Finally Joined the Longroof Club

Jdesign

So this is a noob question, but I thought that those headlights with the LED grid style turn indicators were specific to diesels. I assume I am incorrect in making that assumption?

Related image

m42b32

Jdesign said:

So this is a noob question, but I thought that those headlights with the LED grid style turn indicators were specific to diesels. I assume I am incorrect in making that assumption?

Those are the e90 LCI xenon headlights which were available as an option on all e90's from 2009-2012, so it's possible that the 335d only existed as an LCI model and because it was more expensive it probably regularly got the optional headlights? Not really sure!

suspenceful

Any LCI (2009+) E90 (sedan) or E91 (wagon) will have those headlights.

God, this wagon looks so good.

GunMetalGrey

Yeah, this thing is extra tasty.
Those wheels do it for me.

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?

WIBIMMERS

Finally Joined the Longroof Club