BMW and M Power Owners

DRZ · 12 Feb 2016 at 21:04

Collected my E89 Z4 sDrive35i DCT today and wow, what a machine!

Spec-wise it is pretty good:

7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission, Pro Nav with DAB, heated electric memory sports seats, heated steering wheel, etc. It sits on 19" Style 296 alloy wheels which I really like

I'd sort of come to think that I'd not really missed the power of the S6's 4.2 V8 or my Supercharged MX-5 (or the 4.3 V8 in the S-Class...) or at least got used to being without it. The 520d definitely wasn't slow but it wasn't fast either. It had enough power to not ever be annoyed when joining motorways and so on but it couldn't give much more than that. The ZF 8 speed gearbox was a lot to do with that I think. Anyway, so while in a way I'm sad to see the F10 go, the E89 has rekindled my love of what I'd call "true" acceleration.

What an engine and gearbox combination! Such relentless pull throughout the rev range, awesome straight 6 noise and the DCT changes are sublime.

I'll try and get some pics up when it isn't dark

panthro · 12 Feb 2016 at 22:26

Good cars, I really miss mine.

Rybo89 · 12 Feb 2016 at 22:40

Brake fluid light came on today. Thought i would ring Stratstone BMW and see how much it would be for a change.

£62 for the change, pleasantly surprised by that. Wasn't surprised by the £400 bill for a full service though (oils,filters and plugs)

Car is a 59 plate E93 325i Msport.

Gaygle · 12 Feb 2016 at 23:24

Rybo89 said:
Brake fluid light came on today. Thought i would ring Stratstone BMW and see how much it would be for a change.

£62 for the change, pleasantly surprised by that. Wasn't surprised by the £400 bill for a full service though (oils,filters and plugs)

Car is a 59 plate E93 325i Msport.

You'll lop £120 off the bill by buying you're own Castrol oil. And maybe a bit more if you ask for a bit of a cheeky discount.

rodenal · 13 Feb 2016 at 06:38

Not a massive difference but the value servicing price is £362 for the same

pepp77 · 13 Feb 2016 at 11:13

This actually any good for the price - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif..._to_50000_miles&aggregatedTrim=320i&logcode=p

wingman · 13 Feb 2016 at 11:22

pepp77 said:
This actually any good for the price - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif..._to_50000_miles&aggregatedTrim=320i&logcode=p

I'd not want to throw £15k at a previous gen car with a mediocre engine and no colour.

Dis86 · 13 Feb 2016 at 12:21

White m sport. All show, no go.

NickXX · 13 Feb 2016 at 16:44

Not posted in this thread for a while, but had some new diamond cut wheels fitted today:

Old picture of the old painted ones in the Alps:

Gaygle · 13 Feb 2016 at 17:04

Ahhhh lovely!

I was literally looking for alloy refurbishment places today. I can't decide between full OEM diamond cut refurb, or powder coated chrome. I use my car most days through all conditions and paying £400 for a diamond cut job, only to find it is starting to corrode 6 months later makes me reluctant.

NickXX · 13 Feb 2016 at 17:18

I used FAwheels.com who are based in West Hampstead, London. Highly recommend them- I went for the exchange service where they have a stock of refurbished wheels for various cars (lots of e46 m3 stock!). I paid £390 for diamond cut- painted (inc shadow chrome) were less than £350 iirc.

Difficult call if you're driving it a lot. I rarely drive mine, and even less so in the winter, so diamond cut was a no-brainer. I've had diamond cut before and they were a pita when I used my car a lot. Diamond cut also doesn't come with a warranty, whereas painted will.

Gaygle · 13 Feb 2016 at 17:53

NickXX said:
I used FAwheels.com who are based in West Hampstead, London. Highly recommend them- I went for the exchange service where they have a stock of refurbished wheels for various cars (lots of e46 m3 stock!). I paid £390 for diamond cut- painted (inc shadow chrome) were less than £350 iirc.

