My E90 BMW 330i

[PranK]

These guys. The LCI ones are different.

 

Couldn't find the exact ones, but like these; 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AU-2Pcs-Free-Angel-Eyes-CREE-LED-Halo-Ring-Light-Bulbs-For-BMW-E90-E91-3-Series/152920505921

 

[niZmO_Man]

Ah cool, looks like that design should last a while (unless the soldering and electrical components are poor quality).

[PranK]

2 hours ago, niZmO_Man said:

Ah cool, looks like that design should last a while (unless the soldering and electrical components are poor quality).

Yeah. I had heard of a lot of others having problems with their led upgrades within months of changing them so I tried to find a decent one. They've been in now since April I think with no issues. #touchwood.

 

 

[PranK]

So today I did the brakes. Ever since I got the car I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes and they are usually known as being really good. Also lately I've started getting a horrible shake in the steering wheel and brake pedal when showing from over 70ish.

I also bought myself a pressure bleeder. I've had so many issues in the past with shit bleeding and the Bora had weird brakes that made bleeding difficult. I decided that rather than being afraid of bleeding how about I get the right tool. Holy shit. It almost makes bleeding fun. Fill it with fluid, attach it to the resovoir, pump it up to 15psi and just bleed.

So I flushed all the fluid in it with some nulon fluid. The old stuff didn't look too bad but I had no idea how long it was there.
I also put new DBA T2 rotors and Bendix Ultimates.

I've left the rear for the moment the rotors and pads looked fine when I bled them. Unlike the fronts that were lipped and scored and likely had some kind of warping.

I've only done a bed in drive up and down my street so far and holy shit they feel amazing. The car feels so so planted on the road and there's no pulsing or shaking at all. This is by far one of the most satisfying car DIY jobs I've done. It's chalk and cheese with the old ones.

It doesn't hurt that they're also very sexy.

[Steve85]

That's odd that you're brakes weren't great. The brakes would be right up there on our wagons they're really, really good.
Any chance you've got some mediocre tires on it? I should imagine that could also be a big influence on your pedal.

Good to see you haven't shyed away. And that is a pretty sweet looking upgrade!

[PranK]

18 hours ago, Steve85 said:

That's odd that you're brakes weren't great. The brakes would be right up there on our wagons they're really, really good.
Any chance you've got some mediocre tires on it? I should imagine that could also be a big influence on your pedal.

Good to see you haven't shyed away. And that is a pretty sweet looking upgrade!

The rotors looked shit when I took them off as well as cheaper pads. I've seen more than one sign that the previous owner like to save pennies. No idea how old that fluid was. Considering the car has only just clicked over 60ks I could very well be dealing with factory fitted disk's and fluid. 

Tyres are Bridgestone rft's on the front. Good enough. Good pads and rotors are all this car needed. I like slowing down more than speeding up atm.

 

[PranK]

So, one of my angel eye LED's has already packed it up. Instead of blindly replacing it, I think I'll get it out and cut it up to see where the failure is. LED's are pretty simple and I can't see why it would just fail unless there is a broken connection.

On the weekend I replaced my VANOS solenoids. One of the old ones (exhaust) was throwing errors and making my car rev up and down sometimes at traffic lights. I was also hoping that changing them out would fix a small miss/hesitation under load occasionally. I can confirm the miss is gone, the revving is gone and there are no errors. I think the car is a little more snappy low down now too. 

I didn't get $300ea BMW solenoids, I got $60ea after market ones. I figure even if they don't last I can buy another 4 pairs before even meeting the BMW price.

Hopefully getting her tinted in the next week.

[niZmO_Man]

Good to hear there are cheaper alternatives that hopefully last. I'm getting worried about the variable timing stuff on my Subaru.

[PranK]

Matte M4 grille and new MSport Style 225 19s.

Its now at a point where I like turning to look at it after parking. I totally love the 225s. 

[PranK]

Nice and clean.

Also finally trimmed my headliner and pillar trims. I'll post pics soon.

[TukeH]

You should buy msport bumpers.

It will looks much better.

I have been thinking to sell my stagea and want to buy e61 530i  white msport.

