I've had the car 6 months now, I did an intro post but wanted a thread with progress and place to track plans as well for it. I got in to cars relatively late in life, but in the last ten years have been through a variety, my view is very much in the camp of enjoy a car for a couple of years and then try something else, I want to experience as many as possible rather than have a 'keeper'
Previously I had a 350z which I modified a fair bit and found myself discovering 'forums' and car meets, I ended up admin on the 'other' zed forum and love the interaction of speaking with other owners. I sold that and bought an NA VX220 in red which opened my eyes to lightweight motoring! I then went on and got an R33 Skyline, before moving to a Celica GT4 ST205 (which I took on a 2500 mile Euro road trip), then went back into a VX220 this time a tuned turbo version which was bonkers fast. Sold that back end of last year. I definitely by this point felt I needed something a bit more modern, but not common on the road, something relatively affordable to run, not too concerned about attacking corners but didn't want to buy a boat on four wheels. I just sold the VX220 which was easily a sub 5 second 0-60 sprinter and mental fast so I wasnt that concerned about getting something crazy quick again. I was looking at AMG SLK55's and almost bought one, but I ended up being told by a mate in a driving club to try look at 3.0si E86s. I really hadnt considered them at that point but when I saw one for real just fell in love with the looks and how easy it was to drive, it just ticked so many boxes.
I bought an 09 plate in sapphire black sport, it has basic options in terms of the audio, no cruise, but otherwise sitting at 68k miles was in a good space in terms of maintaining some residuals from any future sale.
Anyway, I drove it home with a big smile on my face. First thing first was to give it a decent clean, I am an enthusiastic car detailer and have tonnes of gear so gave it a decent going over, snow foam, wash (Gyeon Bathe+ is a great shampoo btw), clayed, polished (very quick pass with the DA and some Scholl S20+), then waxed with some Bilt Hamber Double Speed.
As with any new car first thing to do (other than polish it!) is a service. Purchased some Millers oil, spark plugs, air and oil filter and changed everything over. The plugs that came out looked in good condition, so some peace of mind to be had there.
After that now the fin stuff, stubby aerial had to go on! Did a little tidying up such as putting some back to black stuff on the rubbers and scuttle, against a black car it makes such a big difference. I cleaned out the inside, gave the leather on the seats and steering wheel a decent clean and refresh. I then at this point felt the gear shifter was letting down the car in terms of feel so invested in an M shifter. I also had some spare self adhesive alcantara so cut a piece to stick below the handbrake to just tidy that up a bit as it was very scratched and made that part look a little tatty.
The throw of the gear changes definitely improved and the general driving position aided with the lower gear knob.
I also wanted to give the car a bit of a more stealthy look, well its black after all and if I was going to be forever tortured keeping it clean I may as well enjoy the stealth look only black cars afford you! So some matte black kidneys purchased, very easy to change, a nice surprise!
I also carried on the stealth look buying some precut vinyl to go over the blue triangles, very subtle but for me pleasing to the eye
It had runflats on the car, which caused it to tramline and generally not give a great feeling of grip on the road. There was a deal on for some Pilot Sport 4's which I snapped up, and wow what a difference. If you want the best out the car, don't buy runflats!
Next up, the stance of the car. I picked up some spacers, not aggressive but enough to make a noticeable difference and have to say it does make the world of difference in terms of how 'low slung' the car looks
Before
After
Had another go with the DA and for a 13 year old car the paint still pops lovely, the leg work is all in the polishing stage for sure!
Started looking at maintenance jobs so put on a new valve cover gasket. Bought genuine BMW parts for this job. What an absolute PITA it was, a wiring loom sits over the cover which unless you spent hours disassembling everything had to stay in place. So glad I did this though as the existing gasket literally broke into pieces taking it off it was so brittle.
Anyway got that done, then changed the handbrake pads and kit as it was squeaking all the time when I was getting in and out.
I also removed the foam from the noise maker pipe...wow!
Thats it so far. Jobs to do yet...
- Bought some Moli gear and diff oil which I want to do soon
- The car has a slight knocking from the back which sounds like a bush possibly on the diff so will get it up on a ramp soon to put a bar on them and find the source
- The rear suspension squeaks a bit when going over speed humps, I am thinking its rear springs or shocks? But these seem easy and cheap to replace OEM
- Going to replace a few more gaskets such as Valvetronic motor as its cheap and easy to do
- Replace disa valve (this seems easy to do I think!) and parts are about £80 off ebay
- Wheels need a refurb
I am somewhat disappointed with how quiet the exhaust is, I dont want to cut it up as the drone will be too much, the aftermarket is pretty bare in terms of replacement systems so not sure what to do there.
