# Alarming ZHP info!!!



## drallafi (Nov 16, 2004)

Went to speak to my friendly BMW salesman today regarding the end of my M3 lease. Noticed a few Performace Package equipped 330's on the lot, so I inquired about them. Knowing that I may want to get one before the E90 tirade begins, I inquired as to when the last production date of the Performace Package equipped coupes would be. Here's what I was told...

"You can currently add a Performance Package to *any* 330, but I'd suggest you wait a few months and not get one. BMWNA is considering pulling the Performance Pacakage as an option, and using the new 3.0 liter engine from the E90 for the last run of E46 330's." :bawling:

Here, I explained to him that the engine tweak was the least of my concern, and to me, the Performace Package was worth the cost in the upgraded wheels *alone* (I can't *stand* style 68 wheels). He assured me that at this point, it was only a consideration, and I still had a few months (at least) with which to make my decision.

Anyone else heard anything about this?
Interesting, no?


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

I somehow doubt the new Valvetronic is going into any E46.


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## philippek (Jul 31, 2003)

I've heard that rumour too. But I still don't consider it alarming.


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## bluetree211 (Apr 19, 2004)

drallafi said:


> using the new 3.0 liter engine from the E90 for the last run of E46 330's.


That would be the best of both worlds for those not favorable to the e90 design


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## nzDave (May 20, 2003)

I thought I read in some tech article about the new engine that the engine it self is taller because of the Valvetronic, and hence the higher hood and door lines :dunno: Could be another reason that engine won't go in the e46. Then again the e90 is due out it in maybe 7-8 months, so why even bother with the engine in an e46?


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## drallafi (Nov 16, 2004)

*Probably not true.*



nzDave said:


> I thought I read in some tech article about the new engine that the engine it self is taller because of the Valvetronic, and hence the higher hood and door lines :dunno: Could be another reason that engine won't go in the e46. Then again the e90 is due out it in maybe 7-8 months, so why even bother with the engine in an e46?


Well either way, I hope it's false. Imagine all the ticked off ZHP owners!


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## hmr (Jul 28, 2002)

Always take anything that a salesman says with a grain of salt. Typically, American BMW salesmen (or at least the once I've encountered) are very uneducated about the product they're selling.


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## 2bor!2b (Oct 20, 2004)

hmr said:


> Always take anything that a salesman says with a grain of salt. Typically, American BMW salesmen (or at least the once I've encountered) are very uneducated about the product they're selling.


Just a grain? I'd suggest at least 2lbs...

At one point a bimmer dealer argued with me that BMW is unique because it is 
a private company so it can devote to product innovation. I pull the stock quote of
BMW AG in front of him to shut him up...

Salesman discounted boards such as this as breeding ground of rumors, without 
knowing that they are also equal or even farther distant from the truth


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## wag-zhp (Apr 8, 2004)

drallafi said:


> Well either way, I hope it's false. Imagine all the ticked off ZHP owners!


What do you mean? I like mine just like it is. Sure, I'd love more power, but when I ordered my car it was the best match for me that was available. If I HAD to have more power I could have wrangled an M3 into the budget, gotten a Mustang, WRX, or other car that is faster...

New cars are almost always going to offer more power, safety features, gadgets, etc... That's why people lease. There's always going to be a "better" car comming out next year.

I mean gee, look at those poor bastages that bought Ferrari F50s, the new 575 can run circles around them.


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## hugh1850 (Jun 20, 2003)

I'm surprised the opposite is not the case, i.e. the e46 323i, 328i


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## BE1w330 (Nov 11, 2004)

I konw the e46 is still available in the 330Ci through March, I just ordered one for pickup March 17.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

philippek said:


> But I still don't consider it alarming.


:stupid: 

I mean even if they did remove that as an option, you'd still get a great car, and chances are you could probably buy the bits and pieces anyway.


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## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

wag-zhp said:


> I mean gee, look at those poor bastages that bought Ferrari F50s, the new 575 can run circles around them.


Yeah - those fargin iceholes!!!

