[ally_bassman]

Well after much deliberation and umming and arring, I decided to look for a new car to replace my beloved MK2 Fabia VRS Estate.



Yes the performance is mighty impressive and after fitting a TMC box and ITG induction kit it really flew. But the crashy ride, loud cabin noise, questionable build quality stodgy handling were starting the outweigh the grin produced from stabbing the throttle.


I've always wanted a BMW, ideally an 135i M, but being only 25 (at the time!) that can wait until I'm further up the career ladder! I focused in on a E90 320d M-Sport as they look great IMO, are cheap to run and with the established chassis and punchy 184 PS engine, a bit of a hoot to drive too! I managed to get a great deal on a 2011 car with 20k on the clock from a BMW dealer.






I can totally see why they get such good reviews, the first thing I noticed coming from the Fabia was the steering feel, nicely weighted and giving you a real idea of what the front wheels are doing. The ride, while hard and 'Sporty' is smooth and irons out the crappy roads we have. Without being too much of a BMW fanboy, I am chuffed and happy I made the switch. The car does have a fair bit of grunt while on the move, but I was missing the punch from my old Fabia, so after a little research, I bought a DTUK CRD-t+ tuning box which claims to take the power from 181BHP to 220BHP. I am a realist, so I would be happy with around 210BHP and 350nm of torque.





The box was mega easy to fit, and after 500 miles with it fitted, I am happy with the results, the performance is greatly improved. But with 18 different settings (3 maps that can be adjusted +3 or -3 increments) to choose from, it's a case of switching between them to find one that works best.


Farther Christmas that year brought me a new grill, so that was fitted as soon as it could! Mixed reviews from people, but I love it.





My plans for the future are;

- OEM tinting of the windows

- Change Halogen angel eye's for LED ones

- Replace headlight bulbs for brighter / whiter ones

- Paint brake callipers

- Change the rear exhaust pipe for a twin pipe similar to a 330d

- Replace alloy's for 18" OEM rims from a 320s

Well nothing really happened for two years... The need to buy a house and a baby on the way put stop to any plans I had for the E90. I have to say though, this car has done me proud and I have thoroughly loved every one of the 22k miles i've done since picking her up.


At the start of this year it did let me down slightly.... snow meant the car was stranded on the drive...





I finally managed to get to work a day later, 320d's make good snow plows..





2016 with all of its controversy, has been an exciting year for me and my Girlfriend. With our first baby on the way and in the process of buying our first house together, the poor E90 got neglected....





I think this may have been the longest I had left one of my cars unwashed... It really was a work horse for a year!


I have changed the tires from the horrible Bridgestone RFT's to a lovely set of Goodyear Eagle F1 ASY 2's - fantastic tyres! I feel the ride and drive has improved since ditching the RFT's.

Luckily, once we finally moved into our new home, I was able to get my dream 'Man garage' with space for my bikes, and car detailing stuff. I didn't take me long to give the BMW a good wash, clay and polish...








Ahhhhh that's better...








You won't notice unless you look closley, but I fitted a little body coloured lip spoiler onto the boot, i think it's a little touch that sets the car off in M-Sport trim.

[ally_bassman]

The E90 got some treats for Christmas.....



One thing I felt really let the car down as the horrid pressed steel oval exhaust. So I had a few options to change it:


- Buy a used 330d back box and get it welded on to my original system

- Get a custom box made up

- Buy a new after market rear section


I went for the last option and picked up a Cobra Sport rear section, I wasn't expecting it to make any difference to performance (it doesn't) or engine sound (It does sound a little less agricultual now lol) but i'm happy with the way it looks and it's a hell of a lot lighter than the original!







Really happy with the way it looks, the fact it's given the car a nice growl is a bonus.


I also changed the Halogen Halo rings to aftermarket LED ones. An absolute pig of a job as you have to take the wheel off and arch liner out to even get to them... 2 hours of swearing later I was done. Never again!!! Even jacking the bloomin thing up was a mission, the standard car is stupidly low in M sport trim so I had trouble getting my trolley jack under! never had this problem with my on stilts VRS's!



I've coded them to run as DRL's so having the LED's has made a real difference, chuffed to bits!


Last of all i got my windows tinted to match the OEM 'Business edition' cars, It just sets the car off in my opnion.



After all that I treated her to a christmas eve wash using Ultimate finish's snow foam. I used it neat and was impressed with it's cling and dirt breakdown. Good job it's cheap as I used 500ml in one go!

[Redguy]

Great thread, great pics....great car!

Super work, well done that man.

[ally_bassman]

Thank you very much! :-)

It's only a modest 320d, but i'm enjoying the process of modding it to how I want it.

[ally_bassman]

I took the long way home from work yesterday, I found some excellent roads in the peaks..





I really do love the way this car is looking now.

[JM85]

Looks good, really miss my E90 & you seem to be going down a similar route as I did with mine, the 330 back box & lip spoiler were my fave mods