My E92 335i Project/Progress

[Midnightclub]

So nearly 4 years to the day that I bought the E46 I decided it was time for a change so I bought this.. 2006 E92 335i manual 1 owner from new with 56k on the clock, this is the earlier version which is twin turbo, there's a bit of lacquer peel on the rear bumper but other than that it's fairly mint. 

Pics from the night I picked it up, will post some better ones at some point:





Goes very well standard, although I do plan on doing a stage 1 at some point (around 370hp) . Other plans will be swapping over the 'CH's' from the E46 providing they fit and some little touches to break up the colour, thinking carbon rear spoiler, maybe black kidneys but definitely black window trims instead of chrome. Enjoying the softer suspension after 4 years of driving daily with coilovers.. 

All in all, loving it so far and that means that the E46 will be up for sale very soon.

[partybish]

Nice one! I think this would look good wearing the CH's. Always wondered how easy is was to swap out the chrome surrounds - do they clip off?

[Midnightclub]

Cheers mate, I think so to.. the rear arches are really quite flared on these although the colour hides it well in the above pics, should hopefully have a bit better stance on the CH's due to the offset. Currently on a set of bridgestone potenza run flats (nearly new so can't complain) but hoping swapping to normal tyres will improve the ride a bit more

Not sure about this one as I haven't looked into it yet, but on the E46 the main trims are screwed in (you just peel back the rubber trim) and then the strips on the doors are just pressed into place, hoping this is the same as it didn't take long

[RetroPug]

How much did you pay for it, if you don't mind me asking?

[Midnightclub]

Give or take i paid 8, I had a choice between low mile SE's or 5+ owner 100k+ M sport's - the only difference is the bumpers, skirts and some interior trim

[mcglynn]

Nice car, ive went the opposite way.

Have an e92 330d and have just bought an e46 320d lol. Bit of a downgrade but needs must

Lovely in the red, my e46 is red too! Black bits & wheels will set it off perfectly [OK HAND SIGN]

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Midnightclub]

Cheers mate, ahh i see haha. Wasn't too keen on the red when i first saw it online, but it looked great in the flesh and really grew on me. Don't see many red ones about either. What body shape e46 did you go for? 320d do make great dailys

[Midnightclub]

Couple of better pics, courtesy of Andy. Have everything needed to map it already, just waiting to hear back from flux.

[Midnightclub]

Did a wheel swap the other week, think 19's are probably the 'perfect' size but i'll take the extra ride comfort - much better than on the runflats anyway.

[partybish]

Looks good on them, are you still planning on doing the trim in black? How are you finding the car after having had it for a while now?

[Midnightclub]

Cheers mate. Yeah still planning on doing essentially the 'shadowline' pack so all the chrome/silver bits black, can't really do anything til the 46 is sold as i need the space.

I really like it to be honest, it's like 2 different cars - its perfectly quiet and comfortable the majority of the time but then you put your foot down, exhaust flap opens up and it sounds epic. It piles on speed very easily, enough to get you in trouble quite quickly but it's so stable and quiet that you do have to check the speedo (it'll do over 100 in 3rd), can only imagine what it'll be like mapped. Handles nicely though, the steering is variable so you never need to give it much lock and can keep both hands on the wheel the majority of the time. It's about the same on fuel as my 330 on average which is nice. Yeah that's about it i think, it makes a great daily and i think i made the right choice over an M3 as it's just a lot more usable in the real world (in my opinion)

[Midnightclub]

Minor update, not really much to report. It's mapped now, goes very very well (around 350+hp, 400+ lbft) - mapped using an app on my phone, welcome to the future! Other than that it flew through it's first MOT since I bought it, will be needing a service soon. Changed a rear shock but that's all it's needed. Still on the look of for some black trim bits, already got a set of black front grilles waiting to go on.

E46 is gone now so I can finally start cracking on the '6 now that the weather's looking up. Couple of pics after it's first clean of the year:

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Couple of better pics, courtesy of Andy. Have everything needed to map it already, just waiting to hear back from flux.

