[F36 435d]

5000 Mile Review 435d Xdrive Gran Coupe

(View Pictures on Bimmerpost App on this thread)

Finally covered 5000 since collection of the 435d Xdrive Gran Coupe back in August 2016.
Now this is no ordinary Bmw. Its very different and certainly does stand out from the crowd. Its not everybodies cup of tea, which i can understand. However i love it.

Some of you may have seen this car elsewhere because it has been featured in many different places online.

It is in the Porsche Colour, Speed Yellow Individual. Not Dakar Yellow.
It has the Full M Performance Package which Includes the 20" M Performance Wheels, Carbon Fibre Front Splitter, Rear Diffuser, Carbon Fibre Mirror Housings, Carbon Fibre Rear Spoiler, Black Grille, Side Skirts, Side Decals and finally the M Performance Vinyl Stripes over the bonnet, roof and boot. It is believed to be the only one in the country like it.


Unicorn Motor Developments in Stockport Carried out the Remap. On the Dyno the figures were
Standard:
313.4 BHP & 649.5NM
Remapped:
393 BHP & 864NM

(On a accurately calibrated dyno)

I have tested the car with a Vbox.
0-60 Mph 3.7 seconds.
One very very fast machine !
Rick @ Unicorn Motor Developments is a BMW Remapping Specialist with a 4wd rolling road offering custom remaps, Dpf deletes, Ecu repairs and many other services.
He runs a F10 535d remapped 400hp + in Malta on the drag strips. He also owns a F10 535d in the UK as well as many other cars.
He has 1st class honours in engine management and has studied Ecus for many of years. It took him bang on 4 hours to check and diagnose the car, for all the dyno runs before, during and after & finally to carry out the remap.
Although the figures are very high, I trust his quality work with my car.


700Nm Gearbox Torque limit
I have done lots of research on the gearbox. The gearbox has a limit of 700nm. Obviously the more power you put through it, the more strain it will have. If you put 705nm through it, it isnt going to break. 700nm is what the gearbox Manufacture (ZF) claim as the safe limit. There is a margin over 700nm what the gearbox is capable of taking. There are many remapped Bmws exceeding the 700nm limit. At around 800nm or even more and they have covered many of miles and never had any problems. In day to day normal driving back and forward to work I do not use all the power the car has so the full amount of power is not being used every time i drive the car. I also rarely Launch the car and i always make sure the car is warmed up fully before it is driven hard. I also plan to service the gearbox at 40,000 miles (before its due 50-75k) I never use the car round tracks or for drag racing etc..
I have been studying the torque usage via the sports display. Just driving normally back and forward to work on the motorway and normal roads the maximum amount of torque i have used is 550nm, so it isnt regular you are using over 700nm. Also, i highly doubt the massive number of tuning companies would be willing to put your car at risk, they must have confidence in the gearbox otherwise they would have unhappy customers no? So i do have confidence that the gearbox should be good for a long while.


Before the warranty police turn up, yes it has invalidated my warranty on the Engine,Drivetrain etc... however certain warranties still apply for example if my door handle stops working then it can be repaired under Bmw warranty. However I trust that the car is reliable hence the reason I took the risk of invalidating my warranty. If I wanted an unreliable vehicle I would’ve bought a Range Rover. I also keep the car well serviced, Oil & Filter changes every year/ 10,000 miles. Replacing the filters before they are due.

Overall, I am very pleased with the remap and I would highly recommend Unicorn Motor Developments to tune your Bmw.


Exhaust
One thing which I wanted but the 35d on the 3/4 series dont have is the dual exhausts. I contacted a few different companies and in the end I got a dual exhaust conversion done by Cybox Exhaust in Bromborough. I bought a Genuine Bmw M Performance 440i Diffuser from Harry Fairbairn BMW Scotland (contact Elliot Cutter for the cheapest price)
for £292 and the exhaust conversion cost £295. They removed the backbox and cut the end piece of exhaust and installed a new back piece of exhaust with nice welding & Mandrel Bending. 3” Exhaust with 3.5” Tips with a honey comb effect on the inside.

The garage left the rest of the exhaust standard because they said there was nothing wrong with it and there would be no benefits by changing it. The DPF & CAT is still intact so MOTS can still be passed. Without the Backbox the car sounds better, abit deeper. Of course it doesnt sound like a petrol, but it does sound better than it did. You cannot hear it from the inside of the car until you put your foot down. You can definitely hear it when outside the car on idle and revving and turning the engine on and off.

I also debadged the car at the same time as having the exhausts done.
No black smoke, nice chrome shiny tips !



