[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by Rocky58

Changed the cabin air filter. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish. It looks easy but I’m going to be paying for it with back pain tomorrow. ...I may be paying someone to do it next time. They charge an hour of labor for this around here. YMMV.

Next year you will find it easier and do it in 20 minutes. The next year, only 10 minutes start to finish.

I change the Cabin Air Filter and wiper blades once a year on the FCP Euro warranty plan. And no, I don't send back oil and filters.

///Rich

[brakthru]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

I was quickly accelerating up to about 65/70 MPH on a big highway so nothing crazy. Your comment makes me think I should edit my post so folks don't think I was going nutz.

I haven't experienced this behavior before so assume it is the change in having the splitter on.

Installing the front splitter on mine changed the behavior too but I already had the m performance rear spoiler. The splitter added more down force which was most apparent during cornering and lane changes. I later changed out the m performance spoiler for a wing lip style. I was pleasantly surprised with additional rear end grip straight line acceleration and cornering at highway speeds. It's amazing how aerodynamics effects the car. Apparently, each part changes the dynamics of how the car handles. My front splitter is made by Lightweight and is heavier than the m performance splitter. The rear wing lip is a must have on rear wheel if you like the looks.

[nazali]

the splitter is "splitting the air, making it cut through faster, but I would have thought the effect is only at higher speeds or tracking... how fast are you driving on public road my good man

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

I need to get a trunk lip/spoiler for my car. Now that I have the front splitter installed I am feeling floatiness in the rear end when accelerating hard and braking hard. There is also a side to side pulling feeling at times. Apparently the note from BMW saying "only use the front splitter in conjunction with the M Performance spoiler" was for good reason not just marketing speak to sell more things?

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by nazali

the splitter is "splitting the air, making it cut through faster, but I would have thought the effect is only at higher speeds or tracking... how fast are you driving on public road my good man

I noticed the behavior change quickly accelerating up to 65/70 on a large highway. Back in my 20's I would drive at higher speeds. I promise I wasn't going crazy.

I don't know what else this behavior would be from. Tire pressures are the same, tuning settings were the same, temps the same. I'm assuming it's the splitter since that has been the only change.

[nazali]

next step would then be the spoiler !

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

I noticed the behavior change quickly accelerating up to 65/70 on a large highway. Back in my 20's I would drive at higher speeds. I promise I wasn't going crazy.

I don't know what else this behavior would be from. Tire pressures are the same, tuning settings were the same, temps the same. I'm assuming it's the splitter since that has been the only change.

[nazali]

sounds like some things only come in pairs, you know like "Hookers and Coke"

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

I noticed the behavior change quickly accelerating up to 65/70 on a large highway. Back in my 20's I would drive at higher speeds. I promise I wasn't going crazy.

I don't know what else this behavior would be from. Tire pressures are the same, tuning settings were the same, temps the same. I'm assuming it's the splitter since that has been the only change.

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by nazali

sounds like some things only come in pairs, you know like "Hookers and Coke"

So I've heard.......if you're going to have 1 one of those things you might as well have both

[atek]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

Trying to pin down a slight wheel rotational vibration mostly only noticeable at 75-80mph. I removed my spacers and it helped with approx. 50% reduction in shaking but they weren't the source. I think maybe a wheel may have thrown a weight or a bearing is on the way out.

These cars with EPS and shorter wheelbase are hard to tell if the vibration is coming from the front or back wheels. I don't do a lot of highway driving so it's not a huge deal. Winter tires will be going on in a couple more months so will hopefully narrow down the source away from the wheels themselves.

I have this same issue, and I also know I have a bent wheel. You may also have a bent wheel. Look closely.

[marksandygill]

Originally Posted by atek

I have this same issue, and I also know I have a bent wheel. You may also have a bent wheel. Look closely.

Hmm I have the same, again above 70mph, had the wheels aligned when I got the car and it's still there! Can I check myself if the wheel is bent?!

[freakystyly]

Originally Posted by marksandygill

Hmm I have the same, again above 70mph, had the wheels aligned when I got the car and it's still there! Can I check myself if the wheel is bent?!

Not sure, if yours is AWD from the tag.. all 4 wheels in the air and put a brick on the gas? Please don't do that... But if RWD you could jack up a front corner and spin by hand.

I'm going to wait until my winter tires go on to investigate further. The vibration seems to have gone down in severity but I also might just be getting used to it.

It seemed to start after an alignment (at the dealer) so maybe the unworn areas were being evened out or something.

[atek]

Originally Posted by marksandygill

Hmm I have the same, again above 70mph, had the wheels aligned when I got the car and it's still there! Can I check myself if the wheel is bent?!

Sure, jack up the car, pull of the wheel 1 at a time and roll it around on the ground with your hands. pay attention to the rim edge/tire bead. look for any abnormalities / deformations or if the wheel simply looks out-of-round.

