My BMW 335i

[The Bogan]

I have found on some of my cars, with plastic lenses, that the sealer has failed where the lens meets the body of the light, or, the rubber O-ring on the globe cover thingie has failed, or fallen off, or I forgot to replace it......

I have had good success with a thin bead of clear silicone around where the lenses meet the body of the light, the O-rings either need a liberal coating of silicone grease or need to be replaced 

Best of luck fixing it, foggy headlights, or taillights, makes me sad 

[PranK]

15 minutes ago, The Bogan said:

I have found on some of my cars, with plastic lenses, that the sealer has failed where the lens meets the body of the light, or, the rubber O-ring on the globe cover thingie has failed, or fallen off, or I forgot to replace it......

I have had good success with a thin bead of clear silicone around where the lenses meet the body of the light, the O-rings either need a liberal coating of silicone grease or need to be replaced 

Best of luck fixing it, foggy headlights, or taillights, makes me sad 

Thanks for that. I think it might be the bulb cover at the back but these fricken lights are so hard to get any access to without removing the wheel liner / splash guard inside the wheel well and accessing them from the well ... which means removing the damn wheel again.

[PranK]

Next purchase will be an LSD Conversion kit I think. Looks pretty easy to DIY if I can find somebody to chop 4mm off my drive shafts.

 

 

[GoHashiriya]

On 4/22/2024 at 8:30 AM, PranK said:

Next purchase will be an LSD Conversion kit I think. Looks pretty easy to DIY if I can find somebody to chop 4mm off my drive shafts.

 

 

I honestly wouldn’t bother with this. They don’t hold up under any serious strain. Get the Blackline (Chinese fake Quaife) if anything, as it’s reported to perform pretty well. 

[PranK]

Thanks, I'll check that out. I've never heard of Blackline.

[Kinkstaah]

Something something, I wouldn't cut corners on diffs. Just sounds like a headache waiting to happen. I'd just get Quaife, cry once, then enjoy forever.

[GTSBoy]

Yes. The difference between a $1k centre and a $2k centre is not worth it when the whole exercise will cost double that anyway.

[GoHashiriya]

A big issue with these is, unlike the R200, diffs are super expensive. The Blacklines are about €800, Quaife is €1,300-1,500 and any clutch LSD is the best part of €2,000. Have a look on some of the BMW forums, the Blackline has really good reviews for track use - I’m sure not if you’re subjecting it to extreme high performance - but it’s enough for me to go for it. 

[Kinkstaah]

Ye but that kinda proves GTSboy's point. What's 500 EUR at the end of the day? The END of the day being post install/setup/use.

The Blackline could be great. BC Coilovers are pretty great too. "Cheap" alternatives can turn out to be well worth the money and be new bang for buck options.

The DIY and cutting half shafts option though.... less so. I'm a big fan of buy once, cry once, which has resulted in me doing everything a large number of times anyway lol.

[GoHashiriya]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:41 AM, Kinkstaah said:

Ye but that kinda proves GTSboy's point. What's 500 EUR at the end of the day? The END of the day being post install/setup/use.

The Blackline could be great. BC Coilovers are pretty great too. "Cheap" alternatives can turn out to be well worth the money and be new bang for buck options.

The DIY and cutting half shafts option though.... less so. I'm a big fan of buy once, cry once, which has resulted in me doing everything a large number of times anyway lol.

Of course sometimes you cannot go with the cheaper alternative but I try to weigh it up for the application - am I competing or am I going to the track ten times p/yr. As long as there’s enough information out there to back the cheaper alternative as a good option I’ll go for that.
 

I’m a bit of a bastard though as it’s my job to reduce costs, particularly on non income generating assets. EUR 500 saved for the diff + EUR 1,000 saved on BC racing over Bilstein and then say EUR 300 versus EUR 600 on an off brand windscreen versus OEM (for example) soon accumulates. I mean, I’m probably gonna put the car in the ditch anyway. Absolutely do not take this as a justification for always buying cheap shitty parts, just a rationale for doing your research and considering what’s necessary for your application.
 

 

[PranK]

Damn stupid non BMW windscreen killed my auto wipers. The sensor is terrible. But, I digress.

The Blackline looks great! I'm not sure if I can get one from a supplier in Australia but in the UK they are about $1100 AUD sans shipping. This is a much easier financial hurdle for me than 2, 3 or 4k for any of the other options.

Looks like a fairly easy DIY to fit too if you dont need to worry about the backlash.

I need a new valve cover gasket first, my car is just smoking like crazy with an oil leak over my exhaust. 

[Kinkstaah]

8 minutes ago, PranK said:

Damn stupid non BMW windscreen killed my auto wipers. The sensor is terrible. But, I digress.

The Blackline looks great! I'm not sure if I can get one from a supplier in Australia but in the UK they are about $1100 AUD sans shipping. This is a much easier financial hurdle for me than 2, 3 or 4k for any of the other options.

Looks like a fairly easy DIY to fit too if you dont need to worry about the backlash.

I need a new valve cover gasket first, my car is just smoking like crazy with an oil leak over my exhaust. 

Look.

I don't mean to be 'that guy'.

But this quoted text, and the previous fixes make me wonder.

WHY ARE YOU USING THIS PLATFORM?

There are so many better options. Please tell us why anyone would persist with this platform given your use case for this car.

[PranK]

35 minutes ago, Kinkstaah said:

Look.

I don't mean to be 'that guy'.

But this quoted text, and the previous fixes make me wonder.

WHY ARE YOU USING THIS PLATFORM?

There are so many better options. Please tell us why anyone would persist with this platform given your use case for this car.

