BMW E46 M3 : That's the ticket

Not quite the same scale but I refurbished all the calipers on my MX5 (well the fronts were second-hand bigger ones), I soaked them in citric acid, bit of wire brush action then painted with hammerite. Big Redd rebuild kits and I think they turned out well, not sure how long the paint will last but easy to touch up if needed.

Quite a therapeutic process really.

Get M decals rather than stencil the M logo on. It will cost more but there is zero chance of them bleeding and you having to repaint them.

I'll have to get them in the right size I suspect. But I'll have a measure and see what's about .

While I was waiting for the materials, and the caliper to arrive, so as to complete the caliper refurbishment, I finally started yet another job I've been putting off for some time. The door handle trim replacement.

The M3 is one of the few cars that I've owned where I have not removed the doorcards. I'm normally not a fan of removing doorcards where the fixings are likely to break or the doorcard mounting itself is likely to break. To prepare for this, I bought a special trim tool I saw Ed China on Wheeler Dealers (I know I know!) use when he tackled things. I know it doesn't just affect me, it is simply down to the fact that these parts weren't necessarily designed to come on and off often.



With that in mind, the doorcards were off and thankfully undamaged . Amazingly the clips managed to survive too; that was a real surprise! Furthermore, I've seen people at the dealers and on forums guess where the clips are on the doorcards, with very patient dealer operatives trying to see what clips go where. Thankfully I've managed to figure out what is the case ; RealOEM does not clearly show which go where. The arrangement for the clips is as follows:

Top/Rear part of the door : 7 x White clips
Front of the door by the speaker : 2 x White/Grey clips with a rubber surround
Upper Front of the door : 2 x Yellow clips.

Why are they different? I don't know. My guess would be the rubber surround clips are to reduce speaker vibrations, and the other two clips are process led from when the car was assembled, probably to account for the doors having airbags in the ; A first I've seen ; My newer Mondeo doesn't have these; Maybe these are more modern than I thought!!


















Of course, something was missing from the doorcards. The handles themselves!

As you can see, this is the reason why I wanted to change them. Almost 20 years of terrified passengers was causing one of them especially to start cracking alot. Not what you want on an M3! Patina or just shot? I'll let you folks decide:






Interestingly, these trims are dated for 2005, insinuating that these were changed at some point very early on in the car's life. Maybe it was a warranty claim, who knows!











These were put onto the bench, and I then tackled the issue of separating them. This was a very awkward job. It's a miracle I didn't manage to break any clips, as many on them are blanked off, so you have no means of releasing them. When people said these needed brute force, they weren't kidding!







However, some patience and perseverence had these reassembled in the new Carbon Cube items I fitted. Oddly, these are dated for 2001, but at least they are fresh refurbs. To remove the armrests, this plier tool came in very handy once more.




Before I knew it, the handles were reassembled . While there is no doubt that they're an improvement from the old ones, I may refinish the originals. I had ideas of either painting them Carbon Black or Mystic Blue (the car's colour) or maybe something different, depending on how another potential trimming project goes in the car .







I guess for now, I should probably start to refit some of the stuff back in the car, and crack on with the caliper refurbishment, now that all of the materials etc. have arrived. There is no time like the present after all.

Off the back of this, I've started enquiring about bodyshops to attend to the wings and the rear arch. Maybe @grumpynorthener feels up to the task . Other places I'm debating include Spa Garage and EMC Motorsport in Brum .

I'll have to grab some shots of the stuff . A PM will be on the way eventually .

However, in the meantime I made a start on refitting the doorcards But firstly, I'd need to fit the handles.


Eventually, I got them back on. Annoyingly however, I had two two doorcard clips! Normally, like most people I'd just put the doorcard on and hope for the best! But I do like a job done right. As a result, I'll put an order in for an assortment of clips.

It seems my theory is correct. The door handles and trim must have been replaced under warranty on this car. The doorcard dates imply that they are original to the car still.



