New Daily Driver - E90 328xi
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DId you buy the OEM sunglasses holder or one of the cheap aftermarket ones? I had the OEM one but a little tab broke in it after a few years and haven't decided if I should spend the money for OEM again or just try a cheap one. Definitely one of the best usability upgrades I did to my car (before I broke it).
I bought one of the cheap aftermarket ones on Amazon. Matches the existing trim great and has a nice felt inside.
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The E90 platform has never really crossed my mind as one that I would seriously consider getting into until I’ve started to live with this car. I love the way it looks inside and out, the way it drives, the size of it, etc.
I thought I’d always be a slow boy in the old car, but this is really trying me in terms of my future involvement with the E30. I want my E30 to be a forever car, but it’s hard to ignore the value it holds and the risks involved with driving it, both safety wise and insurance payout if it were ever totaled(I know I could get hagerty or some other policy to insure it for its value).
It really hit me driving home from RA on Friday in the E30, and then the following day in the E90. Some of the modern creature comforts and general engineering improvements are nice to be in. Because it’s old, I’m also a little more constricted in terms of how and when I am using it, but that’s my own issue(even though it just had a significant amount of maintenance done).
Interesting perspective. The thought of whether the e30 stays in my garage forever has crossed my mind a few times lately. Mostly because of safety. I know my girls have been in the e30 numerous times, but I’m always worried about what would happen if we got in an accident with that car - either by myself or with them in the car. Idk.
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I also can’t leave good and well enough alone so I’m always chasing something(or my own tail) in terms of what’s next.
Amen brother
I will say the E9X platform has been one of my favorites over the years, it just seems like everything is streamlined in the interior, no big screens or anything clouding the space, simple lines inside, but classy.
Chassis dynamics are great, with solid engine options to boot.The fact that you enjoy this more than the F30 says a few things to me
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I'm two e90's into my life and I'm convinced it's the best mix of technology, tactile feedback, comfort, performance and usability. It just all makes sense and the performance is so usable.
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Amen brother
I will say the E9X platform has been one of my favorites over the years, it just seems like everything is streamlined in the interior, no big screens or anything clouding the space, simple lines inside, but classy.
Chassis dynamics are great, with solid engine options to boot.The fact that you enjoy this more than the F30 says a few things to me
F30 is great, but the E90, even my 328, feels much more of BMWs of old.
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Did a deep clean on the carpet Sunday because of the lack of humidity. Really wasn't dirty but wanted to just so I know that it's done.
Seats pulled out and then I used a drill with a brush attachment and some interior detailer to first agitate the carpet, then went over it with the carpet extractor. No after pictures, but have some before pictures. Usual crumb and change accumulation, but really not much else.
Under the rear seats had a pretty good accumulation of crud that was nice to clean out as well.
Pulled the subwoofer covers and cleaned those as well.
Also stripped, clay bared, and sealed my windshield. Used the following to do so.
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What carpet extractor do you have?
I just rent the rug doctor from Home Depot. It comes with a handheld attachment. I'm sure there are automotive focused ones that would be nice to have, but it's like $40 to rent for 4 hours or something.
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Bumper repair.
Could I have left this alone? Yes. Does it look better than before? Yes. Does it still bother me? Yes.
Just a temporary fix until I get an M Tech bumper next year and don't have a roached out bumper.
What it started as:
Disassembly:
As this being a temporary fix, I did what I could to make it look presentable, but not have this take multiple days. Used 220, 400, and 600 grit sand paper.
I chose not to use body filler with how flimsy these bumpers are and didn't want it to crack. And once again, temporary fix.
Needs wet sand and polish, but looks decent.
Polished up the side markers using the headlight restore kit.
M3 style trunk lip added.
Replaced the angel eye bulbs with LUX V4 ones. Tried my best to polish up the headlights, but they are still kind of pitted. Passenger side is cracked in the top, top corner. So it needs to be replaced anyway. Lenses look much worse in this picture than in person.
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Got some new wheels. Style 193's from a coworker who was moving and no longer needed them, got them for a good price. They came on Michelin Pilot Aplin winter tires. I am planning on keeping these off until winter, running them with the winter tires, and then next spring, swap the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S's I just got onto them to be my spring summer tires.
