[abp689]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Well, I've officially changed my order to 6MT. Time to practice every chance that I get over the next 6-7 weeks!

You will thank yourself in short order for the change! MT is the best option on the list.

[samo1211]

I am excited for you and cant wait to order mine this December, i just have one question, when you spoke to the dealer did they have an option to have parts of the interior carbon fiber, because the one i spoke to told me they don't yet but most likely will by December? thanks

[EternalVendetta]

Thanks guys! I'm still ~6 weeks out from my ED date, and I've already ridiculously annoyed my wife with the amount of time I spend on this site, watching M235i YouTube videos, and generally talking about our trip!

I didn't have the option of adding on any M Performance bits, but I think that's only because this is a European Delivery. I imagine you'd be able discuss those things as part of your purchase for domestic orders, as the parts will be the same parts from previous model years, but someone else may have more insight into this. Good luck either way!

No one ask for this, but in case this will actually be helpful for prospective buyers, this is what I'll be buying to go with the car:

Exterior
- Winter wheels from TireRack
- M Performance kidney grilles
- IND black side mirror caps
- IND color-matched front reflectors
- XPel Ultimate on full hood, front bumper, fenders, mirrors, headlights and fogs, rear wheel impact area
- Opti-Coat Pro
- US Millworks towhook plate mount with quick-release (NJ requires a front plate )

Interior
- M Performance shifter
- M Performance parking brake
- M Performance stainless steel pedals
- BMW carpet liners (manufactured by WeatherTech)
- WeatherTech cargo liner

[VolTekka]

Can't wait to see it man. You're gonna have a blast in DE!
Let us know what you decided to go with for your winter set up; still thinking about my options for the coming months.
And if you haven't made arrangements already, make sure you get your CA to do you a solid and have him throw in the M-Perf. grills on them!

[EternalVendetta]

Originally Posted by VolTekka

Can't wait to see it man. You're gonna have a blast in DE!
Let us know what you decided to go with for your winter set up; still thinking about my options for the coming months.
And if you haven't made arrangements already, make sure you get your CA to do you a solid and have him throw in the M-Perf. grills on them!

Thanks! I'll see about the grilles - I think I'm already getting a pretty decent deal already, but I'll mention that I'm interested in them at least when I go to the dealership in a few weeks to formally sign the papers.

I've been practicing manual a bit, and I'm feeling pretty decently now about driving well enough to get around Germany during our trip; the big trips will really just be Munich to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Munich, which I imagine is mostly just straightforward highway driving.

My main worry at this point is the possibility of stalling when I take my victory lap in the Welt with people watching. To cruise slowly around, do I just lightly let off on the clutch past the catch point while in 1st? I read that you often don't even need gas to get going in cars with high-torque engines.

[opfreak]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Thanks! I'll see about the grilles - I think I'm already getting a pretty decent deal already, but I'll mention that I'm interested in them at least when I go to the dealership in a few weeks to formally sign the papers.

I've been practicing manual a bit, and I'm feeling pretty decently now about driving well enough to get around Germany during our trip; the big trips will really just be Munich to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Munich, which I imagine is mostly just straightforward highway driving.

My main worry at this point is the possibility of stalling when I take my victory lap in the Welt with people watching. To cruise slowly around, do I just lightly let off on the clutch past the catch point while in 1st? I read that you often don't even need gas to get going in cars with high-torque engines.

even with low torque engines if you do it slow enough you can get them to go.

[VolTekka]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Thanks! I'll see about the grilles - I think I'm already getting a pretty decent deal already, but I'll mention that I'm interested in them at least when I go to the dealership in a few weeks to formally sign the papers.

I've been practicing manual a bit, and I'm feeling pretty decently now about driving well enough to get around Germany during our trip; the big trips will really just be Munich to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Munich, which I imagine is mostly just straightforward highway driving.

My main worry at this point is the possibility of stalling when I take my victory lap in the Welt with people watching. To cruise slowly around, do I just lightly let off on the clutch past the catch point while in 1st? I read that you often don't even need gas to get going in cars with high-torque engines.

I kind of wish I did what you're doing. I envy you haha.
Funny enough, it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to put it in drive when I first got in. So embarassing lol.

[EternalVendetta]

I'm about 16 days from my first ED and first BMW, and I'm happy to report that I've gotten in enough practice with a friend's MT WRX that I now feel pretty good about driving my first MT car around Germany! With an MT car I'm not necessarily the first car off of the line like I generally am with my current AT car, but that'll improve with time (I hope!).

