Jon's E46 Topaz Blue 330Ci

[Lawro]

I love MV1's, looks great!

 

[jesus]

Nice improvement :approve:

 

[VeinAST]

Lovely Jon!! As said take f**king ages to get gleaming!

 

[Jon.G]

Little update. I've been getting together a few of bits recently including, new genuine repeaters, foglights, full set of new bulbs inc Osram Nighbreakers and Osram Diadems. Transfered my personal plate onto the car last week as well and finally got round to putting the 330Ci badge on the bootlid. The front grille was also looking very tired, so I had the front bumper off and cleaned everything whilst spraying the grille and surround satin black.

Satin Grille M Sport by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

IMG_1860 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

IMG_1868 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

IMG_1872 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

 

[Stefan.]

Very nice motor, blue looks good on these.

 

[Mr R.]

I fancy one of these...

 

[ch!ppen]

How much were the side repeaters if you don't mind me asking? Mines ready for some but sometimes OEM items are as cheap as eBay lol.

 

[Jon.G]

I paid £22 for the pair from BMMiniparts.

Part numbers are 63 13 2228591 and 63 13 2228592. They had them in stock so were a little cheaper than their 'special order' price. Which iirc were £15 each. They come with orange bulbs as well, so if you like that fried egg look its decent.

 

[ch!ppen]

I paid £22 for the pair from BMMiniparts.

Part numbers are 63 13 2228591 and 63 13 2228592. They had them in stock so were a little cheaper than their 'special order' price. Which iirc were £15 each. They come with orange bulbs as well, so if you like that fried egg look its decent.

That's awesome... I think eBay's are about £12 but i might as well pay the extra tenner for some OEM items. Cheers

 

[Bubbles]

Nice, private plates make the e46 look smarter and younger.

 

[NoahRobinson07]

In all honesty. I preferred the wheel that were on there before.

 

[jesus]

Looked good today mate, the wheels are a massive improvement.

 

[Eddie.]

VIP car is VIP.

Electric seats had me in maximum recline yesterday at the BCM! So awesome.

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

Good update Jon, will keep an eye on this.

 

[ekaJ]

Looked great yesterday, I really fancy an e46 coupe now.

 

[Jon.G]

Thanks everyone.

Looked great yesterday, I really fancy an e46 coupe now.

Cheers, yours looked fantastic as well!

 

[Jon.G]

Decided this weekend was best to attack the paintwork properly, so I ordered a load of detailing gear and borrow a DA from Chris. I also some bulbs to fit and ordered some new foglights ,which I've not fitted yet as I'm waiting on some new fixings to come.

Full works included, Iron-X, oblitarate, clay, 1 stage polish via DA, Amigo it tighter places, IPA wipedown then Z2 and Zymol Carbon. Plastics & Interior trim finished with Revive. Door seals also refreshed with Revive.

SDC19138 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

SDC19139 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

Before:

SDC19140 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

SDC19143 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

Afters:

SDC19146 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

SDC19150 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

SDC19155 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

SDC19156 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

Next up, spacers and new rear lights.

 

[Stefan.]

very nice, new rear lights will make a big difference :approve:

 

[welshname]

Sounds like you're keeping it a while now then?

 

[VeinAST]

LED rears are a must Looking good still !!

 

[Jon.G]

Sounds like you're keeping it a while now then?

I was saying to Ed and Chris today, I'm pretty happy now so I'll be keeping it a while. I'm aiming to get an E30 for the end of the year and stick it in a unit over winter.

 

[Jon.G]

LED rears are a must Looking good still !!

Cheers, thats the plan. I have thought about just getting new PFL ones, but LED's will finish it off better. I'm unsure how long rep's will last, just need to make sure I buy them from a supplier with 12 months guarantee and it'll be fine.

 

[welshname]

I was saying to Ed and Chris today, I'm pretty happy now so I'll be keeping it a while. I'm aiming to get an E30 for the end of the year and stick it in a unit over winter.

Nice! Sounds like a good plan.

 

[jesus]

Cheers, thats the plan. I have thought about just getting new PFL ones, but LED's will finish it off better. I'm unsure how long rep's will last, just need to make sure I buy them from a supplier with 12 months guarantee and it'll be fine.

What are PFL ones? The LEDs do look good but I can imagine them being pretty expensive.

Looking good so far though. It's still weird seeing your plate on this... I think mostly because it's blue!

 

[Jon.G]

PFL are pre face lift, which are the same as what I've got. both of my main rears have leaked, so have some water in them, which is awful. They're fairly cheap on eBay, however some replica LED ones (from the facelift e46 coupe) are not a lot more.

Yeah, its still taking me some getting used to. You're right, its only ever been on a Ph2 Capsicum clio! ha!

 

[jesus]

Ah I don't understand some of the abbreviations! Replica LED sound a good call then - they'll freshen up the look too.

 

[VeinAST]

Try and get DEPOs like mine if you can Jon, the Eagle Eye replicas have a black line on the outside of the lights which makes them less OEM! (imo of course)

 

[Jon.G]

This weekends job is to change the oil and filter as its just lapsed 100k. After a lot of looking I went for Castrol Edge 5w30 which is LL04 approved. The M54 takes between 6.5L - 6.9L so 8 should see me with some to top up. Ordered genuine filter and a door screw plug as well.

Castrol Edge 5w30 by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

Genuine Filter and Parts by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

This is how she's currently looking. Seriously thinking of spacers and sportlines next. However, a set of HSD's would be lovely.

Sitting Pretty by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

 

[Lawro]

Looks really nice, I love topaz blue.

 

[Jon.G]

Cheers, Oil service done. 16k until the Inspection I.

Another photo, just because.

 

[Tunst]

looks lovely mate..

 

[Matt Cup]

Nice motor! Hows your's fairing with oil consumption? My dads330ci goes through the stuff worse than an RX8, something like 1l to 500 miles at a push.

 

[Jon.G]

Cheers, I think I've used about 1l in 3k, as the check oil light had started coming on more frequently in the last 200miles. In comparison to what I've heard it doesn't seem to be using anything compared to most. However I don't know what grade oil was in it, so could of been down to that.

What mileage is your dads on?

 

[Matt Cup]

It's over 100k that's for sure. He's changed the grade of the oil from 5/40 to 10/40 and renewed the breather set-up, both of which haven't improved it. I've read about stem seal replacement, but still that could be hit or miss on fixing it.

 

[Jon.G]

Ah right, I've heard a lot of people say 10w40 is a no no in these. I guess if its burning a lot, its probably doing no harm.

 

[Matt Cup]

Actually scratch that..... got my grades wrong, he was on 0w40 and changed to 5w40.

 

[Jon.G]

Test fitted some 15mm spacers today. Look much better, however i'm going to run 12mm's up front.

15mm Rears by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

15mm Fronts by Jon Garrett, on Flickr

 

[jesus]

Nice - how much do the Sportlines lower by? This could look fantastic.

 

[Jon.G]

I've seen a few places say the following:

Front: 45-50 mm
Rear: 20-25 mm

However they're for 330Ci non-auto springs, and from what I can find out they don't do auto springs. Mine is 40kg heavier than a manual, so might drop a bit more at the front.

 

[jesus]

Sounds like it will sit just right in that case. Are there photos online of other peoples' with them fitted?