[Mleon]

Originally Posted by Mleon

Since getting my 2 series in April I've worked diligently on doing some small mods then started on some bigger mods through local companies !
(Did all small mods myself as it was rather easy to look up how to do it on YouTube)
So far I'm loving just LOOKING at it. When I'm at the bank or walking to it from the grocery store.
Even though it's nothing compared to LAs fancy Lambos and Bentleys, to me it's such a big Phoenix!!


Current smalls mods:
Removed 228i decal
Stock grill to glossy black grill
H7 stock bulbs to H7 LED Aukee bulbs
Door lights to shine the M symbol (M edition 2 series)
Side mirror caps to M edition black glossy caps
Turning signal side mirror lights to smoked out inside to out flash (rather than blinking)
Stock decal to carbon fiber blue and black decal
And threw in some blue LED floor lights and took out the stock ones

Big mod:
Stock rims to a glossy black finish
Calipers to royal blue to match the decal
And small valve caps to match calipers!


*still need to find LED park lights, as I took them out lol and looking for High bean LEDS H17, which is hard to find ANYWHERE.

*i want to just change them to the halo headlight kit but they're sold out where I would get them!
So anticipating that.

Next BIG one is:
Full body neon yellow matte finished wrap with a glossy black roof for that big sunroof finish

Next small is:
Seatbelts to a royal blue to match decal and calipers!

****will post more in addition to this post

This is in addition

[Mleon]

In addition since i cant post too many on one ugh

[Murf]

Final tweaks over the last few weeks and I think I am done (at least until my CPO warranty expires next summer).

JB Stage 1 and XHP tranny tune stage 2 - I have E85 available near me and I've been running E25 or so - car is fasssttt now, would think at least B58 levels if not a bit more. The XHP tune is another mod that I don't see discussed much here but really gives the car some edge. A steal at $350.

F30 335i headrests - $100/pair off ebay (used obviously). Seriously underrated mod these are much more comfortable than the stock nonadjustable ones.

Eton B100W speakers for front doors, JL C2 400x rear + center speaker disconnect (per recos from Nav forum) - This is a huge upgrade over stock and highly recommended for ~$425 total, if you have HK this is a must do mod.

Carbon fiber interior bits from the F87 (seller Mintmarmar on Ebay) - at $505 shipped this is a better deal than the M Performance bits - the only difference is the larger dash piece is full carbon and not alcantara.

Prior mods - carbon fiber caps off ebay, used M perf carbon spoiler, blacked out grills, 10mm spacers rear (helps with sunken look).

All in about $1600 in mods, any questions just let me know.

[Liandri]

Originally Posted by Murf

Final tweaks over the last few weeks and I think I am done (at least until my CPO warranty expires next summer).

Eton B100W speakers for front doors, JL C2 400x rear + center speaker disconnect (per recos from Nav forum) - This is a huge upgrade over stock and highly recommended for ~$425 total, if you have HK this is a must do mod.

Hey Murf, can you give a quick review of the changes in sound? Did you do much tuning with the factory bass/treble EQ? I am going to do the B100W fronts at some point, I noticed they have Eton B100N for the rear shelf. Any reason you went with JL on yours as opposed to using all Etons? Thanks!

[Murf]

Originally Posted by Liandri

Hey Murf, can you give a quick review of the changes in sound? Did you do much tuning with the factory bass/treble EQ? I am going to do the B100W fronts at some point, I noticed they have Eton B100N for the rear shelf. Any reason you went with JL on yours as opposed to using all Etons? Thanks!

So I basically followed the steps outlined here, right down to the sequence : https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1236238

Sound quality is soo subjective I wanted to see how each step sounded to "me" before committing to the next. First thing I did was disconnect the center dash - this def added to the soundstage a bit and was free.

