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Pulled the 540i out a couple weeks ago intending to prep it for Udderly Euro since I have never been but unfortunately a work trip last minute canceled those plans. Either way getting it out of storage is forcing me to work on it. I did change the oil at 156k and finally raised the suspension up 1" front and rear. Still need to have the front wheels on 2x4's to get a low-pro jack under the front subframe but Ben and I are happy where it sits now. Handling improved greatly as well as I'm not getting bounced around anymore 🤣 Still need to refresh the steering components but otherwise its picking away at cosmetic issues.

I got really tired of the exhaust setup I had, the drone was just getting unbearable with this joke of a muffler. At first I thought it sounded good enough that it'd be fine since this is a weekend car, but it just turned me off from driving the car. I swapped back to the stock muffler for now to get the drone under control. For now I have Fabspeed catless headers, stock section 1, STG x pipe section 2, and stock muffler. I'll be on the lookout for a Rogue Engineering El Diablo muffler soon. Finally can hear the induction noise of the S54 again!

160.5k Changed the oil and did some other random maintenance on the car a couple weeks ago. While I had it on jack stands I also replaced the adjustable ground control sway bar links with some Meyle HD e30 M3 links as one of the heim joints on the GC ones was knocking. I also swapped the Condor transmission mounts with rubber e21 trans mounts and UUC aluminum reinforcement cups that I had kicking around from when the car had an M42. Holy cow did that make a difference for NVH! It is much more pleasant to drive and there is still no noticeable movement through the chassis-mount shifter. I've been driving it at least once a week and really enjoying it this summer!

Well its 3 years since I've updated anything about this car. It seems like its time. I bought a set of BC coilovers for it, but then sold them to a friend that needed them in a pinch and he gave me a set of maxpeepees to put on the car so I didn't have to fight with the lifted set. My friend Mark who runs slidesociety has been hassling me about learning to drift with this car and I agreed, which made me make the decision to put it back to a state were I could actually drift it again. Another friend of mine; Anthony, his brother, and two friends were over at my shop earlier this year and they were excited to help work on this car. So with their help we were able to revert the car back and make a list of changes. Here is what was done and changed; Lowered back down on new maxPP coilovers New E46 front control arms / Lollies / Balljoints / Etc. Install the CF sunroof panel and remove the broken cassette Clean out the interior and rid it of all the random clutter that its acquired over time (no more raccoon skull) Remove the roof rack and fill the holes Reinstall the fenders and the bumpers Install the SLT mirrors Mock up and build side skirts and filler vents for the fenders Test fit new wheels. Ive had a set of AREs I really wanted to run but they are too wide for the front (17x11). I also bought a set of 3PC Enkie Winsomes a while back but never mounted tires to them. Well I finally got around to mounting tires and they are pretty fitting for the car. Anthony, his brother, and two friends all took one corner of the car, and together they peeled all the plastidip off of the billet Hawks. I forgot how great those wheels look polished and I cant thank them enough for getting them back to this state, I never would have taken the time to do that. ARE's Centerline Hawks Here you can see the side skirts I'm building. Oddly enough, they are from a Charger Hellcat cut and sectioned to fit. I have material to make a vented fender filler and a functional front splitter as well. Enkie Winsomes Finally my friend Austin came over with his friend and wanted to shoot some pics and video of the car, so here's some pictures I took with my phone of the car that evening. And after a few months, I did manage to get it out to the Slide society season opener too, but I only got a handful of laps in before the slave cylinder started to fail. Thus the car is now sitting for another date when I have time to fix that add a bunch of go fast engine parts to it. 😁 I also have future plans to paint the car with a modern looking livery and tint the windows...again. The red tint is still on there, but its completely faded clear. I guess sitting outside for an entire summer really took a toll. This is kind of the idea and color palate I have in mind for the livery;

