[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by p912guy

True confessions, lately I've been lurking on the M4 and Porsche Boxster 718 forums dreaming about my "next" car. Then yesterday we had our first "top down" day and I was reminded of why I fell in love with my m235i vert as I found my self thinking, damn, this really is a great car. As I drove home from work last night, top down, sun shining, aviators on, 70's on 7 blasting tunes (what can I say, I'm old), running the revs to 5K, rolling through the gears I found wasn't annoyed with the traffic or the commute. When I stopped at the local Staples to drop off a toner cartridge for recycling as I walked to the store I did the "look back" and thought YES. While I think an M4 vert or Boxster is still in my future, with more days like yesterday ahead of me, I am perfectly content to rack up the miles full of smiles with my Bimmer. It was a good day.

This will be the first car, I keep for 10+ years. Gives me everything I want in a car, and more.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

This will be the first car, I keep for 10+ years. Gives me everything I want in a car, and more.

Same here. I've never thought about keeping a car beyond 2-3 years before.

Picking up a used X5 tomorrow for winter tank duties, between the two I should be good for quite some time.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Same here. I've never thought about keeping a car beyond 2-3 years before.

Picking up a used X5 tomorrow for winter tank duties, between the two I should be good for quite some time.

It's a great feeling, being content

I used to be in a new car every 6-12 months, lost so much money... I gave VW/Audi a good run, but the BMW hit home with the i6T, 6MT, RWD, LSD coupe combo.

[awpatterson217]

I replaced the chrome grill with a new black one. Looks much more aggressive!

[emtrey]

Originally Posted by p912guy

True confessions, lately I've been lurking on the M4 and Porsche Boxster 718 forums dreaming about my "next" car. Then yesterday we had our first "top down" day and I was reminded of why I fell in love with my m235i vert as I found my self thinking, damn, this really is a great car. As I drove home from work last night, top down, sun shining, aviators on, 70's on 7 blasting tunes (what can I say, I'm old), running the revs to 5K, rolling through the gears I found I wasn't annoyed with the traffic or the commute. When I stopped at the local Staples to drop off a toner cartridge for recycling as I walked to the store I did the "look back" and thought YES. While I think an M4 vert or Boxster is still in my future, with more days like yesterday ahead of me, I am perfectly content to rack up the miles full of smiles with my Bimmer. It was a good day.

Amazing what a long time coming nice day can do to change our moods.
I drove my 911 to get a haircut yesterday. I never drive that car to run such pedestrian errands but spring fever took over. Of course, here in Chi town it lasted till 3 pm and went down to 40. My wife grilled steaks anyway.

ps. You aren't old . I listen to 60s on 6 and the Beatles channel. That's OLD.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by ggggbmw

Did the SCCA Land O'Lakes PDX driving event (Sunday). It was ~15 degrees at the start, and snowing in the afternoon. So, I did the event on my snow tires. Only took 1mm of rubber off, so not too bad. The snows sure impacted the braking, so I wasn't pushing it too hard. Still, really glad I flushed the brakes and put in some Motul 600 the day before.

Even with the cold and snow, I had a blast. Here's a clip of my fastest two laps. Just before the snow started. First time with the GoPro, so I have some work to do on the video side. This wasn't a timed event, so I was using M Laptimer to keep track of things.

https://youtu.be/naCDfBoie-k

gggg, what is that accelerometer app you have running on the screen and how did you get that?!?

[bankshk]

Originally Posted by emtrey

Amazing what a long time coming nice day can do to change our moods.
I drove my 911 to get a haircut yesterday. I never drive that car to run such pedestrian errands but spring fever took over. Of course, here in Chi town it lasted till 3 pm and went down to 40. My wife grilled steaks anyway.

ps. You aren't old . I listen to 60s on 6 and the Beatles channel. That's OLD.

I am fortunate to get to drive to a lot of cars in my line of work. Yesterday I spent half a day with a Maserati Granturismo MC Sport. The sound was incredible but otherwise it was very underwhelming. Yes, there are better cars out there than our 2er but for me, my m235i is the best "dollar per smile" value. I absolutely love this little f**ker.!!

[Bmw Fan M240i]

Originally Posted by awpatterson217

I replaced the chrome grill with a new black one. Looks much more aggressive!

How easy are the grills to remove? I want to change but don’t want to damage the silver ones as I want to sell them, the dealer said the clips may snap as they have to yank them out?

[mfan225]

Cleaned and vacuumed the interior, conditioned the leather, cleaned the glass, and switched out the rubber floor mats for the carpet ones.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by emtrey

ps. You aren't old . I listen to 60s on 6 and the Beatles channel. That's OLD.

40s on 4, and I wasn't even born then.....old soul!

Is Sing, Sing, Sing not the best piece of music ever written? Even on a base sound system!

