v1k0d3n's New BSM 1M - First BMW and PCD Experience

[v1k0d3n]

First off, let me start by saying; it's v1k0d3n (like the drug vicodin; vī-kō-dən). Now that's out of the way. Glad that I could introduce myself. I'll be around for a while...yes, I've been converted into a BMW fan after this week. Thanks to the car, thanks to the history of the company, thanks to the folks at PCD and thanks to the attention to detail that separates BMW from other car manufacturers. You can never understand what makes a person loyal to one particular car manufacturer over another, until you really take the plunge to purchase or rent one. Then again, people choose brands based on loyalty in other ways (family is employed by a car manufacturer, etc). I can say after reading, exploring and driving a BMW more…I just really love my BMW. I'm glad to be a part of BMW's community now and I'm really glad to be a part of this forum too.

Without further delay, I'll get to my very light review of the car and what you guys are really interested in anyway...the pictures. Especially the pictures of the less popular…BSM. On to the pictures first, to get this out of the way for you all. ALSO, if you have an AW or VO PCD coming up in October…chances are I saw your cars. There were a BUNCH there. So I can say, I've seen all three colors sitting all together in perfect harmony

This is how my night (on the 4th) starts: a little light reading and catching up before heading over to the PCD. I was actually waiting on my girlfriend to get off work before we could head out. Unfortunately, she was pretty busy and we were delayed a little.



Also enjoyed a little light beverage before heading there (girlfriend drove).



Now, yes…PCD was amazing! There are plenty of previous threads with people sharing their experiences on how awesome the program is; it definitely is everything everyone says it is. THAT SAID…I was too busy driving most of the time (my girlfriend wasn't comfortable driving), so she had control of the camera gear. Apparently, the camera's were too "gadgety" for her, and she couldn't figure them out. No footage.

I will say that the entrance of the PCD had BOTH 1M's in the lobby (two deliveries; one on each side). Mine was on the left and Snertz's on the right as you walk in. I was able to only get a couple of crappy pictures in before realizing that I wasn't in Auto Focus. Then I took some more pictures outside of PCD and the plant.

Got to drive the VO for a minute…just to see what it feels like


MY car!!! FINALLY!!!


Showing some pictures of both the colors, side-by-side.


All of the colors are amazing…but after looking more closely, I REALLY fell in love with the BSM here! I'm so glad I kept my choice of color. A couple of the guys at the PCD said there was a circle in the lobby when they brought it in. They haven't seen many BSM, but everyone agreed…it definitely looks the most menacing out of the three color options. My girlfriend confirmed that she really liked the BSM the best and poor Snertz…his girlfriend didn't even hold back "you should've gotten the black one"! She said it loud too. Snertz, the VO is awesome too! You guys all know VO gives you an extra 2hp anyway.






Showing off the color a little more. The 128/135 folks can also appreciate BSM's subtleties.






Comparing the two colors more closely.














Home…where she finally belongs.














Now, this photo demonstrates "orange peel". It appears that BMW is not immune to this either. I couldn't really argue the point in another thread until I had my car, but people are always fanboys of one brand of clear bra vs another. 3M scotchgard is a CLEAR-COATED clear bra, and it has the exact same finish as our cars, because (as I understand) it's been "finished" in a similar process as manufactured clear coated automobiles. I was going to wait until I got the car to decide which product would be best (Venturesheild…which is 3M anyway now, Scotchgard, Laminex, etc.). With a black car, I not only want to match the clarity/durability and adhesive factor to what I want and own…but I always want to match the textured finish as well. Choice was clear…Clear-Coated 3M Scotchgard. I'll do this in the morning (the 6th…today…it's in the shop as I'm writing this).


Top view of the car. Why not?


So it's the 6th…ah…today…and it's time to tint and put on the clear bra. I wanted to not only match the clear bra with the car, but also properly match the tint (form AND function). I put up two samples on the drivers side window to do a little comparison. Huper Optik on the left side of the picture, and on the right side…3M Crystalline. Here are a few shots, followed by my conclusion and choice.










