[Murf]

Sorry for current owners but with the pricing on these things falling as they have I feel like you're gonna see a wave of new owners...

Very stoked to be back in a BMW with some power, coming from a 2017 GTI that was a commuter car. Prior rides - heavily tuned E90, '08 Audio RS4, E46 M3 Competition, '02 C4S.

• Paid $23,900 - long distance buy, had a great sales guy that sent me tons of hi-res pics. $600 to ship it.
• 31k miles
• CPO until 8/2021 (huge)
• Auto tranny
• Seems loaded, sticker was 52k
• Was a leased car from Cali - somehow ended up at a BMW dealership in San Antonio (I'm in South Florida - found it via Cars.com listing)
• New brakes/rotors, new tires, new windshield, new cabin filter, fresh oil.

Usual rock chips but paint generally flawless, I had the front bumper resprayed after I found out the CA front plate was held on by SEVEN screws.
Added tint, Ebay CF mirror caps, used but real MP CF spoiler (H/T my boy Joaco135 for the hookup), Black grills, Bimmercoded, Silver side markers, H/w Uniden R3.

Pretty much done except for some possible future audio updates (HK is trash). Seems like you guys have a nice active forum here with real enthusiasts. Would love to hear suggestions for future mods.

Quick question about the ZF8 - is it normal for this thing to shift so poorly when it's cold? I find if I don't baby it for the first 15 mins the shifts are have a big delay and feel neck snappingly harsh. Once it hits operating temp it seems to go away.

[sdhasher21]

Congrats! I have your twin in manual. Been a great car.

[4Hockey4]

congrats and welcome..have 16 also with MT. I changed out the chargepipe (must, went Evolution Racewerkes) and Downpipe...nice lil jump in power. Fabspeed and Active Autowerkes have ones that dont throw CEL...I did AA, put to 321 WHP.

Yea prices are dropping for last few months. If its a CPO from Cali, good chance it came from BMW auction, which all dealers can participate in. (off lease) I got CPO last fall, paid bit high, but who knew this would happen ?!?!

Great group here, check under N55/235i and mods/brakes section for lots of ideas.

[overcoil]

I’d be curious to read more about the transmission harshness when cold...

Very nice silver color !

[msej449]

I've got a similar model/year and Sports Auto and I can't say I've noticed the ZF8 being harsh in the same circumstances. But then I wait about 10 mins anyway for the oil etc to get up to working temperature before pushing and I don't usually engage Sport+ before I've been running 15-20 mins. Perhaps this is a legacy of when I first learned to drive back in the 70s and cars then definitely needed to be cosseted after cold starting. If you display the tire temperatures, you'll also see them taking time to get up to working temperature, so that's another reason to take it easy initially.

Back then, it was also good practice after a long summer drive to stop the engine, wait a minute for the engine heat to exchange, and then run the engine again for a minute with the heater up high. This pushed out the very hot water around the engine and flooded it with cooler water from the radiator, avoiding head block stress and distortion.

With modern turbo engines like the BMW's this habit continues in a slightly different form, as BMW recommend you run the engine for 30 secs or so before shutting it down, to cool and oil the turbo.

[SOLOMEK]

So much congrats!

The silver front markers are interesting to look at.

My auto transmission shifts seems rough as well if I engage Sport at startup. Not so much in Comfort. All goes away when things heat up.

I have yours with 23K for comparison.

Enjoy the ride

[Throttlesteer14]

Yep, the ZF8 can be pretty "notchy" when warming up. I have the same problem with my 240i (same color by the way). It's a great transmission, but like everything else, you have to give it time to warm up.

[Joaco135]

Looking good Murf. Nice spoiler, lol...

[Murf]

Originally Posted by Joaco135

Looking good Murf. Nice spoiler, lol...

Lol I still have adhesive under my nails.

[Daytona4702]

Congrats, I just picked up a '15 M235I in Red. I have had the car for a month and love it so far.

[bthomas518]

Great looking car!

A nice (if you can find them cheap) mod is the shifter paddles from an M2/3/4. I was lucky enough to score a set off a fellow forum member. Of course, I couldn't stop there and bought a brand new, heated M2/3/4 steering wheel w/ tri-color stitching, some M Performance dry carbon wheel trim, and a set of dry carbon interior trim from an M2 to replace the brushed aluminum trim it came with.

[BimBimM2]

Originally Posted by bthomas518

Great looking car!

A nice (if you can find them cheap) mod is the shifter paddles from an M2/3/4. I was lucky enough to score a set off a fellow forum member. Of course, I couldn't stop there and bought a brand new, heated M2/3/4 steering wheel w/ tri-color stitching, some M Performance dry carbon wheel trim, and a set of dry carbon interior trim from an M2 to replace the brushed aluminum trim it came with.

Oh damn. What's this steering wheel called? Also pics! Your mods sound awesome.