Wyatt's E91 - Daily Driver, aka "the Couch"

[wertyu78]

All, it's been awhile since I've tuned in here. I've recently picked up an E91 328i as my new daily driver - yes, the ZHP has finally retired from daily driver duties. Albeit it was a bit forced (I blew the engine, again), it was a long time coming.

There were a few cars that I had in mind, but this was the first car to become available (that I could live with) and it made sense. I scored this touring by way of daily craigslist searching. A small one-man used car dealer about 50 minutes northeast of me had picked it up at an auction in South Carolina. This was a TitleMax repossession vehicle.

Alpine white on tan was a pretty combination, and aside from being a bit dirty inside (which will clean up easily), the thing is pretty mint for it's 178,000 miles. The N52 motor is very smooth and linear and paired with the ZF 6 speed auto, it's a superb drive.

Enough with the boring story, here are the photos (iPhone):

(Moments after purchasing, July, 2017)

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

(October 19th, 2017) - Motion Control Suspension 1WNR dampers + Eibach Pro-Kit Springs + Apex EC-7's

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4486/23947274618_2734659442_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cu93r9)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/23947274018_0e43d05630_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cu93fN)

(October 25th, 2017) - LCI Style headlights

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4512/24074422978_8e5e845f3f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CFnHdf)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/37215740544_a2af109361_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YGCp63)

Overall, it's in great condition. It's extremely comfortable and the stereo is much better than the Harmon Kardon system in the E46. It also has a panoramic sunroof, which is really awesome in the mornings and evenings. The rear windows have the privacy shade options, and paired with the window tint, it stays nice and cool inside.

The dampers are OE and while the ride is comfortable, they are certainly showing their age. I have some ideas on what I'll do about the suspension setup, which will be shared in another update later.

For now, the short list includes:

Getting it cleaned up inside - will share some photos of interior later
Replacing the headlights - these are factory halogens.
Fixing a broken cupholder
New wheel/tire combination

[nextelbuddy]

awesome, love me some tourings, especially the e91 series. sad news about your e46 :/

[BMWCurves]

Love me an E91, and a manual to boot!

[RUS_ZHP]

Congrats on the new car!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[wertyu78]

awesome, love me some tourings, especially the e91 series. sad news about your e46 :/

An S52 is going in it so I can keep tracking it this season, and should be swapped in by the end of the month. A V8 swap will likely take place over the winter.


Love me an E91, and a manual to boot!

I had driven a manual E91, and while it was nice, I was happy to get this E91 with a 6 speed auto. I'm a man that likes to row his own gears, but there's a luxury about the auto setup with the N52.... :)

[BMWCurves]

I apparently just glossed over it being an auto :facepalm

[derbo]

subb'ed in b4 MCS install.

[slater]

love it! congrats, wyatt! i dig the black wheels on the white, too - usually i don't like it either. i think gray would be nice, better than black. silver on white sometimes isn't awesome for some reason.

enjoy the Touring!

[danewilson77]

Beautiful

Sent from my S8+

[johnrando]

Nice. And, welcome back!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[wertyu78]

Thanks, all. It's good to have something else to tinker with (and share), and with a different agenda - I want to keep this thing comfortable.

I think we'll expedite the suspension setup:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170716/c2b49ff681980d57c14c8c01719d7a88.jpg

Will likely do suspension & wheels/tires at the same time. Both of which need to happen very soon. Stay tuned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fredo]

:like

[KIRIEIW]

Another wagon fan! Looking forward to updates


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ELCID86]

I don't like black wheels, but those work! Nice ride.

[derbo]

Thanks, all. It's good to have something else to tinker with (and share), and with a different agenda - I want to keep this thing comfortable.

