My Second Zed Thread (2010 E89 sDrive30i)

[Timmyboybunter]

What’s all that nonsense Timbo....?

That bundle of Chinese tat lets you add Apple Carplay or Android Auto to the standard iDrive, making it a good chunk more modern.

I made the mistake of watching Dave's (Annubiszed) YouTube video on fitting it a couple of weeks ago and that was enough to persuade me to buy one - I'm very easily led

Bit chilly for fitting at the moment though.

[john-e89]

What’s all that nonsense Timbo....?

That bundle of Chinese tat lets you add Apple Carplay or Android Auto to the standard iDrive, making it a good chunk more modern.

I made the mistake of watching Dave's (Annubiszed) YouTube video on fitting it a couple of weeks ago and that was enough to persuade me to buy one - I'm very easily led

Bit chilly for fitting at the moment though.

Good move...


Stop being a wuss......it won’t fit itself....you’ve got a coat right.....

[Timmyboybunter]

And plenty of padding

[Zed Baron]

More improvements, thought you were planning on joining the 35i club ? Going to add one to mine also

[craig3.2]

Cars looking good op
A big transformation since you bought it,an interesting wee read.
Personally, I would have went for 18/19" alloys,but know why ppl avoid the bigger alloys(19s in particular due to cracking issues), but some nice changes and additions there Timmy boy

[Timmyboybunter]

Thought you were planning on joining the 35i club? Going to add one to mine also.

Dave released his 2nd video earlier this evening funnily enough - looks like a great bit of kit for the price.

Still undecided on which direction to go car wise, I literally change my mind every other day. Basically 3 options, in order of how sensible I'm feeling at any point:

1) Keep my current car as I do love it, it sounds amazing, has a decent spec and runs flawlessly - it's a resprayed rear bumper and new oil filter housing gasket away from being as perfect as I'd ever want to get it. I also have a pile of parts sitting in the garage awaiting some preventative maintenance which would also get used, if I do keep hold of it. I'm only holding off doing so as I don't want to spend a chunk of money then sell it 2 weeks later like I did with my E85

2) Grab a reasonably priced 35i or 35is (yes, I did say I've ruled out a 35is a few posts ago; having searched a bit longer and broader there are more reasonably priced cars floating around out there. Lockdown will most likely hamper a couple of conversations I'm having currently unfortunately)

3) Go the whole hog and splurge out on something truly memorable, as life is just too short - the Argyll Andy approach , which I get 100%. If I was in a splurging mood though, I drove a R172 SLK a few days ago just to see if I could fit in the damn thing (and still be in a 2 seater tin top convertible) and still be comfortable, and found it a very nice place to be; this example was the diesel version and hence slow, boring and miserable - but the 55 AMG would be a riot. I had a V8 Jag a few years ago and have missed the sound of it's engine ever since.

Realistically it will probably depend on what car my frequent searches at both ends of the price scale eventually turn up. I'll keep tweaking my current E89 in the mean time just because it keeps me busy.

Cars looking good op
A big transformation since you bought it,an interesting wee read.
Personally, I woukd have went for 18/19" alloys,but know why ppl avoid the bigger alloys(19s in particular dye to cracking ussues), but some nice changes and additions there timmyboy

Thanks - 14 months in now and it's been a very positive experience with this car, even the bits that haven't gone completely my way. Agree on the wheels, I only had it on 17's for a few months just as an emergency measure to get the red ones off and now own 3 different sets of 18's. 19's look great but they'd always make me nervous, the roads around here aren't brilliant too. Quite amusing when looking around at E89's for sale, just how many have a failed MOT at some point for a cracked alloy!

[Silverstar]

I recently fitted the CarPlay box to my car and what a difference it makes, a brilliant piece of kit. You need to hurry up and get it fitted!

[Timmyboybunter]

Yup, will definitely get it fitted soon - not like I'll be driving it much any time soon unfortunately. It's sitting outside now, frozen solid on a trickle charger

Lots of snow in Spain the news tells me!

