[M-technik-3]

Nice!

[E91WAG3N]

Wheels for the unicorn!

2 years later and I finally have a square set of 8.5 260s! They're pretty minty with no curb rash on any of them. I might try to fit the 9.5's one day but for now I'd like to run square PS4S's in 255/35/18 on the 8.5's.

Initially I didn't realize how hard they were to come by as they were only on late production E9X M3's and were available in 2 different finishes which of course made it all the more difficult to track down multiple sets. There are other options out there but I really like the silver contrast against the black paint. I also considered other OEM wheels but I'm really glad I held and kept hunting as these are my favorite design on the E9X.

[mattpete13]

Cannot wait to see these on your car. Good job sticking with it! Persistence pays off.

[donut_boi]

Agreed, persistence pays off and will be the first square 260s on an E91 . Can’t wait, let’s put them on already

[M-technik-3]

Are these going to poke out of the front wheel wells? I like those, a little more than my Style 193's but I already have way to many wheels. Needs to a a wheel swap club like wife swapping lol

[86Zed]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Another set of Style 260's are in transit, FINALLY!

If shipping costs are ridiculous in the future you can try Fastenal (Blue Lane Freight) - had a Recaro seat sent freight across the USA for $100 vs the $250+ traditional options.

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by mattpete13

Cannot wait to see these on your car. Good job sticking with it! Persistence pays off.

Soon!

Originally Posted by donut_boi

Agreed, persistence pays off and will be the first square 260s on an E91 . Can’t wait, let’s put them on already

Soon!

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Are these going to poke out of the front wheel wells? I like those, a little more than my Style 193's but I already have way to many wheels. Needs to a a wheel swap club like wife swapping lol

Wheelholics anonymous!

They sit fairly flush when I test fit them with the 245/40/18s mounted. They sit further out than my 194s with 10mm spacers, though. The top is fully tucked in the fender but due to the camber on the car, there is some tire poke towards the bottom where the tire meets the ground.

I'll have both cars up on jackstands to do brake fluid later this month and I'll take some pictures of the fitment on both cars. I'm curious how they look on the Sparkling car as well. Pictures are worth 1,000 words!

[E91WAG3N]

Not an E91 update, but my cabinets arrived! Still need to finalize where I want them and need to mount the upper units.

[4 Doors]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Not an E91 update, but my cabinets arrived! Still need to finalize where I want them and need to mount the upper units.

Nice! Which brand and model are those cabinets?

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by 4 Doors

Nice! Which brand and model are those cabinets?

NewAge -
https://www.costco.com/newage-produc...100247309.html

[mattpete13]

Sweet dude! We're planning a budget to build a garage finally!

Side question - You seem to be very on top of preventative maintenance. I'm approaching 70k on my e91, what things do I need to be watching out for? Being only my second bmw and first e series I could use some guidance.

Appreciate you!

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by mattpete13

Sweet dude! We're planning a budget to build a garage finally!

Side question - You seem to be very on top of preventative maintenance. I'm approaching 70k on my e91, what things do I need to be watching out for? Being only my second bmw and first e series I could use some guidance.

Appreciate you!

Pre-congrats on the garage build, a nicely equipped and well-lit garage definitely motivates me to spend more time out there. I don't document everything in this thread but I'll probably do a better job now that I really like spending time out in the garage now.

In terms of maintenance I generally follow Mike Miller's wisdom (maybe religion? ). Watching Streton on his YouTube channel M539 Restorations is motivating as well! Everyone has their own opinion on upkeep but I enjoy working on my cars and would rather invest time and energy preemptively rather than waiting for a potential failure. Annual/~6,000-7,000 mile oil changes and regular new fluids for the rest of the car. I buy OEM fluids and don't venture into aftermarket stuff like Liquid Moly or Redline.

My black car is at 68k so we're in the same boat. For longer term/non-regular items, so far that car has had -

• New plugs and coils at 50k
• New belt tensioner (with belt) at 50k
• Coilovers and other suspension bits at 50k
• Oil filter housing gasket and eccentric shaft seal at 52k
• Battery at 52k
• "Lifetime" trans/diff/power steering fluids between 55-65k

In the next year or two I'll continue replacing suspension components and various bushings as I do other jobs, i.e. the diff. I figure I'm in for oil pan and valve cover gaskets in the next few years. I take a "while I'm in there" approach whenever I do a job.

I'm still on the fence with the waterpump/thermostat with these cars. Earlier generation cars like E46 and E36 experience failures that quickly lead to grenading the engine if you don't catch it in time. The failures seem to be random and not necessarily mileage dependent on N52. I'll probably replace mine in the black car for peace of mind once the pandemic is over and I want to take road trips in it. But for now, I don't drive it more than an hour from my house.

The Sparkling Graphite car has had almost all the "normal" N52 items addressed at least once in it's service life.

