Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

Demon · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:08

So this weekends (was only supposed to be an afternoon) job was to change my headlight lenses for new ones.. But I accidentally thought I'd lower the tone and fit some Angel Eyes ..

This was the 120LED per ring (131mm diameter) kits that are quite popular (£60)

The problem started when I realised the the inner shroud obscures quite a bit of the main beam reflector. this is the lowest (auto-level) position the lights can get to..

So mounting the ring to that reflector was just going to cut most of it off..

I then decided to bust out the 3D printer, and make some small cover and mounting pieces to do a bit more of a thorough job..

The idea was to mount the main reflector ring to the shroud itself..
The point of no return.. cutting out part of the shroud to accommodate the ring, easy peasy with a dremel..

Then it had to be glue'd (could have used double sided tape).. I taped it up whilst drying.

Then I trial fitted a cover piece to the right hand side, this fills the gap between the shroud/ring and the reflector housing..

This gives it a more 'sealed' look

So, moving on to the projector, I 3d printed a mount piece to allow proper ahesion between the ring and the chrome outer, I glued the mount on first.

Then used the supplied clips at the top, and some number plate tape on the mount piece at the bottom to form a 'solid' fit..

Both rings attached..

And check they work again before closing up..

Turning the voltage down helped photograph them..

If viewed low enough down, the projector ring is obscured by the shroud a bit, but to mount that in the shroud in the same way the main beam is would be a bit harder..

The LED colour is about right to the D2S bulbs I have (no idea what they are, they just came with the car).

However, viewed at anything approaching normal angles..

Mistakes I made..
- I used super glue to mount the plastic stuff, which is great, but forgot that the vapour attacks greasy finger marks (Beverly Hills Cop Trick), so I closed up the drivers side without letting it dry over night, in the morning, every where I'd handled the shroud had gone milky.. I had to take it off the car, reopen and clean thoroughly, luckily it seemed to come off easy enough.

- Taking the headlight out, it's far far easier to gently prise out the washer cover and detach, that way the headlight with trim comes out easily as one unit.

- Don't use anything to clean the interior chrome, just a bit of dry kitchen roll worked fine, but any 'product' just dulled/took the chrome off.. luckily it was all behind the AE ring, so not visible, but if I ever removed them...

I do like the look of them, nice and visible in daylight, they are wired up to the accessory wire so are DRL's.. I might wired up the remote fade from the interior lights, but I'll give them a few miles and see how the glue/3d printed stuff holds up, if they get very hot (e.g. 100 degrees+) they can warp a bit, but I'll see.. I can always get proper pieces made from aluminium if I need to, but that'll cost..

I know some people hate the AE's, but honestly, I've seen enough of the newer LED AE's on newer BMW models that look really cheap and tacky, all unevenly lit and not matching colour temps with the other bulbs, these are very uniform, and nice and crisp.. I'll see how I get on.. a new set of headlamps isn't too much, I can reuse the new lenses worse case..

Em3bbs · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:26

Nooooooooooo!!!

Demon · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:30

Em3bbs said:
Nooooooooooo!!!

I'm just not a purist.. I've had many a discussion on resto-mod vs restoration, you can guess which side I'm on..

mrk · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:32

You could have at least chosen a warm white colour for the rings which would be fitting for the era the car was made in as per the E39

I did a quick little walkaround yesterday as a few people wanted to see the interior and engine bay with eventuri elsewhere.

Demon · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:36

mrk said:
You could have at least chosen a warm white colour for the rings which would be fitting for the era the car was made in as per the E39

The LED kit is 5000K which is a reasonable compromise for me, the D2S bulbs have been changed at somepoint by a previous owner to something around 5000K, as have the main beams and side lights, so everything at least matches..

I know, I know.. guilty pleasures and all that.. I can't help myself, it's like the android head units, I've just ordered one, knowing that replacing the 2004 factory NAV is again going to ruin the purity of the car.. but it's so old now, and so low in value that I don't think it'll hurt it too badly..

The OE design of the car is weird though, the rear LED lights are not warm white, but the number plate bulbs/reverse bulbs are, it's a bit of a transitional hot-potch of colour temps when LEDs where first thrown on production cars..

skaif · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:39

I think they look great? Not the usual 'shocked' look the after market ones have like they have been pinched in the back side like the one I found on the interwebs :

Demon · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:41

skaif said:
I think they look great? Not the usual 'shocked' look the after market ones have like they have been pinched in the back side like the one I found on the interwebs :

Even the current models OEM angel eyes are awful, very unevely lit and colour temps of the all the bulbs all over the place, just makes me think 'cheap'..

