03-24-2016, 11:54 AM | #1 |
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F31 Melbournerot - M Performance Parts - Build Thread
Update 4/5/16 - Pics on page 2
Hi fellas, as a long time BMW fan, I can finally announce that I have joined the F3X club with a 2016 328i xDrive Sports Wagon! I'll be picking up the car shortly from the dealer. I have had some really cool things done to the car that I will share and show. I've been waiting 4 months for this day to come and I am excite (in Borat voice) it's finally here. I'll post pics of the car when I pick it up and share more about the story later. UPDATE - Back story When the F30 first came out I watched the world debut live on the Internets and was mildly impressed with the design changes, a much needed design improvement over the E90. At the time, I was not anywhere near ready to get a new car. With a fleet consisting of an E46 M3, two E30's and one E53 X5, my hands where full as was my loving wife's patience. A few months after the F30's started to hit the road, I saw an F31 touri...err...Sports Wagon, drive down my block and I recall how much I really loved the lines on the touring over the sedan. Fast forward 3-ish years later, my family and car situation changed and I suddenly fell into the market for a new car. I I was going to sell the X5 and find a replacement. I thought about a used X5 M but then didn't want to deal with having to not have a warranty or remediating a bunch of stuff out of the gate. I just wanted a new whip. I considered a new X5 3.5i but after I spec'd it out it was $70K+ and I didn't want to spend that much. I briefly considered a Porsche Macan and even drove one. As nice as they are I couldn't justify paying the $70k+ and have a smaller interior than the X5. So no Porsche. I test drove an F31 diesel and was underwhelmed with the power. My X5 4.8is felt stronger despite the extra 2000lbs, but the car felt nice. I decided to hold off until after the LCI as I really didn't want to have the car without the updates. In Nov 2015 my quest started for building an F31 gasoline powered car. I knew it had to have M sport package, Brembo brakes (I've always wanted multi piston brakes and I couldn't get the car without them), HUD, adaptive suspension and upgraded headlights. I also needed heated front seats and obviously I would have loved to have an N55 powered touring but, Americans don't like hatchbacks, cloth seats and station wagons remember?! So my choices with the engine and transmission were limited to what BMW thought Americans would want. Back to the LCI thing for a sec, I am glad that I can or did order an LCI with an N20, I really don't like the idea of the B48 engine. I like engines that are at the end of their lifecycle, most of the kinks are worked out. As for exterior color. I am a huge fan of the color Blau. The M3 is Interlagos, the X5 is Le Mans, the E39 is Toledo and the only red car I have is the E30, its Brilliantrot. At first I was considering Estoril but quickly realized, EVERYONE gets it. It is an amazing color but it's become the standard M Sport color. I do love the Champagne Quartz but is a little too brown for me. Ideally if I can easily order Stratus Gray it would be epic, but I didn't want to fork of $5k for that. Melbourne red always appealed to me, it's a proper M color, suits the wagon pretty well and is fairly uncommon. For the interior, I originally ordered black leatherette.. err Sensatec. Since it requires zero maintenance and was cheaper, plus to love how it makes your backside sweat in the hot months, if there was only a way to get hexagon cloth Alcantara... I liked the look of the brushed alu but had it in my E90 (Montego Blau, see a pattern?) and it dented easily. So I opted for the alu cubed trim. I liked the Matte Estoril blue trim instead of the gloss black, as the inside needed some contrast. To me the F3X dashboard quality is miles below what I have in the E46, for whatever reason the vinyl on the dashboard and plastics feel much cheaper in the new cars. I have loved the look of the leather dashboard, but was bummed to see it missing from the order guide. It really dresses up the interior, otherwise, it is very cheap feeling. My quest was to find a way to order the car with the leather dash. I ended up selecting Circle BMW in Eatontown NJ when I ordered my car and I am working with Danny Wong, who is a fellow enthusiast. He helped work with BMW NA to get the dash ordered with my car. My order went in on Dec 2nd, 2016 and was set for a Week 51 production date, then it jumped to Jan 20th. This was most likely due to the Individual Leather Dash. By the way, we submitted option code XT1 and that was accepted by BMW AG. As we got closer to the build week, my order got cancelled. Turns out that there was a bug in the ordering system that allowed me to order XT1 with leatherette (if you didn't know XT1 includes a leather dash and leather on the upper part of the doors), well you can't have both. So I had to order leather if I wanted to get the leather dash. This bumped the production date back to Feb 20th. Ugh - FML. The car was built on Feb 23rd and made it on board Tongala on March 3rd. The epic story for this shaggin' wagon is not over yet. Not satisfied with having a "regular" M sport touring I decided to go with the full M Performance body kit. At first I just wanted the front splitter and rear diffuser, and went back and forth on the rear spoiler. I ultimately decided after seeing some pics of some delicious Melbourne red F30's with painted M Perf. Kit. My mind was made up, it's all or nothing. Call me a BMW fanboy or a kool-aid drinker but I did read that BMW recommends / requires (depending on where you are reading it) that you need to