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      05-12-2019, 01:49 PM   #111
Mike.F31.MSport
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Small update...

Coding
I recently read a thread on this forum regarding Bimmercode, an app that lets you code your BMW. I've always wanted to turn off the start up warning, back-up camera warning, and enable auto folding mirrors. So I picked up a new Bimmercode-approved bluetooth OBDII unit and paid for the Bimmercode app.

Within a few minutes I was able to active a number of features on my car as well as deactivate all of the warnings I loath dismissing every time I get in the car. In addition I disabled Active Sound. I actually prefer the sound of the stock engine and exhaust over the fake nonsense being pumped into the cabin.



Road Trips
Lately I've taken a number of road trips in the F31. My wife and I had a weekend getaway for our 10 year anniversary. Just yesterday I drove the family on a 400 mile round trip to Sesame Place, a Seasame Street theme park. In a few weeks I'll be mounting the cargo box on the roof and we'll be making a long drive to the Outer Banks.

Gas Mileage
After 4 years of driving around in Comfort mode 95% of the time, I've started switching to Sport more frequently. I've noticed my gas mileage has increased quite a bit in Sport mode (3 to 4 mpg over the course of a tank). Yesterday I took a 400 mile trip and averaged 31 mpg in Sport mode, despite never using 8th gear. I can only guess that non-sport mode shifts too early and keeps RPMs too low, combined with my driving style I'm probably just dumping fuel in the engine at lower RPMs to get it up to speed. I'll be running sport mode from now on as it's more fun AND more efficient for my driving style.

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      05-12-2019, 02:25 PM   #112
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Thanks for the update. I am always in Sport or Sport+ and have gotten similar mileage. I will be taking a 1800 mile round trip mini vacation to Syracuse next month. Bimmercode has made my wagon a much more pleasant place to be.
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      05-15-2019, 09:48 AM   #113
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I'm late to this thread, but glad you are liking the F31. We love ours. Also had an STI and 3 wrx's in the past, and many turbo vw's.

Did the bimmercode thing already, there's some stuff that just stumped our genius... like auto door unlock when turning the ignition off. Needs to be coded, and I did hate all the startup bells, too!

Good stuff, hmmm E30... are you on vortex? I've owned several E30's and older bmw's, too.
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      05-15-2019, 09:48 AM   #114
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Try the BM3 tune. It changes the shift points and the power delivery is more linear. There is a noticeable change after the tune where Comfort mode drives like Sport now, Sport drives like Sport+, etc.

I also upgraded the FMIC/CP/TIP at the same time more for preventative maintenance. The FMIC I felt was necessary since last summer I was feeling the affects of heat soak from daily 90-100 degree temps.
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      05-15-2019, 10:44 AM   #115
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redEYEjedi View Post
Try the BM3 tune. It changes the shift points and the power delivery is more linear. There is a noticeable change after the tune where Comfort mode drives like Sport now, Sport drives like Sport+, etc.

I also upgraded the FMIC/CP/TIP at the same time more for preventative maintenance. The FMIC I felt was necessary since last summer I was feeling the affects of heat soak from daily 90-100 degree temps.
I second this. BM3 stage 1 really wakes the car up. Highly recommend it for bank for buck upgrades. It's probably a close second to upgraded suspension.
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      05-21-2019, 03:45 PM   #116
Mike.F31.MSport
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInfante View Post
Thanks for the update. I am always in Sport or Sport+ and have gotten similar mileage. I will be taking a 1800 mile round trip mini vacation to Syracuse next month. Bimmercode has made my wagon a much more pleasant place to be.
I wish I had known about it earlier. Agreed that it makes the car more pleasant.

Quote:
Originally Posted by deviantspeed View Post
I'm late to this thread, but glad you are liking the F31. We love ours. Also had an STI and 3 wrx's in the past, and many turbo vw's.

Did the bimmercode thing already, there's some stuff that just stumped our genius... like auto door unlock when turning the ignition off. Needs to be coded, and I did hate all the startup bells, too!

Good stuff, hmmm E30... are you on vortex? I've owned several E30's and older bmw's, too.
I am not on vortex, just r3vlimited. I've tried keeping journals/build threads across forums before and it just becomes a hassle, so I just focus on one now: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=394272

This past Sunday my E30 placed first in the 80s BMW class of the 36th Deutsche Marque Concours d'Elegance, a local BMW CCA sponsored event. I was quite happy about that. It's my second year attending (placed second last year). Now it's time to knock out some HPDEs over the summer and fall.

