[23psi4age]

Hey folks. Just sharing my recent purchase and experience. I am really loving the 330i - definitely not a power house but the noise / revs / gas mileage are awesome! I think I really lucked out and got an awesome car at an awesome price. I have been enjoying sorting out a few issues to get it performing more consistently.

At the end of May I picked up an awesome '06 330i 6MT with 126k miles - Sparkling Graphite over Black - local to me here in South Florida. It was replacing my '11 328i Auto with 51k miles that I had a small accident with and the insurance company totaled it?! I was not hurt and the other party was not hurt and so it ended up being a forced opportunity for me to get out of that loan car payment. Always have GAP insurance, and I overlooked this in my loan so it ended up costing me $$ at the end of the day - but its all good and everything happense for a reason. So I looked for a car I could buy cash and took it as a blessing to get out of a car payment.

After finding and buying a mint '98 Honda Accord EX 5MT for about 2 months I just could not take not being in a BMW anymore. My son said he missed the BMW also LOL.

So I kept searching craigslist hoping I could find something I could afford cash and one late night this car came up. E90 330i Sport - Premium - Navi - Manual Trans - Xenons - Silver Aluminum Trim - Pro Stereo. Really Nicely Spec'ed. I went to see it, made an offer and was able to buy the car. The listing mentioned a few mods but was pretty vague. Overall I was super happy with the car having come to understand these cars weak points and the fact that it was 6MT and in very clean condition. So buying the car the immediate Pros / Cons were:








Immediate Known Pros-
Euro Intake with Grill Scoops
Super Sprint Headers
M Steering Wheel
Euro Tail Lights
Modified LED Gauge Cluster
Working Navi with Good Screen
Working Stereo with no blown speakers
Clean and shiny exterior and clean title clean carfax
Really clean interior
Supposedly good prior maintenance
Recent VC Gasket
Recent Alternator
Recent Fuel Pump

Immediate Known Cons-
Sagging Head Liner
Shaking Steering Wheel
Needed Alignment
Dry Rotted Tires
LED Lights Causing Fault Code Errors
Brake Sensors Causing Fault Code Errors
Long Crank Start - intermittent (mornings)
02 Sensor Bank 1 Sensor 1 Code
Crank Sensor Code
Lack of Power in 3-4k rpm range after warm up

After getting it on a lift for an oil change (Liqui Moly 5w30 and OEM Filter) and looking it over and then researching it I found that the guy I bought it from only had it for 2 months, and before him it was owned/ loved for a long time by an e90post enthusiast. So then there was new found highlights about the car!

New Discovered Unknown Pros-
Active Autowerke Tune for MILV's making 239 WHP
MILV's
Aluminum Radiator with recent Hoses and Reservoir
Clutch Delay Valve Delete
335i Front Brakes with new pads and rotors all around
M3 Front Control Arms and Tension Arms
Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Recent Oil Pan
Recent Battery
Recent Starter Wiring
Recent OEM Bilsteins
Recent Water Pump and Thermostat

I looked up the needed parts and bought them OEM for the cheapest I could getting them from WorldPac / ECS Tuning / Rock Auto / Amazon and began fixing the small issues.

Replaced K&N Air Filter with new OEM - then put back K&N because I liked the sound and throttle response
Replaced Brake Pad Sensors and Re-Set Brake Life - Fault Gone
Replaced Halo LED Bulb with OEM - Fault Gone
Replaced Fog Light LED with OEM just to match
Replaced Crank Sensor - Fault Gone
Replaced O2 Sensor B1S1 - Fault Gone

At this Point it was starting better but still Long Cranking Startup in the morning

Replaced Fuel Filter / Pressure Regulator Assembly - No Fault but finally fixed long crank!!!!

