The Silent Assassin 320d M Sport

[Salt]

Hi all,

Some of you might have read my cries for help when I was searching for me car and some of you might have seen my post in the new members section. Either way I recently bought a 2015 LCI 320d M Sport. And I am totally enjoying the car very much. Have a few things in mind on what I want to do with the car looks wise. I am very glad I got the mineral grey...for me personally it gives me the space to do some visual upgrades without the car standing out too much due to the darker paint job. I want make it a little different to the standard M Sport but don't want it being too flashy. Below are a few pics of the car as I bought it. Its at BMW now for a new centre arm rest and they are updating the software on the car. One of the things I am deciding about is whether to change to 442 rims or to change my current 403 rims to gun metal grey.

My first change on the car was this week...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I will keep updating as I make changes...glad to be part of this forum and this is pretty exciting for me.

 

[TheMo]

Car's looking good! the grills really make a big difference to the look! :smilebounce:

 

[Riaad]

Style 442 FTW:thumbs:

Or these...

https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=88316

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Dual slat grills are looking good! :thumbs:

Rims on the F30.. Met a guy who showed me his 648M (OEM 7 series) rims on his car... They have presence, I like it a lot. But they are 20s..

 

[Salt]

Yes...this morning I saw another F30 with the 403's and I thought damn it looks nice. To be honest the 403 rims are awesome, I don't think anyone can say they look [email protected] just want my F30 to be a little different and I've liked the 442's since I saw them the first time. So perhaps the right way to go for me then. But I would need to offset the cost of the 442's by selling my 403's so would either need to do a swap or buy the 442's and then sell my 403's. Wonder what I can get for me 403's.

 

[Phat01]

Looks good Salt. Mineral grey definitely stands out.

Have a look on gumtree, there are few guys in GP that do accept wheel trades & keep stock of a variety of OEM BMW wheels.

 

[Paul_Pret]

Dat //M logo doesn't belong.....my opinion

 

[Salt]

How so?

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Looks good Salt. Mineral grey definitely stands out.

Have a look on gumtree, there are few guys in GP that do accept wheel trades & keep stock of a variety of OEM BMW wheels.

Cool thanks...will have a look cause that will make it a lot easier for me. Appreciate

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Dat //M logo doesn't belong.....my opinion

How so man?

 

[Kaaba1]

Transformation in progress..nice

 

[Salt]

Cool thanks. I am super excited and honestly...the car puts a smile on my face. Might sound cheesy hehehe but I often find myself just smiling. I've worked hard to be able to buy this car and it feels good. My car was at BMW this week twice for a few niggles they sorted out for me and I was treated like a VIP...honestly I was blown away. I can truly see a big difference between driving another brand and driving a BMW in terms of the client service you get. I was offered a lovely cappuccino today...AND muffins, milk tart and other snacks lol. Really just awesome service I am not used to from driving various other brands.

 

[Salt]

Looks good Salt. Mineral grey definitely stands out.

Have a look on gumtree, there are few guys in GP that do accept wheel trades & keep stock of a variety of OEM BMW wheels.

BTW I found the guys - he is busy sourcing a set of 442's with the inserts already grey for me so we can do a trade. :thumbs:

 

[Phat01]

That's awesome man. Hope the sale goes well! Is it worth while doing a trade?

I considered changing my wheels too, but decided on doing the mperformance kit first and doing the wheel change later.

 

[Salt]

That's awesome man. Hope the sale goes well! Is it worth while doing a trade?

I considered changing my wheels too, but decided on doing the mperformance kit first and doing the wheel change later.

If I can do the trade it really is much more convenient. But if I find the set myself at the right price I will buy it. Last night as I opened FB marketplace someone posted a set of 442's with tires on good nic for R10k...post was only 2 hours old. I immediately contacted the guy only to be told they are sold :blueCry:

he guy that does the trades offered me R8k for mine so I would have a R2k deficit which I would happily have done. So now I am looking again or hoping the trade guy finds me a set.

 

[KPM3_30]

Your current tyres would be a direct swop over to the 442's.. So if you find a good set without tyres, that would be fine. You can sell your 403's without tyres to offset some of the cost.

Arranged the set from the forum for my mate to do the same.

 

[Peter@AEW]

"How so man?"


Established in May 1972, BMW M GmbH, previously known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a division of BMW AG. This high performance division began with just eight employees and it was initially created to handle BMW's racing program during the 1960s and 1970s. Their first project was the BMW 3.0 CSL..................etc etc etc

Your car cannot really be considered high performance in the bigger scheme of things.
The guys that know smirk when seeing a non M car which is full of M badges and the guys who don't know... well it doesn't really matter

 

[Salt]

"How so man?"


