Ownership Verified: My E90 320D M Sport

Just another small update ...

Fitted the Eibach Pro Kit yesterday and although the plan was to do the swirl flaps and oil seperator at the time, my mechanic only had time for the springs so the car will have to go back in for the rest of the work in the near future.

The ride on the Eibach lowering springs is amazing, much smoother and progressive than the standard M Sport springs. I haven't had a proper chance to really test them out yet but first impressions are very good.

When up on the lift however, we noticed that the drivers front side RFT is completely and absolutely shot on the inside with the passenger's side not too far behind. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed as I had put some faith and trust into the dealer selling the car. I'm awaiting word back from them to see if we can reach a resolution. I've gone ahead and ordered four Federal 595 Evos in 255/35/19 for the rear and 225/40/19 for the front regardless, so the car should be rolling on the LMs early next week.

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My first cousin popped over during the week and successfully removed the only four small dents on the car. I'm delighted with that as they were really noticeable with the black paint.

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I also whipped off the driver's side sill protector as I reckon it had seen better days ...

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... new versus old ...

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... and the new one fitted in place. I also taped down the driver's floormat as it kept getting caught on the clutch pedal.

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Since I'm moving to non-RFT tyres shortly and the E90 has no where to store a space saver or jack, I created my own 'Mobility Kit'. BMW offer their's for ?115 ex.VAT which includes a 12V compressor and a single 750ml can of tyre sealant. I picked up a 12V compressor with a digital gauge, flashlight and a few other neat little bits along with two cans of 500ml Holts Tyreweld for under ?50 in my local Autofactors.

Next update should have the wheels on the car and hopefully the carbon fibre bits and pieces.
 
Yeah, my lecturers always told me I have girly handwriting :cry:

Nah, that's just an artist's handwriting. And just little extra lighting under the door handles? I suppose that's nice, I hadn't thought of that. The MINI has extra little LEDs all about the inside of the car, but none on the outside. Just puddle lights when I open the door.

Those wheels will look very nice on the BMW. The BBS look is a classic look.
 
Classic BBS look works in every single car ever made. Classic BBS look + BMW should work pretty damn well! :)
 
Nah, that's just an artist's handwriting. And just little extra lighting under the door handles? I suppose that's nice, I hadn't thought of that. The MINI has extra little LEDs all about the inside of the car, but none on the outside. Just puddle lights when I open the door.

Those wheels will look very nice on the BMW. The BBS look is a classic look.

There's also extra courtesy lighting inside and the rear passenger area has its own ceiling and map lights.

Classic BBS look works in every single car ever made. Classic BBS look + BMW should work pretty damn well! :)

I hope so, having the wheels fitted later today so I'll know if I've made a cock of it or not !

Got a bit of a surprise this morning from the DHL man ...

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Forgot to take a photo of the spoiler it seems. Anyways, the car is going in first thing in the morning to have everything properly fitted and the front bumper is getting a lick of paint whilst there (a couple of light parking scuffs from the previous owner that are bothering me). Having tyres mounted on the rims today along with getting it aligned at the same time. After seeing the state of the current tyres I reckon the car has never been aligned in its lifetime!

Fitted the LEDs a few minutes ago, absolute breeze of a job even for someone who could set water on fire.

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Just plugged straight into the original connectors ...

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I'll try get a few quick snaps again later with the LMs on before the carbon bits and grills are fitted.
 
Fitted the wheels this evening and I'm thrilled with the look that's emerging.

It's still a good bit off being finished (front and rear spoilers along with the rest of the black grill) and I might need to run some spacers on it. Ride height is perfect for a daily driver and the ride itself is amazing. The springs will settle over the next 1000KM give or take, so I expect it to drop a little bit more. The tracking at the front was out 8mm (I'm told 2mm is really bad) so the car is a joy to drive now that it has been four wheel aligned.

It's going into the bodyshop in the morning to have the splitter / spoiler fitted and the bumper painted, roll on Wednesday evening when I get it back !

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Once I'm happy with everything, I'm going to set aside some time to take some proper pictures of it.
 
Very good looking beemer. It wasn`t too shabby to start with but now it looks awesome. Can`t wait for the pics with the black kidneys and the other stuff mounted.
 
Another small update ...

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Cleaned the inside properly for the first time.

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Fitted the rest of the black grills and brought it to Clean Car for a wash.

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The carbon spoiler also got fitted ...

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... and it makes me happy !

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Also fitted the carbon corner splitters which really transform the front of the car. Ignore the height the car is in the picture as it's still up on the jack!

Next plan is to drive it to the UK this weekend, drive around the UK some and the guys at Driftworks are sorting me some spacers for the wheels when I'm there for a shoot on Monday. I'm really happy with how it's turning out although there are still a few things left to do ...
 
That's a handsome E90, all the more cooler that it's a diesel to boot.
 
Cheers mate, I'm hoping to have it remapped in the near future - 200+BHP & 300+lb/ft :D

are there noticeably differences in handling and turn-in steering performance in the 120d vs the less nose heavy 120 petrol cars, or is the suspension setup adjusted enough that a driver does not notice a difference at all?
 
are there noticeably differences in handling and turn-in steering performance in the 120d vs the less nose heavy 120 petrol cars, or is the suspension setup adjusted enough that a driver does not notice a difference at all?

I've never drove a 1 Series in petrol or diesel form to comment, sorry!

I finally got around to taking some new photos with everything fitted - rear LEDs, angel eye headlights, smoked side repeaters and spacers along with everything fitted previous. Only plans left are to paint the front and rear bumpers and get the rest of the car detailed to get have it really, really clean.

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Build story is now on Speedhunters : http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/09/28/car-life-gt-gt-from-more-doors-to-four.aspx
 
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Result is awesome Paddy
 
Looking great, and you really managed to avoid all of the possible pitfalls that would've made you end up with just another chavved up beemer. Lovely end result and kudos to you good sir!
 
Beautiful car, very tastefully done.
 
:heart:

If that was a wagon... Still very awesome though. I really want to put some BBSs on mine, but they're a bit pricy- especially considering that I've got a motorbike to build :D

BBS Reps = Linea Corse Lemans....

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One day I wish to run those type wheels...on a subaru. Once I graduate.
 
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I approve. It's rare to see a car with every single modification improving it, but I wouldn't change anything.

I also agree about the wheels. While it would be epic to own genuine set of LMs the price is just way too extreme for daily use. I guess if I had genuine set, I'd probably still daily drive replicas and then switch to the originals only for car shows etc.
 
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