Conclusion: I ended up with the Huper believe it or not. The 3M is unquestionably the best product for heat reduction and UV prevention. Huper Optik is known for their clarity. It was "clear" to me that Huper had the edge on clarity. It was the first thing that I noticed. Another thing that I noticed was that the 3M had a brownish hue to it, while the Huper had a true gray/black hue to it. I felt that it better matched the BSM color and more importantly the black interior. Lastly, the Huper just seemed to be darker even though they were both 40% (legal for NC). Overall, the UV and heat will be OK. Anything will be better than stock. Is it the best in defending against UV/heat…no. Give and take. I suppose if I lived in AZ or FL than I would have considered the 3M film more. Since the car is in a garage 80% of the time (work and home)…eh. Huper was a "clear" choice for me. To each their own…glad we're all different when it comes to "mods" on our cars.

Below, the installer is installing the tint. These guys were really good!


After the tint was installed.










I'll throw up a few more when I get the car back and after the clear bra has been put on.

So my first thoughts on the car. WOW!!! WHAT A GREAT SOUNDING CAR!!! For a in-line 6…turbo'ed car?! WOW! Droning…absolutely. It was great to throw the 1M on the PCD mini track. I felt bad for the guy in front of me driving the 135. You could tell that he really wanted to outrun the 1M, but the 1M was just so awesome around the track. It just did everything well. The power was great. Spooled up nice and smoothly…no noticeable lag really. I did notice that although the manual gearbox is really smooth…it doesn't seem to like abuse. Not sure how to explain it, and this is a new car so I'm getting used to it. But there were a couple of times, I was trying to heel/toe around (what I would consider to be "turn 1"), and tried to downshift to 2nd…and it just wouldn't go into gear at all. It was strange. Maybe I was pushing the gear shifter to hard/fast to the left, tripping some reverse lockout? Like I said…hard to explain. It wouldn't get back into 2nd until I shifted back into third and then more easily dropped (and rev-matched) into 2nd. It has to be the car that I was in…because I can't explain it very well, and I'm WORSE at explaining things in writing (I'm technical…not a writer…different sides of the brain). Anyway, I'll post some more pictures up in the BSM specific thread. Maybe some HDR pictures.

[mikewills]

Congrats man! She looks great! I wanted BSM, but my OCD couldn't handle it.

[b33g33]

Congrats man! December (maybe November) can't come fast enough. How's the ventureshield looking?

BSM pictures ...

[Mdawood]

Congratulations....car looks fantastic. Looking forward to my pcd in November.

[Impervious]

Good to have another 1M in the area. As a BSM 135i owner, I am truly jealous. The 1M wears all 3 colors well but I would have chosen BSM too.

[silvs]

Nice! Is this another 1M in PA?

[elitt13]

nice BSM !!!

[oldBMWguy]

Man-- your cars looks NICE !... and a great write-up re getting it and doing the tint. I think you probably saw my AW one there-- I pick my up on Tuesday, and will be crusing thru the NC mountains on Wed and Thur before heading back to Va Bch to get mine tinted on Friday.

How was the tint job?-- any bubbles that need to come out ?

[mPlasticDesign]

BSM looks super! Congrats man!

[evolution80]

congrats, nice color you got there

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by v1k0d3n

So my first thoughts on the car. WOW!!! WHAT A GREAT SOUNDING CAR!!! For a in-line 6…turbo'ed car?! WOW! Droning…absolutely. It was great to throw the 1M on the PCD mini track. I felt bad for the guy in front of me driving the 135. You could tell that he really wanted to outrun the 1M, but the 1M was just so awesome around the track. It just did everything well. The power was great. Spooled up nice and smoothly…no noticeable lag really. I did notice that although the manual gearbox is really smooth…it doesn't seem to like abuse. Not sure how to explain it, and this is a new car so I'm getting used to it. But there were a couple of times, I was trying to heel/toe around (what I would consider to be "turn 1"), and tried to downshift to 2nd…and it just wouldn't go into gear at all. It was strange. Maybe I was pushing the gear shifter to hard/fast to the left, tripping some reverse lockout? Like I said…hard to explain. It wouldn't get back into 2nd until I shifted back into third and then more easily dropped (and rev-matched) into 2nd. It has to be the car that I was in…because I can't explain it very well, and I'm WORSE at explaining things in writing (I'm technical…not a writer…different sides of the brain). Anyway, I'll post some more pictures up in the BSM specific thread. Maybe some HDR pictures.