After a few weeks of research, forum perusing, and tinkering I finally fixed the electrical problems with the E90. I believe this all stemmed from the battery. 2 years ago I replaced the battery with a factory equivalent 90ah AGM unit. I forgot to use a coding tool to tell the car it was an AGM battery, and according to some stuff I've read the power output of the two types is slightly different. Without the coding, it can cause subtle voltage spikes to flow through the car's various ECUs. Long story short, through forgetting to code it and harsh winter storage, that battery caused quite the issues, namely frying my front footwell module. Some symptoms of a failed FRM are: no power windows, no central locking system, headlights permanently on, no interior lights, no 6MT hill assist, no blinkers, amongst a very illuminated dash, and a host of other issues. To fix it I had to buy a replacement FRM and go scouring the internet for the coding tools. If you didn't know, Bimmergeeks, who used to host the resources was hit with a cease and desist from BMW NA and removed access to things like Inpa, WinKPF, NCSExpert, along with all the sp-daten files for all the different chassis. After days of digging / testing I got my laptop setup and coded a new FRM - surprisingly it all worked like a charm! Aside from the fact the FRM came from an E9X M3 and the previous owner (who I can only imagine has dog shit for brains) had coded it to turn on the high beams when the headlight switch was set to off (position 2) - this literally took me weeks of wire tracing and headaches only to figure out it was coded that way... Edit: I did also send the original FRM off to an ECU repair shop, but they deemed it "un-salvageable" and could not find the issue. The steps were: Install new FRM module in the footwell Flash the car to accept a newer FRM3 from the previous FMR2 module via WinKPF Read the VIN/car data from the CAS via NCSExpert Write the VIN/car data from the CAS to the new FRM3 module Revert some weird settings the previous FRM3 owner had via BimmerCode app Clear all faults and verify VIN matches between CAS and FRM via Inpa Here is the car with a sweet sweet error free dash and fully working!

From what I've read F15's were a slightly updated E70 underpinnings. Unfortunately I was using a screw type OTC 7294 but after wasting 4 hours cranking those things I ordered this and have it waiting for me for the next spring job. They make a 3ton as well but its only like $20 cheaper but that was available on prime. This was delivered directly in like 4days. https://www.vevor.com/strut-spring-compressor-c_10324/vevor-strut-spring-compressor-4-5-ton-9920-lbs-hydraulic-jack-capacity-1-ton-rated-compression-force-auto-strut-coil-spring-compressor-tool-hydraulic-spring-compressor-for-strut-spring-removing-p_010965229806

Behind on updates but this has cracked 170k now. Starting a few months ago we were having intermittent power loss while driving on the freeway which slowly progressed to shutting off at idle as well. Initially there was a code for the fuel rail pressure sensor and lots of random electrical issues like the trailer wiring plug? I had cleared those and the pressure sensor didn't come back but then a code for the crank sensor popped up. It had gotten to the point where the X5 was hard to restart after dying. It had been about 30k since the fuel filter was done so I replaced that which helped with starting but still had power cutting out at 18-1900rpm on the interstate occasionally and still often at idle when hot. The crank sensor code hadn't come back but at $60 and some mentions online that was a cause for shutting off at idle I figured I'd give that a shot. Leave it to BMW to put the sensor underneath the starter 🙄 Wasn't too bad of a job though and it seemingly fixed the issue. It did shut off at idle once 5 days after replacement but hasn't happened after so still keeping an eye on things. I had replaced the engine ground strap as well so when things cool down weather wise I plan to pull the injectors and flow test them. It's just odd not getting a CEL or consistent codes for any of these issues. It was time for new tires which meant finishing the suspension refresh as well. Installed the lemforder kit from FCP along with sway bar links and sachs shocks. I learned my lesson on not checking the repair manual for special tools as standard small ball joint tool any auto stores carry wont fit and 2wd/4wd service kits dont work either. Luckily this 22-36mm Heavy Duty Ball Joint Separator was available next day and pop them out with 2-3 turns. As much as it sucks to take all those covers off they sure do a good job of keeping things clean. One note that isn't specifically mentioned on the TIS is that the top hat is labeled for the #1 stud. I had accidentally installed them rotated 90 degrees for each side which cost me a lot of time compressing the springs again. X5 drives amazing now with Michelin Defender LTX's and the refreshed suspension. Steering is very precise and handles like new. Next on the list is to address the leaky charge pipes.