Ironically at the exact same time the car started mis-firing

Replaced 6 Coils with Delphi Metal Body Coil Packs - Fault Gone
Replaced Brake Booster Vacuum Pump Hose that was dry and cracked
Replaced Gas Tank Cap

Then I started to do some "fun" stuff

Installed DRAGintMATS checkered mats
Installed M Tech Ebay Front Lips
Installed 17x9 ET30 TR Motorsports wheels from my Previous Car
Installed New 255/40ZR17
Removed Front Camber Pins
Installed 15mm Spacers in the Rear Competition Motorsports 7075-T6
Fresh Alignment (Was out all over) - Driving like a dream now







The car at this point was working great but I still felt the 3-4k rpm sluggish but realized it was more prevalent when the car had been driven beyond initial warm up and more like heat soaked. So I thought about how it could have been dyno tuned at AA and I know they usually do it after cooling down and with the hood open. So I looked up Heat Soak and read about Intake Air Temperature Sensors and the relocation of them in older generation BMW's and the good results it had in keeping max power after under hood temperatures had gone well past ambient temperatures. So I just tried:

Turner Motorsports IAT Relocation with an additional extender to place it in the front Air Scoop. So far it is working like a dream with a smoother nearly silent idle and a nice consistent pull through the rpms whether from cold start or after heat soak. Also seems to have waken the car up in the 3-4k rpm range where it felt dead after fully warming up. The car sounds and feels strong now like it does first thing in the morning, even in the middle of the day after driving for a while! I placed the sensor here because with your hand, you can literally feel the difference in temperature of all the plastic and components behind the radiator support versus that snorkel in front - it seems to be a drastic difference in heat soaked temp.





So the last mod I want to do is the 3.64 Ratio Differential. I have purchased a few parts to go along with the differential already and hope to get the diff soon:
OEM Drive Shaft Guibos (2)
OEM Center Support Bearing
OEM Differential Mount Bushings (3)

In the meat time I have been really enjoying the car - the mods it has really wake it up and make it a joy to drive. Being a 4 door rev matching and hearing the sweet straight 6 while I am with my son is pretty awesome. I figure I will do the clutch with a single mass flywheel sooner or later as well as the water pump and thermostat so that i can have some peace of mind when going out of town. Thanks for reading!

[FLYIN4D]

Pics?

[Biginboca]

Nice work! You have a great car there. I remember the original sales listing for that car on E90post and thinking that was a sweet 330i.

[Balaman]

Nice

[Volasko]

That engine bay is cleeeeean

[JingChai]

Great car! Looks fantastic for a 2006.

[RobertoC]

Originally Posted by 23psi4age

Hey folks. Just sharing my recent purchase and experience. I am really loving the 330i - definitely not a power house but the noise / revs / gas mileage are awesome! I think I really lucked out and got an awesome car at an awesome price. I have been enjoying sorting out a few issues to get it performing more consistently.

At the end of May I picked up an awesome '06 330i 6MT with 126k miles - Sparkling Graphite over Black - local to me here in South Florida. It was replacing my '11 328i Auto with 51k miles that I had a small accident with and the insurance company totaled it?! I was not hurt and the other party was not hurt and so it ended up being a forced opportunity for me to get out of that loan car payment. Always have GAP insurance, and I overlooked this in my loan so it ended up costing me $$ at the end of the day - but its all good and everything happense for a reason. So I looked for a car I could buy cash and took it as a blessing to get out of a car payment.



After finding and buying a mint '98 Honda Accord EX 5MT for about 2 months I just could not take not being in a BMW anymore. My son said he missed the BMW also LOL.

So I kept searching craigslist hoping I could find something I could afford cash and one late night this car came up. E90 330i Sport - Premium - Navi - Manual Trans - Xenons - Silver Aluminum Trim - Pro Stereo. Really Nicely Spec'ed. I went to see it, made an offer and was able to buy the car. The listing mentioned a few mods but was pretty vague. Overall I was super happy with the car having come to understand these cars weak points and the fact that it was 6MT and in very clean condition. So buying the car the immediate Pros / Cons were:








Immediate Known Pros-
Euro Intake with Grill Scoops
Super Sprint Headers
M Steering Wheel
Euro Tail Lights
Modified LED Gauge Cluster
Working Navi with Good Screen
Working Stereo with no blown speakers
Clean and shiny exterior and clean title clean carfax
Really clean interior
Supposedly good prior maintenance
Recent VC Gasket
Recent Alternator
Recent Fuel Pump

Immediate Known Cons-
Sagging Head Liner
Shaking Steering Wheel
Needed Alignment
Dry Rotted Tires
LED Lights Causing Fault Code Errors
Brake Sensors Causing Fault Code Errors
Long Crank Start - intermittent (mornings)
02 Sensor Bank 1 Sensor 1 Code
Crank Sensor Code
Lack of Power in 3-4k rpm range after warm up

After getting it on a lift for an oil change (Liqui Moly 5w30 and OEM Filter) and looking it over and then researching it I found that the guy I bought it from only had it for 2 months, and before him it was owned/ loved for a long time by an e90post enthusiast. So then there was new found highlights about the car!

