Our new to us 2015 F31 325D M Sport

[d_a_n1979]

Sim89 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Sim89 said:

Ever thought about doing the LCI rear light conversion?

Did it on mine and it's quite straightforward - there's a BMW loom you can buy, so everything is OEM.

I didn't know it was a thing sorry

Just found the M Performance rear lights on eBay via Lloyds BMW; is that what you mean?

The LCI F31's have LED rear lights, you can retrofit them quite easily to replace the halogen ones on pre-LCI models. Not the M Performance ones (they're dark and don't look good imo), just the stock LCI lights.

Ah ok

TBH not fussed; quite like the rear lights on the touring and I've coded them to be on as rear DRLs too

Think they look ok TBH:

[d_a_n1979]

New OEM BMW 345mm grooved discs and their corresponding brake pads & wear sensor, ordered via Douglas Park BMW on eBay as they're £50 cheaper than Cotswolds BMW and they were cheaper than Autodoc going for Brembo discs! Plus Nectar points too haha

Also gave the F31 a quick detail as it was pink this morning; the Saharan sands & dust are making their way over to us as per the norm...

[d_a_n1979]

New OEM BMW rear brakes have landed; will get them fitted ASAP:

[d_a_n1979]

-TorqueR said:

d_a_n1979 said:

New OEM BMW rear brakes have landed; will get them fitted ASAP:

I’ve got a F30 330d xDrive and will need disc and pads soon.

Where did you buy these from? OE disc and pads?

It says a couple of posts up Douglas Park BMW via their eBay page

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

How’s it running at the mo after the recent hiccup?

They’re some chunky old stoppers.

The pre-LCI lights on the F3x aren’t too offensive. The pre-LCI lights on the E90 and E91 look gash compared to the later car.

Absolutely fine Sam; more user error (and not fully understanding what was going on TBH) than anything else... Turns out that the BMW tech also knows my pals Dad as they race classic Mini's; talk about small world haha

I've got no issues with the lights; think they look well TBH and not forking out £££ to swap them just for aesthetics, if that makes sense... If they were damaged/scratched etc I'd have sorted them by now

Plus having coded them to run as rear DRLs too; they look well when lit

[d_a_n1979]

-TorqueR said:

d_a_n1979 said:

It says a couple of posts up Douglas Park BMW via their eBay page

Oops.

A combination of missing that update and quickly scanning during my lunch break caused that. Thank you.

Haha no worries Ordered and delivered in 2 days, so they're very good to deal with

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Absolutely fine Sam; more user error (and not fully understanding what was going on TBH) than anything else... Turns out that the BMW tech also knows my pals Dad as they race classic Mini's; talk about small world haha

I've got no issues with the lights; think they look well TBH and not forking out £££ to swap them just for aesthetics, if that makes sense... If they were damaged/scratched etc I'd have sorted them by now

Plus having coded them to run as rear DRLs too; they look well when lit

Good to hear that it’s alright!

People keep asking me if I’m going to do a rear LCI conversion on mine but I’m not really that bothered. They’re a bit nicer admittedly but not for the price of the conversion.

Cheers Sam; yes it's absolutely fine (albeit filthy with all this rain)!

I'm not doing any conversions of anything on it; more so with it being under warranty. It'll stay OEM until Jan 2024 and then I'll decide whether to extend the warranty; or start to do a few 'little things'

[d_a_n1979]

Bloomin' cars

Used it properly for the first time last night after getting it back from Bowker BMW a week or so ago (busy with work and not needed to go anywhere, so it's been sitting on the drive getting dirty)

Steering wheel is off kilter; so it's back to Bowker BMW on Wednesday to get sorted; they should have done the tracking/alignment as they had the front end apart to replace a few suspension bits; so no idea why it's off (steering wheel is at 1 0'clock when in a straight line, pulls to the left when you have it at 12 o'clock etc). Would have thought they'd have double checked that before releasing the car to me and I haven't noticed due to very few straight roads local to me...!

Hopefully they'll have it sorted soon enough

If not I'll get my pal to sort it with his straight edges and string box

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Friday 14th April 19:40

[d_a_n1979]

pmorg4 said:

Drives me bonkers that, my steering wheel is off by a few degrees and it annoys me to the point that I can't hold my hands at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions on straight roads as it just feels wrong. Full BMW service history so there's a good chance the last alignment was done by the dealer.

Exactly; my OCD was going mental last night

It'll get sorted; hopefully!

[d_a_n1979]

Collected the F31 from Bowker BMW; the intermittent horn raised its ugly head the other day when I needed to use it...

I have it a very hard whack (and realised after I'd done that, probably not the best idea as my 'hard whacks cure all whacks' are hard)!

Anyways; it started to work again...