It did not stop me however, from getting one doorcard on however. In truth, the Carbon Cube actually works better than I thought inside the car, and dare I say it to the purists, an improvement from the Titan trim for this interior combination.













The keen eye would have noticed that the gear selector dome is still Titan in colour. While it doesn't look as out of place there as I imagined, I do have a plan for it.

In the meantime, I did however get the car back from the unit. It was pretty filthy outside, not a surprise from it being down there for quite some time now and no running water sources there. I may have to invest in a 'waterless' wash like AMMO Foamy to save the dirt baking on like it did.

Despite that, with
-A snowfoam left to dwell quite long on there
-A couple of washes
-Some Bilt Hamber Wheel cleaner ; this stuff gets a top product approval from me, which is surprising!

It actually scrubbed up OK. It's a shame the calipers won't play ball quite as easy











But at least I have plans for other parts. Now, those damn calipers..

Wheels. They are a little like a pair like shoesto a wedding. They can make or break the look of an outfit if you are going to certain occasions, like weddings etc. In this case, it seemed it may be the case too.

I have deliberated for a long time on what wheels to fit on my M3. It's time for a bit of a history lesson. Try not to fall asleep however, like I used to, even during Apocalypse Now being shown! Maybe it was the effect of the teacher being there, who knows? Anyway, I digress.

Back in 2000, the E46 M3 was released to the public with the 18" wheels mine currently has, but in Shadow Chrome, shod on 225/45R18s and 225/40R18s. Some people love them, citing the handling benefits. To me, I was until recently never that keen on the wheel design. I like E46 M3s long before I bought one, but never with these wheels. It's funny, I don't mind mine with them on. I did debate getting rid of my undersized tyres (225/40s and 245/35s) for another set of fresh rubber, but decent rubber isn't quite as easy to get as it used to be. Until Goodyear released the F1 SuperSport in this size. Before then, your choices were F1 A2 RunFlats up front, and A3s at the back. With the exception of Yoko AD08Rs of course.



Another in Topaz and a mild drop:



Around 2002(ish), the 19" wheels were offered as an option. They came with Polished & lacquered faces, but with dark inserts:



Obviously, not many people do a polished finish, with lacquer on top, with the exception of PureKlas. However, they do not lacquer them. But then, that's due to the lacquer not being long lasting.

Diamond cutting is another option people undertake for refurbing these wheels. However, there is a limit to how often wheels can be cut. As mine have never been cut, that was an option. However, it again has problems with longevity:



Now of course, there are more durable options to consider

Quite a few people paint them silver. To me, this is a bit of a cop-out. It looks like someone went cheap, and genenrally, it's something I've seen on alot of specialist prepared cars.

But that's just me:



You then have other choices. More simple colours like Anthracite or Black, or what my wheels had on, Smoked Chrome; A darker Shadow Chrome.




It seems deep down, I want the moon on a stick. The Shiny finish of the factory wheels but without the drawbacks. What would my solution be? Like all best-laid plans, it was simple.

-Dark inserts
-Chrome Faces

With that in mind, I found a local powdercoater who could do this by chance a while ago, courtesy of RetroWarwicK .

Then they finally came back. Despite me trying photograph the car during a rainstorm, the images didn't come out quite right on the SLR! So I'm afraid the phone camera shots will have to do!













Argh! Who am I kidding? I may as well show some of the crappy SLR shots! It doesn't really show the shine, but then I guess when rain clouds around for as far as the eye can see, that's inevitable! Still, at least they look OK eh?

Nice,

I've just got a 118i with 17" sport wheels (type 379) with awful lacquer peel etc. Now wondering what to do with them, or change them completely.

Would like to move away from run-flat tyres as well, can you use normal tyres on these wheels?

Sorry for the thread hi jack, I changed my 640d from run flats to non run flat Yokohama’s and the difference was very noticeable, the rolling resistance decreased, more comfortable and quiet and the fuel economy also increased, an all round win win.

I'm assuming that's with the original (18") wheels?