[cialz]

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

Here's some grille pics

damn that's clean... is that stock suspension height too?

[WRichieX]

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

Freshly washed

Hey btw, did you do your window trims yourself? If so, are they easy to do? The previous owner plasti dipped mine and they were starting to look like crap so I peeled them off and ordered a gloss black. Probably going to take a crack at it this weekend.

[elite.]

Just got myself an e93. Ill join in. Tasman Green. Before I got it I was debating on all these upgrades but the car looks good! Never hurts to get wheels but Ill keep it on the 18s for now since the tires are like new! Just had it tinted, that's it.

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by cialz

damn that's clean... is that stock suspension height too?

Yea it's the stock sport suspension

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by WRichieX

Hey btw, did you do your window trims yourself? If so, are they easy to do? The previous owner plasti dipped mine and they were starting to look like crap so I peeled them off and ordered a gloss black. Probably going to take a crack at it this weekend.

Yes I did. I got a 5" wide roll from bmw shadowline.com. Which I then cut most of in half length wise to get about two times the length at 2.5" wide. I had a lot leftover this way and could use a wider 5" piece for the only tricky part being the rear kink where the rear window meets the quarter panel.

It wasn't hard at all. It's help up pretty well for about 3 years. It's matte now and I may re-do it to gloss. Just make sure you ae patient and have a sharp x-acto knife. Materials alone only cost about $50. And I completed it in about a day on the weekend (maybe 6 hours total?)

[WRichieX]

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

Yes I did. I got a 5" wide roll from bmw shadowline.com. Which I then cut most of in half length wise to get about two times the length at 2.5" wide. I had a lot leftover this way and could use a wider 5" piece for the only tricky part being the rear kink where the rear window meets the quarter panel.

It wasn't hard at all. It's help up pretty well for about 3 years. It's matte now and I may re-do it to gloss. Just make sure you ae patient and have a sharp x-acto knife. Materials alone only cost about $50. And I completed it in about a day on the weekend (maybe 6 hours total?)

Hmm So bought 2 rolls of 2.25" by 25'. Will 2.25" be wide enough for the rear where the rear window meets? That was my only concern.

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by WRichieX

Hmm So bought 2 rolls of 2.25" by 25'. Will 2.25" be wide enough for the rear where the rear window meets? That was my only concern.

Hmmm it's possible. Have a hair dryer or heat gun handy to use. It will help you stretch it to work.

I also needed to use a hair dryer to fit the contour across the back deck that curves the entire way towards the doors. It's hard to explain, but the trim piece back there has a flat inner section and rounded outer section. Only this outer section is exposed when the top is up. So this is what I warped black. It was too hard to get both the flat inner part AND the outer section.

[E93MAC]

Originally Posted by WRichieX

Hmm So bought 2 rolls of 2.25" by 25'. Will 2.25" be wide enough for the rear where the rear window meets? That was my only concern.

So I tried it and the material isn't really that great (shadowline). If I could do it again I would not purchase it. But it's just ok. The two rolls just barely covered it without stretching. Also you don't want to cover the part where the window comes down on chrome. You want to leave that chrome because of the seal. If you cover the chrome where the rubber seal presses down when the window comes down, it won't seal correctly and could lead to water coming in. In the rain or car wash. Blindside it's good you didn't do the inner. Any wrap shop will also advise against the inner. Because the car's seal has to remain intact.

[WRichieX]

Originally Posted by E93MAC

So I tried it and the material isn't really that great (shadowline). If I could do it again I would not purchase it. But it's just ok. The two rolls just barely covered it without stretching. Also you don't want to cover the part where the window comes down on chrome. You want to leave that chrome because of the seal. If you cover the chrome where the rubber seal presses down when the window comes down, it won't seal correctly and could lead to water coming in. In the rain or car wash. Blindside it's good you didn't do the inner. Any wrap shop will also advise against the inner. Because the car's seal has to remain intact.

Does it look bad with the chrome partly showing? Do you guys have a pic?

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by E93MAC

Also you don't want to cover the part where the window comes down on chrome. You want to leave that chrome because of the seal. If you cover the chrome where the rubber seal presses down when the window comes down, it won't seal correctly and could lead to water coming in. In the rain or car wash. Blindside it's good you didn't do the inner. Any wrap shop will also advise against the inner. Because the car's seal has to remain intact.

What do you mean by that exactly? By "window", are you referring to the back glass? Or a side window?

But I can't see how 1 mm thick vinyl would cause leaks though, when the back of the top is pressed down on it. We're talking two horizontal surfaces with pressure on them and a rubber seal against vinyl.

Pretty sure when Bimmette had hers done that way too, which is the whole aluminum piece (even when the top is down - see 1:55 of the vid) was covered. And she lives in super rainy Vancouver and it's stood the test of winter by now. Esthetically it looks better too IMO, since there's no alum trim showing even with the top down, which would be inconsistent otherwise with the look you're going for.

Click for vid

[E93MAC]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

What do you mean by that exactly? By "window", are you referring to the back glass? Or a side window?