I also got my first car-related stuff in the mail last week - winter wheels from Tire Rack. After lots of research, I ended up with square Michelin X-Ice XI3 215/50-17's on cheap Monte Titano MT2's. I was going to go with BBS SR's, but I couldn't say no to the $89/rim that Tire Rack was clearancing out the MT2's in matte titanium for.

Here's a link to the rims:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...taggered+Tires

They do still have the bright satin MT2 wheels on sale for $103/rim, in case anyone's interested.

I also finally made it to the BMW dealership this past weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they worked with a local bank to get me a lower financing rate over a longer term than I thought I was getting. The business manager that I worked with on paperwork also advised me to not go with a clear bra since I plan to keep the car for over 5 years, saying that they don't look so good after 5 years or so.

I think I still plan to cover the front end in Xpel Ultimate (plus Opti-Coat over the whole car), but I'm going to take a look over Xpel's 10-year warranty to see what it really does cover. I'm still undecided on which mirror cover replacements I'm going to go with; I want the OEM CF caps but may end up going with black caps for $300 less, plus I hopefully won't feel like I need a CF spoiler to complete the CF look.

On a more interesting note, I also got to finally test-drive an M235i! Yes, I ordered one sight unseen, which is rather crazy, in retrospect. I think I was actually slightly underwhelmed afterward, but I'm pretty sure it's because we mostly drove around local roads with relatively low speed limits and because I was ridiculously gentle with the accelerator. I might have also been in Eco Pro mode - I forgot to check that. I'll be moving on from a 2001 Maxima that I've driven for the past 13 years, so I'm still pretty confident that the car will 'wow' me once my wife and I take it to the Autobahn.

[crbalch]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Well, I've officially changed my order to 6MT. Time to practice every chance that I get over the next 6-7 weeks!

I ordered 6MT in my 135i and have driven manual all my life, but this time around I went with the Auto because of Chicago traffic.

I consider myself quite good at shifting, but for some reason 1st to 2nd gear ALWAYS results in a jerky motion in my 1...did not want to deal with that in my 235.

Either way you cant go wrong, just my two cents!

[EternalVendetta]

Originally Posted by crbalch

I ordered 6MT in my 135i and have driven manual all my life, but this time around I went with the Auto because of Chicago traffic.

I consider myself quite good at shifting, but for some reason 1st to 2nd gear ALWAYS results in a jerky motion in my 1...did not want to deal with that in my 235.

Either way you cant go wrong, just my two cents!

Yeah, I was set on the AT for a while but eventually convinced myself that I'd never get a MT car if I didn't do it now - there may be even fewer models available with a manual 7+ years from now when I'm in the market again for a car, and I'm not sure that I'd want to make the switch to MT in my mid-to-late 30's. I'd probably have stuck with the AT if I had to deal with heavy traffic all of the time.

[crbalch]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Yeah, I was set on the AT for a while but eventually convinced myself that I'd never get a MT car if I didn't do it now - there may be even fewer models available with a manual 7+ years from now when I'm in the market again for a car, and I'm not sure that I'd want to make the switch to MT in my mid-to-late 30's. I'd probably have stuck with the AT if I had to deal with heavy traffic all of the time.

Yeah I've had manual for 12 years (started off at 15 learning for my permit), so I think I have had my fill haha.

Cant wait to get the new car, going to be a long few months though!

Good luck on ED, sounds like it'll be awesome!

[mpizutti]

Good luck my car just got off the boat yesterday

[EternalVendetta]

Originally Posted by mpizutti

Good luck my car just got off the boat yesterday

Congrats! I'm just 4 hours away from meeting my car!

[mpizutti]

here was my car they are almost the same mine is xdrive ALSO

IF YOU GET THE CHANCE DRIVE THE STELVIO PASS IN ITALY..ITS A MUST

HAVE FUN!!!!

[EternalVendetta]

Originally Posted by mpizutti

here was my car they are almost the same mine is xdrive ALSO

IF YOU GET THE CHANCE DRIVE THE STELVIO PASS IN ITALY..ITS A MUST

HAVE FUN!!!!

Sweet pics - thanks for sharing!

My wife and I just picked up the car yesterday, and it's still pretty surreal that it's my new car. We drove to Wiesbaden over 250 miles away right after leaving the Welt, and it was ridiculously awesome pushing the car on the open sections of the Autobahn; I didn't go past 120 mph, as I was trying to keep below 4000 RPM, and even then I had a smile on my face the whole time.

