Finally Joined the Longroof Club

[m42b32]

76.6k

Got some time to play on the wagon for a bit tonight, installed the goodies I had shipped over from Lithuania!

First up was the headlight switch. The top one is the one I bought with the rear fog button, the bottom is my original switch with the silver accent on the switch that I wanted to retain. 

Took only a few minutes to pull them both apart and swap the rear fog button and related parts over to my switch:

I installed the switch and noticed that the rear fog button was not back-lit, so I pulled it back out, took them apart again to find out why. Turns out the US spec headlight PCB has the buttons for the rear fog, but the board is missing the LED that provides the back lighting (US board above, euro below). The PCB of the euro switch is for a car without auto-leveling/xenon lights so I couldn't just swap boards unfortunately. I didn't want to potentially ruin things by getting fancy with a soldering iron, so I accepted the lack of a lit button for now. 

With the switch reinstalled, they work! Pretty neat little mod for added euro-cool-points.

Normal tail lights:

Rear fogs turned on:

The indicator on the dash (yellow fog light icon) works as well. It amazes me that just changing the switch enables all this. 

I also installed the n52 euro air intake box. The standard box has a smallish panel filter and a restrictive charcoal filter. Additionally, the entire box must be removed to access the filter. The euro box has a cylindrical filter with much more filter area, a larger intake box volume, and no charcoal filter, so it provides a minor performance increase, looks way better, and allows you to access the filter by simply removing the lid. Install is really simple, I just had to swap over the US spec MAF and the mounting grommet things. 

Original US spec intake box:

Euro box fitted without the lid (I have a new filter arriving tomorrow) 

Install complete:

I've only driven about 10 miles with it installed, there is a little bit more intake noise and the car seems to be a bit more rev-happy. Not sure if there is an actual performance improvement or just a post-mod placebo effect, but for how cheap I got the parts I'm happy with it!

[P_Roloff]

Those rear fogs are sweet! Was the charcoal filter the only reason for the U.S. cars getting that air box? Kinda interesting that even on nearly new cars there’s still significant differences like that between what we got and what they got across the pond.

[m42b32]

P_Roloff said:

Those rear fogs are sweet! Was the charcoal filter the only reason for the U.S. cars getting that air box? Kinda interesting that even on nearly new cars there’s still significant differences like that between what we got and what they got across the pond. 

From what I found, the charcoal filter's function is to stop positive crankcase ventilation (contains oil and fuel vapors) from venting to atmosphere when the car is shut off. The US apparently requires that these filters be on newer cars, so BMW probably had to design a US spec intake box to accommodate it (looks like a second air filter behind the actual air filter), while the rest of the world got the intake box they could design more freely.

[straight6pwr]

did you match plate numbers?

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

did you match plate numbers? 

Yup! I went for the collector special plates that have the same number as my collector plate, it was like $15 more at registration so I figured why not, sort of fun.

[m42b32]

78.5k

With a couple inches of snow in the forecast for Friday I made the switch to the snow tires off the e36. I won't be raking in the Instagram points with these but thankfully it doesn't look as awful as I thought it would. I lost the screws for the center caps so I'll have to find some new ones. TPMS light is on (no sensors in the wheels) so I may look into coding that out, an emulation module, or just ignore it. Ignoring is the cheapest and easiest so that's probably what will happen. 

#fitment

[Rekpoint]

Thats what I call fitment 

[Jdesign]

figment

[m42b32]

78.7k 

Friday was probably the first time the car has ever sat in below-freezing temperatures for an extended period of time. I started it up after work and it went like this: *ding* standard sub-37F 'its cold' reminder, *ding* TPMS malfunction (snow tires).........*ding* low coolant warning....*ding* brake lamp failure.  Nice. 

Low coolant is likely just from thermal contraction, I haven't found any signs of leaks but topped it up and will keep an eye on the level. Turns out the brake light bulbs are some goofy type (P21W/1057/7506) that napa, o'reilly's, and even batteries plus bulbs didn't have, had to order new ones online. 

Driving around in the snow on Friday was entertaining and I didn't have any issues with grip when needed, I'm glad I went with the sportier RWD versus getting an xdrive. An xdrive on snow tires would be a beast though that's for sure. 

I also popped in a new serpentine belt and idler pulley on Saturday. The tensioner was replaced in the last year, but the belt and idler were original and definitely due for replacement. Next on the list is the valve cover gasket and water pump/thermostat.

[m42b32]

79.2k

Lame update: I changed the oil with BMW 5w30 over the long weekend. Got a car wash too, it was clean for about an hour and now it's filthy again. That is all.

[straight6pwr]

a lame update is still a good update in touring land.

[m42b32]

80.5k

Minor updates and improvements for daily life!

There was no place to keep a pair of sunglasses, so I added a euro-market glasses holder that replaces the oh sh!t handle on the driver's side

Added some front and rear OEM rubber floor mats to keep the salt out of the carpets

And I also realized it was missing some fairly critical badging so I got that sorted too

[P_Roloff]

That sunglass holder is sweet!

[Jdesign]

I agree, that is pretty nifty.

[m42b32]

P_Roloff said:

That sunglass holder is sweet! 

Jdesign said:

I agree, that is pretty nifty. 

Agreed! I was pretty excited when I came across it, it's a surprisingly convenient spot for it. Only issue I've found so far is I might smack it with a helmet on, but it would take 5 seconds to swap out if needed so it's no big deal.

[straight6pwr]

can you measure the dims of the mounting screw locations of the glasses holder?

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

can you measure the dims of the mounting screw locations of the glasses holder?

I see what your doing here...

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

can you measure the dims of the mounting screw locations of the glasses holder?

I'll grab some after work!

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

can you measure the dims of the mounting screw locations of the glasses holder?

150mm center to center

[m42b32]

Randomly stopped by a junkyard in Oshkosh as I was passing by on Saturday to see what I could find. They had just gotten a 2006 330i that was hit in the front so I snagged the 3 stage intake manifold with both (untested, so who knows if they work) DISA valves for pretty cheap. It wasn't too fun to pull while it's 5F outside, but the 40hp bump will be worth it!

A little PSA for anyone doing this swap: There are two types of 3 stage intake manifolds. The manifolds on n52 cars built prior to early 2006 have a single port for the oil separator and won't be a direct swap on any of the later cars. You want the dual port manifold. I learned this after pulling/buying this one and thankfully it is correct haha

Bonus winter pic: