Jay's TiAg 2003 330i ZHP Sedan

[JB3]

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[slater]

congrats! looks awesome - love TiAg!

follow the cleaning instructions mike @ cobywheel has on his website - i've used them to help resurrect my alcantara wheel. you'll likely want to do it twice, at least.

peter

[JB3]

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[slater]

Thanks Peter, Coby is definitely the planned upgrade, and those are the instructions I plan on following. I'd like to see what kind of shape it's in and/or practice cleaning patiently so I have an idea how to take care of one in the future.

excellent idea. i love the feel of a clean alcantara wheel, but for my uses (wife driving it as much as i do, plus the lack of time to clean it regularly), i opted for a tri-stitch leather M3 wheel. it feels great (wish it was perforated leather), and will be easier to maintain, for me. quick clean/condition when i do the seats and inserts on the door panels.

my car is also a kid-hauler - they work well for the enthusiast that needs to haul the family! i'm integrating some E38 cupholders into the rear seat or armrest for my kids - we do a lot of road trips and they could definitely make use of them. i'm also installing a curt trailer hitch for my new yakima 4-bike hitch-mounted bike rack (i also have a roof rack and 13cu-ft cargo carrier - this car does it all if you are willing to get creative :) ).

peter

[johnrando]

good stuff

[danewilson77]

Mmmm

[cakM3]

Jay if you're interested in getting a lit shifter knob then I'd recommend the F10 M5 lit shift knob. I have this installed in my M3 and it's very close to the ZHP shift knob in looks, fit and function. Best part is that it matches the BMW colors very well :thumbsup

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/M3/DSC_0034_zps0f427d5e.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/08/4y4y7yba.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/08/sa3are3y.jpg

[FL116]

Jay if you're interested in getting a lit shifter knob then I'd recommend the F10 M5 lit shift knob. I have this installed in my M3 and it's very close to the ZHP shift knob in looks, fit and function. Best part is that it matches the BMW colors very well :thumbsup

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/M3/DSC_0034_zps0f427d5e.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/08/4y4y7yba.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/08/sa3are3y.jpg

I will be doing this eventually. :thumbsup

[JB3]

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[san]

Welp, got my Euro lights in courtesy of a seller on ebay.co.uk.

Outer lights look ok, but his choice of packing has screwed me royally. :asshat

http://i.imgur.com/Ue3y1vBl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0ZpVFbDl.jpg

Yes, those are tiny Styrofoam balls INSIDE the freaking lights. These are unusable like this, not sure what I am going to do.

The inner lights on the trunk were apparently left out in the garage a while, as they have oil and dust, again on the INSIDE of the lenses. Overall pretty rough, would not recommend buying these this way. Just get them from TMS and pay to play. Again, I need to figure out if there is a way to clean the insides of both sets of lights.

So after that fail, let's look at a small win:

http://i.imgur.com/6ZrvfIpl.jpg

Got the diff out! Thanks to everyone who answered my LSD install questions. Unfortunately the air tools did not help a lot here. They did help *some*, but there was a lot of hand cranking, breaker bar, extensions, etc. Not sure if it was the 20 Gal compressor with a leak, the condition of the air tools, or some fault of the extensions needed, but they were not as effective as I hoped. That rear diff mount laughed off the impact at 140PSI. S'ok though, it didn't laugh off me in Hulk mode with a breaker bar.

If anyone has ideas to clean the insides of the lights, LMK. Thanks for reading.

Glad to see you got the diff out...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[az3579]

Welp, got my Euro lights in courtesy of a seller on ebay.co.uk.

Outer lights look ok, but his choice of packing has screwed me royally. :asshat

http://i.imgur.com/Ue3y1vBl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0ZpVFbDl.jpg

Yes, those are tiny Styrofoam balls INSIDE the freaking lights. These are unusable like this, not sure what I am going to do.

The inner lights on the trunk were apparently left out in the garage a while, as they have oil and dust, again on the INSIDE of the lenses. Overall pretty rough, would not recommend buying these this way. Just get them from TMS and pay to play. Again, I need to figure out if there is a way to clean the insides of both sets of lights.

So after that fail, let's look at a small win:

http://i.imgur.com/6ZrvfIpl.jpg

Got the diff out! Thanks to everyone who answered my LSD install questions. Unfortunately the air tools did not help a lot here. They did help *some*, but there was a lot of hand cranking, breaker bar, extensions, etc. Not sure if it was the 20 Gal compressor with a leak, the condition of the air tools, or some fault of the extensions needed, but they were not as effective as I hoped. That rear diff mount laughed off the impact at 140PSI. S'ok though, it didn't laugh off me in Hulk mode with a breaker bar.

If anyone has ideas to clean the insides of the lights, LMK. Thanks for reading.
The inside trunk lights being dirty on the inside is a common problem. It seems to mostly happen to the euro cars; dunno why that is the case.

I also got mine from the UK, and had to disassemble the lenses of my inner trunk lights to clean them. You must be VERY careful cleaning them because the moment you touch the reflective chrome, it will start to rub/flake off. Once cleaned, I re-sealed the lenses with clear silicone and they have been perfect since.

For the outer tails, I'd recommend using compressed air to blow out all the Styrofoam.

[slater]

bummer about the styrofoam in the lights, jay. could you suck it out with a vacuum attached to one of the bulb sockets?

EDIT: just saw BP's post. derrrrr. blow/suck it out with vacuum/compressed air.

peter

[JB3]

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[az3579]

Me too. Against my better judgement, knocked it all out in one night. Now I gotta ship this piece.



Interesting. Never knew it was a common issue, all my cars have been garaged. Quick lookup on the interwebz confirms that is is child's play compared to a diff swap. :rofl

I think I'll use this DIY: BMW REAR LIGHT CLEAN (http://www.impee.co.uk/bmw_rear_light_clean.htm)
Thanks for the reminder about the chrome coming off. I have read about stuff like that. Good looking out!

Thought about air, thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it out and report back.



Yes sir, I tried the Shop Vac with no success. Lack of airflow maybe? But since I have a compressor at the house for the diff, I'll go the blowgun route, or maybe the blowgun in one socket, shop vac in the other 1-2 combo. hah.
I thought about scraping the reflective coating off and respraying it with a reflective paint. It might be something to consider if being super careful isn't your forte. :thumbsup

[JB3]

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[danewilson77]

And the shipping cost was what?

[JB3]

Good question Dane!

$65.54 Fedex Ground (4 days)

NC to CA.

I didn't even check UPS because traditionally they are anywhere from $60-100 higher for two wheels @ ~50lbs. Big and heavy? Go Fedex. No telling how much Fedex saved me today.

[JB3]

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[Vas]

So it is possible to get the difference out without removing the exhaust. Pain in the butt ?

Let us know how the removal and install of the different bushings will be.

[JB3]

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[johnrando]

nice