Discussion
Wheels are on, obligatory photos
I'm really pleased with them, nice and fresh, bit of contrast against the darker paintwork. It'll be interesting to see how it looks in the sunlight as the paint really changes in the sun. The concave profile of the rears in particular look even deeper now.
I gave the car a quick wash, I'm chuffed with the Wet Coat, similar to the Car Pro Hydro but worked even better and it's in a funky orange bottle. The Purestar drying towel is fantastic too, easily up there with the Klin Korea towel I had before. After I'd rinsed off the Wet Coat I run a watering can over it then the few bits of water left I dried with the towel, just patted it and it sucked up all the water, bone dry afterwards.
I'm really pleased with them, nice and fresh, bit of contrast against the darker paintwork. It'll be interesting to see how it looks in the sunlight as the paint really changes in the sun. The concave profile of the rears in particular look even deeper now.
I gave the car a quick wash, I'm chuffed with the Wet Coat, similar to the Car Pro Hydro but worked even better and it's in a funky orange bottle. The Purestar drying towel is fantastic too, easily up there with the Klin Korea towel I had before. After I'd rinsed off the Wet Coat I run a watering can over it then the few bits of water left I dried with the towel, just patted it and it sucked up all the water, bone dry afterwards.
Thanks for the comments, I wasn't 100% sure but once I got them on and cleaned it up I was happy. They are growing on me more each time I look at them.
JWH said:
Potentially silly question, sorry, but are those alloys the standard 19 inch ones that come on the M4? If so are you running spacers or is that the factory offset?
Yeah, straight off an M4, no spacers, that's just how they sit. The M3/4 are wider so the wheels are more tucked in when they're fitted to them. On the narrower F3x body the wheels sit further out. They're just right for me, it sits nice and looks smart, flush with the arch but they don't need stretched tyres etc to get them on. Long time no post. Been a busy boy the last couple of years and not had much spare time but I’ve still got the 340i.
Last spring I took the plunge and flashed a tune on it, after much deliberation I went with MG Flasher. Only the stage one tune but it results in one hell of an extra kick, even going from the MPPSK it has really changed the car. It’s never felt slow but it’s another level now, the figures of another 50bhp and a good dollop of torque only tells half the story. At the same time I added a gearbox tune for the ZF8 using XHP. It’s all very clever, much like the MG flasher stuff it’s all adjusted and flashed through an app on my phone. Gear changes are a little quicker now (they were fast before) and it offers the ability to make tweaks to how the box behaves. Lots of cool little bits but as expected once it’s all set how I like it that’s it, you leave it as that.
These two pieces of software combined have really enhanced the engine and gearbox combo, the spread of torque combined with the 8 speed box seems to outperform the already impressive figures. A road trip with a mate in his F10 M5 left us both surprised at how well the F30 kept up! Not only that, even with the extra power it still sips fuel when you want it to. I’ve kept the MPPSK sound settings but these can be adjusted in the app too, it’s got a cool feature where you can press a sequence of buttons and change the level of noise from the exhaust from no burbles at all to full ASBO.
I’m still loving the coilovers, the car drives so well on them. It’s firm while still being comfortable but it really makes the car feel so sure footed when pushing on. It’s no longer being used daily but it’s still getting a good run out. A couple of months back I made another trip over to Germany. The car was faultless, ate the miles up on the way there and made the twisty bits very enjoyable! Also managed the usual trick of using very little fuel on the drive there, everyone else thought I was joking when I said I’d do the drive home on a tank!
Plans going forwards, top of the list is the LSD, there’s no point putting more power through it if it can’t use any of it. I fancy an intake for the noise then decide what point I’ll stop power wise. I’m tempted to go for the downpipe & fuel pump then get a map that doesn’t push the turbo too hard and hope for reliability with that setup. There does come a point where you question if it is even worth adding more power, it’s never going to spend much time on the track and it’s already rare that the current level of power can be used on the road so I’m conscious not to go too mad.
I’ve also been eyeing up some cosmetic bits, dry carbon shifter/wheel trim and perhaps a splitter/diffuser/side skirts too but I don’t want to start making it look tacky, it’s fine line sometimes!
Few random shots, hopefully next year I’ll get some of that done and have the time to update this post!
Last spring I took the plunge and flashed a tune on it, after much deliberation I went with MG Flasher. Only the stage one tune but it results in one hell of an extra kick, even going from the MPPSK it has really changed the car. It’s never felt slow but it’s another level now, the figures of another 50bhp and a good dollop of torque only tells half the story. At the same time I added a gearbox tune for the ZF8 using XHP. It’s all very clever, much like the MG flasher stuff it’s all adjusted and flashed through an app on my phone. Gear changes are a little quicker now (they were fast before) and it offers the ability to make tweaks to how the box behaves. Lots of cool little bits but as expected once it’s all set how I like it that’s it, you leave it as that.
These two pieces of software combined have really enhanced the engine and gearbox combo, the spread of torque combined with the 8 speed box seems to outperform the already impressive figures. A road trip with a mate in his F10 M5 left us both surprised at how well the F30 kept up! Not only that, even with the extra power it still sips fuel when you want it to. I’ve kept the MPPSK sound settings but these can be adjusted in the app too, it’s got a cool feature where you can press a sequence of buttons and change the level of noise from the exhaust from no burbles at all to full ASBO.
I’m still loving the coilovers, the car drives so well on them. It’s firm while still being comfortable but it really makes the car feel so sure footed when pushing on. It’s no longer being used daily but it’s still getting a good run out. A couple of months back I made another trip over to Germany. The car was faultless, ate the miles up on the way there and made the twisty bits very enjoyable! Also managed the usual trick of using very little fuel on the drive there, everyone else thought I was joking when I said I’d do the drive home on a tank!
Plans going forwards, top of the list is the LSD, there’s no point putting more power through it if it can’t use any of it. I fancy an intake for the noise then decide what point I’ll stop power wise. I’m tempted to go for the downpipe & fuel pump then get a map that doesn’t push the turbo too hard and hope for reliability with that setup. There does come a point where you question if it is even worth adding more power, it’s never going to spend much time on the track and it’s already rare that the current level of power can be used on the road so I’m conscious not to go too mad.
I’ve also been eyeing up some cosmetic bits, dry carbon shifter/wheel trim and perhaps a splitter/diffuser/side skirts too but I don’t want to start making it look tacky, it’s fine line sometimes!
Few random shots, hopefully next year I’ll get some of that done and have the time to update this post!
cerb4.5lee said:
Alright...you don't need to rub it in! 
Haha, I’ve always said a modest drop and spacers can really change how the car looks, even the top of the range M3 etc need a little help there. My mates just got an Alfa Guilia Quad and as beautiful as it is, he’s still looking at springs and spacers for it. It’s been 5 years now since I collected my 340i, it’s the longest I’ve owned a car and I’m still loving it. In that time it’s taken me all over the country & I think 6ish trips to Europe. It’s been fantastic, I’ve commuted in it, done road trips in it, taken it for back road hoons and lapped the odd track in it too, it’s taken it all in its stride.
As I’d always planned to keep it long term I’ve serviced it yearly, on top of that it’s had a set of front pads, a set of rear pads and a set of new tyres a while after getting the wheels. It’s treated me well so far, hopefully by me keeping on top of everything it’ll continue to do so. Total spend on maintaining it is at around £2,500.
I’ve listed the mods as I’ve gone along here so I wont go into too much detail about them all, but I will say as a whole they have enhanced the car hugely for me. The suspension is a huge improvement on the stock stuff and the MPPSK gives the car the sound to go with the performance. The maps (engine and box) have taken advantage of the extra performance the B58 has hiding inside, still very happy with all of those changes. I’ve probably spend about £4250 on modifications over those 5 years (Mrs Pizzaeatingking isn’t a PHer)
I bought the car new and always knew it would be here for a while but I decided to have a little look at the current values touted for similar models. I’m hugely surprised, I know perhaps the COVID thing has effected the prices of used cars but it appears the cars lost around £8k over the 5 years! Bonkers, I think this was helped by getting a very good deal on the car in the first place but the 40i cars in general seem to be doing well.
I’m hoping this summer to finally get the LSD sorted, then get a sports cat and tweak the map. I’ve been reading up on Quaife vs M Perf LSD, then I’ll get looking at downpipes. I dunno how far I’ll go with it, there are loads of B58 engines running decent power with very few issues, even the ones that seem to have a hard life.
I’ve done 40k in it now, mix of everything although since changing jobs a couple of years back it has been used less for commuting and more for fun. It still makes me grin when I get in it, I still get nice looks and comments about it too. I’ve considered changing it but it’s tough to find something that covers all the bases as well as this does. The only thing that really excites me is the Alfa Guilia but I’m not wanting to spend that money at the moment, both in purchasing and running it.
I’m off to Germany again in a few weeks, ironically with my mate in his Guilia, so I’ll have plenty of time to ponder while I following him down the autobahn (lets be honest I’ll probably not pass him!). Later in the year I’ll be driving down to Italy for my brother in laws wedding, followed by a visit to Munich on the way home
Plenty of road trips to be getting on with.
As I’d always planned to keep it long term I’ve serviced it yearly, on top of that it’s had a set of front pads, a set of rear pads and a set of new tyres a while after getting the wheels. It’s treated me well so far, hopefully by me keeping on top of everything it’ll continue to do so. Total spend on maintaining it is at around £2,500.
I’ve listed the mods as I’ve gone along here so I wont go into too much detail about them all, but I will say as a whole they have enhanced the car hugely for me. The suspension is a huge improvement on the stock stuff and the MPPSK gives the car the sound to go with the performance. The maps (engine and box) have taken advantage of the extra performance the B58 has hiding inside, still very happy with all of those changes. I’ve probably spend about £4250 on modifications over those 5 years (Mrs Pizzaeatingking isn’t a PHer)
I bought the car new and always knew it would be here for a while but I decided to have a little look at the current values touted for similar models. I’m hugely surprised, I know perhaps the COVID thing has effected the prices of used cars but it appears the cars lost around £8k over the 5 years! Bonkers, I think this was helped by getting a very good deal on the car in the first place but the 40i cars in general seem to be doing well.
I’m hoping this summer to finally get the LSD sorted, then get a sports cat and tweak the map. I’ve been reading up on Quaife vs M Perf LSD, then I’ll get looking at downpipes. I dunno how far I’ll go with it, there are loads of B58 engines running decent power with very few issues, even the ones that seem to have a hard life.
I’ve done 40k in it now, mix of everything although since changing jobs a couple of years back it has been used less for commuting and more for fun. It still makes me grin when I get in it, I still get nice looks and comments about it too. I’ve considered changing it but it’s tough to find something that covers all the bases as well as this does. The only thing that really excites me is the Alfa Guilia but I’m not wanting to spend that money at the moment, both in purchasing and running it.
I’m off to Germany again in a few weeks, ironically with my mate in his Guilia, so I’ll have plenty of time to ponder while I following him down the autobahn (lets be honest I’ll probably not pass him!). Later in the year I’ll be driving down to Italy for my brother in laws wedding, followed by a visit to Munich on the way home
Plenty of road trips to be getting on with.sunnyb13 said:
Congrats on the 5 years. Have loved reading through the posts.
If your getting a sports cat you may want to get a cold start delete. A sports cat + mppsk = loud cold starts.
And if your getting a sports cat fitted, might as well get the B58TU high pressure fuel pump fitted too. That will complete the performance mods for “full bolt on” aka stage 2+.
Maybe worth thinking about the ZF gearbox oil service at some point too.
Hope my suggestions don’t hurt the wallet too much!
Yeah I think you might be right on the fuel pump upgrade, seems like a sensible thing to do, might as well get an induction kit to round it off. If your getting a sports cat you may want to get a cold start delete. A sports cat + mppsk = loud cold starts.
And if your getting a sports cat fitted, might as well get the B58TU high pressure fuel pump fitted too. That will complete the performance mods for “full bolt on” aka stage 2+.
Maybe worth thinking about the ZF gearbox oil service at some point too.
Hope my suggestions don’t hurt the wallet too much!
ZF service will be done next year I reckon, it’ll only be on 45k roughly so still early.
All expensive things to do but nothing unexpected really! Don’t mind a bit of preventative maintenance.
b14 said:
On the LSD, I wouldn't agonise about what type to get - it's not a racing car. I took my 340i to Birds and let them loose with the suspension, diff and remap - during that process I read a lot about the M Performance diff and the Wavetrack, with people crowing about how the Wavetrack is superior because it stays locked when one wheel is in the air etc. If it's a track car I get it, but for a road car that kind of thing is entirely unnecessary to worry about so just crack on with the one you want.
For what it's worth, I've never wanted for anything more than the Quaife diff in mine. It's transformative when you have 400+ bhp in these cars.
Yeah someone else said the same last week, for what I’m using it for either option will do the job! For what it's worth, I've never wanted for anything more than the Quaife diff in mine. It's transformative when you have 400+ bhp in these cars.
bumskins said:
Lovely looking car OP, perfect illustration (as if any were needed) that black/'diamond cut' wheels look s
t and hide the best features of a good wheel design.
RE: your LSD agonising, I always thought the M Performance LSD was an item manufactured by Quaife?
I agree on the wheels, most look much better in a lighter shade than black.t and hide the best features of a good wheel design.RE: your LSD agonising, I always thought the M Performance LSD was an item manufactured by Quaife?
I don’t think so, they’re a plated diff vs the quaife type.
Bobupndown said:
Stunning looking car.
Re your magnetic plates, what do they actually 'stick' to?
Is it just the metal behind the presumably plastic outer face of the bumper?
The kids come with a set of small magnets that stick behind the bumper. Nice and strong too! Re your magnetic plates, what do they actually 'stick' to?
Is it just the metal behind the presumably plastic outer face of the bumper?
Survived Germany. Lovely drive there and back with my mates, done one lap of the ring in a thunderstorm. It was lovely, only saw 2 other cars!
Before that we stopped at a hotel that has car lifts to allow you to park on your hotel rooms balcony. I think this is my favourite picture of my car yet, taken from my hotel bed!
Pretty cool, staying again later in the year but with the mrs.
Before that we stopped at a hotel that has car lifts to allow you to park on your hotel rooms balcony. I think this is my favourite picture of my car yet, taken from my hotel bed!
Pretty cool, staying again later in the year but with the mrs.
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