E30 Zone

been thinkin about getting a e46 330i coupe as a daily runner.
has anybody got one or been in one and are they quick?
are they much quicker than a e30 325?
ive always liked the look of them and they have come down in price alot lately.
wouldnt mind a 330 diesel coupe but they are twice as much to buy!!
i know the diesels are quite quick with a remap as my pal had one and was as quick as my 240bhp nissan 200.

they would nail an e30 325i to a cross, they're still a fast car

I've been thinking about one of these as my next daily - actually did the man-maths earlier tonight - I reckon it will cost about £1000 more a year to run ( fuel, tax, insurance ) than my current diesel turd.

Nice car but struggling to justify it

was behind a y reg one earlier in red with the mv18s on it and it looked really smart.

Save yourself a lot of £££ and buy a 330i saloon instead of a Coupe. They're just as fast and a lot less money - nobody seems to want them. The 330i Touring is a lovely thing as well. Coupes suffer front front arch rust. The manuals are nice but the automatics are probably nicer to live with.

cant see myself in a auto. would rather have a coupe to be honest as i like the look of them and can get a nice one for around 3.5k which seems alot of car for the money.

I would love to have one of these 330Ci Manual for a month

my next car is going to be a manual 330 touring. on MV1's sport one epic.

wagons are where its at, best spec usually

Those 330 tourings are the dogs bollocks.

I remember reading the ORIGINAL FULL Autocar roadtest of the BMW E46 330Ci Coupe and i might still even have it. It is DEFINIETELY A REALLY GOOD car. It is "hot hatch" fast nowdays and then maybe even slightly slower than the new hothatches. However, what it can do is astonishing.........................it is like a mini GT car, fast, reliable, comfortable, a few delicate touches such as chrome surrounds around the BMW dials, titanium finish around the front headlights and front spoiler. Defientely a GOOD ALL-ROUND ROAD CAR.

Just a shame there are so many on the road it is easy for it to get overlooke at the sheer competence of its abilities.

Personally, I never really liked the M-Sport bodykit but much prefer a simple Manual Coupe with the understated and subtle SE specification.

Ive got a 330Ci 6 sp sport, great cars bit tubbier than the e30 I had but a lot of fun. Wouldnt have one unless its a sport, better seats, thicker steering wheel etc nicer inside.

Does the quarter mile at Crail in 14.3 and returns 37mpg on a long run. Had a touring as well good family cars. Rear tyres do cost a lot for premium 255 35 18s on the sports and you have to watch for bushes, water pumps, expansion tanks etc but its all very DIY stuff.

Really recommend them though.

A lot of non sport 330's have sports seats and I think they have sports suspension as standard.

All BMW E46 3 Series Coupes have Sports suspension as standard.
The M Sport models i think have a slightly lower and stiffer setup.
Still prefer SE specification as Sport model on any BMW E46 3 Series makes it look like you want a M3 but cannot afford one?
The BMW M steering wheel can always be retrofitted.

If/when I look seriously for one I don't think I'll be paying a premium for one with the Sport bodykit nice as it looks. Sports seats are a must though - the standard "flat" ones look bloody horrible !

I have an e46 330i touring. SE model and its superb, damn fast and fairly quick plus extremely comfortable. So far averaging about 28mpg.

It's a 2001 model and although it has all the toys, it didn't break the bank to buy. As Andy says, nobody seems to want the saloons or the tourings, so the price is suppressed. Bargain buy I'd say.

And the SE spec e46 3 series makes it look like you want a sport but cant afford one lol. Am only kidding. I just thought the sport looked a little better. The M3 is a totally different beast to a regular e46 though.

The price of these cars has really fallen in the past few months, you can pick up a lot of car for not a lot of money. SE or sport are both relatively cheap whatever tickles your fancy

is 28mpg real world for these or just wishful thinking ?

I used to be able to get 30mpg out of my E36 323i touring but only by making a conscious decision to drive for economy. If I drove it "normally" rather than super gently mid-20's was more like it - and this was a well serviced relitavely low mileage example.

