[M3x2]

im an anomoly. My car(s) usually flithy.

[wiregen]

Where do you guys recommend to go for a good winter detail? To tell you guys the truth this is all new to me. Had a Rav4 for most my college years. Graduated now got a nice BMW. haha

Do you guys have your winter prep at Euro Detail? IRL-mn said some shop in woodbury does winter prep detailing also. So much good local help here! Thanks! I got my all season mats & my winter tires. Now I just need prep the body up for winter.

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by wiregen

Where do you guys recommend to go for a good winter detail? To tell you guys the truth this is all new to me. Had a Rav4 for most my college years. Graduated now got a nice BMW. haha

Do you guys have your winter prep at Euro Detail? IRL-mn said some shop in woodbury does winter prep detailing also. So much good local help here! Thanks! I got my all season mats & my winter tires. Now I just need prep the body up for winter.

Hey

If you can wait 1-2 weeks, I can likely do a really good job for you, which will probably be half/quarter the cost of a larger operation. Read my post 3 posts above

I've got a lot of experience buffing/sealing/waxing with the random orbital, but the paint correction (getting rid of swirl marks) is new for me. Over the next 2 weeks I've got a few cars to keep me busy learning the ins and outs of it, and then I'll feel comfortable doing it to friends' cars.

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

I used to detail during college and consider my self pretty good when it comes to actual paint correction including wet sanding and the like (both paint right out of the booth and older/harder paint).

3M (IMO) has the best system for just about anything related to base/clear finishes. It's a little pricy but worth it.

My buffer of chice was the Mac Tools AP720 (http://www.mactools.com/product/tabi...-polisher.aspx) - I've tried all the electrics and air powered ones and this one offers the best performance and isn't heavy (in fact, it's about perfect). The only down side is it reaquires a very solid 11 SCFM to run it. We had a pair of Kaiser screw type compressors (as well as a dryer) in our shop so the volume and pressure was there. Since the air buffers use a ton of air, a good water seperator (at the minimum) is nessissary (IMO); a purpose built dryer even better. It looks like the newer versions have rear exhaust which is nice; having the air come out the front wasn't bad it's just that your hands sometimes got cold when it was winter outside and the shop was cooler I pretty much always wore Matco padded gloves though to minimize hand fatigue.

If you're sticking with electric (most home detailer guys do), I really liked the Makita polisher; it's a lighter then the Milwaukee (standard in most shops) and just as reliable/cheap to fix.

DA's and orbitals are nice for certain things but if you have some paint in rough shape, you need to have a real buffer and a quality compound. 3M Perfect-It III was always a good choice but it's pretty expensive. You can get most 3M products from Car Quest.

Nick

Cool Nick, I didnt know you knew so much about this!

I have the Porter Cable 7424 with a plethora of different pads, and I just bought a bunch of new pads and chemicals/compounds/waxes/cleaners/ from DetailedImage.com. Gosh I don't remember stuff being so expensive!! Most of the 16 or 32oz bottles of compounds were around $50-60. So yeah, that added up quickly. I figure it's much better to use the top of the line stuff as opposed to the Napa stuff. I got a few Menzerna SIP PO83, Polish P085, power finish, final finish, Blackfire glaze, Klasse SG sealant, Klasse AIO, S100 wax, yadda yadda yadda. It's really fun work though....mostly cause it makes such a HUGE difference in exterior of the car!

[prelude2perfect]

Originally Posted by BrianMN

Cool Nick, I didnt know you knew so much about this!

I have the Porter Cable 7424 with a plethora of different pads, and I just bought a bunch of new pads and chemicals/compounds/waxes/cleaners/ from DetailedImage.com. Gosh I don't remember stuff being so expensive!! Most of the 16 or 32oz bottles of compounds were around $50-60. So yeah, that added up quickly. I figure it's much better to use the top of the line stuff as opposed to the Napa stuff. I got a few Menzerna SIP PO83, Polish P085, power finish, final finish, Blackfire glaze, Klasse SG sealant, Klasse AIO, S100 wax, yadda yadda yadda. It's really fun work though....mostly cause it makes such a HUGE difference in exterior of the car!

