E91 Straight Six Bearding

[BaronVonVaderham]

Amazing, many thanks indeed! That’s really very helpful

[cerb4.5lee]

I always changed mine from the bonnet side and I just grabbed a bulb from Halfords. I think because I always left the Auto lights switched on it seemed to get through them quite quickly.

[to3m]

bmwmike said:

PTF said:

I like the silver/black colour combination. It's the m-sport version with the nicest (IMO) wheels. Heated electric alcantara seats. Cruise. Parking sensors.

It's a nicer spec than my 130.

Ah fair point. Does look nice...

Regarding the seats, I had similar seats in my E46: sport cloth + alcantara, similar dark grey + dark grey. They were excellent, though I didn't realise quite how much until I got my E90 and its seats made out of Dakota "leather". Cloth + alcantara are just much better materials. Never overly hot or cold, and the alcantara bolsters grip well. Definitely don't dismiss it just because it's not made out of animals.

Be sure to do a nighttime test drive with the halogen headlights though!

[ferrisbueller]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Oh and it's a normal halogen bulb you can get from Hellfrauds if necessary.

If you're in a spot, like I was last time it happened to me (post-meeting 60mi from home in winter in the dark, via rural roads) you can simply switch out the full beam bulb if you prefer. BMW usefully use the same bulbs for dipped and full beam.

I think it was the "angel eye" element I had to drill out, that's a different bit. Sidelight vs dipped.

[cerb4.5lee]

to3m said:

Be sure to do a nighttime test drive with the halogen headlights though!

They are like candles! Both my E90 330i/330d were halogen and I never thought much of them in fairness. All the other Bmw's I've had were Xenons and it does make a difference for sure.

[Swervin_Mervin]

I really like that manual 330. I like the silver, the alcantara, the manual and the lack of idrive/nav screen. I figure the nav will be well out of date and even in our F20 I use google maps instead. Dash is cleaner without the binnacle.

And the halogens are fine and that's coming from someone that doesn't have great night vision. I've got nightbreakers in mine now, and it illuminates all I need it to. I find the xenons in our F20 just light up more of the scenery and I get very little useful extra.

[to3m]

I had halogens in my E46. They were rather poor, and I've never seen anybody that's tried both say the E9x ones were any better... hence my comment. The dipped Xenons in my E90 aren't night-or-day better, but I still think they're an improvement - the sharp cutoff isn't ideal, but they put a lot more light out up to that point, so it works out. Full beam Xenons on the other hand are a noticeable improvement in my view - and that even though I thought full beam halogens were OK.

Regarding the maps, I believe you can get 2018 maps for CCC and CIC versions, so in theory you needn't be too out of date. Mine is the later CIC - never used the earlier versions - and I do sometimes idly wonder whether using Google Maps via a phone would be better. It probably would be. So then I wonder whether it was actually worth my paying presumably some extra money for this stupid additional junk... but (a) even ignoring the maps, the iDrive stuff is OK (MP3/radio is convenient, vehicle options/status is easy to find, Bluetooth-related UI is clear), and (b) when using any of its UI, the clicky iDrive knob is pretty easy to use without having to do much more than occasionally glance at the screen. The penalties for using a phone while driving are likely to become more stringent, not less, over time, and whatever you think about the absolute rights or wrongs of this, I bet for map use the the touch screen - with its complete lack of non-visual feedback - will be more distracting than the far more tactile iDrive wheel.

But it's not like there's all that many of these cars around, so any potential buyer should prioritize. My opinion: iDrive is good, but don't let the lack thereof put you off. Do keep an eye out for another one with Xenons

Edited by to3m on Thursday 26th July 00:23

[lord trumpton]

cerb4.5lee said:

to3m said:

Be sure to do a nighttime test drive with the halogen headlights though!

They are like candles! Both my E90 330i/330d were halogen and I never thought much of them in fairness. All the other Bmw's I've had were Xenons and it does make a difference for sure.

You can get LED conversion kits for the headlight unit for about £100

[bract1939]

I think the appeal of these wagons is very individual. That silver one ticks so many boxes, but the colour is a real letdown. If it was in lemans blue it'd be near perfect in my opinion, but then I'm not fussed about what options it doesn't have. Some people wouldn't care if it was auto or manual etc. as long as it had a pano roof and black leather.
A straight six wagon for me is about the package of looks and drivetrain.

[Mike335i]

lord trumpton said:

You can get LED conversion kits for the headlight unit for about £100

Yeah bit are they actually any good? Not too long ago I looked into this and it was exciting as a prospect, but that tech want there yet.

[ATM]

[MajorMantra]

Any done rear shocks on their E91? I had a nasty rattle/knock sound from the back end near home today. Thought it was loose luggage but it wouldn't go away, and on the driveway at home I see it's leaking a fair amount of oil from the o/s shock area, so I'm assuming it's blown. I'll have a closer look when I have a minute but I'm 95% sure that's what's happened.