I would expect an extra 500cc's to be pretty thirsty - especially if you drive it properly rather than just tickling it along everywhere.

I'd quite like one with an Autobox but that would be even worse on juice

i'd say wishful thinking unless your on the m-way most of the time. They will be no better on fuel than an e30 325 tbh. Unless your on a slow 70mph long run with the cruise on

my dads e46 325i auto coupe ave 26.4mpg which is the same as the obc in my e30 325i auto 2dr!

Simon13 wrote:my next car is going to be a manual 330 touring. on MV1's sport one epic.

wagons are where its at, best spec usually

Lol, that's extactly what were running as a mummy wagon now. Excellent car all round. And they do look good. Don't rule out the touring's. They tend to have been specked up when you look at 328 and 330 touring's. And there are some bargins out there at the moment.

My mate's 2003 330i SE Coupe will do 38 on a steady run. It's a six speed and it has lovely long gearing. It's a semi modern 24v unit and not an old 12v boat anchor.

I'm on my third E46 now, the first being a 330Ci SE convertible, the second a Alpina B3S convertible and now a 328Ci with intergalactic mileage.

Simon, my 328Ci manual averages 30 on the OBC and you know how i drive! It will do high thirties on the motorway with the cruise set to 80. The 330 i had would do the same figures despite being a heavier car and with 200cc more but the M54 in the 330 had a later engine management to the M52tu in the 328. An E30 325i will not match that.

The Alpina was different though and averaged 25mpg on the OBC but that was auto, 3.4 litres and a cabrio.

Marc, no E46 328 tourings were made.

As for 330's in general, great car and will do big miles if looked after. They have the common problems like most cars but nothing to drastic and good maintenance is the key to longevity.

Keep the cooling system tip top, the oil changed regular and it will last.

Bear in mind that there is ALOT of scrap out there now as they have fallen in price but that also means there are some bargains to be had.

Case in point, a 2000 W reg 330Ci SE manual in titan silver with black leather was offered to me for £1600 taxed and tested with FBMWSH. It had 149k (dont let that put you off, my 328Ci has 225k with FBMWSH and will do more!) and needed a pair of front wings as they had started to rust and the rear arches tidying up as they had not been cleaned regularly and has started to bubble.

bss325i wrote:Marc, no E46 328 tourings were made.

Yes they were!

darkchild wrote:

bss325i wrote:Marc, no E46 328 tourings were made.

Yes they were!

Interesting as Realoem lists LHD and RHD E46 328i tourings but i have never seen a RHD one.

A quick search on autotrader and Ebay reveal none either.

EDIT, just found 1 on autotrader. Must be bloody rare though.

I guess i was wrong.

that 330 you got offered Barry sounds like a proper bargain did you take it?
was your 328 a company car?

I didnt realise you get high 30s on the motorway on your 328?

I just been driving the 323 over nearly 300 miles and got 31mpg though mainly motorway mileage gentlyish driving though not at constant speed with some city mileage.
Previously i get 20mpg normally including A roads/city work and if it just motorway 25mpg but this was redlining it 75% of the time and burnouts too.

I remember when the 330 came out i remember it was i think the same price as the 328 and supposedly the same or improved ecomomy than the 328 this was what either BMW claimed or was what was said in the Daily Telegraph who had a big article on it one Saturday.

Our 330 touring is showing 28mpg on the OBC which hasn't been reset for over a year. Since that includes a lot of wiggly 5 mile trips to work and back I think it is impressive. On a run it's probably worth getting super unleaded since it seems to get you another 30-40 miles from a tank. It takes the range from a realistic 370 to just over 400 with cruise set to 80. That's with a 5 speed (pre-facelift for cheaper roadtax!), I would imagine a 6 sp does better on the motorway but you don't miss the 6th gear when driving for fun.

They do love front wishbone bushes, and you can't accuse the ride of being soft even on 17s but they stick to the road really well and the engine is smooth and deceptively torquey with a nice extra push at the top end.

The 6th gear is quite nice in the motorway and certainly helps with the mpg. The 325i touring we had was a 5 sp and only once did I get 32mpg whereas the 330ci we have has seen 37mpg average going to North Wales from Broxburn.