You can also do it with the wheel on the car, and use the strut as your straight-edge to measure against.

[Kemps2Fast]

I did this about two months ago. But after owning 230i, M240i, and M2C, I finally pulled the trigger on my dream car. I will be back someday, two fam <3

[atek]

Recently installed 10mm spacers all around. Really helped set off the stance, and compliments the drop!





....Yes, my hood is damaged.

[pdx]

installed these label-less visors after watching this howto video. 5 minutes total.

after looking at the gloriousness, i couldn't help but want to hug the PaddleShifterz crew. they usually don't carry the visors, but the sourced them because i asked.

[freakystyly]

Originally Posted by pdx

installed these label-less visors after watching this howto video. 5 minutes total.

after looking at the gloriousness, i couldn't help but want to hug the PaddleShifterz crew. they usually don't carry the visors, but the sourced them because i asked.

Alcohol compound with a high percentage will remove the visor stickers if you prefer the cheaper route. There may be some residue or unevenness leftover though. That's what I ended up doing anyways.

[Ajowhan]

Today I reset my trip odometer at 65213.1 miles!

[230iZTR]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

Can't speak for every car but spoilers and splitters should only be barely noticeable at high speeds (track/illegal highway) and not city road speeds.

Maybe Msendit can chime in on his findings with that massive GT wing.

I'm not msendit, but I can confirm that heading into Turn 1 at Thunderhill East at 120mph there's a ton more confidence with a splitter and wing. I would assume it makes an even more pronounced difference at a track like Big Willow where a fast car can hit 150+ mph.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by 230iZTR

I'm not msendit, but I can confirm that heading into Turn 1 at Thunderhill East at 120mph there's a ton more confidence with a splitter and wing. I would assume it makes an even more pronounced difference at a track like Big Willow where a fast car can hit 150+ mph.

Motorsport-level downforce will make a difference well down into double digit speeds. I enjoyed this after buying an SM203 wing from the English constructor DJ Engineering for use on an E36 M3 time trial car – https://www.djracecars.com/wings.

We barely made that wing work running it flat (0°). Creating sufficient front downforce to balance it took a lot of time and testing. The E36 wasn't a very flexible platform in that regard. The last card we had to play was going to be running the wing negative at up to -1.5°. Afterwards, it was clear that the SM183 wing would have been a more appropriate choice.

I'd run a couple of the standard wings on offer and had found they didn't give me what I wanted. These are the wings that come with uprights, end plates, and typically bolt to your trunk lid.

We bought the wing's end plates from DJ, and the shop made uprights that placed the wing where we wanted it. The uprights ran through the trunk lid and were bolted to the rear subframe. There was absolutely no flex in the assembly.

It had been explained to me that the wing should be mounted such that it could be used to push the car around. On the other end, the splitter was required to be mounted firmly enough that it should have no deflection when hundreds of pounds were applied to it, whether from downforce at speed or from having three people standing on it to test to see if it would remain flat.

Below are some photos.

DJ Engineering SM203 End-Plate Mounting Surface


DJ Engineering SM203 Mounted with Decklid in Place


DJ Engineering SM203 Mounted with Decklid Removed


DJ Engineering SM203 Upright Trunk Support Structure


DJ Engineering SM203 Upright Trunk Support Structure Rear Attachment Points Closeup


Depth-Adjustable MDO Splitter

[msendit]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

Can't speak for every car but spoilers and splitters should only be barely noticeable at high speeds (track/illegal highway) and not city road speeds.

Maybe Msendit can chime in on his findings with that massive GT wing.

Oh hai, yes, downforce is real. There's been thousands of textbooks written about it, that's not exactly a radical statement.

What speed can you notice ... depends on how much you crank up your wing/splitter. You sometimes see autocrosers (think 20-30 mph) with wings cranked up at 20 degrees angle-of-attack, presumably that makes a difference -- although there's no free lunch, it will be a draggy parachute at 80 mph.

In a competitive environment, we do lots of testing to set a reasonable AoA. But yea, it can easily make a 0-5 mph difference in corners as slow as 60-70.

Whether it makes sense on the street / doing hard lane changes / whatever is a different question. Of course not. If you're only using 5% of the available traction, sure you can add 10% to the limit. Congrats, now you're using 4.5% of the available traction.

[JMcLellan]

I'm a big fan of the Meguiars Mirror Glaze product. It took about an hour to apply to my car. Shined it up really nice.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Mirr...79512156&psc=1

[pdx]

installed the Carbonex hood latch. if you can use a Phillips-head screwdriver you can install one. when i took it out of the box it seemed impossibly big and it had a nice heft in the hand. when i pull it, it feels like i am throwing an old-skool breaker in an a mad-scientist lab.

[AmuroRay]

RK Tunes front mount intake. It isn't as loud as I thought - but good IAT control and torque.