Terry's E92 330i

[Daz_RT_04]

Made a little video of the exhaust note tonight, not that its amazing but I wanted to test out a new camera and compare sound quality.

That sounds quite loud, in a good way.

I'm liking these at the moment and have spotted a nice one but... I've never had an Auto and that worries me that I'll hate it.

 

[terryc101]

That sounds quite loud, in a good way.

I'm liking these at the moment and have spotted a nice one but... I've never had an Auto and that worries me that I'll hate it.

It was my first auto too, I test drove a manual (albeit a 320i) and it felt a nice box, I'm just fed up of sitting in stop start traffic to and from work in a manual.

Definitely go and test one.

 

[Daz_RT_04]

It was my first auto too, I test drove a manual (albeit a 320i) and it felt a nice box, I'm just fed up of sitting in stop start traffic to and from work in a manual.

Definitely go and test one.

Whats the box like? Is it fairly reactive or like an old school slug?

 

[Mr Plums]

I really like that mate nice motor.

 

[terryc101]

Whats the box like? Is it fairly reactive or like an old school slug?

It's decent imo, but I have limited experience with auto cars. It's very rarely in the wrong gear and you feel you have no grunt, always drops down perfectly for hills or if you push the pedal a bit more to overtake.

If I'm in the mood for a spirited drive then I'll push it over into sports and use the paddles for every change and it's quite fun for a largish car. Goes sideways pretty easily too :up:

 

[Daz_RT_04]

It's decent imo, but I have limited experience with auto cars. It's very rarely in the wrong gear and you feel you have no grunt, always drops down perfectly for hills or if you push the pedal a bit more to overtake.

If I'm in the mood for a spirited drive then I'll push it over into sports and use the paddles for every change and it's quite fun for a largish car. Goes sideways pretty easily too :up:

Hmm a test drive would sort my concerns although the car isn't local lol.

If you had an option to switch to a proper manual and traffic wasn't a concern, what would you take?

 

[terryc101]

Hmm a test drive would sort my concerns although the car isn't local lol.

If you had an option to switch to a proper manual and traffic wasn't a concern, what would you take?

I was gonna say you're welcome to come drive mine but you're miles away lol.

That's a tough question, it's difficult because if I want to enjoy a manual car and maximum involvement I'll take the Clio out. If I didn't have that then I'd possibly have a manual daily, but then again I would probably have something more driver focused altogether.

Put it this way, if I was to upgrade to an e92 m3 right now, it would be dct. It's just more effortless day to day.

 

[terryc101]

Update.

Had an intermittent misfire for a few weeks that caused a bit of hesitation when trying to gather speed quickly eg joining the motorway, and it gradually got worse to the point of it missing while idling in traffic and on occasion dropping down to 5 cylinders and showing an engine management light. Had it plugged in and it was showing a misfire on Cylinder 1, my bet was coil and and so was the guys up the garage.

So off came a few bits...

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Took the plug out on cyl 1 and checked it against the others, all looked the same so assuming they're ok for now.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Swapped the coil and put it back together and it now runs sweet as a nut again. Hadn't realised how hesitant it had got until i drove it home with the new coil, nice and smooth and accelerates quickly when needed.

There was one other old fault code that the reader picked up, something to do with the diff hose? should have paid more attention really lol. If i get over this man flu i might get around to giving it a detail this week.

 

[terryc101]

Made another little video this week to try and show the sound from a bit further away, obviously its not amazing sounding but it does love to rev and sounds nice enough when you're up above 5k.

 

[terryc101]

Took the car to do a spot of offroading this weekend, it is now beyond filthy inside and out!

IMG_1227 by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[terryc101]

Haven't cleaned the car since I took it offroading or done anything else to it really apart from change a brake bulb, which seems quite common on the e9*. Mot this morning and passed with flying colours once more :up:

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Did however rack up some big mileage this year...

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[terryc101]

Cleaned the car for the first time since October today :up: Hadn't checked on my detailing stuff and pretty much ran out of everything so it just got a decent wash and wipe down with Sonax Bsd. Its in desperate need of correction but that ll have to wait till I have a week off to attack it.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Much better :smiley:

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Also ordered a new air filter

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

and some 12mm spacers should be turning up tomorrow, once they're on I'm gonna look at a set of springs as I think it could benefit from a small drop. Going to need a brake fluid service in around 1200 miles and possibly front tyres, apart from that its going strong on 94k.

 

[terryc101]

Spacers arrived today :up: Going to fit them in a bit with a few other bits.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Nice updates.. quiet in here from anyone else ha !

How's it sound with the KnN on it ? Mine doesn't make any noise .. just a little warble under load from the exhaust.

 

[terryc101]

Nice updates.. quiet in here from anyone else ha !

How's it sound with the KnN on it ? Mine doesn't make any noise .. just a little warble under load from the exhaust.

Cheers :up:

Haven't fitted it yet, going to do that after lunch. I don't think it'll make much if any difference to the sound, possibly high up in the revs as that's when the induction noise can be heard normally. There aren't too many options on the airbox side of things apart from the £800 performance intake

 

[terryc101]

Spacers fitted, has made a huge difference in the stance for the sake of 12mm, now it really needs lowering though. Didnt get many pictures as my phone camera is pretty smashed and the pictures are well terrible as you'll see.

Before and after

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Before i washed it sunday

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Now

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Think its really noticeable on the rear as they fill the arches now instead of being hidden from certain angles. Also fitted the k&n replacement filter and it could be placebo but I'm sure it sounds different after 4k. so now i just need to decide what spring to get..H&R? Eibach?

