Finally Joined the Longroof Club
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109.5k
Winter mode engaged
I forgot to note I replaced the battery with a new one a few months ago. I used the Bimmergeeks pro-tool for the coding and it was extremely easy, worth the cost to not have to figure out INPA/etc. I also coded out the legal disclaimer on startup, so nice having that gone.
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Looks great! Is that the M Performance kit? I feel like I've seen those side skirts before and they look much different than the M Sport on my E90!
Yup! Performance Aero front/rear bumper and skirts, I love the way it looks!
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Bumping this thread. How do the 19” style 225s ride? I’ve heard mixed opinions on 19’s on an E90. I really like the style 225, and while it was offered in an 18, it is apparently very rare. What are your tire specs?
Compared to my 17" snow tires they're a good bit harsher but I don't mind it. Current fronts are 235/35r19 and rears are 255/30r19. When I first got the car it had 255/35r19 on the rear and they fit no problem with the added sidewall, and if anything I think they looked a little better because they filled out the arches a bit more.
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118k
About a month or two ago I got a tpms light for the driver's side rear tire, topped it up to what I thought was right (turns out was not, either the gauge or my brain was off) and the light didnt go away so I assumed I had a sensor issue in that wheel and didn't have much time to look further into it. Continued driving it for a couple weeks until I noticed that the tire now looked visibly low. Welp, checked pressures and it was well under 20psi. I pulled the wheel off to check for nails or a crack in the wheel or something and found the problem rather quickly...
I had noticed some accelerated inside edge wear on both rear tires so I got an alignment at the beginning of the summer and found the rear toe was way off, but it was definitely driving on a low tire that killed it. The tires I have are now discontinued (Falken Azenis FK453) so I ordered a pair of Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 for the rear with the same treadwear rating in 225/35r19 (one size up in sidewall from factory, looks way better) and am now running them closer to 40psi so we'll see if that combined with the alignment helps with the wear issue.
On another note, last time I scanned the car with the ProTool app I had a code for a faulty rear ride height sensor. I ordered a new sensor (The "VNE" branded part from FCP is the oem part with logos scratched off for half the price by the way) and replaced it, but did not resolve the error. Next thing will probably be to check the wire harness where it enters the body as I've read there can be some chafing issues there.
Speaking of wire harness issues... the age old BMW trunk wire harness problems are still alive and well. For a long time the left rear fog light bulb was 'out', and more recently the trunk wouldn't recognize that it was latched or would have an intermittent connection leading to constant dinging every time I accelerated, braked, or hit a bump (which was very annoying). I tried cleaning the trunk latches/switches with no effect, and replacing the fog light bulb did not fix that issue, so I tore apart most of the hatch to get to the wiring and eventually found this lovely mess. I did this job on both my e36's, and now nearly 20 production years later from that first e36 I'm doing it again.
To fix it I cut/soldered/heat shrinked the damaged wires as crimps are too large to fit in the rubber sleeve. I also wrapped the whole section in a layer of tesa tape to help spread out the bend radius so it isn't folding itself as sharply or flexing solely at the solder joints when closing the hatch. We'll see how long it holds up, and if it splits again I'll get some high quality wire and re-wire the whole section properly.
Other basic maintenance/etc over the weekend: new spark plugs, air filter, refilled the washer fluid tank, and used ProTool to code out the headlight washers because when they are working properly they make a mess for very little benefit and mine leak. We'll see if just disabling them stops the leaking or if I have to completely cap them off.
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119.2k
Finally got around to doing the brakes over the last couple months as they were properly worn out. I built up a sandblasting cabinet over the summer and stripped/painted the 335i calipers and caliper brackets and rebuilt with new seals/boots/guides/hardware. I also painted them gold because I wanted a little color and liked the look of the oem BMW performance brake kit that's painted in phoenix yellow. I installed everything along with new rotors/pads/outer rubber lines and a fluid flush. Because of the larger calipers I coded in the performance brake option to the vehicle order that adjusts the bias/pedal feel/abs/etc. to match the larger brakes. Overall a massive improvement, should've done it way sooner.
I also bought a new daily about a month ago. I've had a weird itch to get into something manual/4x4 for a while and more recently my wife and I decided we needed something a bit bigger for road trips. Decided it was time to scratch that itch and after a lot of searching I got a bit lucky (given the current car market) and ended up picking up a manual '22 Bronco Badlands out in Seattle. I've been really enjoying it so far.
The sad news is that the Bronco will be replacing the wagon so unfortunately that's where my time in the Longroof club ends.... or so I thought. After nearly 5 years and 50k miles of trouble free driving for me it decided to do this on a test drive with a potential new owner lol.
Sooo I got it towed back home and did a fairly complete cooling system overhaul last weekend. New radiator, expansion tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, replaced the hose that split with the updated version, water pump, thermostat, both of the large diameter hoses that connect to the water pump, replaced the plastic 'mickey mouse' flange on the head with an aluminum version and new hose to that too, and a fresh fill of the good ol' BMW blue coolant. Also replaced every o-ring on the hose connections I disconnected but didn't replace with new peroxide-cured EPDM o-rings. With that it's running great again and it'll be headed to its new home this week. I'm definitely going to miss this one.
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Wish the touring was coming home with me, but I'm sure it's still going to a good home. Congrats on the bronco too!
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Congrats on the new Ferd Joe! Having seen it in person, the color and overall looks are even better than the photos, which is saying something. Now that you officially posted about it though I think there’s a requirement for photos of it hard parked with one wheel on a big ass snowdrift
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Congrats on the purchase, love the color! I got the 4x4 itch too, it opens up a whole new door for driving adventures. This wagon is still one of my favorite modern cars on here though. I'm sure the new owner will enjoy it just as much.
Thanks! It totally does, I'm looking forward to taking some trips and getting out in the woods! It's actually pretty fun (in a silly way) on road and in corners too. And totally agree but I'm definitely biased haha.
Wish the touring was coming home with me, but I'm sure it's still going to a good home. Congrats on the bronco too!
Thanks! I wish there were more to go around too...
Congrats on the new Ferd Joe! Having seen it in person, the color and overall looks are even better than the photos, which is saying something. Now that you officially posted about it though I think there’s a requirement for photos of it hard parked with one wheel on a big ass snowdrift
Thanks!! I was hoping for some snow drifts to go bombing through this morning but we ended up getting nothing but rain
Enjoy the new ride!!
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