New Discovered Unknown Pros-
Active Autowerke Tune for MILV's making 239 WHP
MILV's
Aluminum Radiator with recent Hoses and Reservoir
Clutch Delay Valve Delete
335i Front Brakes with new pads and rotors all around
M3 Front Control Arms and Tension Arms
Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Recent Oil Pan
Recent Battery
Recent Starter Wiring
Recent OEM Bilsteins
Recent Water Pump and Thermostat

I looked up the needed parts and bought them OEM for the cheapest I could getting them from WorldPac / ECS Tuning / Rock Auto / Amazon and began fixing the small issues.

Replaced K&N Air Filter with new OEM - then put back K&N because I liked the sound and throttle response
Replaced Brake Pad Sensors and Re-Set Brake Life - Fault Gone
Replaced Halo LED Bulb with OEM - Fault Gone
Replaced Fog Light LED with OEM just to match
Replaced Crank Sensor - Fault Gone
Replaced O2 Sensor B1S1 - Fault Gone

At this Point it was starting better but still Long Cranking Startup in the morning

Replaced Fuel Filter / Pressure Regulator Assembly - No Fault but finally fixed long crank!!!!

Ironically at the exact same time the car started mis-firing

Replaced 6 Coils with Delphi Metal Body Coil Packs - Fault Gone
Replaced Brake Booster Vacuum Pump Hose that was dry and cracked
Replaced Gas Tank Cap

Then I started to do some "fun" stuff

Installed DRAGintMATS checkered mats
Installed M Tech Ebay Front Lips
Installed 17x9 ET30 TR Motorsports wheels from my Previous Car
Installed New 255/40ZR17
Removed Front Camber Pins
Installed 15mm Spacers in the Rear Competition Motorsports 7075-T6
Fresh Alignment (Was out all over) - Driving like a dream now







The car at this point was working great but I still felt the 3-4k rpm sluggish but realized it was more prevalent when the car had been driven beyond initial warm up and more like heat soaked. So I thought about how it could have been dyno tuned at AA and I know they usually do it after cooling down and with the hood open. So I looked up Heat Soak and read about Intake Air Temperature Sensors and the relocation of them in older generation BMW's and the good results it had in keeping max power after under hood temperatures had gone well past ambient temperatures. So I just tried:

Turner Motorsports IAT Relocation with an additional extender to place it in the front Air Scoop. So far it is working like a dream with a smoother nearly silent idle and a nice consistent pull through the rpms whether from cold start or after heat soak. Also seems to have waken the car up in the 3-4k rpm range where it felt dead after fully warming up. The car sounds and feels strong now like it does first thing in the morning, even in the middle of the day after driving for a while! I placed the sensor here because with your hand, you can literally feel the difference in temperature of all the plastic and components behind the radiator support versus that snorkel in front - it seems to be a drastic difference in heat soaked temp.





So the last mod I want to do is the 3.64 Ratio Differential. I have purchased a few parts to go along with the differential already and hope to get the diff soon:
OEM Drive Shaft Guibos (2)
OEM Center Support Bearing
OEM Differential Mount Bushings (3)

In the meat time I have been really enjoying the car - the mods it has really wake it up and make it a joy to drive. Being a 4 door rev matching and hearing the sweet straight 6 while I am with my son is pretty awesome. I figure I will do the clutch with a single mass flywheel sooner or later as well as the water pump and thermostat so that i can have some peace of mind when going out of town. Thanks for reading!

I bought your car two weeks ago, I am now the 4th owner, and I really appreciate what you did in the car, I am very happy, car drives like a dream ( except for a little hesitation once in a while when is idling have code p172 and p175 running too rich), actually the milage is 139k.
the previous owner sent me a link to your post and I am curious to know if you changed also the differential ratio and the water pump and I will be glad to talk with you about the car.

[Biginboca]

Unplug the Turner IAT sensor Extension cable and plug your MAF back in like normal. That might help your codes. The Turner IAT is snake oil and can’t be helping your fuel trims either