The new daily - E46 330i Touring

[Benji]

Many a time I have been tempted to go for a more economical option however the fear of Made in China overcomes my natural cheapskate state and revert to Agents as doing work twice gets my goat.

Yeah I am learning this lesson. Thankfully, FCP do state the country of origin, so I will buy OE parts made in Germany or other reputable countries (Slovakia, Turkey, Malaysia) but will avoid the Chinese ones.

 

[AdiS]

Yeah I am learning this lesson. Thankfully, FCP do state the country of origin, so I will buy OE parts made in Germany or other reputable countries (Slovakia, Turkey, Malaysia) but will avoid the Chinese ones.

I’ve read in the reviews for some parts that sometimes their listings aren’t entirely correct for country of manufacturer. I suspect they do their best to keep it up to date and accurate but sometimes it might change from Turkey to China before they’ve updated the listing


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[Benji]

I’ve read in the reviews for some parts that sometimes their listings aren’t entirely correct for country of manufacturer. I suspect they do their best to keep it up to date and accurate but sometimes it might change from Turkey to China before they’ve updated the listing


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Its a risk I would be willing to take considering the cost saving - less than half price

 

[evnmopwr]

Yeah I am learning this lesson. Thankfully, FCP do state the country of origin, so I will buy OE parts made in Germany or other reputable countries (Slovakia, Turkey, Malaysia) but will avoid the Chinese ones.

I Always Check the Febi parts at Goldwagen. If its Made in Germany, Its usually the Original Parts with Logo scratched off.
After reading a post on E46Fanatics, i went and bought a Febi Exhaust Cam sensor to see if what i read is true. And Low and behold (you can see BMW logo Scratched off):



But i see allot of Febi stuff now changed to Made in Chine

 

[rodga]

I Always Check the Febi parts at Goldwagen. If its Made in Germany, Its usually the Original Parts with Logo scratched off.
After reading a post on E46Fanatics, i went and bought a Febi Exhaust Cam sensor to see if what i read is true. And Low and behold (you can see BMW logo Scratched off):

View attachment 35161View attachment 35160

But i see allot of Febi stuff now changed to Made in Chine

Same with febi guibo/flex disc

 

[Benji]

I Always Check the Febi parts at Goldwagen. If its Made in Germany, Its usually the Original Parts with Logo scratched off.
After reading a post on E46Fanatics, i went and bought a Febi Exhaust Cam sensor to see if what i read is true. And Low and behold (you can see BMW logo Scratched off):

View attachment 35161View attachment 35160

But i see allot of Febi stuff now changed to Made in Chine

This is good to know! Thank you! How do you check if the part is made in germany? Do you have to physically go in to the shop and get them to bring parts to you before you buy them? Seems a bit anorak lol

 

[J-Peter]

Not even BMW is safe anymore. I bought a new expansion tank for the 540i from BMW the other day, took the box, and was on my merry way...

Got home, and while unboxing it, what do I see? MADE IN CHINA!

Brand new from BMW, and it's made in China. Rather disappointed, to say the least.

 

[evnmopwr]

This is good to know! Thank you! How do you check if the part is made in germany? Do you have to physically go in to the shop and get them to bring parts to you before you buy them? Seems a bit anorak lol

Most times i call them and ask for price, then i ask if the Sticker says made in germany. They usually Check for me. If it says Made in germany, then i Go buy it. Other times im instore and then i check it there.

 

[Benji]

The E46 has finally gone in for paint...only about 2 years later...

Insurance is replacing my windscreen at the same time after a stone chip turned into a huge crack when I washed the car after it stood in the sun - lessons learnt.

Car is going to get a few finishing goodies after the paint is done, cant wait!

Stripped some stuff to make life easier for the paint shop - ie: give them less stuff to break and bolts to lose.





Really liking this numberplate delete and 'colour coded" bumper trims look...

 

[Benji]

I dropped the E46 of at the paint shop on my way to the airport for a holiday in Madagasccar.

Got drip-fed some update pics





Repainted the boot handle where the clearcoat was failing and A-pillars where stone chips had started forming some rust - luckily only surface rust.

New windscreen fitted:


Halfway thru the holiday, the car was ready and @FISAACS very kindly collected her for me. It was tough to enjoy the holiday without being able to see what my baby looked like!

Especially while being teased with erotic pics:



I collected the car a week later at night while Fizaacs was experiencing another power failure Thank you bro, you are an absolute legend 🙏 While driving home, I noticed that the insurance supplied me with an OEM windscreen after I requested it and they said it would not be possible. Score!



Spent the next day reassembling the rear with new emblem, new boot handle gasket and new inner tail lights. I treated the bumper moldings, so now they are nice and black



The front got new PPF'd fog lights and the number plate delete center molding after being convinced by @KPM3_30 and some other forum lurkers to spend yet more money at BMW. It is going to be difficult to put a numberplate back on this car...