 

[PranK]

Yeah, I am painting a front one atm to put on and keeping my eyes open for the rear. Hoping to avoid getting one that needs paint.

Yes, E61's rock. @Steve85 has a mating pair. 

[Steve85]

8 hours ago, TukeH said:

I have been thinking to sell my stagea and want to buy e61 530i  white msport.

 

Just make sure you get one with a decent service history... My silver one did not have a good life. Has just done a bottom end at 160k km. 
Our white M Sport one though. Still going strong at 170k kms. It's had a few elcetrical/electronic issues thanks to the drains on the sunroof being blocked.

@TukeH You're welcome to come over and try out the white one. (I just dropped a tree on it  ).  PM me if you want to arrange to see it/drive it. I'm in the inner north.

[TukeH]

2 hours ago, Steve85 said:

 

@TukeH You're welcome to come over and try out the white one. (I just dropped a tree on it  ).  PM me if you want to arrange to see it/drive it. I'm in the inner north.

Thank but little to long distance to come test drive.

I live in Finland ?

E61 m5 would be nice but little to expensive. Here hou can buy good 525i or 530i msport about 10k€ its not bad price 

[Steve85]

28 minutes ago, TukeH said:

Thank but little to long distance to come test drive.

I live in Finland ?

Ah. Sorry about that. I didn't look at your location... just assumed you must be local to me for some reason. Still... if you're ever in Melbourne come find me!

[PranK]

Wow, clearly its been a while since I updated this. The car didn't have anything really changed on it for a long time but then I bought Eibach springs because the non M-Sport suspension was just way too high. It was supposed to drop the car around 25mm all round but seemed to go a fair bit lower than that.

When I swapped them out I realised my struts/shocks were toast (absolutely zero rebound when hand compressed) and so I bought a set of super cheap KYB and an unknown brand to replace them to buy me some time.

With this bog stock setup and with the cheapie suspension and a set of Hankook RS4's, I managed a best time of 1:18.9 at Wakefield. This was a bit irritating though because it was the last session and the car started misfiring really badly on the straight of the final (and best) lap. I reckon without the misfiring I could have had another second and at least another lap or two.

Misfiring was just a partially unplugged coilpack. It was pretty warm in the bay, maybe it shifted a little when it heated up.

Not once did the car oversteer. I never lost rear end grip. Now, clearly the old girl isn't a sprightly lass, but I thought I'd get something. I also had a fair bit of roll.

One thing that blew me away was the brakes. Single piston front and rear, 330mm front and 336mm rear discs. Just kept going. I was absolutely mashing the peddle, the car would do a little wiggle and she'd pull up. Every time! Never faded on me, no matter how hard I tried.

My brother in law in his 130i 6 speed was 2 seconds quicker (i think) but he's a small bloke and that car is a bit lighter than mine. Same tyres though.

So, we did some research and made some changes;
Whiteline front (27mm) and rear (16mm) sway bars
Whiteline rear subframe bush inserts
Heavy duty front sway bar links
M3 front control & radius arms
HEL braided lines and full brakes flush.

Also, managed to get some 2nd hand Bilstein B8's.

After putting this all in and having a full alignment done (to -1.5 deg front camber) and the car is a different beast. The turn in is insane and the roll, general stiffness and shock performance is absolutely perfect. At least on the street.

I do admit that I've lost a bit of comfort. The rear inserts have made every single little road noise echo in the car and she's very stiff. But I've always liked hard suspension. She's also VERY low. Much lower than the disclosed amount on the springs. I have bought some E30 spring perches which are identical to E90 but 10mm higher which will raise the car and give me 10mm of shock travel back.

Anyway, here's the old girl. I love this car!

 

 

[PranK]

Note the bottom of my front bar SCREAMING for help.

[Kinkstaah]

This is just a really good example of how you don't necessarily need a billion hp on the internet to have fun with a car on road and track.

See also: Noone really minds if someone is 2s slower because they don't quite have a billion hp, but you will also find that replacing a 330 engine is faster, easier, and much less frequent than old mate on insta with a billion hp.

[PranK]

Yes! Exactly.

 

[PranK]

So, after 7 years the 330i has moved on. A little bittersweet but she was never being used and I need the money for my daughters first car