My BMW E46 Page

The Ultimate Driving Machine

History

• 9/9/99 Signed lease on 2000 BMW 323i. Orient Blue/Sand leatherette, 5-speed manual, xenon headlights, navigation system, sport/premium package, folding rear seats, heated front seats. That covered about 90% of the options. MSRP $35,610. 18 miles as delivered.
• 9/10/99 Installed clear corner lights.
• 10/10/99 "Check Engine" (SES) light came on. Re-tightened gas cap and hopefully it will go out in a few days. (Typically, it is due to overly sensitive sensor for gascap or dipstick - something about OBD2 and vapor recovery). 1720 miles.
• 10/16/99 "Check Engine" light still lit. Will schedule service soon. 2000 miles.
• 10/20/99 "Check Engine" light went out by itself, 10 days and 300 miles later. 2023 miles.
• 10/28/99 Installed K&N replacement filter (33-2070). Small but noticeable improvement. WeatherTech mats went in. 2560 miles.
• 11/7/99 Bought and installed Fikse FM\10 rims with Sumitomo HTR-Z II tires, 2853 miles.
  • Front 17x8 44mm offset, 225/45/17 (40 lbs each ass'y)
  • Rear 17x8.5 37.7mm offset, 245/40/17 (42 lbs)
• 11/14/99 Installed rear mudguards. 3022 miles.
• 12/4/99 Mounted my winter wheels (BMW Style 42, Michelin MXV4 from 328i). 3974 miles.
• 3/25/2000 Switched back to Fikse wheelset. 6200 miles.
• 4/8/2000 Punctured rear left 17" tire. %$#!!! 6500 miles.
• 5/6/2000 Replaced tire. 7800 miles.
• 6/7/2000 "Check Engine" light on again, due to NJ gas attendant not fastening cap correctly. 8800 miles.
• 6/17/2000 "Check Engine" light went out by itself. Once again, about 10 days (not quite 300 miles) later. Approx 9040 miles.
• 6/24/2000 Switch to stock Style 54 wheels. 9266 miles.
• 7/5/2000 Changed wheels back to Fikse set. 9651 miles.
• 11/10/2000 First BMW scheduled oil service. Dealer updated Nav software to 2-1/60. 12935 miles.
• 6/28/2001 Intermittent "Check Engine" warning, about 3x/week.
• 7/9/2001 Someone broke into my car at Target's parking lot - Whitestone NY. Probably tried to steal it by looking for the valet key. Stole about $7 and nothing else. Broke the lock cylinder and dented door around the handle. Bastards! 19471 miles.
• 7/11/2001 Scheduled appointment for 7/31 to have SES warnings checked out.
• 8/3/2001 BMWNY replaced camshaft pulse generator p/n 12-14-1-438-082. Free carwash too. 20031 miles.
• 11/13/2001 Switch wheelset to all-season. 23000 miles.
• 3/16/2002 TWO unrepairable flats on my all-season set as a result of bruised sidewalls (thanks to potholes on the BQE). Switch to Fikse set and hope we won't get any more snow, especially for the road trip to Cornell. 26,600 miles.
• 4/3/2002 Inspection 1 done at BMWNYC. No free car wash due to NY-wide drought alert. Dealer said my brake discs aren't thin enough for replacement yet. 27,820 miles.
• 7/7/2002 Some lowlife poured acid on my hood! Luckily, I noticed it relatively early so it only caused minimal damage. 30700 miles
• 8/3/2002 Punctured tire left rear (again). 32200 miles.
• 8/7/2002 Notified BMWFS of my intention to purchase car at end of lease. 32400 miles.
• 9/25/2002 Finalized purchase of my car. 33986 miles.
• 9/29/2002 Intermittent check engine light with occasional stalling. Waiting for service appointment 11/12. 34100 miles.
• 11/1/2002 Finally replaced rear tire (Sumitomo HTR Z II). Also replaced factory Michelin MXV4's with Sumitomo Srixon4's (not used yet) on my all-season wheelset. 34854 miles.
• 11/13/2002 BMW service - bad camshaft position sensor, emissions service campaign actions etc. Car runs normally again. 35100 Miles.
• 11/20/2002 Switch wheelset to all-season. 35246 miles.
• 5/10/2003 Switch to original Style 54 wheelset. 39902 miles.
• 5/12/2003 Engine cooling fan failure. 40036 miles.
• 5/29/2003 - 6/2/2003 Oil Service/Engine Fan replacement, new brake pads (after free maintenance expired!). 40140 miles.
• 6/6/2003 Switch to Fikse wheelset. 40157 miles.
• 10/11/03 Changed RSMs (rear shock mounts - one went bad). It failed while under warranty, but I could not get an appointment before warranty expired, so dealer said it won't be covered. Bought the parts (including Z3 plates) and did it myself instead. Switched from Fikse (summer) set to all-season Style 42 wheelset. 46142 miles.
• 11/15/03 Went to Open Road BMW to get some E60 (New 5) brochures. Came very close to walking out with a new M3Cic...
• 11/20/03 Looked into ordering '04 330i ZHP instead...
• 11/28/03 Received Sumitomo HTR+ 225/45/17 & 245/40/17 tires from TireRack.
• 11/29/03 Went to Major Tires to have new tires mounted. Good work and good prices.
• 12/20/03 Cancelled plan on 330i ZHP and took delivery of aforementioned M3Cic! 2003.5 (08/03 production) M3 Convertible, carbon black metallic, black leather, CWP, Xenon, Nav, Al interior trim, 19" wheels. 38 miles as delivered.
• 4/6/04 Switch from Style 42 wheelset to Fikse wheelset (HTR+). 53669 miles.
• 4/7/04 Inspection 2 service performed by Motor Works West in Wyckoff NJ. I highly recommend them. 53796 miles.
• 5/27/04 Upgraded Nav computer to Mk3. 56200 miles.
• 9/3/04 Brake job (Balo/Ate discs, Axxis Deluxe Plus pads from Turner Motorsport). 61069 miles.
• 9/18/04 Removed Fikse wheelset, and switched to original Style 54. 61774 miles.
• 9/21/04 Removed clear corners, and replaced with originals. 61780 miles.
• 9/25/04 NYS Inspection. Replaced Flex Disc (guibo) and Front Lower Control Arm Bushings. 61872 miles.
• 11/13/04 Changed Alternator and A/C belts. 63319 miles.
• 12/19/04 Switch wheelset from Style 54 to Style 42. 64147 miles.
• 1/7/05 Took car in to bodyshop to (finally) fix the minor dent by driver doorhandle area (see 7/9/01) and refinish rear bumper cover. Shop caused the SRS (airbag) light to come on. I bet they disconnected airbag while taking door panel apart, and turned on car ignition while airbag was disconnected. 64900 miles.
• 1/21/05 Appointment with Open Road BMW to reset SRS light. $99 diagnostic fee. Incompetent fools diagnosed the wrong car!! Second diagnosis, code said side airbag fault. Claimed they reset the code, but SRS light is still on. Recommend waiting a week before bringing it back in. 65246 miles.
• 1/21/05 Found out that there is an aftermarket SRS reset tool (Peake Research R5/SRS, $119). Had I known, I could've bought this thing for what Open Road charged me to diagose and do nothing! Found a CCA/forum member who has this tool to borrow.
• 1/26/05 SRS light successfully reset!! 65,300 miles.
• 2/5/05 Car sold to new owner (Rolando). Sad to see it go, but it should serve the new owner well. 65882 miles.