Had the pleasure of drinking a few beers with a beautiful view


In good company with my mates SL


I replaced my cheap Chinese Android headunit with a less-cheap Chinese Android headunit. I spent way too much time researching these units, while they are all Chinese, they are not all equal. I found one with a dedicated AKM7604 DSP chip as well as a high quality TDA7851 amplifier with a true 50W x 4 output. The difference in sound quality compared to my previous unit is amazing. The DSP chip provides proper audio control with time delay and crossover frequency adjustment capabilities. While it wont win any competitions, the JBL component speakers running directly off the headunit and the JBL Basspro Hub sparewheel subwoofer packs a decent punch and provides good clarity for everyday listening. I also cut a hole in my front inner door skin to allow the speaker to fire into the door instead of the doorcard. This provided a surprisingly large improvement in midbass and reduced the vibrations coming from the doorcard.

Next up, the car needs a service soon, I'll rebuild the vanos and sort out a few other goodies while she is on the lift

 

[Tinuva]

What is the less cheap chinese head unit you put in?

 

[TBP88]

What is the less cheap chinese head unit you put in?

interior pics needed...

 

[rodga]

What is the less cheap chinese head unit you put in?

ya link please

 

[FILV]

ya link please

second for that request. Searched for a head unit with the same DSP for a F10 and not finding anything

 

[Benji]

CHSTEK Android 14 For BMW 3 Series E46 M3 Rover 75 1998-2007 Car Radio Stereo Multimedia Carplay GPS WIFI 4G Bluetooth Autoradio - AliExpress 34

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I ordered the Qualcomm 6125 - I spoke to the seller who is actually quite helpful and responsive to confirm what DSP the units comes with. The ROHM32107 DSP is also pretty decent, but the AKM is slightly better.

I have bought 3 different units from this same seller and specifically wanted this unit for E46 as I think the buttons look/feel more OEM that the typical E46 units out there with the large/flat buttons. He also has actual pictures of his units fitted to real cars, not some AI created bullshit

Pictures the seller sent me at my request:

 

[Tinuva]

CHSTEK Android 14 For BMW 3 Series E46 M3 Rover 75 1998-2007 Car Radio Stereo Multimedia Carplay GPS WIFI 4G Bluetooth Autoradio - AliExpress 34

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I ordered the Qualcomm 6125 - I spoke to the seller who is actually quite helpful and responsive to confirm what DSP the units comes with. The ROHM32107 DSP is also pretty decent, but the AKM is slightly better.

I have bought 3 different units from this same seller and specifically wanted this unit for E46 as I think the buttons look/feel more OEM that the typical E46 units out there with the large/flat buttons. He also has actual pictures of his units fitted to real cars, not some AI created bullshit

Oh shoot that 6125 with the 8gm ram and 256gb storage looks super nice on paper and the buttons definitely looks most oem I have seen.

Not to detract too much from your thread, but how is the daily experience on this radio?
Eg. On Xtrons, I hate how it always defaults to radio receiver when I turn on the car. The Eonon units dont have this annoying behavior.
So like Eonon remember what I used last, if radio receiver then on turn on radio receiver, or if bluetooth then on turn on its back on bluetooth etc.

How smooth is the interface when changing apps etc?

 

[Benji]

Oh shoot that 6125 with the 8gm ram and 256gb storage looks super nice on paper and the buttons definitely looks most oem I have seen.

Not to detract too much from your thread, but how is the daily experience on this radio?
Eg. On Xtrons, I hate how it always defaults to radio receiver when I turn on the car. The Eonon units dont have this annoying behavior.
So like Eonon remember what I used last, if radio receiver then on turn on radio receiver, or if bluetooth then on turn on its back on bluetooth etc.

How smooth is the interface when changing apps etc?

I literally installed it yesterday afternoon lol, but the 3 times Ive started my car since installing it, it carried on playing whatever the was playing when I switched it off. Noticed this morning my steering wheel buttons are not working, so I probably didnt plug something in or havent set it up, will investigate tonight.

I am not very tech savvy - I simply want something that feels/works like OEM, does not intrude on my life and simply plays music in the background off a USB or onboard memory but must sound decent when the mood strikes for more volume. I hardly use the screen mirroring, but it is useful now and then, my wife uses it more than I do - mostly because she hates my music I guess

You can insert a SIM card into the unit and make it a hotspot so you have wifi in your car and you can play music off spotify/youtube etc, but this is all too new-fangled for me.

But as mentioned, Ive bought a few units from this seller and never had any issues, will be buying one for the Range Rover too

 

[Tinuva]

check you have #3 that is what does the CAN bus integration for the steering wheel. if this radio is like my Eonon, when the car loses time on the cluster, this radio actually set its back on the car if you have a sim card plugged in. I found that a nice thing, even though I dont use the time on the cluster