Discussion
So got the car back, due to various delays (had to stop by a friend's) I did end up driving back at night. They are utterly magnificent! A stark difference from before the refurb and now the throw is more than about 5 feet 
Here's a video parked up at my friend's - note the car is actually pointing uphill a bit, but this is dipped beam and you can see how bright they are
And a very short video clip showing them at night
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16nzpNHwPbb7EXLEXV...
Here's a video parked up at my friend's - note the car is actually pointing uphill a bit, but this is dipped beam and you can see how bright they are
And a very short video clip showing them at night
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16nzpNHwPbb7EXLEXV...
d_a_n1979 said:
Bloody hell Ross they look spectacular!
Really glad this has all gotten sorted at last...
I was rather happy last night. I sent those videos to KYCS and he said there looks like it needs some minor adjustments to perfect it but said it comes down to personal preference. Aside from obviously the height there is adjustments to the projectors you can make....either a longer throw but a narrower beam, or a shorter throw for a wider beam. He said he will send me a video and draw a diagram for me to explain how to do it myself if I fancy adjusting it, he said just do small changes and try it and see what I prefer.Really glad this has all gotten sorted at last...
I'm not sure I will change much, or anything, to be honest as they seem very good to me. I didn't get any other drivers flashing me so that's good
Just so nice to have the car back and all sorted now. What a saga this was. And so bizarre, too. The fact that the bit that failed had nothing to do with what was done was what threw everyone off.....change the suspension bits and tweak the headlights, you would assume it was either of those, but it was neither.
d_a_n1979 said:
E90_M3Ross said:
d_a_n1979 said:
Bloody hell Ross they look spectacular!
Really glad this has all gotten sorted at last...
I was rather happy last night. I sent those videos to KYCS and he said there looks like it needs some minor adjustments to perfect it but said it comes down to personal preference. Aside from obviously the height there is adjustments to the projectors you can make....either a longer throw but a narrower beam, or a shorter throw for a wider beam. He said he will send me a video and draw a diagram for me to explain how to do it myself if I fancy adjusting it, he said just do small changes and try it and see what I prefer.Really glad this has all gotten sorted at last...
I'm not sure I will change much, or anything, to be honest as they seem very good to me. I didn't get any other drivers flashing me so that's good
Just so nice to have the car back and all sorted now. What a saga this was. And so bizarre, too. The fact that the bit that failed had nothing to do with what was done was what threw everyone off.....change the suspension bits and tweak the headlights, you would assume it was either of those, but it was neither.
It'd be sods law you start to tweak them and you tweak them too far
Time to start enjoying the car again Ross
So I kept my booking with BMR for the vehicle inspection, due to the upcoming Highlands trip. Mostly good news, but some not-so-good news.
The garage I used some months ago to replace the injectors messed up a bit, they damaged a bolt or nut or something, and rather than replacing it, they glued it.
DEFINITELY won't be using them again. They said otherwise it is actually a very tidy car.
The garage I used some months ago to replace the injectors messed up a bit, they damaged a bolt or nut or something, and rather than replacing it, they glued it.
DEFINITELY won't be using them again. They said otherwise it is actually a very tidy car.
bolidemichael said:
E90_M3Ross said:
bolidemichael said:
BMR is a very reassuring reference point.
They have a seriously good reputation. Apparently if the local BMW dealer gets a problematic car they can't sort they take it there 
Off to collect it now.
The level of detail for their inspection even went as far as checking the radio!
"are you aware your radio doesn't pick up signal?"
"it does, but the audio input is set to aux because of my android auto system I use"
"ah, that'd explain it!"
It was nice to hear the mechanic say it was a tidy car
should bloody hope so too Got the car back. It's got three advisories, one of which is regarding the radio which is not right, it just needs changing audio input. The others are the plenum bolt needs rectifying properly (again, hardly a big job) and the last one is a big one......
Fuel filler cap string is broken
I'm pretty happy with that to be honest. Peace of mind for Scotland in under two months!
Fuel filler cap string is broken
I'm pretty happy with that to be honest. Peace of mind for Scotland in under two months!
Court_S said:
Good to hear that the light saga has reached a satisfactory ending.
The old broken filler cap string; do my head in. Luckily you can get replacements on eBay for a few quid.
