SteelBlue

New daily driver. 2019 X3 M40i. Damn this thing is a great little car. 
 
Time to clean up the F10 and list it for sale.

I look forward to seeing the new wheels on! 
I'd say the new decals look just fine, and I agree that they are far better than the stock blue ovals!

I enjoy that we are all here because at some point we were working on BMW's, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter what we own, because it will be getting modified. 
 

*cough*

Some other miscellaneous truck upgrades mods.
Did a mechanical decon of the paint two weekends ago and did one layer of Jescar paint sealant and then two layers of Collonite 845 wax on top. Will keep me sane until I get the truck corrected in the spring and then coat it.
Rear wheel liners. Minimize some dirt getting into places and just looks cleaner in my opinion.
Before:

After:

Front struts came in. Ceramic coated front and rears.

Bed decals removed. I was semi torn on this because I didn’t not like them, but I think with these fender badges having the red accent around them for the “sport” edition, it looked a little busy on the side. I like the way my parents truck looks with bed decals. Can always added them back if I want.


Exhaust tip was crusty, was going to repaint it black, but essentially had to destroy it to get it off because it had welded itself to the exhaust pipe. Just bought an eBay one, looks good to me. I don’t know how far out it should stick? This looks fine to me, but maybe it needs to get pushed in further.


Sold the truck cap a few days after getting the truck. Purchased a Truxedo ProX-15 bed cover. Like that it sits a lot more flush. These tonneaus are crazy expensive for some of the nicer one. This one fit the bill being about $500.

And my ricer mod. Found these emblem decals on Etsy for $20, figured for that little it was worth a chance. I didn’t dislike the blue oval, but wanted to see what it would like in this color rendition. I like it, but don’t love it. Real way to do it would be to pull them out and disassemble the badges and paint them. They’ll do for now.


Suspension installed hopefully soon. Just waiting on the wheels to come in, was approved for sponsorship on these new to market wheels. Went a little outside my normal comfort zone on the color, but I think it will come together nicely.

Looks great, wheel liners especially. Ive always felt that should've been a factory thing especially in snow climates.

Some other miscellaneous truck upgrades mods.
Did a mechanical decon of the paint two weekends ago and did one layer of Jescar paint sealant and then two layers of Collonite 845 wax on top. Will keep me sane until I get the truck corrected in the spring and then coat it.
Rear wheel liners. Minimize some dirt getting into places and just looks cleaner in my opinion.
Before:

After:

Front struts came in. Ceramic coated front and rears.

Bed decals removed. I was semi torn on this because I didn’t not like them, but I think with these fender badges having the red accent around them for the “sport” edition, it looked a little busy on the side. I like the way my parents truck looks with bed decals. Can always added them back if I want.


Exhaust tip was crusty, was going to repaint it black, but essentially had to destroy it to get it off because it had welded itself to the exhaust pipe. Just bought an eBay one, looks good to me. I don’t know how far out it should stick? This looks fine to me, but maybe it needs to get pushed in further.


Sold the truck cap a few days after getting the truck. Purchased a Truxedo ProX-15 bed cover. Like that it sits a lot more flush. These tonneaus are crazy expensive for some of the nicer one. This one fit the bill being about $500.

And my ricer mod. Found these emblem decals on Etsy for $20, figured for that little it was worth a chance. I didn’t dislike the blue oval, but wanted to see what it would like in this color rendition. I like it, but don’t love it. Real way to do it would be to pull them out and disassemble the badges and paint them. They’ll do for now.


Suspension installed hopefully soon. Just waiting on the wheels to come in, was approved for sponsorship on these new to market wheels. Went a little outside my normal comfort zone on the color, but I think it will come together nicely.

Time to s52 swap 
 

I should mention, I meant that in regards to their current availability right now lol They make good tires, just not the absolute top of the line. We sell more Nitto than any other brand.

Love the color!

I flew to Detroit Friday night after work. My brother picked me up at the air port as he lives in Ann Arbor and stayed with him for the night. He drove me to Charlotte, Michigan, about an hour west of Ann Arbor, right away in the morning. Picked the truck up and started the 6 and a half hour drive home.
In the F30, after about an hour and a half of continuous driving, my legs and back would start to hurt, and closer to 3 hours I would not be able to drive for how uncomfortable I would be. Change of driving position in a truck makes things significantly more comfortable. When I got home I didn’t feel beat up or in pain from driving a long duration of time.
2018 F150 XLT “special edition”
Has the better grille and the black line headlights, as well as the “sport” cloth interior. It came with a bed cap, which I just sold last night for $900. I took all of the decals off immediately, swapped to a shorty antenna, removed the mud flaps, added a tailgate assist, replaced the license plate and cargo lights with LED bulbs, and added some WeatherTech floor mats.
I did replace the low beam, high beam, and fog light bulbs with some LED ones, but am having issues adjusting the aim of them. Either the additional wires and resistors from the LEDs tucked into the headlight housing is restricting the aiming, or my gear are stripped. Thankfully, Mr. @patsbimmer1 will be sourcing me aftermarket housings.
I have an Eibach strut and shock leveling kit on order, the struts should be here tomorrow. Going to have a coworker help me install when the other portion gets here. I have some 285/75R17 BFG KO2’s in my storage unit waiting for wheels. Might be working with a manufacture to get a new flow forged line they are coming out with on the truck, but waiting to hear details on that.
Have a Truxedo tonneau cover that I am waiting to have delivered to a local shop so they can install, should be early next week.

