The wagon_ e46 touring m/t

[Tino21]

Gotta show these 3 piece

[MadMax]

when you said you have to haul so much things and donīt want it to be visible from outside...I just had to think of what would happen if you turn this into a panel van...with your fab skills that shouldnīt be a big problem.

[1badg35]

haha i thought about it once before. would be absolutely hilarious as an e46 panel van.

i have to say i sort of like the stockish look of the car. it doesnt grab any attention which is really nice for a change. Everything else I drive causes a commotion wherever i go, so its semi nice to have a "boring vehicle".
maybe im getting old.. haha

I have to say loving these coils so far. the car is much more confidant and much more fun on the road, while still being soft enough to easily be a daily. took it for a little drive after work by the water and its a lot better planted. Nothing like the fairlady or anything, but for a daily driver its certainly getting better to drive

[mike-81-240d]

The guys on bimmerforums are retards generally. Like retarded enough to tell themselves that their 540 automatic with blinding HIDs and fake M6 wheels is somehow better than a M5 6spd with factory hids and BBS LM's. Needless to say I sold my Bummer, and left that forum after a year.

[1badg35]

yeah its a little sad. the first time i noticed was the diy section with write-ups on how to do the simplest of tasks.

the how to open your hood DIY…. haha



so as a small update, the ACS are getting repowdered this weekend in a new shade and going onto the car as soon as i get some time thereafter.

the other wheels will go together as soon as i get some time…probably in about a month as i have been swamped with projects prototyping. the 2014 wheel line updates and cap line is just about to release, and it takes up all of my after work time coordinating

[1badg35]

here is one of the finished sets... now to adjust the coils downward and these will be going on shortly

last second change to gloss silver metallic powdercoat double coat of the everclear.. decided simple was the way to go here. and the 255/40 pss look right at home on there.


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the 3 piece set will be built some time this month when i finish all of the customers and friends builds, and will get some tires on it.. going to be using them for one or two shows and a FS sign will be going up for the wheels. anyone with an e46 non m should take advantage of this as its one of the most interestingly finished sets so far.. and its not overbearing with color

[Tino21]

looking forward to see that set... and those ACS on !

[1badg35]

decided the lips and barrels are getting powder a week from saturday. should be able to assemble and throw the azenis on shortly thereafter.

the ACS potentially are going on tomorrow if i get out of the office at a normal hour. picked up some sweet OEM locking lug bolt sets for the car, and now have to dial in the suspension and get it sorted out.

[1badg35]

so a few notes before i get to the pictures, and they are basically the negative thoughts..

-BC front coils are awesome, rears not so much. its moreso the design of the damn car not so much BCs fault. the separate spring from strut is a huge pain in the ass and very sketchy in my opinion.

-front coils are maxed out… beyond maxed out in reality, as i removed all of the unnecessary collars off the fronts to get them to this height.. and its not that low. exactly what i wanted, but not by any means low. there is a 1.5 finger gap all around

-had to droop front spring .5" and remove all of the pre-load on the spring by doing so.. major NO in my book. still drives well, but i don't like the thought of being beyond the coil overs capacity for up and downward stroke. thats why companies should consider making every threaded body for every single car at least 1.5-2" shorter. i wouldn't mind having my fronts cranked half upward to be at this height.

-the rears keep settling, and more than expected. so far I've lifted the rears up 7 times, and still they keep settling down to about .75" lower than this height. Almost as if blown shocks, but not.. this is a letdown in my book, and i might be calling BC to alleviate this one by getting new shocks.



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main gripe- why in the hell do coil over companies make parts that don't match? Front coil overs maxed out at their lowest setting, and rears almost all the way cranked up… and still can't get this reverse rake to disappear.


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ok so, sounds very negative right? in all reality I'm really hard on the products i pay good money for, and expect high levels of quality always.. Reality is- The car drives a million times better than stock, handles so much tighter than before, takes bumps with a very solid feeling, and drives well overall. night and day to the before. its much more solid and thats huge in my book. Im never going to get the 3600lb lump to perform like its on rails, but i also don't want it to. I put a few hundred miles on it each week and want a good balance of comfort and handling.



and onto the pics- remember meaty driver ready stance- 255/40 pilot super sports all around, sitting at about 1.5 fingers gap and camber up front -2.75 rear stock angle (didn't measure it).

[Tino21]

Car looks great with the wheels, for a daily I think it has a great height and look. Sucks that those coilovers weren't to your expectations and had to sacrifice a little ride quality to get to that heigt in front.

BWS coils would have worked no ?

[1badg35]

that'll be the solution likely. Jaze and I have spoken about them a few times and possible test fit of the standard e46 parts but my schedule didn't allow for it due to the fact that i drive the car every day and couldn't have it up and out for a few days.

Neither of us knew at the time if they would fit the AWD cars.. With that said, now that I know that BCs do, its likely those will as well. might have to be the next step. I hear they even have a threaded collar where the sway bar end link hooks up to, and if thats the case, it would even be another major plus of that product.

[SGM330]

Nice, even though the coils fit, I wouldn't slam a XI because I've read that the axles go bad when the car is lowered too much.

Like I said I READ that on the forum and don't have first hand experience, just wanna give you a heads up!

[1badg35]

yeah, i already was able to drive the car over a pit in order to see the axle angle, and honestly the angle of the shafts at both ends are still very close to stock. The car is by no means low but still with that said, its definitely not going to cause much more stress on the parts. Im actually a bit surprised by the design of the axles and how they sit relative to the lower arms. very odd design but it works quite well.

the only gripe about the way the car is currently set up is the rear suspension being separate shock from spring..

got a second over the weekend between work and work to clean the car.. working 7 day weeks all hours is a real pain. stress of owning a studio i guess







machined 3.5mm off the pad on all four corners in order to alleviate the daily driver and rubbing don't mix scenario. for the people wondering what the specs are..

18x9+23.5 all around.. 255/40/18 michelin pilot super sports. camber front is -2.75 rear is stock.

[1badg35]

Calling bc today to sort a few things out. So far not impressed. That's putting it nicely. The rears are not on the same par as the fronts. The fronts take bumps stiffly but well, the rears bounce and hop.. Not acceptable. When I transport 10+ sets of wheel faces in the back of my car I expect them not to hop around and get chipped because of poor suspension.

Oh and they settled 30mm since the last time I lifted them up (time #11). Again just sad

[Earl]

So the BC's are good for those who just want to go low, but not good for those who want a nice stiff rear suspension?