[bmwmsport]

Hey guys! Been on the forum a little over a year now, and I spend most of my time here or in the off topic section.

Well, anyway, I sold my 330i a while back and have been itching for a Bimmer since then! Finally got some time to really look for one, found one I liked, so I drove from here (Jackson, MS) to Dallas, TX to pick her up. Since then, I've put 700 miles on her myself, all with a huge grin on my face.

Here are the specs:

2010 E90 335i
Le Mans Blue Metallic
Saddle Brown interior
6AT
87 miles shy of 60,000
M Sport
Navigation
Cold Weather
Comfort Access

Admittedly, she does have some problems. The front bumper lip has been destroyed by previous owner (looks like he hit a curb and backed up), someone replaced the good Harmon/Kardon or Hifi system's speakers with some really REALLY crappy off brand speakers, (seriously, they're awful. Imagine the worst speakers you've ever heard, then imagine worse. That's me.) , the passenger door panel has developed a rattle, and either the wastegates are rattling or the exhaust is rattling I don't know/can't tell which (will figure that out soon, doesn't sound like it's coming from under the hood).

The turbos do have the extra warranty, so I may have to go to the stealership if it's wastegate rattle. (8yrs/82k miles)

So, first things first, I'm going to replace all the speakers with Alpine or some other brand to bring it back to where I can actually listen to the radio and I'm getting a quote from my paint guy to fix the front bumper and the rear bumper (I think) needs a new clear coat (it's duller than the rest of the car).

Thank you all for your replies, I have really enjoyed being on this forum and I know I'll enjoy it for years to come!

Yes, excuse the crappy iPhone pics.

[CantCatchMe]

Looking forward to what you do. The car looks great in that specific color.

Btw, seems like you have a family full of BMW's. What else is on your driveway and/or garage?

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by CantCatchMe

Btw, seems like you have a family full of BMW's. What else is on your driveway and/or garage?

That was at a friend's house. Between the two of us, there were 5 BMW's in his driveway that day.

E93 335i (can't see it in any pics)
E60 M5 (silver one next to mine)
E46 M3 (Imola red convertible with black top, in the garage)
X1 (his daughter's car, not in any of the pics)

Plus my 335i.

[jgoens]

CONGRATULATIONS! finally you have one..all the posting and now you can post about your own. Have fun.

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by jgoens

CONGRATULATIONS! finally you have one..all the posting and now you can post about your own. Have fun.

Thank you.

I definitely look forward to it.

Will take a while to get to the mods, want to address the car's problems first. I know it won't be perfect being 5 years old and 60k miles used, but she's mine and theres a lot to be said for that.

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

Thank you.

I definitely look forward to it.

Will take a while to get to the mods, want to address the car's problems first. I know it won't be perfect being 5 years old and 60k miles used, but she's mine and theres a lot to be said for that.

Oh by the way, first thing you need to do is clean those exhaust tips. Time for some badgering.

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by jgoens

Oh by the way, first thing you need to do is clean those exhaust tips. Time for some badgering.

Yep did a full wash/wax but I didn't have time to clean those up haha. Will have to figure out the best way to clean them.

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

Yep did a full wash/wax but I didn't have time to clean those up haha. Will have to figure out the best way to clean them.

First try to wipe them with soap and water...if you have pits full of black carbon you can either use a wire brush, wire brush attachment for a drill or use sandpaper--heavy grit and then real light like 1000. Then use some metal polish. The carbon will come back but once you get the hard stuff out you will only have to wipe it..like a couple times a week. It will look so much better.

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by jgoens

First try to wipe them with soap and water...if you have pits full of black carbon you can either use a wire brush, wire brush attachment for a drill or use sandpaper--heavy grit and then real light like 1000. Then use some metal polish. The carbon will come back but once you get the hard stuff out you will only have to wipe it..like a couple times a week. It will look so much better.

I'll try that. Reluctant to go near my car with a wire brush but we'll see.

UPDATE: was just quoted ~$650 to install Alpine R's all the way around (6 speakers- 2 front door, 2 rear behind seats, 2 tweeters) by a local audio place. I know a guy who works there and have seen their work. Looks pretty good, seems pricey for just some speakers.

[MrSlickk]

Shes a beauty, Enjoy it in good help and welcome!

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

I'll try that. Reluctant to go near my car with a wire brush but we'll see.

UPDATE: was just quoted ~$650 to install Alpine R's all the way around (6 speakers- 2 front door, 2 rear behind seats, 2 tweeters) by a local audio place. I know a guy who works there and have seen their work. Looks pretty good, seems pricey for just some speakers.

Yeah I know...your not using any abrasion on the top or sides of the tips..only the lip where it is black soot. I learned that from my neighbor who keeps his cars pristine and the tips all look so shiny. I found the sandpaper to work even better.--which I learned from rubbing out wheel rash.

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by jgoens

Yeah I know...your not using any abrasion on the top or sides of the tips..only the lip where it is black soot. I learned that from my neighbor who keeps his cars pristine and the tips all look so shiny. I found the sandpaper to work even better.--which I learned from rubbing out wheel rash.