Hahaha cause I like it. I like how it looks, how it drives, I like the interior. I just dig it. I'm not being rational, I'm being irrational because I can be. I'm not aware of anything else out there, within my budget, that ticks the (irrational) boxes that this ticks. Since when has spending money and time on a car needed to make sense?

This is my baby. I love it unconditionally.

 

[The Bogan]

40 minutes ago, PranK said:

Hahaha cause I like it. I like how it looks, how it drives, I like the interior. I just dig it. I'm not being rational, I'm being irrational because I can be. I'm not aware of anything else out there, within my budget, that ticks the (irrational) boxes that this ticks. Since when has spending money and time on a car needed to make sense?

This is my baby. I love it unconditionally.

 

Quoted for truth...... Says the Holden Commodore and Honda Accord owner,  although my opinion on what is cool and functional may irritate 99% of people, and that makes them even more so enjoyable 

[PranK]

5 minutes ago, The Bogan said:

Quoted for truth...... Says the Holden Commodore and Honda Accord owner,  although my opinion on what is cool and functional may irritate 99% of people, and that makes them even more so enjoyable 

Haha! Yes! 

[joshuaho96]

1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

Look.

I don't mean to be 'that guy'.

But this quoted text, and the previous fixes make me wonder.

WHY ARE YOU USING THIS PLATFORM?

There are so many better options. Please tell us why anyone would persist with this platform given your use case for this car.

Honestly, can't be worse than Skyline ownership which is also a mess considering the age of these things. The 335i at least you can still get parts easily.

[PranK]

4 minutes ago, joshuaho96 said:

Honestly, can't be worse than Skyline ownership which is also a mess considering the age of these things. The 335i at least you can still get parts easily.

Haha most are for LHD though!  

[Kinkstaah]

4 minutes ago, joshuaho96 said:

Honestly, can't be worse than Skyline ownership which is also a mess considering the age of these things. The 335i at least you can still get parts easily.

I mean nah, lets be honest it's significantly worse.

BMW's are absolutely not the same age, replacements are not the same level of robustness. Most would say an E36 is more solid than an E90X and I would still say an E36 is a little more rickety than your equivalent R chassis over time.

BMW pretty much have a huge void between E36 and anything with a B58/ZF onward.

I kinda get the appeal if they work, but they just don't. I get that the vibe is "do a track day in executive comfort" but in all seriousness, a VE Commodore is as comfortable and certainly more solid* around a track, and they are hardly up there in the high list of "Excellent track cars". See also: Barra Turbo with coilovers or _something_.

I mean a great deal of these cars/choices are always irrational, but I at least try to stay rational, or at least have some rational argument why I did X and not Y :D.

My pet peeve is irrational badge snobbery. There is no reason to buy a Luxury SUV when anything from Kia will do the job better, and cheaper. I know someone who has a twin turbo diesel X5 making 400kw or whatever and as soon as he opens his mouth I say nothing but "You are an idiot who has wasted your money" and tell him to buy a Tesla Model X/Y as it is superior to anything he will do with that car.

(he does not like this, but he deserves it, just trust me..)

But Prank seems like a nice guy. I want him to sell this 335i before sadness kicks in more and buy something far happier at the track, like an 86, or a Megane RS, or an Evo, or even save the money on mods and buy a 440i/240i/etc and bypass the painful years between 1997 and 2015 for BMW.

[PranK]

1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

I mean nah, lets be honest it's significantly worse.

BMW's are absolutely not the same age, replacements are not the same level of robustness. Most would say an E36 is more solid than an E90X and I would still say an E36 is a little more rickety than your equivalent R chassis over time.

BMW pretty much have a huge void between E36 and anything with a B58/ZF onward.

I kinda get the appeal if they work, but they just don't. I get that the vibe is "do a track day in executive comfort" but in all seriousness, a VE Commodore is as comfortable and certainly more solid* around a track, and they are hardly up there in the high list of "Excellent track cars". See also: Barra Turbo with coilovers or _something_.

I mean a great deal of these cars/choices are always irrational, but I at least try to stay rational, or at least have some rational argument why I did X and not Y :D.

My pet peeve is irrational badge snobbery. There is no reason to buy a Luxury SUV when anything from Kia will do the job better, and cheaper. I know someone who has a twin turbo diesel X5 making 400kw or whatever and as soon as he opens his mouth I say nothing but "You are an idiot who has wasted your money" and tell him to buy a Tesla Model X/Y as it is superior to anything he will do with that car.

(he does not like this, but he deserves it, just trust me..)

But Prank seems like a nice guy. I want him to sell this 335i before sadness kicks in more and buy something far happier at the track, like an 86, or a Megane RS, or an Evo, or even save the money on mods and buy a 440i/240i/etc and bypass the painful years between 1997 and 2015 for BMW.

There's a lot of high mileage 335's out there with minor mods who cope with a few track days a month and then behave nicely as a daily. I don't want to keep throwing money at this car, I'm not in it for much yet  and once I get the LSD there's really nothing else I need to do besides keep up to date with maintenance. Everything that breaks easily has been handled (minus HP Fuel Pump) which should give me a lot of trouble free motoring in future.

It's definitely inside BMWs' "horror period" I get that, but I do think you're being a little overly harsh. I'd like to hold on to this for only another few years at least and then consider a step up into an F80/1 M3/4 when I can afford a good'n. I also like B58's and would move into a M235i or similar when they're a bit cheaper.

[PranK]

This will be awesome in 2 or 3 years. https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2016-bmw-4-series-440i-f36-auto/OAG-AD-23217470/?Cr=0&gts=OAG-AD-23217470&gtsSaleId=OAG-AD-23217470&gtsViewType=showcase&rankingType=showcase