BMW 330i E91 Touring
Discussion
carl911rugby said:
I agree, wear the 330i badge with pride!! It looks very nice by the way!!
I also own the same car as you! Although it's black with the red leather on a 58 plate! I've had it 4yrs now and am struggling to find a replacement!!
I love red leather, that would possibly be my perfect colour combo!I also own the same car as you! Although it's black with the red leather on a 58 plate! I've had it 4yrs now and am struggling to find a replacement!!
I can't have people thinking I drive a diesel now can I? Perhaps the badge is a bit of a life statement for me too - I know a lot of people who spend too much of their free time worrying if they have the cheapest energy supplier, comms supplier, cheapest flights, 1p off a litre of petrol, mpg etc. I like to think I am not burdened by these trivial issues, and I get on with enjoying life.
Thanks for all the lovely comments guys. I look forward to driving it every day - it's much more of an event than the Golf R lease is.
Today I've change the rear tailgate switch. Very easy to change, took a few minutes. The part been revised a few times over the years. The old one was 61319168129 and the latest one was 61319218995. The differences are stark - the new one has an all plastic collar and a rubber seal.
I also managed to change the rear climate panel to one that has the 12v sockets. Another easy win, I had to use some scotchlock wire taps like in this guide http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297...
I also managed to change the rear climate panel to one that has the 12v sockets. Another easy win, I had to use some scotchlock wire taps like in this guide http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297...
Edited by court on Thursday 18th February 11:48
Today I fitted some new front wiper blades. Genuine BMW £34.99 delivered from a BMW dealer on ebay. Part number 61610427668
When I took the old ones off I checked them out - they are also BMW genuine and the plastic bits have a manufacturing date of 06/2007! Could these really be the original wipers from the factory? If that's the case I feel even happier I went with BMW ones over whatever was in Halfords.
The BMW ones are made by SWF, now a subsidiary of Valeo. The unbranded SWF ones are part number 119312 - easy to find on amazon.de or ebay.de. The p+p could be a bit juicy though.
When I took the old ones off I checked them out - they are also BMW genuine and the plastic bits have a manufacturing date of 06/2007! Could these really be the original wipers from the factory? If that's the case I feel even happier I went with BMW ones over whatever was in Halfords.
The BMW ones are made by SWF, now a subsidiary of Valeo. The unbranded SWF ones are part number 119312 - easy to find on amazon.de or ebay.de. The p+p could be a bit juicy though.
I've been thinking over the interior trim again.. Perhaps I should have a go at wrapping them.
There's a few guides on BMW forums on how to wrap the trims. Seems everyone just wants to get rid of the wood and replace with aluminium or carbon. I want to go the other way.
After a couple of hours research I quite fancy this - 3M DI-NOC WG-156 Dark Tamo Wood http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/arch...
It looks like this when installed:
Looks classy I think.
There's a few guides on BMW forums on how to wrap the trims. Seems everyone just wants to get rid of the wood and replace with aluminium or carbon. I want to go the other way.
After a couple of hours research I quite fancy this - 3M DI-NOC WG-156 Dark Tamo Wood http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/arch...
It looks like this when installed:
Looks classy I think.
cerb4.5lee said:
Yes and I think that would go nicely with the light interior and it does look good.
My friend thinks I think I'll regret it if I don't go full OEM on it... He's right I do love OEM stuff, but the pre-LCI wood is a bit glossy. At least the film is removable if I decide it's not for me.BaronVonVaderham said:
I've joined the club!
Test drove and put a deposit down on an 06 330i Touring M Sport with 58k miles today, collecting it next weekend
Brilliant news, I don't think you'll be disappointed! Pics soon I hope...Test drove and put a deposit down on an 06 330i Touring M Sport with 58k miles today, collecting it next weekend
That looks fabulous, what a great colour!
I need mats myself, are you going to go OEM? Found a few suppliers for OEM parts over the last few weeks after much googling.
BMW direct on eBay about £100 delivered.
Cotswold BMW on eBay £85 delivered
Leebman24.de with forum discount about £86 delivered
bmwforums.info Harry Fairbairn should be about 15% off inc delivery, so about the same I guess.
Also the Harry Fairbairn dealer mats look good quality for £38 http://www.bmwforums.info/harry-fairbairn-bmw/6306...
I need the beige ones so will probably get the cotswold ones. I'm a sucker for OEM.
I need mats myself, are you going to go OEM? Found a few suppliers for OEM parts over the last few weeks after much googling.
BMW direct on eBay about £100 delivered.
Cotswold BMW on eBay £85 delivered
Leebman24.de with forum discount about £86 delivered
bmwforums.info Harry Fairbairn should be about 15% off inc delivery, so about the same I guess.
Also the Harry Fairbairn dealer mats look good quality for £38 http://www.bmwforums.info/harry-fairbairn-bmw/6306...
I need the beige ones so will probably get the cotswold ones. I'm a sucker for OEM.
court said:
I've been thinking over the interior trim again.. Perhaps I should have a go at wrapping them.
There's a few guides on BMW forums on how to wrap the trims. Seems everyone just wants to get rid of the wood and replace with aluminium or carbon. I want to go the other way.
