///Shaun
Banned
Hi All
Not sure where to start but will try and keep this thread updated as much as I can.
There will be lots of pics and my journey through the transformation of a BMW E90 with cosmetic and performance changes.
Please be sure to comment as its not everybodys cup of tea.
So lets start with I bought a plain jane 2008 E90 335i with the intentions of wanting something unique and power to match that unique look. Now at this point the word "unique" can mean alot of things to many people.
For me the word unique meant a clean look with OEM styling but used in a common car thats found everywhere.
So the hunt began with the basics that was a must :
1) It had to be white
2) It had to be a 4door E90 335i with sunroof
3) It had to be a 2008 model and above (Modding reasons explained later on)
4) It had to be manual
5) It had to be MSport
After a long search I managed to get hold of this plain jane that met the requirements. She missed a few other goodies like Xenons but had the rest of the requirements so I could not resist and took her home.
First order of the day was to source a set of CSL Wheels in 19inch. It was silver but on a white car it was just not going to work.
The look I was after was a common look . White car , black roof , black rims but with the word "unique" in it.
Now at that point I was picturing in my head. White car with the black bits , Hmmm...thats not so "unique". Thats when it hit me after a whole lot of googling pics , chatting to friends and trying to think of something that stood out from the rest.
And this one time at bandcamp :lol:
Oops
Back to the idea :
And it dawned upon me , CSL wheels. Hmmmm. Lets do CSL Bootlid and M3 look in the mix.
Now with the idea playing in my head day in and day out, Its sounded like a simple elegant look but was not 100% sure of how this would look in reality.
Trying to picture in my head with my very bad IT drawing skills :
White car , Black roof, Black CSL Rims , M3 Bumper , CSL Bootlid
It looked nice but then again a cup of tea is also nice :lol:
To get my hands on the rims was fairly easy as its a common rim but to get a M3 bumper that could fit onto a E90 body with little modification as possible was a task. Could it be done.
Yes sir , a very good friend of mine came to the rescue and sourced me a M3 bumper that was a perfect fit with no modifications needed at all. Thats right folks that very same person is here aka ARBEE. Thank you once again ARBEE.
So at this point excitement kicks in and the bad IT drawing of mine is starting to take shape.
White car - check
CSL rims - check
M3 bumer - check
CSL Bootlid - Damn this is going to be impossible.
So needless to say with the above basic checks the picture quickly changed from yes it can work to oh no this is just going to backfire very quickly.
Like every enthusiast out there depression kinda kicks in and Im starting to think this is not going to work. Its going to end up looking like a car with rims thats had basic paintwork.
So a few weeks pass on. Lots of discussions with lots of friends happen and we all trying to figure out how to complete this so called look without a CSL bootlid.
CSL bootlid was never produced to fit onto a E90 so I knew it had to be something custom but that was easier said than done.
With any project and anything custom, some sort of template was needed and the only template we had was *you guessed it* , that bad IT drawing of mine.
The hunt began to source a CSL bootlid which ended very quickly in vain as it was never produced for a E90. Even though this was the case that dream of mine just did not want to end and it was sleepless days and nights. All I could think of was this picture in my head.
Visited the panel shop on daily basis to try and work something out. My good friend Mel at the panel shop knew the dream I wanted and supported me the entire way saying Shaun it can be done my son , its just a matter of sourcing something we can use. Yes these were comforting words but by the time I got home the sadness kicked in with the realization of this is not going to work.
A few weeks pass on and the car is at the panel shop stripped and looking very sad. It looked like a car that was in a bad accident that could not be repaired. Bonnet was off. Bootlid was off. Car prepped for paintwork but covered under sheets. It was a low point that quickly made one think how can a 335i just sit like this.
Im sure you guys feel my pain and sadness at this point.
A few more weeks pass on and I get a call from Mel my panelbeater at 2:12am in the morning. I clearly remember this time as this was the biggest highlight for us both. He goes onto say Shaun wake up and come here now. I was Mel its 2:00 in the morning Oom , whats happening?
Mel says quickly go onto the internet I want you to see something. So I log on and he directs me to maxmotorsport website and points me into the direction of a spoiler they sell that looks like a CSL stick on.
YES YES YES you guys guessed it , we found the template we needed to get the CSL bootlid effect.
Excitement kicks in again and I had to source this CSL type spoiler immediately. Xcede agents jumped on board and sourced this spoiler for me from DBN and got it delivered. Much thanks goes out to Omesh.
So checklist again :
White car - check
CSL rims - check
M3 bumer - check
CSL Bootlid - check (at this point its a spoiler)
The dream of this car was starting to look good again in my head. Only concern was that CSL bootlid rear look, I did not want a stick on spoiler and this is where Mel the panelbeater says Shaun stick to IT my son and leave the rest to me, I will get you that look you want. Mel was more excited than what I was as this was a project that was new to him and he was confident he could get it done. He is a very passionate guy and his attention to detail is second to none.
So a few more weeks pass and we have lots of discussions as to how the car should look. Idea that was common between us was :
White car , Piano black roof , Black custom rims , White brake calipers(we where not 100% about this) , M3 bumper , CSL bootlid , Piano black rear diffuser , Interior had to match with the Piano Black which meant removing all the silver bits.
At this point guys Im going to post a few pics of the long ass story i just typed :lol:
Be sure to stay tuned for PART2 where I will go into detail of the modifications conducted to the engine. Bigger Turbo etc.
Please stop me if this is boring and let me know if I must continue.
So heres the pics in some sort of order that ties up to the story ....
M3 Bumper :
CSL Type Spoiler from Max
Work in Progress
Progress Completed
Not sure where to start but will try and keep this thread updated as much as I can.
