Imola Red pics and a few thoughts on the car
 

I've driven plenty of ZHPs before, but as we all know, living with a car on a daily basis is different from short test drives. I won't repeat its strongpoints, since everyone knows. Here are things that I don't like:

- It's too damn quiet inside, to a point where I'm wanting to get an intake and maybe a exhaust. I'm almost annoyed by the lack of real engine noise, my old 328i and my friend's 330i Sport are louder than this car. Has anyone tried removing the sound insulation piece on the hood?

- I miss the torque of the S52. This car, no matter what kind of 0-60 or 1/4 mile times it can pull, just doesn't feel fast.

- The clutch is definitely the weakpoint. I can shift pretty smoothly, but I don't like it. I will try a clutch stop and CDV removal.

- I'm having tourble down-shifting, and I think it's a DBW related problem. The engine just doesn't respond to my throttle blips. Maybe I'm not blipping correctly - in the M3 a slight tap on the pedal would do it, but this car requires more action. 3rd to 2nd is the worst, it seems unless the revs are very low in 3rd, I have to rev the hell of it to get the rpm matched for 2nd. Any tips? Also, I find myself double-clutching 90% of the time, it just seems the 2-foot action gives it more fluidity.

- Is it me or the Pilot Sport's are hella noisy? My rears probably need to be replaced soon, but still, all I hear on the highway is tire noise. Also, I'm thinking about ditching the 18 inchers. I hear with tire, each corner weighs over 50lbs. :ack: Would it look weird with M68s (my fav E46 wheels)? I think the 17s can lose 10lbs of unsprung weight per corner, that gotta make a nice difference in performance/mpg. Plus, 17" rubbers are a lot cheaper. Any thoughts?

- The NAV. It was nice to have it on the long trip, but driving around town, I kinda find it to be an overkill. I tried driving with it off, but then I lost the clock. Right now I feel I prefer the simplicity of a normal dash with an onboard computer, maybe I will get used to getting info from the screen.

All in all, I love the fluidity of this car. A 330i Sport is probably capable of 90% of the ZHP's potential, but that extra 10% is hard to dig. IMO, in the used car market, ZHP over Sport is a no brainer. I think this car could be quite perfect - with the S52 and M3 drivetrain that is.

Feel free to discuss. Here are some pics I took. Since the sun was going down, I only had time for a quick wash and shoot.

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/attach...1&d=1161566426

Weight wise the M68's will kick some butt ... you will definitely feel a big difference in the over all feel and agility. When I had my 330i I had been through a lot of different wheels.

If you ldo a search under my name 'AF' on bimmerfest and you list wheels and weight you will find out a lot info on the differences plus I always listed the weights of the wheels

As far as noise, get yourself an air intake and you'll be pretty happy with the sound.

imola red is beautiful. my favorite E46 color right there.

1. BMW has never made an inline six (naturally aspirated) with torque to speak of --so this isn't really shocking. they're all pretty cammy, flat powerband or not. when the peak is at ankle level, even if it's a flat peak, it's still at ankle level.

2. clutches in all post-e36 BMWs are flat out horrible.

3. DBW in the E46s sucks. needs reprogramming.

4. they are quiet cars. good thing most of the time, but you could have fun tweaking it a little bit. definitely not a fan of the Conforti CAI whistle. it's annoying. i'd go with a CAI that growls more like the Dinan one or the ECIS one. you could get a lighter and louder afterOEM exhaust, too.

5. wheel weights. BMW constantly amazes me with their hubris with respect to their OEM brakes, their curb weights and their wheel weights. i'd shuck the OEM wheels (even though they're pretty) and get some nice BBS wheels that are lighter and you won't necessarily cry when you curb them or have them eaten by a pothole.

Agree with all of your thoughts on negatives. The throttle response is slow, making rev matching difficult. The clutch engagement point is weird, making it hard to drive smoothly (though a clutch stop fixed most of this for me--I have not done the CDV delete).

It doesn't feel fast, and lemming is right about BMW sixes not being masters of low end torque. That said, the cam profile in the ZHP is definitely edged toward the high end of the rev band, esp. compared to the S52 US, which felt a bit like a V8 in terms of being mostly low end with no high end.

If I were going to keep my car and sink some money into it, I'd probably go with an LSD differential with a shorter final drive (say, 3.6ish) to tighten up the low end. I'd think about a new intake, but only if the various tuners have eliminated the part throttle suck whistle that the ECIS in my old 323 had.

I haven't noticed excessive road noise in the Pilot Sports. Sounds like yours may be close to kicked.

I fricking hate BMW's nav systems, though they are better than Audi's. If you turn it off, you don't lose the clock on the dash (underneath the speedo), do you?

Off Topic:

I know alot of folks here might disagree with me but looking at these pics I firmly believe that the E46 interior is one hell of a great place to be. I've driven E30's and E36's for many years prior to the E46 and seeing these pics only bring this idea home even more.

I agree with you.

:+1

Anyone think we can shoehorn it into the Boxster? :ack:

LOL

Imola red looks great.

As for the tires. The original Pilot Sports are not that noisy. I don't understand why they are still made. The PS2s are so much better.

You are in Houston right? Were these pictures taken near the Herman Park Golf Course? I see the golf cart and a construction crane. Decent golf course. Two 30-story condo/apartment buildings are going up right across from the clubhouse, which promped the guess. Great part of town...