Hey Guys, I got a few quick questions for my fellow E46 M owners. Ok, teh situation is I am home on Christmas Break and nobody is willing to hire for 2 1/2 weeks. Naturally I am thinking about CHEAP things to do to my car, aside from reg maintenance that would be helpful. Now I have a few friends who know the cars better than me willing to help out. So I was wondering if I removed the rear seats, just for awhile; how much of a PITA they are to take out, put back in etc. I don't really need them b/c I am 19 and single. If anybody else has any ideas they would be greatly appreciated and I will def try them out to see if they work. Let me know guys, thanks.

BTW - how much do the rear seats weigh?

It's literally 3 bolts I believe to pull them out. You lose (guessing because Kevlar posted this awhile back and I do not specifically remember 45 lbs+) It's very easy to do, just a bit tough to make sure not to scratch anything when removing them. You lift up a piece of plastic and the corners and it comes out. Of course I just cliff noted this, search for it, there was a write up about it.

Thanks man I'll def do a search. Any other ideas on DIY stuff I can do at home over the break? THanks guys.

Nick

Thanks man I'll def do a search. Any other ideas on DIY stuff I can do at home over the break? THanks guys.

Nick
Take off your wheels and de-oxidize them?

Clean the inside of your exhaust/de-oxidize (mind you this will only last a week or so polished) but makes it looks more like a show car.

Clean engine bay.

Clean airfilter.

Fill in any paint chips and wax/buff.

Take out passenger seat :stickoutt

Remove those amber corners and find the correct paint color code and paint them. (more professional + gun)


Ummm, as far as DIY I'm out of idea's. You could do the 14? step Mequiars kit...that would take a LONG time.

Thanks for the ideas man, anybody else? I just got the hook up on some angel eyes for $70, so those will be going on the car as well. Everybody else is welcome to chime in as well.

That's ridiculously cheap, where did you get them at?

A friend of mine has got teh hookup, its pretty sweet. What did you mean by de-oxidize my wheels?

You can get this product that you put on your wheels, it removes every single bit of grime, wax, tar, rubber, water marks etc. off your rims. It's incredibly easy and it makes you realizes how dirty your rimes actually were. Plus it doesn't mess with any of the clear coats on teh rims etc.

For example on your M3 rims, it will make them much more reflective and brighter because your wheels are oxidized (takes about 6 months for metal to oxidize)

Where can I buy this wonder product? Sounds pretty good to me.

Where can I buy this wonder product? Sounds pretty good to me.
Forget the name of it that I used. Asked the show n shine section of the forums; they will immedaitely jump all over it and give you some good stuff.

Sorry I'm late to the party guys...

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 border=2><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>32 </TH><TD noWrap>Seat - Rear Bottom</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>13.3</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1</TD><TD noWrap align=right>13.3</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>33 </TH><TD noWrap>Seat - Rear Back Left</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>12.7</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1</TD><TD noWrap align=right>12.7</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>34 </TH><TD noWrap>Seat - Rear Back Right</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>25.0</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1</TD><TD noWrap align=right>25.0</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>35 </TH><TD noWrap>Seat - Back Tilt Latch Assembly</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1.5</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>2</TD><TD noWrap align=right>3.0</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>36 </TH><TD noWrap>Seat - Rear Side Moulding</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>3.0</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>2</TD><TD noWrap align=right>6.0</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>37 </TH><TD noWrap>HeadRest - Rear</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1.5</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>2</TD><TD noWrap align=right>3.0</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TH noWrap align=middle bgColor=#b0b0b0 height=14>38 </TH><TD noWrap>ArmRest Rear Side</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>1.0</TD><TD noWrap align=middle bgColor=#ffff00>2</TD><TD noWrap align=right>2.0</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

first column is the weight,
second column is the quantity
third column is total weight savings

Thanks Kev, any ideas on some cheap "tinkering" that I could do over my holiday break?

Cheap tinkering huh? Nothing I can really think of :( If you really wanted to you could take our your headlight trim and paint it. Or you could go to your nearest dealer and buy the 330 titanium headlight trim.

Try playing with your tire pressures to find the best fit for your driving style.

Hmm... hard to think of anything else really.