My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine

[d_a_n1979]

Some good jobs getting done there

What are the next plans and anything related to the mechanicals?

I prefer a thicker steering wheel TBH; then again I've hands like shovels and hate thin steering wheels. The wife's Racing Jazz has a thin, old persons plastic steering wheel

[helix402]

Court_S said:

Here you go…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Performance-Genuine...

And the gaiter just in case…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Genuine-Sport-Gears...

Thanks.

[MDifficult]

Fantastic car and a brilliant new thread to follow!

Just personal preference but I'd add some small spacers to your 'to do' list. I always think the non-M E92s look very 'under wheeled' but pushing the wheels out slightly should make a world of difference.

Or reach for those CSLs we discussed

[JakeT]

Court_S said:

The Birds set up was better controlled but still busy but I think that is more the nature of the E8x cars being relative small.

I need to check the tyre pressures because it’s had new fronts fitted and the tyre guys always seem to add a million PSI.

It’s a while since I’ve driven a stock E9x car too. Pretty sure I’ll be fitting B4’s with Eibach’s and M3 arms soon enough. The B4 / Eibach combo on the 125i has impressed me so far. Not as good as the Birds but a fraction of the cost.

Ah yes, I agree. I have driven a friends 130i with the B12 pro kit on it, and it’s busy, but not too much.

Also, YES to tilting head restraints. Especially E90 sport ones with the ‘wings’. Saddens me they were removed.

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

Some good jobs getting done there

What are the next plans and anything related to the mechanicals?

I prefer a thicker steering wheel TBH; then again I've hands like shovels and hate thin steering wheels. The wife's Racing Jazz has a thin, old persons plastic steering wheel

Thanks Dan.

Not sure what the next plans are really. I’d like to lower it slightly because it rides quite high especially the front and I might fit new dampers at the same time just because.

I’ll probably change the rear diff oil this summer and possibly get it booked in for a gearbox service (having helped a mate do his ZF6 last year not sure I fancy that again).

A slightly thinner alacantara wheel is definitely on the cards although they’ve got a massive backlog so that might be a while.

[Court_S]

MDifficult said:

Fantastic car and a brilliant new thread to follow!

Just personal preference but I'd add some small spacers to your 'to do' list. I always think the non-M E92s look very 'under wheeled' but pushing the wheels out slightly should make a world of difference.

Or reach for those CSLs we discussed

Thanks.

Having washed the car for the first time yesterday, the style 225’s are absolute pigs to clean so won’t be long for this world!

At some point later in the year the CSL’s will be happening.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

Ah yes, I agree. I have driven a friends 130i with the B12 pro kit on it, and it’s busy, but not too much.

Also, YES to tilting head restraints. Especially E90 sport ones with the ‘wings’. Saddens me they were removed.

Yeah it’s a real shame they were removed.

The car was lovely on my commute this morning; it’s a much less busy and frantic place than the E8x cars.

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Some good jobs getting done there

What are the next plans and anything related to the mechanicals?

I prefer a thicker steering wheel TBH; then again I've hands like shovels and hate thin steering wheels. The wife's Racing Jazz has a thin, old persons plastic steering wheel

Thanks Dan.

Not sure what the next plans are really. I’d like to lower it slightly because it rides quite high especially the front and I might fit new dampers at the same time just because.

I’ll probably change the rear diff oil this summer and possibly get it booked in for a gearbox service (having helped a mate do his ZF6 last year not sure I fancy that again).

A slightly thinner alacantara wheel is definitely on the cards although they’ve got a massive backlog so that might be a while.

Sounds all good pal

You know me & my thinking re suspension; unless you really want to lower it a lot, the likes of Sachs OEM spec sport shocks and Eibach pro-kit springs usually do the job perfectly! That's what my pal fitted to his 335D touring and it drives superbly

He's just cracked another OEM 18" alloy to, so he's decided to pull the plug on some APEC ARC-8s (I think) and stick with the Vredestein tyres he's currently running. It's back on his winter alloys & tyres now

Diff oil is easy; but agree the autobox, deffo a job for a specialist IMO. I still need to get my land barge booked in for an autobox service, I'll do that in the next few months as I'm slowly talking the wife's into a week away in North East or North West Scotland with the caveat of going to visit Skye too. So a road trip like that will do better with a freshly serviced box IMO

[acme]

Congrats on the new car, will be following.

