[BentZero]

I name all of the cars that I care about and they all have the same name: Zero. Some people will get that reference. Anyway, I wanted to start a build thread just to chronicle my build. I plan on taking my time with this car mainly because I have a family of 4 to take care of as well. The car will receive discretionary funds. Hopefully this will help other people looking to do something similar. Overall I think it'll take me about 2 years to get Zero where I'd like him to be. I've waited 5 years to find the right car for me, so I'm sure that the wait won't kill me.

Here's Zero as he's been ordered today. I'll update this first post as well as post new entries in the thread. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

12/14/15
After a lot of back and forth I finally got the dealer down to $43,299 from $46,905. I think i could have done better, but whatever. I didn't want too many of the packages, but I do wish that a rear camera were standard like it is on 99% of new cars these days. Here's my build though. It's pretty sparse compared to most builds I guess.

Mineral White Metallic
Black SensaTec
Fineline Stream wood trim with Oxide Silver matte accent
Cold Weather Package
18" double-spoke orbit grey 436M wheels w/ non-runflat mixed summer tires
Black Kidney Grilles
M Performance Side sill decals

Here's a link to the configurator

Mod list
BMS Short Throw Clutch Stop
Xpel Ultimate
iSaddle Bluetooth OBDII dongle
Suntek CXP tint
Injen Intake
Plastidip
Carbon fiber mirror caps
LED front blinker bulbs
LED reverse bulbs
Clear front reflectors
Fabspeed Valvetronic cat-back exhaust system
IND gloss black painted rear emblems
AFE Magnum intake air scoop
Weathertech Extreme Duty Digital Fit Floor Liners
Active Autowerke 8 piggyback tune (removed)
Bootmod3

[BentZero]

Well, I thought that I could be patient, but it appears that I could not be haha. I went ahead and ordered my first mod. During my test drive I noticed that the clutch travel was a bit long. It didn't help that I saw people complaining about this before I took a test drive. Anyway, I ordered this and figured that it's just a $10 part, so I wouldn't lose too much if the deal falls through. I like the fact that it's adjustable.

BMS Short Throw Clutch Stop

[Hemisedan]

Zero, I can't believe just how close our builds are to each other. Mine's Mineral Gray and I deleted the moonroof, but that's about it.
m235i Mineral Gray
black Sensatek interior
Orbit wheels mixed PSS Michelins
Port Install
LSD
M Performance interior trim
M Performance Exhaust
After market
Carbon Fibre mirror covers
" " Shark Fin antennae
" " Roof Wrap
IND M grille trim in body color'
" body color door lock cover
" " " side marker cover

Wheels Apex Aero 7 wheels in 8" and 9" widths
WeatherTech floor liners

That's about it, it'll probably take a onto or so to get all this installed on the car after getting it back to Iowa.

So, that's my little beast.

[BentZero]

Nice build man! Ours are very similar. Think I'm going to go with an AWE exhaust. It's probably louder than I want, but man does it sound good. At least from the YouTube videos I've watched lol.

After a decade, yes a decade, of being the self-sacrificing practical family man I decided that it's time to rekindle my love of cars. I'll probably take my time with the build and do as much of it myself as I can.

I'm thinking about buying a lift at some point and restoring a car my boys though. Maybe a 2002?

[SteveInfante]

I hope you know where European Road and Racing is. Karl is the best.

[BentZero]

Thanks for the heads up! I was wondering who I should get to do work on my car when the time comes.

[SteveInfante]

I will be going down there to have him work on my 2 once the mods start happening. He's a very accomplished race car driver as well as mechanic. It's family owned. Really great people.

[BentZero]

Kentucky Highway pulled into Baltimore, MD with Zero on board. I'm going to assume that Zero was unloaded here as well.

[BentZero]

Actually, I think that the Brunswick, GA VDC is the likely destination for Zero. Kentucky Highway is sitting at the port now as I type. Unfortunately I cannot find a web cam near the port.

[BentZero]

Wrong again. Had I looked up Kentucky Highway's schedule I would have noticed that it's final destination before heading back over to Germany was Charleston, SC. Since I live in Charleston I was able to shuffle my kids into the car and take a look at the KH myself and in person. It's an old ship. She must have hundreds of deliveries under her belt.

To think that I was merely yards away from Zero today......I'll see it soon. 24 days now until 3/9/16. Can't wait.

[SteveInfante]

Exciting news. I hope they get you your prize soon.

