E46 Fanatics Forum banner

330i sitting up for a year, what should i expect out of it?

3K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  Mun0425 
#1 ·
So right now I have had this 01 330i for about a year. It has 298k miles on it and it still pulls hard and drives exceptionally smooth (Ive only had one case of the tranny slipping from first to second). But i havent replaced the tires, spark plugs, or anything major on it. The only thing that was recently replaced was belts, airbag recalls, and abs yaw sensor.
I did take it out today for a good spin on a backroad, good turns and hit 90 on a long stretch. But it just feels like it just is struggling to maintain grip on the road even on small turns. Could this be because the tires sat up for so long? I do know that hard tires can be a main cause in crashes.

-Would replacing the tires really make a difference (these are about 5 years, one year sitting up).

-With the engine approaching 300k is it bad to really let it rev to redline? (Ive done this several times already and everyting sounds, smells fine, and the power delivery is smooth.) I just am afraid im gonna kill the engine since it has been running for such a long time.

-Should i be cautious of taking a car with this many miles out for spins like i have today?
 
#2 ·
-tires could make a difference, depending on the current setup you have. For example, comparing a set of well used lower PSI generic tyres to a set of new Pirelli tyres would make a big difference
- almost 300k miles is a decent effort out of the engine! You mention one case of tranny slipping (assuming auto?) if so, then my guess is that he gearbox is what will first let go
-it's not bad to rev it high, just make sure it's well warmed up. I would recommend at least an oil change if it's been sitting and opt idling for a year to give it a chance


Sent from my iPhone using E46Fanatics
 
#4 ·
Yes it is an automatic in fact, i really want a manual but ill have to wait for that until i buy an 02 m3.

I dont know if other 330i's have this but you can definitely hear that gearbox revving up with the engine its a nice sound, but i dont know if it is a GOOD sound. I know all cars have sounds come from transmissions, but this is kind of a high pitch gear noise on top of the engine noise.
 
#11 ·
Here you go: https://www.flickr.com/photos/159558524@N04/?

let me know if the link works.

The interior for the most part is still holding together, the seats amaze me on how good of shape they are in. The gear selector leather dry rotted a bit during the cars hibernation, for some reason the cover on the gear selector has come loose.
For some reason, within its time sitting up, the mid speaker cover on the driver's side has come off, and the leather has formed these grey spots that were not there before. I honestly can't explain why the leathers around the airbag covers are undone, it was not like that before the car sat up. But unfortunately, the sound system suffered pretty badly during the year, before it sounded amazing with great bass and mids and highs. Now it is rattly at any volume above 20 (I have an aftermarket stereo) and at certain frequencies the side panels vibrate pretty bad. Im taking the car to a body shop soon to fix the leather, and hopefully they can do something about the rattly speakers.
 
#9 ·
watch out for tire dry rot, I bought a bimmer that was staying put for a couple years, and the first day I drove it the right front tire popped, and then I saw that all of the tires had bulges on the sides waiting to pop, even though the thread was still decent. Inspect inner and outer tire wall, especially if it's a low profile tire
 
#13 ·
Yep, original gear box and engine, original everything except radio. But i mean i never liked the original roadio anyways because tracks would always skip on a cd when you hit the slightest bump. The rear cd player in the trunk is hooked up ti the front and it works.

Im pretty sure the gear box has never had a fluid change before as well. In some cases trannies can last forever when they are untamepred with. The manufacturers sell em sealed for a reason. My friend has a 240K mile 320ti e36 and with a transmission that has never had a fluid change and he used to grind the crap out of the gears just to try to finally break it but it just wont break.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top