Hey everyone,

Just picked up my E46 last night, needs a bit of work but all in all happy I finally have a 'man' car.

Have just come from a long line of unreliable but a lot of fun cars most of which were lowered and had low profile tyres so driving the bimmer is so weirdly smooth and comfy, will take a bit of getting used to I think, and hope it proves to be a reliable mile munching steed.

Couple of things I need to check straight away.. whats with that bit of trim around the door that always comes loose in just about every single E46 I've seen? Does that even need to be there? very irriatating with the windows down- flapping about. Secondly... clutch feels weird. I read that it's do with the CDV (?) thing that BMW use to make the gear changes smoother..well I don't like it it gives the clutch zero feel and with an already high biting point, a bit urgh. Have many of you taken this off and is it worth doing without consequences?

Cheers

Welcome aboard ;)

welcome mate.

Welcome to BMWOC :)

Dont forge to get your name down on the S/E Members List in the regional section of the forum,also weve got a Multi Meet at the end of August,be good if you could come :)

Secondly... clutch feels weird. I read that it's do with the CDV (?) thing that BMW use to make the gear changes smoother..well I don't like it it gives the clutch zero feel and with an already high biting point, a bit urgh. Have many of you taken this off and is it worth doing without consequences?

Hi Timo & welcome to the forums!

I’ve scheduled a modification of the CDV (Clutch Delay Valve) on my E87 for next week (Saturday, 3rd August), as I don’t like how this thing works.

Apparently, it’s supposed to ease n00bs of RWD to adapt to the shifting and power delivery much faster, but it can make even an expert driver look like an ##### when trying to shift from 1st to 2nd very quickly; the clutch disengages too slow to make that shift smooth, even on high-end of your rev-counter.

This leads to jerky ride, and it’s the same when you use your engine for slowing down (downshifting). Couple that with M Sport suspension and my passengers usually think, that I can’t drive at all...

I’ll let you know how the car behaves after the mod (more like an upgrade!). At one of my local BMW specialist, this costs £35 and it’s a half hour job.

Edit: Just a side note: the CDV was supposed to reduce wear on the clutch kit, but according to independent tests, when quick-shifting (like I mostly do), this thing actually increases clutch wear, so modifying or replacing it is recommended, especially on engines with high torque delivery, such as diesels.

Hey everyone,

Just picked up my E46 last night, needs a bit of work but all in all happy I finally have a 'man' car.

Have just come from a long line of unreliable but a lot of fun cars most of which were lowered and had low profile tyres so driving the bimmer is so weirdly smooth and comfy, will take a bit of getting used to I think, and hope it proves to be a reliable mile munching steed.

Couple of things I need to check straight away.. whats with that bit of trim around the door that always comes loose in just about every single E46 I've seen? Does that even need to be there? very irriatating with the windows down- flapping about. Secondly... clutch feels weird. I read that it's do with the CDV (?) thing that BMW use to make the gear changes smoother..well I don't like it it gives the clutch zero feel and with an already high biting point, a bit urgh. Have many of you taken this off and is it worth doing without consequences?

Cheers

Welcome to the forum, not sure about the trim to be honest but yes the clutch delay valve can be removed without any problems

Like you said it just smooths gear changes by keeping the clutch engaged longer than it should be, this increases clutch wear but if you want full control over your transmission you can remove it.

Hi everyone, we have a W reg Bmw 318i and have an issue with it losing water. We've had the water pump changed, we've checked the head to make sure that's ok and everything seems ok. I have an idea it maybe the coolant filler bottle, im not a mechanic but my mechanic he seems to think the same, is this a regular fault???