About the Car:
I present to you my 330ci SE spec. Having owned the car for 18 months now it still puts a smile on my face driving it. The E46 is a nice drive and being a 330ci goes quite well too!
I purchased the car completely stock, even the rims were stock! I got bored of driving around with it looking just understated and ordinary. So I started with a mod list to get the car looking beefy.
First up started with CCFL angel rings purchased from SSDD Motorsport. I was amazed at how bright they are even in normal daylight condition s. I also got some 8000k Xenon look Halogen bulbs to match the colour of the CCFL's which go perfectly and they give a nice pure whiteish/blue glow to the road.
Next was new wheels as the 17's on there were hardly doing the car any justice. After much wheel searching I eventually chose the E90 M3 replicas purchased from BM Autosport. These are 18's but look quite big. Didn't go for 19's as I wanted the ride quality to stay and the look has paid off with positive feedback on various forums.
With the basics out the way it was time for the bodywork. I was thinking about getting the sports bumper kit. The sports kit does look great and makes an E46 what it is but I felt there is so many people doing this so, I decided on splitters.
I went ahead for the Hamann replica kit purchased from Alteezalighting. I had to send the rear lip back to the company I bought it from as it was for a 4 door and not a 2 door. So they sent out a Breyton rear lip which was for a 2 door. In that respect they were helpful and good to deal with.
Fitment wise rear lip was pretty good, front lip was ok, needed a little trimming on the insides but just about fits where it meets the corners of the bumpers its not quite flush but hey its a rep, you pay for what you get. As for the skirts they weren't the best fit and are slightly short by a few mm, again something you would only notice if you were staring at it. But hey for £350 I guess you can't always expect it to be totally perfect. Front lip and skirts are made from polyurethane and I expect they were made in the US, and whoever did do them, you didn't do a good mould sort it out! Breyton rear made of fibreglass and that was probably the best fit item on the car.
From experience here I would get the originals if you can although they cost you twice as much! Other alternatives are Rieger do a lip kit which is reasonable and it is proper plastic. So if you do go down the spoiler attachment route, do your res earch carefully! On a whole the whole kit has transformed the car and it has given a better look to the stock bumpers.
Eibach Pro Kit springs were fitted to my car just to drop the car just a little further. Rear hasn't gone down a huge amount but the front is more noticeable. I could have gone lower but the condition of roads in the UK makes it impratical.
Future Plans:
Well I want to get new exhaust tips as the rear lip overshadows it. Around January I'll be getting it booked in for some new tips to be welded on just to bring it out more. I was thinking about an aftermarket exhaust but this is my comfort car and I didn't want to spoil it with a loud exhaust.
Remap would be the last thing and getting it rolling road tested to find out what power its running to this day.
Mod List:
18" E90 M3 Rep's. 8J running 225/40/ZR18 tyres.
Eibach Pro Kit Springs 25mm f, 15mm r.
Hamann Rep Front Lip Spoiler
Hamann Rep Side Skirts
Breyton Rep Rear Lip Spoiler
CCFL Angel Rings with 8000k Xenon Look Halogen bulbs.
The Pictures:
Here are pictures of my car I hope you like it. I hope to invest in a better camera as darker colour cars don't always come out in pictures unless you have decent lighting. So enjoy leave some comments on what you like or anything you don't like etc. Hope you enjoyed reading my page.
