Shall I expand a bit more on my plans for this then, now I've actually paid for stuff? Sure, why not!
So, big plans. Or big plans for me, anyway. First of all, the fun stuff.
It's a big car, but it's a great chassis, and it deserves better than it's got right now in terms of the bits wot move. Having done 100k now there's no chance the suspension is anywhere near as good as it was when it came out of the factory, so to that end I've ordered a set of BC Racing BR suspension for the car. I'll actually be the only person in the world running these, as they were developed by BC but no-one has actually ordered a set until now! They're 3 way adjustable for combined bump and rebound, exactly like the ones I run on the MR2 and have tried on the 350Z. This should enable to me to run comfort spec when on a run, but pump it up significantly for the track. Yeah, I said track.
I've also ordered some H&R anti roll bars for the car. These were ordered a while back but I'm still waiting for delivery, which should be this week. I hope these will allow me to fine tune the handling, as they're adjustable both front and rear, and should let me run slightly run slightly less aggressive camber and toe up front but let me keep the acute turn in I love so much.
That's the performance side of things done, now onto the styling. The OEM wheels I have on the car I absolutely hate, but then I've never been a massive wheel fan. All the OEM options are gash, and whilst I do like the M6 ones they're also 19" and expensive, so I started looking around. After many hours pondering, I've gone with a set of Rota MXR in matt black with a gloss black rim/lip, in 18x8.5. I actually prefer these to the BBS ones which were my first choice, and the fact they're cheaper helps me too. They're also over a kilo per corner lighter than the OEM wheels, so there's significant performance benefits here too, although some of that will be tempered by the 25mm spacers I'll have to run. Of course, that then leaves a spare set of wheels to run R888s on...!
The stock seats aren't exactly supportive, so I'm going to swap them out as well. I've confirmed this week that the E46 and E63 have the exact same seat subframe, so that means that any E46 seat conversion kit will fit my car, which opens up a whole world of possibilities. I've yet to decide on the seats as it needs to be a joint decision between me and Jo as they have to be snug enough for me, but have enough room for her hips, so this will mean a trip to Demon Tweeks to try loads out. The Sparco R100 seats look very promising, however.
Also coming with this will be a gloss black roof wrap. The M6 came with a carbon roof that I was tempted to mimic, but was talked out of that in preference to a gloss black instead. Should go nicely with the wheels.
And then comes the pain.
The N62 engine does have one flaw, and that's that the valve stem seals can fail over time leading to increased oil usage and eventual destruction of the cats. My car showed a hint of this when I bought it, but it's now got significantly worse to the point where I need to sort this before it destroys the cats as well. There is also another known issue that involves the internal coolant pipe running between the V failing, and whilst my car has shown no problems so far I'm going to get that sorted as well.
Now, as you can imagine the cost for 32 seals + gaskets + water pipe isn't cheap, never mind the labour cost. Luckily there's a kit you can buy which locks the cams in place, which I picked up 2nd hand for cheaps which saves hours on the labour side. As much as I'd love to do this myself, I don't want the car off the road for that long so I'm going to get a garage to do all the work for me, at a cost which far exceeds the total cost of all the bits I've bought above. This wasn't an easy decision, but ultimately I do love the car and it ticks every single box that needs ticking (great engine, enough power, comfortable, spacious, manual gearbox) so this is now going to be a keeper. I've already done the brakes, clutch and flywheel don't forget, so when this is done it'll be pretty much a new car.
So there you go. Many thanks to Tarmac for his assistance in purchasing the suspension and wheels, and also to Dedman, Grundy and the sadly departed StevoD* for their guidance into what is 'hip' and 'trendy'. Pics and write ups to come, of course!
*He's not dead, just for clarity.
Utter bobbins.