I'm back on E90Post after a 11+ year hiatus, this place has changed a lot since then! I was originally here with a brand new 2007 335 (for sale thread here:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680231). Then I bought an E36 M3 (with the intent of eventually tracking it) and decided I wanted something different for the daily commute and the possible inclement weather so the 335 went.
My E36 @ Mid Ohio:
Earlier this year we moved from Ohio down to Georgia and now I have tracks (plural!) that are within easy driving distance, so I sold my truck and started looking for something fun with some practicality. My intent was to find an E46 ZHP, but I had some alerts set for E90s as I had always enjoyed the platform.
That's when I found and bought this, pictured fresh off the trailer from California:
A SGM 330i with ~56k miles and a manual transmission. It's in really good shape.
First fill up before the test drive:
I had loved my E92 335 but I wasn't all that interested in maintaining the N54 in the long term. The 330 seems to have all the upside of the chassis with the trade off of a little power. I'm really enjoying the N52. It feels pretty much as fast as my S52 E36, even revving a little freer. Plus, it's the last NA straight 6 (in the USA at least)!
The car didn't need much, but there were a few things I needed to address.
First oil change:
A bad picture just after removing the tow bar that I did not need:
New windshield trim replaced using the DIY on FCPEuro... this was a miserable job and my hands hurt for a while after getting it done:
Then, finally, new OEM blackline tail lights and a wash. In my E92 days I was always insanely jealous that the E90s got these, so of course I had to have them:
After that I've just been enjoying it. Now that I have a little bit more time during the track season winter break I think I'm going to get some M3 front control arms and see if that will stop the front tires from rubbing occasionally. If that doesn't work I'm just going to go back to the stock 8"/8.5" wheel widths... I already spend enough time dealing with aggressive tire fitment on my E36.
I'm also considering getting a 335 instrument cluster so I'm not driving around blind to temperatures. I'm a little bit hesitant to swap the cluster on a lower mileage car, I'd be interested in hearing some thoughts on that.
More to come...
(Meeting for the first time)