Next I replaced the rears with the JLs - these are recommended b/c of price and quality (~130 a pair) - I don't know much about the car audio world but these are well reviewed and used in lots of upgrade paths. The impact of just the replacing the rear deck speakers was actually enormous... I would say a bass increase of at least 30-40 % and now it actually sounded like there were speakers in the back as opposed to nothing at all. Best statement might be that the car now felt "filled" with sound.

I drove around like this for 2 weeks and one shortcoming is it really makes you realize how bad and harsh the front HK's are..so I bit the bullet and ordered the Etons from Germany. ~240 off ebay and had them in 5 days - install took me 2 hours and was literally remove and snap in new speakers.

This last piece tied everything together - they do not have as much bass or sparkle as the JL but are very smooth - I kinda feel like this is what you want from a set of drivers right in your face - I have the fader 3 clicks to rear, treble +3 and bass -1 and everything sounds tight and LOUD with no distortion. The bass hits much much harder now as well.

You could drop the Etons in the rear and they would match but it's another $100 and the consensus was that for the back it was overkill. Now that I think about it that might make the entire system too refined as the JLs have decent thump and nice highs that reflect off the back window and really rounds out the total sound stage.

[BrettKA7]

Originally Posted by Murf

Final tweaks over the last few weeks and I think I am done (at least until my CPO warranty expires next summer).

JB Stage 1 and XHP tranny tune stage 2 - I have E85 available near me and I've been running E25 or so - car is fasssttt now, would think at least B58 levels if not a bit more. The XHP tune is another mod that I don't see discussed much here but really gives the car some edge. A steal at $350.

F30 335i headrests - $100/pair off ebay (used obviously). Seriously underrated mod these are much more comfortable than the stock nonadjustable ones.

Eton B100W speakers for front doors, JL C2 400x rear + center speaker disconnect (per recos from Nav forum) - This is a huge upgrade over stock and highly recommended for ~$425 total, if you have HK this is a must do mod.

Carbon fiber interior bits from the F87 (seller Mintmarmar on Ebay) - at $505 shipped this is a better deal than the M Performance bits - the only difference is the larger dash piece is full carbon and not alcantara.

Prior mods - carbon fiber caps off ebay, used M perf carbon spoiler, blacked out grills, 10mm spacers rear (helps with sunken look).

All in about $1600 in mods, any questions just let me know.

Looks fantastic! Do you have a close up of that 12v insert?

[Liandri]

Originally Posted by Murf

So I basically followed the steps outlined here, right down to the sequence : https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1236238

Sound quality is soo subjective I wanted to see how each step sounded to "me" before committing to the next. First thing I did was disconnect the center dash - this def added to the soundstage a bit and was free.

Next I replaced the rears with the JLs - these are recommended b/c of price and quality (~130 a pair) - I don't know much about the car audio world but these are well reviewed and used in lots of upgrade paths. The impact of just the replacing the rear deck speakers was actually enormous... I would say a bass increase of at least 30-40 % and now it actually sounded like there were speakers in the back as opposed to nothing at all. Best statement might be that the car now felt "filled" with sound.

I drove around like this for 2 weeks and one shortcoming is it really makes you realize how bad and harsh the front HK's are..so I bit the bullet and ordered the Etons from Germany. ~240 off ebay and had them in 5 days - install took me 2 hours and was literally remove and snap in new speakers.

This last piece tied everything together - they do not have as much bass or sparkle as the JL but are very smooth - I kinda feel like this is what you want from a set of drivers right in your face - I have the fader 3 clicks to rear, treble +3 and bass -1 and everything sounds tight and LOUD with no distortion. The bass hits much much harder now as well.

You could drop the Etons in the rear and they would match but it's another $100 and the consensus was that for the back it was overkill. Now that I think about it that might make the entire system too refined as the JLs have decent thump and nice highs that reflect off the back window and really rounds out the total sound stage.

