E46 M3

Snoopcousins

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2,892
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Lisburn
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M3
Were you out on Malone Road today?
Looked similar…
Can’t wait for the last of the salt to be off the road to get mine out
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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Were you out on Malone Road today?
Looked similar…
Can’t wait for the last of the salt to be off the road to get mine out

Was actually up that direction this evening, but not early in the day. Must be a different one.

Taxed and back out of hibernation. Nice to get driving it again after a few months without it.

lyric2.jpg
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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Gathered up all the bits to service this. Left it in yesterday with my mechanic to swap the fluids, filters and spark plugs. New power steering line has been sitting in the house since last year, so finally got it on too.

Coming up to 5 years of owning this soon. Time flies.


m3-service-1.jpg



m3-service-2.jpg
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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Not much to report.

Had it machine polished by a friend a few weeks ago to remove swirls and wash marring. Have taken a DA to it myself in the past but can't be bothered anymore and don't have the time to do it properly. Turned out well.

m3-070522-1.jpg




Still a few little bits and pieces I'd like to improve or replace, but the prices of some stuff for these has gone mad. If anyone knows of a set of OE 19" Style 67m wheels that haven't been diamond cut a million times already, let me know.


Was out in it last night and grabbed a few photos as it was clean.

m3-1.jpg

m3-2.jpg

m3-3.jpg

m3-5.jpg
 

Snoopcousins

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Lisburn
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M3
Looks great 😎

I have my original 19’s and have never been diamond cut but need refurbed - still looking what the best option is - as with yourself would only be used in summer etc so wondering is mirror polishing is feasible idea ?
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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I have a set of standard 19s which haven’t been refinished for sale at the minute.

They’re on gumtree or PM me!

The set in Bangor? Spotted those.

Could just be the Gumtree photos, but one or two of them don’t look like they’ll diamond cut again without losing the recess for the M emblem and the middle ends up looking a bit **** like this between the spokes:

D9E36A37-5B3B-401C-824C-FE934E4BC1D1.jpeg
 

Snoopcousins

RMS Regular
Messages
2,892
Location
Lisburn
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M3
The set in Bangor? Spotted those.

Could just be the Gumtree photos, but one or two of them don’t look like they’ll diamond cut again without losing the recess for the M emblem and the middle ends up looking a bit **** like this between the spokes:

View attachment 361223

Yea those have definateky been re-cut ,
I’ll put up a pic of mine to show the difference …

Don’t want to hiJack this thread but those look well done - who did them?
 

althebass

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298
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Bangor, N. Ireland
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Model A Ford
The set in Bangor? Spotted those.

Could just be the Gumtree photos, but one or two of them don’t look like they’ll diamond cut again without losing the recess for the M emblem and the middle ends up looking a bit **** like this between the spokes:

View attachment 361223

Not a problem, I’ve no idea about these things!
Let me know if you want some more pictures.
 

Rigger

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3,607
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XJR 575, A4
Not much to report.

Had it machine polished by a friend a few weeks ago to remove swirls and wash marring. Have taken a DA to it myself in the past but can't be bothered anymore and don't have the time to do it properly. Turned out well.

m3-070522-1.jpg




Still a few little bits and pieces I'd like to improve or replace, but the prices of some stuff for these has gone mad. If anyone knows of a set of OE 19" Style 67m wheels that haven't been diamond cut a million times already, let me know.


Was out in it last night and grabbed a few photos as it was clean.

m3-1.jpg

m3-2.jpg

m3-3.jpg

m3-5.jpg
Lovely looking car - and great photos!
 

Mr.Mint

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3,348
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Dungannon
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Many Things.
This is lovely...

They look so much better without a front plate and I wouldn't change anything, it's just perfect!
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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As usual, not a very exciting update but I like to keep the thread up to date. Haven't put many miles on it this year, but still enjoy seeing it parked up on the driveway when I'm not using it. Had a few bits I wanted to buy for it this year but the money got diverted into holiday and house stuff.

Did treat it to some new Michelin PS4S on the front and refurbed one of the rear wheels after another kerb jumped out at me.

wheels22.jpg




Took it to the charity photoshoot @Reno_LV was running in September at the Ulster Aviation Society. What a location for photos! The event was for a great cause and he managed to raise a load of money, so fair play to him. He sent me the photos over the weekend. :heart_eyes:

jet-m3-1.jpg


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jet-m3-5.jpg



Pulled the cover over it a few weeks ago and plugged it into the charger. Not much use in the colder weather so it can hibernate for a few months.
 

mcmurray

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mcmurray
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

Started the year off with a trip back to the bodyshop in February.

The bootlid had a few spots of bubbling around the handle that I wanted sorted, and there were a few other things needing fixed. Plan was always to replace mine with a genuine CSL version at some point, but the prices of those went mental, so the standard boot is staying put. Blasted and back looking like new. It's common knowledge that E46's enjoy a bit of rust and I'm trying my best to keep on top of it. Delivered safely by RSG Logistics. I made a day of it and got the train up to collect a few weeks later and drove it home.

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On the run home from Portstewart, the noise and vibration from one of the front wheel bearings was bad. Ordered a replacement pair of bearings and booked it in with my mechanic. Oil and filter changed while it was there. No desire to do this stuff myself anymore.

m3-mar233.jpg



The wheels came with the standard 225 and 255 wide tyres when I got the car and that's what I stuck with. There has always been a bit of a stretch on those sizes which I was never keen on. Took advantage of a 15% off Blackcircles offer a few weeks ago for some new wider rear PS4S's. Now running the proper upsized 235/35/19 and 265/30/19 on the CSL style wheels. Look a lot better without the stretch.

In my mission to tidy up things that nobody else notices, I've replaced the wheel badges with genuine ones as the cheap ones had faded. I also have new grilles for the front wings on the way from BMW just to add a few more receipts to the folder. :-#

m3-mar234.jpg




A few (quite a few) photos after a clean at the weekend. Hardly used it since last October/November. Hoping to get it out a bit more now the sun's out again. :cool:

m3-mar235.jpg

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TL;DR - New paint, new tyres, new wheel bearings.
 
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