Quote:
Originally Posted by redEYEjedi View Post
Try the BM3 tune. It changes the shift points and the power delivery is more linear. There is a noticeable change after the tune where Comfort mode drives like Sport now, Sport drives like Sport+, etc.

I also upgraded the FMIC/CP/TIP at the same time more for preventative maintenance. The FMIC I felt was necessary since last summer I was feeling the affects of heat soak from daily 90-100 degree temps.
Cool, I may check those out, thanks.

----------------------------

I washed and waxed the wagon recently. I installed the cross bars and mounted the cargo box yesterday. We have a few road trips coming up and can use the extra space for the kids' stuff.

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      07-01-2019, 04:46 AM   #117
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We've taken a few trips within the last month. With 2 kids, the car and roof cargo box have been completely full. The car has performed well, minus a CEL, that eventually cleared itself after a fresh tank of gas.

Yesterday I gave the car a thorough cleaning inside and out and removed the cargo box as it won't be needed for a few months. I haven't swapped the summer wheels/tires (factory fitted staggered 441Ms). The 400Ms with all seasons have been fine, though I will probably need to replace the tires in the fall or next year. So maybe I should swap the summer setup on the car to make the winter setup last through next season.

Some photos fro the past month:









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      10-10-2019, 03:51 PM   #118
Mike.F31.MSport
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Now that I'm out of the free BMW maintenance I decided to start working on this car myself. Nothing exciting this time. I just changed the oil. I ordered the oil change kit from FCP Euro which included the BMW oil, filter, filter cap wrench, and other bits needed. It took about 20 minutes to do as everything was easily accessible and I didn't have to remove any under-trays.

20191003_134353 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20191003_134334 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20191003_134650 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20191003_140433 by mike.bevels, on Flickr
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      10-10-2019, 10:58 PM   #119
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I love this thread and both your cars.

Roof rack and box going on our f31 soon as well!
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      10-11-2019, 10:30 AM   #120
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Also enjoyed the read.
I feel you on the dealerships.
15 years ago I loved going with my e34 wagon.
They’d specifically ask me to bring it for their special events.

3 years ago it’s pleasant to go but don’t feel as welcome in my e46t. Nor my wife’s e83.

Last week, didn’t feel nice at all when We went with the F31.

The sense of family and enjoyment and appreciation seems to be completely missing now.
Just another SUV seller. Only dealer for 100+ miles sadly.

Since BMW no longer sells wagons, this will probably be my last one as well.
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      12-23-2019, 08:50 AM   #121
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Not much new with my F31. I'll be doing a brake fluid flush in January or February. I'm going to try out a buddy's quick jack and see how that works. I'll post a DIY when I'm done.

In E30 news there are a few updates (follow along here).

I attended a Nation Capital Chapter BMW CCA HPDE. I wrote an article about it and it was published (see here). Super excited about that!

I picked up a set of BBS RS001s. These are hard to find as they were made 30 years ago. True 4x100, 3 piece BBS wheels.

I attended a NCC BMW CCA Cars and Coffee event and wrote an article which is in the most current issue of the NCC BMW CCA magazine (see here). Super excited about that as well!

2 day HPDE event on Summit Point Shenandoah Circuit:







BBS RS001s:







Articles (first page below, see links above for full article):



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      01-20-2020, 06:21 AM   #122
Mike.F31.MSport
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Last Saturday I attended a BMW CCA National Capital Chapter DIY event hosted at Bimmer Werks in Beltsville, MD. A very fun event. I was able to use one of their lifts and power bleeders to flush the fluid on my M Sport brakes. I hit some snow and ice on the way there, but nothing major. Article forthcoming.




Last edited by Mike.F31.MSport; 01-20-2020 at 07:15 AM..
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      01-20-2020, 11:46 PM   #123
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Nice articles.

Our local (and only for couple hundred miles) dealership used to have events similar to the cars and coffee, back in the day. Now they have been bought and sold a few times into one of the big dealership conglomerates (Group 1 Automotive) and the soul (and welcome) has gone from it.

The ones in NM that used to be the semi home of BMWCCA New Mexico jsut got sold to that conglomerate as well, so I’m guessing their events will be going by the wayside as well.
It seems long term owners aren’t profitable, and thus aren’t valued... only leasees are.
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      04-15-2020, 10:45 AM   #124
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Time for another quick update.