Demon · 12 Jun 2016 at 15:43

mrk said:
I did a quick little walkaround yesterday as a few people wanted to see the interior and engine bay with eventuri elsewhere.

Your engine bay is immaculate! I started cleaning little bits as I did the headlights.. I might spring for an Eventuri some time, it's on my list, I just have a few cosmetic bits to finish then move on to that..

mrk · 12 Jun 2016 at 16:56

There is some dust, but nothing major

I'm going to be installing the 330d shifter soon, it's a super cheap, easy and quick replacement which reduces the throw by quite a bit and reduces idle gearstick play.

This:

badgeruk · 12 Jun 2016 at 16:58

mrk said:
There is some dust, but nothing major

Need the roof down some more, get some leaves and bits of tree in there.

dirtychinchilla · 13 Jun 2016 at 08:40

Loved the video mrk, but why have you got the air con on when the roof is down?!

Demon · 13 Jun 2016 at 08:47

dirtychinchilla said:
Loved the video mrk, but why have you got the air con on when the roof is down?!

The climate control works well with the roof down, when it was 28 degrees the other day, the air con was pumping a nice wave of cool air.. in the same way when it's a bit colder outside, you can whack up the temp to get a nice warm breeze to keep you comfortable...

dirtychinchilla · 13 Jun 2016 at 08:48

Fair enough!

mrk · 13 Jun 2016 at 10:12

Pretty much the above. Climate control is never turned off... Unless it's an RR day

North Coast 500 at the end of August, expect epic photos and some nice footage then!

Ricochet J · 13 Jun 2016 at 10:25

mrk showed my mum your car. In typical Asian mother mode, she asked how many large suitcases can you fit in the boot.

I said one large suitcase tops. She looked dissapointed and then said it wasn't a good car.

mrk · 13 Jun 2016 at 10:31

Haha!

I've heard it countless times already, most especially when ferrying older relatives who don't seem to like my foot accidentally slipping when in 2nd and/or 3rd gear

One Vision · 15 Jun 2016 at 09:26

mrk how did you get your seats up to a good standard....? Mine are a little worn. Also are those exhausts standard look, modded or polished?

mrk · 15 Jun 2016 at 10:38

One Vision said:
mrk how did you get your seats up to a good standard....? Mine are a little worn. Also are those exhausts standard look, modded or polished?

Seats were already in good condition, I just keep them that way. You can use a new shoe brush with some Gliptone leather cleaner to gently buff the cleaner into the leather using circular movements, this will remove shine and leave a satin lustre. Then you can wipe it dry and apply some Gliptone leather conditioner and wipe that off once it’s dry.

Exhaust tips are handmade ones by a member of cutters. Iirc they were around £150 for the set. You will also need pop rivets to install them and a good quality chisel to whack off the old rivets on the old tips with a hammer.

One Vision · 15 Jun 2016 at 21:24

mrk said:
Seats were already in good condition, I just keep them that way. You can use a new shoe brush with some Gliptone leather cleaner to gently buff the cleaner into the leather using circular movements, this will remove shine and leave a satin lustre. Then you can wipe it dry and apply some Gliptone leather conditioner and wipe that off once it’s dry.

Exhaust tips are handmade ones by a member of cutters. Iirc they were around £150 for the set. You will also need pop rivets to install them and a good quality chisel to whack off the old rivets on the old tips with a hammer.

Yeah thanks for that, noted. Your car is in good nick mate, are you planning to keep it for many years? People still buy and use these with well over 100k on the clock...?

mrk · 15 Jun 2016 at 21:49

For as long as I have the energy to throw money at it when things break yes. My original plan still stands, get an EV to sit alongside it and use the M3 for leisure only whilst the EV is the daily. I don't know of another car for the same money that has a similar engine and brings about the same emotions really when going at it. Such a brilliant engine, and the car always (literally) turns heads from people of all walks. So it's certainly appreciated by people other than just myself!

But that all depends on how far the new Alfa Giulia QV depreciates in a few years, because I think one of those would pull me away