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Now, I joined this forum with a bit of a goal in mind.
Not exactly an immediate goal, but a goal nonetheless.
My name is Gabriel and I'm a photographer/car enthusiast. Some of you may know me from other forums like E46Fanatics or as moderator at BMWMafia.com Obviously, my carmaker of choice: BMW.
I've had my 2004 E46 330 Vert for close to 3 years. In it's 3 years, we've shared some really good times, and some very bad ones as well.
My car has had quite a bit of misfortune throughout time. Random pieces of debris on the road, more than 200 small rock chips on the hood, 3 hit and runs (only bumper scrapes), and a few track-day bruises. Hell, I even got my bumper ripped off on the way to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
In regards to the goal. I've been in a state of disillusion for close to 3 years. I wanted something from my car I believed I could have. And I got damn well close to it. I wanted a performance oriented E46 vert that was surprisingly quick, and handled more than well enough. I reached my goal. That goal, wasn't exactly fulfilling. I ended up with a car that is a thrill to drive, but to me, did not look good.
The best time I had with my car was when I was in it, and didn't have to look at it.
A sad conclusion came to mind. I detest looking at it.
So I landed here.
Before I continue further, I suppose you would like to see what it looks like now:
Here is a list of mods, from the top of my head:
- M Tech II front bumper
- Matte Black kidney grills
- Matte Black window trim
- Satin Black Aex ARC-8's 18x9/255-35 all around
- CF vinyl interior trim
- Alcantara steering wheel
- Alcantara shift boot
- BMW Performance shift knob
- BMW Performance Short Shift Kit
- Eibach Sportlines/Bilsteins
- SuperSprint replica Headers
- Ported Heads
- Active Autowerke custom tune ( really, it's custom)
- Muffler delete (How did I put up with it for a year, I don't know)
- 5mm spacers upfront to clear my struts
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.
I'm here, like I said, with a new goal.
New plans for the car:
- New OEM hood
- Refinish the current wheels in silver. They are 18 lbs each and I love the design.
- Turn everything from Matte to Gloss
- Completely remove all convertible top equipment including soft top
- Hardtop in Silbergrau
- Coilovers time to go lowwwww
- OEM M Tech II front
- OEM M Tech II rear
- BMW Performance muffler
- Half Roll Cage
- Recaro's
- New alcantara steering wheel
- Respray the car completely when I get all the parts I need like bumpers, hood, hardtop.
This will take some time. I don't mind. I got all the time in the world. I plan to keep this car for quite some time. I don't have any plans to replace it. Maybe some day an S54 with velocity stacks would be nice, but that won't happen for a while.
Again, this will take some time and I made this thread as more of a way for me to keep track of where it's going and where I should be. Sort of to keep my head straight and focused on my new goal.
Thanks for looking and I'm excited to be a part of the community.
Not exactly an immediate goal, but a goal nonetheless.
My name is Gabriel and I'm a photographer/car enthusiast. Some of you may know me from other forums like E46Fanatics or as moderator at BMWMafia.com Obviously, my carmaker of choice: BMW.
I've had my 2004 E46 330 Vert for close to 3 years. In it's 3 years, we've shared some really good times, and some very bad ones as well.
My car has had quite a bit of misfortune throughout time. Random pieces of debris on the road, more than 200 small rock chips on the hood, 3 hit and runs (only bumper scrapes), and a few track-day bruises. Hell, I even got my bumper ripped off on the way to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
In regards to the goal. I've been in a state of disillusion for close to 3 years. I wanted something from my car I believed I could have. And I got damn well close to it. I wanted a performance oriented E46 vert that was surprisingly quick, and handled more than well enough. I reached my goal. That goal, wasn't exactly fulfilling. I ended up with a car that is a thrill to drive, but to me, did not look good.
The best time I had with my car was when I was in it, and didn't have to look at it.
A sad conclusion came to mind. I detest looking at it.
So I landed here.
Before I continue further, I suppose you would like to see what it looks like now:
Here is a list of mods, from the top of my head:
- M Tech II front bumper
- Matte Black kidney grills
- Matte Black window trim
- Satin Black Aex ARC-8's 18x9/255-35 all around
- CF vinyl interior trim
- Alcantara steering wheel
- Alcantara shift boot
- BMW Performance shift knob
- BMW Performance Short Shift Kit
- Eibach Sportlines/Bilsteins
- SuperSprint replica Headers
- Ported Heads
- Active Autowerke custom tune ( really, it's custom)
- Muffler delete (How did I put up with it for a year, I don't know)
- 5mm spacers upfront to clear my struts
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.
I'm here, like I said, with a new goal.
New plans for the car:
- New OEM hood
- Refinish the current wheels in silver. They are 18 lbs each and I love the design.
- Turn everything from Matte to Gloss
- Completely remove all convertible top equipment including soft top
- Hardtop in Silbergrau
- Coilovers time to go lowwwww
- OEM M Tech II front
- OEM M Tech II rear
- BMW Performance muffler
- Half Roll Cage
- Recaro's
- New alcantara steering wheel
- Respray the car completely when I get all the parts I need like bumpers, hood, hardtop.
This will take some time. I don't mind. I got all the time in the world. I plan to keep this car for quite some time. I don't have any plans to replace it. Maybe some day an S54 with velocity stacks would be nice, but that won't happen for a while.
Again, this will take some time and I made this thread as more of a way for me to keep track of where it's going and where I should be. Sort of to keep my head straight and focused on my new goal.
Thanks for looking and I'm excited to be a part of the community.
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