New daily 320d

[MDMA .]

Just landed.

[Court_S]

MDMA . said:

I didn’t think the genuine centre caps were that bad. £52.80 for 4. I’ve previously bought genuine BBS centre caps and paid more than that for 1 Must have been mad, thinking about it now. BBS tax I suppose.

Maybe I’m just tight! I moaned at £44 fir the set I bought this year. They do last longer than the eBay specials though (I was tight and bought some for my other half’s 125i and they’re really faded after a year or so).

[MDMA .]

Dropped off this morning at BCS. Will collect it later this afternoon. See if I can get a picture before it gets dark!

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

MDMA . said:

I didn’t think the genuine centre caps were that bad. £52.80 for 4. I’ve previously bought genuine BBS centre caps and paid more than that for 1 Must have been mad, thinking about it now. BBS tax I suppose.

Maybe I’m just tight! I moaned at £44 fir the set I bought this year. They do last longer than the eBay specials though (I was tight and bought some for my other half’s 125i and they’re really faded after a year or so).

Yup; OEM ones are the way to go...

But; if you do get eBay specials. Remove the foil BMW logo, spray it lightly with lacquer, front & back and then put back onto the plastic cap and press it down tightly... They last longer then (I did this for my winter alloys etc and they never corroded)

[Pica-Pica]

Court_S said:

MDMA . said:

Twin tips, but in the standard position. Below is from BCS site.

That’ll look much nicer than the single oval tip.

I always liked the oval on my 323i, it looked more distinctive than a commonplace twin.

[MDMA .]

Just got home now. Better pics at the weekend. It’s a great quality exhaust. Nigel loved the car too. Not seen/worked on one for a while. This is the Rev 3 version for E9X. Can’t hear the difference inside the car, it was more for looks this time. Happy with it.

[Tmrtom]

OP, how does it handle on b roads and when pushing on a bit? I've always been a hot hatch man and I seem to remember you used to have a mk5 gti (which I currently do), but I am considering smaller estates as well as hatches for my next car.

[Court_S]

Looks nice; the twin pipe set up is much nicer in my opinion.

[d_a_n1979]

MDMA . said:

Just got home now. Better pics at the weekend. It’s a great quality exhaust. Nigel loved the car too. Not seen/worked on one for a while. This is the Rev 3 version for E9X. Can’t hear the difference inside the car, it was more for looks this time. Happy with it.

Looks really well that pal; subtle, OEM style and much better than a single tail pipe no matter what the shape

[Mr Tidy]

MDMA . said:

Just got home now. Better pics at the weekend. It’s a great quality exhaust. Nigel loved the car too. Not seen/worked on one for a while. This is the Rev 3 version for E9X. Can’t hear the difference inside the car, it was more for looks this time. Happy with it.

That looks much better.

[Ben Lowden]

Exhaust looks great! Was that a custom system and if so, where did you have it made? I need to get something done myself.

[MDMA .]

Tmrtom said:

OP, how does it handle on b roads and when pushing on a bit? I've always been a hot hatch man and I seem to remember you used to have a mk5 gti (which I currently do), but I am considering smaller estates as well as hatches for my next car.

I’ve only really driven it back from Dundee at steady motorway speeds. Not really had the chance open it up yet. It does handle really well though. Grant, the previous owner, had a Koni/H&R suspension kit fitted. I’m just working through all the little bits that I want doing to make perfect for me. Probably be spring time now before it gets used properly. I’ll run the Legacy through this winter. Looks like it might be a cold one. 10 inch wide rears on this aren’t the perfect winter set up! Might look into getting a dedicated winter set next year.

[MDMA .]

Ben Lowden said:

Exhaust looks great! Was that a custom system and if so, where did you have it made? I need to get something done myself.

www.powervalve.co.uk

Not on the shelf. He has the jigs and makes these to order. It was only a few weeks lead time. He was doing a really nice, one off system for a Shogun at the same time.

Edited by MDMA . on Friday 9th December 17:40

Not sure why the links are working? Tried twice and they don’t seem to highlight now.

Edited by MDMA . on Friday 9th December 17:41

[MDMA .]

Ben Lowden said:

Exhaust looks great! Was that a custom system and if so, where did you have it made? I need to get something done myself.