Coding
I were reading up about coding as I were interested in getting the active sound through the speakers so I had abit of noise on the inside of the car too.
I were lead to believe it were a DIY coding job therefore I went ahead and did it myself.

I purchased the V Gate icar2 Wifi OBD Dongle off Ebay for £26.
(I were having second thoughts on plugging this device into my car or not when i saw it had a sticker on the box stating 'Made In China' )

Download the Bimmercode App.
Make an in App Purchase of £28.99 to Unlock the coding on the app.

The app usage is straight forward:
- Switch the ignition in your car on
- Connect the adapter to you car
- Connect your phone to the adapter in the phone WiFi settings
- Start the app and press connect
- The app will show that it is reading your ECU
- A Menu will appear specific to you car so you can change settings & Makes things Active and Not Active
- Press Code and the coding process will start
- The ECU will be reset
- Done

The process is quite fast and simple.

There will be made a backup of the coding data everytime the ECU is read out, so in case that anything goes wrong you can revert everything to default.

There is a demo mode on the App so it gives you an idea how to use it etc... If you download the free app you can see for yourself.

I have Coded:
- Active Sound Design to sound like an M4 through the Speakers, you can change the volume on this, Sounds quite good upon hard acceleration
- M Performane Logo on the Instrument Cluster when entering the car/before starting the ignition like the photograph above.
- M logo on idrive screen on start up
- Digital Speedo.
- Exterior Door handles LED Lights illuminate upon Reverse Gear selected.
- Temperature of Tyres
- Start Stop to remember last setting



General Bits & Bats

I have purchased the Bmw Rubber Mats & Boot Liner. They come at quite an expensive however they are top quality. The boot liner is non slip which is very good.

A few weeks ago I were cleaning the car and I discovered a tiny tiny stone chip on the bonnet. So I contacted Bmw for a touch-up paint, bearing in mind my car is an individual colour, they told me that they do not sell it and I would have to go to a bodyshop and have it made. That’s where I thought, it’s the Porsche Colour, Speed Yellow. I picked up a Speed Yellow Touch up from Porsche for my Bmw for just £16 ! Problem solved.

I were having a nosey around under the bonnet when I were cleaning it a few months back, and I pulled out the air filter and I was astonished by how dirty it were in such little mileage, so I ordered a K&N for around £65 if I remember rightly. I threw the old one out and installed the K&N. I weren’t really expecting any gains and I didn’t notice any gains, not sure if it did make a difference or not.

Some of you may think im daft but I always run BP Ultimate diesel in my car and nothing but, I am lead to believe it is better than Shell V Power Diesel because of a lower sulfur content therefore the dpf will be cleaner.

But as well as using BP Ultimate I always use Diesel Additives in most tanks of fuel. Forte DPF Cleaners etc… and I found a good deal on Ebay for Genuine Bmw Diesel Additive for £8 delivered: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2629380069...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


I were going to get the ACS Springs installed, However the car has the M Performance Carbon Splitter and I think it would be to low and damage the splitter.

I have added some 3D Carbon Domed plates to the car from Demon Plates. These match the diffuser and the spoiler and they look well as well as being 100% road legal.



What next ?
Well I think Ive covered just about everything In the time ive had the car and over the 5000 miles ive covered since owning it.
Due to the exclusivity of this car, I intend on keeping it a long while.
In terms of mods etc.. Whats next ? Im not entirely sure, I don’t want to go over the top, I like to keep it as original as possible but still look good & OEM.
Maybe some M Performance Foot Pedals next ?
Ill keep the thread updated on what I do.

[CazuaLLUK]

Very nice write up, stayed on the shitter for 15 mins just to read this!

[Soul_Glo]

Lovely bumble bee you have there. Read from start to finish.

How about interior equipment? Did you spec anything like HK audio?

[Tengocity]

You're right about the warranty being invalidated, but only if it's detectable by the BMW dealer diagnostic equipment. Do you know if Unicorn do their remaps to get around that?
Mine has had quite a bit of warranty work done since it was remapped, so its definitely possible.

You're right that one never uses all the available power and torque all that often, however, why have it if you're not happy and comfortable to use it regularly? To me it's a bit like folk who buy 340i's and then show you how it can do 50mpg if you drive it at 56mph!

Anyways, interesting reading. I'd still to the suspension properly, and then you can make the most of all that extra power and torque.

[MashinBenzin]

Great write up F36 435d I enjoyed the read

It wouldn't be for me, but I love the individuality of your car. A yellow F36 is really something!

Originally Posted by Tengocity

To me it's a bit like folk who buy 340i's and then show you how it can do 50mpg if you drive it at 56mph!

That's an odd comment, as surely the whole point of a x40i is the mix of all-round abilities. Some of them are exceptional/surprising and worthy of comment, hence they attract it. Just because someone extracts exceptional MPG on one journey, doesn't mean that they are not enjoying the fantastic soundtrack and power on the next journey.

[Yaz_BMW320D]

great write up and even better car! optimus would be proud!

Those wheels set the car off immensely

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Great write up F36 435d I enjoyed the read

It wouldn't be for me, but I love the individuality of your car. A yellow F36 is really something!

That's an odd comment, as surely the whole point of a x40i is the mix of all-round abilities. Some of them are exceptional/surprising and worthy of comment, hence they attract it. Just because someone extracts exceptional MPG on one journey, doesn't mean that they are not enjoying the fantastic soundtrack and power on the next journey.

Ok I get your point, so perhaps the better analogy for the point I'm making, which is why have so much performance if you're not happy using it regularly, is those who have the more powerful engines and then use Eco Pro.

In this case I'd rather remap the car to the output that I'd be happy to use each and every day as much as possible!

[badgerbrock72]

Great write up and lovely car👍

Oh, and you have a lovely ginger pussy😀
(someone had to say it)

[F36 435d]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

You're right about the warranty being invalidated, but only if it's detectable by the BMW dealer diagnostic equipment. Do you know if Unicorn do their remaps to get around that?
Mine has had quite a bit of warranty work done since it was remapped, so its definitely possible.

You're right that one never uses all the available power and torque all that often, however, why have it if you're not happy and comfortable to use it regularly? To me it's a bit like folk who buy 340i's and then show you how it can do 50mpg if you drive it at 56mph!

Anyways, interesting reading. I'd still to the suspension properly, and then you can make the most of all that extra power and torque.

Thanks are the performance of the car, it's not the point that I'm not comfortable in using the power, it's the fact I can't use the power driving to Manchester and back every day in heavy traffic. On weekends on country roads, well that's a different matter

In regards to the warranty with the remap, I'm not sure. It hasn't been it for any warranty work yet. Touch wood. With the previous 535d I plastered all over the key and the car it was remapped so they wouldn't software update it or clear the map

Thanks again

[moff]

Your car looks fantastic!!! Just wish I could have stretched to an Individual exterior, but it would have made my car more expensive than an M4!!

More interior details needed too!

I would be concerned about 850NM on the gearbox. I'm surprised the torque limiter doesn't impact acceleration? My 640d is chipped and when really on it I need to lift off the accelerator between gearchanges.

[F36 435d]

Thank you all for the kind comments, regards the interior yes it's quite well specced, however it doesn't have the HK, but I will have to take some pictures of the inside at some point and do a short write up on that.

Hahaha the orange cat, he is very nosey and notices if anything has been changed, he were sniffing the exhaust with great intense when I had that changed haha

[goodbyalfa]

lovely motor mate.
The only mod I would suggest is related to the fact you appear to have quite a lot of room around those brake disks. I only have 19" 403's with the blue brakes, and at the front especially, the wheel is full.. With your 20" set up and std brakes, there is a little too much space for my liking...
Minor point really and only my opinion. Awesome work getting to where you are with it!

[F30Andy]

Fantastic write up.

The only thing you need to do is get rid of the Pirelli's and get some Michelins on it.

[alpine330D]

Very nice. A nice sudtle mod would be the carbon shark fin cover.

[225]

Very nice! Lci rear lights would look great as well id say.

[JLR1969]

Great car and very good read too. Nice one!

[UKF30]

Best looking Individual F36 on the forum and very nice mods mate

[F36 435d]

Thank you all for the kind comments

In regards to the carbon shark fin cover, does this not affect radio signals ?

I do plan on replacing the Pirellis with Michelin Non Runflats when they are worn out. Would i get a blow up kit ? And if i get a puncture can it be repaired after the blow up kit is used ? Thanks

[F36 435d]

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...1&disp=safe&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...3&disp=safe&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...5&disp=safe&zw

Bought a M Performance Key Cover from Stuart Murray at Bmw Kirkcaldy. £32 delivered. Saves the boot lid from opening when i lean on the key in my pocket.

[F36 435d]

A few pictures from a car meet on Saturday Night.

[savgeax]

Were you down south a week or so ago, near Staines/Sunbury direction??

[F36 435d]

Originally Posted by savgeax

Were you down south a week or so ago, near Staines/Sunbury direction??

No i weren't buddy.