325ti Compact advice

[Jimexpl]

Ooh, @Sundayjumper pray tell.....!

I can’t vouch for this particular seller, but it’s one of these:



I’ve got a small old notebook loaded with Win7 and pretty much nothing else, and it works nicely. Google “Delphi clone” and you should find all the info you need.

I have a friend with ISTA on a laptop, but he's 100 miles away. Hopefully my generic code reader will point me in the right direction.

Weird coincidence - I looked up the production date this evening, and it was 8th August (2001)!
I also saw an E46 on the way with V2**GMO on the plate - the last time I bought an E46 the plate was V2**GMO and within 10 miles of this compact...

[Sundayjumper]

Keep us up to date. I'm slightly jealous, I still fancy a 325ti, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd buy while the wife's not looking

[Beany]

Whisper it, but I sometimes wonder myself whether a compact would have suited my preferences more - the 330 is a bit of a beefy thing (properly over a ton and a half), I often wonder if a compact on smaller wheels would feel more pointable.

mind you, most of my driving these days is in town so it'd make little difference

[Rich B]

Whisper it, but I sometimes wonder myself whether a compact would have suited my preferences more - the 330 is a bit of a beefy thing (properly over a ton and a half), I often wonder if a compact on smaller wheels would feel more pointable.

mind you, most of my driving these days is in town so it'd make little difference

a 325ti is still 1480kg. It's only that you bought a lardy Cabrio!

[Beany]

Whisper it, but I sometimes wonder myself whether a compact would have suited my preferences more - the 330 is a bit of a beefy thing (properly over a ton and a half), I often wonder if a compact on smaller wheels would feel more pointable.

mind you, most of my driving these days is in town so it'd make little difference

a 325ti is still 1480kg. It's only that you bought a lardy Cabrio!

Christ, I thought it'd be lighter than that

[integrale_evo]

It’s a normal e46 with a smaller rear overhang. Far closer to a full size e46 than the e36 compact was.

[Sundayjumper]

Perhaps what you really need is a E36 Compact

More like 1200kg standard and very playful once you’ve got a LSD & purple tag steering rack.

[Beany]

Eh, I'll stick to my rust free car, thanks

[integrale_evo]

Yeah, real e46 strong point that

[Beany]

Yeah, real e46 strong point that

ohno.jpeg (65.74 KiB) Viewed 1900 times

[Jimexpl]

Whisper it, but I sometimes wonder myself whether a compact would have suited my preferences more - the 330 is a bit of a beefy thing (properly over a ton and a half), I often wonder if a compact on smaller wheels would feel more pointable.

mind you, most of my driving these days is in town so it'd make little difference

a 325ti is still 1480kg. It's only that you bought a lardy Cabrio!

You definitely notice the weight difference compared with an E46 Cab.
It feels really similar in weight and power delivery to an E36 328i. I think the lack of low down torque gives the impression that it has more top end kick than an E46 330, but much like the E91 325i that we had, you have to use all the rev range to get reasonable performance.

[Marv]

Yeah, real e46 strong point that

I find it helps if you keep your E46 in a dry garage and don't drive it.

[Nathan]

a 325ti is still 1480kg. It's only that you bought a lardy Cabrio!

That doesn't sound right although a quick Google says both 1480 and 1380 kg

Jobbo - please confirm?

[Jobbo]

Found someone on Pistonheads saying it's 1440kg; I had in mind it was a couple of hundred kilos heavier than the Civic Type R which weighed about 1200kg, but I think you'd need to ask Mike to check his magazine collection because I can't be arsed to find it in mine. Or get it on some actual scales. 9" less metal should make it fair bit lighter, you'd think; 50-100kg would be my estimate.

The 325Ti always came with sports seats, sports suspension etc even if it wasn't specced as a Sport model. And they have a lower final drive and quicker steering rack than other E46s, so they feel more alert even if the weight saving isn't massive.

[Nathan]

Certainly makes you appreciate how much lighter cars are becoming

[Marv]

Certainly makes you appreciate how much lighter cars are becoming

Current 2 litre 1-series is 1525KG.

[integrale_evo]

They’re really not

I was surprised that the new m5 was ‘only’ 1800 odd kg, so weights aren’t really dropping, but the equipment and performance you get is increasing.

[Jimexpl]

Keep us up to date. I'm slightly jealous, I still fancy a 325ti, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd buy while the wife's not looking

My OBD reader showed 'idle-speed control valve stuck open' as the only fault. I cleared it and the idle dropped and became smoother - Let's see what happened.
I'll run it for a bit before spending any money, as it has hardly moved for the last three years, so maybe it will loosen up...
Perhaps it had other issues, but it does make you wonder what garages do sometimes, with one replacing the MAF and another taking out and checking the cam sensor..
I treated it to a wash, and the paint is less contaminated than my two year old Disco. All of the shut lines and arches are nice and clean, and I think the windscreen is original!

[Nathan]

They’re really not

I was surprised that the new m5 was ‘only’ 1800 odd kg, so weights aren’t really dropping, but the equipment and performance you get is increasing.

Which is lighter than the last one?

[integrale_evo]

By how much? A few kg here and there is hardly going to make much of a difference. If it was 1500kg I’d be impressed and agree how light cars are getting