Yeah I don't trust the dealers as far as I can throw em (which isn't too far). The dealer by me told me that nobody buys the Nav system on the 3-series because there's no CD player - only a tape deck. I had to talk to his boss to straighten that one out.


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## drallafi (Nov 16, 2004)

rumratt said:


> You know they're heavy as all hell, right? Anti-performance wheels, if you will.


Yea, but I'm amateur enough that it doesn't make much of a difference to me; I won't be autocrossing. As far as asthetics, they're 10x the wheels the style 68's are. (can you tell I *really* don't like the 68's?)


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

drallafi said:


> "You can currently add a Performance Package to *any* 330, but I'd suggest you wait a few months and not get one. BMWNA is considering pulling the Performance Pacakage as an option, and using the new 3.0 liter engine from the E90 for the last run of E46 330's." :bawling:
> Anyone else heard anything about this?


Anything is possible, of course - but it is extremely unlikely, given development costs, potential installation and related drivetrain issues, the very brief production run, the effort in tooling up for the E90, and of course historical precedence - not to mention the cost of federalising this car for the US market for only a few months. Perhaps your dealer is thinking of the Z4 or 530i, both of which will receive the new engine IDC?


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## tierfreund (Nov 12, 2004)

2bor!2b said:


> Just a grain? I'd suggest at least 2lbs...
> 
> At one point a bimmer dealer argued with me that BMW is unique because it is
> a private company so it can devote to product innovation. I pull the stock quote of
> ...


Not too fast my friend...

One of the few times your salesman had a point. While BMW is a regular AG with stock on the market, more than 50 percent of that stock is held by one family (the Quandts), just as the largest stockholder of Porsche is the Piech/Porsche family.

And now just look wich two german car companies have had the most long term success.

They are under less pressure to produce the dreaded "shareholder value" in the short term in favour of long term success. Porsche even droped out of some stock indexes, loosing capital gain in the stock market by not publishing quarterly reports on the basis that the management believes doing so puts too much pressure on short term sales success at the cost of long term strategic thinking.

Now the salesman may just have been selling the usual BS not knowing what he was talking about. But by probably by conicidence, he struck some truth.


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## LarryN (Dec 24, 2001)

andy_thomas said:


> Anything is possible, of course - but it is extremely unlikely, given development costs, potential installation and related drivetrain issues, the very brief production run, the effort in tooling up for the E90, and of course historical precedence - not to mention the cost of federalising this car for the US market for only a few months. Perhaps your dealer is thinking of the Z4 or 530i, both of which will receive the new engine IDC?


:stupid:

Every body/engine combo has to be tested and approved by the NHTSA. The costs of that are not trivial, and has historically been the decision maker for BMWNA to not import model/engine combos. I can't see them changing the M54 to the valvetronic unit on the E46, nor do I see then halting the ZHP option before the e90 coupe introduction. Historically, they usually option-up cars at the end of their model cycle to keep them selling (like incl. moonroofs, allowing ZHP option on coupes, etc.).


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## hugh1850 (Jun 20, 2003)

Also, why wouldn't they start putting these new engines in the 5 and X5 series too? :dunno:


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

hugh1850 said:


> Also, why wouldn't they start putting these new engines in the 5 and X5 series too? :dunno:


They will - there is nothing to indicate that they won't.

An X5 with a 7,000 rpm redline, and (for most buyers) an automatic gearbox is not going to be the best combination of car and engine around. 3.0i sales are already down to a trickle in Europe, as buyers flock to the 370 lb-ft diesel version. The new 3.0 litre engine will probably make little difference to the performance of the X5 - although its superior economy will no doubt be *very* welcome.


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## hugh1850 (Jun 20, 2003)

andy_thomas said:


> They will - there is nothing to indicate that they won't.


Oh, I am too, I just find it hard to believe that they wouldn't introduce the new 6 cyl. in their higher trim class before, if not at the same time, as their entry-level vehicle. Considering the 5er has already been updated, I would think it would be odd not to upgrade the engine there as apposed to upgrading the engine in an "obsolete" 3.


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