E46 Tire Question and other Concerns

Hey guys,

Long time no Chat. Hope everyone is enjoying their babes. I have a few questions

1. My car doesnt take turns to well, the front tires are in great shape, but rears dont have two much tread but defintely above illegal level. I cant afford new tires. My car has never had an allignment i dont think. Will it be okay to just switch front to rears? Till winter. Will the diffrence be significant.

2. I believe I own a Zf Tranny . I bought it with no reverse and had it reubilt for 3500. I had the tranny for about 6,000 miles. Its running great but a few times i would engage reverse and it would act as if it was in neatural.. which is scary. I then would put in drive then reverse and it would work. My bmw was built 05/2000. This happened 3 times, 1500 miles apart. I called the mechanic for my tranny repair and he said we cant check it out till it actually goes out. He said it could be the car computer not working properly. What do u guys think?

3. My car doesnt sound so nice until im over 4,000 rpms. It sounds like a junk kinda of, im obviously exagerating, but it sounds weak and it is. Their is like no power till 4,000 rpm. MY car does have a 146,000 though. what do u guys think?

I love my e46. Assistance will be greatly appreciated thanks.

1)Not sure where you got the idea that having fresher tires in the rear will make your car turn better, but it would definitely be safer to put the better ones in the rear. Less chance of fish tailing. You can always get used tires from a tire shop, but I don't recommend it. It's a common mistake I use to make when I was younger. You want your tires to match, and you want them new. Start saving.

2)Do you still have the warranty for the rebuilt tranny? If not, I'd put my money on a crappy rebuild job as the culprit. Honestly, I've never seen an auto tranny rebuilt properly in my vast 11 years of car experience. Theres always some issue.

3)Do you have any check engine lights? Do you do maintenance? Start with the basics, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter.. You might need your PCV/oil separator system replaced. Actually you probably should replace it. Check your DISA valve. I bet that might the issue. Read up on it.

Sorry to hear about ur car issues
1) you'd be surprised how much better your car drives with new tyres and allignment
2) tranny could be expensive fix - see how long it last before it dies - dont spend too much money fixing an old one
3)probably some belts and pulleys need changing as part of routine maintenance

And my biggest advice to you son - save some money $$$$ and find a reputable independent mechanic in your area that is reasonable and knows how to fix e46s - ask ur local regional forum

Or learn how to do it yourself with the help of this wonderful forum and DIY guides Really save some $$$ that way..

Thanks guys. The tranny place seems very reliable. I was referred to them by European auto shops. And it has a yr warranty or 12,000 mi. I only had it for 5 thousand miles. I've worked so hard for this car all my money has gone into it. And my job
Cut my hrs dramatically. I need this tranny to last. I do some DIY. I have fixed torn mud flap that connects to bumper. Also did my own maintnce but never changed the belts since I had it. And replace lower bumper inserts. I also did some mods such as smoked turn signals, debadged, and matte black grills, just for yaw info. I love my car. Also another question. How do I change the head light lenses their very dirty.

If it's still under warrenty and it's not working right, they have to redo it. Him telling you it's the computer is just him trying to stall slash get rid of you cause he doesnt wanna do the job a second time for free. Lol I'd love to know how hes so sure it's the computer.

Originally Posted by EmFiftyFour

If it's still under warrenty and it's not working right, they have to redo it. Him telling you it's the computer is just him trying to stall slash get rid of you cause he doesnt wanna do the job a second time for free. Lol I'd love to know how hes so sure it's the computer.

Yes I wreckon that's dodge - its under warranty - it shld be fixed - take it back ASAP before warranty runs out

It's the shops responsibility to hook the transmission up correctly with the car's computer and everything else in the transmission connects to.
Don't listen to their excuses - that's B.S !!!!

If u go to McDonald's and the order a meal and the fries don't taste right - they don't tell you there is a problem with the fryer and you need to go to the fryer manufacturer to get it solved !!!!!