I'd have the wheel off right now but I've got guests arriving in a few minutes and it's a million degrees outside...

[ATM]

My 335i just passed it's MOT. I did get an advisory on play in the rear suspension. So I guess that needs looking at.

[lord trumpton]

MajorMantra said:

Any done rear shocks on their E91? I had a nasty rattle/knock sound from the back end near home today. Thought it was loose luggage but it wouldn't go away, and on the driveway at home I see it's leaking a fair amount of oil from the o/s shock area, so I'm assuming it's blown. I'll have a closer look when I have a minute but I'm 95% sure that's what's happened.

I'd have the wheel off right now but I've got guests arriving in a few minutes and it's a million degrees outside...

No but done plenty of BMW

Fairly straightforward stuff

[mattwhite709]

to3m said:

bmwmike said:

PTF said:

I like the silver/black colour combination. It's the m-sport version with the nicest (IMO) wheels. Heated electric alcantara seats. Cruise. Parking sensors.

It's a nicer spec than my 130.

Ah fair point. Does look nice...

Regarding the seats, I had similar seats in my E46: sport cloth + alcantara, similar dark grey + dark grey. They were excellent, though I didn't realise quite how much until I got my E90 and its seats made out of Dakota "leather". Cloth + alcantara are just much better materials. Never overly hot or cold, and the alcantara bolsters grip well. Definitely don't dismiss it just because it's not made out of animals.

Be sure to do a nighttime test drive with the halogen headlights though!

I also had the cloth and alacantra seats in my E46 touring. Hands down the most comfortable seats I have ever had. Now I am in in a f30 touring with full black leather and miss the seats in the e46. It does not look like they even made the cloth and alacantara seats for the f30 which is a shame.

[ExVantagemech..]

MajorMantra said:

Any done rear shocks on their E91? I had a nasty rattle/knock sound from the back end near home today. Thought it was loose luggage but it wouldn't go away, and on the driveway at home I see it's leaking a fair amount of oil from the o/s shock area, so I'm assuming it's blown. I'll have a closer look when I have a minute but I'm 95% sure that's what's happened.

I'd have the wheel off right now but I've got guests arriving in a few minutes and it's a million degrees outside...

It's not a 5 minute job to be honest. Stripping the interior out around the stop of the dampers takes a while, look on YouTube there's a few good videos. Took me a few hours once I figured it out. I fitted KYB from my lock factors, think they were £65 for the pair. Was going to look at coilovers but will probably just go eibach springs now.

[MajorMantra]

ExVantagemech.. said:

It's not a 5 minute job to be honest. Stripping the interior out around the stop of the dampers takes a while, look on YouTube there's a few good videos. Took me a few hours once I figured it out. I fitted KYB from my lock factors, think they were £65 for the pair. Was going to look at coilovers but will probably just go eibach springs now.

So I see!

I'm looking at Bilstein B4s PN 19-135052, which seem to be more or less OE spec for an E91 M-Sport.

Just trying to find the lowest price (and have been reminded how crap the ECP website is — I think someone else is getting my money this time).

[helix402]

Pop the part no into eBay, you should get a good price that way.

[zippyonline]

ExVantagemech.. said:

MajorMantra said:

Any done rear shocks on their E91? I had a nasty rattle/knock sound from the back end near home today. Thought it was loose luggage but it wouldn't go away, and on the driveway at home I see it's leaking a fair amount of oil from the o/s shock area, so I'm assuming it's blown. I'll have a closer look when I have a minute but I'm 95% sure that's what's happened.

I'd have the wheel off right now but I've got guests arriving in a few minutes and it's a million degrees outside...

It's not a 5 minute job to be honest. Stripping the interior out around the stop of the dampers takes a while, look on YouTube there's a few good videos. Took me a few hours once I figured it out. I fitted KYB from my lock factors, think they were £65 for the pair. Was going to look at coilovers but will probably just go eibach springs now.

I'm fairly well versed with the rear suspension now! Shock absorbers on their own aren't too bad - it's the stripping down of the interior that's the time consuming bit - but if you research that bit, you're good to go really. Don't need to undo anything else on the system and the shock absorber itself is just two nuts. A vortex socket set (i.e. hollow centre socket bits) makes life easier as you can have the allen key in the middle stopping the shock rotating whilst you undo the top nut. Whilst you're at the top with the Interior out, I'd change the mountings too.

[MajorMantra]

Thanks! Shocks are on their way.

By mountings, I take it you mean these?: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BMW-Genuine-Absorber-Supp...

(Still trying to work out if there's a decent aftermarket alternative.)

Thinking maybe I should change the bump stops too now...

Edited by MajorMantra on Monday 6th August 08:44