[KLBO]

Hi folks.
Recently picked up a 13' Mineral white 335xi, 6spd with 19K miles.
Came from the Subaru world and desperately seeked a bit of a change. Was originally searching for a 328xi Msport, but when this beauty came up I had to jump on it.

My Subaru had mostly suspension work and miss it, but starting to really fall in love with the 335xi.

I told myself I wouldnt mod it, but now seeking suspension setup.. this is my first BMW, so open to advice.

Will try to post weekly photos of the car.... here's her current state.
Update: 6/22/16


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The begining:

[ErkanTR16]

Congrats & Welcome!!

What other mods do you have in mind?

[Felosenco]

Welcome to the stick shift club. Weekly photos - wow you're dedicated.

[.BMW.]

Congrats on a beautiful F30!

Nice with 6MT.

[KLBO]

Originally Posted by Erkan_340i

Congrats & Welcome!!

What other mods do you have in mind?

So thinking of doing HR springs for the time being, but considering BMW F30 M Performance Suspension Kit in the future.
Wheels - not sure what to go with as of now, typically go with a square set up but seems like most BMW guys run staggered, which I still need to research being xdrive car.
Having a hard time finding a front lip for a non-msport front bumper... any suggestion??

Originally Posted by Felosenco

Welcome to the stick shift club. Weekly photos - wow you're dedicated.

I freelance as a photographer and its a bit of a stress reliever as well.

Originally Posted by .BMW.

Congrats on a beautiful F30!

Nice with 6MT.

Thanks... not too many 6spd out there... and with 19K miles, I "couldn't" let it go.

[CazuaLLUK]

Congrats on your new F30, keep us up to date!

[KLBO]

Its been 3wks now since I picked up the car, a few mods has taken place.

1: got 35% tint all the way around. I had 20% on my previous car and at times it was just too difficult to see out of the back. So this time around I decided to go with 35%.




2. CF spoiler installed. Absolutely love this mod, I think it really changes the look of the vehicle. Pretty quick and simple install.




3. HR sport springs installed. Its been on the car for a few days now, feelings about it are mixed. Perfect drop. Its the way it should have come from factory, but the OEM struts are way too soft for the springs. I thought about going with KW V1's but went with the springs b/c I found one locally at a pretty good price.

[eekyu]

nice progress so far!

those shots from your first post are beautiful!

[CazuaLLUK]

Nice car!

[.BMW.]

Looks great lowered!

[F30_SixSpeed]

looks awesome. thinking about picking up a set of the H & R sports myself.

[Bleser]

Beautiful photos! The OEM 397 wheels really look fantastic with the Sport Line trim.

To your earlier question about front lips (non M-Sport), there are a few (Alpina sells theirs separately, and the iND one is popular too), but you'll find the cost of the lip far exceeds quality replica M-Sport front bumpers (even with the M Performance lip on them). I went down this road and ended up with the M-Sport front end conversion and couldn't be happier.

[KLBO]

Originally Posted by eekyu

nice progress so far!

those shots from your first post are beautiful!

Thanks. Some of my work can be seen here www.michaelkalbo.com

Originally Posted by CazuaLLUK

Nice car!

Thanks

Originally Posted by .BMW.

Looks great lowered!

Love the look now that its lowered. Should have come from factory this way

Originally Posted by F30_SixSpeed

looks awesome. thinking about picking up a set of the H & R sports myself.

H&R springs are great for the money, its fairly cheap. Mixed feelings about them so far, the OEM struts are definitely under-damped. Will have full review once I drive it a bit more.

Originally Posted by Bleser

Beautiful photos! The OEM 397 wheels really look fantastic with the Sport Line trim.

To your earlier question about front lips (non M-Sport), there are a few (Alpina sells theirs separately, and the iND one is popular too), but you'll find the cost of the lip far exceeds quality replica M-Sport front bumpers (even with the M Performance lip on them). I went down this road and ended up with the M-Sport front end conversion and couldn't be happier.

So this has been my dilemma since I picked up the car. I do like the Alpina front lip and 3d design but once you count painting and install, I am at the MSport front bumper conversion. Seems like alot of guys out there have gone this route.
Did you do the install yourself?
Where did you get your MSport front bumper front?

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by KLBO

So this has been my dilemma since I picked up the car. I do like the Alpina front lip and 3d design but once you count painting and install, I am at the MSport front bumper conversion. Seems like alot of guys out there have gone this route.
Did you do the install yourself?
Where did you get your MSport front bumper front?

If you search eBay there are a couple reputable companies offering them in various form (with or without M Performance lip, parking sensor holes, etc). I bought from SelmaUSA after being recommended a number of times on these forums. I had it painted and installed by a trusted local body shop; they said the quality was good.

