[Prolix-2]

Originally Posted by mad1stgen

10 Msport wagons later ... *259 and 260 are the correct part numbers. Order away !

Haha, OK. Will do. 2 to 4 weeks later, my rear bumper will fit correctly. No eta update on my shocks yet. Maybe they'll show up the same time as the rear bumper guides?

[E91WAG3N]

Did you ever figure out your spring situation? I have a set of stock springs from my M Sport E91 that I can grab the numbers off of.

[Prolix-2]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Did you ever figure out your spring situation? I have a set of stock springs from my M Sport E91 that I can grab the numbers off of.

I ended up getting the Bilstein B12 kit. That seemed like about the same solution as finding the stock sport springs and replacing the shocks.

[Prolix-2]

Front is assembled, but the rear bumper obviously not. Projected delivery for the bumper guides is 4 to 6 weeks. The alternative is to cut up the non-sport e91 and e90 guides and stich them together. It's not particularly time sensitive, so maybe I'll just put the non-sport bumper back on for a while.

No ETA on the B12 kit.

[Prolix-2]

Well, as a surprise, both the bumper guides and shocks showed up today.

There was no shipping update on the shocks and the projected delivery on the guides were much longer. Oh well, I'll take it. Now it'll be a question of when I have time to install.

[Prolix-2]

So, I've started to work on liquidating on the left over parts cars from this project and I have this steering wheel removed from an 2011 M Sport E90. This steering wheel looks very different from the other wheels in the other parts cars. Is this one I want to keep? I have a standing offer of $200 on it, but I'm finding inconclusive data as to what it is and what's different outside of cosmetics from the older style sport wheels with paddles.

Feedback appreciated.

[M3_Legend]

Originally Posted by Prolix-2

So, I've started to work on liquidating on the left over parts cars from this project and I have this steering wheel removed from an 2011 M Sport E90. This steering wheel looks very different from the other wheels in the other parts cars. Is this one I want to keep? I have a standing offer of $200 on it, but I'm finding inconclusive data as to what it is and what's different outside of cosmetics from the older style sport wheels with paddles.

Feedback appreciated.

That steering wheel is an LCI M-sport mode only, i believe 2009-2012 the leather is perforated and there is a matching E-brake handle and shift knob off the M-sport.

[Serf27]

That is the wheel you want.
Perforated leather and thicker wheel.
The lci paddles also look better than the pre lci.

It does look rough though.

[Prolix-2]

Yes, it looks rough. Every one of the sport wheels I've obtained are in shockingly poor condition. I was assuming whichever one I want to use will need refinishing.

What are the options for refinishing services?

[Serf27]

I’ve bought the wheel wraps from Amazon and have had success with them.
But this was only on the standard sport wheel which is thinner, and they’re not the nice, smooth Nappa leather.

You would need to find a cover made for the M sport wheel, or wrap a plain sport wheel and swap over the trim/paddles, or send it out to get refinished, or buy the one I have.

[Prolix-2]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I’ve bought the wheel wraps from Amazon and have had success with them.
But this was only on the standard sport wheel which is thinner, and they’re not the nice, smooth Nappa leather.

You would need to find a cover made for the M sport wheel, or wrap a plain sport wheel and swap over the trim/paddles, or send it out to get refinished, or buy the one I have.

I sent you a message about this.

[cghempel]

I've had good success with sourcing refinished steering wheels on ebay. It could be worth seeing what you find there too.

[Prolix-2]

Question:

Does an N51 have the same manifold as the N52 330? I was thinking it was, but is that true?

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by Prolix-2

Yes, it looks rough. Every one of the sport wheels I've obtained are in shockingly poor condition. I was assuming whichever one I want to use will need refinishing.

What are the options for refinishing services?

Sell it for $200 and put that towards a brand new OEM wheel or one that’s already redone like Tanik on eBay.

Steering wheel and shift knob are the most important bits on the interior since you touch them the most. Would skip those ill-fitting aftermarket covers.

[Prolix-2]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Sell it for $200 and put that towards a brand new OEM wheel or one that’s already redone like Tanik on eBay.

Steering wheel and shift knob are the most important bits on the interior since you touch them the most. Would skip those ill-fitting aftermarket covers.

That's what I did in the end. Not sure what the final choice will be, but I just let it go.

[Prolix-2]

So, I finally have the body kit all installed and things together. The bumper guides were right and that solved all those problems of fitment.

First real car in use today was to make a run and go collect some MB wheels for a different project. These are rather small wagons, but I made do.

[Prolix-2]

In my ever expanding exploration on the 00's vintage BMW lineup I picked up this Z4 for a "Copart Cabriolet" event that ended up being canceled. Which turned out OK because the car turned out to be to much trouble to be made road worthy.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the SMG transmission though. I found it very entertaining and engaging as the first time I've spent time in one. I will stop ruling it out as an transmission choice for future cars. The M seats does make the Zed a significantly nicer car to spend time in.

I've been toying with the idea of getting an M Roadster as a companion to the clown shoe. If I did I would probably have to sell the SL550 though as I won't have enough garage space to store everything. I'm not really sure I'm ready to sell the SL. Driving the Z back to back with the R230 only accents how much better a car the MB is, but it had better be considering the huge price gap between the two where the original MSRP is concerned! The plan is to get some other cabrio for 2023 and the search is on.

