[DR-JEKL]

Hey guys I thought I would start a build & maintenance thread for my 335i.

I'm Shane 33 y.o working as a metallurgical engineer in the manufacturing industry and have been around cars most of my life, but I have mainly been into the jdm scene for the past 15 years.

Well I guess I will start with purchasing the E92 wasn't my intention initially, as I had wanted a 550i.

I had struck a deal on a neat one owner 550i that had been garaged its entire life and was pretty much a new car:



I had arranged to have the car inspected the next day @ bimmertech, and would pick the car up pending inspection, but later that day the owner called to state he had received a higher offer for the car, I decided to let the car go...

In the meantime I bought a calais sportswagon to drive around in, and whilst it is a great neat and reasonably classy car it just lacks any 'excitement' and it just doesn't spark the passion I have for cars.





I have always purchased cars in the past that had inspired me with its design in terms of styling and that got me thinking I had always loved the E92 335i why not take one for a test drive.

So I found a car in my area & upon initial inspection it was quite rough like quite a few other 530/545i's I had inspected with the chrome worn off the gear knob, and window surrounds, faded bmw wheel and bonnet badges, scuffed rims, lifted the oil filler cap and there were signs of varnished oil was visible it was obvious it wasn't the car for me.

The owner offered me to take it for a solo drive, so I jumped in and was extremely impressed as soon as I turned the key it had a nice meaty exhaust note and of course as you guys are well aware it had lots of torque, an excellent gear shift and steering response was great at higher speeds (it initially felt heavy at slow speeds)

So whilst this particular example wasn't the car for me it has planted the seed to acquire a 335i coupe!

I had remembered a neat space grey 335i manual I had seen a few months earlier online, the car looked neat so I thought I would give the owner a call. He was in his early 30's working in the banks and had just bought an investment property so having a co car and the 335i costing him $ in the garage he had to offload his car. He had purchased it 2 1/2 years ago at Sydney BMW with 30 odd k kays for just under $90k and the car comes with 3 years bmw premium warranty (the warranty expires Feb 2013 and the car now has 72k kays)

You may have seen my noob thread making a few enquiries: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=733753

The owner sounded genuine and honest so I had arranged for an inspection and the inspection revealed nothing but just a clean car that requires new front tyres shortly and eventually F&R pads & rotors. So unlike a few other bmr's i had looked at that had either been written off or looked great in the pics but very rough in person I decided to bite the bullet and fly down with a cheque to buy the car hoping it would be as good as promised.

The car was in Melb and I reside in Newcastle NSW, so I had booked tix for the 6am flight on a saturday morning and the plan was If the car was as good as described I had decided to take the Princes highway home north to give the car a good workout.

Come Saturday it was an early start rising at 3.45am to be at the airport by 5am to catch the 6am flight out. Flying down my gf asked me am I excited yet, and to be honest I wasn't as I was preparing myself for the likely event of dissapointment like so many other cars I had looked at recentley and were described as being immaculate that were quite frankly rubbish...

Meeting the owner at the airport it was obvious this was a neat car and to be honest it was difficult to fault other then that it just needed a bloody good wash and scrub. I handed the cheque over and set upon my journey.

I had 2 days to drive 1300km's, so unfortunately there wasn't much of an opportunity for stopping other then to grab a fuel or to take a toilet break so I don't have any pics of the trip itself as such.

Day 1: Depart Essendon and quickly drop in at my gf's friends place @ Prestons to quickly say hello and leave an hour later at 10:15am