 

[terryc101]

Of all the years I've been driving and all the potholes I've hit only this car has managed to burst two tyres dam low profiles.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Once again ordered tyres from opeono.com and once again they arrived 2 days later, free delivery and way cheaper than anywhere else online. Car now has Hankook ventus V12s all round, been really impressed with them on rear and couldn't wait to get rid of the F1s on the front.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Should have got tyres with a better fuel rating though

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Fiat 500 boots are tiny!

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Still on the hunt for some springs and got a few bits in the post to smarten up the interior, oh and got to do a brake service in under 1000 miles :up:


Made this video the other night too, obviously its no rocket ship but I thought why not.

 

[BGEarles]

How you finding this on petrol? [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[terryc101]

How you finding this on petrol? [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not fuel efficient is how I'd describe it lol I average 23-25mpg weekly going to work and back, which is a short trafficky commute. I've done a few longish motorway drives and it'll do 30mpg pretty consistently.

 

[terryc101]

Gave it a quick clean yesterday as the front wheels/tyres were covered in grease and s**t from fitting the tyres. Really like how it sits now on the spacers :blush:

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

2016_0122_000846_007 by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[terryc101]

Ahh so tempted by this...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122396974600

 

[Danith]

Very nice indeed.

I got bored very quickly of my 330ci (e46 though), but it was a nice car.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

I dont really understand the trend to make the front grills black tbh... I think it cheapens the front and makes it look like a bog standard 4 cylinder bmw.

The chrome grills tell people in front of you that you have a six cylinder... :wink:

Nice car though. I've always liked these wheels. Have you checked them for cracks?

Only if you know anything about BMW's which 90% of BMW owners don't that's why they put ///M badges on 320's

 

[chris_p]

It's such a shame these get so overlooked for the 335i as they're great all rounders & so much more reliable.

Nice car pal

 

[philmots]

Nice car.

I've had those Hankook tyres before, really good tyre but they have zero rim protection.

 

[terryc101]

Lci start/stop button and light switch arrived today, will probably fit them tomorrow when I give the interior a good clean.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[Frasers Cup]

Only if you know anything about BMW's which 90% of BMW owners don't that's why they put ///M badges on 320's

Just personal preference I suppose... might look better on a black car but not for me....

 

[Frasers Cup]

My friend mentioned the cracks before I bought it so checked them on viewing and again yesterday with the wheels off, all ok at the moment. It's on non run flats which I believe prevents it to some extent?

Yeah I've heard that too. The softer sidewalls help I think.

 

[terryc101]

Fitted the new switches, got some BmwPerformance interior parts on order too.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Took the car for a brake fluid service and inspection at a local specialist yesterday morning. Found out one really interesting thing... the car doesnt have a ZF autobox :neutral: its a Gm unit apparently, he reckons its the first one hes seen in an e92??

Cars in good shape overall apart from both rear shocks having a slight leak, I'll most likely change them when I fit springs in the near future. Rear pads are showing 700miles on the computer too so thatll be the next job, any recommendations for standard type pads? usual ECP brembo jobs?
Oh and while I was on my way there it blew a brake bulb again and one of the front halos :up::unamused:

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[Ian_182]

Your making a great effort with this fair play.

 

[terryc101]

Your making a great effort with this fair play.

Cheers :up:

Here's a pic from this afternoon. (no idea who's belingo that is)

20170412_140309 by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[Sir_Dave]

Took the car for a brake fluid service and inspection at a local specialist yesterday morning. Found out one really interesting thing... the car doesnt have a ZF autobox :neutral: its a Gm unit apparently, he reckons its the first one hes seen in an e92??

That surprises me a lot, i was under the impression that the e90 series used the ZF box.
@Rich-D might know - he's had one iirc.

 

[terryc101]

That surprises me a lot, i was under the impression that the e90 series used the ZF box.
@Rich-D might know - he's had one iirc.

Same, he said it's the first non X series car he's seen with a GM box.

 

[Rich-D]

That surprises me a lot, i was under the impression that the e90 series used the ZF box.
@Rich-D might know - he's had one iirc.

GM boxes were used in the later E46, the E9X should have a ZF 6HP gearbox, so that's odd.

 

[Rich-D]

Same, he said it's the first non X series car he's seen with a GM box.

Has it got 6 gears?

 

[terryc101]

Has it got 6 gears?

Yeah. Seems some e9x cars had them, mainly the 328i in the US.

 

[terryc101]

Parts turned up today from cotswold bmw, one of their staff was doing some good deals on one of the forums. Got myself the Mperformance Gear knob/gaiter and the handbrake handle and gaiter, was very tempted by the Performance exhaust for pretty much half price but decided against it.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

Picked up some pads and caliper retaining clips this morning too so I can do those some time during the week.

Untitled by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[Rich-D]

Yeah. Seems some e9x cars had them, mainly the 328i in the US.

How odd, the 5 speed GM auto box in the E46 was not great, hopefully the later one is better.

 

[terryc101]

Done the rear pads yesterday, was meant to do them the day before but euros gave me the wrong ones :up:. Had a bit of an issue on the drivers side with a sticky piston, seems it had been seized out and had worn the inside pad (with the sensor on) at a quicker rate than the rest.

20170418_122141 by terry clarke, on Flickr

20170418_124724 by terry clarke, on Flickr

Gave the calipers a lick of paint while they were apart too.

20170418_131429 by terry clarke, on Flickr

This is as far as we could get the caliper on before a lot of hammering and levering of the piston, seems to be operating fine now though.

20170418_141340_002 by terry clarke, on Flickr

20170418_160413 by terry clarke, on Flickr

 

[philmots]

GM boxes were used in the later E46, the E9X should have a ZF 6HP gearbox, so that's odd.

I almost don't believe the guy!

So strange.. I'd want to see with my own eyes, have you put your vin into real oem and see what that throws up?