So popped it back to Bowkers yesterday and low & behold; it'd stored an error code... Ouch something

Part ordered and replaced/fixed under the last warranty works bill, thankfully

It's just been given a fresh wash and coat of Chemical Guys Banana Spray Wax (smells amazing and does a great job )

https://goldlabelcarcare.co.uk/products/chemical-g...

It's now literally full of dust as someone further up the cul de sac (up wind) have decided to start cutting bricks on their drive

[d_a_n1979]

Had the genuine M Performance side skirt decals fitted professionally today; really happy with how they look

[d_a_n1979]

pmorg4 said:

Looking great, the F31 is a fantastic shape

Agree pal; I really do like this car, inside & out and so far; it's really impressed me as has the engine TBH

The brakes are superb too! They'll be even better when I fit the OEM rear dimpled/grooved discs & pads on the rear next Friday

[d_a_n1979]

pmorg4 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Agree pal; I really do like this car, inside & out and so far; it's really impressed me as has the engine TBH

The brakes are superb too! They'll be even better when I fit the OEM rear dimpled/grooved discs & pads on the rear next Friday

I rarely find the stopping power of OE brakes to be an issue for my driving style these days, but Brembos are worth it for the looks and pedal feel alone

Haha very true; the OEM brakes on my E39s with ATE Powerdiscs and ceramic pads were superb

But agree; the 370mm / 345mm brakes and Brembo calipers on the F31 are a) superb at braking and b) look cool behind the spokes too

Need to order some fresh M badges for the rear calipers too!

[d_a_n1979]

Aluminati said:

Shoulda done the wheels ferric….

Nope; they're OEM satin black and staying that way

Don't think ferric grey would do them any justice TBH; their style wouldn't suit it IMO

Style 400s in ferric grey would look well though IMO

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

pmorg4 said:

Drives me bonkers that, my steering wheel is off by a few degrees and it annoys me to the point that I can't hold my hands at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions on straight roads as it just feels wrong. Full BMW service history so there's a good chance the last alignment was done by the dealer.

Exactly; my OCD was going mental last night

It'll get sorted; hopefully!

Drives me up the wall too; it’s especially bad on BMW’s though because of the horizontal line on the rounded!

Skirt decals look good; I never got round to fitting them to my M140i.

Cheers Sam.. Thankfully steering wheel is straight now as it should be...think they gathered I've an idea of what I'm talking about via the note I left them on the passenger seat

Thanks re the decals too... Again, like the wheels I wasn't sure how they'd look until I fitted them, but glad I did

[d_a_n1979]

No washing the car this weekend; I'm too broken & in too much pain. Only 12 days left until my op so hoping that things smooth out after that

Anyways...

A straight set of 18x8 Style 397s ordered for winter wheels... Will see what their overall condition is like when they land and decide whether to do a DIY refurb or get them to my pal to sort (TBH for £150 for a full refurb & powdercoat from him does make life easier)

These are how they look:



Just need to decide on which 225/45/18 non-RFT winter tyres to go for now

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Friday 12th May 13:55

[d_a_n1979]

Realised this morning one job I've overlooked on the F31 was the engine bay detail...

I'm not in any shape to wash the car currently; but managed to get the engine bay sorted though & cleaned the underside of the bonnet too





















All plastics treated with Aerospace 303 protectant and buffed dry. Tried my new toy off Amazon too; an air blower. Got all the excess water from the nooks & crannies. Very happy with that purchase

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Variable-Quality-Electric...

[d_a_n1979]

beambeam1 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

I'm not in any shape to wash the car currently...

Gym/training injury?

I always figured these were too small for my needs but had one as a courtesy car recently, a remapped 320d and it was perfect for a second/all-rounder car which we might need to add to the fleet of one soon. I think they have sacrificed boot space since the E91 so that the legroom and space in the main cabin is still reasonable? Certainly felt like that anyway.



Liking the sideskirt decals you had fitted, I really like a little bit of black trim round the car compliments the silver M Sports out there.

Probably caused by lifting, a long time back. But it's now stopped me dead in my tracks... The issue is being attacked by my body, so removal is the only fix!

Its a very sensitive problem and lots of referred nerve pain through my lower back and down my left quad, and I'll be one less in 9 days...

Hope that's not too cryptic

And I'm very happy with the size of the F31. At my height and size it really surprised me when I first sat in it. I was concerned as I'd sat in a few E91s and they were just too small... Even worse if they had a sunroof!

Very happy with the OEM M Performance decals. Really like the look of them and how they compliment the wheels and vice versa etc...

[d_a_n1979]

Both keys 're-shelled'

eBay for the new shells and BMW badges; cost me c£12 all in...

Much better than the 2 genuine but skanky/worn keys I got with the F31









Both work as they should thankfully!

[d_a_n1979]

New OEM BMW 345mm dimpled/grooved rear brakes and their corresponding BMW pads fitted this morning with a new wear sensor: