BMW parts reviews

My CAs were replaced at around 50k km by my best guess (close to before I got my car). They are Meyle HDs, and no issues here (not that there should be any at this mileage).

I rebuilt my E46 suspension with Meyle HD control arms and they use ball joints at least as good if not better than ZHP ones.

I've been using standard "extended life" parts store coolant in my Z3 for three years. No issues.

It is best to use the genuine BMW coolant, but in an emergency Pentosin NF antifreeze is apparently compatible with the OE coolant in your BMW.

I'm a fan of Bosch Icon wipers. I just changed a 2 year old set of Icons on my M3 that is parked outdoors with new Icons.

For daily use, check the e36 Zimmermann/Akebono kit from FCP euro, lifetime warranty on them (I replaced mine with no hassle for the cost of shipping). They don't bite as nice as the OEM pads... But they also don't dust over your wheels going to the grocery store...

I also have a '95 325i and recently installed the front and rear "OEM Plus Brake Kit" from Bimmerworld which came with a full set of Zimmerman zinc coated rotors, StopTech "street" pads, new rotor retaining screws, caliper bolt covers, and a set of pad sensors. Last weekend I went for a short drive in the mountains and was very impressed with the overall performance and feel from the new setup. Also so far I've noticed less dust vs the unknown pads that were installed by the previous owner.

Lemforder all the way. Used those for my E46 rack swap.

I have taken 3 tires to track events on my R: Dunlop ZII Star Specs, Bridgestone RE71R and Michelin PSS. I also ran version 1 Hankook RS3 tires on my BMW for both HPDE and autocross events. ZII Star Specs: excellent tread life (9-10 HPDE days @ ~2 hours track time/day), very good dry traction, good wet traction, wide temperature range RE71R: fair tread life (5 HPDE days), excellent dry traction, good wet traction, wide temperature range PSS: I used these for one event as a rain tire as my expectation is that they will not tolerate the sustained heat that a dry session will produce. Good dry traction, excellent wet traction, limited temperature range RS3: very good dry traction, unknown wet traction, limited temperature range; i.e.: they need lots of heat before they get sticky (craptastic for autoX) If I had to pick one tire for HPDE events, it would be the ZII's and that is what is currently on my car. Tires cost money and I value tread life over outright performance and the wear characteristics make the Dunlops about half the cost of the Bridgestones. If someone else is buying my tires, then I'll go with the RE71R's. For autocross use only in a street tire class, then the RE71R's, no question. i have not tried the BFG Rival or Rival S, but based on friends experiences I would expect them to be somewhat similar to the ZII and RE71R, respectively.

My experience of running my previous E46 325i (rare manual) echoes what some of the others are saying.

Cooling system components are flakey at best, especially the expansion tank.