Minus Two Cylinders, Plus One Turbo. New Daily.

Rekpoint

SteelBlue said:

It's been awhile, but I recently picked up the new daily, a 2013 328Xi. I had previously driven a 2000 328Ci and was under the impression that the F30 would have a similar power plant(straight 6), but was surprised to hear that they are straight 4 turbos now, engine designation N20B20. Never owned a turbo car before, so the novelty of it is cool.

Drove out to Minneapolis to pick it up, drove back in the snow and ice rain, so the X drive was tested right off the bat. Car did great in the poor weather conditions and rides very comfortable.

Really wanted to find a sport package model for the wheels and the interior. Always have wanted sport seats after sitting other peoples compared to my clapped out comfort seats in the E46. Thought the red on the dash was gonna be a little loud for my tastes, but in person it has an anodized aluminum looking finish to it and adds a nice splash of color. While I would have preferred a manual, they are difficult to find and for daily purposes I wasn't too concerned about it.

I don't have much planned for mods for this car. This year I will likely have the windows tinted, get a trunk lip/spoiler, and possibly do H&R sport springs. Next season I will look to do the M sport bumper and maybe the angle eye headlights.

Anyone want to buy an E46?

Did someone say... Steel blue?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

SteelBlue

Rekpoint said:

Did someone say... Steel blue?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I didn't know they made E36's in steel blue until I saw yours. One of BMW's best colors. I want one.

B C

Thats the first time I have seen red trim. It makes me think of a Mk2 GTI. I hope its a great car, I get freaked out at the thought of owning something i cant fix myself.

Boris3

SteelBlue said:

While I would have preferred a manual, they are difficult to find....

This, around here it seems that e46 manuals are like unicorns. I've been looking for a 330i or maybe a 325i, non ix. And while I get how a SMG 6sp "MT" works it just doesn't feel right to call it a MT without your left leg and a clutch having to do the work. Not ready yet to give that up.

Congrats on the new ride!

YoungCR

Congrats on the purchase! I like the new trim levels they implemented with the F30's. I hear you on the manuals, can't say I even saw one ordered when they first came out. That is a great automatic though.

SteelBlue

YoungCR said:

Congrats on the purchase! I like the new trim levels they implemented with the F30's. I hear you on the manuals, can't say I even saw one ordered when they first came out. That is a great automatic though.

Thank you!

I was able to find one in my search, unfortunately it was being sold at rather suspect looking dealership and decided to pass.

The automatic has been pretty snappy when I've been going through the revs. This 4 cyl turbo is no slouch either.

suspenceful

Love it.

Now you just need this: http://www.burgertuning.com/N20_Jb4.html

And some new floor mats.

Jdesign

Nice. Congrats!

SteelBlue

suspenceful said:

Love it.

Now you just need this: http://www.burgertuning.com/N20_Jb4.html

And some new floor mats.

I will not stand idly by while you slander my floor mats.

But they should do the job for the time being as they are rubber.

Debating on what the funds should go to for the first bigger mods. Thinking springs/spacers and M sport front bumper? I've already got a couple of small things on order.

Jdesign said:

Nice. Congrats!

Thank you!

patsbimmer1

Nice pick up! Let me know if you need pricing on anything!

SteelBlue

Had a parking lamp bulb go out(didn't even know what these were till researching). Got the bulb today to replace it and the bulb is now working?? This thing was $10 too. I'll hold it until I need it.

Was going back and forth about doing the M sport front bumper conversion for awhile. Ultimately decided that I'll hold off for the time being and go with a bumper lip for the stock bumper being a third of the price. I've also purchased a paint matched trunk spoiler. Pat was also able to help me out with some H&R sport springs too.

Next things to buy will be spacers and maybe the M mirror covers since they are cheap.

These will all be done before the summer, but hopefully before the season comes to an end I will buy the DEPO xenon headlights. They are 600 bones though, so I'll have to do some saving.

Really enjoying the car. Never driven a vehicle this nice on a daily basis before.

SteelBlue

Treats coming in.

Front bumper lip

Trunk spoiler

H&R sport springs.

Unsure if I want to go forward with the springs or if I want to return/sell them and just go with coilovers.

Trunk spoiler installed

Got the lip mocked up. Not sure how I feel about it. It doesn't fit great either, will probably have to modify it to make it fit better. Obviously it looks a little weird being clean and the car being dirty, but overall unsure. I looked at potentially returning it and the return cost if I read the ebay listing right was like $60, so I'm not sure.

Vs. stock bumper with no lip.

This is just a place holder until I decided to buy the M sport front bumper.

Also, painting more anatomically named front bumper parts, the "whiskers"

YoungCR

While not a huge difference, the front lip does make it more aggressive imo.

i_love_cars

I 'member when I thought for daily purposes an auto would be ok.

Good pickup either way. When my friend was looking for a new daily we test drove a few of these with the ZF 8 speed and you definitely cannot argue that they shift really smooth and work well. It is amazing how far automatics have come. But...still....man pedal.

SteelBlue

i_love_cars said:

I 'member when I thought for daily purposes an auto would be ok.

Good pickup either way. When my friend was looking for a new daily we test drove a few of these with the ZF 8 speed and you definitely cannot argue that they shift really smooth and work well. It is amazing how far automatics have come. But...still....man pedal.

I’ve daily driven a manual for the past 8 years. While I would have enjoyed a manual, they are hard to find and I really don’t mind for daily duty. The 8 speed auto has been great.

SteelBlue

Washed the car for the first time, drove it home in snow/ice storm so I haven't seen it clean since buying it. Forgot how good this color looks when its clean.

Spacers and extended lugs ordered.

Smoked bumper reflectors also ordered.

Gonna start shopping around for getting the windows tinted.

SteelBlue

Took advantage of the good weather today.

Bumper reflectors installed (that wheel gap loooool)

Rear debadged. Not pictured, replaced license plate frame with solid black one

Spacers and extended lugs installed. 12mm front 17mm rear. Ordered 12 and 15mm spacers, company tells me they actually don't have 15 but can send 17's. I ask them to cancel the order, they say they can't because they've already shipped the order...with the size that I didn't order. They told me they would pay return shipping if they didn't fit, still just a shady practice. I guess that's what you get with some eBay sellers. They fit fine though.

Before:

After:

Picked up the harbor freight aluminum low profile jack and an impact wrench today.

Can not wait to get the springs installed, think its really going to pull the car together by getting rid of some that heinous wheel gap.

Trying to find a time to have the windows tinted as well.

SteelBlue

H&R sport springs installed. I think the car rides very similar to stock, very happy with the way it came out.

Window tint is up next.

B C

Looks killer!

SteelBlue

snap said:

Looks killer!

Thanks man.

This is what I am thinking for next summer. Or maybe this summer if I get this new job.

Then I gotta start figuring out going M sport bumpers.

WIBIMMERS

Minus Two Cylinders, Plus One Turbo. New Daily.