[BentZero]

Hemisedan and I went to the performance center to pick up our prizes. Here's Zero I'm stock form. Beautiful car. I ordered the mineral white even though I hadn't actually seen it on a 2 series. I honestly thought that I could have made a mistake, but it was too late to change the color. I'm glad that I didn't. I love it. The black rims, kidney grills and side sill decals provide a nice contrast to the white. The metallic color really pops in the sun. The car is currently in the shop getting a partial Xpel install done. Can't wait for the drive home. Parts are on the way and will meet me at home too.

[SteveInfante]

Congrats!!! I know you've been waiting patiently, somewhat, for a while now. Enjoy the ride.

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by SteveInfante

Congrats!!! I know you've been waiting patiently, somewhat, for a while now. Enjoy the ride.

The full wait from wanting a 3 series, to almost buying one (had papers in hand), to wanting the 2er and getting it is 3.5 years. Typically I research/procrastinate/waffle for two years.

[SteveInfante]

Dang remind me to never ask you what you want from the store.

[BentZero]

Been with Zero for about a week now. On day one I had the Xpel Ultimate installed and I'm very glad that I did so. On the drive home my car was littered with bugs on the front bumper and front part of the hood. A simple rinse with the hose got 99.99% of them off. I had to lightly rub one spot to get the other .01% taken care of.

If I had to do it again I think I would spring for the full hood and fenders package. I kinda don't like seeing the line as I do now with my partial kit.

[BentZero]

Another quick mod that I added was the iSaddle Bluetooth OBDII dongle. It's a relatively cheap mod. A little over $25 when you take the $5 Torque app that I bought on my spare Galaxy S3 and the $7 magnetic air vent phone mount.

This is a pretty cool mod. I'm sure I could get more out of it, but I primarily use it to monitor oil temps. I try not to get on the car too hard until temps hit 200° Fahrenheit. This is mainly a concern after break-in.

The only downside is that this thing is always on and it's not a secure connection. Any dude with a Bluetooth device can connect to it. Not that this is a major concern, but still I usually unplug it when the car is parked. At some point I'm going to see if I can add a switch to the unit. That way I can keep it plugged in at all times with the option of turning it off. I just hope that Radio Shack stays open long enough for me to eventually make it over there lol.

Eventually I want to get a more integrated solution.

[BentZero]

Got tint installed today using Suntek CXP. 18% sides, 5% rear and 55% front. I wasn't sure about getting the windshield done, but I'm very glad that I did it. Glare is reduced and there's definitely a noticeable difference in heat inside of the car.

[BentZero]

Better angle

[SteveInfante]

Looks very nice. Just a word of advice from first hand experience, keep the sunroof shade open because when you are driving around in a cave the local LEO's will want to know why and will investigate. They also will assume you will just pay for the ticket. There's no way for them to measure the windshield so try and avoid the conversation if you get pulled over. If you can get a medical affidavit from your optometrist or medical doctor for light sensitivity then just keep that in your glove box. It's good for 2 years from the date it's signed.

I have the same tint specs as far as darkness although my windshield is 45% so a little darker.

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by SteveInfante

Looks very nice. Just a word of advice from first hand experience, keep the sunroof shade open because when you are driving around in a cave the local LEO's will want to know why and will investigate. They also will assume you will just pay for the ticket. There's no way for them to measure the windshield so try and avoid the conversation if you get pulled over. If you can get a medical affidavit from your optometrist or medical doctor for light sensitivity then just keep that in your glove box. It's good for 2 years from the date it's signed.

I have the same tint specs as far as darkness although my windshield is 45% so a little darker.

Yeah, I'm gonna call the doctor that did my corrective surgery and see if she'll give me that document.

I actually usually drive with all of the windows open. I just haven't been because I can't roll them down for 3 days. I'm going back to the shop to get the rear redone due to a scratch they put into the tint when installing it. I'm considering going up to 18% when they do it though. I drove around tonight and if you didn't have your lights on behind me I'm not going to see you. Also, I'd need to get LED reverse lights. Stock lights are no longer bright enough.

[SteveInfante]

I'm thinking of making mine lighter in the rear as well. I might just change it all to 25% and remove the windshield tint as I don't need it this dark anymore. I changed jobs and it's not worth worrying about for me. Yeah I will lose out of what I spent to tint it the first time but then again I won't run the risk of getting another tint ticket that equates to a misdemeanor in SC.