Our new to us 2015 F31 325D M Sport

[Its Just Adz]

Glad to see all looking good.

I was out with your uncle Nigel last Saturday, great night

[d_a_n1979]

Its Just Adz said:

Glad to see all looking good.

I was out with your uncle Nigel last Saturday, great night

Haha where was that pal?

How was your head the morning after?

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Saturday 21st October 22:27

[d_a_n1979]

Up on my pals ramps this afternoon to assess the suspension and see what's what / what needs replacing...

All shocks/springs are original dated 2015, as are all the front arms Rear arms have been replaced in 2020/2021 - all OEM BMW. Both front/rear ARBs need new bushes and the front drop links seem ok; but they'll all get replaced as they're not expensive

Fine tuning my parts list on Autodoc and will get that ordered in the next day or so...

Decided to go with Bilstein B4S shocks and Eibach pro-kit springs with new top mounts/fittings from BMW etc (rubber mounts, gaskets etc) as well...

Having been out in my pals 320D who's just had that done as his MOT failed with 2 leaking rear shocks; it drives superbly, handles well and is much better than my F31 as it is currently...

The drive out in an F30 330D on B16s showed me how superb they are; but not for a daily driver with a few long road trips planned... Just too firm unfortunately

[d_a_n1979]

All new suspension parts ordered (shocks/springs etc)

Gone for Bilstein B4Ss all round; new Sachs top mounts, Eibach pro kit springs etc via Autodoc, 41% off - can't complain at that! £700 all in, delivered

Will get the dust boots/rubber perches and gaskets etc from Cotswolds BMW & then it can all be built up on the bench and each corner swapped out smoothly etc

Going to give the arms/links/bushes another full once over on Tuesday whilst it's on my pals ramps for 30mins (so I can replace the front drop links that have failed) and see which other arms need replacing as I forgot to take a proper note the other week and have forgotten

[d_a_n1979]

Part one of the Autodoc order

[d_a_n1979]

Back on my pals ramps this morning

Going to replace all the front arms, drop links, track rod ends & tie rods etc... All original BMW from 2015!



Rear arms are a mix of original BMW 2015 and some dated 2020, so will replace the 2015 ones and the eccentric bolts/washers/nuts too as they're rusty as hell



Just ordered them via Cotswolds BMW

And this happened on the way back home

[Court_S]

It should be driving nicely after that refresh.

Those bolts are really crusty! The joys of road salt.

[Jhonno]

100k refresh, sounds about on the money!

Will drive nicely after.. Mine was 120k and 20yrs and the difference was phenomenal.

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

It should be driving nicely after that refresh.

Those bolts are really crusty! The joys of road salt.

Yeah; they're bad (literally flaked as you looked at them)

I'll get on them with WD40 for a good few sprays and then closer to the time, Wurth Rost Off Ice etc << Bloody good stuff and would highly recommend it!

[d_a_n1979]

Jhonno said:

100k refresh, sounds about on the money!

Will drive nicely after.. Mine was 120k and 20yrs and the difference was phenomenal.

Yup

Made a huge difference on my previous Jap import E39 touring and 540i Sport pal; makes it feel like a whole new car

As it is, the F31 drives fine, no untoward clunks/rattles or wayward handling etc; but you can also feel its age and it's a bit loose at times...

All in it'll be worthwhile & well overdue refresh!

[-TorqueR]

d_a_n1979 said:

this happened on the way back home

My 330d completed its 100,000th mile last month en route to Caffeine & Machine and scrubs up well for the mileage. I’ve often found the UK obsession with low mileage cars odd because if a car is well maintained, the mileage is often just a number.

[d_a_n1979]

-TorqueR said:

d_a_n1979 said:

this happened on the way back home

My 330d completed its 100,000th mile last month en route to Caffeine & Machine and scrubs up well for the mileage. I’ve often found the UK obsession with low mileage cars odd because if a car is well maintained, the mileage is often just a number.

Fully agree... I'm happy to take on a higher miles car as long as SH, maintenance have been solid with paperwork / receipts to back it up etc...

Least you know its been used and looked after then!

My previous Japanese import E39 540i was prime example of why low miles isn't always better. 20 years old, 53k miles and every part of the suspension needed to be replaced, cooling system also and all fluids etc... Some of the rubber bits literally crumbled

[d_a_n1979]

OEM BMW boot mat landed & fitted (took advantage of their 30% off Cyber November offer on eBay/Amazon)





It's a chunky mat TBH; the other one I had is good, but very soft. The BMW one is a lot more protective

[d_a_n1979]

Front & rear suspension arms, links and inner tie rods/track rod ends & their bellows ordered today via Autodoc with their 31% offer running









Quite a few bits, but it all needs doing really

Gone with a mix of Moog, Lemforder & TRW - some TRW & Lemforder parts were out of stock; but having used Moog a LOT over the years on my E39s and E65/F01 7'ers, I've never had any issues, so happy to stick with them

[W00DY]

It's going to be like new when you're done.

I like those winter mats, they look good and much easier to clean than most.

[d_a_n1979]

W00DY said:

It's going to be like new when you're done.

I like those winter mats, they look good and much easier to clean than most.

Hoping so It's quite a lot of work; but it needs doing, more so as I can see us having this car for a while now we're hammering the mortgage to get rid of it in the next 3 years!

I'm looking forward to seeing how it drives after all that lots replaced

Yeah they're decent mats; got the interior mats 2nd hand but like new (still in their original packaging too as the seller had moved onto an X3); a quick spray with ACP and a wipe off and they're done... Cannot stand those rubber mats that are like a mesh and you can't clean them without removing them and rinsing them off etc

[d_a_n1979]

OEM BMW CF/alcantara handbrake fitted

Looks well and feels good in the hand

From:



To:




First of many parts ordered arrived via Cotswolds BMW also; this is all the necessary rubber bits, gaskets and some bolts for the suspension overhaul. The rest of it is arriving via Autodoc and snail-mail

Some bulbs in there too for a change this weekend and a spare bulb kit etc

[d_a_n1979]

Headlight bulbs changed; gone with the Lunex 6000k ones for now. Faffy, but done. Wheel off job; fortunately the little service hatch is big enough to manoeuvre my fat hands

Osram Xenarc D1S bulbs removed; passenger side had gone yellowish, so time to change them anyways...

Front indicator bulbs swapped out for the Osram Diadem chrome ones too; looks much better

[d_a_n1979]

And freshly washed too with a good coat of AGs' Rapid Ceramic spray to see how that fairs over the wetter/dirtier months:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-RCS500-Coating-R...

Probably the last full wash I'll give it now until early next year when the weather improves; will stick with contactless washes for now

[d_a_n1979]

The first of two 'care packages' from Autodoc have just landed

This is the shocks/springs and top mounts from AD plus the Mteconline 12mm spacers and stud conversion














The rest should land in a few days from Autodoc and that's all the suspension ready to go one come Jan 2024