed. No the best advise I have heard. I come from a maintenance background and PM's are key in the packaging world. Downtime is easily measured in hundreds of dollars per hour.