Established in May 1972, BMW M GmbH, previously known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a division of BMW AG. This high performance division began with just eight employees and it was initially created to handle BMW's racing program during the 1960s and 1970s. Their first project was the BMW 3.0 CSL..................etc etc etc

Your car cannot really be considered high performance in the bigger scheme of things.
The guys that know smirk when seeing a non M car which is full of M badges and the guys who don't know... well it doesn't really matter

Cool info thanks. And of course everyone is entitled to their opinions and to their views and how they see or feel about things :=): In my mind however, my car is an M sport version. My car came out of the BMW factory with two of those exact same M tree colour badges on the car already - one one each fender as well as one on the steering wheel (just the three colours). As such I don't see the wrong in having one on my kidney grille. If I added kidney grilles with a badge that said M3 or M4 then I would agree as that is not correct imo - but again everyone to their own. I like the M Sport and M Performance exterior styling bits. The only difference as far as I know between my car and a Performance Edition model from the factory is it came with the exterior bits on already (I know the grille is not duel fin). The actual engine performance upgrade, exhaust upgrade is another extra on top of the Performance Edition package and very few Performance Edition samples have the Engine upgrade kit installed - I know this because I looked at multiple versions while I was looking for mine. Thus those models have the M Performance exterior parts on the car - same as what I am adding yet they are in essence no faster or have better performance than mine. Not sure if that makes sense but that is how I see it. I am just adding the exterior parts afterwards. :=):

Honestly not looking for an argument and its sad that some people feel the need to come and criticize my choices on something I've dreamed about for such a long time and now really just want to enjoy and be part of the BM family here. Its that old saying - if you have nothing nice to say move on UNLESS if I was adding something to the car that was wrong like something that would screw with the car, cause damage or issues with motor plan etc etc. that I was not aware of please let me know - I am sharing here for advice, guidance and input - not to be put down with some short negative comment. Peter not aimed at you.

In fact I would appreciate if admin could just delete the negative stuff as this is not what I wanted my thread to be about. :dunnoanymore:

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Your current tyres would be a direct swop over to the 442's.. So if you find a good set without tyres, that would be fine. You can sell your 403's without tyres to offset some of the cost.

Arranged the set from the forum for my mate to do the same.

Yip...that is my plan B :smilebounce: Its just a swap would be pretty convenient. Would it be a good idea to have a set I find be checked by a mag place before I pay? Just in case they might be damaged and the eye might not see it - not sure if the mag can perhaps have a wobble from an accident and just the visual damage was perhaps repaired?

 

[SanM]

Just don't pay attention to criticism, man. It's an open forum and you'll always get mixed responses. Some guys can be jack*sses about it, but generally, most members are honest about their opinions here, and aren't afraid to compliment. I think your car looks great. Regarding the "m" on the grill, well yeah, it'll attract polar responses. To me, I feel it doesn't really belong there as it's changing the image and identity of your car. I feel the same when I see "R" on Golf 1.0 tsi's. However, your "m" is still subtle. So if it truly makes you happy, then you really don't need affirmations from others. Keep up the detailing.

 

[lucian]

Welcome Salt.
:=):
We met on the Mybroadband forum. There I am LPCPT

 

[KPM3_30]

In fact I would appreciate if admin could just delete the negative stuff as this is not what I wanted my thread to be about. :dunnoanymore:

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...Snip...

Yip...that is my plan B :smilebounce: Its just a swap would be pretty convenient. Would it be a good idea to have a set I find be checked by a mag place before I pay? Just in case they might be damaged and the eye might not see it - not sure if the mag can perhaps have a wobble from an accident and just the visual damage was perhaps repaired?

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@Salt, no need to be sensitive.. As this is an open forum, not everyone will share you views and opinions. The whole 'M' badge on non-M vehicles, has been going on before I joined the forum and even before then.

Personally, I am not a fan of 'M' badges on non-M cars, even if it did come from the factory that way.. The only non-M car that I find it vaguely acceptable on is the M135i/M140i.. On a F30 Msport, I would remove all exterior 'M' badges.. Again, personal preference. This is your car, so do with it as you will and whatever makes you happy, is all that counts.

With regard to the mags, if you aren't buying from a trusted source, it is worth having them checked out.. In most cases, you can see any repairs by inspecting them carefully, but buckles are best noticed on a wheel machine.

 

[Salt]

Welcome Salt.
:=):
We met on the Mybroadband forum. There I am LPCPT

Sweet dude...nice to see you here! Super glad you got your car. And the AM/FM issue sorted I see.

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Good advice...will def get the rims checked - safe rather than sorry. :thumbs:

@KPM_330 and @Z4Guy points taken gents

And just a heads up then...I am considering adding the M Performance side skirt decals soon so people please prepare yourselves emotionally for that now so its not a shocker to those who don't like it hehehe - just kidding with you guys (but really gonna add them though) :=):

Moving along then!