[danarino]

Such a no expense spared build with premium parts. I'd probably get an m3 if i planned to drop that much, but i appreciate seeing this done by someone else. If you really love the AWD then it does make sense. You are a very mild drop and stage 1 tune away from the perfect DD. As someone in NJ with and EDC 340i xdrive, I get the struggles with deciding what to do about a drop. I wish someone made an even milder drop than what is available that works well with the EDC but it just doesn't really exist from my research. I did .75" drop in the front only on my g37 coupe and it fixed the reverse rake and rode like stock. I feel like 20mm front 10mm rear drop would be perfect for how these sit

[toxik]

Originally Posted by danarino

Such a no expense spared build with premium parts. I'd probably get an m3 if i planned to drop that much, but i appreciate seeing this done by someone else. If you really love the AWD then it does make sense. You are a very mild drop and stage 1 tune away from the perfect DD. As someone in NJ with and EDC 340i xdrive, I get the struggles with deciding what to do about a drop. I wish someone made an even milder drop than what is available that works well with the EDC but it just doesn't really exist from my research. I did .75" drop in the front only on my g37 coupe and it fixed the reverse rake and rode like stock. I feel like 20mm front 10mm rear drop would be perfect for how these sit

AC Schnitzer springs are the best go-to for a mild drop and retaining good ride quality, but they're $600+. I think if I had to do something right this minute, I'd do those ACS springs and Bilstein B6 Damptronic shocks. But again, Bilsteins are backordered. At this point, there's a high probability I'm leaving NY in 2 years, and I might just wait until then to refresh my suspension and also drop the car while I'm in there.

As far as the M3 thing, yep you hit it on the head, I wanted AWD and 6MT. I think Subaru was the only other choice there? I've had RWD cars in the past, where I would put on winter tires, and I didn't like driving them in NYC. AWD is the only suitable platform for Daily Driving here in my opinion.

Unmolested M3's were going for about 60-65k when I was car shopping, my 340i was $37k, I don't think I spent $25k in mods on this build yet haha, so overall I wouldn't call it a "should've gotten a M3" build yet.. but it's going to get to that point eventually I feel like.

[danarino]

If the ACS springs worked well with oem dampers I’d strongly consider them, but it seems all springs harm the oem dampers relatively quickly. Not worth the cost for full suspension to me since it’s really just for aesthetics as I want to retain stockish ride quality. I will say that your 255 square set up fills the wheel wells better and slightly reduces your gap. I’m waiting on fl-5 wheels with 255 square tires and in the process of upgrading to 370/345 brakes. We will have very similar cars minus all the smaller premium items and the 6MT. This is my first auto I’ve bought, but with frequent trips to queens and Bk I was getting tired of driving stick in stop and go. I ofcourse miss it on open roads on nice

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by toxik

As far as the M3 thing, yep you hit it on the head, I wanted AWD and 6MT. I think Subaru was the only other choice there? I've had RWD cars in the past, where I would put on winter tires, and I didn't like driving them in NYC. AWD is the only suitable platform for Daily Driving here in my opinion.

Unmolested M3's were going for about 60-65k when I was car shopping, my 340i was $37k, I don't think I spent $25k in mods on this build yet haha, so overall I wouldn't call it a "should've gotten a M3" build yet.. but it's going to get to that point eventually I feel like.

I feel like for us enthusiasts, modding something to make it nice is more fun than buying something nice and leaving it as is. If you were to buy and mod an F8x you'd be well over what you've spent on your F30, so I wouldn't entertain the "you might as well have" arguments. Car looks great. Maybe you'll get yourself into an x-Drive G80 in the future when some 2-3 year leases are up and you can have the best of both worlds.

[toxik]

Originally Posted by AndrewC1989

I feel like for us enthusiasts, modding something to make it nice is more fun than buying something nice and leaving it as is. If you were to buy and mod an F8x you'd be well over what you've spent on your F30, so I wouldn't entertain the "you might as well have" arguments. Car looks great. Maybe you'll get yourself into an x-Drive G80 in the future when some 2-3 year leases are up and you can have the best of both worlds.

sigh, im currently hanging out with my friend who has a G80, and it's such a sick car. Riding around in it makes me want one so bad. I could definitely see myself in an xdrive LCI G80 one day!