• Waterpump replacement due failure at 65k / 7 years
• Oil pan gasket at 97k / 10 years
• Oil filter housing gasket twice, last at 97k / 10 years
• Engine mounts and guibo at 111k /11 years
• Fuel level sender and fuel pump at 125k / 13 years
• Two batteries, most recently at 116k

It's also had a few oddball non-mechanical items like window regulator and one of the taillights got a little melted around the bulb housing. The suspension is definitely due for an overhaul but I'm dragging my feet on it due to lack of direction I'm taking with the car due to life and work circumstances.

I've only owned BMWs but all in, these are pretty reliable cars I think. I had a similar experience with my 128i when I owned it from 50k -70k. That car had an oil filter housing gasket, plugs and coils, and random comfort access issues during my ownership. My N55 335i didn't have any failures from new to 30k miles.

[mattpete13]

Comprehensive thank you!

I've done the head gasket and oil pan will be needed at some point too. Time to start planning. Thanks again!!

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by 86Zed

If shipping costs are ridiculous in the future you can try Fastenal (Blue Lane Freight) - had a Recaro seat sent freight across the USA for $100 vs the $250+ traditional options.

For seats and things like that you can also use greyhound.

NewLine series is nice. I went the free is me and used older kitchen cabinets and then painted them to match. I have a garage that's too small.

[E91WAG3N]

Some new parts arrived: OEM 335is/135is pedals, an OEM Performance shift rod (thanks to a tip from Ric in RVA), and a set of new floor mats.





Pedals going in -



Pedals installed and one floor mat in, I need to do a deep interior clean.





I'll be throwing the shift rod on when I do brake fluid later this month. The cabinets are mostly up and starting to get filled with odds and ends as well!

[Phil325i]

Care to share the part number (and price) for the Performance shift rod please? Showing as 'not listed' on RealOEM for my car...

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Care to share the part number (and price) for the Performance shift rod please? Showing as 'not listed' on RealOEM for my car...

Sure, it's 25117542200

[E91WAG3N]

Took care of the brake/clutch fluid today. I also installed the shift rod and decided to have a look at the CDV.

Motive power bleeder made it a fairly easy job -




Soooooooo I was pretty sure this car had the CDV swapped out prior to my ownership but I was dead wrong. When I bought the car, I had my 128i to compare it to and they felt fairly similar. The 128i felt super obvious, but maybe it's just worse on the E82 vs. E9X cars? Honestly didn't feel that bad on my 335i either.


New 1M/M3 unit I had bought a few years ago. Clearly a sizable difference -


BMWP rod on the left, stock M Sport on the right -


Knob, boot, and sound deadening rubber removed -


Old rod out -


New rod in -


CDV Fix
The CDV swap made a noticeable difference. I haven't driven the car very much this year and I felt like the clutch was starting to shudder and slip occasionally from a stop. That feeling is completely gone with the 1M/M3 unit in. I guess I had adapted my driving style to the CDV, who knows.

Shifter
As far as the shift rod goes I'm on the fence. There was nothing wrong or bothersome with the stock piece. I saw the part was on clearance and feared they would go NLA so I picked one up. The rod itself is longer and in turn the shift knob sits higher. The throws are definitely shorter and require more effort to move though the gears. On a daily, I think I'd swap back pretty quickly but for a fair weather weekend car it's solid. I've been running the same rod and knob setup for 7 years between the E92 335i (which has a slightly different rod), my E82 128i, and now 3 years in the E91. It will take some getting used to! The job itself was fairly straight forward but the rubber sound deadening piece was a pain to get off. Some of the rubber had melted to the chassis and it was a bit of a knuckle buster getting it out as I kept banging my hand on the sharp trim clips.

[donut_boi]

Great job brotha

Much needed TLC for the wagon and love the recent mods...now what shift knob are you gonna go with

[mattpete13]

Sweet dude!

Do I need that part for the CDV delete? I always thought it was the removal of a part, not a swap. What's the PN if you don't mind? Do I need a bleeder for that too?

Appreciate your help and contributions!!

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by donut_boi

Great job brotha

Much needed TLC for the wagon and love the recent mods...now what shift knob are you gonna go with

I'll keep you guessing

Originally Posted by mattpete13

Sweet dude!

Do I need that part for the CDV delete? I always thought it was the removal of a part, not a swap. What's the PN if you don't mind? Do I need a bleeder for that too?

Appreciate your help and contributions!!

The part number is 21522283914. I believe you can stretch the two ends together without the valve but for $10 it's easy enough to have it set up as intended without the pinhole restriction.

I've done a couple of these and always end up spilling a bit of fluid. If you have an extra set of hands you might be able to get away without losing fluid and introducing air into the line. I'd plan to do it the next time you're due for a fluid change.

[M-technik-3]

Thanks for the part number, I just ordered one as well, what knob are you using? I plan to use a ZHP knob.