My e46 build thread

hey guys

so i just recently have gotten into the e46 scene.. and started to do things to my car.. so i decided to start a little build thread..

tell me what u guys think.. i could always use a second opinion

anyways this is the day after i bought the car..

its a 2005 325i 5 speed.. sport package etc..




it was originally my dads.. he bought it off a private party.. and a week later sold it to me and bought a 545i because he said it was too small for him lol

i love this car.. by far the best car i have ever had considering im only 20 years old lol

At first i wasnt too fond of the color.. and was thinking of wrapping it matte white.. but lately im starting to like it alot more, because i keep getting compliments from people telling me they love the color.. its like a mix of steel blue and like a hint of gray almost.. its called stahlea blue metallic or something like that.. either way i think i might stick with the color

i bought it like 3 months ago so ill post up pics of everything ive done to it so far a bit later

thanks for looking!

So right after i bought the car i just couldn't decide what to buy first for my car lol.. so i decided to go with appearance first.. then performance. So right off the bat i bought the clear corners for the car.. really makes a big difference on the cars look.. the best 50 bucks i spent



i bought the side markers that are kind of bark on the side and clear in the middle.. kind of what the corners look like.. and i kind of dont like them.. dont see them alot.. i see alot of the all clear one.. idk i might get those or keep these dont know yet.. what do u guys think?

soon after i bought my matte black kidney grills.. another big changer in appearance..

My first big job that i personally did was buy and install myself H&R Race Springs.. God those took for ever to put in.. and damn what a battle too..

And the final result..



after like two weeks of driving with them on..

Shoud have replaced those struts since you went through all the trouble....they will go next and you will have to do it all again....looks good with the drop though.. need some wheels now..

something that i did forget to mention i did was a muffler delete.. contrary to what other people think about the sound.. i love it.. just the right amount of muscle sound if u get me.. a little pricey but i think worth it if ur not ready to go all out on a custom or cat back exhaust.. its loud but not to the point where its annoying or disturbing the neighbors at 7 in the morning when u leave to work lol

yes i know i should of.. will definitely go with some koni's tho.. but i think ill just pay to get it done..dont wanna do that hole process again

and yea definitely need some wheels.. thinking of some BBS LM's? what do u guys think?

Personally I'm a fan of the stock look so I liked the way the car looked the first day you had it haha. I will admit though the clear corners look great on that car as does the drop. That is one of my favorite color BMW's and it looks like it was extremely well maintained. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the first thing I would do is see what needs to be replaced on the suspension and cooling system and do that before you do any mods.

just a little something i did to my inside appearance was wrap my wood trim in carbon fiber vinyl.. only had enough to wrap the top trims and door panels.. so im waiting for more vinyl to arrive do i can do the bottom gear area and steering wheel here's some pics of what i was able to do tho..





those marks u see are just my fingers.. guess they were a little oily.. haha didnt want u guys to think i messed up or anything hah

The trim above the LCM is going in the wrong direction

Keep up the work dude. When I did my muffler delete I had the tips done like so:

Thanks ryannel2003! and yea i think i might have to do the 80k -100k cooling over haul pretty soon.. its starting to act up and idk if the previous owner did it, even tho im almost positive they didnt.. so yea thats on the list..

and yea solidjake i know what u mean.. thats how i wanted it! im not ganna lie.. i even took a pic of the exact pic u posted up and showed the muffler guy and said this is how i want it! and when i came back this is what i got.. costed me 2 bills so i just left it like that but thanks for the compliments!

That was one of the first things I read about when it concerns these cars (and the subframe... but you don't have to worry about that) so I try to tell anybody who just bought one they need to get it done before doing anything else. I don't know if your suspension is trashed or not like mine but that would be the very next thing I would do. The shocks and struts can wait, but the bushings are sensitive and prone to failure and as they start to wear out the car doesn't drive so great (though it still drives good compared to most new cars). Good luck and enjoy the car... it's beautiful for sure!

Originally Posted by e46ornothing

My first big job that i personally did was buy and install myself H&R Race Springs.. God those took for ever to put in.. and damn what a battle too..

I really hope you have a set of jack stands hidden in this picture. Looks dangerous supporting the car with just the jack.

Originally Posted by seigi009

I really hope you have a set of jack stands hidden in this picture. Looks dangerous supporting the car with just the jack.

hahaha yea man i do lol.. thanks for ur concern too haha

Originally Posted by ryannel2003

That was one of the first things I read about when it concerns these cars (and the subframe... but you don't have to worry about that) so I try to tell anybody who just bought one they need to get it done before doing anything else. I don't know if your suspension is trashed or not like mine but that would be the very next thing I would do. The shocks and struts can wait, but the bushings are sensitive and prone to failure and as they start to wear out the car doesn't drive so great (though it still drives good compared to most new cars). Good luck and enjoy the car... it's beautiful for sure!

Yea I know what u mean.. I am ganna do the cooling over hall soon.. And then the suspension.. Its not trashed so I think i got some time still.. But thanks for looking out man

Lovin' the color. Keep up the good work!