Hopefully we could help with your insurance. 
Regards. Dan.

[Midnightclub]

Yes you did actually, think it's my 4-5th year with you guys now! Am I right in saying essentially any further mods (that don't increase the HP) won't increase the premium further?

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Yes you did actually, think it's my 4-5th year with you guys now! Am I right in saying essentially any further mods (that don't increase the HP) won't increase the premium further?

Hi again,

Yes that's correct although there might be exceptions, i.e if you make additions that are significantly more expensive to replace than the original parts there might be an increase.  But generally non-performance enhancing mods won't affect the premium.

Regards,

Dan

[Midnightclub]

Thanks for the quick response, I thought as much - cheers

[Midnightclub]

So over the past couple weekends I've been getting rid of all the chrome trim and swapping it out for gloss black instead. Bought a genuine set of BM' black grills a couple months back so fitted those. Painted the main window bits as it would probably be a bit awkward to wrap but wrapped the door trim pieces, pretty happy with how it turned out given I've never wrapped anything before. MUCH prefer it to the chrome & red scheme. 










Had a gloss black 'high kick' spoiler turn up today which is the next bit to go on, will post some pics when it's done. I'm not normally a fan of black wheels but it's been something I've been considering to go with the whole black/red scheme.. Have seen a set of M3 competition pack wheels which would look great.. but not cheap.

[Eeyore]

black looks great. is that trim around the windows really painted? how did you mask it off? looks like a great finish

[Midnightclub]

Thanks man, yeah it's painted - i bought another set of chrome ones to prep as they're much cheaper than the black versions, then painted them and swapped over, they're just clipped in. Honestly the finish isn't great right up close but good enough for now.

In other news, i test fitted my spoiler earlier and i think it looks sick. Makes the rear end much more aggressive. Will upload some pics tomorrow

[Midnightclub]

Test fit of the spoiler









Think the chrome 335i badges will need to go black once it's fitted. I'm a big fan of the spoiler though.

[Midnightclub]

Had a leaky charge pipe, they're also prone to exploding/cracking with the higher boost pressures so that's been upgraded to a nice metal pipe, complete with cnc oem flanges so fitment is perfect.

Original, note the oily residue:



Upgraded charge pipe, it does actually have a port for meth injection - something i may look into for future:



I decided to retain to stock diverter valves instead of going for a shouty BOV, may see what they sound like venting to atmosphere.

Andy also did a little '30-70' video, currently seeing a boost response/lag issue which I'm fairly certain is down to the boost solenoids just being aged (they sit right above the super hot turbos) - which is seeing boost come in about 3-500 rpm later, still looks to be between 3/4 seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfUFtzpBeE

[Midnightclub]

Long time no update, but as i've been posting recently why not!

It got an uprated stepped 7.5" intercooler which saw a big drop in intake temps, especially over sustained runs. A new MHD Stage 1+ map which puts it to around 390hp and 420 lb/ft and I swapped out the CH reps for some CSL style wheels, much better suited to the e92 chassis offset wise - 8.5J front and 9.5J rear.

Other than that I've just been enjoying the car, it took a trip to the 'autobahn' and went off the clock quite easily (160+). I had to change the rocker cover gasket as that had started leaking (like every BMW ever..) but it's been pretty reliable considering (touches all the wood).





Future plans are an LSD, bigger/uprated brakes (as despite being 348mm discs they don't do too well after repeated heavy stops) and potentially some hybrid turbos + supporting mods to get it to around 5-550hp

[Mighty306]

Wow, you're chasing big power. Does a stock bottom end hold up well with those numbers?

[Midnightclub]

It's relatively easily attainable on these tbh! Quite a few people in the states have seen 700+ WHP on a completely unopened engine. Quite a few people in the UK running between 5-600hp with hybrid twins on pump fuel (98-99 RON) - just have to make sure you do the associated supporting mods. It's already quick as it is, I think 500 is probably a good number for road use or prison time is probably likely