DIY: Z8 Engine Start Button Install for the BMW E46 3 Series

I wondering if it was possible to install a start engine button for the e46 and stumbled upon this DIY on google.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.walkd...tartButton.pdf

What is the point of putting in the key, turning it to position two, then pushing a button to start it? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of

I think it would be quite cool. I have seen ones where they leave the option for the key to still start the car also. Normal day to day driving just use the key but with passengers you can use the push button, obv for the cool factor

Originally Posted by neil1138

What is the point of putting in the key, turning it to position two, then pushing a button to start it? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of

Yep, it's about as useful as a submarine with flyscreens

cool "idea"

tough crowd today haha

this mod wasn't frowned upon a few years back, but all the cocky newbs who think their pewpie doesn't smell think otherwise


relax my children

^ +1 lol, I like the button start makes it special...Same reason as having after market bumpers installed and wheels and slamming the car, all for the "cool factor".

i like the coolness, but key+push button is riceness.

Originally Posted by xaviman

i like the coolness, but key+push button is riceness.

Hey rice is good, I eat it every night, and its great when you feel like having alot of something.

now if you could somehow rewire it so when you insert the key the car thinks its in position 2 and then push the button, that way it would be more like the new cars. dont know if its possible though.

HUMMERMANIAC88: looks like we have the same tails

Originally Posted by Bimmerci330

now if you could somehow rewire it so when you insert the key the car thinks its in position 2 and then push the button, that way it would be more like the new cars. dont know if its possible though.

HUMMERMANIAC88: looks like we have the same tails

I ripped mine off 2 days ago when I got pulled over , sucks, but I am going to re-tint them lighter.

To those of you claiming that it is r1ce because it isn't functional, have we looked around at the number of people running angel eyes, aftermarket exhausts which give 0 hp, cf interiors, or endless numbers of other mods that people do solely for something unique, different, or cool?

at 2010 yet again.

OP, just shoot me a message if you have any questions or need any help with the project. One thing I would suggest is getting a button other than the z8 one... cost/benefit ration just doesn't add up as the z8 button from the dealer ill run you 1/2 the cost of oem m3 mirrors Had i not found it on here used, never would have gotten it.

Originally Posted by Bimmerci330

now if you could somehow rewire it so when you insert the key the car thinks its in position 2 and then push the button, that way it would be more like the new cars. dont know if its possible though.

HUMMERMANIAC88: looks like we have the same tails

I think the original E36 push button start didn't require the key. Just unlocking the door with the key/alarm fob and pushing the button. Also you can enter a security alarm code in the OBC to disarm the ignition lock then push start. no key required at all.

This thread is funny.

Xaviman calls the button rice but he has M3 fender grills on a 323 sedan
hummermaniac88 calls the button rice but he has tinted tails ( a mod that I will never understand)
Then the guy with everything M3 modded on his non M3 car shows up to defend the button,
but complains that the oem button is not worth the money.

lol.

Xaviman where is the smg plate I asked you for?

Originally Posted by delmarco

This thread is funny.

Xaviman calls the button rice but he has M3 fender grills on a 323 sedan
hummermaniac88 calls the button rice but he has tinted tails ( a mod that I will never understand)
Then the guy with everything M3 modded on his non M3 car shows up to defend the button,
but complains that the oem button is not worth the money.

lol.

Xaviman where is the smg plate I asked you for?

My friend if you read carefully, I approve of this mod. I am using the term rice, since everyone is referring to as so. Please re-rad the posts before making any judgments.

I think it's cute and if I ever run out of beer, I'll do it.

Originally Posted by delmarco

This thread is funny.

Xaviman calls the button rice but he has M3 fender grills on a 323 sedan
hummermaniac88 calls the button rice but he has tinted tails ( a mod that I will never understand)
Then the guy with everything M3 modded on his non M3 car shows up to defend the button,
but complains that the oem button is not worth the money.

lol.

Xaviman where is the smg plate I asked you for?

Button is like 160 bucks... you can buy ones on ebay for literally 1/100th that price that will work. Maybe expensive is the wrong word... overpriced?

And I will never understand the "m3 modded" nonsense. I tried to say hello on M3forums (at the request of a member from that forum), and I immediately was labeled an "M3 wannabe" and other sorts of similar responses. As I said there, I fail to see the "wannabe" or "m3 modded". With the exception of the front bumper and steering wheel (maybe i'm missing some minute detail), there is nothing else "m3" about the ride. I guess you could make the claim that the hood has the lines of the M3's but it's an aftermarket piece designed after the racing version of the car. To take it a step further, for signiffffficantly less money, I could have gone with a CSL front end, M3 sideskirts, and done an M3 rear bumper. The sides, splitter, and rear i went with cost maybe... 2, 3, 4 times as much as if i had gone the other route. And with that money, easily could have done M3 front and rear fenders and had a complete clone. There's no m3 logos (aside from the M on my steering wheel), no fender grilles, and those, if anything, ar ethe "wannabe" items.

Sorry to rant and go off topic but this came up in the other thread and just irked me

I think it looks great but someone made a combination bar for this so they didnt need a key. My hard drive crashed so I can't provide the picture but it's real i tell you!

Originally Posted by hummermaniac88

^ +1 lol, I like the button start makes it special...Same reason as having after market bumpers installed and wheels and slamming the car, all for the "cool factor".

You're comparison might make sense if it wasn't for the "inconvenience factor" associated with having to remove your hand from the key to push the button.

The only way a push button makes since is if you could leave the key in your pocket and start the car. If one wants a push start BMW, buy an E9x or newer.

Originally Posted by zhp pilot

You're comparison might make sense if it wasn't for the "inconvenience factor" associated with having to remove your hand from the key to push the button.

The only way a push button makes since is if you could leave the key in your pocket and start the car. If one wants a push start BMW, buy an E9x or newer.

And a slammed car with splitters isn't inconvenient? Of all the mods I've done to my car (or the forum at large), such a tiny percentage of them are actually convenient. Vented hoods, lowered cars, loud exhausts, carbon this or that, etc... all just for a unique look or fun factor.

For what it's worth, I only use my push button once in a blue moon. Maybe once every few months. But, it certainly looks cooler sitting next to the v1 hidden display than the cigarett lighter