E46 M3

[Mac1987]

Great photos buddy. I especially love this one

Me Too great Pic ! He's gone for the ' Urban Look ' with that Shot. Fine Looking Motor.

 

[Mac1987]

Great pics Where were they taken ? Looks like up Round hilltown/Spelga ?

 

[j44nty]

Perfection.

 

[Ben P]

So pretty

 

[Lyons]

I absolutely love your photography work.

Such a fresh looking example.

 

[Conor]

Flip me, your photos make the car look it's absolute best. Class.

How you liking the car in general? My best years driving was when I was dailying mine. Just such an addictive car, put a smile on my face getting into it every time.

 

[mcmurray]

Thanks everyone, photos turned out better than I expected. Caught the light at the right time.

Flip me, your photos make the car look it's absolute best. Class.

How you liking the car in general? My best years driving was when I was dailying mine. Just such an addictive car, put a smile on my face getting into it every time.

Hard to say. Some days I love it, some days I'd rather be in a comfy auto that does 50mpg. I still enjoy driving it, but for the most part I'm only taking it to work and back.

It feels heavy, standard brakes aren't great, seats aren't that supportive, but the engine noise makes up for all that.

Reasonably practical daily that does a lot of things well, not a weekend car for me.

 

[Gibbo]

Some cracking pictures there

 

[Jonny_W]

Pictures are amazing Ryan and the car looks fantastic.

 

[civicglacier]

Looking perfect Ryan

 

[mcmurray]

Left the car in last week for a service. I sampled the oil before it was changed and sent it off to The Oil Lab for testing. Second time I've had this done for peace of mind on the bearings. There was around 4,500 miles on this oil. The results are fine and very similar to what the last test results were, so no signs of wear since last year. Anything over 50ppm for copper or lead would be a worry according to The Oil Lab. Car is always warmed up properly so not in a rush to replace them yet.

Got a spare few hours to try and tidy the paint. Clayed and single stage polish with a Megs microfibre pad and Chemical Guys V36. Needed refined a bit more to remove all the marks. Far from perfect but took out enough of the swirls to keep me happy.

 

[trev 1515]

I think the engine problems on the E46 are blown way out of proportion. A well serviced looked after car should be fine, even with high miles.

 

[PeteMoore]

@mcmurray where did you sample from?

I'm amazed to see zero water content on an alloy block.

 

[mcmurray]

I think the engine problems on the E46 are blown way out of proportion. A well serviced looked after car should be fine, even with high miles.

If I never used internet forums, I'd be none the wiser about the bearings. Would just service as normal and drive on.

@mcmurray where did you sample from?

I'm amazed to see zero water content on an alloy block.

Sump via the dipstick.

 

[mcmurray]

Replaced the 2 front control arms a few weeks back.

Bit of knocking from a ball joint. Turns out, it's a complete arm job. @veedubnoodle sorted me out with some Lemforder arms same day. Lemforder make the OEM arms for BMW but the BMW markings are ground off them. £450 for the pair, so not cheap.

Once of the rear backing plates has rusted through where the handbrake shoes are held on. One of the shoes is now cable tied in place until the new backing plate from Bavarian goes on this week.

This thread has turned into a bit of a digital service record for the car. Still enjoy it on a good day.

 

[Neil_M]

Nice job sir, the photos by the water are epic.

The Lemforder parts with the ground off BMW decal is a laugh. The Mini's engine mounts were the same Lemforder units, minus the logo.

At least you know you aren't getting cheap rubbish!

 

[Jordy]

That’s fantastic

 

[Boydie]

Great looking M3!

 

[veedubnoodle]

Glad to be of service Ryan. Car looks fantastic in those pics! Is that out near Derrytrasna / Derrymacash?

 

['96dc2]

M3’s and Bm’s in general are an expensive hobby. Genuine parts are stupid money.

 

[DISASTRA]

Love that lad! But I’m biased

 

[mcmurray]

Have this a year now and put nearly 10,000 miles on it in that time.

I've managed to kerb 3 of the wheels so far, so need to leave them in to get sorted. Polished Alloys seem to have a decent rep now so will send them to Michael soon. Load of other small things on the to-do list that I'll get round to sorting soon. No thoughts about selling up yet.

Out for quick spin last night and grabbed a few photos.

 

[redanni]

That is amazing

 

[MarkM]

I need you to take pics of mine!

 

[mayweather]

So many nice //M’s on here