As you know we've had discussions on here about the E92 M3 and my ownership, for what it's worth I think in your situation you've done the right thing.

I love mine (even though it's for sale - plug, late LCI low mile manual!) but if you're doing lots of miles especially for work your opportunities to use it as intended will be few and far between.

Cheers

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

Sounds all good pal

You know me & my thinking re suspension; unless you really want to lower it a lot, the likes of Sachs OEM spec sport shocks and Eibach pro-kit springs usually do the job perfectly! That's what my pal fitted to his 335D touring and it drives superbly

He's just cracked another OEM 18" alloy to, so he's decided to pull the plug on some APEC ARC-8s (I think) and stick with the Vredestein tyres he's currently running. It's back on his winter alloys & tyres now

Diff oil is easy; but agree the autobox, deffo a job for a specialist IMO. I still need to get my land barge booked in for an autobox service, I'll do that in the next few months as I'm slowly talking the wife's into a week away in North East or North West Scotland with the caveat of going to visit Skye too. So a road trip like that will do better with a freshly serviced box IMO

It only needs a wee drop, nothing crazy so a set of Eibach are on the way with Bilstein B4 dampers which. I am using this combo on my other half's 125i and its worked well to date and is reasonably gentle on the wallet!

The Style 225's really did my head in yesterday because of the tiny gap between some of the spokes...they'll piss me off even more in the winter when they're full of grit etc.

acme said:

Congrats on the new car, will be following.

As you know we've had discussions on here about the E92 M3 and my ownership, for what it's worth I think in your situation you've done the right thing.

I love mine (even though it's for sale - plug, late LCI low mile manual!) but if you're doing lots of miles especially for work your opportunities to use it as intended will be few and far between.

Cheers

Thanks - it feels like the right choice. It won't set the heart racing like an M3 would, bit equally I don't think the fuel bills will cheese me off as much.

It was a nice step up on my drive into the office this morning. The E9x platform is a lot more refined than the E8x; early impressions are that it'll do what I want / need it to.

In another news, the battery discharge warning seems to have been banished after its tantrum yesterday.

[anonymous-user]

Court_S said:

The Style 225's really did my head in yesterday because of the tiny gap between some of the spokes...they'll piss me off even more in the winter when they're full of grit etc.

I use a large, soft mucoff mtb brush on 219s and it works really well. Those little gaps on wheels are a nightmare. I know I have standard BMW pads on the Alpina as 350 miles of driving has resulted in totally hammered wheels, the dust is crazy!

[Filibuster]

Court_S said:

Wood trim with beige works well. Wood trim with black doesn’t for me plus it was quite dark.

This is the only point I'd have done other than you

I quite like the wood, especially against black leather. I had this in my B6 Audi S4 Avant (dark walnut against black leather) and I really rather liked the look of it. Without wanting to diminish any of your work, imho the dark wood looks more classy than the aluminium.

Otherwise great work and make sure to enjoy the car! Good read and nice pictures.

ETA:
I'd love to know whether you could sand down the varnish on the wooden veneers to have a matte, open pore texture
This would look fabulous

Edited by Filibuster on Monday 11th April 14:19

[Court_S]

Filibuster said:

This is the only point I'd have done other than you

I quite like the wood, especially against black leather. I had this in my B6 Audi S4 Avant (dark walnut against black leather) and I really rather liked the look of it. Without wanting to diminish any of your work, imho the dark wood looks more classy than the aluminium.

Otherwise great work and make sure to enjoy the car! Good read and nice pictures.

