New Member from South Africa - PICTURE HEAVY

[yngtmr]

Beautiful 333!, one of those is definitely high up on my list of dream cars. The ///M stripes look so good!

[Waseem 333i]

Wow, beautiful car! Welcome and thanks for sharing your story with us :up:

Thank you.

I have alot more stories to share about it.

I am sure people would be wondering how fast it is. Some real world tests. Its faster than the e36 M3 3.0lt version. Against the 3.2lt version I was just behind his back bumper. On launch I had too much wheelspin which put me by his back door, when I changed to second gear I got more wheelspin which put me by his back bumper. On 3rd rolling it was dead even.

In 2004 i took on a manual e46 330i That car was a 2003 model so fairly new. He was alone and I had 5 people in my car and the motor was in need of a service. From launch till 4th it was dead even then slowly I start pulling away.

On a speed point. If i am doing 80kph (50mph) behind two semi trucks. Keeping in 5th and using half to 3/4 throttle to overtake. By the time I've passed the second truck im doing 200kph (124mph). It only has 145kw (194hp) according to factory specs.

[econti]

That's really really cool and very rare.
Is the theft risk really that bad? Which city are you in?

[jpod999]

Amazing car! Please do post lots of photos, it's not often these 333i South Africa cars pop up!

[2mAn]

whoa!...

[Waseem 333i]

Beautiful 333!, one of those is definitely high up on my list of dream cars. The ///M stripes look so good!

http://www.e30clubsa.co.za/forum/index.php?/topic/18003-333i-stripes/

Just incase you want to get a set made up.

[Waseem 333i]

That's really really cool and very rare.
Is the theft risk really that bad? Which city are you in?

Yes it is. Many e30s have been stolen. Not too long ago one guy had his 635csi stolen and found chopped. It was a horrific sight.

When ever I take it out I have people yelling out to do a burnout or asking to sell. I have had police chase me down and pull me over just so they could have a closer look at the car.

There was a time not too long ago where it was my daily ride. The car used to park on the roadside and i never had issues. Now it cant be kept out of eyesight when taken out. The attention it attracts is mindbogeling. What I do like is when another e30 meets up on the road. Honks the horn and throws a thumbs up. Its like seeing a friend after a long time.

I live on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Some pics



This was a memorable moment. A car dealer was transporting these two e34 M5s and i happen to meet them on the road. That was alot of fun.



Just a random shot. The rear headrests are high because i was busy with cleaning the interior. On a side note. DO NOT buy Tata. Ever



This shot gives a better view of those hugely expensive front brake discs. Rear is normal 325i. Yeah I know the back bumper is hanging. My mother was driving and a lightpole came in the way.

[MrBurgundy]

333i, its like a mythical creature. Very jealous of your car.

[reelizmpro]

The fact Alpina was involved in the creation of a special factory model is very cool. I noticed it has the digital gauges, wheels, etc but not the Alpina steering wheel. What else did Alpina do to the car besides the engine? Suspension? Interior?

[Waseem 333i]

The fact Alpina was involved in the creation of a special factory model is very cool. I noticed it has the digital gauges, wheels, etc but not the Alpina steering wheel. What else did Alpina do to the car besides the engine? Suspension? Interior?

The interior bits are only the vent guage and speedo cluster. Almost everything in the engine bay has an alpina logo. Even the accelerator cable has it.

Suspension side is has the bilstein shock absorbers (dampers) which are still original. I am amazed they are lasting this long. I cant remember if the lowering was done by Alpina or BMW.

The e30 M3 is a track car, 333 is more suited as a long distance GT car. M3 needs to be revved. 333 has power from idle. I once had to climb up the driveway in 5th gear because gear linkage failed. I had to ride the clutch abit but it went up effortlessly.

[lukeADE335i]

Welcome! Beautiful cars... you 333i is what my car hopes to be one day (but I think an Alpina B6 replica is more likely as parts are easier to find).

Interesting the Alpina radiator isn't really up to the task in hot weather. If you were to swap engine mounts you could run an e28 535i radiator like many of us do on here (keeping the original parts to swap back to the Alpina radiator in the future to maintain the originality of the car of course)!

[Waseem 333i]

Welcome! Beautiful cars... you 333i is what my car hopes to be one day (but I think an Alpina B6 replica is more likely as parts are easier to find).

Interesting the Alpina radiator isn't really up to the task in hot weather. If you were to swap engine mounts you could run an e28 535i radiator like many of us do on here (keeping the original parts to swap back to the Alpina radiator in the future to maintain the originality of the car of course)!

I haven't looked at that option. What I might do is add an oil cooler and run coolant lines to it. The idea will be to keep it hidden in the front bumper at the bottom. One friend of mine did this mod on his car with M88 motor and it worked out for him. I have to try my best to keep it hidden because I will get the car into concourse condition and enter those events.

[green61bug]

Super cool car... Im fairly novice in the BMW world and this is the first one Ive seen and started noticing all the little differences. Really neat. I dig the rare interesting tidbits this car has to offer...