Coming out of Melb there were a heap of cops out having a field day on the freeway leading out to the princes hwy! I just sat on the speed limit until I was a few hours out of melb.. The plan was to drive approx 4 hrs then stop at Lakes Entrance then continue on for another 3-4 hrs to our destination @ Merimbula caravan park. The start of the princes hwy was quite scenic but then it started becoming a tad boring.. Upon arrival at Lakes Entrance I wasn't too impressed, the water wasn't all that nice and it was essentially just a sleepy small town with bugger all charm. Spent literally 15 mins there then set off to Merimbula. It was during the stage of the trip fatigue started to kick in the roads started to become rougher (riding on 35 series and 30 series tyres with sports sussy) and instead of wide open sparse roads it became narrow and visability quite poor in areas due to shade covering the roads. I had literally not seen another car for quite some time and was well 'speeding' then out of the blue i could see flashing lights in the horizon. I was thinking damn he has got me, but then thought surely he is too far away, as I got closer a vict cop car was on the side of the road with his lights flashing for safety (phew!!!) Finally we reached Eden and then Merimbula. It was a long day in the saddle and I was dying for a good hot shower and some decent pub grub.

[DR-JEKL]

Looking online to book accommodation revealed 99% of the hotels in this area were still stuck in the 70's styling wise so it was a bit of a minefield but eventually decided on staying in the honeymoon suite @ Merimbula Caravan Park for a measly $144 a night. Turns out our digs for the night was bloody actually fantastic value!

http://www.merimbulabeachholidaypark.com.au/

The cabin was quite large, very neat and had everything to stay for a week (full kitchen/laundry deck with self bbq and table overlooking the beach)





Day 2: After a excellent dinner at the lakeview hotel (the lamb shanks with jus and garlic mash were the best I have had, or maybe it was because I was so bloody hungry!) and a decent nights sleep I was keen to hit the road as the weather looked great and this section of the trip was the highlight in terms of scenic twisty roads:



Dropped into the cafe located on the boardwalk area in Merimbula for a quick brekky (once again highly recommended for quick service great coffee and great food)





As soon as we hit the road I felt in the zone, and the roads didn't disappoint billiard table smooth, winding great scenery and little no traffic from Bega to Narooma. I pulled up for a refuel at Narooma at one of those old privately own servos. As I was refuelling a lot of memories had came flooding back to me as this was how my family use to travel back in the 80's in terms of driving through country towns and refuelling and buying ice blocks from privately owned servo operators rather then the Americanisation of our highways with major corporations having their fuels stops on these major highways (bp/hungry jacks, kfc etc)

When I went to pay for the fuel the service attenent who was an older gent who was obviously the owner operator says, I bet you're out having fun in that thing today with a grin. It was such an eery feeling from the usual would you like to buy 2 packets of extra for $5 dollars, do you have a fuel voucher, credit card, pin # or sign conversation you have with most fuel service attendants!

The next stop plan was Kiama as it was literally halfway and the drive north from Narooma to Kiama was once again trouble free. Driving into Kiama the roads were bloody great, and a couple of bikes kept baiting me trying to lead me into thinking I could keep up with them (but I ride also and knew I had no hope) and ended up playing along with them for a while before taking the exit to Kiama.

I was really surprised to say that Kiama is literally one of the nicest locations on the east coast of Oz that I have visited. We walked around for quite a while (mainly in search of a bloody crapper to take a leak as I couldn’t find one!) and ended up having lunch at The Sebel which was fantastic.

Heading out of Kiama was a bit of a headache as it seemed that half of Sydney were now heading back home north also. Literally a few hrs later and I was home and was awaited by one very upset and neglected weimaraner who had missed his daily jog!

So yeah the car, in summary it drove great and after spending the entire day today cleaning every nook and cranny of the car( I spent 2 hrs just cleaning muck from the wheel wells- yeah I’m a bit of a neat freak!) it’s obvious it has been well looked after and garaged.

The more I think about it, I think I might just leave it oem, bmw have done such a great job with this car in terms of stance and ride height (19’s are plenty big enough and the wheel design is great) the oem muffler is quite yet also emits a nice burble and there is plenty of power for daily driving at least!

At this stage I’m thinking a high flow panel filter, downpipes, ecu, and wheel spacers would satisfy me.. Well maybe some coilovers to get it sitting a little bit lower, and a fmic……

Ok so here are a few pics:

Prior to DIY detail with 1300 kms of bug guts and road grime:











Dirty rims inside the spokes and in the wheel nut cavities is a pet hate of mine!! Its like wearing scuffed shoes with a black armani suit!





