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Ruesta

Andy's Imola 330Ci

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I thought it was about time I put a thread on here for my recently purchased Imola 330Ci. I had a Topaz 328Ci before, never got around to creating a thread for it (despite all the bits I did my self) and in September 2015 it was rather harshly written off. It took me all of about 10 mins to decide I wanted another E46 when the 328 was written off, and this time I wanted one with a few more options and ideally a sport.

3 days later I picked up this:-

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The specs:

She's a 2003 330Ci Sport so obviously has all the usual sport options but also has heated electric leather, power-fold mirrors, a climate comfort windscreen, OEM xenons, 3 rear headrests, aluminium black cube trim, professional navigation, Harmon Kardon and most likely a few other bits I've missed. So a fair few more options than my previous coupe and being a sport has the anthracite headlining which looks so much nicer than the grey stuff in my old one.

The black wheels were on the car when I got it, they will be my winter wheels as I have a nice new set of 19" Ispiri sat at home waiting to go on for the summer. I had these for my 328, they were a gift from my girlfriend for a birthday last year but fortunately I never got around to fitting them. Had they been fitted in the accident the rear one would have been trashed. 

As you can see it has tinted windows, again on there when I got it and although I'm not usually a fan I think they work well against the Imola especially with the shadow line trim.

I think it might be on lowering springs as it seems lower than my 328 was before I fitted the coil-overs. Either way I'm happy with the height and ride at the moment so currently have no plans to drop it.

The previous owner also fitted LED rear lights, the slightly tinted versions.

I had a good look over her before purchasing, especially where the subframe was concerned. As some of you will know I had the dreaded subframe issue on my 328 which meant a journey half way up the country to Dyno Torque and a fairly big bill to put it right so I really didn't fancy going through that again. This one looks spot on. She's very clean underneath and there's no rust what so ever on the rear arches.

She needed a few things which helped me negotiate a discount the price, but they were all usual E46 issues, nothing to worry about. So within a couple of weeks of getting her home I had done the following:-

Changed the oil, air filter, cabin filter, oil filter, replaced faulty thermostat, front wishbones replaced with uprated Meyle parts, front drop links again with Meyle parts, front brake discs, pads and ware sensor - all Meyle.

The only other thing I have to get done is the oil filter housing gasket but I have the parts so that's next on the list.

I also did the i6 Automotive DISA upgrade/rebuild and I'm glad I did as the original DISA flap was in a right state. I've fitted new front fog lights and a black 330Ci badge on the rear. She's had 4 wheel laser alignment which solved a steering angle sensor error I was getting. Oh and a few bits of trim replaced to tidy things up inside - rear iso-fix covers for example.

So a few pictures below shows how she sits now, my personal number plate included. She has had a full clay and machine polish since I got her which brought the lovely Imola paintwork up a treat and removed a whole load of scratches and swirls. It was the first time I had used a machine polisher so its not perfect but I was very pleased with the results.

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Here's a nice beading shot taken in the first rain after the big detail I did - always like a nice bit of beading!

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And above, the reason I changed my fog lights, not only were they fogged up with loads of condensation the reflective foil was charred and brown.

 

So that's about it for now. I'm well chuffed with her, love the colour and have become a fan of the black wheels.

I will update as and when.

 

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Edited by Ruesta
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On 2016-1-4 at 13:42, Ashley1995 said:

Love an Imola Coupe. Looks really nice that and a good spec too! 

I believe that the sports were slightly lower than the SEs anyway? that may be why its looks lower to you. 

Thanks Ashley. Aside from the colour, the spec is one of the main reasons I went for it, that and the great condition she was/is in... Only recently clocked over 100,000 miles so still young in mileage terms too.

Sports being slightly lower would explain things...., My previous coupe was an SE, and although it looked fantastic once I fitted the coil-overs and dropped it down real low, it took some of the enjoyment out of driving it, constantly having to be careful not to catch it on the ground, not to mention the embarrassment when I got it beached on a speed-hump in sainsbury's car park! I'm happy with the height of my sport so will most likely keep it that way, depending on how it looks with the 19's on in the summer of course :-) might end up fitting some eibach sportlines at that point, we will see,.

Always liked your E30 by the way, some great work on the restorations too.  

Edited by Ruesta
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12 minutes ago, benny2097 said:

Imola red one the best colours in my opinion, nice car

Thanks.

When I was looking I was hoping to find one with the options I wanted in either Sparkling Graphite grey, Silver grey, or Imola red.

I'm glad I found the Imola one.

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Very nice matey, I've just purchased a 01 330ci in imola too. Never had a bmw before but so far I love it. Im liking the wheels too, I still have the mv1 wheels on mine but want some 19" csl style wheels. Then I want led rear lights better headlights. Just removed all harmon kardon system to install a good one. I've put a pioneer double din in too.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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22 minutes ago, ric330ci said:

Very nice matey, I've just purchased a 01 330ci in imola too. Never had a bmw before but so far I love it. Im liking the wheels too, I still have the mv1 wheels on mine but want some 19" csl style wheels. Then I want led rear lights better headlights. Just removed all harmon kardon system to install a good one. I've put a pioneer double din in too.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Ahh wicked. You should definitely get some LED rears, they really smarten up the rear end.