After a couple of hours research I quite fancy this - 3M DI-NOC WG-156 Dark Tamo Wood http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/arch...
It looks like this when installed:
Looks classy I think.
A decent bodyshop will respray your wood trim.There's a few guides on BMW forums on how to wrap the trims. Seems everyone just wants to get rid of the wood and replace with aluminium or carbon. I want to go the other way.
After a couple of hours research I quite fancy this - 3M DI-NOC WG-156 Dark Tamo Wood http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/arch...
It looks like this when installed:
Looks classy I think.
Had mine done piano black.
court said:
That looks fabulous, what a great colour!
I need mats myself, are you going to go OEM? Found a few suppliers for OEM parts over the last few weeks after much googling.
BMW direct on eBay about £100 delivered.
Cotswold BMW on eBay £85 delivered
Leebman24.de with forum discount about £86 delivered
bmwforums.info Harry Fairbairn should be about 15% off inc delivery, so about the same I guess.
Also the Harry Fairbairn dealer mats look good quality for £38 http://www.bmwforums.info/harry-fairbairn-bmw/6306...
I need the beige ones so will probably get the cotswold ones. I'm a sucker for OEM.
Many thanks! It's Le Mans blue with black Dakota leather inside.I need mats myself, are you going to go OEM? Found a few suppliers for OEM parts over the last few weeks after much googling.
BMW direct on eBay about £100 delivered.
Cotswold BMW on eBay £85 delivered
Leebman24.de with forum discount about £86 delivered
bmwforums.info Harry Fairbairn should be about 15% off inc delivery, so about the same I guess.
Also the Harry Fairbairn dealer mats look good quality for £38 http://www.bmwforums.info/harry-fairbairn-bmw/6306...
I need the beige ones so will probably get the cotswold ones. I'm a sucker for OEM.
Definitely going oem on the mats front, anything else might be dangerous
Had also found that Cotswolds bmw seems cheapest, just going to get the black ones. Did look for an msport map set but they don't seem to exist.
Just had my oil filter profile gaskets done at Autobase Bristol. I supplied the 2 gaskets myself with a gallon each of Febi coolant and deionised water.
Price for the labour of a full coolant flush, 2 gaskets changed and a new drop in oil filter?
£100.44. Happy with that - I will certainly be going there again. I can't imagine how long it would have took me, or what state my knuckles would be in if I attempted it!
They also mentioned the accessory belt was slightly offline, they showed me and it looks like it maybe wise to change the tensioner some point in the future.
Price for the labour of a full coolant flush, 2 gaskets changed and a new drop in oil filter?
£100.44. Happy with that - I will certainly be going there again. I can't imagine how long it would have took me, or what state my knuckles would be in if I attempted it!
They also mentioned the accessory belt was slightly offline, they showed me and it looks like it maybe wise to change the tensioner some point in the future.
Edited by court on Monday 29th February 15:02
The big day arrived that I was to attempt changing my aluminium trim with the 3M film I mentioned up the thread.
I ordered it from a company in Italy called SIR Visual. It's sold by the metre so I got 2 metres of it as the grain goes along the roll not across. Approximately £80 delivered.
Got a hairdryer, hobby knives and went to work. I started with the rear trim... Heat and patience really is the key.
Before
After
After doing the rear it was time to get into the big stuff.
The centre console was 'fun' - the holes for the idrive, gear selector and ashtray were a challenge. I also tried to match the grain on the ashtray to where it should be.
The results speak for themselves though.
I ordered it from a company in Italy called SIR Visual. It's sold by the metre so I got 2 metres of it as the grain goes along the roll not across. Approximately £80 delivered.
Got a hairdryer, hobby knives and went to work. I started with the rear trim... Heat and patience really is the key.
Before
After
After doing the rear it was time to get into the big stuff.
The centre console was 'fun' - the holes for the idrive, gear selector and ashtray were a challenge. I also tried to match the grain on the ashtray to where it should be.
The results speak for themselves though.
I am genuinely amazed by how good the wood looks! It doesn't look any less 'factory' than the factory fitted walnut in our E91! It is a remarkable achievement.
How easy is the product to apply? Does it stick to sharp corners/ mould round tight bends easily? The dash parts on the BMW are fairly flat.
How easy is the product to apply? Does it stick to sharp corners/ mould round tight bends easily? The dash parts on the BMW are fairly flat.
Thanks for the positive comments, after a day or so driving the car I've found it's a much warmer, pleasant place to be. That said, the better half drove it today and didn't even notice a difference!
There are many guides and videos better than my weak description out there, nearly all of them concerning the 'carbon style' though. Here's an out of focus one... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ke240HZmck
dbdb said:
How easy is the product to apply? Does it stick to sharp corners/ mould round tight bends easily? The dash parts on the BMW are fairly flat.
