[Wizwalker]

Hey everyone:

I recently purchased a 2011 E9x 328 with 70k miles. It's has a 6-speed manual transmission, and it's unmodified and well-maintained. My thoughts before purchasing the vehicle were simple. I needed a daily driver that was reliable, not too expensive (just finished grad school and started a new job), and somewhat fun to drive. This 328 fits that mold perfectly.

I look forward to upgrading in two or three years when I'm more firmly (and financially) established. But I'm optimistic that this car will serve its purpose in the meantime. I do have a couple of beginner questions, however.

(1) I've noticed the bluetooth only works for phone (not audio). What are some solutions you have used to play music through the usb outlet in the center console? I have an iPhone 10 so no aux cord capability. And I don't really want to put my phone in the center console every drive, if it is possible to avoid.

(2) My plan for this car is to keep it mostly stock with minor tuneups (i.e., strip the tint and put on new tint/maybe change the gear shift knob?). My project is not a major project. But what other little things did you do to your BMW? I would rather not mess with the engine or exhaust, but I'm all for making cosmetic changes.

Nevertheless, I'm pumped to own this car. And I look forward to putting some enjoyable miles on it. I'm posting a couple of pictures below. It's dirty and a deep cleaning is needed, but they'll do for now!

Ww

[fastboatster]

Congrats on your degree and your new to you e90, you'll love it and I'm willing to bet you won't want to upgrade after a couple years. 6mt e90 328i is one of the best sport sedans, you'll be hard pressed to find anything resembling it for the money.
#savethemanuals 6mt is what you want in your e90)

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by Wizwalker

...2011 [E90] 328...What are some solutions you have used to play music through the usb outlet in the center console?

Best sound is from wav. files on a thumb drive connected to the USB port in the center console via an extension cable (so you leave the extension plugged into the vehicle USB Socket to prevent damage to the flimsy vehicle socket). If you "rip" a CD to obtain CD quality wav files, there is NO sound quality degradation. The Radio Display Panel shows the album & track information, and you can use the < or > buttons to navigate through tracks, or scroll with the tune knob.

I have all my music on a 4TB auxiliary HD in a Desktop Tower, and simply copy folders & files to 8GB or 16GB thumb drives which can be left connected to the extension cable in the car. There is NO power drain, as the USB connection to thumb drive is simply acting as an external data source to the head unit.

At least on my 2007 model (Hi-Fi S676 option, NOT Logic 7 S677) the head unit does NOT save any wav files, but ONLY the folder & file tags. It takes a few minutes to save that information on a thumb drive that has new folders or has never been connected before, and it saves data for up to 4 different drives, overwriting the oldest when #5 is connected.

You can use the USB port that way for wav or mp3 files, and you can create folder structure that makes sense for however you save your music. I have a lot of classical music, arranged in folders by composer, with each work of that composer as a separate track, regardless of length. You can copy albums or tracks to the thumb drive in any "playlist" sequence you want, and just let it run without having to be constantly selecting things. You can create 3 or 4 different folders or groups of tracks on each thumb drive so you can change from one artist or genre to another if you want a change of pace.

That's the beauty of computer HD-based audio files: YOU can slice & dice any way you want. One 8GB Flash Drive contains ~ twice as much music as the old 6-CD changer, and is much more convenient to use.

George

[Schmitz]

I bought an old ipod touch and just plugged into the USB cable provided. That seems to work and I don't have to worry about taking it out of the car ever.

[Wizwalker]

Update:

I found an easy solution to fix the music nuisance that's inherent in e90s. To briefly reiterate, I wanted to know how I could play music through my iPhone, using apps such as Spotify and Soundcloud, without having to (1) remove my phone case; and (2) putting my phone in the center console each drive. The solution is a basic cable extender. I purchased an extender off of Amazon for $13. With the extender, I can conveniently play music through my phone. To be determined: How long the extender will last since it's being smushed between the center console and its door. A picture is posted below.

I also went ahead and added a ZHP shift knob

[clegg]

Nice find with the 6MT. Let a detailer have your car for a day and you will enjoy it even more.
I would also change or have the oil changed if you do not know when that was done last.