Touchless wash on the m3, still needs a contact wash, me getting beer at Otto’s in the f87

Update: It runs! I pulled the fuel pump assembly thinking I might’ve pushed a wire so it was shorting, and noticed my wires going in were opposite the ones on the pump body (brown to red, and brown to green/purple). The connector was busted partially so I just zip tied the two piles together when I put it back together; I must’ve reversed those somehow. Corrected it, was able to jump the fuel pump normally, and the car fired off almost immediately! Now for the clutch slave, driveshaft, and exhaust! Nearly there!

I'm glad to hear you were able to sort out that brake shudder!

Big words for a guy who doesn't even put 1k miles on his car a summer.

It’s my 1st car, I picked it up in Chicago back in 2004, drove it for about 8 years until I found the s50b32. I had just got a house a few years earlier and was too busy to work on it.

That is a huge bummer! I think I paid $65 with free shipping since it was on Amazon, but you can also buy it directly from ColourLock and pay the international shipping of $15 (and wait a bit): https://www.colourlock.com/Leather-Repair-Kit-for-Steering-Wheel-Black/850729-us/. Totally worth it IMO, I think it's enough material to do 2-3 wheels.

15x13x17 ish maybe. It's the smallest one you can get at Menards.

I use to go there all the time when I lived down there! Euro S50 FTW!!!! thats a great find. Was the car local?

E36 M3 Evo... look at the price 😐 https://www.ebay.com/itm/186536596491?hash=item2b6e72940b%3Ag%3AKOUAAOSwX35mO8B3&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5335981329&customid=&toolid=10049

Alright I’ll put on some sun screen 😂 that makes sense for break in.

My understanding is the legal actions only impacted them hosting their "Standard Tools" package - aka Inpa, NCSExpert, WinKPF for those folks that like to do it raw. I don't think it impacted their ProTool because that is using closed-sourced, proprietary software. Although I would put money on them using parts of the BMW IP code in their product. Looks like they still sell it and support it though

I chuckled at this, but also thought of reasons it may have been that way (possibly aftermarket headlights wired incorrectly or halos wired as high beams). All in all I'm glad you got it sorted!

It's a window unit that I mounted under the bunk beds. I have a 6" duct fan functioning as an exhaust to pull the hot air out of where the AC sits and 6 12v computer fans with ducts I 3D printed blowing air form inside the camper across the AC unit. I made a grill for it in Fusion360 and had it cut at sendcutsend.

Spent my day Saturday deep cleaning the interior of the daily. I really haven’t touched the interior since I purchased the car and it was in desperate need of a good refresh. I removed a bunch of the peeling soft touch mess. IYKYK. Cleaned up the panels and SEM trim black painted the panels to give them that OEM look without the mess. Turned out really nice and is a much better place to be now. IMG_7953.mov

@straight6pwr’s old car is seemingly still on the market for almost a year? https://www.facebook.com/share/qkxS22m3maM19Qnu/?mibextid=79PoIi

S50B32 on a US 95 m3, I need a stand alone, recommendations?

Very nice! Almost identical to my white/brown m-sport. Absolutely loved that car. I sold it to my brother so I get to see it every once in a while.

what MMI box did you go with? steering wheel turned out great.

I noticed some suspension noises / play so I opted to replace the lower control arms, shocks, spring bushings, and sway bar end links.

I found it a bit frustrating to use the iDrive nav or hold my phone in weird positions so I gave it a shot to retrofit an MMI box in the car that retains the factory screen, but offers wireless CarPlay. Life changing

Bummer but glad it worked out! Crazy those are NLA already, you should 3D scan and reproduce them...

I second that!

I love dreaming, and using Photoshop everyday can really be a bad influence. So like one does, I photoshopped my boat to have a matching tow rig. I've been on the fence about a X35D or an OBS. I really think the OBS makes the most sense. Thoughts? What's really wild is that the price of a nice clean OBS truck has started to sky rocket the last few years, and either one is about the same price.

