The Silent Assassin 320d M Sport

[gavsadler]

This is a well-looked after example, having seen it in person (before a clean), I can vouch for Salt's enthusiasm

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This is a well-looked-after example, having seen this car in person (before a clean), I can vouch for his enthusiasm  :smilebounce:

 

[///M Individual]

Brilliant work bud and well done on maintaining your car so well! It looks the part as well with all the M Performance stuff.

 

[PsyCLown]

Looks great man!
Curious to see how it will look with the blue stitching and start button.

 

[KR_19]

Car looks great! with some tasteful modding

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[Salt]

Looks great man!
Curious to see how it will look with the blue stitching and start button.

Will def post once the button is in and the re-upholstery is done. 

And thanks everyone for the kind words - its great being able to share here with others who share the same passion. I equally enjoy reading ya'll threads as well. I'll post again once the next set of items are done.

 

[Morribiscuit]

Took a bit of a trip on this thread!

Firstly - well done on having your own specific idea of where you wanted to go, and realising that with YOUR car.

The dual slat kidney grills really have a lot of presence on the car, and the cosmetic mods you have added now make the car look fantastic. Especially the front - i dig it a LOH LOH!

I did notice one of the mods - "new numberplates"? Did you do perspex or what was the change?

Car looks great! Well done.

Will keep a close eye on this thread.

 

[Salt]

Took a bit of a trip on this thread!

Firstly - well done on having your own specific idea of where you wanted to go, and realising that with YOUR car.

The dual slat kidney grills really have a lot of presence on the car, and the cosmetic mods you have added now make the car look fantastic. Especially the front - i dig it a LOH LOH!

I did notice one of the mods - "new numberplates"? Did you do perspex or what was the change?

Car looks great! Well done.

Will keep a close eye on this thread.

I was super keen on getting perspex plates until I found out they are illegal so I just got new metal plates made and removed the ugly holder on the front bumper. They are permanently attached to the bumper so to comply. Thanks for the great feedback, I appreciate it

 

[Morribiscuit]

Took a bit of a trip on this thread!

Firstly - well done on having your own specific idea of where you wanted to go, and realising that with YOUR car.

The dual slat kidney grills really have a lot of presence on the car, and the cosmetic mods you have added now make the car look fantastic. Especially the front - i dig it a LOH LOH!

I did notice one of the mods - "new numberplates"? Did you do perspex or what was the change?

Car looks great! Well done.

Will keep a close eye on this thread.

I was super keen on getting perspex plates until I found out they are illegal so I just got new metal plates made and removed the ugly holder on the front bumper. They are permanently attached to the bumper so to comply. Thanks for the great feedback, I appreciate it

Even me! It just makes the car stand out a bit. I will see if there is a thread RE this on here, I don't understand the legality issues [if the font is pretty similar]. Traps still pick up, e-tools, etc?

The metal ones are terrible - good idea with removing the holders. Think I'll follow suite.

 

[BeemerFanatic]

have had perspex for years now, totally different look.
But you right about the legality of them,

 

[momo1]

looks great , where did you get the M performance boot spoiler from?
I want one , I actually had one fitted a couple of years ago but didn't like the fit and finish of it, yours looks proper.

 

[Salt]

looks great , where did you get the M performance boot spoiler from?
I want one , I actually had one fitted a couple of years ago but didn't like the fit and finish of it, yours looks proper.

@"FiRi@Rennzport" supplied it to me - you can find him on the forum and he'll sort you out. And thanks for the feedback.

 

[Nomad77]

I'm aware of the perspex being illegal but I've never heard of anyone having issues with them.

I guess JHB cops don't really care (or know)

 

[Salt]

I'm aware of the perspex being illegal but I've never heard of anyone having issues with them.

I guess JHB cops don't really care (or know)

Uuggg...don't get me started on this again please - it was sad having to put the metal ones on again even if they we nice and new.

 

[Salt]

A random pic from recent...still need to get the detail done...

 

[Salt]

Hi all. Hope everyone is doing well.

I have some updates to share on!

In the past few months I got round to the following:

• M Performance carpets - ordered these from @deago.parts@abmbmw at a great price. After the first clean I realized they don't clean as easily...so did a steam clean on them and gave them a coating of Waxedshine Fabric Guard. Washed the car this morning and they wiped clean quite easily. The really look so smart. Will show more on these in the next post on the detail.
• Detail - finally got round to this. Will add more detail on the next post - pun intended .
• Door projector lights - looks pretty sweet, to me anyway - pics below. I put them in all four doors.
• Rims - Got myself a set of 405m replica rims. Very different look to the 403m's...but different is certainly what I was going for. I know the car can def do with a slight drop...especially in the front. But with the lip on I already have to be careful at certain places as it is so not sure on that one. The rims are 8.5j and 9.5j - and must say I really like how the rear stands out slightly more - looks nice and aggressive.
• Rear Lights - managed to source a set of OEM M Performance Black Line rear lights at a good price.

