Hey guys. Since I haven't spent much time in the e46 forum and everyone pretty much knows me from this forum, I decided to put my 330Ci build thread in the E39 Hangout section.
So, on with the details.
The car is a 2002 330Ci 5-speed with 220k miles on it and in very good shape. The PO took pretty good care of it, but it does need a few things to get it HPDE ready. It is Orientblau over black with the sport seats and other than a bit of stitching separated at a seam, they are in very good shape.
First thing was to address the bad shudder under braking and clunking when creeping at a stop. The front control arm bushings and ball joints were totally shot. I decided to also do the motor mounts while in there and since I was getting a code for the thermal oil level sensor, i replaced that as well and did an oil change. My buddies Jeff and Stephen helped out with the work as they usually do . Took the better part of a day, but the results were totally worth it. Car drives so much better now.
It made sense to drop the whole subframe since we were changing the motor mounts anyways and we just zip-tied up the steering rack. So much easier than on an e39.
We also needed better access to cut the ball joint on one of the control arms as the nut totally seized on it. The death wheel made quick work of getting the nut off.
It also gave us a great opportunity to clean all the power steering fluid/oil that had been leaking for years.
That's it for now. I'll be doing trans mounts, tie rods, and power steering reservoir next.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
I'll be following you closely. Awesome work so far. I love the e46 330, those are awesome cars. I wanted one before I picked up an 86 325e. I love the e30s too.
Good luck with the build
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
I always follow your threads... They are always very detail oriented and exciting... Looking forward to another one. Nice work so far! My neighbor has an imola 330 ZHP. Very nice looking cars...
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Last edited by purplecty; 11-05-2018 at 01:31 PM.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Looking forward to seeing what becomes of the M54
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Some interesting reading/modifications/food for thought:
http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7320
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
The night before last, I upgraded the headlights to bi-xenons, but I still need to retrofit the auto-leveling sensors/wiring and the shutter wiring. Going to scavenge the wiring from Brian's parts M3.
Also, I have pretty much all the parts to upgrade the taillights to LED, just need to splice the new connectors on the existing wiring. Not interested in paying $70+ for plug and play adapters when I have the plugs and just need to cut and solder them.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Got it. Had an 04 M3 LKM that I coded to my car and changed the mileage to match. I turned off Bi-Xenon and auto-leveling for now since I don't have the wiring for them.
Also, tonight I retrofitted the LED tail lights after getting the car back from an alignment at my friend's shop Euroenvy Autowerks in Concord, NC (highly recommend them). I just soldered the new connectors to the original wires on the car since I can't justify the price for the adapter cables and I don't plan to ever go back to non-LED tail lights. Only thing I'm missing are the trunk lights that attach to the back of them. New ones are cheap, so I'll get those when I order new lenses for the headlights from FCP.
Last edited by blackknight530i; 11-07-2018 at 11:01 PM.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Will be keeping an eye on this thread for ideas. Nice find and love the work you've done to previous cars.
05 330i Alpine White
Past:
02 330i Titanium Silver
R56 MCS
00 540i6
Cool. If you're feeling adventurous, that LCM might be flashable to newer software. If it's SW 3.6, it can be flashed with the 4.7 software which adds a couple nice features. If it's SW 3.56, then it'll be a similar situation to the early vs late LCM IV in that the MCU has to be replaced (or really E46 LCMs are abundant enough that it'd make more sense to just buy a 3.6 if one wanted to do the SW update).
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
CI35 is SW3.6 so you're good on that regard. 4.0 and 4.5 add triple blink turn signals (which can technically be modified to as many as 7 blinks per tap), bixenon as flash to pass even w/ the headlights off, the ability to enable daytime running taillights w/ DRLs, and the ability to use "city light" output as DRLs. 4.7 (which is not officially available on the E46 to this day) adds the ability to leave the headlight switch in the "on" position with the car off.
Interesting. I do know that mine has the bi-xenon as flash-to-pass with headlights off as an option. Thought that might be cool, but won't that kill the bulbs faster? Not really sure I would use much of that.
One thing that I do want to do is add the wiring for BFD. Looks like it just needs 2 new wires run from the LKM to each tail light, then turn on the brake force display options. I found a thread on zhp mafia where you talked about the different settings for each stage. Being that this will be a track car, I see that as pretty useful.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
If it's CI35, it definitely doesn't have that option (LH_MIT_BIX). Older LCMs have an option to use the bixenons (+ halogens) as flash to pass with the headlights on, but with the headlights off only the inner bulbs are used. Probably would kill the bulbs faster if you use flash to pass frequently. But nonetheless that's what most BMWs since ~2008 do anyway (they don't have inner bulbs for high beams anymore), so it was probably deemed to not be too big an issue.