The black wheels on mine are 18" but I have a set of 19's to put on for the summer which are a very similar style. 

Have you started a thread for yours? Be interested to see how the double din pioneer looks.

That reminds me, I had my factory nav updated too with the latest maps and software, thanks to a fellow forum member. 

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2 hours ago, DJ Syxx said:

Congrats on the new purchase, must have been a little gutting with the 328 being written off. Looks real nice and clean.

Thanks mate. Yeah, I was totally gutted when my 328 got smashed. I'd put a fair chunk of cash into it over the 3 years or so I had it, she was running perfectly, was mechanically sound and aside from a few bits of paint, was exactly as I wanted it.

Still, rather than mope around feeling sorry for my self I started looking for its replacement within 24 hours and had the Imola three days later. The new one is a much better starting point though both condition wise and spec, I'm well chuffed with it.

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1 hour ago, bennno2005 said:

Looks nice and very well specced!

Lower grill could do with a paint mind!

Thanks.

The bumper grille is next on my list, it looks awful!

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10 minutes ago, avalaugh said:

Great looking car mate emoji106.png

Any chance you've still got the old front left fog light ?

Even if it's totally broke with a cracked lens I could do with it, making a cold air feed for my super charger clubby emoji106.png

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers mate.

You're in luck, I still have both and of course your welcome to them. Send me your address via a PM and I will pop them in the post.

I was looking at your supercharger build yesterday as it goes, love how OEM it looks.

Edited by Ruesta
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1 hour ago, gaz-777 said:

Looking great buddy, Imola always benefits from a good polish. What Ispiri wheels do you have? 

Thanks. Your right, it looks amazing once polished, especially at dusk. Imola's a great colour, but then so's yours.. Sparkling Graphite isn't it? I couldn't find a good one in Sparkling G when I was looking.

I can't remember what the Ispiri's are called, there a CSL style. I will look out a link and post it up. 

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4 hours ago, Daz 330 Cs said:

Good choice on the rims, i have the same. In black with 10J rears B)

I bet the 10J's look epic. I didn't go that far, my rears are 9.5J and 8.5J fronts. Love how concave the rears are, 10J's must be even better!

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On 06/01/2016 at 19:24, gaz-777 said:

Yeah mine is Sparkling Graphite, those wheels look nice, not cheap either. I've been looking at the Ispiri range myself, thinking of changing the wheels this year. 

Had them over 6 months now though, cant wait till the summer comes and I can finally get them fitted. 

I really like the ISR6 Ispiri's too, they remind me of the porsche supercup wheels, not sure how they'd look on an E46 though hence why I went for the ISR10S

Edited by Ruesta
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Well not a big or exciting update but just to keep things up to date..... I replaced the nasty side indicators today with a nice new OEM pair. Didn't take any pictures but I'm sure everyone knows what a new side indicator lens looks like ;)

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On 19/01/2016 at 11:04, sdjfaulkes said:

Nice car dude - did you notice any difference in performance once you'd done the DISA rebuild?

Thanks mate. Apologies for the delayed reply, been manic at work this week.

I didn't notice anything performance wise, but I wasn't expecting to. It was done simply as preventative maintenance. I did the same rebuild on my previous 328Ci, just to be sure nothing was going to drop into the engine, no matter how small the risk.

Its worth pulling your DISA out if you haven't already, just inspect it to make sure nothings amiss. The DISA flap on my Imola 330 was flapping around freely so wasn't doing what BMW intended. The rebuild kits are not very expensive and its an easy DIY so its worth doing in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Ruesta
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I haven't been on here for a while now, been real busy at work and nothing really to report. Kept her nice and clean buts that's about it.

However, I got a little bonus this month so with summer round the corner and my 19" Ispiri wheels waiting to go on for the summer, I thought I best treat them to some tyres... Got a full set of Goodyear F1s at a very reasonable price but then started to think..., what's it going to look like with an inch larger wheel and the standard M-Sport height........ ummmm

I knew I didn't want to go down the route of cheap coilovers this time ( I just couldn't help my self on my last E46, kept lowering them more and more until it became impractical - to the point I got stuck half way over a speed hump in Sainsburys car park!) 

So I've just purchased a set of Eibach sportlines and a set of Bilstien B4 front and rear shocks along with new front and rear top mounts, bump stops and dust covers. Plus replacement pinch bolts, rear shock bolts and various other little bits to aid in the suspension refresh.

Looking forward to getting it all fitted now - the finished result that is......, not really looking forward to fitting it all!

Will post up some pics once done...

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