Hello all, I joined BWMCCA about a month ago and have been checking out this forum for a while and thought it was time to introduce myself. My name is Tony but my close friends call me T-Bone (not sure why) and as mentioned in the title line I live in Jacksonville, FL (actually Orange Park, but nobody knows where that is). I bought my first BMW in September of 2007 and I absolutely love it. It's a 2003 Titanium Silver 325i, 5 speed manual, with black leatherette interior and brushed aluminum trim. As I drove my baby around Florida I started noticing more and more cars that looked exactly like mine and a majority of them were driven by 30 something women. I was sure that they didn't have manuals and probably didn't care that they were in the ultimate driving machine. They were just on their way to pick little Jimmy up from soccer practice. I decided however, that I wanted my car to be different. So I started searching the internet for anything that I could do to my car to make it different without compromising the integrity of the machine that I had come to love so much. Then I found a forum called E46Fanatics.com, the members there are mostly younger, 20's and a few of us old men in our 30's. Exactly what I was looking for, they are into modifying their bimmers. I know the words modifying makes most bimmer owners cringe and evokes images of big wings and stick on graphics. Not these guys they abhor those kind of things, there are some of the younger guys who have unpainted carbon fiber parts and crazy body kits but for the most part it is very tasteful. Most of the things I have done to my car a non BMW owner wouldn't even recognize. Like the smoked turn signals or the fact that I have 330 ZHP wheels on a 325, or that its lowered 1.25" front and .75" rear and probably my favorite and most subtle mod the keyhole delete. I plan to do quite a few more things to her, actually the list is quite extensive. The only thing stopping me is $$$, a word to the wise if your going to start modding your car be careful it can become quite addicting. It has however, really given me more of a sense of ownership as I feel I have created something different from the norm. Before a car was always just something that got me from point A to point B, but now its something else completely, it's a part of me. About a month after I got her... A work in progress... A beautiful day for a drive... At Cars and Cafe, in Orlando... Thanks for looking, I am looking forward to becoming a active member of the First Coast Chapter of BWMCCA.
nice looking bimmer... love the ZHP wheels! i saw the sticker on the windshield, are you stationed in JAX? i have a cousin who was there for a few years. Didn't see many bimmers while i was up there for a week. as far as ur car's exterior it looks really great and i'd just add ZHP front bumper and presto!
Welcome to the CCA. Your E46 is hooooooooooooooooooooooooot. I want to get my wife those wheels for her xi. A ZHP front bumper would complete the package. Otherwise, she is a beauty.
Thanks Mike and Chris, I was stationed at NAS Jacksonville but I retired after 20 yrs in August of last year. As far as the ZHP front bumper I've been thinking about it. I believe it's called a M-TEC II? I'm not sure however, that I want it to be a total ZHP clone. A new front end is definitely in the plans some where down the road though.
Well, it all depends on how crazy you want to go with it. You could pull off a complete ZHP transformation and nobody will ever know that you have a non-ZHP, unless they're an enthusiast and look at the interior (or engine bay). I have to admit, I'm really liking those smoked turns and rear lights. The ZHP wheels are my second favorite OEM wheel, after the 550i Sport wheels. I'm so glad you didn't just leave your E46 to be just another stock-looking 325i, which are abundant even here in the northeast. You see one on almost every corner and are driven by... yes, you guessed it, 30-40 year-old women who are either yakking away on their phones or are sitting so close to the steering wheel, they'd almost certainly be killed by the airbag in an accident. Rock on, brotha!
Well, some of us 'old codgers' (I'm old enough to be your dad.) who have been around this club for upwards of a quarter century aren't above throwing on a set of aftermarket wheels and suspension ... Can't say I'm in favor of darkening lights for any reason since there's always somebody out there dumb enough not to see them. We tend to strongly discourage that on cars (like mine) that were hard to see at night in stock form. Otherwise, I've got no problems with your modifications. But honestly, for the best bonding experience (and the most fun you can have in your car with all your clothes on!), you need to take some club driving schools. Do it before you mess with your suspension so, when you do, you'll be much better equipped to see why you made those changes. Trust me; my Florida pals will teach you things you couldn't imagine.
CR, I can understand your concerns about the tinted turn signals and seeing as I am a minority here in Florida (I actually use mine) any signals are a plus. I did however test them out after I installed them and there is actually not much of a drop off in visibility. They tend to look a bit darker in the pictures that they actually are. I hope you didn't take the "old men" comment the wrong way, that was just my sarcastic way of saying that I was one of the older people involved on that particular forum. I can't wait to get involved with the local chapter here and meet some of the more tenured members, I know that is where the wealth of bimmer knowledge is at. I do plan on attending one of the upcoming driving safety schools, I would really like to learn just how far I can push this car in a legal and safe way. I have no experience on a track or anything like that and believe it would be a blast!
Yes, you want to attend those schools! The first step is what I think you mean by "safety schools." On the West Coast, we started calling them Car-Control Clinics some years ago, because "safety school"---well, it's like the difference between Health Class and Sex Education. Anyway, whatever you call them---chassis dynamics labs, whatever---it is great fun to DELIBERATELY exceed the limits of traction. . . in a safe environment. But then. . . well. . . if a car-control clinic is a schoolyard spliff, then a high-performance driving school is the Hard Stuff. Beware! Beware! Spend a weekend learning advanced driving skills on a race track is SERIOUSLY ADDICTIVE! Next thing you know you'll be craving legendary tracks like Road Atlanta, and signing up for the Oktoberfest driving school next Fall, and the next thing you know. . . Well, they're going to start calling you a Clubbie. PS: Blue opalescent pearl "ghost" flames look great on silver.
What is it with you and flames, Satch? I did forget to mention: Don't let budget get you down on your soon-to-be addiction. I went through two Driver's Schools on more than $300 weekly salary at my old job AND got everything I needed paid. Where there's a will, there's a way! This was a major concern for me when I started, but my God did my determined and addicted brain find that way...
