[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

I find car cleaning too depressing as there's always a fresh batch of stone chips to greet me

I was following some chump in a landscaping truck on Friday and it hit a bump, which caused loads of stones and dirt to fall off it and straight onto my screen, bonnet and bumper.....at 60mph. I was f'ing fuming
So yeah, lots of chips to fill in now

I'll give the Megs a sniff next time I'm in Halfords

Good to know about the skirt decals

That I can understand; my F31 will be going to my pals body shop at some point; both bumpers need respraying and the tailgate needs some TLC too... He'll sort stone chips out then as well...

[danb1979]

No washing the car this weekend; I'm too broken & in too much pain. Only 12 days left until my op so hoping that things smooth out after that

Anyways...

A straight set of 18x8 Style 397s ordered for winter wheels... Will see what their overall condition is like when they land and decide whether to do a DIY refurb or get them to my pal to sort (TBH for £150 for a full refurb & powdercoat from him does make life easier)

These are how they look:



Just need to decide on which 225/4/518 non-RFT winter tyres to go for now

[TurboWeasel]

Nice!

I've had good luck with Nokian in the past and they're cheaper than the usual suspects. Scandinavian brands are pretty good on the whole as they have lots of snow and ice to deal with!

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

Nice!

I've had good luck with Nokian in the past and they're cheaper than the usual suspects. Scandinavian brands are pretty good on the whole as they have lots of snow and ice to deal with!

Yeah had them before also but alas they don't come up in the 225/45 sizes I want...

Think I'll go with Goodyear or Continental; but the Hankook winters that crop up seem to be well reviewed by Jon of tyrereviews.co.uk & real world users and they're only £120 a corner rather than £160 plus!

And for the limited miles I'll do on them; they could do the job well.

However, I had Nexen Winguard Sport 2s on my F01 for winters and they were really good. Got us up & around the Highlands in Feb 2022 with zero issues and over Glenshee, through the snow and ice, for me to get to a weirdly green Braemar to lift the Inver Stone

[danb1979]

Realised this morning one job I've overlooked on the F31 was the engine bay detail...

I'm not in any shape to wash the car currently; but managed to get the engine bay sorted though & cleaned the underside of the bonnet too





















All plastics treated with Aerospace 303 protectant and buffed dry. Tried my new toy off Amazon too; an air blower. Got all the excess water from the nooks & crannies. Very happy with that purchase

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Variable-Qu...iy%2C86&sr=1-1

[martin10chk]

Can’t beat a clean under-bonnet area! Looks great. A credit to its owner as the saying goes.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by martin10chk

Can’t beat a clean under-bonnet area! Looks great. A credit to its owner as the saying goes.

Cheers Martin...

It makes my OCD happy knowing it's clean under there now haha

[Dutch92]

Looks brill dan!! something thats also on my list but never got round to doing.

also interested in trying the aerospace 303 stuff, heard many good things about it.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Dutch92

Looks brill dan!! something thats also on my list but never got round to doing.

also interested in trying the aerospace 303 stuff, heard many good things about it.

It's good, but IMO it doesn't last long...

I've treated most of the plastic with it; but I've treated the acoustic panel on top of the engine with AGs Rubber & Vinyl care to see how that gets on

I used that on my previous E39s and the M54 rocker cover etc and it always lasted well



Not the best pic; but that was after a good few months...!

[danb1979]

Both keys 're-shelled'







The original keys were poorly worn and disgusting TBH

[Leeg1633]

Originally Posted by danb1979

Both keys 're-shelled'

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/wjrzNm5j/newkey1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/XYq3X8CP/newkey2.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/VNb8Wk4B/newkey3.jpg[/img]

The original keys were poorly worn and disgusting TBH

Where did you get them from and how much did they cost? I could do with replacing 1 of mine

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Leeg1633

Where did you get them from and how much did they cost? I could do with replacing 1 of mine

eBay UK pal

About £15 all in IIRC:

New shells: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203267202953

BMW emblems: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154180405242

[danb1979]

New OEM BMW 345mm dimpled/grooved rear brakes and their corresponding BMW pads fitted this morning with a new wear sensor:

[danb1979]

Pictures with it back on the ground







If you click on the picture and then click on it again; you'll see the full res image rather than it being compressed & hosted, as above

[danb1979]

OEM BMW Style 397s just landed - 18x8 straight set

Will get them refurbed and shod with winter tyres later in the year

[TurboWeasel]

I love a detailed engine bay. So under rated and makes a massive difference, especially when selling!