I’m sure a feature on them would tie in nice if making a system for you

[Mr Tidy]

MDMA . said:

I’ve only really driven it back from Dundee at steady motorway speeds. Not really had the chance open it up yet. It does handle really well though. Grant, the previous owner, had a Koni/H&R suspension kit fitted. I’m just working through all the little bits that I want doing to make perfect for me. Probably be spring time now before it gets used properly. I’ll run the Legacy through this winter. Looks like it might be a cold one. 10 inch wide rears on this aren’t the perfect winter set up! Might look into getting a dedicated winter set next year.

From what I have read most BMWs drive better on aftermarket suspension, so Grant probably did you a favour!

10 inch rears on an RWD BMW sound like a recipe for going nowhere if it snows! I bought my E91 in February 2018 a few weeks before the Beast from the East arrived. But it came on 16s with Bridgestone Blizzak winters fitted and I was amazed at how good they were.

Sadly it didn't come with any summers so I had to buy a set for it a month or so later.

[MDMA .]

Mr Tidy said:

From what I have read most BMWs drive better on aftermarket suspension, so Grant probably did you a favour!

10 inch rears on an RWD BMW sound like a recipe for going nowhere if it snows! I bought my E91 in February 2018 a few weeks before the Beast from the East arrived. But it came on 16s with Bridgestone Blizzak winters fitted and I was amazed at how good they were.

Sadly it didn't come with any summers so I had to buy a set for it a month or so later.

And I’m supposed to be taking it today to the wheel refurbers who’ll be doing the callipers and bells too. Plenty snow on the ground now. See how it copes.
I’ve also got a set of MK1 TT 9 spokes in the back and a set of BBS split rims that need doing.

[MDMA .]

Well 265/35/19 MPS4S don’t like going up ungritted steep slopes. It’s official!
Couldn’t get out the road this morning. Had to clear it and put some grit down. Then I got stuck in Chorley. Big ramp into the industrial estate. Not having it. It’s been left in another yard at the entrance over night until the snow goes.
Back in the Legacy now wearing its Cross Climates. Like driving in the summer!

[Mr Tidy]

MDMA . said:

Well 265/35/19 MPS4S don’t like going up ungritted steep slopes. It’s official!
Couldn’t get out the road this morning. Had to clear it and put some grit down. Then I got stuck in Chorley. Big ramp into the industrial estate. Not having it. It’s been left in another yard at the entrance over night until the snow goes.
Back in the Legacy now wearing its Cross Climates. Like driving in the summer!

Well that's not a big surprise!

My 1 Series on 205/55 x 17 tyres couldn't cope with a gradient in 2010, so I worked from home for a few days.

I finally got around to fitting my 225/45 x 17 winters on my E90 today so I may still be able to get out and about!

[sam.rog]

MDMA . said:

Well 265/35/19 MPS4S don’t like going up ungritted steep slopes. It’s official!
Couldn’t get out the road this morning. Had to clear it and put some grit down. Then I got stuck in Chorley. Big ramp into the industrial estate. Not having it. It’s been left in another yard at the entrance over night until the snow goes.
Back in the Legacy now wearing its Cross Climates. Like driving in the summer!

It’s amazing the difference in stability between the two. My legacy had yokohama winter tyres on and it was unstoppable in snow and heavy rain.
I had one moment yesterday driving to North Wales. 30 seconds before a roundabout it dumped a biblical amount of hail. Back end stepped out considerably. I managed to catch it and get off on my exit. Luckily It was doing 10-15 mph and no one else on the roundabout.
255/35/18 Michelin ps5 are no good on ice. I’ll be looking for a set of used winters in the summer.

[MDMA .]

Mr Tidy said:

MDMA . said:

Well 265/35/19 MPS4S don’t like going up ungritted steep slopes. It’s official!
Couldn’t get out the road this morning. Had to clear it and put some grit down. Then I got stuck in Chorley. Big ramp into the industrial estate. Not having it. It’s been left in another yard at the entrance over night until the snow goes.
Back in the Legacy now wearing its Cross Climates. Like driving in the summer!

Well that's not a big surprise!

My 1 Series on 205/55 x 17 tyres couldn't cope with a gradient in 2010, so I worked from home for a few days.

I finally got around to fitting my 225/45 x 17 winters on my E90 today so I may still be able to get out and about!

If I get rid of the Legacy, I’ll have to look into getting a second set. Probably a set of winters on some factory steels. We don’t normally get much standing snow and they’ll keep the new wheels looking good. Unless I come across a nice set of used 17” alloys. Steels seem to be between £60-70 each, new.