Since yours is an 02, the instrument cluster MAY need to be upgraded for BFD to work, but otherwise it's 2 wires + coding. Also wouldn't be hard to run the wire for rear fogs at the same time if you wanted.
Hmm, I could have sworn I saw the option you're talking about that enabled the bi-xenon without headlights on, but I didn't look too closely at it, so I'm probably wrong. It's funny, my dad asked me the other day if the inner lights on his 06 X5 ever get used and I told him, not unless he uses the Flash to Pass. He said, "what's flash to pass?". I tried to explain it and he still didn't quite get it. Crazy that it's not a normal thing here. I use it all the time, usually instead of honking the horn to let people know to turn or that their high beams are on (when oncoming).
Yeah, I figured I would need a new instrument cluster, but I plan to get a later model M3 cluster anyways and use one of my last custom gauge faces I had made on it. I think I still have a dark gray one left. It will also get white LEDs. I'll worry about coding the BFD when I get the new cluster, but I wanted to at least get the wiring done.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Took a nice picture of the car this morning at my parents house in AL.
First long trip in the 330Ci since I bought it. I think the tires are about dry-rotted and hard. I also am pretty sure the diff mount bushings are shot. The noise I'm hearing could be the rubber is gone and the diff is sitting on the metal frame of the bushing causing drivetrain noise throughout the car. Not sure if I want to replace the bushings in this subframe or get a M3 diff and subframe and do the bushings on that instead.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
M3 diff/subframe will require your driveshaft to be shortened IIRC. You might be able to play some games like mating the rear "half" of an M3 driveshaft to the front "half" of the 330 driveshaft. Also the 3.62 diff will be pretty short if you don't also get a 6-speed - though if this is purely going to be a track car, I guess that wouldn't matter.
Last edited by TerraPhantm; 11-11-2018 at 11:12 AM.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
Nice scenery. Is that a horse in the background?
Car looks good too.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
That's a beautiful shot!
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Hey guys, been a while since I've updated the thread. Done a decent bit of work on the car over the last couple months.
Here's a list of what's been done:
-Transmission mounts
-Tie rods (one had actually been done fairly recently and felt great, so we just put a new boot on it and didn't replace it)
-Front wheel bearings (made a huge difference in the ride quality and no longer howls driving down the road)
-Installed a full set of Bavsound speakers
-Installed a late model M3 cluster and properly coded it for speedo correction and coolant temp range (thanks TerraPhantm) as well as just recently flashed the M3 cluster mod to the DME that enables the oil temp warm up lights and shift lights to work on MS43 (Thanks Daniel F on e46fanatics.com). The car is so much fun to drive and the shift lights make it even more fun to wind it out.
-New radiator, water pump, thermostat
Things that are nearly ready to be done after a few more parts come in:
-Valve cover gasket
-Vanos seals (Beisan kit)
-Air distribution piece
-All vacuum hoses/caps
-Intake gaskets
-Air filter and cabin air filter
-Oil filter housing gasket
-Plastic heater hoses under intake
-New upper and lower radiator hoses and rubber heater hoses (discovered the lower rad hose was leaking after doing the work above)
-CCV and all associated hoses
-Suction jet pump and brake booster hose
-SAP delete
-Power steering reservoir and hoses
-Auto-leveling headlight sensors and wiring harness and adding bi-xenon wiring
Things that will be happening in the near future, but still need some deciding:
-M3 rear subframe, diff, subframe reinforcement plates welded, axles
-Rear wheel bearings
-Either ZF or 420g 6-speed transmission (not sure on this yet)
-ZHP 5 or 6-speed shift knob (depending on the trans choice of course) and e60 shifter
-If not the ZF or 420g, at least detent reconditioning and resealing of 320z that's in the car and custom driveshaft
-New suspension bushings for the rear
-Coilovers (probably Ground Control, but haven't decided or even figured out funding for that)
-Tires (Probably go with some RE-71Rs for track use and just keep them on there as the car doesn't get driven much)
-Wheels if I get really ambitious, but not high priority
By then, the car ought to ride like a new one as the entire suspension will have been refreshed with new. The car already feels great, so I can only imagine.
I'll try to be more diligent about updating the thread as I go.
-Paul
2003 "M5" - Full M5 conversion, AMG C63S 6 piston front calipers, Porsche Panamera 4 piston rear calipers, GC Coilovers, Eibach ARBs, UUC Evo3/DSSR, Borla Exhaust w/Muffler Delete, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto, Bi-Xenons, e38 Style 37 M-Pars, e60 Hubs 530i 6-speed swap build thread2005 Range Rover 4.6is (M62TU Powered) - 4.6is Engine Swap from X5, BMW NBT with Carplay/Android Auto
2006 Porsche Cayman S - Soul Performance Competition Headers and Exhaust, H&R Coilovers, 718 Boxster Spyder wheels, Rennline 35mm rear spacers
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