That is also my only complaint about the Aerospace 303, it doesn't last long, otherwise it's superb.

I tried the AutoGlym stuff but it's a bit shiny for my tastes, and I foolishly put it on my door rubbers, so now they creak and groan over bumps and kerbs I should have stuck to my usual Gummi Pflege Stick for that! Oh well, lesson learned.

Great news on the key shells! The blue stripe on mine is proper shabby. I thought that would have to be a dealer job to sort, so cheers for that

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

I love a detailed engine bay. So under rated and makes a massive difference, especially when selling!

That is also my only complaint about the Aerospace 303, it doesn't last long, otherwise it's superb.

I tried the AutoGlym stuff but it's a bit shiny for my tastes, and I foolishly put it on my door rubbers, so now they creak and groan over bumps and kerbs I should have stuck to my usual Gummi Pflege Stick for that! Oh well, lesson learned.

Great news on the key shells! The blue stripe on mine is proper shabby. I thought that would have to be a dealer job to sort, so cheers for that

Haha yeah dontt use it on door seals; it doesn't do that job well. As you said. Gummipfledge or silicone spray is best...

TBH I don't find the AG Vinyl & Rubber Care goes shiny at all; it's nigh on the same finish as the 303 to me... Just seems to last longer

And I thought the 'new' keys would need to be a dealer thing too until I looked on Google and saw that they were easy to re-shell etc

£15 well spent!

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by danb1979

Haha yeah dontt use it on door seals; it doesn't do that job well. As you said. Gummipfledge or silicone spray is best...

TBH I don't find the AG Vinyl & Rubber Care goes shiny at all; it's nigh on the same finish as the 303 to me... Just seems to last longer

And I thought the 'new' keys would need to be a dealer thing too until I looked on Google and saw that they were easy to re-shell etc

£15 well spent!

Maybe I put too much on then. I'm a bit of a lazy detailer and tend to go a bit OTT with the waxes and chemicals

Yeah that's a great shout. I got a new key for my old Golf done at a dealer, thinking it would be 50 quid or something, but was handed a bill for £300. So yeah, not doing that again

[danb1979]

So the cars in with Bowker BMW again unfortunately (well; fortunately TBH) as it's getting a new rocker cover; all the gubbins and a new intake manifold fitted under warranty as they found a few issues trying to trace an oil leak for me...!

My wife dropped me off at the hospital last Wednesday for a small op I was going in for and I could smell hot oil; had a quick look and low n behold; smoke coming from the rear of the rocker cover, above the DPF...

BMW Assist out that afternoon; declared there was an issue (a way to get around the airbag recall issues currently) and it went in on Thursday morning...

They diagnosed the issues Friday & parts have landed today and hopefully the car should be sorted for tomorrow/Wednesday

Thang goodness for BMW Warranty and the slickness in which Bowker have sorted this! They've both been absolutely superb so far

[danb1979]

The cars back on the drive & in tip top condition... Apparently it went down well with techs there with the full M Performance brakes all round and skirt decals fitted

It came back with the printed invoice an been doing some sums via RealOEM and eBay UK today for prices and all toted up, via BMW resellers on eBay (mainly Douglas Park); the total works out at just over £1400 for parts alone

No idea what the labour rate will have been!

Anyways; it's done and all in good fettle

Thank goodness for warranty & what has, so far, been a superb experience with Bowker BMW in Preston

[TurboWeasel]

Result

That's a lot of money for plastic bits!

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

Result

That's a lot of money for plastic bits!

It is pal; but it's also a huge amount of peace of mind and extra warranty too

It'll be nice to drive it when I can haha

The OEM M Performance pedals and dead pedal landed today via Cotswolds BMW; will get them fitted when I can move more freely...

Currently very tempted with the OEM M Performance CF/alcantara interior trim set and the OEM alcantara steering wheel...

Basically I'm bored; can't do much so spending money like its going outta fashion