Thanks ko power.
I total agree.
I still
Have 6,000 mi warranty or 8 months. I'm gonna record next time reverse doesn't work.
By the way guys, I put front tires on rear and took my newer spare tire ad put it on
Front. So I just have 1 very worn tire. Im getting alignment and new tire tommarow. The cars a beast now. I took it for a test drive on wet back roads and it literally hugs the road during every turn.

Good see how you go - if u noted the problem twice you can still go back to the tranny shop

Remember once your warranty period runs out - then its game over and you have no basis to go back to the shop -

Good luck with the ride bud!

Thanks bro.

What do you mean "doesn't take turns too well"? If you're experiencing understeer on the street, slow down. If you're experiencing oversteer on the street, slow down. If you're experiencing mid corner irrgularities, then maybe we can talk about ball joints / control arm bushings / tie rods.

If you can't get new tires for the rear, at least get used ones for the time being...some tread is better than no tread. Don't risk the lives and properties of others. Or do not drive in the rain. When I realized I really needed new tires, I stopped driving in the rain completely and saved up until I could get new ones.

1. You are too vague here, but you should have tires with adequate tread depth. Personally I have ran many tires to the cords in my broke-ass college student days but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. If the tires have a legal amount of tread and a decent amount of grip, you can run them.

2. 3500 is a LOT of money for a transmission whose rebuilder refuses to support his work. If you can replicate the problem for him, be firm and tell him he needs to sack up and look at it. Otherwise you will have no proof.

3. Sounds like you need to do some maintenance. No power below 4000rpm sounds like you have vacuum leaks and dead Vanos. You can get cheap Vanos rebuild kits from beisansystems.com and you may want to get the car smoke tested for vacuum leaks. It probably needs a new CCV and lots of new hoses as well as new pulleys and belts to be running tip top again. Hopefully you've been changing the oil and air filters regularly.

Originally Posted by Wh33lhop

1. You are too vague here, but you should have tires with adequate tread depth. Personally I have ran many tires to the cords in my broke-ass college student days but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. If the tires have a legal amount of tread and a decent amount of grip, you can run them.

2. 3500 is a LOT of money for a transmission whose rebuilder refuses to support his work. If you can replicate the problem for him, be firm and tell him he needs to sack up and look at it. Otherwise you will have no proof.

3. Sounds like you need to do some maintenance. No power below 4000rpm sounds like you have vacuum leaks and dead Vanos. You can get cheap Vanos rebuild kits from beisansystems.com and you may want to get the car smoke tested for vacuum leaks. It probably needs a new CCV and lots of new hoses as well as new pulleys and belts to be running tip top again. Hopefully you've been changing the oil and air filters regularly.

"legal amount of tread and decent amount of grip". Although some would agree with you, I would say this is not a good test. If the pure test was a judgement call by the driver of---decent amount of grip------------we would have people (like what you did during your college days) driving on unsafe tires, that far under-perform in emergency situations. And the State limit, in many States 3/32 or 2/32 is not what I would classify as a safe tire. I really do not care about the other guy driving with substandard tires, as long as I am not on the same road near him (or he does not take out another car as a result of the accident)

My tyre retailer insists that the best tread should be on the front tyres because they control steering.

Originally Posted by Constantine

My tyre retailer insists that the best tread should be on the front tyres because they control steering.

That would make sense on a front wheel drive car which is already prone to understeer. On a rear wheel drive, you want the wheels pushing the car to have the better tires.

when one has to think about which axle the best tires go on, the front or the rear, it is time to consider buying a new set of tires. One can justify front, one can justify rear and come out with all good reasons. Time to buy new tires. Safety first.

Originally Posted by EmFiftyFour

That would make sense on a front wheel drive car which is already prone to understeer. On a rear wheel drive, you want the wheels pushing the car to have the better tires.

More applicable, yes. But most RWDs and certainly E46s are prone to understeer as well.

Originally Posted by jayb328i

when one has to think about which axle the best tires go on, the front or the rear, it is time to consider buying a new set of tires. One can justify front, one can justify rear and come out with all good reasons. Time to buy new tires. Safety first.

Agreed. Slowing down is the only reasonable alternative.