I did the same thing about a year and a half ago. Bought the PC 7424 with some lake country pads and some optimum2 polish. Paint correction really isn't all that hard once you educate yourself on what and how to use. It is very tedious and time consuming though (and expensive for the good products!) I went through autogeek for my products which are very well priced.
I might just have you do the BMW when you get the time since I didn't have the time to do it before winter. Autopia.org is a great place for information. This thread in particular I keep in my favorites since this guy is a pro and listed a ton of good info in one thread http://autopia.org/forum/car-detaili...here-mine.html

This was my first result of paint correction on my prelude:
http://www.preludepower.com/forums/s...d.php?t=314618

Let me know if you want some tips on using the PC and I'll come over and help you out.

[airwolf878]

Originally Posted by IRL-MN

No way man, after playing with my sister's iPhone 4, that is all I want!!

Sorry, but this is all I think of now anytime people talk about the iphone... lol

[BSME90]

[BrianMN]

^Haha that's pretty accurate!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

[cyrus4u]

Originally Posted by BSME90

hahahaha.. that's d@mn funny! especially the iphone ones

BTW Martin, which spoiler do you have on your e90? any recommendations?

[ajvee]

Hey Cyrus, my recommendations are non-cf and OEM. I really like the OEM M3 spoiler.

[BSME90]

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving dinner went great! I'm stuffed.

Originally Posted by cyrus4u

BTW Martin, which spoiler do you have on your e90? any recommendations?

I've got the Jlevi Thicker Style rear lip spoiler.

http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/3-Se...duct_info.html

Here are some pictures I found that show it.

I'm not sure whether to sell or keep since I'm doing the rear LCI conversion in the next few weeks.

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

Used the car today. All I have to say is I would NEVER get one of these cars without the cold weather package

Nick

Dont remind me. Leather with no heated seats is horrible.

[BSME90]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

That might make an interesting discussion - so how did all of you guys happen upon your cars? Did you research? How did you guys end up with a BMW?
Nick

I went with a friend to look at a car he was planning on buying and saw a few BMW 3 Series there. Before the 3 series, I had a Cooper S. Loved it but I needed more practicality and AWD. Noticed that it[Bmw I have now] was pretty much fully loaded: terracota leather, awd, 6speed, VB3s, adaptive headlights, sport package, etc. Did some research, went to Motorwerks and saw they were selling 3 series cars but for a few thousand $ more. Some of them were either base models or automatics.

[BSME90]

Originally Posted by BrianMN

Dont remind me. Leather with no heated seats is horrible.

OMG, you are missing out!

[ajvee]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

Really? What options/packages do you have? Did you order your car?

That might make an interesting discussion - so how did all of you guys happen upon your cars? Did you research? How did you guys end up with a BMW?

Nick

Ah the how I came about my car topic.

135i - I first encountered the N54 when I drove my mom's 2007 E93 335i. I was very taken by turbocharging and if my mom's bloated E93 could feel so fast, I couldn't imagine how fast the car would be in the form of a small 1 series coupe. As soon as I sold my G35, I went to Motorwerks to test drive a white 135i with red interior. The test drive completely sold me. I requested the salesman to fine me a black on black stripper 6mt with the cold weather package. He found one in Wisconsin and it was shipped to me in two days! I will say that though I was thrilled to have a 135i, I always wanted to own an M3. The E46 M3 was and still is on my wish list, but I couldn't get one because my parents were dead set against me buying a used car (just one of those parental guidelines that I couldn't get around though I paid for the car myself).

I really had a great time with the 135i especially with the GIAC stage 1 tune, but I will admit I had M3 envy. It was a combination of me wanting an M for the longest time along with a bit of insecurity that mine was not an M car. I guess these kind of things will fade with age. Anyway, Joe was kind enough to let me test drive his M3 during a meet and I was ready to make the change after 9 months of owning the 1.

With my M3, I also veered away from my usual "black on black" taste. I really liked the blue on Joe's car and for some reason I thought it was Interlagos blue when in reality it is Lemans blue. I also wanted the car fully loaded with the idrive and all that jazz, as I missed some of those comforts in my 1. So I started my search and I found my current car in Springfield, Illinois at Isringhausen Imports. I decided to go used with this one, because I found out that depreciation sucks from my 1 buying experience. I managed to convince my parents by the fact that the 08 M3 had a lot of warranty left, had relatively low miles, and had an immaculate service history.