Items that are on my list to do or some that I am considering:

• Steering wheel reupholster - placed an order with a spot in Centurion, got there - realized is was gonna turn in to a disappointment and got a refund instead...so now back to square one. Still on the list.
• Android HU - this will probably be my next upgrade. Wana get a 10.25" android screen installed. Many reasons for this one. So if anyone has one they wana sell at a good price give me a shout - happy to buy preowned and save some money.
• Engine cover dipped - this one is towards the bottom of the list, no hurry here.
• Air vent tabs - the silver film on the finger tabs of the air vents (all 4 front ones) have lifted on the corners and I've pulled them off. Not sure what to do here to be honest.
• Interior lighting - I wana get a set of the plastic strips that sticks in to the existing LED light strips in the doors. But a little on the pricey side on Amazon and Ebay - especially for what it is...a plastic strip that diffuses the light.
• Sequential indicators - One that I am considering - not a priority at the moment.

Some maintenance that was just carried out:

• Minor service at BMW.
• New front brake pads - EBC Redstuff.

Some maintenance that is on the list for the next few months:

• Rear diff service.
• Carbon clean.
• Considering the XHP or an Xcede tune for a change.

Got myself a Vgate iCar Pro and Bimmercode and did the following coding changes:

• Cornering fog lights - so the fog lights come on when turning the steering wheel.
• Door light reverse - the door handle lights come on when putting the car in reverse.
• Digital speedo - is what it is.
• Lock/unlock beep - so the car beeps twice when unlocking and once when locking it.
• BMW i warning chimes - just a different sound for things like low fuel or seatbelt warning etc.
• BMW i ring tone - again just a different ringtone when the phone rings.
• Rear DRL - it enables the rear lights for Day Time Driving Lights. You can code either the inner, outer or complete LED at the back to he on - I am liking just the inner part to be on at the moment.
• Window interruption - so this code enables the window to carry on opening or closing when you open the door midway.
• Sport Displays in red - this changes the sport displays from orange to red - looks much nicer in my opinion.

Door Projector Light


New Rims


Rear Lights

 

[PsyCLown]

Looking good, Xcede tune and xHP I think is a great idea!

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[Salt]

I finally got round to the detail I've been planning. Took much advice from forum members here - you know who you are

I spent 9 hours on the Friday, another 1.5 hours on the Saturday and another 2 hours on the Sunday. The method is broken down below for reference in case anyone is interested:

Friday activities
Foam wash with Clean Green and rinse
Snow foam wash with Carchem Snow Foam and rinse
Shampoo wash with Clean Green and rinse
Decontamination wash with DNA-e Iron Extreme and rinse
Clay bar (Shield) using Clean Green as a lubricant
Snow foam wash with Carchem Snow Foam and rinse
Shampoo wash with Carchem Shampoo and rinse
Dry the car
Polish using Menzerna Medium Cut Polish 2400 - I bought a Tork Craft Random Orbital Polisher machine. Its nothing pro but better than by hand. I used a Waxedshine medium pad.
Wax and buff using Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax 845 - this was the first coat. I let this coat cure for about 15 hours.

Saturday Activities
Snow foam wash with Carchem Snow Foam
Rinse and dry
Wax and buff - 24 hour cure

Sunday activities
Snow foam wash with Carchem Snow Foam and rinse
Sealant with Waxedshine Aquabead - super easy to apply - you literally spray a mist on to a panel at a time while still wet, count to 10 and rinse off - that is it. I know this is a sacrificial layer as it won't bond well with the wax, but hoping it will provide some protection to the wax and allow the wax coating to last a little longer. I am applying it with each wash as a top up. Will see how it goes but thus far the results are good, shine and beading is there.

Lessons learnt - firstly its a lot of work - although I really enjoy the DIY so that is OK for me but be aware. It was something I've wanted to do and now I've done it. Products (Shampoo, Snow Foam and tyre dressing I had, I bought the clay bar kit + Iron Extreme + Wax + Sealant + foam applicator pads) plus the polisher and pads (smaller backing plate + 2 cutting pads) cost me R3300. The polisher is a once off and some of the products are multiple use products - especially the wax will last a long time. Next lesson, I could have spent more time on the polishing, but being my first time I did not want to go to hard and make a mess of it. Overall, very happy with the results.

 

[Salt]

This weekend I did the interior, also something I wanted to try myself and glad I did. A very rewarding task. I took the front seats out, washed all the carpet inside and left for an afternoon and night to dry. I steam cleaned the leather and the matts and then washed it with Clean Green using a medium length, medium hard bristle brush. I did small sections at a time. The steam opened the pores of the leather very nicely and allowed me to really get it clean using the soap and brush. It left the leather visibly clean and matt again. I could not be happier with the results. After I applied DNA-e Leather Balm and Waxedshine Fabric Guard.

Below I took the seats out. I closed the seat connector in a plastic bag to protect it from the water and shampoo.


First photo below the seat on the left has not been steam cleaned and washed. You can see how shiny the left seat still is from the oils and dirt. Next photo both seats have been done and you can see how matt they both are now.


While I had the opportunity I opened the subwoofer covers and cleaned them out as well.


This was the rinse bucket after the clean 🤢


And the results in the next post 😁 (cannot post any more pics in this post)

 

[Salt]

And the results from the interior clean as described in the post above

 

[K0dAx]

Your car is looking amazing, that's a good way to spend the weekend.

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