migz_330i_
Member
brutalðŸ˜ðŸ¤£you had me laughing man wow🤣
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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
discussion 2002 E46 330i Titanium Silver
- Thread starter migz_330i_
- Start date
brutalðŸ˜ðŸ¤£you had me laughing man wow🤣
migz_330i_
Member
The next step for this interior had to be the steering wheel! Must give this steering wheel back to a bus driver or something cause wow 4 spoke just doesn’t
do it for me lol. I had also done carbon fiber wrap over the wood trim (unsure if I had previously mentioned it)
Here is the old 4 Spoke
Here is my upgraded M sport/ individual steering wheel
This steering wheel is a MAJOR upgrade over the old one! Car feels much more sporty to look at from the driver seat and is more comfortable to hold for longer trips. I got it for a bargain price all it needed was sanding down and respray and it came out great. Also needed to replace the airbag harness as it had a dodgy ground wire that looked like it would give an airbag light
do it for me lol. I had also done carbon fiber wrap over the wood trim (unsure if I had previously mentioned it)
Here is the old 4 Spoke
Here is my upgraded M sport/ individual steering wheel
This steering wheel is a MAJOR upgrade over the old one! Car feels much more sporty to look at from the driver seat and is more comfortable to hold for longer trips. I got it for a bargain price all it needed was sanding down and respray and it came out great. Also needed to replace the airbag harness as it had a dodgy ground wire that looked like it would give an airbag light
FISAACS
Member
Nice car bro
BMW ran a promotion on E46 parts a few months ago. They might still have a set of xenons on special, worth a try.
Alternatively you can always try retrofitting xenons, I can personally vouch for the following
BMW 3 E46 98-05 bi-xenon HID light upgrade kit for halogen headlights made by Bosch/AL
Headlight upgrade kit with HID bi-xenon projectors for the BMW 3 E46 with AL/Bosch halogen headlights. Guaranteed improved light output! High-quality retrofit parts
retrofitlab.com
EATYOURVITAMIN5
Active member
Don’t be scared to pickup a set that has stuff missing! (Like the modules) I assume you mean the xenon ballasts? You can pick those up for just over R1000 each if you need both.. so if you find a clean set, jump on it. If you need any assistance, feel free to let me know! I’m the e46 xenon expert!
Source: just take a look at my post from when I was overseas
My Portuguese daily - E46 320d M Sport
Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster. Two years ago I moved to Madeira, Portugal. I decided very quickly that I needed a car as public transport was not up to scratch. Not too long after, I found my pride & joy - This is my 2003 E46 320d M Sport 6MT
www.bmwfanatics.co.za
EATYOURVITAMIN5
Active member
Good option but works out expensive fo saffers. We always get the short end of the stick when it comes to overseas things.Nice car bro
BMW ran a promotion on E46 parts a few months ago. They might still have a set of xenons on special, worth a try.
Alternatively you can always try retrofitting xenons, I can personally vouch for the following
BMW 3 E46 98-05 bi-xenon HID light upgrade kit for halogen headlights made by Bosch/AL
Headlight upgrade kit with HID bi-xenon projectors for the BMW 3 E46 with AL/Bosch halogen headlights. Guaranteed improved light output! High-quality retrofit parts
I saw a listing not too long ago of a FL with xenon that was stripping for parts. I’ll try to dig it up
Edit:
Bmw E46 318i N42 stripping for parts
Bmw E46 318i N42 stripping for parts 98% interior Suspension Doors Engine running Xenon lights Water system and pipes Front screen no crack
www.facebook.com
Use cloudy lenses and missing ballasts as a bargaining tool as e46 headlights are super modular and ridiculously easy to take apart
Edit 2:
Single light but quite cheap, just listed. Might be worth piecing it together one at a time.
BMW E46 Xenon LEFT HEADLIGHT
Comes with a module [email protected] www.pedroautobodyspares.co.za https://wa.me/27722046886 Pedro’s Auto Body Spares in Benoni
www.facebook.com
Last edited:
osiris
///Member
when I had my E46 330i, I managed to find a pair of FL oem Xenons on gumtree for 5k, the one had a bust xenon ballast, I found one of those somewhere else, can't remember where, but fitting that to the car made such a difference to the look of the car as well as the light output obviously.