It's never bothered me because the cap has a pointy bit which fits in a small hole on the inside of the fuel filler flap, so it just sits there when I refuel so no issue.The old broken filler cap string; do my head in. Luckily you can get replacements on eBay for a few quid.
d_a_n1979 said:
Good to see it's up to spec and doing a good job Ross 
Have been able to enjoy it the last couple of days where we've also had some decent weather Had to fill up again today, it likes to get through 99RON at an alarming rate
still, what a way to burn some hydrocarbons. Mr Tidy said:
E90_M3Ross said:
Court_S said:
Good to hear that the light saga has reached a satisfactory ending.
The old broken filler cap string; do my head in. Luckily you can get replacements on eBay for a few quid.
It's never bothered me because the cap has a pointy bit which fits in a small hole on the inside of the fuel filler flap, so it just sits there when I refuel so no issue.The old broken filler cap string; do my head in. Luckily you can get replacements on eBay for a few quid.
bolidemichael said:
What’s your technique, if any, for the exhaust tips?
Ultra fine wire wool (grade 0000), damp it with some water and get some Barkeepers Friend. No need for expensive metal polish they come up really well.I know you use Gtechniq stuff, you can coat them with C1/C4/C5 as it will withstand the heat. I haven't done so with mine but may in the future.
bolidemichael said:
E90_M3Ross said:
bolidemichael said:
What’s your technique, if any, for the exhaust tips?
Ultra fine wire wool (grade 0000), damp it with some water and get some Barkeepers Friend. No need for expensive metal polish they come up really well.I know you use Gtechniq stuff, you can coat them with C1/C4/C5 as it will withstand the heat. I haven't done so with mine but may in the future.
Good to know about C5, impressive stuff.
https://amzn.eu/d/422yspY
Mr Tidy said:
I find Solvol Autosol works well on mine.
Yep I was tempted to get some a while ago, but tried this method and don't see a reason to change until I run out. Works very well. I am not sure how much cleaner a dedicated metal polish would get the inside of the exhaust, but that would soon get scooted up, anyway.Naturally, it rained today. I don't think I'll be using the car for about 2 weeks now though. Although a little weaker than it has been, water still beading despite applying no coating since last June. I'll give it some more this summer, although it won't need polishing at all.
So I found out the other day that the reason for my car sounding a little more fruity than GPM's is that it has had the primary cats removed and test pipes fitted....
Honestly, it doesn't sound that loud or different to normal, but perhaps a little more fruity. I had no idea this had been done Still, when pushing on the dominant noise is still definitely induction rather than exhaust, and it does sound glorious. Now the weather is nice I'm driving with the windows down even more to hear it even better
Apparently doing this causes an EML so it needs to be mapped, which means the car is likely running 10-20bhp more than stock at the top end, but I don't think it offers much lower down the rev range. It's hard to know for sure of course.
Honestly, it doesn't sound that loud or different to normal, but perhaps a little more fruity. I had no idea this had been done
Still, when pushing on the dominant noise is still definitely induction rather than exhaust, and it does sound glorious. Now the weather is nice I'm driving with the windows down even more to hear it even better Apparently doing this causes an EML so it needs to be mapped, which means the car is likely running 10-20bhp more than stock at the top end, but I don't think it offers much lower down the rev range. It's hard to know for sure of course.
So I've just got back from another week up in the Highlands with a friend of mine. Set off very early on a Saturday morning to collect them on the way. The weather heading up was very hit and miss, with some dry sections, but also some sections of pretty heavy rain. Despite that I managed to make decent progress. We were going to arrive early so I stopped off at Loch an Eilein, which isn't too far from where we stayed for an easy 30min run around to stretch the legs a bit. Got to the cottage and the total mileage that day was 626 miles.
Sunday morning the weather was clear, and I fancied a good drive, so headed along the A939 from Grantown-on-Spey, having filled up with Esso's finest there, and continued along A93. Stopped briefly at Balmoral Castle for a quick nose around and continued further and over Glenshee ski centre and down to Glenshee.
The road between the A939 and the A93 - The B976 - yielded some great scenery
This road, the more northerly section above Glenshee in particular, is a magnificent stretch of tarmac and I really got to push the car. Once back we refuelled, across the Cairngorms it got 14mpg over 132 miles!
Later we headed to Loch Garten for a walk around there too.
I also did a running session near Boat of Garten in the evening and spotted this
Total mileage that day was about 240.
