When the current generation 3 Series BMW was introduced for the 1999 model year, it was not a case of "just in time." In fact, the previous E36 car was doing a marvelous job of staying young. It was still regarded as the king of the small luxury sport sedan segment; in fact, some would argue that it was the sole occupant of that niche. Its engines were powerful, its suspension was very well sorted, and it lacked for very little indeed. It was aging as gracefully as Kim Bassinger.
So the E46 had its work cut out for it. Not only did it have the unenviable task of replacing a car with no serious faults of its own, it had to raise the bar even higher in the areas of style, luxury and performance. Style and luxury were slam-dunks. It took the sleek lines of the E46 to show how dated the E36 had become, and the luxury content was suitably notched higher as well.
But it wasn't until just this year that power increases made their way to the car. Originally introduced with its predecessor's 2.8-liter inline six-cylinder engine, the 328i and 328Ci were fine cars, no doubt. But new style and a new chassis code cried out for more oomph.
For the 2001 model year, the 2.8-liter engine that had powered 3 Series cars for so long was upgraded to a larger 3.0-liter version. Boasting 225 bhp and 214 lb-ft of torque, it gives the 330 a very pleasant extra kick in the pants, all while retaining the legendary smoothness and sound of BMW's classic straight six.
Of course, "enough" never is for some people, and they are always looking for more. One year after its introduction, it's time to check the pulse of the 330 aftermarket. How has it kept up? Just fine. The changes made to the engine were enough to cause some retooling, and some companies have not yet caught up. The good news is that many of the styling and other cosmetic enhancements from the earlier E46 cars bolt right up to the new one. And remember, this is just one year later. There is more coming, to be sure.
Our website list (europeancarweb.com) is not comprehensive, and there are certainly some out there that we've missed. In our pursuit of this guide, we tried to include not every company that sells parts, but rather those that manufacture parts for the cars. However, this isn't an endorsement of the companies listed. Rather, the guide is intended to help you along as you tune your own BMW 330, be it an i, Ci or convertible.
330 Tuning News
We talked to some of the big boys in the BMW tuning industry and asked them which upgrades they've been successfully using on the BMW 330i, and this is what we found:
Dinan: This veteran tuning firm offers engine software to work along with some of its other upgrades, including a cold-air intake, rear muffler, and a high-flow throttle body that reportedly produces an extra 6 to 7 hp and increases throttle response. Dinan's software speeds up the drive-by-wire throttle system, and the company also offers software for 330s with automatic transmissions to speed and firm up shifts, in addition to allowing more rpm by reducing clutch slippage, thus reducing transmission temperatures. Dinan is currently working on a lightweight clutch and flywheel assembly.
Active Autowerke: AA has successfully tested its software program, which has been yielding substantial horsepower and torque gains, especially when used in conjunction with its intake kit and exhaust system, which they now have available as well.
BMP Design: BMP had a 330i at last year's One Lap of America, equipped with BMP's H&R coilover kit. The company also has Supersprint's full exhaust system available for the 330i, which includes headers, metallic racing cats and a stainless-steel muffler.
Eibach: Eibach's Pro System Plus includes its own shocks, springs and swaybars. The system will lower the car between 1.0 to 1.3 in. up front and 1.0-1.25 in. at the rear, depending on the exact 330 model. The swaybars are 27mm and 21mm for the front and rear, respectively.
European Racing Technologies: ERT looks to release its cold-air intake and exhaust in early 2002. In addition, a supercharger system is currently undergoing testing that will reportedly produce 90 more hp and will be available at the same time.
Turner Motorsport: Turner offers Bilstein coilovers known as the PSS and PSS-9 coilover kits. The PSS system offers height adjustability whereas the PSS-9 is more advanced, offering nine-way damping adjustments. The company also works closely with Jim Conforti and has his intake system for the 330i available. The software to go with it is currently in the works and will be out soon.