Anyone want to trade a Z4 3 pedal or SMG for a e91 wagon? Roadsters only, we've already got one Zed coupe, we don't need two.

[Prolix-2]

In all things I am slow, but progress is slowly being made.

I've switched out the lovely 18's off for repair, replacement, or to sell. They weren't exactly comfortably round, so we had to move on. The staggered M Sport set on it now rides quite a bit nicer.

I tried to upgrade the seats to a matching color sport seat... but when I tried to clean it the face of the leather was pealing off. It had obviously been living a rough life up until now! Alternative seat options will have to be pursued.

Finally, the B12 kit will be installed tomorrow. Big goals achieved in the past week.

[Prolix-2]

Suspension is in and the verdict is out how whether it's the bee's knees or not. Initial response was negative as in my head I was hoping it would be like my Mercedes R230 SL ABC suspension, which is phenomenally unrealistic. Spending a bit more time with it helped me more come to terms with it. A bit harsh, but it's still on the Bridgestone Drive Guards too, so I'm sure that's not helping.

Swapping the suspension was very straight forward with no issues. Next items in queue:

* 3 stage intake and tune
* Steering wheel with paddle shifters retrofit

Yet to be solved that I would love input on

* Seat options
* headlight improvements. With all my other cars have HID or LED headlights, it puts the night time visibility as extremely poor on this car in comparison.
* Maybe decide on whether to keep the 17's and get actually good tires, or go ahead and search for 18's.


Up for debate still:
* Swapping in the 135i brakes. Do those fit on a 17" wheel anyways? I didn't think about that. If they don't, I may need to be moving to an 18" after all.

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by Prolix-2

Suspension is in and the verdict is out how whether it's the bee's knees or not. Initial response was negative as in my head I was hoping it would be like my Mercedes R230 SL ABC suspension, which is phenomenally unrealistic. Spending a bit more time with it helped me more come to terms with it. A bit harsh, but it's still on the Bridgestone Drive Guards too, so I'm sure that's not helping.

Swapping the suspension was very straight forward with no issues. Next items in queue:

* 3 stage intake and tune
* Steering wheel with paddle shifters retrofit

Yet to be solved that I would love input on

* Seat options
* headlight improvements. With all my other cars have HID or LED headlights, it puts the night time visibility as extremely poor on this car in comparison.
* Maybe decide on whether to keep the 17's and get actually good tires, or go ahead and search for 18's.


Up for debate still:
* Swapping in the 135i brakes. Do those fit on a 17" wheel anyways? I didn't think about that. If they don't, I may need to be moving to an 18" after all.

This is a very nice thread indeed!

Regarding the 135i brakes - they should fit 17”s, as the 335i had the same diameter brakes and came standard with 17” wheels. My vote is to keep the 17”s as they are both unusual, and I find the 18”s to be harsh (I have the factory 18s on my 335i, they’re shod in Michelin AS4s).

The B12 kit handles very well, but ride comfort with those monotubes is not what they’re known for. Indeed I swapped out my B6 for some Koni SAs which made a world of a difference.

Do you still have the xenons from your parts cars? You can retrofit the dynamic xenons which are absolutely phenomenal. There’s a retrofit PDF from BMW floating around somewhere which should be helpful, and you should have all of the various parts needed to retrofit it from your parts cars…

You can also retrofit the Logic 7 system pretty easily - I think your blue M Sport car had it as well.

[Prolix-2]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

This is a very nice thread indeed!

Regarding the 135i brakes - they should fit 17”s, as the 335i had the same diameter brakes and came standard with 17” wheels. My vote is to keep the 17”s as they are both unusual, and I find the 18”s to be harsh (I have the factory 18s on my 335i, they’re shod in Michelin AS4s).

The B12 kit handles very well, but ride comfort with those monotubes is not what they’re known for. Indeed I swapped out my B6 for some Koni SAs which made a world of a difference.

Do you still have the xenons from your parts cars? You can retrofit the dynamic xenons which are absolutely phenomenal. There’s a retrofit PDF from BMW floating around somewhere which should be helpful, and you should have all of the various parts needed to retrofit it from your parts cars…

You can also retrofit the Logic 7 system pretty easily - I think your blue M Sport car had it as well.

Thanks for your feedback!

I'll say that once I got used to the b12 and tempered my expectations a bit, I'm not to upset with them. Biggest complaint is some bounce in the rear end like the possibly the spring rates are off or something.

I have a set of non run-flat tires to put on and I expect that will improve ride quality a bit as well.

----

On the lights: I read through someone's walk through of the active headlight retrofit. That's significantly more work than I am willing to undertake for sure! Unfortunately, none of my parts cars had sets of HIDs to swap over either, so at the moment I'm stuck with the halogens. Aiming them did have a dramatic improvement on things, but still does not compare to the other cars in my possession.


-----

As for the audio swap? This I would be genuinely curious about. None of my parts cars have the Logic 7, or at least I don't think so since don't the 3s get a similar Logic 7 stamped amp like the e65 7 amps? That was my understanding, but I've never actually had my hands on a 3 with the option.

This e91 has the base audio, but obviously if I could retrofit the system from one of the other cars I would absolutely do it.

[Prolix-2]

My cyber monday's purchase that may benefit the e91 in some way. I've still not gotten very far about retrofitting the brakes from the other 135i either. I'll get there eventually...