Project: 2014 328i xDrive Wagon F31

[ScottyB]

yeah the big tire rebates are always late spring, usually $70 off or similar rebate. hold out if you can.

[Apoc]

Dude I don’t know how you mod 3 cars at a time. I couldn’t imagine installing black badges and calling up a body shop in one month’s time!

He went to college so he didn't actually have to mod them himself

I went to grad school so I didn't have to mod them myself.

The real problem is money. I'm not sure if you know, but I work at Amazon... and while the pay is decent, we spend most of our disposable income on traveling. Fucked up priorities, I guess.

[JPolen01]

 I'm not sure if you know, but I work at Amazon... 

I lol'ed

[D_Eclipse9916]

Don't blame you,  do what makes you happy.

My wife doesn't like to travel unless its to a beach.  Fine with me, I prefer to brap around.

[WRXtranceformed]

Dude I don’t know how you mod 3 cars at a time. I couldn’t imagine installing black badges and calling up a body shop in one month’s time!

He went to college so he didn't actually have to mod them himself

I went to grad school so I didn't have to mod them myself.

The real problem is money. I'm not sure if you know, but I work at Amazon... and while the pay is decent, we spend most of our disposable income on traveling. Fucked up priorities, I guess.

If it was up to me, I'd buy watches and cars with all of our disposable income and sit in my man cave and play Playstation.  Wifey is not so gently nudging me to start actually taking my vacation time.  We're headed to the Smoky Mountains next weekend for a week...first vacation I've had to pay for myself in forever (last two were company-paid)

Because I travel so much for work and deal with all of the annoying stuff of that lifestyle, the allure of traveling anywhere in the free time that I do have wore off pretty quickly.

[SlimKlim]

If it was up to me, I'd buy watches and cars with all of our disposable income and sit in my man cave and play Playstation. 

I thought I posted this and didn't remember it at first.

[GTBrandon]

FYI what I learned working for Costco tire, when the $70 sale comes on, the per tire price goes up about $16 per tire, same as the free install.

Also the sales are every two months at Costco, the Bridgestone and Michelin alternate so there is always something on sale. The free install is normally at the end of one of the sales to push inventory before the new brand comes on sale.

[Steve85]

FYI what I learned working for Costco tire, when the $70 sale comes on, the per tire price goes up about $16 per tire, same as the free install.

Also the sales are every two months at Costco, the Bridgestone and Michelin alternate so there is always something on sale. The free install is normally at the end of one of the sales to push inventory before the new brand comes on sale.

That didn't seem to happen here, I priced them out before the sale and when the sale hit they were the same. $3/ tire less than Tire Rack, no $70 discount and $4/tire less than Discount Tire, although they are running the $70 off but no installation. Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely keep an eye out, if the tire price drops after the sale I'll hit them up for their price guarantee.

The issue I have is shipping...it took three days to begin the shipping. We have a friend who is a buyer for Costco, I need to put her in touch with someone at Amazon regarding quick shipping. 

Anyone here work for Amazon? I don't recall any mention of it but could have missed it.

---

Also meant to post this a couple weeks ago - pour one out for the warranty.



Weirdly liberating...

[GTBrandon]

FYI what I learned working for Costco tire, when the $70 sale comes on, the per tire price goes up about $16 per tire, same as the free install.

Also the sales are every two months at Costco, the Bridgestone and Michelin alternate so there is always something on sale. The free install is normally at the end of one of the sales to push inventory before the new brand comes on sale.

That didn't seem to happen here, I priced them out before the sale and when the sale hit they were the same. $3/ tire less than Tire Rack, no $70 discount and $4/tire less than Discount Tire, although they are running the $70 off but no installation. Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely keep an eye out, if the tire price drops after the sale I'll hit them up for their price guarantee.

The issue I have is shipping...it took three days to begin the shipping. We have a friend who is a buyer for Costco, I need to put her in touch with someone at Amazon regarding quick shipping. 

Anyone here work for Amazon? I don't recall any mention of it but could have missed it.

---

Also meant to post this a couple weeks ago - pour one out for the warranty.



Weirdly liberating...

We’ll always be cheaper than the websites, I mean the Costco prices change. But I’m curious if your store does the same as ours.

