[SSW]

Just adding this post here from another thread as a service reminder note to myself. See: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...1504055&page=6

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Don't normally have my 335i serviced at my local dealer but just took it into have the blower wiring recall done. They also did the Takata air bag recall on it previously. Nothing against the dealer (I'm treated very well when I'm there and the coffee is free) but, of course, they charge too much for what they do.

Had them do an oil change and brake fluid and rear diff fluid change at the same time as well. $615 for the works; better than I thought it would be. They also tried to get me for a coolant change (already done twice w/the overflow tank and water pump replacements) and the cabin air filter (which I can easily do myself; still have an extra filter lying around) but I passed on that.

Thing is, that I already had the diff oil changed 4 years and only 10k miles ago. See: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...&postcount=407

Totally forgot about that until I read my own "build thread" which reminded me of what I had already done to the car. Need to update that thread for additional suspension work that I've had done as well; all M3 control arms, M3 engine brace, M93 sway bar and Koni yellows up front (replacing Koni FSDs there; FSDs still on the rear).

Oh well, spent an extra $225 on the diff oil change that didn't need to be done but that was on me. Done so much to the car, I can't recall it all off hand.

Anyway, a side benefit of this visit to the dealer was that I got to drive a Tesla Model S as a loaner. They were out of BMW loaners and referred me (and others) to the local Enterprise location for a "free" rental BUT the rental was only good for a Camry class car. Not acceptable BUT I could upgrade for a few extra $'s if I liked. Only $10 more for a Camaro or Mustang BUT there was a Model S sitting out front and asked how much for that?

Only $40! So, I rented it and had a fine time driving it around while waiting for my 335i to get serviced but would I replace my 335i w/a Model S? No f*cking way!!!

The S I rented was similar to my 335i in that they are both black 4dr sedans but that's where the similarity ends. The Model S is faster than my 335i (even w/its Cobb tune) and handles well for a car its size (there was a suspension height adjustment available in this car; I set it to low) but the S is just too big for my taste (would have a hard time fitting in my garage), lacks "personality" (absolutely no sensory feedback) and I've got an EV already.

So, I'll stick w/my 335i, thank-you!

[SSW]

As noted above, I recently had my car serviced at the dealer 3 wks ago. Was mainly there to get the blower motor recall fix done but also had them do some other things, some necessary and some not.

In any event, when I was there I asked the SA why I keep getting the SOS fault indicator when I started the car. Said that they couldn't say w/o diagnosing the problem for an unknown # of hours and $'s. Also asked if I could just disable the SOS system and that was an emphatic NO.

Don't recall how long I've been getting the SOS fault but it has probably been at least a year. It didn't affect anything but it was annoying because it popped up every time I started the car and I had to press the end of the left hand BC stalk to get rid of it each time.

So, I finally decided to see if I could "do" something about it and started to some research and read the many thread posted here and elsewhere on the topic. One thing that popped out at me was how some people were "fixing" the problem by just unpairing their Bluetoooth phone connection w/the car.

I remembered pairing my phone w/the car but I never use the phone while driving. So, I just opened up the menu, found the phone listed and deleted it. Turned the car off and on again and there was no SOS fault symbol. Just turned the car on again to double check and no SOS fault symbol again.

So, problem fixed! At least in my case, it was really simple.

[SSW]

FINALLY!!! Joe@TopGearSolultions just oded the SOS Flag out of my car today. Been living w/this annoyance for YEARS and it's finally GONE!!! Thanks, Joe!

See: Post #57 on Page 3 in SOS Malfunction - FIXED

[SSW]

Installed a new pair of trunk struts in my E90 today. Bought them for about $38 off of AMZN.

See: E90 Trunk Struts.

Didn't realize that I needed them and how easy the install was until I saw a couple of YouTube videos on the topic.

The hood struts aren't as bad as the trunk struts were but they are due for replacement too which will be even easier to handle now that I have experience doing the trunk.

[SSW]

Installed a new pair of OEM hood struts in my 2008 E90 that I bought for about $36 (after installing a new pair of OEM trunk struts in the same car a few days ago.

See: E90 Hood Struts

Well worth the $ and both the hood and trunk open effortlessly now.