330 Tuners & Parts Purveyors
Active Autowerke
9940 S.W. 168th Terrace
Miami, FL 33157
(305) 233-9300
Fax: (305) 253-8921
www.activeautowerke.com
Active Autowerke is a name familiar to BMW enthusiasts, and the company's turbocharged M3s have been featured in this magazine. While turbo kits are not currently available for the 330 or the E46 M3, AA has plenty of other toys to keep BMW enthusiasts happy. Cosmetic items such as the round billet shift knob and billet hand brake dress up the interior, while the beefy strut tower braces can be complimented by the billet oil filler cap. For more power, AA offers its ECU upgrade, which it claims is good for peak gains of 6.9 horses, with 13.4 lb-ft of torque.
ASE Chips
4075 E. La Palma Ave., Ste. M
Anaheim, CA 92807
(866) ASE-FAST (273-3278)
Fax: (714) 632-9345
info@asechips.com
www.asechips.com
Well known in Europe for its chip tuning expertise, ASE Chips has established a foothold in the United States as well. With 18 years of experience, ASE's chips are designed for high-octane fuel, and the company claims a 10-30 percent increase in power, depending on the application. ASE does require that the original ECU be shipped to it, but promise a 48-hour turnaround from the time the ECU is received.
AutoThority
3769-B Pickett Rd.
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 323-0919
Fax: (703) 323-7325
sales@autothority.com
www.autothority.com
AutoThority has been on the cutting edge of BMW performance since 1975. Its products are used worldwide in race cars and high-performance street cars.
B&B Performance Exhaust
23045 N. 15th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
(888) 228-7435
(623) 581-7600
Fax: (623) 581-5640
info@bbexhaust.com
www.bbexhaust.com
Specializing in high-end exhaust systems, B&B offers cat-back and other components for a variety of cars. Recently, the company introduced its cat-back system for the 330. Boasting an average increase of 4 bhp and 5.3 lb-ft of torque across the rev range, it's a smooth-sounding way to add a little kick to the E46's tail.
Bavarian Autosport
275 Constitution Ave.
Portsmouth, N.H. 03801
(800) 535-2002
Fax: (800) 507-2002
info@bavauto.com
www.bavauto.com
In addition to offering its own line of suspension, braking and computer upgrades, Bavarian Autosport boasts the exclusive North American distributorships for Zender and the new European tuner Mutec. Both companies offer body styling kits for the 330, and both display the subtle aggressiveness that one would expect from fine European tuners. Bavarian Autosport also offers Hamann components.
Bekkers Import
731 S. Westover Blvd.
Albany, GA 31707
(800) 624-5410
Fax: (229) 436-1794
www.bekkers.com
Known as one of the leading distributors for factory BMW performance parts, Bekkers carries a full line of E46 M3 replacement body components for the 330i. These components include an M3 front spoiler, widebody bumper kit (coupe only) and trunk spoiler.
Bilstein
14102 Stowe Dr.
San Diego, CA 92064
(800) 537-1085
www.bilstein.com
In the minds of many, "Bilstein" is simply German for "shock absorber." The renowned manufacturer offers two different suspension systems for the 330. The first is the Professional Suspension System, or PSS. This allows for adjustable ride height through the use of threaded struts in front and adjustable spring perches in the rear. The PSS9 offers all that plus nine-way adjustable struts. Either system can be adjusted with the vehicle sitting on the ground; dismantling the suspension is not required.
BMP Design
3208 Park Center Dr.
Tyler, TX 75701
(800) 648-7278
Fax: (800) 254-4143
bmpdservice@bmpdesign.net
www.bmpd.com
The folks at this Tyler, Texas-based firm has had its finger on the pulse of BMW enthusiasts for over 20 years, and shows no sign of letting up. Currently, BMP offers a full exhaust system for the 330. The system includes headers, mid pipes, resonator and muffler. A race-only version is also available. BMP also offers its adjustable rear lower control arms, which dramatically strengthen the suspension in addition to aiding in camber correction. In addition, BMP imports Hartge components.