Well the comfort access turned out to be dirt in the door handle causing the issue. Pressure washing the door handle seemed to fix the issue and I also have not had the CA issue since that post. Not sure what I did different, maybe it just was upset that I wasn't washing it enough. I did end up getting some EGR failure codes which was a surprise to me because I thought this car was fully deleted when I got it, but I never really looked to see if the EGR and swirl flaps were removed. Well turns out the EGR was still installed, so I ordered a delete kit from bimmertune, flashed the codes and never looked back. Now a few months ago I ordered and installed a Trans tune from xHP. What a night and day impact that's made. I highly suggest that anyone that has an ZF8HP trans gets a tune for it. It ran about $400 with the dongle and allows me to run stage 1,2,or 3 with additional settings for each. Shifts are more crisp in sport, Comfort mode I was able to eliminate a hesitation from a roll (which is a common complaint of the ZF8HP), and Eco mode is more usable but also provides even better economy. Last but not least, I had a new front windshield installed. It had a fairly large crack in it since I obtained the car, and I was really hesitant to replace the window because I was worried about the HUD film, rain sensors, and overall cost of a window with all this modern stuff. On top of that I know that if a window is installed improperly, rusting and other issues can develop long after any warranty is available. Well I can say that the installation was superb as a friend of a friend who was installing auto glass for a larger company decided he wanted to venture off and start his own auto glass business. He came to my shop, and together we installed the window and made sure all the surfaces were cleaned prepped and better than any typical glass place would do. I am more than happy. Next I will need to look into tires and probably a timing chain.

Dakar E36 M3!!! We need more coverage on that one!

138,802: Oil change completed, swapped in new wishbones on the front due to a ball joint clunk I was hearing, and found that while they definitely weren’t perfect, those weren’t the problem. After some poking around, I concluded that the 1-year old tension struts were the issue. The passenger side arm had a bad ball joint already. Brake shudder is I believe still the culprit, I replaced the drivers side rotor and it improved, but now when I spin the passenger side rotor that one has a very obvious high spot in it. For now, I just replaced both tension struts again and am going to order new brake pads (EBC yellowstuff, going to get something with more bite to hopefully keep pad material from building up) to hopefully solve this permanently. Planning to just turn the rotors for the new pads since they’re almost new still. Front shocks are mega blown out, their replacements arrived a few days ago courtesy of @patsbimmer1. Went with soemthing a little spicier than OEM, I’ll share more details when they’re installed. Oh - last update: had a semi back up into this car in traffic in April, and I was extremely disappointed. The hit wasn’t too hard but it put a large crack in the front bumper, which is NLA and basically unobtanium (genuine performance aero bumper, and would’ve made the car have an incomplete kit) Through Reddit and a bit (read: a stupid amount) of luck, I found one on German EBay of all places, bought it, had it shipped here (in only bubble wrap 🙃) and finally painted and installed a week or two ago. I managed to snag a euro model bumper too without headlight washers, so I got to delete the ugly covers and the ugly side markers all in one fell swoop.

A couple of years ago, I was at a friend's party when I saw this X5d roll up. Intrigued, I found out the owner was the mother of my buddies wife. I got to chatting and found out she bought it new, and had it meticulously serviced at a local BMW dealer. I asked that she was ever to sell it, to let me know. She firmly said she doesn't plan on selling anytime soon because she loves it so much. Well, in December she called and said she is finally getting a new vehicle in the springtime. We worked out a deal to purchase and I brought it home a week ago. It had a CEL for the glow plug module when we picked it up, and knocked some money off.for us 😁 It is emissions in tact, with a recent DPF replacement. I immediately checked the coolant temp and found it to be at 158. 🤷🏼‍♂️. You would think a dealer would check this..... Otherwise it needed absolutely nothing.... This lady brought it to the dealer for every little thing, with over $14k in service work in the last two years, with a total of all repair receipts since new of $38,844.42! 😳 Off to Cascade German Parts and FCP Euro I went and filled up my shopping cart with a thermostat, glow plugs and module, gaskets, swirl flap delete, coolant flange, and a pcv hose. I went to work this week and got it all fixed up. I don't plan on hitting a pothole until a problem comes about since everything is new. CBU was surprisingly not bad considering the 145k miles. This will become the new garage queen, with the potholed 2011 becoming the daily. Sometimes we get lucky!!