ETA:
I'd love to know whether you could sand down the varnish on the wooden veneers to have a matte, open pore texture
This would look fabulous

Edited by Filibuster on Monday 11th April 14:19

No offence taken at all; we all have different tastes. I've kept the wood trim just in case (my little boy loved it and wasn't impressed with the aluminum trim when he next got in the car).

Is there actually any wood in it? From what I can tell its plastic.

[B'stard Child]

Court_S said:

No offence taken at all; we all have different tastes. I've kept the wood trim just in case (my little boy loved it and wasn't impressed with the aluminum trim when he next got in the car).

Is there actually any wood in it? From what I can tell its plastic.

I believe it’s a veneer over a plastic backing but not sure if thats still true

[Mr Tidy]

Court_S said:

It’s an affliction!

The thinner wheel I had on my 130i was definitely nicer to hold so that’s now on the list at some point.

Wood trim with beige works well. Wood trim with black doesn’t for me plus it was quite dark.

I think you are right, and I seem to be afflicted.

I don't have large hands so the SE wheel suits me fine but I believe Jack at Royals can slim down M-Sport wheels or fatten SE ones depending on your preference - no wonder he is so busy!

Those wheels do look like hard work to clean. My first Z4 had MV2s and they were also a pain to clean.

As B'stard Child says I believe the wood trim is a veneer, so while it is very thin it did come off a tree!

Beige, wood and SE steering wheel here.





Apologies for getting a bit off-track, but I'm looking forward to seeing what else you do to your 335i.

[ahas]

Bookmarked! Fellow (/former) BabyBMW'er.

Lovely purchase, looking forward to the build and updates!

[alec.e]

Car looks great, really like these!

Your doing a great job with the personal touches.

In my opinion, the wood looked much better though

[survivalist]

Court_S said:

Thanks - it feels like the right choice. It won't set the heart racing like an M3 would, bit equally I don't think the fuel bills will cheese me off as much.

It was a nice step up on my drive into the office this morning. The E9x platform is a lot more refined than the E8x; early impressions are that it'll do what I want / need it to.

In another news, the battery discharge warning seems to have been banished after its tantrum yesterday.

Having owned an E91 N54 335i and an E92 M3 at the same time, I'd actually say that it's a difficult choice even if fuel costs weren't a factor. I love the looks of the M3 in terms of the bonnet, bumper and front arches, but in daily driving the lack of torque meant that the N54 could often be the more exciting engine as it was easier to get the chassis moving at lower speeds. It was also fun accelerating out of junctions and slower corners. That said, having moved on to a 340i I've come to the conclusion that my 335i was remapped as the 340i feels less powerful. It also had a quaife diff in it.

If you want to make the interior feel a a little plusher you could always put the seats and door cards from an M3 in - seem to be loads of these being turned into track cars so interiors frequently come up for sale for sensible money. Only (bizarre) downside is that you seem to sit a bit higher on the M3 seats than the standard E92 ones.

[Court_S]

Mr Tidy said:

I think you are right, and I seem to be afflicted.

I don't have large hands so the SE wheel suits me fine but I believe Jack at Royals can slim down M-Sport wheels or fatten SE ones depending on your preference - no wonder he is so busy!

Those wheels do look like hard work to clean. My first Z4 had MV2s and they were also a pain to clean.

As B'stard Child says I believe the wood trim is a veneer, so while it is very thin it did come off a tree!

Beige, wood and SE steering wheel here.

Apologies for getting a bit off-track, but I'm looking forward to seeing what else you do to your 335i.

I’ll definitely be getting the wheel thinned down; it’s a bit too fat for me. I used to like the wheel in my 330, but having had a thinner one I do prefer it.

If there’s wood in it, fair enough. I’d assumed that it was just a plastic replica of a tree. It’s still staying in the garage for now!

[Court_S]

ahas said:

Bookmarked! Fellow (/former) BabyBMW'er.

Lovely purchase, looking forward to the build and updates!

Thanks.

Updates will slow down a tad after this month because I’m due to have an operation on the wrist that I broke in 2020. No idea how long I’ll be in a cast etc for but it’ll prevent me from changing the springs etc.