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Hadn’t seen the wheels on the car yet, didn’t have much to do today, so I did a test fit on one side.
Between these and the style 225’s, I think the E9X had some of the best M sport wheels. Looking forward to these being on the car full time. Just waiting till winter(currently on snows as stated in previous post).
Think I am going to do some ST coil overs next year to get rid of just a little bit of the wheel gap.
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Those look great.
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Our company made a deal to employees on house brand wheels too good to pass up on so, so I bought a set for winter. But after seeing how it looks, maybe I should have done them for summer.
I really like the black on silver more than I thought. Anovia Titans, 18x8.5 x 18x9.5 +35mm. Michelin Pilot Sport Aplin’s, 225/40 and 255/35.
How the currently sits. Style 193’s on Michelin PS4S’s, 225/40R18 and 255/35R18.
ST coil overs this coming spring more than likely, factory suspension is starting to feel a little loose.
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Nice job on the bumper, looks much better
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This car got a lot of love recently.
Full suspension refresh featuring Bilstein B8's with H&R Sport springs, strut and shock mounts, hardware, etc. Pretty much everything involved with the suspension was replaced. New wheel bearings at all 4 corners as they were getting loud for the past 2-3 months. New differential fluid, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid and filter(gasket and other hardware as well). New driver rear brake caliper as it was beginning to seize and drag. All of this was completed by @MPW3RLee, so thank you to him again.
In an event to entertain that I also can still swing a wrench, I replaced the serpentine belt, idler pulley, and tensioner. Not that there was any sign of failure, but I didn't know if or when it had ever been replaced, so wanted to do it for peace of mind. Belt ended up being dated 2011 so it was probably original to the car, but was in good condition. Same with the pulleys, neither of the bearings were bad, the idler did spin pretty freely though.
Nothing is easy though. While pulling the electric fan out, it snagged the coolant line that runs from the upper radiator hose to the expansion tank and ripped the nipple off the upper hose. Decent amount of coolant on the ground, sweet. By the grace of god, Auto Zone had a Rein one in stock in town and was able to replace it within the hour. If you have pulled a fan from one of these cars, you'll know what I'm talking about when it's almost impossible to not hook the hose when pulling this out with how much you have to twist the fan. Filled it up with just tap water as I did not have the correct coolant on hand, it wasn't a lot of coolant so I am not super concerned about it. I planned to do a coolant flush soon anyway. Bled the system 3 times. Bleeding with the electric water pump is super nice, just press the gas pedal and let it do its thing.
Car looks good with the slight lowering. I was throwing around the idea of a G30 540 next year when I was without the car for a couple weeks, but as soon as I drove and cleaned it after the suspension, bearings, fluid, etc. that I think I'll drive this for the foreseeable future. It looks good, drives good, does everything I need.
M sport bumper and Xenon's soon?
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Glad you could get the part locally. I recently discovered O’Reilly’s and Fleet Farm aren’t stocking the Pentofrost NF anymore but O’Reillys does have this instead.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/zerex/zerex-1-gallon-blue-50-50-antifreeze-coolant/
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Car looks classy, I really dig the 193s! Agreed don’t replace the E90, it’s the perfect daily. Relatively easy to work on, cheap to maintain, reliable, and the hydraulic steering feels great!
Mine has BC coil overs and I’m really itching to replace them with s bilstein kit. How’s the ride quality feel?
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Glad you could get the part locally. I recently discovered O’Reilly’s and Fleet Farm aren’t stocking the Pentofrost NF anymore but O’Reillys does have this instead.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/zerex/zerex-1-gallon-blue-50-50-antifreeze-coolant/
Is this the "BMW approved" blue stuff? Pre mixed is also nice.
Car looks classy, I really dig the 193s! Agreed don’t replace the E90, it’s the perfect daily. Relatively easy to work on, cheap to maintain, reliable, and the hydraulic steering feels great!
Mine has BC coil overs and I’m really itching to replace them with s bilstein kit. How’s the ride quality feel?
Ride is great. A little firm on the big bumps and imperfections, but you would think it's OE suspension otherwise. Correctly sized/valved shocks and struts also make a big difference over just the standard ones or B6's. Great for daily duty.
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