Claus Ettensberger Corporation--CEC
16200 S.Figueroa St.
Gardena, CA 90248
(800) 766-0064
Fax: (310) 329-3159
info@cecwheels.com
www.cecwheels.com
Claus Ettensberger Corp.--better known as CEC--is the exclusive importer of premiere European tuner AC Schnitzer. Offering a variety of performance and cosmetic enhancements, the pieces can be purchased separately or as a complete package. Products range from aesthetically pleasing shift knobs to a 3.2-liter conversion kit. Shown is the AC Schnitzer S3 Sport.
Dinan
865 Jarvis Dr.
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(408) 779-8584
www.dinanbmw.com
Dinan is virtually a manufacturer unto itself. Offering a variety of supercharger systems for most BMWs, it currently offers upgraded computers, intake and exhaust systems and other parts for the E46 cars.
DTM Power
12 Meem Ave., Ste. E
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(240) 247-5116
Fax: (240) 632-9619
www.dtmpower.net
DTM Power imports European Supercharging Systems (ESS) Performance Products Vortech-based supercharger kit for 330 BMWs. Producing a claimed 342 horsepower at 7 psi, the kit comes with a 16-page installation manual and all hardware needed, for just under $6,000. DTM Power is also the East Coast dealer for Wheel Power.
East Coast Induction Systems
236 South 9th St.
Lindenhurst, NY 11757
(631) 957-0924
Fax: (631) 957-0900
ecisbmw@yahoo.com
www.ecisbmw.com
ECIS offers cold-air induction systems for 3 Series cars, including the E46 models. It is also a distributor for Active Autowerke's products in the New England area.
Eibach Springs
17817 Gillette Ave.
Irvine, CA 92714
(949) 752-6700
www.eibach.com
Eibach springs are at the heart of the world's top racecars. That racing expertise directly translates to the company's less exotic offerings for the street. For the 330, Eibach has introduced its Pro-System, which consists of a full set of four Pro-Kit springs mated to Eibach's own Pro-Dampers.
Eurosport
537 W. Pickett Ci., Ste. 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
(801) 886-2185
Fax: (801) 886-2189
eurosprt@xmission.com
www.sharked.com
Eurosport is the place to go for Jim Conforti performance products. Currently, only intake systems are available for the E46 cars.
evosport inc.
1831 Overview Cir.
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(888) 520-9971
Fax: (888) 520-9972
info@evosport.com
www.evosport.com
Founded in 1999 by Simon Atik and Brad Otoupalik, evosport has rapidly gained recognition for its customer service and wide selection of performance gear. In addition to offering products like H&R Springs and Supersprint exhausts, evosport also offers its own carbon-fiber trim kit for the E46 cars. Not an overlay, this eight-piece kit replaces the stock door and dash pieces. Combined with evosport's carbon-fiber shift knob and hand brake handle, and it's a complete interior makeover.
Ground Control
3885 Dividend Dr.
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
(530) 677-8600
www.ground-control.com
Breaking new ground in suspension development, Ground Control offers sophisticated coilover packages for the new E46 BMWs. It also offers various race-ready suspension components, such as camber and caster correctors, bearing kits and other suspension components.
H&R Special Springs
3815 Bakerview Spur #7
Bellingham, WA 98225
(888) 827-8881
www.hrsprings.com
H&R offers a complete line of performance suspension parts for the 330. The company divides its spring packages into five groups. The Stage 1 O.E. Sport Springs offer minimal lowering and a compliant ride, Stage 2 Sport Spring kit is more aggressive, and Stage 3 Race Springs are designed for track driving. H&R also offers its Stage 3.5 Cup Kit, which is a combination of specially matched springs and dampers. The Coil Over is a Stage 4 setup designed for high performance street as well as light track use. H&R also offers wheel spacer kits that push stock or aftermarket wheels to the edge of the wheel wells.
