- 5,071
- Druids Bend
- Z4E_Midnight85
Hey GTPlanet,
Thought I'd share a few pics of my current ride: Black Betti. She's a 2002 BMW (E46) 325ti Sport, in Black Sapphire Metallic with Montana grey leather. I've owned her for two years now, buying off the original owner in July 2014 with 55,000mi on the clock, brilliant condition for her age, with only a few small cosmetic issues and reasonable wear and tear (for a 14 year old car anyway!). This week I ticked over 78,000, but that's still really low mileage for a car this age.
Components fixed/replaced:
Components modified/upgraded:
Components being modified/upgraded in the near future:
Modifications/upgrades on the long-term list:
The big plan:
When money allows, and time allows, I'll be buying a bigger, newer, diesel BMW (preferably also in Metallic Black Sapphire) and taking Black Betti off the road. From here she'll be stripped out completely and undergo some mechanical upgrades to turn her into a track attack car. Watch this space...
Thought I'd share a few pics of my current ride: Black Betti. She's a 2002 BMW (E46) 325ti Sport, in Black Sapphire Metallic with Montana grey leather. I've owned her for two years now, buying off the original owner in July 2014 with 55,000mi on the clock, brilliant condition for her age, with only a few small cosmetic issues and reasonable wear and tear (for a 14 year old car anyway!). This week I ticked over 78,000, but that's still really low mileage for a car this age.
Components fixed/replaced:
- Front right brake caliper - the original ceased and caused a bit of a mess!
- Rear left spring snapped, so both got replaced.
- Bonnet emblem - the original had faded, replaced with a BMW-sourced one.
- Handbrake assembly, including new disc shields - to replace the broken stuff.
- Bonnet grilles - snapped one out by mistake, so replaced them with OEM.
- Front indicators - new pair to replace the fogged up front right.
Components modified/upgraded:
- Alloys: original M-sport MV1's replaced with Cades Tora in Hyper Silver (18" staggered fit) shod with Dunlop Sport Maxx RT (225/40/R18 and 255/35/R18).
- Rear wiper delete: the original didn't work and I never use them anyway!
- CD stacker removed: original didn't work, so I ripped it out and emptied out the compartment.
- Head unit: factory cassette unit replaced with Alpine CD/Aux/USB unit.
- Side repeaters: swapped out the blown-out clear side repeaters for smoked crystal repeaters. It's the little details that make the difference...
- Mishimoto silicone intake boot: to replace the original which is worn and cracked.
- Mtec dimpled/grooved discs: an upgrade to the OEM discs.
- Rear trailing arm bushes: upgraded to PSB polyurethane bushes.
- Rear suspension top mounts: upgraded to Strongflex polyurethane top mounts.
- Anti-roll bar bushes: upgraded to Strongflex polyurethane top mounts.
- Suspension: upgrade to H&R Sport Cup Kit for E46 Coupe/Convertible/Compact (35/15 drop).
- Crash panel fasteners: replaced with Bolternatives fasteners.
- Angel eyes: installed, but not yet wired up (soon...)
- Tail lights: fitted facelift tail lights sourced off an 03/04 model.
Components being modified/upgraded in the near future:
- E60 545i short shift kit, with ZHP-style 5-speed gear knob.
- Wheel bolts: lug nut conversion kit with Titan-style lug nuts.
- Air filter: replace OEM panel filter with an aftermarket replacement.
- Rear subframe mounts and differential mounts (front/rear): upgrade to poly bushes.
Modifications/upgrades on the long-term list:
- Vanos: rebuild/refresh to replenish lost power.
- ECU remap: should take power over 200hp.
- Strut brace: custom design/build carbon-fibre brace.
- Intake manifold: 330i intake manifold, including fuel rail, air filter, MAF.
- Radiator: Mishimoto aluminium high performance radiator, including silicone hose kit.
- Expansion tank: Mishimoto aluminium expansion tank.
The big plan:
When money allows, and time allows, I'll be buying a bigger, newer, diesel BMW (preferably also in Metallic Black Sapphire) and taking Black Betti off the road. From here she'll be stripped out completely and undergo some mechanical upgrades to turn her into a track attack car. Watch this space...
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