Also, our store in Leesburg has the tires delivered next day, faster than Amazon, even same day sometimes if we order them before 10am...tell your friend to get me a job [emoji16]

[Steve85]

We headed to the Outer Banks for a sort of immediate family reunion last week and it was a great drive down even in all the rain. Right up to the point I went to pull out of a stopped lane into moving lane and somehow hit the signal, hit the gas and hit the downshift paddle all at once. It was not happy and went into limp home mode. I was not happy. I was torn between the fear it wouldn't restart if I tried shutting it down to clear and driving too long in that mode. So the last 50 miles sucked getting there. It never made any funny noises or any indication something actually broke, it just seemed to be ultra-conservative on the timing and probably very limited boost. I pulled into the driveway at the beach house and tested it, after a restart, full power was back but it gave me the warning to drive moderately and that engine power was reduced. After a restart, full power was back but the warning was still there. After another restart and short drive, the warning went away and all was good. 

The drive home was dry and uneventful, I love this thing on the highway. 

Had a couple recent enthusiast moments. I was behind a B4 Avant S4 on an off-ramp and as we parted ways at the end, exchanged a bit of wave and then on the the way home from the beach crossed paths with a very nice red E46 wagon (plate=WGN LOVR) exchanging waves again. 

We had a very cool sunset a couple weeks ago and I decided to get out the camera for obligatory update pic. A little blurry since I didn't have the tripod handy but oh well.



It's also good for acquiring wood from the neighborhood:


Using the foam gun my son got me for father's day:



Project wise, I need to look into what services are due as I'm creeping up on 55K and finally get my AC Schnitzer springs installed.

[Steve85]

WEEEEEEEEE! As if couldn't love this thing more. Finally got out to one of the monthly MBCA autox here in town (where the older son now goes to high school   ). 

We had weather threats so instead of 3 runs in the morning and afternoon we did 4 in the morning and hoped for the best. First run was a 45 something and worked it down to a 41.xx. For reference a good driver in a what seemed to be a nice E36 M3 had FTD at a 38.xx. I ran in Sport+ with no further adjustments to traction control. Sport+ puts it into a dynamic handling mode which delays and seems to minimize the save your ass help. I was bummed we didn't get the afternoon runs in because I wanted to turn it all off (as much as it allows) and see how it felt. Something for another day.

One thing that definitely hurt the times a smidgen was that it just doesn't launch well, this is where a clutch would come in handy.

Sport+ kept it in the right gear, no upshifting to save fuel just because I lifted through s turns, or through a couple longish 180* right/left handers. Roll was handled pretty well too and inspired a lot of confidence. You could tell the dynamic shocks would chip in to reduce roll at the limit. It's a nearly 4K lb wagon that doesn't drive anything like you would expect on paper. It's never going to be an E36 M3 but I gotta hand to BMW, I can't imagine there is a better driving wagon out there.

Pics courtesy of Harry Newman, the MBCA tech guy

---

Then I went in for the kill – if I bring my son to pick up the BMW, can he get a ride in a Lambo? Without hesitation, he said, “Absolutely, always looking for a reason to take one out”. And then he volunteered Super Trofeo VIP tickets that include food and beverage all weekend in the tent for the 2018 VIR race.

We usually only go for Friday since Michael always has a soccer tournament the same weekend. This year, the tourney and race are different weekends so I reached out to Chase a couple weeks before the race and we didn't really connect. He seemed pretty overwhelmed with the dealership being moved from Greensboro to Charlotte and it seemed to be growing. He eventually responded and said he wasn't sure he could get the VIP tickets since they were trying to lock it down to owners and their guests only. He instead offered to score the tickets to the event and invited us to the Villa to watch the race. I didn't hear from him again before we left for the race Thursday night and didn't really want to bug him again. I know he offered them up but I wasn't going to nag them out of him. I woke up Saturday morning to a VM telling me to go to will call for the tix and VIP passes (he sent a message Thursday that didn't go through so he called since he didn't hear from me). Dude, you're the best...because I bought a used car six months ago and clearly not in the market for a Lambo - he's nothing to gain doing this for us.

How we lived:


How we lounged:



Typical camping meals..




View from the trailer top seating: (we were camped left of the top turn)

 
This was an incredible weekend to share with my boy. It would have been great without the Lambo tent, but his love for the brand made it a huge bonus. This will be a special memory for us...

[Steve85]

Yesterday marked one year and about 17,000 miles with the car, it sits at 63,334.