K&N Engineering
1455 Citrus Ave.
Riverside, CA 92502
(909) 826-4000
tech@knfilters.com
www.knfilters.com
If you have an aftermarket performance filter on your car, there's a good chance it's a K&N. These reusable cloth filters are almost synonymous with open-element and performance filters. The company offers replacement filters, and supplies performance filters for many aftermarket intake kits.
Koni North America
1961 International Wy.
Hebron, KY 41048
(859) 586-4100
Fax: (859) 334-3340
www.koni-na.com
Koni offers suspension kits for numerous BMW models. For the 330, Koni offers its Threaded Suspension kit, which includes progressive lowering springs and a threaded adjustable lower spring seat.
Korman Autoworks
2629 Randleman Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27406
(336) 275-1494
Fax: (336) 274-8003
sales@kormanfastbmw.com
www.kormanfastbmw.com
Korman Autoworks has been the driving force behind winning racecars worldwide. Currently, the company offers a variety of bolt-on performance and handling modifications for the BMW E46.
MTC Lighting/HIDs4Less
(877) 571-5538
(508) 455-1350
Fax: (801) 459-9950
sales@hids4less.com
www.hids4less.com
Not every E46 BMW comes with the Xenon HID headlight system. Known for its distinctive bluish cast, these lights are more than just pretty. They cast a much brighter pattern on the ground, and generally are less energy consumptive than their Halogen counterparts. MTC Lighting, along with HIDs4Less.com, now offers HID lighting kits for E46 BMWs. OEM quality, they carries a 5-year warranty.
NR Automobile Accessories
4521 Van Nuys Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(818) 986-8881
(818) 501-4214
Fax: (818) 986-8882
www.nrauto.com
In addition to a wide variety of other styling accessories, NR is probably best known for its colored gauge face kits. NR offers the usual black (or other color) on white that reverses to colored numbers at night on a black background. However, the company recently introduced its "EL-Glo" faces. These present a white background with colored numbers in the day, then switch to a glowing indigo or green face with amber numbers at night. It's an eye-catching combination.
Racing Dynamics
4750 Eisenhower Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22304
(703) 823-0202
Fax: (703) 823-0842
sales@racdyn-usa.com
www.racdyn-usa.com
Racing Dynamics is almost always on the shopping list of BMW enthusiasts. Why? A wide selection of performance and cosmetic parts for virtually every BMW car. The E46 is no exception, with plenty of dress up and go-fast products available, from full body styling kits to performance exhausts and suspensions.
Race Marque Systems
14418 Oxnard St.
Van Nuys, CA 91401
(818) 778-6106
Fax: (818) 778-6109
rms@racemarque.com
www.racemarque.com
Race Marque Systems has been producing race and street performance products for BMWs since 1985. More recently, the company has become associated with supercharging. Its newest kit for the E46 is similar to the one for the E36 cars. Using a Vortech V2SQ centrifugal supercharger, it adds approximately 100 bhp. An optional aftercooler is projected to add about 40 bhp more.
RD Sport
11397 Slater Ave.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(877) RDSPORT (737-7678)
(714) 540-5100
Fax: (714) 540-5111
sales@rdsport.com
www.rdsport.com
RD Sport currently offers its selection of wheels for E46 BMWs.
Rocky Mountain Motorworks
1003 Tamarac Pkwy.
Woodland Park, Colorado 80863
(800) 544-5357
Fax: (800) 544-1084
sales@motorworks.com
www.motorworks.com/bmw
Rocky Mountain Motorworks offers a huge selection of aftermarket and OEM accessories for the 330.
Rogue Engineering, Inc.
139 Arcadia Rd.
Allendale, NJ 07401
(201) 594-1505
Fax: (866) 728-5500
info@rogueengineering.com
www.rogueengineering.com
Rogue offers its own line of performance products for BMWs. For the E46, this includes brake upgrades, short shift kits, aluminum interior trim pieces and soon, exhaust systems.
