What did you do to/for your 1er today?

[demas]

Rinsed her down and went for a spin as I won't be driving for a couple weeks due to a trip. Did the 'look back' at a parking lot :-)

Man, the lines on this car are timeless. It's up there with the E39/8, E28, F10, E46 and 3.0 CS..

New double-slat grilles are holding in ok too.

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by demas

Rinsed her down and went for a spin as I won't be driving for a couple weeks due to a trip. Did the 'look back' at a parking lot :-)

Man, the lines on this car are timeless. It's up there with the E39/8, E28, F10, E46 and 3.0 CS..

New double-slat grilles are holding in ok too.

The car has aged very gracefully.

The sharp cut line along the belt. The proportions of the cabin to the hood and trunk. The way the wheels are pushed out to the corners with little overhang up front and a touch more in the rear.

I love the way the light plays with the flame surfacing too.

And then throw in N52 NA straight 6 and a manual and it truly becomes an iconic representation of what BMW once was.

I've got an F10 N52 as well and I think it is a forever car as well.

[fotontom]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

The car has aged very gracefully.

The sharp cut line along the belt. The proportions of the cabin to the hood and trunk. The way the wheels are pushed out to the corners with little overhang up front and a touch more in the rear.

I love the way the light plays with the flame surfacing too.

And then throw in N52 NA straight 6 and a manual and it truly becomes an iconic representation of what BMW once was.

I've got an F10 N52 as well and I think it is a forever car as well.

+1 to that comment on the F10. I just picked up a cherry 2011 F10 N52 for my wife. Having owned a few E34's from new, it was my first experience since then with a 5 series. Absolutely no disappointments!

[demas]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

The car has aged very gracefully.

The sharp cut line along the belt. The proportions of the cabin to the hood and trunk. The way the wheels are pushed out to the corners with little overhang up front and a touch more in the rear.

I love the way the light plays with the flame surfacing too.

And then throw in N52 NA straight 6 and a manual and it truly becomes an iconic representation of what BMW once was.

I've got an F10 N52 as well and I think it is a forever car as well.

Originally Posted by fotontom

+1 to that comment on the F10. I just picked up a cherry 2011 F10 N52 for my wife. Having owned a few E34's from new, it was my first experience since then with a 5 series. Absolutely no disappointments!

Agreed. Never thought I'd have love for Flame Surfacing but it's done really well on some of the Bangle cars. Being a die-hard E39er, completely skipped the E60 for the F10 - and although it's an N63, it's been the most reliable BMW I've owned since 1997 which I still cannot get over.

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by fotontom

+1 to that comment on the F10. I just picked up a cherry 2011 F10 N52 for my wife. Having owned a few E34's from new, it was my first experience since then with a 5 series. Absolutely no disappointments!

That weird 2011 BMW F10 N52 ZF 8 speed is a rare treat. Rolls royce , 7 series suspension parts, great looks, fantastic N52 and a ZF magic box.

Keeping that one forever too.

I swear if that car got totaled I'd find a blown motor 135i and swap the entire 528 drivetrain in.....

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by demas

Agreed. Never thought I'd have love for Flame Surfacing but it's done really well on some of the Bangle cars. Being a die-hard E39er, completely skipped the E60 for the F10 - and although it's an N63, it's been the most reliable BMW I've owned since 1997 which I still cannot get over.

Same.
The E82 has aged really well - given how controversial Bangle designs were at the time.

[19Neil]

Adore how easy it was to swap out 10 year old turn signals with dry rotted gaskets. Why oh why did previous owners not do this. Smh. Cheap crap LED units in for now but at least it looks better.

I'm surprised BMW didn't make a smoked turn signal. Anyone have experience with the ECS smoked kit?

[Ric in RVA]

Put my non ventilated airbox cover back on....I'm gonna miss that intake noise!

Easy enough to swap out.

Might even put the stock exhaust back on....

The things you do when you have a spare sports car to play with....

[dfox]

Originally Posted by 19Neil

Adore how easy it was to swap out 10 year old turn signals with dry rotted gaskets. Why oh why did previous owners not do this. Smh. Cheap crap LED units in for now but at least it looks better.

I'm surprised BMW didn't make a smoked turn signal. Anyone have experience with the ECS smoked kit?

I installed these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/112149665849 and have been pretty happy with them for the price.

They don't do the sequential thing, which I find cheesy on a side marker light like this. They're also made by Depo who makes tons of OEM lighting parts.

[tjswarbrick]

Nearly finished installing the RaceDeck FreeFlow floor in the new garage:



Just ran out of blue tiles... And have a little trim work to complete.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by 19Neil

Adore how easy it was to swap out 10 year old turn signals with dry rotted gaskets. Why oh why did previous owners not do this. Smh. Cheap crap LED units in for now but at least it looks better.

I'm surprised BMW didn't make a smoked turn signal. Anyone have experience with the ECS smoked kit?

No experience with the ECS kit.
I installed the Depo smoked turn signals on my 2012 back in 2017. Other than one of the wires dropping into the fender, behind the plastic cover, (and fishing for it for 1/2 hr) it was a simple install, and they still look and function as they did that day. Very pleased.

