[TboneS54]

Holy mis-information batman.

S54 is very punchy, plenty of torque for the car's weight and displacement, especially if you relocate the cats to sect 1.

Valve adjustment doesn't NEED to be done that often, though you may choose to because of how easy and cheap it is to do. Gone are the days of $500 shim kits and $1400 jobs by dealers. You can do it yourself very easily. It's not hard if you can do basic arithmetic.

Go to nam3forums.com for the latest info on these cars.

RBs are not a big issue for the 2003+ models or those that had the service bulletin done. They'll do 100k and more easily.

Vanos is the only thing that I'd say is very critical, the tabs on the exh side hub.

RACP cracks do happen, but seldom is it so horrible you have to spend thousands on a new floorpan. You can have cracks stop drilled and plates welded for about $1000.

E46 is special because it's the most elegant yet muscular design, a nice middle ground between analogue and digital, very "feelsome" small and light by today's standards etc.

120+hp per liter in a 3300lb car? Yes please.

I like having both. Ofc the e90 is "better" on paper and at most things, but I'd be very disappointed if I no longer had my e46.

I agree it's not the best DD, esp today. I think my situation is better, the e46 being the heavily modded one and my e90 being the daily.