BMW E46 330CI Thread.

[SiC]

42 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Tech 2 is hugely expensive

Cheaper than the car!

Clones can be had for under £300 now. 

E.g. https://ebay.us/m/848Ktw

[SiC]

I probably should sell mine. I didn't even keep my last Saab long after I bought it. 🙃

Just got it out recently and re-setup a laptop for it as it's needed to tweak a few things on @Steve79 9-3.

[Split_Pin]

25 minutes ago, SiC said:

Cheaper than the car!

Clones can be had for under £300 now. 

E.g. https://ebay.us/m/848Ktw

Do you know if you need a laptop for those clones? I couldn't get an answer on the Saab pages and the listing description wasn't clear on that.

[SiC]

8 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Do you know if you need a laptop for those clones? I couldn't get an answer on the Saab pages and the listing description wasn't clear on that.

Depends what you're doing. If you want to scan and clear codes then no. If you want to add/remove (divorce/marry) modules and such then yes you'll need it for security access. Basically you plug into the car, it says you need security access when doing more advanced stuff,  plug it into the laptop and run GlobalTIS to get the access. Plugging back into the car then gives you all the control. I think the 9-3 is what needs it most and the older 93 and 9-5 I don't think does.

That laptop is running Windows 10 with GlobalTIS and WIS in a WinXP VirtualBox image. Works absolutely fine. 

[Split_Pin]

Right so, I'd probably need a laptop as the 9-3 currently needs 2 replacement modules. It would end up being about 2/3 the cost of the car though 😅

[SiC]

6 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Right so, I'd probably need a laptop as the 9-3 currently needs 2 replacement modules. It would end up being about 2/3 the cost of the car though 😅

Not got a windows laptop? It doesn't need to be special like really old or brand spanking new. But even if it was, it would work. 

Even a MacBook will run virtualbox

[AnnoyingPentium]

15 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Right so, I'd probably need a laptop as the 9-3 currently needs 2 replacement modules. It would end up being about 2/3 the cost of the car though 😅

I've probably got a laptop lying about that'd suit your needs, man. I'm having a clear out of tech stuff at the moment. Stuff can be had cheaply.

[Split_Pin]

18 minutes ago, SiC said:

Not got a windows laptop? It doesn't need to be special like really old or brand spanking new. But even if it was, it would work. 

Even a MacBook will run virtualbox

No I've only got my work laptop, work SurfacePro and a decent laptop which is my wife's for her CAD and work CPD.

So ideally I'd need a laptop I don't care about.

However it's all a bit much for a £700 car which is quite rough and in all honesty I'm just going to bin it come January when it's MOT expires. I just bought it as a beater, especially for winter and as the good weather is about to end the non opening roof and window won't matter any more 😂 It'll serve it's purpose.

[SiC]

11 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

No I've only got my work laptop, work SurfacePro and a decent laptop which is my wife's for her CAD and work CPD.

So ideally I'd need a laptop I don't care about.

However it's all a bit much for a £700 car which is quite rough and in all honesty I'm just going to bin it come January when it's MOT expires. I just bought it as a beater, especially for winter and as the good weather is about to end the non opening roof and window won't matter any more 😂 It'll serve it's purpose.

I paid £90 for a Dell laptop locally. Way over kill but mostly because it still had a good battery life. Even a £50 laptop (or free) is good enough. The laptop in the picture is @Cookiesouwest old laptop - originally came with Windows 7 Pro which gives you an idea of the age. 

Also would allow you to run INPA which gives you more advanced stuff on your BMW. 

[SiC]

E.g. this is more than enough and good enough for any future diagnostics software for other cars like a DS150e or a VCDS. 

https://ebay.us/m/7aolnK

I bet you could get something cheaper on FB marketplace locally too. 

 

[Split_Pin]

Aye that is cheap! Could indeed be useful for the other cars, I have a cable for VCDS but never used it. It came with the TT I had a few years ago but held onto it.

I'm still not arsed about the Saab but could definitely be handy for the Audi and BMW.