The wagon_ e46 touring m/t

[1badg35]

well since the car is hopefully going to be sold soon, I figured now was the time to test fit a few sets of wheels on it before its gone. All of these sets are for sale, and I had a few moments to do so, so why not test fit a few things for the sake of curiosity..

the 3 piece style19s for sale. color is unreal on a white or black car









the compomotives for sale (not sure i put them up yet)















fun putting wheels worth almost as much as the vehicle.. haha

potentially one of the final updates to this thread, not quite sold yet, but hopefully it will be soon. Its been a fun year and a half with this thing

[1badg35]

no, the rear shocks for wagons are the same model number from every manufacturer throughout the entire e46 range.. sedan has exactly the same rear shocks as wagon, as coupe. the fronts are different in length, but otherwise the properties and specs are all the same for the 325 range as well. m3 is a little different up front, but again, the rear was not functioning because of crap parts that were leaking after little use...

[Svenska94Aero]

Don't you think the extra weight in the rear of the wagon would cause the rear suspension issues you're talking about? Hence the 'sedan suspension won't work in a wagon' argument? Stiffer springs and stronger shocks are necessary to cope with the extra weight and balance/distribution thereof.

[1badg35]

yeah, have put almost 20k on the setup with no issues other than the fact that the bc racing parts are not as nice as i would have hoped they be quality wise. Other than that, it requires about 5 min of simple modification to the front shocks and they will then bolt right up.

as for custom valved setup, hard to say but it depends on what youre going for... mine has been a daily and I've been running meaty tires and hoping for a decent ride, so i just went with a standard 325i kit they offered. but thats just me. front shocks would be far better if the body of the shock was an inch or 1.5" shorter overall and if they would do that, this would be my recommendation. rears have heaps more room to go lower, fronts are maxed out and I'm not all that low

i ordered brand new rear shocks from bc when calling to lightly complain. they didnt hesitate to give me a decent price on a new pair of shocks, and sent them right out to me. fixed the issue with the sagging.


the wagon is for sale, and quite cheap for what youre getting by the way. tell all your friends

[Cornerkiller]

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

Would you recommend ordering a custom valved set up from, BC racing? What was your final solution to the rear sagging issue? Thanks so much for disproving all the shit written on e46 fanatics. I'm a new 01 325xit 5 speed owner and have been getting nothing but, "that can't be done" answers until I read your thread.

[1badg35]

After far more time than I wanted to spend on it, she is back and better than ever. Motor runs like it has only a few miles on it, and all of the little things I've learned to live with are no longer there. Everything pulls much more evenly and no bogging at any time like it occasionally had. Very happy to be able to enjoy the daily again. Sick of the jeep after two weeks...

Now to sort the suspension out (should be quick) and get some stock wheels and tires back on her and she will be back in action for me or the next owner.

[244Brick]

Well that good to hear

[1badg35]

well... car has gone under the knife for the past 2 weeks time for a total overhaul and maintenance project. didnt want to have to do so since there is a million other things going on at the moment, but its necessary as the oil separator system has been showing signs of age and all of the hoses are dry rotting by the day as the car gets driven.

it will come back better than ever, likely with every single piece of maintenence done, new rear coils, and new wheels too from the looks of it.... better in every way. whether i decide to keep it or sell, its all around more reliable for the next 100k

update: its definitely up for sale, so tell your friends. with or without the schnitzers. found a newer bmw to get into as i don't need the practicality of the wagon anymore and need a newer car.

[1badg35]

new BC rear shocks on their way. At least that'll be fully sorted out whether i keep or sell the car. no time for the bs, decided to just purchase them new and not worry about warranties or anything..

found out that the black interior that i was going to swap over to is still available…. maybe i should consider this once again. haha. could be the start of something deadly…. all black interior panels, carpets, etc. and then some seats would be in order

oh and until the new custom spacers come in, some e36 m3 contours look like they may be making their way onto the car for the next week or so.

[Tino21]

Your wagon has a lot of potential for a future built. It's pretty rare also.

E91 ftw !!! There isn't to many out there too.

[1badg35]

the wagon is up for sale officially as a feeler. looking at a few e91s and decided i needed the work truck to be newer than an e46..

considering selling the wheels and tires separately and might put up a fs thread today for them separately if someone wants to grab them. the tires have about 1k miles on them, and the wheels were just powder coated as everyone saw a few posts back

[Earl]

Glad to hear you got the rear shocks sorted finally=)

[1badg35]

got the car all sorted out, new rear shocks and adjustment of tire pressure and all seems good to go.. Car drives like it should again, and doesnt rub at all under any circumstance at the same height with the same setup


might be putting the car up for sale as it sits, so if anyone wants a super rare combination of e46 wagon + awd + lowered + manual trans, send over a pm. Its just a feeler at the moment, but looking to get a completely stock e91...

[Tino21]

Thanks, yea my hex caps look huge and makes the lips look small. I saw you guys are making some for the style 5 waffles, I'm sure they're a lot shorter and would be better.

Really sucks to hear that the coilovers aren't doing the job. From what I used to read they seemed good for going very low but I guess it isn't very useful for your needs. I've had the none answering phone calls happen to me for the lips, it drove me nuts !

[1badg35]

awesome tino. we need to get you some gold plated hex for that set though as the current ones aren't doing it justice


so this weekend, did my own alignment on the car as the front end needed work, and jacked the rear up once again to lift the rears. now they are physically as high as they can go, and they likely will just keep falling. I was told maybe it was another issue with the car not the struts… so i checked everything

lower control arms are all set, upper rear shock tower isn't deformed in any way, lower and upper mounts for the springs are all good, no rust anywhere, no deformity. so its just crap suspension.. and no surprise no call back and no email still.