[WrathOTM]

damn, that garage is looking all nice and ready to be ruined...

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by WrathOTM

damn, that garage is looking all nice and ready to be ruined...

HaHa!

I'm putting the woodshop in the 10x10 shed to minimize ruining the garage!
Storage cabinets are on the way.

We painted one day (full primer and paint, walls and ceiling) and I installed the single bay RaceDeck the next. Then left for a week.
When I came back, there was a light dusting of powder over the entire floor. I left footprints. It was dull and dingy, and I was very sad.
Then I blew it off with a leaf blower, and it looked brand new.
So, I'm encouraged that it won't look too beat up from my intended light to moderate use.

Still a WIP, so it may be a month or two before I get the bring the 1'er up and put her inside. (I'm pretty much hauling stuff up in the Tacoma.) May get a shot of the wife's X3 in there in the next couple weeks.

[Fishee]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

HaHa!

I'm putting the woodshop in the 10x10 shed to minimize ruining the garage!
Storage cabinets are on the way.

We painted one day (full primer and paint, walls and ceiling) and I installed the single bay RaceDeck the next. Then left for a week.
When I came back, there was a light dusting of powder over the entire floor. I left footprints. It was dull and dingy, and I was very sad.
Then I blew it off with a leaf blower, and it looked brand new.
So, I'm encouraged that it won't look too beat up from my intended light to moderate use.

Still a WIP, so it may be a month or two before I get the bring the 1'er up and put her inside. (I'm pretty much hauling stuff up in the Tacoma.) May get a shot of the wife's X3 in there in the next couple weeks.

Hmmm, what would i give up living in toronto to have this much garage space.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by Fishee

Hmmm, what would i give up living in toronto to have this much garage space.

So, I probably shouldn't mention the adjacent 10ish-car driveway and 2-car RV/Boat pad?

Sure beats the 1-car in San Jose where I couldn't open the car door. Had to drop the top, climb out onto the workbench, and jump over the hood to get out! Getting back in was even more fun. I think I blanked it out of my mind.

[Fishee]

Project showroom fresh continues...

[Meestah Chow]

Originally Posted by Fishee

Project showroom fresh continues...

Power fluid tip (from somewhere on this site):

When you install your new reservoir don't immediately hook up the return line. Let it drain into a catch pail. Add fresh fluid and wind the steering to flush out the dirty Pentosin.

Also a tin foil drip pan is magic for catching drips.

[Donkeyshins]

Installed a Turner Motorsport silicone intake boot (old one was starting to crack - let's see if this is a more durable replacement).

Added degree of difficulty: I dropped the dome-shaped airbox bumper into the belly pan and had to retrieve it via dropping part of the belly pan. I was not able to find the myriad 10mm sockets I've lost in the engine bay, nor the other airbox bumper which prompted me to buy a replacement the last time this happened - either they've rolled further back or fell out on the road at some point.

[ShocknAwe]

Damned N54 started leaking from every seam (except VCG somehow) again. Still in process of a full gasket refresh. In particular the cam sensor gaskets were totally squared out.

Halfway through I ripped my upper radiator hose nipple off, so car got new coolant hoses too.

Washed down the engine. Found a new PCV flapper for a good deal so going back to stock BMW high side plumbing, should make it easier to fit the engine cover back on especially now that it has OE B58 coils and plugs which fit much better than the PR bracket monstrosity.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

Installed a Turner Motorsport silicone intake boot (old one was starting to crack - let's see if this is a more durable replacement).

Added degree of difficulty: I dropped the dome-shaped airbox bumper into the belly pan and had to retrieve it via dropping part of the belly pan. I was not able to find the myriad 10mm sockets I've lost in the engine bay, nor the other airbox bumper which prompted me to buy a replacement the last time this happened - either they've rolled further back or fell out on the road at some point.

I've seen some people cut a notch in the hose to fit on the intake end. Did you have to cut?

P.S. I glued down the little dome bumper thingy after the last time I'd lost it to the Engine Underworld and had it drop on my head months later. Should've used more glue – it's returned to the Underworld. I hate that thing.

[Afam28]

Hey guys, I started a post in the engine forum for N54…

If anybody can help or point me in the right direction…I would be extremely grateful!

[Donkeyshins]

Originally Posted by Almuliman

I've seen some people cut a notch in the hose to fit on the intake end. Did you have to cut?

P.S. I glued down the little dome bumper thingy after the last time I'd lost it to the Engine Underworld and had it drop on my head months later. Should've used more glue – it's returned to the Underworld. I hate that thing.

I thought about cutting a notch in the hose but realized that it would fit just fine since the clamp is 'upstream' of the flange - it just bulges a little bit where the notch would go (only purpose is alignment). I had glued the dome bumper last time I was in there installing the Euro airbox, but the glue obviously didn't hold, hence Engine Underworld party. This time around, I used motorcycle handlebar grip glue, which should be a bit more robust (at least, that's what I'm hoping).