I have replaced my front rear wisbone bushes and RTAB for poly bushes. The RTAB were proper shot. Also replaced the springs with Eibach sportlines as had broke a rear one and swapped the oem Sachs shocks for Konis as they were past there best. Also the front and rear top mounts along with the whole coolant system bar the rad. Rocker cover gasket and crank case breather valve and pipe work werer done although is still likes to get through Castrols finest.

The car has now done 110,000miles and all the work I did myself although I got a hand from Shedrool and Gaz325i with my springs

The m54 is quite torquey and a very flexible engine although ive had mine remapped which does help. I also changed the engine oil between services as they seem a little to far apart for my liking.

pony wrote:that 330 you got offered Barry sounds like a proper bargain did you take it?
was your 328 a company car?

I didnt realise you get high 30s on the motorway on your 328?

I just been driving the 323 over nearly 300 miles and got 31mpg though mainly motorway mileage gentlyish driving though not at constant speed with some city mileage.
Previously i get 20mpg normally including A roads/city work and if it just motorway 25mpg but this was redlining it 75% of the time and burnouts too.

I remember when the 330 came out i remember it was i think the same price as the 328 and supposedly the same or improved ecomomy than the 328 this was what either BMW claimed or was what was said in the Daily Telegraph who had a big article on it one Saturday.

The 328Ci i have does mid to high 30's at a constant 80mph on the cruise despite the high mileage and no it wasn't a company car, it was a trade in a work i payed a grand for last year.

The 330Ci for £1600 is another trade in that i was offered a couple of weeks ago but i didn't bother with it.

say what you like bert i always get minimum 350 miles to a tank in the 328i. So the 46's are no better on fuel and certainly no faster. So in some respects the simpler more DIY friendly 328i doesn't give much away to the e46 330's and e36 328's esp with M50 inlets etc. The OBC used to read 32mpg but its dropped to 30 since the cruise control has broke

My record was going to e30topless place and back. 480 miles on one tank cruise on 90 when allowed.

Morat wrote:Our 330 touring is showing 28mpg on the OBC which hasn't been reset for over a year. Since that includes a lot of wiggly 5 mile trips to work and back I think it is impressive. On a run it's probably worth getting super unleaded since it seems to get you another 30-40 miles from a tank. It takes the range from a realistic 370 to just over 400 with cruise set to 80. That's with a 5 speed (pre-facelift for cheaper roadtax!), I would imagine a 6 sp does better on the motorway but you don't miss the 6th gear when driving for fun.

They do love front wishbone bushes, and you can't accuse the ride of being soft even on 17s but they stick to the road really well and the engine is smooth and deceptively torquey with a nice extra push at the top end.

When you took me down the road in yours i was surprised how much go it had

But Si, your 328i is an M52 in an E36 not an M52tu in the E46. Totally different engine. E46's are also more aerodynamic to. E36's are not far behind E46's in terms of fuel econ but both are a lot better than E30 325i's that you first mentioned.

An E46 330 will nail a standard E36 328 but once the E36 has a few mods including the M50 inlet the gap is closed.

E46's are almost as DIY friendly as E36's.

apart from eveything is coded on the e46

the comparison was like for like e46 325i vs e30 325i, the newer car overall isn't really better than the e30. There certainly isn't a huge performance gap between the 2, being that the e46 weigh about 400kgs more like

Everything on an E36 is coded too! But like and E36, most modules will work out of the box without being coded but when it comes to programming or electronic diagnosis then it will cause problems if they are not coded.

Being an auto (your dads E46 325i) will not help with the econ but it should still average high 20's on the obc.

Yes you are right, an E30 325i will keep with an E46 325i and even an E46 328i (same power) but no where near a 330i which this thread is about.

bss325i wrote: Yes you are right, an E30 325i will keep with an E46 325i and even an E46 328i (same power) but no where near a 330i which this thread is about.

on a separate note (off-topic sorry)
why is the e92 325i just a detuned version of the 3.0litre engine? i presume this is to save costs and produce a smaller range of engines and limit their power electronically.