Monday we drove down to Glencoe. We did a loop, so from just outside Aviemore down the A9, having filled up with Esso Supreme at Newtonmore, to just past Pitlochry, through Aberfeldy and past Loch Tay via Kenmore - this was an unexpected gem. It was really pretty there so we stopped briefly before pressing on to Glencoe.
I found a Gulf petrol station which only had E10/95 RON, I wasn't 100% sure if we'd make it the whole way back (hadn't decided the route back) and even though I still had about 2/3 a tank left I opted to add just 10L in just to be ensure I'd have enough to get back, whilst limiting the amount of poor fuel in the car. Whilst Loch Tay and Kenmore were lovely, they were very much the "starter"....Glencoe....wow. The weather was very "bipolar" in the sense it was chucking it down one minute, and then sunny another minute. The scenery is very rugged and quite fantastic, it really is breathtaking.
I also did another run from Glencoe. We came back the other way, heading back via Fort William. Stopped again at Newtonmore for more Esso supreme to dilute the 95 RON stuff. Did around 210 miles that day.
Tuesday was a more local day, we visited both Loch Morlich and went back to Loch An Eilein for some walking, and yes, another run (session). I think I only did about 30 miles that day. Both of these places are so special!
Wednesday we headed a bit further north to Lossiemouth beach. I headed there via the scenic route - from Grantown-on-Spey I headed up to Forres via Dunphail....what a brilliant stretch of tarmac to be able to enjoy the M3! Lots of pretty fast sections and great scenery. I was far too busy driving to get any photos of this one! The beach, when we got there was almost deserted! Lovely place for a beach walk, but the surrounding areas were clearly areas with little money.
After spending a while here we went to Aberlour, stopped into a recommended place for some good food bits, "The Spey Lardour". Walked a bit to a rather quiet place and had lunch by the river Spey, after lunch we walked along the footpath for about a mile before heading back.
Came back to the cottage via Esso (theme here....!). Later I went back out for a run from near Loch Morlich up, and past, "the green Loch" which was really pretty. I think I did around 110 miles that day.
Thursday we headed down to River Garry Falls, not too far from Pitlochry. After an hour's walk we continued to Loch Rannoch, which was beautiful. Unfortunately on the way here I hit a nasty pothole, almighty thud through the car but all seems well.
I also did another run from here too. After visiting Loch Rannoch we headed back to Aviemore, but I decided I wanted to drive up the Cairngorm mountain road again, this is a brilliant bit of road for some fun if it's clear. On the way back from Loch Rannoch the road was one of the wildest roads I've ever driven. The B847 from Trinafour to the A9, it is an incredible piece of road..... Not one to enjoy driving but it is just so remote from anything and it's incredibly twisty with tight, steep hairpins. I didn't get any great pics, just this one:
On the way back on the A9 we witnessed the aftermath of a nasty accident. As we were headed north there was a smashed car on the left in a hedge, and two lorries had come off the road down a ditch on the right. I hope everyone was OK. Once passed, Cairngorm mountain road didn't disappoint and I pushed the car fairly hard. After having had this car for a fair bit over a year now, when you use full throttle and the full rev range the noise.... It never gets old. At the top I swung around and the had some more fun coming back down. By the time we got back I'd done just over 130 miles.
Friday was a somewhat more local day. Off to Uath Lochans. Photos don't do this place justice really, the tranquility and the sheer scale of the trees in the forest.... Breathtaking, truly.
Walk around here for a bit, had some lunch too, drove back past the cottage to Grantown-on-Spey again to Esso to top up for the trip back. Also did a running session near Boat of Garten in the evening. A little over 60 miles driven that day.
Saturday..... 624.1miles back! Ended up being over 2000 miles in the space of 7-and-a-bit days. Weather was bad in places, as was the traffic but still managed to make half decent progress. Overall time including stops was exactly 10 hours.
Car was flawless throughout really, save it's propensity to consume petrol at an alarming rate. It's going in for an oil and filter change, recheck the alignment, brake fluid change and also the cabin filters in about 1.5 weeks.
Sunday morning the weather was clear, and I fancied a good drive, so headed along the A939 from Grantown-on-Spey, having filled up with Esso's finest there, and continued along A93. Stopped briefly at Balmoral Castle for a quick nose around and continued further and over Glenshee ski centre and down to Glenshee.
The road between the A939 and the A93 - The B976 - yielded some great scenery
This road, the more northerly section above Glenshee in particular, is a magnificent stretch of tarmac and I really got to push the car. Once back we refuelled, across the Cairngorms it got 14mpg over 132 miles!
