E90 daily driver - 2006 330i 6spd sport

[The Full Banana]

I've been longing for a diffferent daily driver, and had been weighing different options. Ultimately, as a good balance between comfort, handling, reliability and cost of ownership, I decided I wanted an E90 330i with the six speed manual, and sport package. Luckily, one popped up a few minutes away so I took it for a drive and decided it was indeed the car I was looking for, so I bought it. 

I wont go too crazy with modifications or anything (another reason for going with the 330i as opposed to the 335i slippery-slope-mobile). I do plan to refresh some suspension bits and do a little preventative maintenance. So far I am very very happy with the car. It's exceeding my expectations. 

[The Full Banana]

Step 1: Did a little clean up on the faded headlight lenses. 

1. Wetsanded with 600 grit
2. Wetsanded with 1500 grit
3. Meguiars ultra cut compound with the Harbor Freight DA 
4. Harken Team McLube hull coat (for boats) with UV protectant 

[YoungCR]

Nice job on the lights and congrats on the purchase!

[B C]

Big improvement on the lights, and a very classy sedan

[patsbimmer1]

Congrats!  Welcome to the club!

[Earl]

Congrats=)

[Jdesign]

Congrats, Looks like a comfortable ride!

[suspenceful]

Nice daily!

[The Full Banana]

Thanks! I'd love any recommendations on experiences with various E9x suspension options. I'm considering going with the m3 control arms and other linkages while replacing things. Not so sure about shocks and struts at this point. Possibly just new sport units.

[patsbimmer1]

I love my Bilstein b14 coilovers!  The sport suspension was nice but I love the slightly firmer ride of the Bilstein's.

[The Full Banana]

Still have this, and still really happy with it. I've done some preventative maintenance, repair, and minor upgrades over the past 9 months. 

I went through the suspension and replaced shocks, struts, mounts, swaybar endlinks, etc with new OE BMW sport package units. I replaced the front control arms and tension struts with the ones used on the M3 that use solid rubber bushings and sealed sphericals, plus a bit more negative camber. Also a few other boring things like hood and trunk struts, spark plugs, coils, filters, serpentine belt kit, brake fluid flush, trans fluid flush, etc. 

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

During the middle of winter, I developed a pretty significant leak under the engine, which looked a lot like blowby. I went ahead and geared up to replace all of the PCV components, and sure enough, that's what it was.

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

That led to a DISA valve replacement. The large valve was in a bad state. 

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

While I had the intake off, I also replaced the starter, given that it looked original and they are known to fail. That made a big difference with cranking speed. Sometime around here, it also got a new BMW battery. 

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

Immediately following the test drive after replacing all the PCV stuff, the top radiator hose broke. I decided it was time to replace all radiator hoses as well as the radiator just to be sure. The water pump appears to have been replaced in the not too distant past. I'll keep an eye on that.

Lastly, a couple weeks ago my fiancé accidentally backed into the car in our driveway. Turns out there are new painted bumper covers available on eBay for $240 shipped. Not bad at all, considering! I ordered one up and also got new grilles with black inserts to tone down the chrome a tad, while still keeping the black and chrome motif. I don't really want this to look like a modified car. 

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

While swapping everything over to the new bumper, I couldn't help but give the fog lights a quick polish. 

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Tom Elmendorf, on Flickr

That's it for now! At some point I'll also drop in new engine mounts that I've had sitting around, but it's low on the list.

[Jdesign]

NICE update!

[The Full Banana]

I should be picking up this car's replacement later this week, so this will be going up for sale shortly.

I'll post more about the replacement when I have it in hand, but it is a BMW.