[pdxdbo]

Ordered a new wheel stud set from MH since I'm not super fond of my current setup. I'm no longer running spacers so the 78mm bullet nose thread conversion studs are a bit longer than needed. The combo of the Vossen rear wheel concavity, the long wheel studs, and the racing & shorty tuner nuts doesn't look great and exposes some of the threads to the elements. Which in my mind is reason enough to switch over to 65mm 14x1.25 studs along with matching MH Titan racing & cold forged lock nuts.

[xcviwp6]

Very nice build. Tastefully done.

[pdxdbo]

Big difference with those 10.5s out back…

[pdxdbo]

Ordered some Tommy L Garage splash guards and they can't come fast enough, I think the 9s up front are actually worse than the 10.5s out back lol

[pdxdbo]

Performed an oil change today, running the same LiquiMoly 5/30 with oem filter courtesy FCP. While I was under the hood I installed Verus Engineering anodized aluminum blue oil, coolant, and heat exchanger caps.

I also swapped out the red billet center caps on my Vossens in favor of gloss black pieces. I switched the plastic M logo OEM valve stem caps with aluminum caps from Dinan. I intended to install Tommy L Garage splash guards front and rear but ran short on time so I only got the front on today.

[pdxdbo]

Originally Posted by OuterBanks

interesting how much collects on your sills and bam rear qtr panels; fortunately I don't have that issue but have with many vehicles in the past. Be interesting to hear your take (quality, install and how well they work) on the mudflats after you've had them awhile.

Yeah it wasn't much of an issue with the stock wheels. When I ran spacers on the stock wheels it led to a bit more debris thrown along the body but the width on these aftermarket wheels really exacerbated the problem.

[pdxdbo]

Got the rear splash guards installed today. Now I just need to give her a bath, and we'll see how much of an effect they have over the next week or two of my commute.

[pdxdbo]

Added the AC line caps from Verus Engineering today, since I forgot to install them alongside the other caps. Hopefully Verus will come out with a matching windshield wiper fluid cap in the future.

[pdxdbo]

Originally Posted by pdxdbo

Ordered some Tommy L Garage splash guards and they can't come fast enough, I think the 9s up front are actually worse than the 10.5s out back lol

Definitely a noticeable improvement from the TLG splash guards. We've had rain and a ton of leaves fall the last two weeks. Subtle and effective!

[pdxdbo]

Installed a Dinan intake today. The installation itself was pretty simple although I did manage to lose track of one of the grommets for the airbox itself so I’ll need to find it or order a replacement.

I really like the carbon fiber, it looks very sharp. I immediately noticed an increase in noise which surprised me since I’m already running a BMS intake pipe and FTP turbo inlet. The cone filter really does make a difference itself over an AFE Pro S filter in the stock airbox.

[pdxdbo]

I noticed some PCV vapor residue in the bottom of the turbo inlet so I’ll be adding an oil catch can in the future. I also plan to swap out the strut bar hardware with dress up hardware and tap the rear mounting location so I can do away with the nut securing it from the wheel well.

[pdxdbo]

Tapped the rear strut bar mounting location and swapped out some M8 and M10 hardware for blue zinc hex bolts with blue billet XL beauty washers from Downstar.

[pdxdbo]

Swapped out a few more bolts and screws for blue anodized counterparts from Downstar

[pdxdbo]

Lessgo…

[pdxdbo]

Finally found a local shop that will bench unlock it in-house, hopefully get it on the schedule soon and I’ll be off to the races. I’m gonna go with MG OTS 1&2 for now but eyeing a custom tune from Navardi as well.

[pdxdbo]

Originally Posted by pdxdbo

Finally found a local shop that will bench unlock it in-house, hopefully get it on the schedule soon and I’ll be off to the races. I’m gonna go with MG OTS 1&2 for now but eyeing a custom tune from Navardi as well.

Scheduling this has been difficult but fingers crossed, the DME will be unlocked in the next couple weeks.

It feels like winter has taken forever and I haven't gotten as much done on the car as I would've liked. I pulled the sub box after running it a couple months due to the fact that I didn't account for need to run an amp to the under seat woofers. I found that they provided a much needed portion of the midbass range that my subs are tuned too low to properly reproduce.

Now the plan is to swap out the OEM under seat woofers for a pair of Earthquake SWS-8X woofers and power them with a Sundown SDX-200.2 amplifier (maybe a bit overpowered but should be ok). I really want to get this dialed in so I can craft some beauty panels and make the trunk look sharp.

I put together this wiring diagram of the future state:

[XGC75]

Originally Posted by pdxdbo

Finally found a local shop that will bench unlock it in-house, hopefully get it on the schedule soon and I’ll be off to the races. I’m gonna go with MG OTS 1&2 for now but eyeing a custom tune from Navardi as well.

Hey how'd you find a shop to do that for you? You call around and simply ask if they bench unlock BMW DMEs? And how much did that run you if you don't mind me asking?

[pdxdbo]

Originally Posted by XGC75

Hey how'd you find a shop to do that for you? You call around and simply ask if they bench unlock BMW DMEs? And how much did that run you if you don't mind me asking?

I still haven’t had it performed unfortunately. We had some issues getting it scheduled and in the meantime I had an active shutter fault. I was lucky frankly, since a visit to the dealer for warranty work will result in a locked DME so I would’ve had to pay again to have it re-unlocked.

To answer your questions: that’s precisely what I did, emailed and called around local shops and the guy I found to do it charges $300 which is on the high end, I’ve read that in other parts of the country you can get it done for $200-$250

[xcviwp6]

Hey is your build on Instagram? Would love to follow it?

[pdxdbo]

Originally Posted by xcviwp6

Hey is your build on Instagram? Would love to follow it?

https://instagram.com/pdx_3thrty but I don’t post a lot there

[pdxdbo]

I finally got around to installing the VRSF catless downpipe I ordered late last year. I removed the intake to give me a little more room. The v-band on the turbo was a bit tough to pry loose but persistence prevailed. I missed the inner hanger bolt so that slowed the removal of the OEM unit, but everything else under the car went pretty quick. Once I got that sorted out, the new one popped into place and I was good to go. I took a quick test drive and It was noticably noisier in sport+, overall I’m pretty pleased with the results.

[pdxdbo]

I detailed the engine bay today and fashioned a gasket for the F30 Goldenwrench Blackline Performance Motorsport Blue Washer Fluid Cap which is only a millimeter or two larger than the gasket supplied with the cap.