I think we'll expedite the suspension setup:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170716/c2b49ff681980d57c14c8c01719d7a88.jpg

Will likely do suspension & wheels/tires at the same time. Both of which need to happen very soon. Stay tuned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

:rofl

TOTALLY IN BEFORE MCS suspension. :)

[wertyu78]

In typical fashion, things have been very busy on my end. With the racing season coming to a close, we are busier than ever. To bring this thread up to speed, I've been able to make a few subtle changes to the car.


APEX EC-7's. 19x8.5 ET20 front, 19x9.5 ET22 rear.
MCS 1WNR dampers paired with Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs and Vorshlag camber plates.


The linear rebound characteristic of the MCS 1WNR dampers allow for a very comfortable ride. There isn't a ton of low speed damping built into these, which is fantastic for the purpose of this car; I'd describe the ride to be controlled yet very pliable. I could easily move up in spring rate by several hundred pounds and maintain a very comfortable ride, but as this car never sees any spirited driving, the stock rates remain - favorable on the roads in the City of Atlanta :).

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4486/23947274618_2734659442_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cu93r9)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/23947274018_0e43d05630_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cu93fN)

General preventative maintenance and minute spot detailing have really brought the car around. Soon I'll play with some wheel spacers to get the fitment on par, and of course, fix the terrible job one of the PO's did when attempting to roll the rear fenders.

[derbo]

See! I was in before MCS lol

[johnrando]

Ha. Good stuff.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[nextelbuddy]

looks great! 19s look like 18s on those larger cars.

[i_b_bass]

The rear subframe bushings on the E9X series cars are quite soft and squishy. Since the car won't see much spirited driving, you could get away with just RSFB inserts instead of replacing bushings. The rear end will feel a lot more planted and confidence inspiring, especially during mid corner bumps at highway speeds. The inserts are cheap to buy and easy to install and do make a difference even in daily driving.

[wertyu78]

The latest update to the E91 brings LCI style headlights. The original headlights had seen better days and in polite terms, were extremely weathered.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4499/37925333531_3423406f20_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZMkfmT)

Taking a gamble on eBay, I ordered a pair of LCI style headlights that were manufactured in Taiwan. The original plan was to have these retrofitted with quality projectors, but a complete failure of the original right headlight warranted an earlier than expected install - less the retrofit. The light output of these isn't terrible and might improve significantly when I get some decent bulbs installed - the bulbs shipped with the headlights are less than par.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4512/24074422978_8e5e845f3f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CFnHdf)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/37215740544_a2af109361_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YGCp63)

Overall, these completely transformed the appearance of the front end. It looks soooo much cleaner now. I am a happy guy.

[nextelbuddy]

was your wagon factory xenon? or halogen? new lights halogen or xenon?

[wertyu78]

was your wagon factory xenon? or halogen? new lights halogen or xenon?

Factory halogens. These are halogen projectors. When the ZHP is back on the road, these are coming back off the car and being retrofitted with nice projectors. Haven't decided which ones yet - my Morimoto FX-R's are nice on the ZHP, but may no package well in these housings.

[holyc0w]

Love alpine white wagons :biggrin


Factory halogens. These are halogen projectors. When the ZHP is back on the road, these are coming back off the car and being retrofitted with nice projectors. Haven't decided which ones yet - my Morimoto FX-R's are nice on the ZHP, but may no package well in these housings.

I've read good things about the Mini D2S 4.0. Retrofitsource switched their ZHP kit to those.

[wertyu78]

I haven't been very active online socially over the last couple of years. Recently ended up doing a full 335i swap in the E91.

https://imgur.com/a/5p7ixTC

[derbo]

I haven't been very active online socially over the last couple of years. Recently ended up doing a full 335i swap in the E91.

https://imgur.com/a/5p7ixTC

It's one fast couch now. :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nextelbuddy]

I haven't been very active online socially over the last couple of years. Recently ended up doing a full 335i swap in the E91.

https://imgur.com/a/5p7ixTC

sweet! now you need the e90 CF performance strut bar :) jk

thats awesome you got that done man, very happy and excited for you!