Difficult call if you're driving it a lot. I rarely drive mine, and even less so in the winter, so diamond cut was a no-brainer. I've had diamond cut before and they were a pita when I used my car a lot. Diamond cut also doesn't come with a warranty, whereas painted will.

Yeah this is the company I've been looking at, they seem to run a great business. On their website they have the shiny silver ones listed at £288inc which is superb VFM. I just really wanted something shinier than that, *and* with the anthracite inserts.

My wheels have got some kerbing and some of the usual milking, but strangely, they haven't got much worse at all in the passed 12 months. I also have a heated/shampoo jet washer at work which I guess I could use every week during the winter.

But then I think I could just get some high quality CSL replicas, which cost £500, but I would make £300 back off my OEM 19s. But I really like the OEM 19s

NickXX · 13 Feb 2016 at 18:03

I love the OEM 19s, but they can be hard work. Get Shadow Chrome painted if you want an easy life (FAwheels did have some of these in stock last week).

It took 30 mins to swap them over - very slick operation!

Gaygle · 13 Feb 2016 at 18:08

Yeah, they are such a defining characteristic of the car, so I'd really like to keep them. I'm not a fan of shadow chrome really. You mentioned that your old wheels were painted? What was the finish on them?

BananaDunka · 13 Feb 2016 at 18:12

You've seen mine no? American Chrome refurbed. I think as a daily use car this would be an ideal finish. It's not as bling as direct chrome/polished, and is more of a deeper gloss, which looks quite classy imo.

The diamondcut corroding over short spacs of time, especially after a small stone chip etc would seriously get annoying.

I wouldn't bother entertaining CSL reps, only genuine wheels. not that quality reps have any issues, I'd just want the wheels to be proper personally.

NickXX · 13 Feb 2016 at 18:15

Old finish was lepsons painted shadow chrome (same finish as oem 18s):

alx · 14 Feb 2016 at 10:40

DRZ said:
Collected my E89 Z4 sDrive35i DCT today and wow, what a machine!

Spec-wise it is pretty good:

7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission, Pro Nav with DAB, heated electric memory sports seats, heated steering wheel, etc. It sits on 19" Style 296 alloy wheels which I really like

I'd sort of come to think that I'd not really missed the power of the S6's 4.2 V8 or my Supercharged MX-5 (or the 4.3 V8 in the S-Class...) or at least got used to being without it. The 520d definitely wasn't slow but it wasn't fast either. It had enough power to not ever be annoyed when joining motorways and so on but it couldn't give much more than that. The ZF 8 speed gearbox was a lot to do with that I think. Anyway, so while in a way I'm sad to see the F10 go, the E89 has rekindled my love of what I'd call "true" acceleration.

What an engine and gearbox combination! Such relentless pull throughout the rev range, awesome straight 6 noise and the DCT changes are sublime.

I'll try and get some pics up when it isn't dark

Any pics? Seriously considering a Z4 35i/35iS as my next car.

pepsilol · 14 Feb 2016 at 12:08

Rybo89 said:
Brake fluid light came on today. Thought i would ring Stratstone BMW and see how much it would be for a change.

£62 for the change, pleasantly surprised by that. Wasn't surprised by the £400 bill for a full service though (oils,filters and plugs)

I remember when the Toyota dealer charged £24.99 all in on my LS430.

Good days.

BananaDunka · 14 Feb 2016 at 12:24

DRZ relentless acceleration is what I really like, although I only have a manual box, the acceleration feels never ending from 2000rpm to 8000, and then there's the noise. I've driven cars that are louder and/or quicker, but the S54 combines many of the good things of all of them into one. It's also quite funny watching your passenger's head lob back and forth into the headrest through each gear change

I imagine your Z4 is the same in this regard :cool:

olv · 14 Feb 2016 at 12:33

There must be at least 9-10 E46 M3s on here now. Your wheels look totally spiffing Nick.