Cool, will definitely try that.

Will probably order some good professional wash/wax stuff from Detailed Image in the next week or so since I'm just using crappy Armor All wash/wax and Zymol wax (which I do like) for now. That along with repainting the front are the first things I need done, next being speakers.

[Jashley73]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

I'll try that. Reluctant to go near my car with a wire brush but we'll see.

UPDATE: was just quoted ~$650 to install Alpine R's all the way around (6 speakers- 2 front door, 2 rear behind seats, 2 tweeters) by a local audio place. I know a guy who works there and have seen their work. Looks pretty good, seems pricey for just some speakers.

Why wouldn't you replace the front tweeters too? And if I'm not mistaken, aren't the Alpine Type-R's sold as component sets anyway?

If it were me, I'd forget about the rears, fade the sound up front, and buy a nicer set of components for up front. Something with some silk dome tweeters, if they still make them that is.

And nice car - I'm a sucker for brown leather... It's just too bad you got it with the wrong transmission...

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by Jashley73

Why wouldn't you replace the front tweeters too? And if I'm not mistaken, aren't the Alpine Type-R's sold as component sets anyway?

If it were me, I'd forget about the rears, fade the sound up front, and buy a nicer set of components for up front. Something with some silk dome tweeters, if they still make them that is.

And nice car - I'm a sucker for brown leather... It's just too bad you got it with the wrong transmission...

The tweeters I listed were front tweeters. I don't even know where the rear tweeters are So yes they are sold as component sets.

No clue what a silk dome tweeter is but I'll look into it. Any thoughts on which aftermarket system to get? I think it'd be too expensive to replace with Harmon/Kardon parts..

Haven't had a lot of time to look over all the features of the car. Still have yet to verify it has the HiFi system (front tweeters could be aftermarket install). I will see if it has an amp in the back today as well as check WG rattle by unplugging vacuum canisters.

And I looked for an M/T a long time, found this one, and went for it. Not disappointed yet.

[kdbryce]

Nice! I love Le Mans blue e90s. They just look so sexy

[ethanjoon]

Awesome color combo. M-sport LCI e90s are my favorite. Congrats

[Jashley73]

Originally Posted by bmwmsport

The tweeters I listed were front tweeters. I don't even know where the rear tweeters are So yes they are sold as component sets.

No clue what a silk dome tweeter is but I'll look into it. Any thoughts on which aftermarket system to get? I think it'd be too expensive to replace with Harmon/Kardon parts..

Haven't had a lot of time to look over all the features of the car. Still have yet to verify it has the HiFi system (front tweeters could be aftermarket install). I will see if it has an amp in the back today as well as check WG rattle by unplugging vacuum canisters.

And I looked for an M/T a long time, found this one, and went for it. Not disappointed yet.

Sorry, I misunderstood about the tweeters... Of course you'd replace those too...

Silk-dome, means the tweeter's cone is physically made of silk. I don't even know if they still make them, but silk tweeters general produce a softer, more gentle sound. Many aftermarket tweeter's cones are made from titanium, and they can produce a harsh "tin-ey" sound, especially on cymbal crashes and such.

I don't know if they still call the LCI upgraded audio the "L7" audio, but if you have an equalizer menu in iDrive, and speakers in the back doors, then you have the upgraded audio...

If I were buying a set of component speakers for my car, Infinity's Kappa series, Focal's Poly-K or K2 series would be two that come to mind. Even the Poly-K's though are pushing the limits of what you want to install without their own nice amplifier... One other thing to consider would be buying from BavSound, as they use MB-Quart speakers, which are pretty well regarded. You even get a discount with a BMWCCA membership...

[VMRWheels]

Congrats! Always a fan of the blue/brown combo, nice pick up

[bmwmsport]

Originally Posted by Jashley73

I don't know if they still call the LCI upgraded audio the "L7" audio, but if you have an equalizer menu in iDrive, and speakers in the back doors, then you have the upgraded audio...

If I were buying a set of component speakers for my car, Infinity's Kappa series, Focal's Poly-K or K2 series would be two that come to mind. Even the Poly-K's though are pushing the limits of what you want to install without their own nice amplifier... One other thing to consider would be buying from BavSound, as they use MB-Quart speakers, which are pretty well regarded. You even get a discount with a BMWCCA membership...

Looking into maybe a Helix amp and a Jehnert flatline kit right now, but keeping all options open.

I have a sort of equalizer where I can adjust bass and treble settings, but that's it. There are speakers on the panel over the trunk perpendicular to the rear seats, but I didn't see any in the back doors.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats!!

[bmwmsport]

Just rolled over the 60,000 mile mark! Absolutely loving her!

[ef11]

I'm quite curious as to what you paid for her with all of these quirky issues it seems to have, but doesn't sound like anything too major. This is basically my car but different exterior and interior color and I have HK Sound.

First thing I would do is get white angel eyes and black kidney grilles, after you fix the more serious issues you listed in the original post of course.