I did the whole retrofitting projectors to my previous E46 330d and they worked well but the projector lens itself was smaller than OEM which always irritated me. You can find better projectors though, it is just a bit of extra work to get them fitted, if you can find oem rather go that route, it's way less hassle.
I did the whole retrofitting projectors to my previous E46 330d and they worked well but the projector lens itself was smaller than OEM which always irritated me. You can find better projectors though, it is just a bit of extra work to get them fitted, if you can find oem rather go that route, it's way less hassle.
migz_330i_
Member
Nice car bro
BMW ran a promotion on E46 parts a few months ago. They might still have a set of xenons on special, worth a try.
Alternatively you can always try retrofitting xenons, I can personally vouch for the following
BMW 3 E46 98-05 bi-xenon HID light upgrade kit for halogen headlights made by Bosch/AL
Headlight upgrade kit with HID bi-xenon projectors for the BMW 3 E46 with AL/Bosch halogen headlights. Guaranteed improved light output! High-quality retrofit parts
I do believe BMW had a promotion on a couple items, ended up spending a lot of money there getting all the small stuff the car needed lol
Do these ship to South Africa? They look really good
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migz_330i_
Member
You are very much correct! Only important thing really for me at least is the headlight brackets if those are broken they will never sit right and I don’t want that kind of headache, I’m very ocd about this car
How is the coding like for the xenon’s I know my car is missing a few critical features like the xenon light switch and also the headlight height sensor that sits in the control arm(forgot the name of it) and the wiring of course
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migz_330i_
Member
A retrofit seems more like my plan of action as long as I don’t need to have those silly faulty bulb lights on my cluster then I’m happy. But I been doing research into it looks like I’m going to get another set of headlights to experiment on just not a fan of drilling into my headlights to push the wires through . Will keep you guys update
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migz_330i_
Member
Now it’s time to fully complete this M tech 2 kit!
Managed to source:
M tech 2 rear bumper -the diffuser has seen better days unfortunately
M tech side skirts - had a few scratches underneath, was also cracked and poorly fixed
Manual M Sport seats - fair condition not bad but will be reupholstered later down the line.
As you can see the diffusers is in terrible shape! This was a nightmare to source at the time but managed to get it replaced eventually.
Here is some pictures of the bumper finally fitted on the car after getting resprayed the car is starting to take shape now
The side skirt are very subtle but very much needed in order to complete the kit
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Managed to source:
M tech 2 rear bumper -the diffuser has seen better days unfortunately
M tech side skirts - had a few scratches underneath, was also cracked and poorly fixed
Manual M Sport seats - fair condition not bad but will be reupholstered later down the line.
As you can see the diffusers is in terrible shape! This was a nightmare to source at the time but managed to get it replaced eventually.
Here is some pictures of the bumper finally fitted on the car after getting resprayed the car is starting to take shape now
The side skirt are very subtle but very much needed in order to complete the kit
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Blue Shirt
Well-known member
Coding the car for oem xenons is much quicker and easier than retrofitting other hardware bits and installing aftermarket canbus foolers or capacitors.
If you keep the halogen LCM, you don't need the auto-leveling hardware because the manual level adjustment on the LCM will continue working as with the halogens.
If you keep the halogen LCM, you don't need the auto-leveling hardware because the manual level adjustment on the LCM will continue working as with the halogens.
EATYOURVITAMIN5
Active member
Xenon coding is no more than adding the code for xenon headlights to your VO ($522) and a parameter in your LCZ has to be to enabled. That’s it. That’s all the coding required.You are very much correct! Only important thing really for me at least is the headlight brackets if those are broken they will never sit right and I don’t want that kind of headache, I’m very ocd about this car
How is the coding like for the xenon’s I know my car is missing a few critical features like the xenon light switch and also the headlight height sensor that sits in the control arm(forgot the name of it) and the wiring of course
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
As someone else mentioned, you’re not at all required to change your light switch as the lights will work perfectly with the halogen LCZ. Where he was mistaken was that your levelling will work with the wheel (enabling xenon lights in coding disabled this wheel) I actually strongly advise that you don’t change this switch as your cars mileage is tied to both your KOMBI (cluster) and LCZ (light switch) and if they don’t align, it will display a mileage tamper dot on your dash (which I assume you’re not keen for at all) this can of course be avoided but it’s extra coding but is ultimately unnecessary.
