Author —— Gaga User: Mr. Dong Feng of Big Dreams
On April 7, the freight yard of the railway ferry terminal of Yantai North Railway Station. As if underworld trading, the E46 stopped in the corner, in the shadows.
Bring home the "cats"
Paid for it, it was the first car in my life. Light the fire and drive away. Unlike the pre-arrival look, I can't sleep for a week, when I actually get the car, my heart is as quiet as water. It's not that I'm not excited, it's that I don't know how to get excited.
Rushing on the highway in the evening, except for a little wind noise, everything is so pleasant. BMW is a real driving machine, this car I can drive, do not need to adapt, as if it and my mind have long been worn together.
I don't know if it's about to turn 18 or if I'm traveling back 18 years.
I named it Cat, and my friends asked me what it meant. I said, what I want to go in, don't come out. For example, what kind of oil, coolant, power oil, don't go out. Hahahahaha, what a good wish! Everyone will smile.
Born on April 19, 2004 at BMW Brilliance, the cattail is BMW7200 with a tail tag of 318i. After running 207,000 kilometers, it is about to celebrate its eighteenth birthday.
Welcome to the turn of the century
Welcome to the turn of the century, as I'm about to start introducing the exterior and interior of the E46. As a work that inherits the past and the future, E46 has a new era design, breaking the tough style prevailing in the 90s, but it is not a change, and the E46 still has the shadow of the 90s.
The front face of the E46 is classic and attractive. The double kidney grille used the curved design popular in that era, full and rounded. The peanut-shaped headlights have a mischievous little sharp corner at the lower end, so that the front face is no longer ordinary. Two rib lines on the lid highlight the sense of power. Compared to the pressed down cabin canopy, boxy kidneys and headlights of the E36 in the 90s, the design of the E46 is heralding the arrival of the new century.
However, the side does not reflect much "freshness". The side of the E46 is very square, and if you want to be round, you have to look at the "radical" Buick century at that time. A flat waist line is divided from beginning to end, dividing the side of the car into two levels. The large rim and the small wide body are the favorite of most people. The "there's a long" back-drive feature, elongated the front, elegant, and never out of date.
Only the small on the trunk lid struggled to explain his identity as a new century sports car. Unfortunately, my car is black, and this little is not obviously beautiful.
Sitting in the car, it took more than eighteen years in an instant. The four steering wheels are simply a product of the 90s, and the anti-theft red dot flashing lights on the rearview mirror should not appear in the 21st century at all. But the configuration of this car is frighteningly high, the automatic headlights are convenient and easy to use, the automatic air conditioner can automatically switch between internal and external circulation, the volume control and fixed speed cruise are not a lot, the rearview mirror can automatically fold when reversing, the seat heating is standard, and even the seat memory. What surprised me the most was that the headrest in the front row was actually adjustable in four directions, which was completely unexpected.
Although the configuration is so high, there is a very outrageous pain point when it is used: this car does not have a cup holder! There is no door panel, and there is no center console - the luxury car of the early century, the center console can not be without a cup holder. The milk tea I bought could only be stuffed into the storage slot next to the handbrake.
The rear cushion wings are very wide and far from the door panels, which is a waste of lateral space. The height of the central platform, high emotional intelligence is to highlight the dignity of the rear drive, low emotional intelligence is outrageously high. Then there is the middle seat, with no headrests and no seat belts. It doesn't seem to be intending to let you sit three people.
Everyone agrees that just by looking at the E46, you can recognize that it is a BMW. Indeed, the rounded double kidney grille, the Hoffmann corners of the rear window, the hip tail, these are all iconic BMW elements. I like to deliberately park the E46 next to the other three series, and every glance can span twenty years in a matter of seconds. For example, the G Generation III series parked in the back, the curvature of the roof, the hips and the Hoffmann corners are in line with the E46.
Sting the pedal with gold right foot
I don't know if it is the feature of the early 21st century, the throttle of the E46, really a bit of channeling. It only takes a little light to climb a thousand revolutions at once; but if you step on the same stroke, you can't give such a big speed increase. The E46 is like the popular "scratching cat" on the Internet, a light tap on the throttle will nervously output a lot of power. As a result, the driver will soon learn to slowly give oil in small increments in exchange for a smooth start.
The brake foot feels much better, the initial section is slightly soft, how to step on it will not be a violent nod. When approaching the brake stop, the just right rebound is accompanied by a decrease in braking force, so that the E46 does not have the brake stop nodding problem that is common to BMW today. For daily mobility, it is indeed a surprise.
This 318 is equipped with an N42 engine, which is not much different from the later N46 engine. This engine likes to pull the speed, giving a little oil can climb hundreds of revolutions. So in order to save fuel, you must not have any unnecessary movements on the pedals. In the same way, when cruising, it is necessary to loosen the throttle at the right time, otherwise it will be easily maintained at two thousand revolutions.
Refer to the tachometer and the instantaneous fuel consumption meter under the tachometer, it is easy to change the small movement of the right foot and stabilize the right foot. According to the road conditions, it is also compulsory to make pine oil at the right time. Insist on opening the E46, and practice the golden right foot is just around the corner.
Cab gym
The E46 features very traditional hydraulic power steering. When I first got the car, I was very uncomfortable with moving the car, and I was always pulling out the steering wheel. With a little speed, the direction will be lighter, of course, far less brisk than today's electronic boost. The first day I got the car, I went wrong and got into a narrow, winding road. To make matters worse, because of my excellent sense of direction, I didn't know which side was the exit, and turned around a dozen times on the narrow road. When I woke up the next day, my arm was a little sore.
