Hey folks, earlier this year (Jan. 2019) I got into my first BMW and it has been a blast so far. I've been doing a LOT to the car but I also have bigger plans in store so I figured I'd start a build thread and/or journal.
Previous cars (I've had way more than this, but these are the ones I've modified)
1990 CRX Si (built turbo B16 -- was terrifying)
2000 Buick Regal GS (amazing sleeper!)
2004 Subaru WRX Wagon (FBO, lasted me until 189k miles!)
2009 Infiniti G37 (barely touched this one)
2010 Jetta GLI (Stage 2)
2013 Fiat 500c Abarth (nightmare to work on)
2014 Honda Civic Si Sedan (barely touched this one)
1/6/19: Picked up the car in Houston, TX. 1 owner 2015 335i xDrive M-Sport 8AT in Estoril Blue with 46k miles on the clock. I live in Chicago primarily but also have family in/spend a great deal of time in Texas, so I try to buy cars down there to avoid rust (and register down there as it's cheaper and much simpler).
First thing few things done were gloss black kidney grills, Cravenspeed Platypus license mount and red stop start button (amazon FTW!)
Shortly after that, I downloaded bimmercode and, finding a set of used OEM paddles on ebay for a steal I did a paddle shifter retrofit. No photos of the install unfortunately, but I followed kies motorsports tutorial and it worked great.
Then it was time to add some carbon fiber vinyl to the interior trim as the walnut trim was KILLING me. I ended up messing up and need to redo it but the main trim piece doesn't look bad
Then it was time for some POWER and noise! Bought BM3 and went stage 1, and also got a muffler delete and threw some tips from BMS on the car.
I ended up adding a carbon fiber trunk lip from ebay. Fitment wasn't perfect but I'm okay with it for now. Also decided the BMS tips were too much color (burnt titanium), so I sanded them down and painted them matte black. Felt much cleaner IMO.
I decided I needed more power and also wanted to be lowered. I strongly prefer working on my own cars but unfortunately lack of a garage at my current apartment dissuaded me from doing much. Went off a recommendation from a friend and the gentlemen at APMtuned in Villa Park were more than happy to help. Had them install VRSF dp, cp, FMIC, and Pipercross filter, along with Dinan springs and bumpstops. Ben, the owner, is a very knowledgeable guy and I was happy with his prices.
Finally wheels and tires came in! Vörsteiner V-FF 107s in Carbon Graphite, wrapped in Contintel Extremecontact Sport tires. I looked forever for a set of wheels and fell in love with these the second I saw them. Completely happy with the drop on Dinans as well!
19x8.5 235/40 front 19x10 265/35 rear
Update 4/20/19:
Got to take the car to the 1/4 mile today. SUPER impressed with both the bootmod3 OTS E30 map and
CaryTheLabelGuy map in progress. Best time was 12.14 @ 111 on Cary's map, the rest of the runs were done on the OTS map. Made a youtube video just for the heck of it, with timeslips included.
Please don't murder me for shooting vertical video -- it's the only way my phone would clip into its mount lol
Update 7/2/19:
- Installed GFB DV+ (what a nightmare)
- Now running BM3's beta TCU flash, a marked improvement. Nothing crazy but the car shifts a lot smoother in manual mode and torque limits being removed made a much bigger difference than I expected.
- Finished out my custom tune on the dyno with
CaryTheLabelGuy -- see video! Car made 420AWHP/395AWTQ on the first pull but we settled 395AWHP/451AWTQ with a MUCH better HP/TQ curve and a huge increase in torque!
- Borrowed a friend and his Canon 7D and got some better photos!
- Rewrapped the interior with vVivid matte CF wrap
- Got some minor body touch-up work done.
- Did the DIY Bm3 wifi agent. Super easy.
- Car is now fully straight-piped. It's a LOT. Have an M2 muffler I'm going to put on soon.
Update 10/11/19
A LOT has happened and changed with the car. Feel bad for not posting more often but life has been super busy.
The biggest news is that I GOT A TRUCK! 2014 Silverado 1500. The reason this is huge is because:
A) I can stop dailying the BMW
B) If the BMW blows up, I still have transportation
C) I can take my time with installs and do way more work myself. I consider myself a semi-competent amateur mechanic, but I've had no choice but to have shops do the majority of work on my car simply because I usually don't have time to knock stuff out quickly.
D) I can comfortably push the limits of this car now that it's not my daily! I'm going BIG!
Now onto the rest of the updates:
- Installed XDI-60 HPFP. Such a relief. Logs show no more HPFP crashes, even when running E40+
- Installed Fuel-It! bluetooth flex fuel sensor and upgraded HPFP lines. I've compared the readings via the sensor to measurements done via the graduated cylinder test and this sensor is DEAD on so far.
- Went back to the track several times, but could never get past 12.0 -- however after installing XHP and being blessed with PERFECT weather this past Sunday, I went to Import Face Off and competed in the 11.5 index. I lost, but had an absolute blast and
GOT MY 11! Car has more room for improvement as well -- I'll be heading to Great Lakes Dragaway for a test and tune as soon as the weather clears up here in Chicago to see how much further I can push it with a proper launch (and without the pressure of competition and tons of people watching lol)
- Wrapped the roof in gloss black using Avery's SW900 film. Changes the whole vibe of the car IMO and I love it.
- Ordered a bunch of paint and supplies to paint the calipers gold (not flashy gold -- going for the same color on the OEM M-Sport gold calipers)
- Bit the bullet and flashed XHP! Well worth it IMO, just for the adjustable launch control.
- Ordered a Galaxy Tab A and dashmount to strictly run dashboard apps/BM3, as well as record video in-car at the track.
- Lots of general maintenance stuff. Changed trans fluid + filter, oil + filter, plugs, etc.
In the works:
- BIG TURBO! Looking at either Speedtech, Doc Race, or the custom route.
- I plan on building the motor over the winter. Still undecided as to whether or not I'll use my current block or go the closed deck route.
- Need to upgrade some smaller peripherals; LPFP, TMAP sensor, intake, coil packs, etc. Also need to start looking at fueling, although I want to see if the current setup with the XDI-60 can handle full E85.
- I'm starting to research drivetrain stuff, either A) building the 8HP45 the car currently has, or B) swapping it out for something more robust. Unfortunately there's very little info out there regarding this. Also need to start thinking about axles. Think I need to reach out to some F80 folks and see if they can shed some light.
- wrapping the entire car in a new color SOON.
- ordering CF mirror covers, front lip, and rear diffuser
Further down the road as money allows:
- 6WB cluster retrofit (I know it's pricey but I NEED IT!)
- LCI tail lights
- ??????
Thank you to everyone for all the help you've given me! This forum is truly an awesome place and filled with some of the kindest, most intelligent people I've ever met in the car community. Stay tuned because I am FAR from done!
IG: @bemdubya