[toxik]

Originally Posted by danarino

If the ACS springs worked well with oem dampers I’d strongly consider them, but it seems all springs harm the oem dampers relatively quickly. Not worth the cost for full suspension to me since it’s really just for aesthetics as I want to retain stockish ride quality. I will say that your 255 square set up fills the wheel wells better and slightly reduces your gap. I’m waiting on fl-5 wheels with 255 square tires and in the process of upgrading to 370/345 brakes. We will have very similar cars minus all the smaller premium items and the 6MT. This is my first auto I’ve bought, but with frequent trips to queens and Bk I was getting tired of driving stick in stop and go. I ofcourse miss it on open roads on nice

Nice man, i will say the wheels and brakes have transformed the car more than anything, so i hope you're excited!

[danarino]

Originally Posted by toxik

Nice man, i will say the wheels and brakes have transformed the car more than anything, so i hope you're excited!

Definitely excited to get it all bolted up. Unfortunately like everything the wheels are on back order for who knows how long (apex says early Q4), but atleast the brakes will hold me over in the near future. The fact bmw put 225 square on a 320hp sport sedan is mind boggling when I see base model accords and sonatas with 235s. Can not wait to have a somewhat muscular stance like yourself with some decent sized meats on the wheels.

[toxik]

Few small mod updates:

-Black Painted Roundels from IND
-M Performance style light up door sills

[Cpark14]

very nice!

[toxik]

Small update to the build, since installed the replica M Performance Door Sills, I was not happy with them. The LED element was very cheaply made and showed sharp jagged edges. I went on a wide search of genuine BMW ones, but since so many of them were water damaged and BMW discontinued them long ago, this was not easy to find. I eventually was able to find a new set, but it was an open box item with all accessories missing. Due to me already having all other parts, such as the door magnets that enable the illumination to work, I didn't mind. Once again, genuine BMW is so much better quality wise, they look way better than the replicas. I had a few small issues with the magnetic trigger, but was able to tinker with them and fix it. I also made sure to add some rubber tape around the battery cover to try to defer any water. Hopefully they'll last, I don't know how many more new sets are out there in the world at this point.

[F30_320D_UK]

Originally Posted by toxik

Small update to the build

That looks good man. It's a really nice touch.
Can clearly see the difference between old and OEM

[toxik]

got a wash today and decided to stop by and take some pictures on my way back home, tried my best to get some of the NYC skyline in the background

[toxik]

This week I'm starting engine bay revamp, just a couple of items I always admired, but never figured I'd actually spend money on since I don't go to car shows or anything. The only person to ever see my engine bay is my mechanic, and myself of course.

Starting it off with the iND 15th anniversary aluminum oil cap made by Goldenwrench and iND. I thought it would match nicely with my already previously replaced billet aluminum Oil Filter Housing cap, made by Paradigm Engineering (shown in last picture). Really nice quality piece, I'm satisfied.

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by toxik

Few small mod updates:

-Black Painted Roundels from IND
-M Performance style light up door sills

Are these roundels different than the oem ones?

[toxik]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Are these roundels different than the oem ones?

they're OEM, iND takes them and paints the edges black. they actually look really good, i got them second hand on the forums, and i was surprised what a difference it makes.

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by toxik

they're OEM, iND takes them and paints the edges black. they actually look really good, i got them second hand on the forums, and i was surprised what a difference it makes.

Ooh interesting. My car is black sapphire, I wonder how that would look. Ty

[toxik]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Ooh interesting. My car is black sapphire, I wonder how that would look. Ty

it'll look super good man, but like with all things by iND, they're very pricey i'd say that's the biggest drawback imo

[toxik]

As a bday present to myself this year I decided to get an eventuri intake, which then spiraled into a few "might as well while youre in there" upgrades of the engine bay. I picked up all parts in bimmerpost classifieds thanks to our great forum members who provide amazing deals on used parts.