When the road surface is poor, the hydraulic boost will transmit the ground condition to the steering wheel, which often turns suddenly with the potholes on the road surface. This is also the disadvantage of hydraulic assistance, at this time it is necessary to hold the steering wheel well to prevent loss of control.
When driving at high speed, the virtual position in the central area is not small, and the driver cannot have any unnecessary small movements while holding the steering wheel. Otherwise, the moment of touching the edge of the virtual position, it will subconsciously hit back a little, and it is easy to test the edge of the virtual position on the other side, so that people are confused. Stick to the E46 and develop good driving habits just around the corner.
This hydraulic boost is really the tears of the times.
5AT car, how to run fast
After staring at the tachometer for many days, I discovered the secret of the E46 powertrain. This 5AT gearbox is not fast in moving gears, but the judgment of the downshift logic and the calibration of the gearbox lock (except for one gear) are excellent. Excellent and silky downshift ensures plenty of power.
The setting of the fourth and fifth gear gear ratios of E46 is also worth mentioning. In the case of flat cruising, it takes close to 80 per hour to rise five gears. It's very embarrassing for me. On my way to work, there is quite a long stretch of road, usually around 70 per hour. At this time, the vehicle can not be hung up to the fifth gear, and can only run at a speed of two thousand or even higher in the fourth gear, such as the situation in the picture below. Occasionally, you can open eighty and hang into the fifth gear, and the speed can be reduced to one thousand and five.
I guess it was because the engineers at that time thought that there were not many opportunities to drive to seventy in the city, so they simply pulled up the speed to cope with it, and then left a special gear for the high-speed working conditions. In those days, it did make sense. Open can be opened, the power is indeed strong, but for the wallet is very unfriendly. If it is a 6AT gearbox, the speed of 70 per hour will definitely be able to hang into the fifth gear.
The gearbox is not enough, downshift and speed to make up, this is the "power code" of that era.
Tough chassis with a strong BMW flavor
The chassis of the E46 is the most satisfying place for me. It can be said that it is exactly the same taste as today's BMW. My E46, the filter for large and small amplitude vibrations is very clean. For the medium-magnitude vibration, it is to retain a considerable degree of road sense while erasing the impact, and the undulating height of the road surface is transmitted to the buttocks, which can completely make up the road topographic map. This sense of the road has always been engraved in BMW's DNA, perhaps to highlight the athletic performance, or it may be to shape the prestige of the "royal driving", but I really don't like it.
This eighteen-year-old car, there are almost no aftershocks. When passing the speed bump, the front axle is basically not vibrating. It's really impressive. Unfortunately, when crossing the speed bump, the rear axle will be a little shaky, and the consistency of the front and rear axles is not very good, after all, the car condition is here.
Roll control is the E46's best trick. The E46 can be adjusted to a very low sitting position, while the low bodywork and excellent support can be turned at higher speeds. The characteristics of the rear drive also allowed me to give the oil out of the bend earlier, and the quiet sliding of the rear axle just made up for the lack of steering in the front. Rear-drive, really awesome!
When turning in a narrow road, you can clearly feel the attitude of the E46 front axle, which is different from many front-drive vehicles. I suspect it was Cape Ackerman's sake. Given that my chassis knowledge is desert, it is left to the big guys to analyze.
This level of vibration filtering and the ability to control roll can make people smile even in the process of walking the streets and alleys every day. The thickness and premium feel of the chassis makes this car always flat.
Something that only the owner knows
The accessories for the E46 are surprisingly cheap. But the price of the filter element is very discouraged. Man brand's air filter is more than two hundred, and the air conditioning filter is more than three hundred. If you switch to Bosch, the air filter is one hundred and two, and the air conditioner filter is less than ninety. What family, can afford to exchange the E46 filter, rich pottery white pet life is good, right?
The interior of the E46 uses a "premium" skin-like coating, but after two decades of wind and rain, the aging skin-like coating will become sticky. On a hot summer day, touch a sticky doorknob and go crazy.
I think the most worth buying E46 is white, light color to reflect the sexiness of E46's hips. Most importantly, BMW's "Snow Mountain White" formula is too powerful, and paint without yellowing is the norm on E46, that is, white is assured to buy and be finished.
Eighteen years of vicissitudes and self-congratulation
When it comes to E46, friends around me always say that this is feeling, this is feeling. Only one friend said something deafening: "You have a story with it, and that's the real feeling." Before you actually get along with it, the feelings are virtual or real, it is really difficult to say. ”
Indeed, raising an eighteen-year-old fellow is not easy at all. Since I got the car, I've spent two consecutive weekends in the workshop. But I really just want to know what the "driver's car" used to be like.
The chassis of the E46 is on my stomach, and the high-spin engine also makes daily transportation easy. In my eyes, "mechanical quality" is not just a cold parameter, or a complex geometric setting, good mechanical quality is a kind of communication and respect, the engineer tells the user, "I am an engineer, I carefully designed just to make you happy", and the user feedback, "I feel, respect".
Some cars drive for a long time and it is still just a tool, but some cars drive for a long time it is love and temperature. Eighteen years later, the engineers' remaining temperatures on the E46 have not been erased. In the far East, a new engineer drives this E46 around the coastline, just to feel the temperature and emotion from eighteen years ago.
On April 19th, after work, I decided to go for a ride to the beach and put on a song called "Sunset Boulevard" to celebrate the eighteenth anniversary of this E46. Wait until dusk the sun renders everything, and you see how golden, how dazzling.