Thanks for explaining the forum name!

BMWs have a SERIOUS lockout for reverse/first... so very possible.. also could be Clutch Delay Valve... which many people remove immediately.

Snertz... doh! seriously...VO is awesome as well

[LOVEM]

Congratulations ! It Looks Gr8.

[Papethova]

Congrats... seeing those pics really made me miss my car.

[v1k0d3n]

Originally Posted by b33g33

How's the ventureshield looking?

I ended up going with the 3M Clear-Coated Scotchgard. It best seemed to match the texture of the original stock paint, it allows the paint to breathe (which was a requirement for me), and it has the best backed warranty that I am aware of. VentureShield's warranty isn't as good, and they are changing the product line soon (since they got purchased from 3M), but as of now it's considered a 2nd tier product. Not that it makes any real difference. People all have their favorites.

The job looks great though! Steve is the freaking best! He took the mirror pieces in the Expel kit (Expel is the only kit that he is aware of right now), and then he took the M3 mirror connections and just cut them back a little so that the entire piece is covered. It was a really slick job. I really like the rear pieces as well, and I like that the Expel kit includes the handle inserts (I'll post pictures of these all later so that you can tell). Any PCD guys coming through Charlotte...I suggest checking Steve out!

Originally Posted by Impervious

Good to have another 1M in the area. As a BSM 135i owner, I am truly jealous. The 1M wears all 3 colors well but I would have chosen BSM too.

I'm looking forward in getting together with you guys. You're definitely going on the ride next weekend, right? (until I put some faces with the names...yada yada...I'm horrible until that point, that's all I'll say). haha

Originally Posted by silvs

Nice! Is this another 1M in PA?

Nope actually live in Charlotte, NC. I did buy the car from P&W BMW out of Pittsburgh PA, and I plan on visiting those guys soon. GREAT people up there!

Originally Posted by oldBMWguy

How was the tint job?-- any bubbles that need to come out ?

Tint job was perfect! I'll post some pictures. They removed all the residue and unnecessary crap (*cough* "efficient dynamics" sticker). They did the tint job in about 30 minutes give or take. I was impressed!

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

also could be Clutch Delay Valve... which many people remove immediately.

Now that you mention it...maybe that's it? I keep on thinking "am i doing something wrong here..."? Is the CDV intrusive at points during hard driving/track? This still baffles me...but if it IS the CDV...that damn thing is going immediately!!! I can't deal with not being able to shift into second at a high speed turn (I'm thinking turn 1 at VIR/Barber or even Road ATL turn 10)!

[Snertz]

Nice pics! I'm still on the drive home, I'll get the vids of our track time up asap lol I still love the color

[tmppgh]

Originally Posted by v1k0d3n

Nope actually live in Charlotte, NC. I did buy the car from P&W BMW out of Pittsburgh PA, and I plan on visiting those guys soon. GREAT people up there!

Nice, maybe I will actually get to see another 1M. I think most of the ones around Pittsburgh were sold out of state.

The car looks very nice, congrats!

[MusclezMarinara]

Looks great man now get some performance black grills

[v1k0d3n]

Originally Posted by MusclezMarinara

Looks great man now get some performance black grills

installed on day 2

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...1#post10567409

[Oaktree]

I have to stop looking at pictures...

[Dackelone]

Nice writeup v1k0d3n.

BSM is such a nice metalic color. I remember when I saw M3Adjuster's 1M at the Welt... I was thinking your very same thoughts.

Btw... I got a chuckle out of seeing my post of that F20 on the engine dyno room at BMW Werk(on your iPad).


Dack

[///M1]

Great pics and summary! You officially made my wait for next Friday's PCD even more unbearable! (it's been a long 10+ weeks since I saw her last!) The pain is killing me, pass on some of those v1k0d3n's

[Artemis]

Congratulations with your four-seat F-117 Nighthawk.
Happy motoring !