combine the front splitter with the rear spoiler. I contacted my CA Danny again, and asked him a to send me the available port installed accessory options, and as my luck would have it, the rear spoiler was not listed. He would have to work with Briana Schupner, Accessory Port Program Specialist with BMW NA to see if they can add it. She was a super huge help to get the port to accommodate my wishes. I was also on the fence on leaving the body kit matte black or the going with the limited paint options they provide at the VPC. I really wanted the parts installed at the port but realized there was no way to remove them afterwards to have them painted after the fact (the front splitter is epoxied on), so I worked with my CA and Briana and the port to "custom" paint the body kit. I definitely liked this option the best. I've been to the VPC twice as part of the NJ BMW CCA and not only is it an amazing facility, but their master painter is incredibly talented. PLUS they use the factory paint. I'll continue the story once the car arrives and I will post pics of the "custom" paint that the VPC is doing. List of options: Exterior - Melbourne Red Metallic Interior - Black Dakota Leather with Dark Oyster highlight (for now) Trim - Aluminum Hexagon Trim with Matte Estoril Blue finisher
Here is a teaser:
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Last edited by cncmastr; 04-08-2016 at 02:07 PM.. Reason: updated |
03-24-2016, 12:11 PM | #3 |
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Cheers, and welcome to the club!
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03-24-2016, 12:24 PM | #4 |
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Welcome to the family! I love the idea about the blue inside going with the blue brakes on a red car.
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03-24-2016, 12:30 PM | #5 |
I want to drive a Zamboni
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Very config congrat.
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16 K71 F800GT Montego Blue 13 E93 M3 Melbourne Red 2000 E46,2006 E90,09 E82,13 E93 328i,14 F30 335i,18 F80 M3 My next vehicle would be a Zamboni |
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03-24-2016, 12:59 PM | #6 |
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Welcome and congrats!
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Check out our current sale by clicking on this link!
https://x-ph.com/sale/ Phone number 702-494-9435 |
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03-27-2016, 05:02 AM | #8 |
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Thanks guys. I updated the first thread the other day.
Dealer says that the latest ETA for pickup is Monday the 28th, we will see.
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03-27-2016, 09:41 AM | #9 |
it can never be too clean...
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~ congrats and welcome!
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03-27-2016, 04:45 PM | #10 |
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Nice story and writeup
Congrats and I can't wait to see pics
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03-27-2016, 05:41 PM | #11 | |
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03-30-2016, 06:23 PM | #12 |
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Figured since I'm am still waiting for the port to be done, I would post some of the stupid things I bought for the car that isn't here yet.
Weathertech mat for the boot, eset cable for coding and rubber mat cleaner and protectant for the mat.
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03-30-2016, 06:25 PM | #13 |
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Nanoskin clay towel. I love their clay sponges and DA pads, this should be even easier to use.
Some CQuartz for the paint, wheels and brakes. V1 hardware kit. I'll do a video on that shortly.
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03-30-2016, 06:28 PM | #14 |
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Nanolex sealant for door jambs and other out of sight spots. Paint prep spray, sunscreen for the tires, plastic trim protectant for engine bay and cowl. Gummipflege for the rubber trim.
Airwand to avoid waterspouts.
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04-01-2016, 02:33 PM | #17 | |
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Quote:
Pics when you pick the car up!
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04-01-2016, 03:32 PM | #18 | |
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Hopefully they're faster than this guy and there are no delays
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04-02-2016, 03:50 PM | #20 |
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Sounds lovely and it's nice to hear that BMW USA have been so accommodating with your order! I really like MR and it's a rare colour on any F3x model! I would personally leave the mat black of the MP kit - the black and red theme looks stunning!
I also completely agree with you regarding the lines of the F31 - definately more aesthetically pleasing than the saloon! Look forward to seeing your pictures!
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04-02-2016, 06:01 PM | #21 | |
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Yes, I agree that the black and red looks good. I am continuing that theme, just more polished looking than matte. In other news, no car today. It arrived at the dealer but nobody on staff to do the PDI, so I wait until Monday noon.
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04-02-2016, 06:36 PM | #22 |
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Only a couple days left
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