Our new to us 2015 F31 325D M Sport

[d_a_n1979]

Been and collected it this lunchtime after another test drive and I read the codes whilst out & about and thankfully zero issues

Will collect the 18" alloys & winter tyres ASAP and then sell the 403Ms off; they've just been refurbed but a) I don't like them that much, b) not a fan of black wheels at all and c) the RFTs are crap





Parts already been ordered (OEM velour mats and M Sport grilles via Cotswolds BMW) and a full oil & filter change kit etc

The parts list will continue to grow haha

[d_a_n1979]

skullandbiscuits said:

Ohh fab, rarely see the 325d engine. Is this the twin turbo 4 pot version?

Cheers and yes

Plenty of BMWSH and BMW EGR recalls too in 202 and Sept 2022; so it's been well looked after

[d_a_n1979]

Huskyman said:

That looks like an awesome car Dan. I took the plunge with an F31 after my F11 was written off. I grabbed myself a 340i and haven’t looked back.

.

Lovely stuff...

I'd love a 340i; but nows not the right time.. Getting rid of the mortgage is the priority and then I'll see what's what

[d_a_n1979]

Winter Style 400s with Bridgestone winter tyres fitted collected this morning...

All cleaned as best they can be; brakes wire brushed and cleaned, calipers cleaned and winters fitted

All the 19s wheels had been windy-gunned on; had to break out the breaker bar to get the bolts undone

All refitted and torqued to spec with Liqui Moly ceramic paste

[d_a_n1979]

curvature said:

That looks nice, I miss my F31 330d.

The 325d is a rare car especially in estate form.

The 18" wheels ride nicely and having done 77k mile in mine with run-flats I would not rule them out. I have 18's on my 640d and wouldn't change them, it was one of the reasons that I went for an SE spec to get the smaller wheels.

Yeah; it was only 1 of 2 I could find at the time.

The other was an M Sport too; but no M Performance brakes, same mileage, white, no pro nav and £1k more too...

Re RFTs, my preference is to not run them, more than happy with non RFTs and a decent tyre inflator kit that I've got plus decent breakdown

I do get why folk like them, but they're not for me

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

Looks lovely Dan. I like the skirt extensions etc and how the brakes completely fill the wheels.

Cheers pal; agree

Plus the silver wheels shows them off more

They look much better now they've been wire brushed (the disc hats that is) and the calipers cleaned

[d_a_n1979]

cerb4.5lee said:

As always I'm looking forward to following your journey with it Dan.

Enjoy it.

Thanks pal; it's started already

I've quite a few bits ordered and on their way; the list is growing too (brakes, lines, fuel filter and going to get my pal to give it a thorough once over too and see what may need replacing etc)

Saw that the rear ARB is a) weedy and b) the bushes need doing too, so they're on the parts list also

It's absolutely filthy underneath; so when we finally get a few dry days, it'll be on axle stands, wheels off and all the arches to be deep cleaned...

It needs a thorough clean inside and out too; but it hasn't stopped raining for days here

[d_a_n1979]

Ruskie said:

I didn’t know they came with the 325d engine. Out of interest why didn’t you go for a 330/335?

Yup; not many of them around

Re the 330D; we're dropping to one car and my wife's never owned a RWD car, so even with 24 years driving and advanced driving certifications (both of us), insurance is a joke etc as she'll be the main driver as drives to work 3 times a week; I work permanently from home (have done since 2009)

So once we sell the Racing Jazz; the car will be in my wife's name and she'll be insuring it via IAM - the difference between us is daft. She gets £150-£200 better quotes than I do and w've both zero points, zero claims, 22 & 24 years driving and both advanced drivers. It's all down to she's a she and I'm a he... Bloody stupid

I really wanted an F11 530D but size came into it due to the tightness of parking spaces at the Uni my wife works at; so the F31 touring was the happy medium

And TBH it was spec I wanted this time around not just the engine etc... And I've never owned a 3 series touring!

As good as the N57 is (it was a peach in my F01) the 4 pot N47 twin turbo hasn't disappointed so far haha... It's not clattery/loud at all and pulls like a train; the ZF8 is superb too

[d_a_n1979]

MDMA . said:

Looks a good one. Are these not the newer B47 engine, not N47?

N47D20D pal; B47 was late 2016/early 2017 onwards IIRC from what I've read

[d_a_n1979]

Escort3500 said:

Nice car, you’ll not regret your purchase

We’ve had ours for nearly 3 years now and it’s a great all-rounder. I’d say the build quality isn’t as good as the E46 320d we had before it, but in every other respect it’s a far nicer car. It’s a bit thirsty if you hoof it (340i), but since I’ve retired we don’t do such a high mileage so it’s not really relevant. Lovely gearbox, effortless performance and nice, predictable handling. Agree about the RFTs - they’re awful. Noisy, and on 19” rims I feel every bump in the road, especially with the poor state of surfaces these days. They’re on 25k miles and still have 5mm of tread left, so they’ve done well, but like you I’ll be swapping them out for non-RFTs and rely on a repair kit or the AA

It’s worth coating your rims and brake callipers with Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour. It’s not cheap, but very effective at repelling brake dust and other nasties that can cause damage to the lacquered finish.

Oh, and Cotswold BMW give decent discount to members of the BMW Owners’ Club UK on Facebook (though my local dealer will often price match).

Keep the updates coming!