But I can't see how 1 mm thick vinyl would cause leaks though, when the back of the top is pressed down on it. We're talking two horizontal surfaces with pressure on them and a rubber seal against vinyl.

Pretty sure when Bimmette had hers done that way too, which is the whole aluminum piece (even when the top is down - see 1:55 of the vid) was covered. And she lives in super rainy Vancouver and it's stood the test of winter by now. Esthetically it looks better too IMO, since there's no alum trim showing even with the top down, which would be inconsistent otherwise with the look you're going for.

Click for vid

Do what you want, why is everything with you, so difficult haha. I'm just saying this is what all the service techs at BMW stated, to not let the rubber touch the vinyl wrap because of what I stated above and the fact that it can dry it out. Again not my words but (many) service technicians advice (I like to get multiple opinions) also asked wrap shops, they stated the same thing.

Again do what you want. I'm going with what I was advised by BMW.

Mac.

[E93MAC]

Originally Posted by WRichieX

Does it look bad with the chrome partly showing? Do you guys have a pic?

It doesn't look bad in my opinion. Here is a video (video shows it overall) and some pics (show it with the top down) I think its fine but if you don't like the look just follow what Lotus is doing. My main thing is to follow what BMW says as well as what the professionals recommend.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by E93MAC

It doesn't look *too* bad in my opinion.

I agree with you on that (with my ninja edit), having seen your pics. It's not a lot left showing.

I'll withhold my comments on the eyebrows...

PS How come none of your shots are with your wind deflector? I thought it looks good?

[E93MAC]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

I agree with you on that (with my ninja edit), having seen your pics. It's not a lot left showing.

I'll withhold my comments on the eyebrows...

PS How come none of your shots are with your wind deflector? I thought it looks good?

Hahaha. Because my kid was sitting in the back you ass lol

Just kidding. Yeah I took it out because we went on a trip yesterday. Didn't get a chance to put it back in. But it's in 95% of the time

[Isaiah5411]

I covered my trim with vinyl and haven't had any leakage issues, even in rainy LA (Lower Alabama). The only problem has been two places (toward the rear of the sides; see right side of second pic) where the vinyl eventually buckles when the top cinches down. But...this little strip is easily replaced.

[E93MAC]

So I'm upgrading my wheels to HRE. <see pic>

Anyone want my Avant Garde 19" M359's? <see pic> There are some slight hairline cracks in the rear wheels, but I'm told these can be welded. Just bought brand new tires for them last month. Falkens. Letting them go cheap. To the point where you are paying less than retail for the tires and the wheels are free. $900.

Here's the offset:
19X9 ET35
19X10 ET38

[E93MAC]

I wanted to say the little black lines are just dirt and grime. The wheels don't have any marks on them. Most are also free of any curb rash. No bends in the wheel either.

[Lotus99]

To those who did the vinyl trim wrap themselves, you put it on dry, like the guy in the video seems to have done, with a heat gun?

I thought you want to put on vinyl with a slight soapy solution, so it's easy to adjust if needed, like in this link from this shop?

http://www.viperstripesdirect.com/instructions.php

[cialz]

mac too bad your not in LA. is the cracks leaking air or just superficial?

[Isaiah5411]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

To those who did the vinyl trim wrap themselves, you put it on dry, like the guy in the video seems to have done, with a heat gun?

I thought you want to put on vinyl with a slight soapy solution, so it's easy to adjust if needed, like in this link from this shop?

http://www.viperstripesdirect.com/instructions.php

My shop used the soapy water solution on the back piece (closest to the trunk lid) and the rest they did dry. Except for the contact point I mentioned above, the vinyl has held up perfectly (done over two years ago) EXCEPT on the back piece, which started bubbling up after a year. Maybe their soap solution had too much soap.

[Lotus99]

Thanks. I've applied vinyl stripes on a car, before I knew about the soap water technique, and it wasn't super hard, though if you didn't nail it down right the first time, peeling it off to reapply was a bit of work and tricky, not to stretch the vinyl.

I'm now doing a second set of stripes, and using the soap water technique, and you can easily move around the stripes if needed, and when it dries in a day or two, seems to hold up fine, so I think I'll go with that technique from now on. When going around curves, it's a bit trickier though, since it's not as tacky as dry application.

Bigger bubbles, use a pin to prick a hole, then run a credit card back and forth over the hole gently to squeeze the air out.

[WRichieX]

Originally Posted by E93MAC

So I'm upgrading my wheels to HRE. <see pic>

Anyone want my Avant Garde 19" M359's? <see pic> There are some slight hairline cracks in the rear wheels, but I'm told these can be welded. Just bought brand new tires for them last month. Falkens. Letting them go cheap. To the point where you are paying less than retail for the tires and the wheels are free. $900.

Here's the offset:
19X9 ET35
19X10 ET38

Aight Mac. Gonna need to see some pics with the HREs installed. BTW, I had a hairline crack on my m359 too. No air leak and the only reason I knew was when getting new tires installed and the Discount Tires pointed it out. Just took it to a shop and welded it just in case. Real easy fix. Someone should pick these up asap!!