How it looked when I first got it

Decal and cap removal

First wash at a friends

Cargo lights

Tail gate assist (shock connecting the bed and the tail gate)

ters’

LED bulbs

I flew to Detroit Friday night after work. My brother picked me up at the air port as he lives in Ann Arbor and stayed with him for the night. He drove me to Charlotte, Michigan, about an hour west of Ann Arbor, right away in the morning. Picked the truck up and started the 6 and a half hour drive home.
In the F30, after about an hour and a half of continuous driving, my legs and back would start to hurt, and closer to 3 hours I would not be able to drive for how uncomfortable I would be. Change of driving position in a truck makes things significantly more comfortable. When I got home I didn’t feel beat up or in pain from driving a long duration of time.
2018 F150 XLT “special edition”
Has the better grille and the black line headlights, as well as the “sport” cloth interior. It came with a bed cap, which I just sold last night for $900. I took all of the decals off immediately, swapped to a shorty antenna, removed the mud flaps, added a tailgate assist, replaced the license plate and cargo lights with LED bulbs, and added some WeatherTech floor mats.
I did replace the low beam, high beam, and fog light bulbs with some LED ones, but am having issues adjusting the aim of them. Either the additional wires and resistors from the LEDs tucked into the headlight housing is restricting the aiming, or my gear are stripped. Thankfully, Mr. @patsbimmer1 will be sourcing me aftermarket housings.
I have an Eibach strut and shock leveling kit on order, the struts should be here tomorrow. Going to have a coworker help me install when the other portion gets here. I have some 285/75R17 BFG KO2’s in my storage unit waiting for wheels. Might be working with a manufacture to get a new flow forged line they are coming out with on the truck, but waiting to hear details on that.
Have a Truxedo tonneau cover that I am waiting to have delivered to a local shop so they can install, should be early next week.

How it looked when I first got it

Decal and cap removal

First wash at a friends

Cargo lights

Tail gate assist (shock connecting the bed and the tail gate)

ters’

LED bulbs

This may have been the best 8 minutes of my life (usually it's only about 30 seconds...)

I sold my F30. I’ll be back in a BMW as a daily some day, but it was time to try something else as I’ve driven a lowered BMW for 8 years. Going to hopefully purchase an F150 on Saturday. Will be really nice to transport mopeds and other track items to Road America and general utility.

I sold my F30. I’ll be back in a BMW as a daily some day, but it was time to try something else as I’ve driven a lowered BMW for 8 years. Going to hopefully purchase an F150 on Saturday. Will be really nice to transport mopeds and other track items to Road America and general utility.

I finally made it to Mecca 




I saw the only thing I needed to see, and headed out

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

Car had a full paint correction done on by Auto Trim Design in Neenah. After getting the car to my parents garage, spent the next couple of days costing the car in Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light and then topped with EXO V3. This should last me probably over 2 years with proper washing and no winter driving. I also coated the wheels.
 Paint correction and the coating have made it very red. Pictures really don’t do it justice how good it looks. If you’re still using waxes on your cars, make the switch. It’s very easy to apply.
At Road America for Indy Car this weekend:

There's no nuts on the far outside studs, so it's going to naturally not lay flat. I'm not sure if the radiuses of the trunk lid and the spoiler match, but when I was trying to test fit it, it was either a finger sized gap between the spoiler and the length of the trunk, or this. Like I said, it was hard to tell where to place it given the studs don't allow you to lay it flat. And without turning my trunk lid into a piece of cheese, I'm fine with making some small modifications to make it flush at the ends.
I did the turn signal lenses during lunch today. Takes away from the stark contrast of the lenses, but the light still shines through very brightly.

This was one of those opportunities that I just couldn't pass up. Long time buddy reached out to me about his girlfriends mom wanting to sell her "old BMW". Asked for pics and was greeted by this 325is in incredible shape. Got the owners number and started talking about setting up a time to see the car. She had to ponder what the price would be as she had been back and forth about selling the car before. When she sent me over the price, I knew I was going to be buying it. Set up a time to see the car and came with cash even though I was only about 20 minutes from her house. Went out with my brother and drove it home that night. The previous owner really loved the car and was passionate about it.
Never drove in winter, always kept in one of their buildings on their property, and pretty infrequently driven. Came with all the service records from Auto Clinic where it has been serviced for the majority of its life. Has all the original manuals, radio ID cards, and even a complete tool kit. Crack free dash and a working odometer. Car hit a deer at some point, so the front clip is much more shiny than the rest, but the work was done by Dave Treichel at Zero to 60 so I know it was done to the highest level and it looks it.
Things to take care of: half the cluster does not work. Tach, fuel mileage, and temp gauge do not work. The other half works completely, so I don't know if that means it's an SI battery or if just all the gears on that side broke. Only other thing is that the driver window does not work, assuming it's just a regulator or maybe there is connection under the switch not connected.
My plan is to start cleaning it this weekend and get it up on stands to take a look under it. Want to rent a carpet cleaner that has a hand operated unit so I can pull the seats out and really clean it, looks like it might have some mildew or mold on it(probably from sitting in a barn for a while). Then start buffing and polishing the faded parts.
Plans: maintenance and minor mods including coilovers, wheels, strut braces, short shifter, and exhaust. I'll pick a couple bits off my other car like the euro grilles, euro clock, and euro plate filler. I plan to do the brakes this year as they are a bit squeaky. Depending on the condition under the car, I would like to do a full suspension and brake refresh this winter.
The car drives and rides great, been really enjoying the M20.

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.