This year I got around to swapping the original 441M wheels with summer tires on the car. Mostly because the tires on my 400Ms are pretty worn out. I'll need to replace those before next winter. I'd really love to pick up a set of 18" BBS CH-Rs (black with machined lip). I think they would look pretty great on an Alpine F31. Anyway, the kids helped:

20200313_121023 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Does anyone else vacuum these "wells" under the hood? They get a TON of leaves and other crap in there. I don't park outside all the time. I never park under a tree. Yet these really fill up with leaves and other nature "debris". It's easy enough to take the cover off each side and vacuum them with the shop vac when I vacuum the rest of the car. Only takes a couple of minutes.

20200408_113455 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I cleaned up the garage somewhat and had the kids pose for a #bmwccagaragegoals photo:

Avery and Carter posing for BMW CCA Garage Goals photo by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Other than that, there's not much new. I've been at home spending a lot of quality time with the family. I've also taken on additional responsibilities within the National Capital Chapter of BMW CCA, so that has been filling up the remaining free time I have.
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      04-24-2020, 11:25 PM   #125
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike.F31.MSport View Post
Time for another quick update.

This year I got around to swapping the original 441M wheels with summer tires on the car. Mostly because the tires on my 400Ms are pretty worn out. I'll need to replace those before next winter. I'd really love to pick up a set of 18" BBS CH-Rs (black with machined lip). I think they would look pretty great on an Alpine F31. Anyway, the kids helped:

20200313_121023 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Does anyone else vacuum these "wells" under the hood? They get a TON of leaves and other crap in there. I don't park outside all the time. I never park under a tree. Yet these really fill up with leaves and other nature "debris". It's easy enough to take the cover off each side and vacuum them with the shop vac when I vacuum the rest of the car. Only takes a couple of minutes.

20200408_113455 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I cleaned up the garage somewhat and had the kids pose for a #bmwccagaragegoals photo:

Avery and Carter posing for BMW CCA Garage Goals photo by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Other than that, there's not much new. I've been at home spending a lot of quality time with the family. I've also taken on additional responsibilities within the National Capital Chapter of BMW CCA, so that has been filling up the remaining free time I have.
I think I saw that you won the monthly contest. Congratulations!
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      04-25-2020, 08:24 AM   #126
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Originally Posted by spak888 View Post
I think I saw that you won the monthly contest. Congratulations!
I did! Super excited about that! There's a writeup on BimmerLife here: https://bimmerlife.com/2020/04/24/bm...r-mike-bevels/

DSC_0508 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Last edited by Mike.F31.MSport; 04-27-2020 at 06:14 AM..
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      04-26-2020, 08:21 PM   #127
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stubled across your thread and enjoyed the updates and reading.

Also bump for a fellow Alpine White Northern Va'er. Im in Ashburn but am in reston/tysons quite alot as my SO works off Sunset Hills.
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      04-27-2020, 03:20 AM   #128
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Originally Posted by NotoriouswithaG View Post
stubled across your thread and enjoyed the updates and reading.

Also bump for a fellow Alpine White Northern Va'er. Im in Ashburn but am in reston/tysons quite alot as my SO works off Sunset Hills.
Hello! Glad you enjoyed the thread so far.
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      06-14-2020, 06:07 AM   #129
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This morning I took some photos of my F31 at sunrise.

DSC_0864 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0813 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0790 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0870 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr
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      06-14-2020, 12:31 PM   #130
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Really nice!
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      09-13-2020, 02:50 PM   #131
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Thumbs up Just joined...

Loved the pics and detailed descriptions... has me thinking through new ways to spend money on my '14 Alpine White wagon... bought used 2 years ago and love it. Photos are in familiar spots - I grew up in Herndon... and live in Richmond for the last 20 years. Inspiring!
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      09-14-2020, 06:19 AM   #132
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blamm View Post
Loved the pics and detailed descriptions... has me thinking through new ways to spend money on my '14 Alpine White wagon... bought used 2 years ago and love it. Photos are in familiar spots - I grew up in Herndon... and live in Richmond for the last 20 years. Inspiring!
Thanks. Glad you've enjoyed it!

The N20 timing component failures and xDrive transfer case failures have me a bit concerned. My extended warranty runs out in ~17 months. I'd like to keep the car long term (10+ years), so I need to do some research about both issues and make some decisions.
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