StopTech LLC
3541 Unit A, Lomita Blvd.,
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 325-4799
Fax: (310) 325-6627
sales@stoptech.com
www.stoptech.com
The name says it all. Founded in 1999, StopTech aims to be the leader in brake upgrade systems. Its E46 kit combines all the tricks, too. A CNC-machined 7075 T-6 aluminum hat, huge 332 mm ventilated AeroRotor discs, 4-piston calipers and stainless-steel brake lines are all included along with mounting hardware. The discs are available flat, slotted or drilled.
Supersprint North America
3208 Park Center Dr.
Tyler, TX 75701
(800) 239-7232
Fax: (903) 581-8206
www.supersprintna.com
Formed in 1955 with the objective of designing and building the highest quality exhaust systems in the world, Supersprint currently offers a race-only stainless-steel header for the 330i, and will have an exhaust system available soon.
TC Kline
(614) 771-7744
Fax: (614) 771-4913
E-mail: Info@TCKlineRacing.com
www.tckline.com
Derived from its extensive experience in racing, TC Kline has produced a set of camber/caster correction plates and blade adjustable swaybars for the 330i. The camber/caster plates are precision machined, polished and then anodized to ensure the highest quality, and feature a spherical ball joint in place of the stock upper strut mount. The blade adjustable swaybars have the advantage of allowing someone to tune bars from very soft to very firm with infinite adjustability in a matter of minutes.
Tuning Zubehoer
1816 Angus Ave.
Simi Valley, CA 93063
(877) ZUBEHOR (982-3467)
Fax: (805) 526-9424
tzinfo@tuningzubehor.com
www.tuningzubehor.com
From its vast selection of European tuning equipment, it's no surprise that the mail-order company Tuning Zubehor offers plenty for the E46 BMWs. Just a small sampling includes a very beefy strut tower brace from Raid HP, Mattig headlight "eye brows," and in.pro clear and smoked taillight lenses.
Turner Motorsport
207 Elm St.
Amesbury, MA 01913
(978) 388-7769
Fax: (978) 388-4202
info@turnermotorsport.com
www.turnermotorsport.com
If you watch Speedvision World Challenge racing, the name Will Turner might be familiar to you. His bright yellow and blue 328i is almost always running at the front. Turner founded Turner Motorsport in 1993 to provide BMW enthusiasts with quality performance gear at a reasonable price. As a distributor for brands like Bilstein, H&R Springs, Supersprint and European manufacturer Eisenmann, selection is not a problem. Neither is performance, with hard-core engine buildups available as well. Turner Motorsport also offers a selection of appearance and bolt-on performance modifications as well, such as the short shift kit, aluminum pedal set, clear lens set and cold air intake kit shown here.
UUC Motorwerks
1356 Kearney Dr.
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
(732) 398-0001
Fax: (888) 830-5401
info@shortshifter.com
www.uucmotorwerks.com
What does UUC stand for? Underground Upgrade Club. UUC Motorwerks caters with a wink and a nod to those who "must" upgrade their cars. But this secret society includes several teams in the Speedvision Touring Car championship, not to mention countless customers. UUC offers a wide variety of performance enhancements, such as its "SwayBarbarian" anti-roll bars, brake upgrades, exhaust and spring kits, and stiffer transmission mount replacements. On the cosmetic side, carbon fiber trim, shift knobs and short shift kits are among the items available.
Wheel Power
16401 Gothard St..
Huntington Beach. Ca. 92647
(714) 375-9666
Fax: (714) 375-7790
sales@wheelpower.com
www.wheelpower.com
Wheel Power is more than just wheels. As the distributor for Hamann products in the U.S., it offers a wide selection of tuning options. From the subtly aggressive add on kits to the extreme wide-body GT-R shown here, Wheel Power caters to every taste. The cars have the power to back up their looks, too, with 3.2-liter engine conversion kits, suspension and braking improvements and a host of other upgrades.
XP Engineering
2464A North Glassell St.
Orange, CA 92865
(714) 921-3BMW (269)
Fax: (714) 921-3270
support@xpengineering.com
www.xpengineering.com
XP Engineering offers a selection of Dinan engineering and stock replacement parts for the E46 cars on its website.