Outside corners are easy, you just heat it up and drag it over the corner. It is very easy to work with and you have to do a lot to damage it. The inside corners around the vent holes were the most trouble. Heat heat heat, patience, patience, patience. There are many guides and videos better than my weak description out there, nearly all of them concerning the 'carbon style' though. Here's an out of focus one... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ke240HZmck
Edited by court on Friday 11th March 22:27
I purchased a DCAN cable from ebay a few weeks ago, had a little play with the software and then left it till today. It's fair to say after using VCDS for years the BMW software is much less user friendly on the surface! After printing out many guides, doing some dry runs and building up my confidence I can see it works very well..
For those that haven't tried this before, basically what's happening (with sequencies shortened and missed out) is once the sofware has read the car's VIN you know it's talking correctly. You then select the module you want, download a text file from the car from that module, change the option you want then upload the text file back to the car.
Sounds easy right? Well it's not. For a start everything is in German!
I wanted the folding mirrors to fold and open when locking and unlocking the car. This involved talking to the FRM module (NFRM) and changing the following from:
SPIEGEL_KOMFORT_EINKLAPP
nicht_aktiv
to:
SPIEGEL_KOMFORT_EINKLAPP
aktiv
I loaded the text file back to the car and it worked! Locking the car and holding the button for 2.5 secs folds the mirrors. One press on the unlock and the doors unlock and the mirrors unfold.
I wanted more that that though, I wanted to fold the mirrors with the standard short press to lock the car. This meant editing a different text file and chaging HEX values.
I had to change to the CAS module and edit the NETTODAT file at the following point:
B 00300200,0010,2C,02,10,7F,00,00,05,23,05,23,33,19,0F,05,1E,14
00 = instant
05 = 0.5 seconds delay
0A = 1 second delay
0F = 2.5 seconds delay
Once I chnaged it to 00 I saved and uploaded the file and the mirrors now fold instantly.
While I was there I thought I'd have a go at the lights - you maybe aware that pre-LCI E90/1 with Xenons have a very peculiar light setup.
They have dull corona rings which BMW call the parking lights which are the 1st notch on the switch - sidelights I guess we call them, then they have a bi-xenon dipped/main on the outside with a H7 bulb on the inner light that serves as a DRL in low voltage if selected on the OBC and main flash using a higher voltage. Said bulb also comes on with the main beam xenon position.
I wanted the dull parking lights as DRL, this involved changing a few options...
Talked to the NFRM module again and changed the following
TAGFARHLICHT_ECE_0
nicht_aktiv
VERHALTEN_DRL_TFL
drl_tfl_off
to:
TAGFARHLICHT_ECE_0
aktiv
VERHALTEN_DRL_TFL
drl_s
Sent the file back to the module as before and now I have the corona rings on while the lights are in auto mode. Now just debating whether to leave as is or buy some whiter LED units for the rings. They look very effective, but non-OEM gives me wibbles. Horizon LEDs seem very well respected though. http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/oem-led-applications/... should look like this:
For those that haven't tried this before, basically what's happening (with sequencies shortened and missed out) is once the sofware has read the car's VIN you know it's talking correctly. You then select the module you want, download a text file from the car from that module, change the option you want then upload the text file back to the car.
Sounds easy right? Well it's not. For a start everything is in German!
I wanted the folding mirrors to fold and open when locking and unlocking the car. This involved talking to the FRM module (NFRM) and changing the following from:
SPIEGEL_KOMFORT_EINKLAPP
nicht_aktiv
to:
SPIEGEL_KOMFORT_EINKLAPP
aktiv
I loaded the text file back to the car and it worked! Locking the car and holding the button for 2.5 secs folds the mirrors. One press on the unlock and the doors unlock and the mirrors unfold.
I wanted more that that though, I wanted to fold the mirrors with the standard short press to lock the car. This meant editing a different text file and chaging HEX values.
I had to change to the CAS module and edit the NETTODAT file at the following point:
B 00300200,0010,2C,02,10,7F,00,00,05,23,05,23,33,19,0F,05,1E,14
00 = instant
05 = 0.5 seconds delay
0A = 1 second delay
0F = 2.5 seconds delay
Once I chnaged it to 00 I saved and uploaded the file and the mirrors now fold instantly.
While I was there I thought I'd have a go at the lights - you maybe aware that pre-LCI E90/1 with Xenons have a very peculiar light setup.
They have dull corona rings which BMW call the parking lights which are the 1st notch on the switch - sidelights I guess we call them, then they have a bi-xenon dipped/main on the outside with a H7 bulb on the inner light that serves as a DRL in low voltage if selected on the OBC and main flash using a higher voltage. Said bulb also comes on with the main beam xenon position.
I wanted the dull parking lights as DRL, this involved changing a few options...
Talked to the NFRM module again and changed the following
TAGFARHLICHT_ECE_0
nicht_aktiv
VERHALTEN_DRL_TFL
drl_tfl_off
to:
TAGFARHLICHT_ECE_0
aktiv
VERHALTEN_DRL_TFL
drl_s
Sent the file back to the module as before and now I have the corona rings on while the lights are in auto mode. Now just debating whether to leave as is or buy some whiter LED units for the rings. They look very effective, but non-OEM gives me wibbles. Horizon LEDs seem very well respected though. http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/oem-led-applications/... should look like this:
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