Whos in Michigan and where?

26 and romeo plank in macomb folks!

Ann Arbor, just picked up my 330i 5sp w/ sport pkg last week. I'm looking for some winter wheels/tires so if you have any leads let me know!

Check craigslist for the winter wheels. After that I would start out with blacking out the chrome window trim and black or clear corner lights

Definitely planning to clear the corners, one of them is broken.

Not sure about the chrome, while I don't love it, I also don't want my car to appear "murdered out". haha. always a danger with jet black! Tint is going on this weekend, so I'll already be dangerously close.

I found a set of winters 225/45r17 but they were for an 09 335 and the offset is 29mm (I think). Will they work on my car?

Where are you getting tinted? I don't think that offset will work without spacers. I would sell you mine but you've got a 330 which means they won't fit over your brakes.

I thought offsets on the newer cars were lower? Which would mean that the only potential problem I'd have is rubbing the fender. I think I read somewhere that the offset on the stock wheels for my car is 47, but I'm not sure if that was for the base or the sport package or both. I wouldn't think that an additional 18 mm pushed out would rub...

Anyone know where I can find the exact specs for my stock sport pkg wheels? I know they're staggered with 225/45r17 front and 245/40r17 rear.

IIRC the offsets on all standard e46 rims are +47. I think they are listed on real OEM.

Originally Posted by halo0

Ann Arbor, just picked up my 330i 5sp w/ sport pkg last week. I'm looking for some winter wheels/tires so if you have any leads let me know!

HOLY ****! I almost bought this car two weeks ago! Congrats on grabbing that. I really wanted it. =]

Originally Posted by customisbetter

HOLY ****! I almost bought this car two weeks ago! Congrats on grabbing that. I really wanted it. =]

Be glad you didn't. I think that dealer is shady. Alternator died 2 days later and there was also a leak at the oil filter housing gasket. Then, just this morning I discovered my windshield washer fluid is leaking out somehow too. :/

Originally Posted by halo0

Be glad you didn't. I think that dealer is shady. Alternator died 2 days later and there was also a leak at the oil filter housing gasket. Then, just this morning I discovered my windshield washer fluid is leaking out somehow too. :/

Dont buy BMW's from dealers unless they specialize in BMW's/German cars. I had similar issues with mine that I bought from a jeep dealer when my wife got her jeep...

According to this thread: http://forum.msnoc.com/thread-2539-1-1.html

the specs are:
M68 Doublespoke- Styling 68
front: 7.5x17 - 225/45R17 - 41 offset (BMW PN: 36 11 2 229 180, $447) 9.7kg=21.4lbs
rear: 8.5x17 - 245/40R17 - 50 offset (BMW PN: 36 11 2 229 135, $505) 9.92kg=21.9lbs

Looks like that is backed up by realOEM.com. The snows I'm looking at are 8" wide with 29 offset I believe.

If I have this calc right...

Rear stock: 166mm protrusion (distance the wheel sticks out measured from the hub)
Rear snow: 174mm protrusion
Snows are 8mm closer to fender

Front stock: 149mm protrusion
Front snow: 174mm protrusion
Snows are 25mm closer to fender

It's been a while since I did a calc like this, can anyone verify? If I'm right it seems like I'd probably have a problem in the front.

Originally Posted by jgold47

Dont buy BMW's from dealers unless they specialize in BMW's/German cars. I had similar issues with mine that I bought from a jeep dealer when my wife got her jeep...

I bought it from BMW in Okemos. They offered to pay for half the repair, I'm trying to get them to cover the whole thing.

oh haha - in the picture of the front plate I didnt see the logo till I zoomed way in. Gotcha. Make those ****ers pay. They should have done a fully PPI on that car before selling it to you. But I got more news for you. BMW dealers hate old cars. They have seemingly completely abandoned anyone who is not in a current or back one series model. Try rolling up with an 36/46. they look at you like you just rolled up in a chevy. back in the old days, all the german, swedish, etc... would be all over you for having an older model. Youre a brand amabassador after all, look how reliable these cars are, etc... now they dont seem to care.

Yeah that plate is off the car now. I like to do my own work anyway, and have a friend who is well versed in German cars so hopefully that is the first and last time it ever sees the inside of a BMW service department under my ownership.

cool. I'm in Plymouth if you need anything. I grew up in Ann Arbor too

I live in Ferndale, I've got an e46 and an e30 and one of my roommates drives that same generation supra. Those are cool cars.

Originally Posted by Madsupra88

Sup guys
New owner here just picked it up couple days ago. 2004 325I

Live in canton, This is my new daily with tons of plans for it over winter. My weekend cruiser/track car is my supra (700hp)




Looking forward to meeting some you of and cruise!

-Saif

Originally Posted by halo0

Be glad you didn't. I think that dealer is shady. Alternator died 2 days later and there was also a leak at the oil filter housing gasket. Then, just this morning I discovered my windshield washer fluid is leaking out somehow too. :/

I'll try to stay out of that battle as I have very close ties to this dealership. However I can tell you that every e46 has a leaking VGC, OFH, and Headlight Washer Pumps. My car has all of these things. haha

I can't say that I've ever seen a bad alternator in these cars. Are you sure it wasn't a loose ground or something?

My OFH was leaking up until a few weeks ago when I finally replaced the gasket ($6 at Erhard BMW in Bloomfield). Fairly easy DIY, hard to screw up really. It's just a bit time consuming. You need to remove the airbox, unbolt the power steering reservoir, release belt tension and remove the belts (replaced the belts, idler pulleys, and tensioners while I was down there), unbolt the power steering pump from its bracket, unbolt the banjo bolt that runs through the VANOS oil feed line, and then unbolt the oil filter housing.

edit: Oh yeah, you gotta remove the alternator too. The most difficult part was getting the alternator back on... it's a finicky bastard. But all in all, the DIY is pretty darn easy if you're up to the challenge.

Originally Posted by customisbetter

I can't say that I've ever seen a bad alternator in these cars. Are you sure it wasn't a loose ground or something?

Generally it's the voltage regulator on the back of the alternator that goes bad.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=583423