Thanks; very happy with it so far (apart from its filthyness)

And yes, big fan of Gtechniq C5; used it on all m y previous alloys when I've had them refurbed. When I sort the replacement wheels (18s or 19s) I'll be doing just that and as you said; on the brake calipers also

I'm part of numerous BMW groups/forums inc the newly refreshed BMW 5 Forums; so have been using Cotswolds BMW for years; they're where I've ordered the OEM mats and M Sport grilles from, which should land next week

For me the build quality is just as good as my previous Japanese import E39 530i Sport touring; but it's not on the same level as a previous F01 730D - however that's to be expected!

I think one thing I'll be doing in the near future is getting the ZF8 serviced; the cars done 96k miles and there's no mention of this happening, so I'll take it to Grant at Automatic Transmissions, Preston and get him to wave his magic wand over it

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Tuesday 24th January 17:32

[d_a_n1979]

MarkJS said:

I’m not sure what difference it makes, but your wheel bolt threads should be dry according to BMW. I only know because I used to use the same stuff as you when changing to summer/winter wheels on my E92 but found this out when I checked the torque spec on the F32.

Cheers - this I know, but a very light coating won't do them any harm... After years of undoing other peoples bad/lazy work; it's a personal preference and never had any issues

One thing I don't do, is lather any on the hub or mating surfaces; I know that's a no-no now on the BMW cars. Not like the old days where folk would spread copper grease on like butter

HelldogBE said:

There's theory and then there's practice. When I bought my car it needed a breaker bar of over 2 meters to loosen them. Never again!

^^^ This

I'm a powerlifter and idiotic stone lifter; using the breaker bar I nigh on lifted the rear end of the car up trying to undo the rear wheels bolts... Ended up getting my 7ft alu scaffolding pole that I use as a makeshift 'axle' for grip training - that gave me the leverage I needed

God knows what they used to anchor the bolts on; but they were rusty as hell and in far too tight!

[d_a_n1979]

Sim89 said:

Just remember to back the torque off 20% or so if the fasteners are lubricated, I do them very lightly but torque to 110Nm.

Also had my ZF8 serviced by Automatic Transmissions in Preston at 65k, great service and price.

Yup

They're 140NM IIRC

The locking bolt I've only done to 110NM and the rest to 120NM; they'll be absolutely fine. Exactly what I did on my F01 until I converted to a stud kit which I may do on this car as well

And yes; Grant & his lad know their stuff

[d_a_n1979]

First wash:



Just snowfoamed as it's raining here - all the nooks & crannies cleaned with Citrus APC and a detailing brush (absolutely full of cack & grime etc) and then all rinsed

I've also snowfoamed the wheel arches/liners as they were caked in mud and crap; so that's all been soaked and blasted off for now; I'll do them properly at a later date (up on axle stands, wheels off etc)

Glass all cleaned & treated too; tyres tyre-gelled with Gyeon tyre gel :thumup:

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Tuesday 10th January 14:53

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

First wash:



Just snowfoamed as it's raining here - all the nooks & crannies cleaned with APL and a detailing brush (absolutely full of cack & grime etc) and then all rinsed

I've also snowfoamed the wheel arches/liners as they were caked in mud and crap; so that's all been soaked and blasted off for now; I'll do them properly at a later date (up on axle stands, wheels off etc)

Glass all cleaned & treated too; tyres tyre-gelled with Gyeon tyre gel :thumup:

Yeah the weather isn’t helpful today. Managed to get mine done but just as I’d snowfoamed her car it went jet black and shat it down. Joy. At least the worst of the cack has been rinsed off.

Yeah; looks much better pal. But up close it's still filthy and needs a full de-tar ASAP; the lower sills and doors are coated etc

[d_a_n1979]

OEM interior mats and M Sport front gloss black grilles landed with me today from Cotswolds BMW

Will fit the grilles ASAP; but wanted to get the leather cleaned (Furniture Clinic leather cleaner and leather conditioner used) and fit the new mats...

Ignore the bits; it's blowing a hoolie here today and bits are flying off the conifers everywhere










The leathers's come up great, really dirty front seats but back seats were very clean! Done the steering wheel too; so will see how that fairs but can see an email being sent to Jack at RSW very soon

Smells much nicer too with cleaned leather

Will fit the grilles soon (when it stops lashing it down)

Got the nav up to date too thanks to Rusty @ satnavupgrades.co.uk

[d_a_n1979]

cerb4.5lee said:

I'm going to draft you in Dan to help me buy my next car...because you always pick the really nice ones out I reckon. That interior looks well clean/smart.

Haha no worries; I like a challenge

[d_a_n1979]

First full wash...

BH snowfoamed, wheels cleaned with AG Magma and various wheel brushes, rinsed, hand washed with Autobrites Purple Velvet, rinsed, AG Polar Seal applied, rinsed, towel dried (in between rain showers) , all door shuts towel dried inc fuel filler area and tailgate shuts, both of them, wheels towel dried and tyres treated with Gyeon tyre gel

Done...

Now its lashing it down, again

[d_a_n1979]

W00DY said:

Very nice Dan, those brakes look brilliant. New grilles should be a big improvement.

Cheers pal

They’re impressive brakes TBH, work very well indeed!

They’ll be better once I upgrade the fronts back to OEM spec with decent pads and new lines/fluid all round

Yup, will get the grilles fitted soon, do not like those aftermarket ones at all

[d_a_n1979]

Few more bits done today

Non-slip boot mat fitted; used this brand for a few years now in my previous E39s and F01 and they're very good and fit perfectly

Nextbase 422GW dashcam fitted too; for now it's plugged into the rear 12v connection but I'll look to hardwire it in the future; have the rear camera too, so that'll get done at the same time

[d_a_n1979]

OEM BMW kidney grilles fitted

Before:



After:



Much better!