Pipes after washing:



After polishing:



Final product of 8 hrs work:









Mods as of 28/12/12



Power mods:

AMS FMIC with custom advan performance 3" piping to CP
AR Design Downpipes
Active Autowerke Charge Pipe & BOV
AFE DCI intake
BMW Performance Exhaust (US version sans valve, with custom polish job ala eisenmann style)
Procede Rev 2.5
Cobb AP (to run eflex maps)
BMS OCC & Clutch stop

Bling mods:

LUX V3 angel eyes
Full LED interior kit (E92 lighting)
MTEC License LED globes
BMW performance gear shifter boot & knob
M3 steering wheel with the m sport trim
LCI tails
M3 mirrors
Painted window trims (Professionally sprayed, no rattle can)
M Sport 313 19" rims with Goodyear F1 A2's (225/35 & 265/30)
BMS 10mm F & 15mm R spacers
M3 Gauge Cluster

I have a full 2010 E92 M3 rear end with a 3:15 DCT diff & Front hubs from the same car including ancillaries such as calipers rotors control arms springs and EDC dampers (I am leaning towards installing the bilstein prokit suspension or PSS10 coilovers)

[sbce90]

Those food pictures had me droooling!! Congrats on the purchase and enjoy the car.

[Rob32R]

Has one of your headlights blown? In the third last picture, one of your healights is on and the other is off

Looks great nonetheless. I look forward to the progress Shane

Food pictures make me hungry. Now at 12:40AM i am now craving for some food

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by sbce90

Those food pictures had me droooling!! Congrats on the purchase and enjoy the car.

I just wish I had taken pics of the big juicy lamb shanks I had on Sat nite!!!

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by Rob32R

Has one of your headlights blown? In the third last picture, one of your healights is on and the other is off

Looks great nonetheless. I look forward to the progress Shane

Food pictures make me hungry. Now at 12:40AM i am now craving for some food

Nah its an illusion, I thought the same thing when taking the pic, one of the 'halos' looked like it wasn't illuminated as bright as the others but it was on.

I did notice my parker is out (consulting the handbook the parker is referred to as #2 and it states to consult bmw dealership, I have heard you have to replace the entire housing....) I'm gonna need that repaired prior to a bloody nsw blueslip inspection....

[Rob32R]

I have never had to replace a parking light, so i am unable to help you there. I don't think you would have to replace the whole housing though. Wouldn't it be just a globe that has failed?

Are you going to upgrade to the LCI tail lights? Looks a lot cleaner and meaner IMO

[dontask]

Nice writeup!

What did you think about the gear changes? Thought about the CDV delete? Enables much smoother gear changes, especially between 1/2 shifts.

Also, if you're keen keeping your engine clean (eg: intake oil buildup) from the inside, get an (1) Oil Catch Can and the (2) Rob Beck PCV Upgrade. BMS make good catch cans.

[Klaatu]

Nice work DR J...
The clean up of the 335 is a testament to your passion for quality cars..
Enjoyed reading your travel diary...I've moved up from a 2004 Mazda 6 luxury sports to the 335i Coupe...I think my experience in driving a car will forever change as of tomorrow......

[Stuart@BMRAutowerkes]

Congrats on the car and great write up!
Manual 335s are quite hard to come by.

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

I did notice my parker is out (consulting the handbook the parker is referred to as #2 and it states to consult bmw dealership, I have heard you have to replace the entire housing....) I'm gonna need that repaired prior to a bloody nsw blueslip inspection....

No way do you need to replace the whole housing to change the parking light globe.
It's an H8 globe. A common upgrade is to a whiter LED such as the LUX, but if you need a new H8 globe and are ever down in Sydney town let me know as I have lots of spares.

Next step is going for a ride in a tuned N54

[kaitan]

Originally Posted by bmroxm5

Congrats on the car and great write up!
Manual 335s are quite hard to come by.