So, I made the deal with the dealer, made the trip to Springfield and picked up the M and drove it back. I've really enjoyed the car over the past 3 months or so and I think this will be a keeper!

[airwolf878]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

Used the car today. All I have to say is I would NEVER get one of these cars without the cold weather package

Nick

Yeah I've been getting some good use out of the heated steering wheel. Love it!

[M3x2]

nice story anvar.

[airwolf878]

Originally Posted by Nick.CBR

Really? What options/packages do you have? Did you order your car?

That might make an interesting discussion - so how did all of you guys happen upon your cars? Did you research? How did you guys end up with a BMW?

Nick

I started looking into getting an E90 in 2006. At the time I had a Saab 9-3 and my lease was almost up, so it was time to look for something different. I had pretty much narrowed down my choices to an A4, IS250, and the 325. For the longest time I had been stuck on the looks of the new IS, but after test driving I realized it wasn't the car for me. I did like the A4 better, but for me the styling was a bit boring. The E90 was the last car I test drove, and I absolutely loved it. By the time the lease on my Saab was over, the new 335 was due to be out too, and for a while I was extremely tempted to wait a bit longer and get the 335 instead. In the end though, I opted for a 330xi and got a great deal on it being they were going out of production in the US to make way for the 328/335.

After have the 330xi for about a year, I began to have engine problems. Most of you know the story, but to keep it short I'll just say that after taking the car back to the dealer for the same thing 7 times I decided I was done dealing with it and it was time to move on to something else. This time, I already had my heart set on an E92 335i. Ever since I picked up my E90 I wasted countless hours on the BMW web site spec'ing out what I wanted my E92 to be. So finally in Jan. of 2009 I placed my order and began the wait. It took about 2 months to arrive from Germany, and I picked it up the first week of March.

Sorry that got kind long-winded.

[BSME90]

Post pictures of one of your previous cars.

Here's my Cooper S. Even though it still had recurring problems, I regret selling it. Very fun car.

[MNm3]

First off, happy late Thanksgiving everyone... I for one ate far too much food.

Anvar great story... I am glad that I was able to contribute to your decision.

Since we are reminiscing, I'll give you my story. I started with a 01 VW GTI VR6, and after modding the he'll out of it, I went off to Montana where a slammed vw just wouldn't work...awd was necessary. So I went for an 03 e46 330xi sedan and did some minor tweaks to it. Like Anvar, I've always wanted a M3... So long story short, here we are today.

Driving an awd BMW in the snow is a blast by the way

[IRL-MN]

I guess I developed my thing for bimmers from my Dad. After having a number of smaller impractical sports cars, he purchased an E21 when I was born. He's had bimmers ever since, so I grew up with various 3 and 5 series models. I didn't start off with a bimmer myself though, having a couple of Italian hatchbacks (a Fiat and an Alfa) as my first cars. Insurance in Ireland is hugely expensive for young drivers (one of the primary reasons most people don't even begin driving until their early twenties). This means you are basically restricted to a small engined car until you accumulate 5 years of accident free driving history. Obviously the draconian yearly road tax and fuel cost are also factors for the young drivers choice of vehicle.

Anyway, my first bimmer was an E87 with a whopping great 1.6l engine! It was slow slow slow, but still handled great and was huge fun to throw around the twisty country roads back in Ireland. After I moved here, I tried a B6 A4. I only managed to hang on to that for about 6 months before I traded it for an E90 330xi. I enjoyed this car for the most part, especially road tripping it to California, but really wanted an RWD bimmer again, so I traded it for the space gray E92 335i. I loved this car and probably would have held on to it if it had been a manual. Wanting to go back to a manual is the primary reason I ended up in my current car.

[IRL-MN]

Originally Posted by BSME90

Post pictures of one of your previous cars.

Here's my Cooper S. Even though it still had recurring problems, I regret selling it. Very fun car.

Nice Martin, I love Coopers

Here is my old Alfa 147. It was my favorite non-bimmer car!