[John_01]

Today I finally got a chance to take some pics of my new love.
It is a 2009 325i LCI sedan in Alpine White, which I picked up less than a week ago. I am enjoying this car very much.

Features include:
Manual transmission
Saddle brown / Aluminium interior
M-sport pack
BMW performance air intake
Space-saver spare tyre kit (Part 51-47-2-146-913)
Comfort access
USB audio
Hi-Fi speakers
Alarm system
3M Black window tinting
Advan RS wheels (18x8.5 ET32)
Michelin Pilot Preceda tyres (235/40/18)

[samchuang33]

Nice one john. Nice interior combo.

Nice after market rim. And how u get the intake with BMW performace?

[John_01]

Sam, Thanks for the comment. The rims are aftermarket. The only issue is the rims have quite an exposed lip, so they are very prone to damage. The car came with 194M 17" rims - I might still use those at some stage. The Michelin tyres are an improvement over the Bridgestone runflats - They grip more consistently over irregular road surfaces.

The air intake is a genuine BMW part from the "BMW Performance" accessory range.
http://www.bmw.com.au/com/en/owners/...s/performance/

[John_01]

Here's a pic of the spare tyre setup. It is a fairly simple although it takes up a bit of boot space.

[mmmmQuattro]

Love that AW and saddle combo.
I probably would have gone with piano black rather than aluminium trim.

[John_01]

JP. Thanks for the compliment on the Saddle colour. My first choice for trim was "Maple wood anthracite" which is offered as an "Individual" option. It is darker than grey poplar and costs a bit more too. I was told I would need to order "individual" paint colour as well which I didn't really want. In the end I decided not to go for it and I am happy with the contrast of aluminium trim on a sports styled car.

[BMW 330i]

Since when they comes with spare tyres?

[John_01]

Originally Posted by BMW 330i

Since when they comes with spare tyres?

I first heard about it in March this year when I read an article on the web.
http://www.pressportal.com.au:80/new...009-03-01.html

It is available as an accessory. BMW don't seem to promote it very much.

[WOPALX]

Originally Posted by John_01

Here's a pic of the spare tyre setup. It is a fairly simple although it takes up a bit of boot space.

Could you take a pick with the cover closed?

I bought the space saver but elected not to buy the cover as it was quite dear and they did not have any pics so I thought it was just a wrapper to go over the tyre, but from your pics it looks much better that my initial thoughts.

Where do you store the jack etc?

Cheers,

S

[John_01]

Hi WOPALX, I posted the pic you are looking for back on your original space-saver thread.

The jack and wheel brace is in a black bag you can see just behind the spare wheel.

[s4008616]

Hi

Could I please ask where did you buy the Advan RS from?

Also if I could ask how much they are?

Thanks

[John_01]

I got the wheels and tyres from Spinning wheel tyres in Sydney. The Advan wheels are not cheap. You might be get better pricing by ordering from overseas shops, but I am not sure if you get the same quality of service. Advan wheels are distributed in Australia by Yokohama tyres, so I think that most tyre retailers should be able to give you pricing on them. The Yokohama sales rep was able to show samples of the two colour options available. The normal lead time is 8 weeks, but mine arrived in around 4 weeks which was earlier than the car. Here are some more pictures of Advan RS.

[Ninjaoz]

congrats John! one of the best looking E90 i have seen, nicely modded..love the interior and BMW CF intake. how does it sound? notice any difference at all?

[samchuang33]

Originally Posted by Ninja333

congrats John! one of the best looking E90 i have seen, nicely modded..love the interior and BMW CF intake. how does it sound? notice any difference at all?

Yea, how much did it cost too?

You will soon need a new exhaust to go with that intake.

[John_01]

Thanks for the comments! The carbon air intake was fitted from new so I didn't have a chance to compare the sound. Its contribution to the sound seems quite subtle. From inside the car it is less than than the contribution from the standard exhaust. So far I haven't used the engine above 4000RPM as it is still very new. Maybe when it is run-in I will be able to hear some new induction sounds. The BMW intake appears on my quote at AUD $1486 excluding tax. So I certainly paid for it.

The BMW performance exhaust is not available in Australia, but maybe it could be ordered from the US. I think I'll be happy enough with the sound from the standard exhaust. I prefer to have something that isn't particularly loud.

[Zen]

Congrats on your new car John, it looks very nice.
Have you thought about the Performance Bumper, side skirts and rear diffuser? It will probably cost you an arm, a leg and maybe half of your kidney but it will look pretty awesome on your car.

I also agree with you on the exhaust, anything thats loud you will probably have cops on your tail and any unwanted attention.

[John_01]

Zen, I was looking to place my order around the same the performance body kit was released. The performance kit has a more agressive look. I think it really needs 19" wheels and lower suspension to look its best. That would have made the car a bit less practical for me. I was aiming for a more understated look anyway, so the M-sport was the obvious choice.

There is one guy in Florida who has done a really good job with his alpine white LCI and performance front bumper. See pics here. I think it is very cool, but it certainly has a more agressive look.

[Swift135]

Looking at the front brakes the 330d has a different brake setup compared to the 325, this photo is with 17" rims but the caliper size and surface area is significantly larger.

[Zen]

Holy moly, those are some massive calipers on the 330d.

@John: Definately a more aggressive look, and slightly towards street racing level with those rims of yours.

Also I just realised you don't have xenon lights. :O Are you planning to change those bulbs of yours, or will you be staying stock?

[John_01]

The 330d brakes look great - calipers as well as discs. I thought my car has 300mm discs vs 330mm on the 330d and 335i.
Maybe I need to double check the figures because the difference looks more than that.

Don't think I'll be spending the money to upgrade to Xenons - Thats not really a priority for me.

[mmmmQuattro]

Originally Posted by John_01

JP. Thanks for the compliment on the Saddle colour. My first choice for trim was "Maple wood anthracite" which is offered as an "Individual" option. It is darker than grey poplar and costs a bit more too. I was told I would need to order "individual" paint colour as well which I didn't really want. In the end I decided not to go for it and I am happy with the contrast of aluminium trim on a sports styled car.

I've got aluminnium on the wife's 320 and after a year, I have grown to like it.
I like the individual colours and options, but they do cost a bomb.

[sbce90]

it has already been said but i just had to say again... awesome colours!