No way do you need to replace the whole housing to change the parking light globe.
It's an H8 globe. A common upgrade is to a whiter LED such as the LUX, but if you need a new H8 globe and are ever down in Sydney town let me know as I have lots of spares.

Next step is going for a ride in a tuned N54

This guys knows his stuff !! Good MAN!!! Helped me with my tune.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by Klaatu

Nice work DR J...
The clean up of the 335 is a testament to your passion for quality cars..
Enjoyed reading your travel diary...I've moved up from a 2004 Mazda 6 luxury sports to the 335i Coupe...I think my experience in driving a car will forever change as of tomorrow......

Yes you will certainly notice the difference! (I had a IS300 with a few tasty mods)

Awesome, cant wait to see some pics of your 335i

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by bmroxm5

Congrats on the car and great write up!
Manual 335s are quite hard to come by.



No way do you need to replace the whole housing to change the parking light globe.
It's an H8 globe. A common upgrade is to a whiter LED such as the LUX, but if you need a new H8 globe and are ever down in Sydney town let me know as I have lots of spares.

Next step is going for a ride in a tuned N54

I think I either mistyped it, or you misunderstood but my rear tailight parker isn't working. Do you know if these have a globe to replace?

I will definitely purchase the lux globes from you, and might drop into BMR to collect them and have a chat about a few other bits and pieces

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by dontask

Nice writeup!

What did you think about the gear changes? Thought about the CDV delete? Enables much smoother gear changes, especially between 1/2 shifts.

Also, if you're keen keeping your engine clean (eg: intake oil buildup) from the inside, get an (1) Oil Catch Can and the (2) Rob Beck PCV Upgrade. BMS make good catch cans.

The gear changes feel great, its extremely direct and I never snagged a gear change (I hadn't really driven a manual in about 5-6 years!)

CDV delete eh? I havent heard of this mod I shall investigate that for sure thanks! I did recall something on the N54tuning website which promoted smoother gear changes for a small price that was marketed as a must have?

I was only looking at the BMS oil catch cans yesterday actually, and love how they look extremely stealth I'm definately looking into that, I shall research the PCV upgrade also, once again thanks a lot for your informative feedback (having comments such as this from an educated fellow forum user is exactly what I was after!)

[Stuart@BMRAutowerkes]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

I think I either mistyped it, or you misunderstood but my rear tailight parker isn't working. Do you know if these have a globe to replace?

I will definitely purchase the lux globes from you, and might drop into BMR to collect them and have a chat about a few other bits and pieces

Yes I have taillight globes as well, no charge

[_ink]

What an epic write up and intro thread! I cbf doing mine!! LOL.

Well done and congrats on the purchase, the detail looks immac!

Does it have an aftermarket exhaust? Or just tips?

[dontask]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

I was only looking at the BMS oil catch cans yesterday actually, and love how they look extremely stealth I'm definately looking into that, I shall research the PCV upgrade also, once again thanks a lot for your informative feedback (having comments such as this from an educated fellow forum user is exactly what I was after!)

Actually, hold off on those OCC cans. I think that there is a new competitor coming and BMS is looking to be more competitive with them. Theres talk of an updated design for less dosh...

[ReyT]

Originally Posted by dontask

Actually, hold off on those OCC cans. I think that there is a new competitor coming and BMS is looking to be more competitive with them. Theres talk of an updated design for less dosh...

dzenno OCC ?

[Michael BD]

Thanks for the write up and the car looks good.

Now for a tune:

http://procedetuning.com/styled/styled-2/index.html

[_ink]

Originally Posted by bornadog335i

Thanks for the write up and the car looks good.

Now for a tune:

http://procedetuning.com/styled/styled-2/index.html

I still don't know why aussie's seem to prefer procede over JB4? can anyone chime in?

[pavo335]

Originally Posted by _ink

I still don't know why aussie's seem to prefer procede over JB4? can anyone chime in?

I don't

JB4 FTW

JB4 + meth muther FW

[BMJ]

sweet ride well done!