Anyway, thats it for now...will keep this thread updated!
Previously I had a 350z which I modified a fair bit and found myself discovering 'forums' and car meets, I ended up admin on the 'other' zed forum and love the interaction of speaking with other owners. I sold that and bought an NA VX220 in red which opened my eyes to lightweight motoring! I then went on and got an R33 Skyline, before moving to a Celica GT4 ST205 (which I took on a 2500 mile Euro road trip), then went back into a VX220 this time a tuned turbo version which was bonkers fast. Sold that back end of last year. I definitely by this point felt I needed something a bit more modern, but not common on the road, something relatively affordable to run, not too concerned about attacking corners but didn't want to buy a boat on four wheels. I just sold the VX220 which was easily a sub 5 second 0-60 sprinter and mental fast so I wasnt that concerned about getting something crazy quick again. I was looking at AMG SLK55's and almost bought one, but I ended up being told by a mate in a driving club to try look at 3.0si E86s. I really hadnt considered them at that point but when I saw one for real just fell in love with the looks and how easy it was to drive, it just ticked so many boxes.
I bought an 09 plate in sapphire black sport, it has basic options in terms of the audio, no cruise, but otherwise sitting at 68k miles was in a good space in terms of maintaining some residuals from any future sale.
Anyway, I drove it home with a big smile on my face. First thing first was to give it a decent clean, I am an enthusiastic car detailer and have tonnes of gear so gave it a decent going over, snow foam, wash (Gyeon Bathe+ is a great shampoo btw), clayed, polished (very quick pass with the DA and some Scholl S20+), then waxed with some Bilt Hamber Double Speed.
As with any new car first thing to do (other than polish it!) is a service. Purchased some Millers oil, spark plugs, air and oil filter and changed everything over. The plugs that came out looked in good condition, so some peace of mind to be had there.
After that now the fin stuff, stubby aerial had to go on! Did a little tidying up such as putting some back to black stuff on the rubbers and scuttle, against a black car it makes such a big difference. I cleaned out the inside, gave the leather on the seats and steering wheel a decent clean and refresh. I then at this point felt the gear shifter was letting down the car in terms of feel so invested in an M shifter. I also had some spare self adhesive alcantara so cut a piece to stick below the handbrake to just tidy that up a bit as it was very scratched and made that part look a little tatty.
The throw of the gear changes definitely improved and the general driving position aided with the lower gear knob.
I also wanted to give the car a bit of a more stealthy look, well its black after all and if I was going to be forever tortured keeping it clean I may as well enjoy the stealth look only black cars afford you! So some matte black kidneys purchased, very easy to change, a nice surprise!
I also carried on the stealth look buying some precut vinyl to go over the blue triangles, very subtle but for me pleasing to the eye
It had runflats on the car, which caused it to tramline and generally not give a great feeling of grip on the road. There was a deal on for some Pilot Sport 4's which I snapped up, and wow what a difference. If you want the best out the car, don't buy runflats!
Next up, the stance of the car. I picked up some spacers, not aggressive but enough to make a noticeable difference and have to say it does make the world of difference in terms of how 'low slung' the car looks
Before
After
Had another go with the DA and for a 13 year old car the paint still pops lovely, the leg work is all in the polishing stage for sure!
Started looking at maintenance jobs so put on a new valve cover gasket. Bought genuine BMW parts for this job. What an absolute PITA it was, a wiring loom sits over the cover which unless you spent hours disassembling everything had to stay in place. So glad I did this though as the existing gasket literally broke into pieces taking it off it was so brittle.
Anyway got that done, then changed the handbrake pads and kit as it was squeaking all the time when I was getting in and out.
I also removed the foam from the noise maker pipe...wow!
Thats it so far. Jobs to do yet...
- Bought some Moli gear and diff oil which I want to do soon
- The car has a slight knocking from the back which sounds like a bush possibly on the diff so will get it up on a ramp soon to put a bar on them and find the source
- The rear suspension squeaks a bit when going over speed humps, I am thinking its rear springs or shocks? But these seem easy and cheap to replace OEM
- Going to replace a few more gaskets such as Valvetronic motor as its cheap and easy to do
- Replace disa valve (this seems easy to do I think!) and parts are about £80 off ebay
- Wheels need a refurb
I am somewhat disappointed with how quiet the exhaust is, I dont want to cut it up as the drone will be too much, the aftermarket is pretty bare in terms of replacement systems so not sure what to do there.
Anyway, thats it for now...will keep this thread updated!
There is an Eisenmann dual exit race exhaust for sale on the forum if you dont mind cutting out the bumper .
