Congats on the ZHP, and it looks good in that color. Some of the stuff that we have covered with our E46 M3 might help, including the bushing talk.
Congats on the ZHP, and it looks good in that color. Some of the stuff that we have covered with our E46 M3 might help, including the bushing talk.
In reply to Fupdiggity (Forum Supporter) :
Not being super familar with the cars, if there was a secondary converter mounted behind the main converters, as long as the cat you throw in has its inlet at least 6" away from the rearmost cat's outlet, it would be legal in Prepared. (Words are something to the effect of "Multiple converters may be replaced by a single converter whose inlet is no more than 6" further back from the original rearmost converter's outlet", aka "WRX guys can remove the uppipe converter and the converter bolted to the turbo")
The subframe reinforcement could be argued to be akin to strut tower caps, which are legal even in Stock as chassis protection. Alternatively, IIRC they are also a factory-approved repair for a cracked chassis, and OE approved repair methods are also legal in Stock. Don't take my word as gospel on that, you'd have to dig up a tech bulletin.
TLDR: ZHP Procured. Cosmetically challenged, rust free, solid drivetrain, loud noises, good stuff, loading/unloading drama, pictures at the end.
Wall of text version:
Paid full asking ($4,500 if your curious). Do I think it's worth that much? no. Do I think it's in line with the current market? yes. Did I just buy the automotive equivalent of GME shares at $250? I think so.
Definitely not as nice as described (no surprise there). It's been re-sprayed (crapily) as there are drips on the edge of the hood and DS door. The core support was replaced (known, as it was disclosed in a front end collision, no airbags), fenders look original, M3 bumper poorly attached. The carbon fiber trunk doesn't fit great, looks like it needs some paint or clear to protect it. Given the clear coat peeling, I wasn't expecting much anyway.
On the inside, rear leather was starting to get hard (might be able to refresh), center console plastics are in poor condition, arm rest is broken. The headliner (I think alcantara) as in good shape but starting to sag, sunroof cover loose, PS B-pillar trim loose.
19" BBS wheels w/ too large, dry rotted tires (yes, they rub, no surprise). Koni shocks (orange I think) w/ similarly orange springs. Needs an alignment and probably rotors turned. No concerning clunks/crashes/vibrations/pulling or other indications of serious issues.
At this point I probably would have walked away, but I was immediatley smitten with the engine & gearbox. I'm a sucker for straight sixes. It felt very strong, excellent throttle response, good noises. With the headers (and apparent aftermarket muffler) its a bit on the "teenager 1st car" side of things, but I'm a teenager at heart so it works for me. The test drive was 15 min or so and it just started to come up to temp at the end, might indicate that it's time for a thermostat.
Everything appears to function well except for the DS window auto-up. It was relatively cool (60 ish) but the AC appeared to be fine. The underside was pleasantly clean. Other than some surface rust on the rear subframe there's no apparent corrosion issues. good, berkeley rust.
As it is slammed (my inner teenager isn't a fan of that) it didn't want to go on the uhaul. I promptly bottomed it out on breakover, ripped off the PS jack pad and mangled a bit of the subframe. Once I got it home, it was clear it wouldn't back off the trailer without removing the front bumper and putting itself into service position. I did the right thing and tried anyway, now the bumper is only partially attached. Good thing I didn't buy a cream puff.
I had to get creative with the uhal, using the slope of my driveway to level out the trailer/ramp/asphalt transition. That worked beautifully. Lucky for me I live on a quiet street, so blocking it for 30 minutes only caused moderate ire when the postman had to drive around.
To ensure I didn't further the bumper's exit from the car, I performed easily a top-5 sketchy jack maneuvers, using the factory jack to get some blocks of wood under the front tires. Luckily I had the PS jack pad still so I was able to slot it back into place to use the jack. The factory jacks on these are both a wonder of engineering (how does it stay upright?) and absolutely terrifying (how does it stay upright?).
The car is now safely in my driveway. The fiance and I took it for a quick illegal drive around the neighborhood. I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince her to get on it a bit. Luckily, she likes it, although noted the steering was very heavy (likely those big honkin tires) and wondered why it was so loud. Her dad also has an E46 (325, owned since new, still has the airbag stickers on the dash!), so it's a familiar ride.
While I was picking up the car, I sourced a set of 17" M-sport wheels, those will be getting some snow tires for rallycross. I met someone w/ some bilstiens & springs that I was hoping were a set of HDs w/ regula or sport springs, but they turned out to be B8s w/ HR springs, no bueno for rallycross. I let them pass, told the seller what he had so he could find an informed buyer (and not waste their time like me, seriously, read the part numbers on the side and put it into google, it's not that hard).
I'll get it to my shop today for a sit rep. The bumper "removal" process showed it was poorly attached (self tapping screws, multiple holes) so I probably just sped up the eventual demise. I'm still debating how much effort & money I want to throw at it this week to get to next week's rallycross opener as I still have my 92x that I can run (although now I have to keep it intact for my BIL as it's been promised to him). Tires will have to come eventually, so that's easy. I was hoping to get some cheap suspension, but the nearest candidates are 1 1/2 hr drives +, not sure the calculus of time vs money plays at that point. I may have to throw some $ at it and order a set of bilsteins. The bumper, we will see, I'll probably just remove it for now, maybe someone w/ a standard bumper wants to trade for my sweet, well loved M3 bumper?
What is the go-to rallycross suspension on these (is there one)? I was assuming Bilstein B6 (HDs) with sport springs, trading height for a firmer spring.
Pictures:
Using the jack to enter stink-bug mode for loading
Unloading with the help of my driveway while my finace wondered why were doing this instead of planning upcoming wedding.
Super sketchy jack & wood so the bumper could clear the trailer lip
Close up of the (former) bumper attachment
VIR sticker, +5 points
Janky CF trunk, race car
Underside
Safely in the driveway
For rallycross, whether the sport springs are a good pick or not will depend on what your local courses are like. Some need more ground clearance than others (and an E46 with sport springs is fairly low to start with).
Are those somehow real BBS LMs?
If so, you need to have them professionally reconditioned and then sell them for top dollar.
The driver window auto-up could be as simple as never having been trained after a battery disconnect. On most cars you hold the power window down five seconds after it bottoms, then hold the button up five seconds after it tops out, and you're done. (Most cars. Land Rover is different, and Volvo is completely asinine)
The glass SHOULD come down a quarter inch when you pull the door handle, if that has frameless doors. BMW tucks the windows up a little after the door closes so they don't bow out at Autobahn speeds.
colinshark said:Are those somehow real BBS LMs?
If so, you need to have them professionally reconditioned and then sell them for top dollar.
I'll check tonight, looking at the pictures I don't see any stamping on the face, so I'm not holding my breath. If so, that would be a huge score.
In reply to rslifkin :
I ordered a set of OE sports and bilstein B6 shocks/springs last night. I believe it's only 10mm difference between them so I'll take the firmer spring rate. I didn't want to spend real money on suspension off the batt, but oh well.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
They are framed, I'll try the reprogram method, thanks for the tip.
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