Advice for New E46 M3 Owner

Navin

///Member
Huzit guys

Finally bought my 2004 M3

I Know it has an acs exhaust and cone filter with a chip

Im new to BMW so any advice on how to drive and maintain these cars ?

Thanks
 

zama

Active member
Congratz & welcome.

1stly we don't want, but NEED pictures of the car.

Maintenance is very important, do not neglect it or you will have to fork out top dollar.
Always wait till the oil temperature is warmed up, and then you can hammer and enjoy it! :thumbs:
 

Navin

///Member
ok yeah, i kno about getting the oil temp warm before belting it, but can i drive off from a cold start or does it have to be warmed before i drive, and if so, by how much ?

and pics to follow as soon as i figure out how to..
 

Legacy

///Member
Drive up to 2000 rpm until the oil level is between the dot (which is 75 degrees) and the middle (which is 100 degrees), so untile the oil temperature is roughly 90 degrees then you can do what you want with the rev range.

Oh and never idle the car until it is up to operating temperature. It says that in the manual and you will contaminate your oil. Start the car and drive off and keep it under 2000 rpm until the above happens.

Also I would remove the cone filter and non stock crap, these cars are the best when they are stock so I doubt you can really improve on it.
 

Phumi

BMW Car Club Member
Pics then advice....


Jokes, yes you can drive it cold but keep the revs under 3000rpm. If I'm not mistaken the E46 actually has an indicator showing you how far your rev should go.
Use the correct oil.
Check your subframe for cracks.


Sent from my iPhone4s using Tapatalk
 

LPM320

///Member
I would remove that cone filter and revert back to stock if I were you. The impact on reliability of components and performance (Im sure it will be less efficient than the stock airbox) is just not worth the noise and slight increase in throttle response in my opinion....

if you really want to improve the car via Cold air induction, then forking out for a purpose designed good quality induction system will be the best way forward.
 

P Smit

New member
Hallo Navin, welcome to car heaven. The E46 is in my opinion THE BEST N/A 6 cylinder of all times.

An open cone filter is on it's own not ideal, but included into for example a Rob Green Motorsport cold air induction kit which includes an oversise air mass meter tube, will make a difference for sure.

It' not how much you will gain with such a filter or CAI kit, but the combination of a few mods such as: CAI kit, properly designed exhaust system, Dastek Unichip conversion, shorter diff ratio, brakes, suspension,etc.etc.

What is important though, is to get proper training to be able to extract every bit of potensial designed into the car. You will wet yourself if you know and experience what the car is capable of. Do not drive fast on any section of road befor you are really capable to handle the car properly, especialy with DSC deactivated, around a bend or corner in 1st or 2nd with the right foot planted!!:fencelook:

Don't allow the clutch to wear out to the limit if it's an SMG.

Go for it, enjoy the car!!!:thumbs:
 

Legacy

///Member
Crash_Nemesis said:
You can definitely improve it...

SUPERCHARGE IT!!!

:thumbs:

Well to be fair the car is perfectly balanced in terms of everyday use, performance and handling. Yes you can supercharge it and the speed will increase dramatically, however I don't think you will improve on the overall package of the car seeing as the brakes and suspension components will suffer as well as fuel consumption and daily usability.
 

Navin

///Member
Thanks for the advice and input guys..

I do plan on fitting the stock airbox in the near future, as soon as i can source 1.. That is about all i need and want to do to it..

The car is manual, silver grey with a set of the cabrio 19" wheels on..

I'm sure some of you myt hav seen it advertised on the net..

I am planning to do the high performance course with bmw in the near future.. a must, being that i come from the quattro stable..


 

Phumi

BMW Car Club Member
Navin said:
Thanks for the advice and input guys..

I do plan on fitting the stock airbox in the near future, as soon as i can source 1.. That is about all i need and want to do to it..

The car is manual, silver grey with a set of the cabrio 19" wheels on..

I'm sure some of you myt hav seen it advertised on the net..

I am planning to do the high performance course with bmw in the near future.. a must being that i come from the quattro stable..
Mods, ban this guy I hate him!!! :cry:

Pics please
 
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