[Silverstar]

Yup, will definitely get it fitted soon - not like I'll be driving it much any time soon unfortunately. It's sitting outside now, frozen solid on a trickle charger

Lots of snow in Spain the news tells me!

Not down this end although the weather hasn't been great this past week, a lot of rain and the temp has been average 13º past week or two. Hopefully better weather this week.

[Yoghurt]

What’s all that nonsense Timbo....?

That bundle of Chinese tat lets you add Apple Carplay or Android Auto to the standard iDrive, making it a good chunk more modern.

I made the mistake of watching Dave's (Annubiszed) YouTube video on fitting it a couple of weeks ago and that was enough to persuade me to buy one - I'm very easily led

Bit chilly for fitting at the moment though.

I fitted mine (Anubus' video are a godsend) the other day. Made the mistake of opening the roof to get as much light in to see what i was doing and it then decided to start raining whilst all the cabling was undone. Felt like I was 007 defusing a bomb in Fort Knox,trying to get the plugs back in to get the roof to close again. Just made it before the heavens opened! Its a bit fiddly but doable and is worth the effort.

[Timmyboybunter]

Thanks - I watched all the way through Dave's 1st video last night, glad I did as there are a few gotcha's in there which would have caught me out (dipswitches, exactly which leads to use etc).

I also didn't realise it could all be done with the steering wheel in place so that makes the process a bit easier, without having to faff around with battery disconnections etc.

[Silverstar]

Thanks - I watched all the way through Dave's 1st video last night, glad I did as there are a few gotcha's in there which would have caught me out (dipswitches, exactly which leads to use etc).

I also didn't realise it could all be done with the steering wheel in place so that makes the process a bit easier, without having to faff around with battery disconnections etc.

You only need to go near the steering wheel if you want to integrate into the factory mic which located behind the steering wheel shroud. As per the photo I posted in my audio thread I just mounted the mic supplied in the kit discreetly near the start stop button and left the original mic alone.

[AnubisZed]

What’s all that nonsense Timbo....?

That bundle of Chinese tat lets you add Apple Carplay or Android Auto to the standard iDrive, making it a good chunk more modern.

I made the mistake of watching Dave's (Annubiszed) YouTube video on fitting it a couple of weeks ago and that was enough to persuade me to buy one - I'm very easily led

Bit chilly for fitting at the moment though.

Sorry, only just spotted this one, Parts 2 & 3 are now live as well

[Gwest44]

Thanks - I watched all the way through Dave's 1st video last night, glad I did as there are a few gotcha's in there which would have caught me out (dipswitches, exactly which leads to use etc).

I also didn't realise it could all be done with the steering wheel in place so that makes the process a bit easier, without having to faff around with battery disconnections etc.

Just wanted to say thanks for this write up - having just bought an E89 it's been a really useful read for me and I'd love to follow your lead as a way of keeping a record of what I do to the car.

Can I ask you where you sourced the carplay unit from - mine has the Idrive and loudspeaker options so the carplay looks like a great option?

[Timmyboybunter]

Sorry, only just spotted this one, Parts 2 & 3 are now live as well

Ta Dave, yes watched it through last night - interesting to hear about the intermittent connection issues (my phone is Android), I wasn't going to bother but I may consider running a USB back to the arm rest with the aux cable.

Great series, really appreciate the effort.

Just wanted to say thanks for this write up - having just bought an E89 it's been a really useful read for me and I'd love to follow your lead as a way of keeping a record of what I do to the car.
Can I ask you where you sourced the carplay unit from - mine has the Idrive and loudspeaker options so the carplay looks like a great option?

You're very welcome, glad it's of some use - there are a few ideas buries in there somewhere if you're missing some bits and pieces, as well as a few good examples of what not to do

The one I bought was from AliExpress, here: (note I still haven't fitted it yet, but it's the same model other people have fitted with success)

https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.h ... _edm_other