Intake: Eventuri BMW F-Chassis B58 Black Carbon Intake System - Product # EVE-B58-CF-INT

Turbo Inlet: DINAN TURBO INLET PIPE Carbon Fiber - Product # D760-0061

Charge Pipe: FTP Motorsport Charge Pipe for B58 - Product # F3X-B58-CP

My plan was to powdercoat the charge pipes from FTP orange to match my MPBBK. Luckily the used set of charge pipes I bought already had scuffs on them, but I always liked the glossy painted finish on charge pipes over the matte/wrinkly finish that some charge pipes come with. I was also inclined to replace the silicone coupler that FTP provides with the Charge Pipe, I thought its a bit short and cheap. I went with HPS as the upgraded coupler and T-bolt clamps. Part numbers are HTSR-250-300-L4-BLK, SLTC-275, SLTC-325. Incase anyone is interested in doing something similar with a different brand, the coupler is a 3 inch to 2.5 inch reducer and is 4 inches in length.

Dinan doesn't provide a new O-Ring and C-clamp with their kit and want you to re-use your OEM ones from the stock Turbo Inlet. I don't think that's a smart thing to do so I bought new O-Ring and C-Clamp from BMW for $25. The part numbers for them are 13718637817, 13718637818.

For anyone considering the Eventuri Intake, given its high cost of entry, it is worth every penny to me, it sounds amazing and I'm so glad I did it. The fitment is great and the quality is second to none. Unfortunately, same cannot be said about the Dinan Turbo Inlet, the fitment was super tight and hard to get on, but being the only CF Turbo Inlet on the market, beggars cant be choosers I guess.

Pictures of the parts are below:

[toxik]

pictures of them installed in the car:

[F30_320D_UK]

That setup looks real good man!

[toxik]

Did a few mods during the Thanksgiving break, enjoying the minor visual upgrades they gave my interior.

Carbon Fiber Seat Backs:
Picked these up from an awesome forum member for a great deal, they were custom ordered, brand new OEM seat backs with Carbon Fiber overlaid on top of them. The finish is perfect and they look OEM. I would love to have to the CF seatbacks that you see on a lot of modern bucket seat cars, even the F80, but this is a nice upgrade as well. My OEM seat backs were pretty badly dinged up and scratched, and I didn't mind losing the mesh net you get for storing documents and small items, it was completely useless to me.





M Performance Alcantara/CF Sliding Arm Rest:

Next up was an item I was on the fence about for a while, given that I already have alcantara MT boot and E-brake boot with tri-color M stitching, I knew that the arm rest would complete the look. Just a bit concerned about long-term wear of such a high touch area and alcantara, hope it doesn't show wear quick. I noticed that out of all of my OEM saddle brown leather, the arm rest showed the most discoloration and signs of wear, even more than the driver seat bolster. The great thing about this item, since it slides, the new exposed back is finished in Carbon Fiber, and from the rear seats, it matches the new seat-backs beautifully.

[toxik]

Next mod is something i've had on my wanted mod list for a while. About a year ago I bought a G11 stainless steel start button to retrofit into my OEM button assembly. I always like the alumium/stainless button look that BMW G11's come with, to me it looks very modern and luxurious. Recently I was able to get a great deal on a brand new OEM F80 CS red start button. I knew the matte red of the CS button would match my matte red M1/M2 buttons well, so I decided to swap them.




eventhough I thought this was the right move, I did miss that touch from a BMW G11 in my car. The part I've looked into before was the G11 NBT EVO idrive controller. I initially found it when I saw some people here retrofitting ceramic idrive controllers into their F30s (I believe they come from X5's), and I found that the "ultimate" idrive controller is from a G11, it has the metallic buttons, with a ceramic controller. I thought it would look amazing in my car's CF trim, and next to my MT shifter which is finished in gloss black and silver trim. was able to get a mint condition one from what I'm assuming was a junk yard for a great price.



I started doing more research into whether these idrive controllers are plug and play, and apparently theyre not. from what I've read, some people had their units not work with their NBT EVOs at all, and others had a common issue where ISTA will recognize the idrive controller as a foreign computer not coded to the car and will refuse to do any updates. Someone on the F80 forums retrofitted the button module and the joystick itself onto their oem NBT EVO controller computer unit and I decided to do the same. Overall it was an easy job, didn't take any more than 30 minutes with the right tools and a bit of care/patience.







Picked up a small CF piece from Dinmann during black friday sales this year, just a replacement for the panel trim under the radio, thought it was a nice accent piece to tie all the carbon going down the center console together.

Here are the pics with everything all together: