[Xover22]

Hi Everyone!

I find myself really enjoying browsing the progress of builds by everyone else so I figured I would create a log and maybe bring some enjoyment to someone else.

A bit of back story first. I purchased (leased) my first BMW back in October 2019. A mineral white M340i. My wife was allllll worked up about BMW being "unreliable" so a lease is how I could get my foot in the door. I have always been a manual guy, but really enjoyed the power and the transmission in the G20. The downsides were the run flats and non adaptive suspension. I was actually planning on purchasing the vehicle outright, but when my lease was up, I was able to make a few grand by selling it back to BMW.

After turning the G20 in, the plan was that I would drive my wife's Mazda CX5 for three years until my daughter turned 16 at which time that would become her car. Well, I made it about 9 months and could not take it any longer.

I have always loved the look of the F30 and loved the idea of getting a B58 with a 6MT. Started the search and did not realize quite how challenging it would be. After a few months, I got a notification on a search I had built with autotempest. Two low mileage manual F30's (one msport and one sport line) popped up at one dealership in New York (I'm near Seattle). Called right away and the msport already had a deposit (super bummed). I really wanted the msport, so I decided to continue my search. I noodled on the idea of looking at the sport line some more and called the dealer back about a week later. Did not love the interior, but went over the car in detail with the dealer and decided to put a deposit on a 2018 with 21k miles. Arranged shipping a week later it arrived.

Since then, several parts have started arriving including the msport bumper conversions (painted this week), apex wheels, ST XA coils, stud conversion and some other odds and ends. Got the windows tinted and did the chrome trim delete at the same time.

I'll keep this updated as I go along, but this is where I'm currently at. Parts will starting going on next week.

wheel specs. Hoping for no rubbing.
Apex ARC 8: 18x9 et30
Michelin pilot sport AS4 245/40/18

Thanks for looking.

[toxik]

nice car, yeah i know that 6MT search all too well. is it xdrive or rwd?

how are you liking where you're living? I'm looking to move out to WA in a year, somewhere west of seattle in WA.

[Xover22]

Originally Posted by toxik

nice car, yeah i know that 6MT search all too well. is it xdrive or rwd?

how are you liking where you're living? I'm looking to move out to WA in a year, somewhere west of seattle in WA.

Went with the xdrive. That was a parameter that I needed that likely did not help with the search.

I live about 25 miles east of Seattle in Snoqualmie. I have been in the PNW my entire life. The summers are absolutely amazing. It rarely gets too hot and the scenery is stunning. However, I'll never get used to November through March. The days are short and it always seems to be grey. The rain really does not bother me. At some point, I plan to either move somewhere south or have a second place and snowbird the winter months.

BTW. Followed your build for a while. Very well done!

[toxik]

Originally Posted by Xover22

Went with the xdrive. That was a parameter that I needed that likely did not help with the search.

I live about 25 miles east of Seattle in Snoqualmie. I have been in the PNW my entire life. The summers are absolutely amazing. It rarely gets too hot and the scenery is stunning. However, I'll never get used to November through March. The days are short and it always seems to be grey. The rain really does not bother me. At some point, I plan to either move somewhere south or have a second place and snowbird the winter months.

nice! yeah theres not too many of us xdrive 6mt guys out there. maybe my car will meet yours one day haha.

i actually am looking at that area, and fall city. ill be out there in august to do some location recon.

[Cytoplasm0671]

Congratulations! This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest daily driving experiences in the history of planet earth. Such a fantastic platform upon which you can make this car your own. I'm jealous about your xDrive manual. Such a fantastic combination (rwd has its own magic though). I lived in central Seattle for six years and can attest to the beauty of its wider environment. The only major city where you can go skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening haha. Michigan is sort of an unmountained Washington State with similar rain and natural beauty, though less dramatic. Lot of Michigan people move to WA.

Looking forward to your further work on the car.

[Xover22]

Had a few spare minutes this morning and threw on the new mirror caps and turn signals. All went well except for the passenger mirror. Had no issues with the first mirror. Oh well. New one arrives Tuesday.

I’m not totally sold on these caps yet. I’ll drive with them for a bit and see if they grow on me.

Happy Friday, All!

[Xover22]

Was able to find some time to throw on the Suvneer sides, rear bumper and diffuser tonight. I was really worried about the paint match, but happy to say they did a great job. Front bumper will go in in a couple weeks.

Sides skirts: I would give the fitment a 9.5/10. Very close to being perfect. Just a hair short.

Rear bumper: No complaints about fitment at all. Surprised actually at how well it fit.

Diffuser: This was a bit of a pain in the ass. Fitment was not great. Had to trim the plastic in a few places to make it fit. Perhaps part of the reason is the bumper….

Coilovers and wheels should be next week.

[Xover22]

Got the front bumper on last night. Thank goodness for several DIY videos on YouTube

[wenlubin]

Originally Posted by Xover22

Got the front bumper on last night. Thank goodness for several DIY videos on YouTube

Looking awesome…. Where did you decide to order the bumpers from?

[Xover22]

Originally Posted by wenlubin

Looking awesome…. Where did you decide to order the bumpers from?

I ended up going with Suvneer. Was debating between Kies and Suvneer. Was able to get the bumpers/sides + the MP difuser for the same price as I would have paid at Kies for only the bumper and sides.

[wenlubin]

Originally Posted by Xover22

I ended up going with Suvneer. Was debating between Kies and Suvneer. Was able to get the bumpers/sides + the MP difuser for the same price as I would have paid at Kies for only the bumper and sides.

Thanks! I hadn’t heard of Suvneer so I’ll take a look. I’ve been considering doing the M Sport conversion on my 328i but never pulled the trigger due to cost. I even started looking on ebay but it’s hard to trust the ones they have on there.

[wenlubin]

One more question: did they come with all of the screws and clips or did you have to re-use the existing ones?

[Xover22]

Originally Posted by wenlubin

One more question: did they come with all of the screws and clips or did you have to re-use the existing ones?

It came with everything needed. There are a few things to transfer over or reuse (like the plastic fasteners for the brake air inlets for example), but the you tube videos available do a really good job of walking you through the process.

[wenlubin]

Originally Posted by Xover22

It came with everything needed. There are a few things to transfer over or reuse (like the plastic fasteners for the brake air inlets for example), but the you tube videos available do a really good job of walking you through the process.

Perfect, thanks!

[Xover22]

Was able to get the coilovers and new wheels installed today. Might have to adjust them up a little. What do you all think?

Suspension
ST XA coilovers

Wheels
Apex ARC 8 squared
18x9 et30
245/40/18

No rubbing

[Xover22]

Maybe not update worthy, but installed the TLG mud flaps. Love how subtle they are.

[wenlubin]

Originally Posted by Xover22

It came with everything needed. There are a few things to transfer over or reuse (like the plastic fasteners for the brake air inlets for example), but the you tube videos available do a really good job of walking you through the process.

1 more question. Did the lower deflectors (front splash shields) give you a hard time or did you have to replace them as well? BMW has 2 different sets of part number depending if bumper is M Sport or not.

[Xover22]

Originally Posted by wenlubin

1 more question. Did the lower deflectors (front splash shields) give you a hard time or did you have to replace them as well? BMW has 2 different sets of part number depending if bumper is M Sport or not.

No, the kit comes with everything you need to line up the msport bumper with the current underbody panels. Take a look at the video below starting at 12:49. It shows the hardware included to marry the bumper to the panels. This video helped clear things up for me as I was installing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d10gC1HFXE

[wenlubin]

Originally Posted by Xover22

No, the kit comes with everything you need to line up the msport bumper with the current underbody panels. Take a look at the video below starting at 12:49. It shows the hardware included to marry the bumper to the panels. This video helped clear things up for me as I was installing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d10gC1HFXE

Great to know, thanks man! I must have watched that video a thousand times and completely missed that part...hahahaha

[Xover22]

Probably not the most noteworthy update, but got full front end PPF today. New lip also arrived last night.

[Xover22]

Threw the lip and side extensions on this morning.

[avery_b58]

Build looks great so far! What lip is that?