The level sensor is for one, completely unnecessary and two, super complicated and requires you get a different headlight switch that supports auto levelling. The xenons will work just fine without this. This whole auto levelling was law for Europe to prevent dazzling other drivers but so was the headlight washer system with xenon lights.. so in lawless ZA, these are a non issue.
Wiring and connectors, completely plug & play. No change at all from halogen. The E46 is one of the easiest xenon retrofit on a car I know.
FISAACS
Member
Yes they do, I've purchased from them. Just instruct them to ship with UPS and not the SAPO.
Mine should be fitted within the next few weeks. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait to see the outcome of that exercise to determine whether it's something you want to do.
Let me add some corrections for you.
While the LCM (light control module) do have a copy of the car's mileage, you can just update it to match what is on the cluster. The cluster is much harder to change the mileage on, the LCM very easy. Just use PASoft software with the PASoft cable.
As for the Xenon light coding and keeping the manual control wheel working, this is also possible using PASoft. Instead of setting the LCM to Xenon, you manually change the test hex values, I have a copy somewhere, where I have done this for my wife's car. I have also done this for another Fanatic on his E46 M3. By using the hex value method, you keep manual wheel control and it changes the test such that you cluster can still show you if a xenon bulb blows.
For the automatic leveling, its more effort than it is worth. On my car that came with Xenon from factory, there are 2 level sensons, 1 at the front and 1 at the back. What I am unsure about, is if all control arms have the hook for the sensor.
You don't per say need a different LCM to get this working, the newer facelift cars usually have a LCM that supports the feature, its just the effort(labor) and parts(deep pockets) that makes this a waste of time. Not to mention, every time I get someone to work on the car's front suspension, I need to tell them to disconnect the switch first before starting to unbolt stuff, else the switch arm just break off. Highly annoying. If it breaks again, I am deleting the autoleveling.
Benji
Well-known member
I see you are drip feeding up with updates. This keeps us salivating 
Well done on also getting side skirts, the amount of people that only do the bumpers but forget the side skirts...
Car is looking fantastic now! The better the car looks, the worse those wheels appear...
Well done on also getting side skirts, the amount of people that only do the bumpers but forget the side skirts...
Car is looking fantastic now! The better the car looks, the worse those wheels appear...
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
damn this car is coming along nicely. Well-done
EATYOURVITAMIN5
Active member
Thanks for this.
Let me clarify a little. I (personally) never went the PASoft route as I couldn't easily attain a cable, I would assume that whoever is trying to do this retrofit would also struggle to find a PASoft cable and your conventional K+DCAN cable is far more attainable locally. The PASoft route is substantially easier but sourcing the required items proves to be quite difficult. That being said, my guide primarily focuses on more verbose methods as I used NCS Expert and INPA to do my retrofit.
Secondly, I should've been clearer, when it came to coding mileage, I meant coding the LCZ to correct mileage, not the KOMBI as I would never advocate for tampering with a vehicles mileage. Coding to a LCZ is again, far, far easier using PASoft but again, arranging PASoft components is the real challenge here.
I however, did learn something new from your post as I was completely unaware that one could manually set hex values and still retain the level wheel. This is again, why PASoft is a much smoother route to go, just ticking boxes and basic programming.
osiris
///Member
This is all quite interesting as I didn't code anything on my E46 330i when I put stock Xenon headlights. They just worked funny enough.
I mean back then I didn't have any coding things, I didn't know about bimmercode or proTools, MHD or Carly. I only learned about all of this when I got my E89 Z4. So I can't actually remember how I got those headlights to work but if I remember correctly it was basically plug and play.
I mean back then I didn't have any coding things, I didn't know about bimmercode or proTools, MHD or Carly. I only learned about all of this when I got my E89 Z4. So I can't actually remember how I got those headlights to work but if I remember correctly it was basically plug and play.