Usage (323i)

Wheelset mileage

Style 54 V-Spoke, Dunlop (summer): 18 - 2853 = 2835; 9266 - 9651 = 385; 39902 - 40157=255; 61774 - 64147=2373. Total 5848.
Style 42 Cross Spoke, Sumitomo Srixon (all-season): 35246 - 39902 = 4656; 46142 - 53669 = 7527. Total 12183.
Fikse FM\10, Sumitomo HTR+ (all-season): 53669-61774. Total 8105.
Fikse FM\10, Sumitomo HTRZ2: 34854 - 35246 = 392, 40157 - 46142 = 5985. Total 6377.

Pictures (more in gallery)

Delivery Day (9/9/99)

Front
Rear
Side
Interior (MOMO shift knob installed)
Next to a Hummer
Fikse rims. Front rear another front

Links

• EAP Parts - Excellent prices on OEM replacement parts
• Eurobuyers
• Pacific BMW - one of the lowest prices on BMW parts.
• Turner Motorsports - you can order Fikse and other rims here.
• NY BMW CCA - BMW Car Club of America, NY Chapter.
• BMW Parts Database (online ETK database)
• BMW Wheels - New and Used BMW alloy wheels

Info & Trivia

• BMW/Mini/Rover Nav owners out there: join my BMWNAV YahooGroup
• Navigation system: Service mode
• CD changer install (left wall of trunk above navigation cdrom)
• Ride height difference: mine vs a 328i premium pkg: front .75" lower, rear .5" lower.
• Wheel info (wheel = rim + tire), weights, offsets, etc.
  • 323i 16x7 Style 54 V-Spoke (46mm offset), 225/50/16 (the spare, therefore new), 44 lbs.
  • 328i 16x7 Style 42 Cross-Spoke (47mm offset), 205/55/16, 44 lbs.
    • rim only, 20-21 lbs.
    Fikse FM\10 8x17 (44mm offset), 225/45/17, 40 lbs. HTRZ2 or HTR+. Unscientific bathroom scale says rim is 15-16lbs.
  • Fikse FM\10 8.5x17 (37.7mm offset), 245/40/17, 42 lbs HTRZ2; 40.5 lbs HTR+. Unscientific bathroom scale says rim is 18 lbs. HTRZ2 tire alone is 24 lbs.
  • Honda Accord V6 (99) 16x6.5, 205/60/16, 42 lbs.
  • Honda Element 2003 EX, to be weighted...
  • E46 M3 19" front 8x19 ET47 with Continental ContiSportContact 225/40/19, 50 lbs
  • E46 M3 19" rear 9.5x19 ET27, with Continental ContiSportContact 255/35/19, 50.5 to 51 lbs.
• Trini on the E46 board wrote something really cool. Here's a link since I didn't ask for rights to reproduce it here.

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