Later we headed to Loch Garten for a walk around there too.
I also did a running session near Boat of Garten in the evening and spotted this
Total mileage that day was about 240.
Monday we drove down to Glencoe. We did a loop, so from just outside Aviemore down the A9, having filled up with Esso Supreme at Newtonmore, to just past Pitlochry, through Aberfeldy and past Loch Tay via Kenmore - this was an unexpected gem. It was really pretty there so we stopped briefly before pressing on to Glencoe.
I found a Gulf petrol station which only had E10/95 RON, I wasn't 100% sure if we'd make it the whole way back (hadn't decided the route back) and even though I still had about 2/3 a tank left I opted to add just 10L in just to be ensure I'd have enough to get back, whilst limiting the amount of poor fuel in the car. Whilst Loch Tay and Kenmore were lovely, they were very much the "starter"....Glencoe....wow. The weather was very "bipolar" in the sense it was chucking it down one minute, and then sunny another minute. The scenery is very rugged and quite fantastic, it really is breathtaking.
I also did another run from Glencoe. We came back the other way, heading back via Fort William. Stopped again at Newtonmore for more Esso supreme to dilute the 95 RON stuff. Did around 210 miles that day.
Tuesday was a more local day, we visited both Loch Morlich and went back to Loch An Eilein for some walking, and yes, another run (session). I think I only did about 30 miles that day. Both of these places are so special!
Wednesday we headed a bit further north to Lossiemouth beach. I headed there via the scenic route - from Grantown-on-Spey I headed up to Forres via Dunphail....what a brilliant stretch of tarmac to be able to enjoy the M3! Lots of pretty fast sections and great scenery. I was far too busy driving to get any photos of this one! The beach, when we got there was almost deserted! Lovely place for a beach walk, but the surrounding areas were clearly areas with little money.
After spending a while here we went to Aberlour, stopped into a recommended place for some good food bits, "The Spey Lardour". Walked a bit to a rather quiet place and had lunch by the river Spey, after lunch we walked along the footpath for about a mile before heading back.
Came back to the cottage via Esso (theme here....!). Later I went back out for a run from near Loch Morlich up, and past, "the green Loch" which was really pretty. I think I did around 110 miles that day.
Thursday we headed down to River Garry Falls, not too far from Pitlochry. After an hour's walk we continued to Loch Rannoch, which was beautiful. Unfortunately on the way here I hit a nasty pothole, almighty thud through the car but all seems well.
I also did another run from here too. After visiting Loch Rannoch we headed back to Aviemore, but I decided I wanted to drive up the Cairngorm mountain road again, this is a brilliant bit of road for some fun if it's clear. On the way back from Loch Rannoch the road was one of the wildest roads I've ever driven. The B847 from Trinafour to the A9, it is an incredible piece of road..... Not one to enjoy driving but it is just so remote from anything and it's incredibly twisty with tight, steep hairpins. I didn't get any great pics, just this one:
On the way back on the A9 we witnessed the aftermath of a nasty accident. As we were headed north there was a smashed car on the left in a hedge, and two lorries had come off the road down a ditch on the right. I hope everyone was OK. Once passed, Cairngorm mountain road didn't disappoint and I pushed the car fairly hard. After having had this car for a fair bit over a year now, when you use full throttle and the full rev range the noise.... It never gets old. At the top I swung around and the had some more fun coming back down. By the time we got back I'd done just over 130 miles.
Friday was a somewhat more local day. Off to Uath Lochans. Photos don't do this place justice really, the tranquility and the sheer scale of the trees in the forest.... Breathtaking, truly.
Walk around here for a bit, had some lunch too, drove back past the cottage to Grantown-on-Spey again to Esso to top up for the trip back. Also did a running session near Boat of Garten in the evening. A little over 60 miles driven that day.
Saturday..... 624.1miles back! Ended up being over 2000 miles in the space of 7-and-a-bit days. Weather was bad in places, as was the traffic but still managed to make half decent progress. Overall time including stops was exactly 10 hours.
Car was flawless throughout really, save it's propensity to consume petrol at an alarming rate. It's going in for an oil and filter change, recheck the alignment, brake fluid change and also the cabin filters in about 1.5 weeks.
Edited by E90_M3Ross on Saturday 15th June 19:41
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