[SSW]

Nothing is really ever "All Done" when it comes to cars but after getting the SOS fault coded out and the trunk/hood struts replaced, my 2008 335i E90 is about as "all done" as it ever will be.

Due for an oil change and a new set of tires soon but really nothing else other than normal wear/tear and maintenance items need to be addressed in this car which is about as "good as it gets."

[SSW]

Ordered a new pair of 255/35ZR18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports for the rear wheels yesterday from Tire Rack, received them today and will get them mounted tomorrow. and "rotate" the 2 front tires (side to side) at the same time.

Only 16k miles on all 4 tires installed in 2014 (when I bought the car) but the rears were already in the "red" on my tread measurement device but still in the "green" on the front tires which are probably good for at least another 10k miles (or about 4 yrs based on how little I drive the car).

Would have ordered a complete set of the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's if I need to replace all 4 (or if the Super Sports weren't available anymore) but Tire Rack had 'em in stock and it saved me $500 not to have to order 4 new tires.

Also got an oil/filter changed. Used 0-40 Mobil 1 this time.

[SSW]

Just spent $1,939.30 to buy and install the M3 E90 22.5mm rear sway bar (replacing the 13mm OEM E90 rear sway bar) w/new end links and Turner solid aluminum rear sub-frame bushings (to replace the worn out rubber OEM rear sub-frame busings) in my 2008 335i E90.

This "upgrade" made a huge improvement in the overall handling of the car.

Previously upgraded the front suspension with an M3 E93 front 28.0-24mm front sway bar (about 13% stiffer than OEM E90 and 7% stiffer than the M3 E90 front sway bars), M3 upper/lower control arms, M3 engine compartment tower brace and adjustable Yellow Koni shocks. The Yellow Konis replaced Koni FSDs up front; Koni FSDs are still in the rear.

Before the upgrade, the rear was wallowing and felt very unstable at high speed even in wide turns. Not so any longer. The rear directly tracks w/the front w/o any wallowing, wheel hop or loss of traction without an LSD. So, depsite what some forum "experts" have to say, an LSD is NOT necessarily required when going to a stiffer rear sway bar.

Steering has always been very precise in my car (some would say overly sensitive) after doing the front end upgrade and could be made to oversteer w/excessive and/or abrupt steering input, even before doing the rear end upgrade.

I don't think the steering is any more senstive than before and is easily controlled with minor steering adjustments matched with appropriate throttle control but I plan to play around w/tire pressures (lower front/higher rear) to see if any improvements can be made.

Just took in on a 100 mile loop on a variety of road conditions including major freeways, wide/smooth 2 lane highways and narrow/bumpy 2 lane backroads at speeds varying between 50-120 mph and it handled all of these conditions to my satisfaction.

That said, the E90 was never designed as a canyon carver but it now truly excels IMO as a high speed GT (grand touring) vehicle that can keep up w/the best of them on all types of roads at only a fraction of the cost.

So, I'm very happy w/the results of this additional suspension upgrade in my E90.

[SSW]

I haven't had any reason to add anything to My Build Thread for quite awhile but I had these headlights from BayOptiks installed by them in their shop in Dublin, CA in my 2008 335i E90 today.

I think they look really "cool"



They added this and other pics of the install in my car to their product webpage, here: E90 3 SERIES LASER STYLE LED HEADLIGHTS (2005 - 2012).

The webpage says that the lights are Plug & Play w/no coding required but that is incorrect. The adaptive headlight function had to be deactivated and the headlight voltage sensitivty had to be changed.

The headlights cost me $1100 (including sales tax) plus $500 for the install & $125 for the coding. It's one of the more expensive mods that I've done to my car but the OEM headlight lenses were beyond repair. However, I kept them in case they're needed in the future.

What I really like about these new lights, apart from their updated look, is that they get rid of the amber corners and use a horizontal yellow directional lightbar at the top of the headlights instead, which isn't visible until the turn signals are turned on.



Can't figure out how to embed the video but you can see it in action by clicking on this link: BMW Laser Style Headlight Video

[Hoody007]

Interesting headlights - how do they compare vs. the adaptive xenons in terms of visibility?