The ED experience is also everything that people have said it is. Unless I have an absolutely terrible ownership experience with this car, there will be more EDs in our future.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

I didn't go past 120 mph, as I was trying to keep below 4000 RPM

Congrats! We will be there next week to pick ours up. I thought the speed limit during the break in period was 100 mph :-)

[EternalVendetta]

Originally Posted by shark715

Congrats! We will be there next week to pick ours up. I thought the speed limit during the break in period was 100 mph :-)

Thanks! My delivery specialist only mentioned to keep it within 4500 rpm; I tried to stay within 4000 rpm to be safe. . I figured that I'll likely never be able to stomp on the gas quite like this ever again, so I just had to do it!

I hope you have a great time next week!

[shark715]

Originally Posted by EternalVendetta

Thanks! My delivery specialist only mentioned to keep it within 4500 rpm; I tried to stay within 4000 rpm to be safe. . I figured that I'll likely never be able to stomp on the gas quite like this ever again, so I just had to do it!

I hope you have a great time next week!

I don't blame you are all, and I know I am going to be enticed to do the same, but the following is from the owners manual:
Breaking-in period
General information
Moving parts need time to adjust to one another
(break-in time).
The following instructions will help accomplish
a long vehicle life and good efficiency.
During break-in, do not use the Launch Control,
refer to page 78.
Engine, transmission, and axle drive
Up to 1,200 miles/2,000 km
Do not exceed the maximum engine and road
speed:
▷ For gasoline engine 4,500 rpm and
100 mph/160 km/h.
Avoid full load or kickdown under all circumstances.
From 1,200 miles/2,000 km
The engine and vehicle speed can gradually be
increased.
Tires
Tire traction is not optimal due to manufacturing
circumstances when tires are brand-new;
they achieve their full traction potential after a
break-in time.
Drive conservatively for the first
200 miles/300 km.
Brake system
Brakes require an initial break-in period of approx.
300 miles/500 km to achieve optimal performance
between brake discs and brake
pads. Drive moderately during this break-in period.
Clutch
The function of the clutch reaches its optimal
level only after a distance driven of approx.
300 miles/500 km. During this break-in period,
engage the clutch gently.

[EternalVendetta]

Thanks for sharing this. I skimmed through the whole owner's manual during my trip, and I did read the blurb below. That's why I didn't stay at that speed for very long.

The car's on the Asian Emperor now, and I think it's supposed to arrive in Newark before the end of the month. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for it to arrive at my dealership to be picked up following that milestone!

[M235I_PA]

As far as I can tell the Asian Emperor has been moored in Bremerhaven and is 2 days late (Marine Traffic and Webcam).

[mpizutti]

Originally Posted by M235I_PA

As far as I can tell the Asian Emperor has been moored in Bremerhaven and is 2 days late (Marine Traffic and Webcam).

Hey are u in PA also??

[EternalVendetta]

I got my car back on Friday! I had dropped it off in Munich about one month back during my ED, so it only took a month or so to get back to me in NJ. Thanks to great DIY guides on Bimmerpost and Bimmefest, I was able to install the following bits yesterday:

- CF mirror caps, rear spoiler and rear diffuser from RW Carbon: some of the top tabs on the diffuser were very off - had to sand a few of them quite a bit to get the diffuser to fit in the tabs. It took quite a bit of force to get the diffuser in, as people had previously reported. I also had two tabs on one of the new mirror caps break off during the install; hopefully RW Carbon can help me out with that
- M Performance shifter and parking brake: people weren't kidding when they warned that it'd be difficult to get the OEM shifter off! These were relatively easy installs otherwise
-M Performance black kidney grilles: this install was rather painful. I loosened the front bumper and used my hands to get the tabs on one of the grilles loose; my arm just barely fit in the space behind the bumper to get to the side and bottom tabs. Make sure you take off the second grille before inserting the first replacement!
- BMS short-throw clutch stop: I broke the OEM clutch stop when trying to remove it. Luckily it's like a $0.70 part, in case I decide to revert back to it someday
- Rubber mats: this was about the only thing that I thought was really easy, and even then there was some light cutting that I wasn't expecting?

Only one (bad) pic for now - it hasn't been too sunny here, and I still need to install the M Performance pedals (not looking forward to that); plus I'll be getting Xpel and OptiCoat done in a week or so (will install IND front reflector deletes afterward, as my detailer asked me to wait on that install), so I won't be taking the car out much for now. I'll follow up with better pics afterward.