Just doing oil changes when it says to and I have the plugs ready to go in. There is an occasional very light blower motor squeal at certain temps that I need to monitor but no major issues to date. A little grumbling from the rear seat about leg room on longer trips from my boys but it doesn't bother them enough to get out and walk, so, big enough.

I still like the way it drives and looks and can't find anything else on the road with any utility (that isn't an AMG wagon) I'd prefer. Thinking about getting the Blue Ridge parkway plate with "SKI F31" since it appears to be a keeper!

[Goodspeed]

Backing up a bit, that baller trip to the track looked so choice. If I have the means, I'll highly suggest to my future self to buy a used car from that guy!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC any kind of BMW wagon is dead in America in the next year or so? Totally see why you'd want to keep this thing for the long haul - that's a sharp lookin' car.

[Steve85]

I was glad we were finally able to stay the full weekend and enjoy it as much as possible. Yeah, as much I've tried, haven't been able to push much business his way    

True, BMW wagon in USA is dead. And yet, some americans are choosing wagons with a 29% increase in sales. Still low raw numbers but with companies dropping sedans, it seems the wagon could see a healthy bump in numbers in the near future and BMW won't be there. They won't care though, plenty of X models will roll off the showroom floors.

[Steve85]

Mileage 67,305

I did plugs last weekend and noticed one of the wires going to an injector seemed a bit out of round. It was being pinched against the coil pack by the insulator that's under the engine cover:
 

I flipped it over and sure enough it was worn through. Good thing it was against plastic or it definitely would have been shorting out. You can see the bare wire to the right of my thumb.



I though I had some shrink wrap but couldn't find it so a little electrical tape will have to do for now.

The job itself was easy enough. The last plug is under the cowl a bit so just needed some swivels for that one. The job also requires a very thin wall 14MM 12 point plug socket. Because yes, even a plug change should require some special very specific style socket.




I got it inspected today and, according to the service writer "got lucky the tech liked my car". Left front fog lamp lens is cracked and has water in it (part is on order) and although front tires are 8/32, rears are at the wear bars (WTF?). Sure enough, despite proper inflation, center of rear tires are 3/32, outside about 4.5/32. I'm going to hit up Costco for help on a tire warranty claim. The Costco receipt from the purchase / install does not have the vehicle mileage listed which should be a fun little tidbit. Hopefully it's in their system somewhere. The receipt says 45K mile warranty and I would guess these have 15K on them.

Had a moment during one of the snow days and almost ended up down a ravine at Bryce. It's the worst possible hill, 165 degree tight hairpin to a steep incline that ends in a blind 90 degree turn. You can't start with any momentum and have to be aware of a possible oncoming vehicle as you crest the top. Got near the top and it was too slick, slid back down, the back end went into a very small gully so the front end came around. At one point we were pointed directly at the edge, but luckily just kept sliding straight down in a graceful pirouette. The good part was when he hit the bottom of the hill we were already turned around and pointed towards home. 

I went through a car wash a couple months ago and noticed some water coming through the passenger side microphone hole in the headliner. I checked everything out with the sunroof closure and weather strips and everything looked good. So the other day I finally got around to blowing air through the drain tubes, I wasn't sure where the outlet was so I didn't really get to see if anything came out but next trip through the wash was a dry one. Fixed it?

Other than that, just chugging along.

[.RJ]

Because yes, even a plug change should require some special very specific style socket.

Wait until you get to the e-torx part

[JustinG]

Plugs easy enough then? I have the socket, im only like 5k past the recommended interval.

[Steve85]

Because yes, even a plug change should require some special very specific style socket.

Wait until you get to the e-torx part

I've scanned a couple vids for doing the springs, is that the socket with a hole in it so you can put a torx through it for some weird bolt on the strut?

Plugs easy enough then? I have the socket, im only like 5k past the recommended interval.

Yup, just do a similar swivel/extension set up to get at the one in the back. You have to lift the tab on top of the coil packs that release the harness all the way to vertical to disconnect the wiring. Then a 3/8 drive extension fits through the hole to pry it up just to break the initial tension to remove the coil. I think it was 20 minutes?

[JustinG]

You do OEM plugs? Were they pre gapped.

[Steve85]

I did NGK, (Part# SILZKBR8D8S) which are the OEM provider, they just don't say "BMW" on them as the originals I pulled. And yeah, they were pre-gapped. I did not use any anti-seize or anything. There wasn't any on from the factory and the plugs came out fine.