[awpatterson217]

Originally Posted by Bmw Fan M240i

How easy are the grills to remove? I want to change but don’t want to damage the silver ones as I want to sell them, the dealer said the clips may snap as they have to yank them out?

To be honest I found them pretty difficult to remove. If you didn't know, you can accomplish it one of three ways: unscrewing the top of the bumper and reaching in, manufacturing some kind of tool to release the clips from the outside, or break one and then reach in to release the other. I tried making all kinds of tools by bending silverware and wrapping them with electrical tape. I even bought some tools from Walmart (Screwdriver like, but tips replaced with different shaped hooks), but to no avail.

I think the best way to remove the first grill, is to unscrew the top of the bumper. It's actually really, really easy to do. The hard part is reaching in to release the clips.

I unscrewed the top of the bumper the exact same way as this guy did:

There are plenty of clips to guide the bumper back into place, the whole process is seriously easy. When you are releasing the clips, particularly the first couple, you have to kind of pull the grill away from the car to keep the clips detached. It might be seriously frustrating at first but keep at it. Once you get a couple removed it becomes much easier.

The second grill is much easier, just reach in after removing the first.

Also, the stock grills are in perfect condition. It was easy not to damage them throughout the process. No clips were broken.

This tutorial is really good:

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by Bmw Fan M240i

How easy are the grills to remove? I want to change but don’t want to damage the silver ones as I want to sell them, the dealer said the clips may snap as they have to yank them out?

It's easy. There are a couple of videos to watch as you should know where the clips are. Mine came out no problem with the new ones in and done in 15 minutes. The hardest thing will be to start.

///Rich

[p912guy]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

40s on 4, and I wasn't even born then.....old soul!

Is Sing, Sing, Sing not the best piece of music ever written? Even on a base sound system!

Guess I am old soul too. My Sirius/XM rotation includes 70's of 7, 60's on 6, Sinatra and Margaritaville with the occasional stops at ESPN, CNN, MSNBC and NPR for news and sports. And yes, Sing, Sing, Sing is amazing along with Rhapsody In Blue, An American in Paris and anything Sinatra did with Billy May, Count Basie or Nelson Riddle.

[Ron Jeffries]

I'm older than any two of you and listen to Beatles, The Bridge (mostly), Margaritaville, Sinatra, Bluesville. Recently was listening to the hall of fame channel (4), and god save me to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Used to love Sing, Sing, Sing with the Krupa solo, haven't heard it for years. Maybe I'll ask the HomePod to play it.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

I'm older than any two of you and listen to Beatles, The Bridge (mostly), Margaritaville, Sinatra, Bluesville. Recently was listening to the hall of fame channel (4), and god save me to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Used to love Sing, Sing, Sing with the Krupa solo, haven't heard it for years. Maybe I'll ask the HomePod to play it.

Turn this up while driving and see how you feel....and watch what happens to your right foot!

[Ronco]

Bought a '15 CPO M235iX - to keep my '02 330Ci company.

[emtrey]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Turn this up while driving and see how you feel....and watch what happens to your right foot!

CLASSIC....thanks for reminding me of this amazing piece of music.

[2 Lover]

Finally, I’ve done all exterior mods that I planned.

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by 2 Lover

Finally, I’ve done all exterior mods that I planned.

Awesome! Looks great.

[ggggbmw]

Originally Posted by harma24

gggg, what is that accelerometer app you have running on the screen and how did you get that?!?

This is the M Laptimer app. For the price (free), it is awesome. It runs on an iPhone (not sure if there is an android version) that is plugged into the USB port. The G reading is actually using the phone accelerometers. Uses phone GPS also. It pulls a lot of other data (speed, rpm, steering, gear, throttle, brake, fuel) from the car. It will also control a GoPro. You also need the Connected Apps option in your iDrive.

Best part is that it is all controlled from the iDrive screen once you launch the app on your phone. You can preview the GoPro, see the G readings, and most importantly, start/stop it with the iDrive control. All while your phone is tucked in the armrest. (I hacked a little foam cradle for the phone so it wouldn't slide around and give more consistent G readings.)

Only downside is that you can't export the data for use with video apps like RaceRender. (At least not easily, supposedly possible, but it takes work.)

For the price it compares favorably to apps like Harry's Lap Timer. It does a lot of the same stuff, and gives you some good insights. Dedicated tools are better, but they do cost more.

[SlickShift]

I installed a Dinan midpipe to my M Performance exhaust. The stupid rental exhaust pipe cutter from Autozone wasn't cutting it (literally) so I had to get the sawzall out. I haven't had much time to drive it after the install but I didn't notice too much of a difference during my short drive around the block. Hoping I didn't just waste a couple hundred bucks.

[harma24]

Drove passed the 36,000 mile mark. No more warranty period for me.