Thank you! That's exactly the review I was looking for. I disconnected the center channel and found the LR separation so much better, now I'm really looking forward to replacing the speakers. It feels like the stock rears are non-existent to me too

[1triple5]

Put in a WeatherTech trunk liner. Cut out some holes to keep the cargo net that came with the car. Also installed a hook and a bungee cord to keep my box of construction stuff in place. Looks pretty clean in my opinion.

[Murf]

Originally Posted by BrettKA7

Looks fantastic! Do you have a close up of that 12v insert?

Ha that's my old Audi 12v power insert - shipping is ridiculous at this link but this is it..

https://www.ebay.com/i/174117854184?...hoCfgMQAvD_BwE

[BrettKA7]

Sometimes it's the little things. Replaced my junk aftermarket center caps with OEM 68mm center caps. Seeing the flush center caps is so satisfying.

[sauceonside]

Originally Posted by Murf

Final tweaks over the last few weeks and I think I am done (at least until my CPO warranty expires next summer).

JB Stage 1 and XHP tranny tune stage 2 - I have E85 available near me and I've been running E25 or so - car is fasssttt now, would think at least B58 levels if not a bit more. The XHP tune is another mod that I don't see discussed much here but really gives the car some edge. A steal at $350.

F30 335i headrests - $100/pair off ebay (used obviously). Seriously underrated mod these are much more comfortable than the stock nonadjustable ones.

Eton B100W speakers for front doors, JL C2 400x rear + center speaker disconnect (per recos from Nav forum) - This is a huge upgrade over stock and highly recommended for ~$425 total, if you have HK this is a must do mod.

Carbon fiber interior bits from the F87 (seller Mintmarmar on Ebay) - at $505 shipped this is a better deal than the M Performance bits - the only difference is the larger dash piece is full carbon and not alcantara.

Prior mods - carbon fiber caps off ebay, used M perf carbon spoiler, blacked out grills, 10mm spacers rear (helps with sunken look).

All in about $1600 in mods, any questions just let me know.

Love your mods. Curious about a couple things- do the headrests need to be from a 335 or any F30? Also would like to know more about the audio setup--I'd like to upgrade mine as well. Did you manage it yourself or in a shop? If there's another thread I should checkout for more details on the specific parts needed let me know. Great stuff.

[sauceonside]

Originally Posted by 1triple5

Put in a WeatherTech trunk liner. Cut out some holes to keep the cargo net that came with the car. Also installed a hook and a bungee cord to keep my box of construction stuff in place. Looks pretty clean in my opinion.

Looks great. What do you think of the mat? Worth the $120?

[Murf]

Originally Posted by sauceonside

Love your mods. Curious about a couple things- do the headrests need to be from a 335 or any F30? Also would like to know more about the audio setup--I'd like to upgrade mine as well. Did you manage it yourself or in a shop? If there's another thread I should checkout for more details on the specific parts needed let me know. Great stuff.

Thanks!

Headrests are anythign from the F30 family - there are a bunch on Ebay but I looked for a matched set - here is one listed right now for ~$100

https://ebay.to/2EkrVIL

The speakers are easy to find - I found both cheapest on Ebay but I think Amazon has them as well. Here is the 2addicts thread about these upgrades, it runs 30+ pages but all the info you need is in the first 10 or so.

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1236238

The only other thing I needed was these speaker wire connections that allow you to plug the new rear speakers into the existing car wiring without cutting anything. I think it was $15 for a set off Ebay again, it's all explained in the thread.

Install of the rears takes **maybe** 45-60 mins if you go slow (assuming you have a small wrench and the right torx bit). The doors were more involved but there are videos on Youtube that help a ton - took me 1 hour per side taking my time. Pretty straight forward once you get past the fear of breaking things. Everything is plug and play, just remove the old stuff and snap in the new. While the door speakers were out I also added a sheet of dynamat knockoff material to each speaker area (Amazon, $15).

That's about it - $500 in materials and few hours of labor and your system is easily multiples better than stock.

Edit - 1 more thing - you do need to code out or otherwise remove the fake engine sounds for best results - I used Bimmercode for this but some people use some type of harness not sure the name.

[sauceonside]

Originally Posted by Murf

Thanks!

Headrests are anythign from the F30 family - there are a bunch on Ebay but I looked for a matched set - here is one listed right now for ~$100

https://ebay.to/2EkrVIL

The speakers are easy to find - I found both cheapest on Ebay but I think Amazon has them as well. Here is the 2addicts thread about these upgrades, it runs 30+ pages but all the info you need is in the first 10 or so.

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1236238

The only other thing I needed was these speaker wire connections that allow you to plug the new rear speakers into the existing car wiring without cutting anything. I think it was $15 for a set off Ebay again, it's all explained in the thread.

Install of the rears takes **maybe** 45-60 mins if you go slow (assuming you have a small wrench and the right torx bit). The doors were more involved but there are videos on Youtube that help a ton - took me 1 hour per side taking my time. Pretty straight forward once you get past the fear of breaking things. Everything is plug and play, just remove the old stuff and snap in the new. While the door speakers were out I also added a sheet of dynamat knockoff material to each speaker area (Amazon, $15).

That's about it - $500 in materials and few hours of labor and your system is easily multiples better than stock.

Edit - 1 more thing - you do need to code out or otherwise remove the fake engine sounds for best results - I used Bimmercode for this but some people use some type of harness not sure the name.

Awesome, thank you much

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by Murf

...
F30 335i headrests - $100/pair off ebay (used obviously). Seriously underrated mod these are much more comfortable than the stock nonadjustable ones.

This got my attention. I never think much about the headrests as my head I don't think contacts them much. Can you be more specific about how the F30 ones are underrated?

Thanks in advance.

///Rich

[WolfGTI]

Switched to BM3, flashed stage 2 last night -wow is all I can say.
Rogue Engineering short shifter install this morning - completed.
Update - That shifter is awesome - with the transmission mounts it really tightens up the drivetrain - total transformation, combined with the BM3, this is how the car should have come from the factory.

Limiting factor now is the driver!

[Murf]

Originally Posted by Rich.Wolfson

This got my attention. I never think much about the headrests as my head I don't think contacts them much. Can you be more specific about how the F30 ones are underrated?

Thanks in advance.

///Rich

Hi - I guess it depends on your torso length but the old headrests jut forward a bit and hit me right in the center of the back of my head - pushing my head forward uncomfortably and on choppy roads bouncing it back and forth. The F30 headrests are tilt adjustable so I can actually rest my head flat against it. There was a thread about it somewhere on the site and this was the solution someone posted although they only bought a single new headrest for the drivers side.

[Jcoop901]

I added a proper soundstage. Finally away with the HK speakers and those hatchet like tweeters. I must say these Focal's are worlds better.

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by Jcoop901

I added a proper soundstage. Finally away with the HK speakers and those hatchet like tweeters. I must say these Focal's are worlds better.

All 4 components went in the doors? Where did you mount the crossovers? Thanks!

[TonyRosa]

A good wash

[Jcoop901]

Originally Posted by John in VA

All 4 components went in the doors? Where did you mount the crossovers? Thanks!

Yes, the set came with adapter rings for a 3 series. These worked perfectly for the midrange speakers. I bought a set of 3d printed rings off eBay to mount the tweeters in the sails. Again, they worked perfectly. The crossovers are tricky, but they will fit in the doors. I used industrial-grade velcro to hold them in place. I routed the wiring around the window rail inside the door and mounted the crossovers against the outer door skin.

[PeanuKeeyes]

Found a freshly paved back road with tons of twists near my town.
Also ordered the stock air box and filter to finally get rid of this Injen cold air intake. (It will be for sale later this month for very little $.) My honest opinion is that it is just too loud and sounds like something is wrong under the hood. If I leave it in comfort mode, it’s barely noticeable but what’s the fun in that? — cheers