Here is a thread I started when I was looking:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1130870

[KLBO]

Originally Posted by Bleser

If you search eBay there are a couple reputable companies offering them in various form (with or without M Performance lip, parking sensor holes, etc). I bought from SelmaUSA after being recommended a number of times on these forums. I had it painted and installed by a trusted local body shop; they said the quality was good.

Here is a thread I started when I was looking:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1130870

Awesome thanks.

[KLBO]

The cars current state.
Wheels spacers on 12mm front 15mm rear.
Will have some more photos of how the wheels look with the spacers on.

Just a quick post, too busy celebrating the CAVS wining.

[KLBO]

June 6th Update:

Its been about about 1K miles now since the H&R springs have been installed and I have mixed feelings about them.
The drop in height that the H&R springs provide is perfect, the car should have been at this height from factory. With that said, the dampers are too soft for these springs, which give the car a bouncy ride especially at higher speeds. There are moments that I wish I would have gone with KW V1, but for the daily use of the car, the H&R springs are good enough for the time being.

Also, the car has 12mm spacers up front and 15mm in the rear along with extended bolts. Wheels & tires are stock, along with the spacers the tires are flush with the fenders.

Detailed the car on Sunday as well, it was good and bad at the same time. Found some deep scratches on the car along the passenger side and seems like the previous owner tried to touch up the paint on the hood and actually made it worst.

Overall the car is coming along nicely. An exhaust is something I’ve been eyeing, not sure which one to go with... any suggestions?

[CazuaLLUK]

Car is looking boss man!

[lens]

Originally Posted by KLBO

June 6th Update:

Its been about about 1K miles now since the H&R springs have been installed and I have mixed feelings about them.
The drop in height that the H&R springs provide is perfect, the car should have been at this height from factory. With that said, the dampers are too soft for these springs, which give the car a bouncy ride especially at higher speeds. There are moments that I wish I would have gone with KW V1, but for the daily use of the car, the H&R springs are good enough for the time being.

Also, the car has 12mm spacers up front and 15mm in the rear along with extended bolts. Wheels & tires are stock, along with the spacers the tires are flush with the fenders.

Detailed the car on Sunday as well, it was good and bad at the same time. Found some deep scratches on the car along the passenger side and seems like the previous owner tried to touch up the paint on the hood and actually made it worst.

Overall the car is coming along nicely. An exhaust is something I’ve been eyeing, not sure which one to go with... any suggestions?

Yeah, if you own a 335i, you mod it, don't keep it stock, you're just wasting it's potential

Either go between AWE Tuning+midpipe or Borla S-type/ATAK (may need a small modification to fit it.)

Personally, after the exhaust, I would grab a chargepipe and new lightweight wheels. I recently bought ones that weighted 21lbs front, 20lbs rear, and they made a world of difference in handling, acceleration, braking, you name it, also did not need spacers as the size of the rims were perfectly flush with the fender. H&R springs are garbage IMO, Dinan springs (if you have the m adaptive suspension) or coilovers would have been the better option. I've had a bunch of my buddies with H&R on their 335i bottom out and too harsh of a ride. I have the Dinan springs, and they're absolutely perfect.

I had a friend who has a subaru STI, and keeps teasing me on how BMW sucks and how overpriced it is.

He'll grow up soon

[VMRWheels]

Congrats and welcome! Great start so far and nice pics!

[KLBO]

Originally Posted by chaungo

Yeah, if you own a 335i, you mod it, don't keep it stock, you're just wasting it's potential

Either go between AWE Tuning+midpipe or Borla S-type/ATAK (may need a small modification to fit it.)

Personally, after the exhaust, I would grab a chargepipe and new lightweight wheels. I recently bought ones that weighted 21lbs front, 20lbs rear, and they made a world of difference in handling, acceleration, braking, you name it, also did not need spacers as the size of the rims were perfectly flush with the fender. H&R springs are garbage IMO, Dinan springs (if you have the m adaptive suspension) or coilovers would have been the better option. I've had a bunch of my buddies with H&R on their 335i bottom out and too harsh of a ride. I have the Dinan springs, and they're absolutely perfect.

I had a friend who has a subaru STI, and keeps teasing me on how BMW sucks and how overpriced it is.

He'll grow up soon

Exhaust wise thinking meisterschaft and wheels are still up in the air. Ya, I'm very tempted to switch out my H&R springs for sure.

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Congrats and welcome! Great start so far and nice pics!

Thanks.

[TypeOne]

Nice pictures!!