There will be lots of pics and my journey through the transformation of a BMW E90 with cosmetic and performance changes.
Please be sure to comment as its not everybodys cup of tea.
So lets start with I bought a plain jane 2008 E90 335i with the intentions of wanting something unique and power to match that unique look. Now at this point the word "unique" can mean alot of things to many people.
For me the word unique meant a clean look with OEM styling but used in a common car thats found everywhere.
So the hunt began with the basics that was a must :
1) It had to be white
2) It had to be a 4door E90 335i with sunroof
3) It had to be a 2008 model and above (Modding reasons explained later on)
4) It had to be manual
5) It had to be MSport
After a long search I managed to get hold of this plain jane that met the requirements. She missed a few other goodies like Xenons but had the rest of the requirements so I could not resist and took her home.
First order of the day was to source a set of CSL Wheels in 19inch. It was silver but on a white car it was just not going to work.
The look I was after was a common look . White car , black roof , black rims but with the word "unique" in it.
Now at that point I was picturing in my head. White car with the black bits , Hmmm...thats not so "unique". Thats when it hit me after a whole lot of googling pics , chatting to friends and trying to think of something that stood out from the rest.
And this one time at bandcamp :lol:
Oops
Back to the idea :
And it dawned upon me , CSL wheels. Hmmmm. Lets do CSL Bootlid and M3 look in the mix.
Now with the idea playing in my head day in and day out, Its sounded like a simple elegant look but was not 100% sure of how this would look in reality.
Trying to picture in my head with my very bad IT drawing skills :
White car , Black roof, Black CSL Rims , M3 Bumper , CSL Bootlid
It looked nice but then again a cup of tea is also nice :lol:
To get my hands on the rims was fairly easy as its a common rim but to get a M3 bumper that could fit onto a E90 body with little modification as possible was a task. Could it be done.
Yes sir , a very good friend of mine came to the rescue and sourced me a M3 bumper that was a perfect fit with no modifications needed at all. Thats right folks that very same person is here aka ARBEE. Thank you once again ARBEE.
So at this point excitement kicks in and the bad IT drawing of mine is starting to take shape.
White car - check
CSL rims - check
M3 bumer - check
CSL Bootlid - Damn this is going to be impossible.
So needless to say with the above basic checks the picture quickly changed from yes it can work to oh no this is just going to backfire very quickly.
Like every enthusiast out there depression kinda kicks in and Im starting to think this is not going to work. Its going to end up looking like a car with rims thats had basic paintwork.
So a few weeks pass on. Lots of discussions with lots of friends happen and we all trying to figure out how to complete this so called look without a CSL bootlid.
CSL bootlid was never produced to fit onto a E90 so I knew it had to be something custom but that was easier said than done.
With any project and anything custom, some sort of template was needed and the only template we had was *you guessed it* , that bad IT drawing of mine.
The hunt began to source a CSL bootlid which ended very quickly in vain as it was never produced for a E90. Even though this was the case that dream of mine just did not want to end and it was sleepless days and nights. All I could think of was this picture in my head.
Visited the panel shop on daily basis to try and work something out. My good friend Mel at the panel shop knew the dream I wanted and supported me the entire way saying Shaun it can be done my son , its just a matter of sourcing something we can use. Yes these were comforting words but by the time I got home the sadness kicked in with the realization of this is not going to work.
A few weeks pass on and the car is at the panel shop stripped and looking very sad. It looked like a car that was in a bad accident that could not be repaired. Bonnet was off. Bootlid was off. Car prepped for paintwork but covered under sheets. It was a low point that quickly made one think how can a 335i just sit like this.
Im sure you guys feel my pain and sadness at this point.
A few more weeks pass on and I get a call from Mel my panelbeater at 2:12am in the morning. I clearly remember this time as this was the biggest highlight for us both. He goes onto say Shaun wake up and come here now. I was Mel its 2:00 in the morning Oom , whats happening?
Mel says quickly go onto the internet I want you to see something. So I log on and he directs me to maxmotorsport website and points me into the direction of a spoiler they sell that looks like a CSL stick on.
YES YES YES you guys guessed it , we found the template we needed to get the CSL bootlid effect.
Excitement kicks in again and I had to source this CSL type spoiler immediately. Xcede agents jumped on board and sourced this spoiler for me from DBN and got it delivered. Much thanks goes out to Omesh.
So checklist again :
White car - check
CSL rims - check
M3 bumer - check
CSL Bootlid - check (at this point its a spoiler)
The dream of this car was starting to look good again in my head. Only concern was that CSL bootlid rear look, I did not want a stick on spoiler and this is where Mel the panelbeater says Shaun stick to IT my son and leave the rest to me, I will get you that look you want. Mel was more excited than what I was as this was a project that was new to him and he was confident he could get it done. He is a very passionate guy and his attention to detail is second to none.
So a few more weeks pass and we have lots of discussions as to how the car should look. Idea that was common between us was :
White car , Piano black roof , Black custom rims , White brake calipers(we where not 100% about this) , M3 bumper , CSL bootlid , Piano black rear diffuser , Interior had to match with the Piano Black which meant removing all the silver bits.
At this point guys Im going to post a few pics of the long ass story i just typed :lol:
Be sure to stay tuned for PART2 where I will go into detail of the modifications conducted to the engine. Bigger Turbo etc.
Please stop me if this is boring and let me know if I must continue.
So heres the pics in some sort of order that ties up to the story ....
M3 Bumper :
CSL Type Spoiler from Max
Work in Progress
Progress Completed
raise: WOuld be awesome to do a Feature in the Digital Magazine that I'm starting now soon :rollsmile:
