Love those wheels. Are they real 2piece like E39 Style 42s?Quote:
Originally Posted by Galapolis
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Love those wheels. Are they real 2piece like E39 Style 42s?Quote:
Originally Posted by Galapolis
It's my US E46. Mystic blue so yes, a US color. It's RWD but it's about 200lbs lighter than a regular sedan and is running strut spacers to restore the original suspension geometry with the lowering springs.Quote:
Originally Posted by san
Yes, Style 78. I never knew they existed but apparently 78s came in 17 and 18" and the latter is 2 piece. Same weight as the heavy 135s though. I may look for some 18" 32s to shed more weight.Quote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
The 18" 78 was a dealer option for the aero package E46 sedan and also an option on the Z4 (which is where my set came from). Kinda feel bad for stealing a set from the US but if anyone wants a set, I'll help source and ship one over. They do pop up here every once in a while, though they are still rare.
Ah, I thought you picked up a new one in Germany!Quote:
Originally Posted by Galapolis
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18” 32s in correct offsets would look great. Pretty sure in the states 18” only came on the E38 with something ridiculous like ET12 offsets.Quote:
Originally Posted by Galapolis
Oh nice, you moved back! Generally speaking how much was shipping/importing? I'd also be curious what you may or may not have to do to pass TUV, depending on what mods you haveQuote:
Originally Posted by Galapolis
It's hard to put a number on it because there are many different parts to the price that will vary from person to person. The actual shipping cost in a shared container was $1095, but you also pay additional fees for customs clearance and processing on both ends and insurance. Also you need to get the car to the port somehow, usually by truck if you want to keep it easy for yourself. It was about $2000 in the end for the actual port to port shipping. Add to that if you aren't delivering/picking up the car yourself. There are ways to get it cheaper though, usually with open air shipping.
The car is still running on NC registration until October. And yes I got quite a few stares driving with no front plate but I think most people figured it out once they saw the rear US plate. US military members are not an uncommon sight and they basically live in little mini USA's here, so the police cars I drove by probably assumed that's what was happening since they didn't seem to care. It also helps that it is otherwise an unassuming "stock" German car. I've reverted most obvious mods like the exhaust. The Dinan intake, brake lines and Z4 wheel are likely issues, but for sure the headlights and missing foglight will fail me right now.
For the mods it depends on who you get. Someone unfamiliar with the E46 or BMWs in general will probably not notice the Z4 wheel given that it is a BMW part. Same for the ZHP exhaust, if you don't know the part numbers or that it should have a flap on a 330 model, then you can't tell. Brake lines are FCP brand braided steel, definitely a no-go but that's an easy fix. Dinan intake will be a hard sell but I can just show up with the stock intake and swap it out later. Not that risky to do in my state, not a good idea in most other states though. Tires, well, nobody is going to cross reference the part numbers on all-seasons. If I had RE-71s or something that would be more suspicious. For the suspension bits I already have the certificates printed from Eibach. Replica bumpers, again, nobody is going to check unless they are an E46 expert and spot the Taiwanese craftsmanship from just looking at the fitment.
Man @galapolis, I know some of the stuff that gets passed/overlooked in most of the states is comically lax at times, but from what I’ve heard Sreten say in his videos and what you just wrote really makes me appreciate what we have here. Next year is the last time my car will ever have to do an emissions inspection in NC, it’ll be safety-only from 2025 onward.
Back to business as usual, replaced the worn chrome line trim on my wheel with some new graphite trim. Since I don't have a radio I also switched to the version without buttons.
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That's different! I have never seen this type of steering wheel on any E46. Looks pretty nice!!! :thumbsup
That’s the e85 z4 wheel, I just bought a mint condition one to throw into my ZHP as well.