2018 BMW 3 Series : Road to 500 Horsepower

[umarabdullah]

Searching around I have located a brand operating out of china that is producing CNC milled parts for a lot of different BMWs. The brand is called BEVINSEE. theypart quality looks pretty nice and I saw a few people on the e90/f30 forums give them a head up saying the quality is really good. Paired with it is the cheap price and 2$ shipping you an guess what is gonna happen next...

They also sell and stock a lot of headlight bulbs and kits etc but I don't have fog lamps with my M Track handling package.. or would've been down to try these

I have ordered the above part and will do a short write up for the install when done.. stay tuned

[umarabdullah]

Alright here goes, I got the part delivered. looked up some manuals for the install and I am all set to go.
The part came in with all the required hardware down to the cable tie needed to keep the boot on for the hand brake. The quality is very impressive

Before:

So first step is to remove the handbrake boot from the console. Really easy to take off, make sure to use a trim removal tool and nothing sharp or metal.

[umarabdullah]

A photo of the kit before going any further and to remove it from the packaging:

The next step is to cut the cable tie which is holding the handbrake boot to the original knob. So here it went and then finally just had to put all of my strength in to pull the handbrake cover off while being careful not to pull so hard as to slip and hit the center console, Ac or screen this was stressful and honestly took toooo much effort, until finally it broke free!!!. Squeezing and turning it a bit while I pulled definitely helped.

Here is a comparison photo of both handles side by side:

[umarabdullah]

And finally done after putting the boot on the new handbrake handle with the supplied cable tie, cut the end off the cable tie and dont forget to position the face of the cable tie down so it doesnt make the leather seem uneven, then finally turning the allen screws on the three sides of the collar by hand until u feel them gripping the metal below and tuck the clips of the handbrake boot into its grooves lightly and you are done!!
Worthwhile upgrade, I highly recommend it. feels much better than warm leather and matches tone of interior trim on my car. 10/10, really happy with this.

[umarabdullah]

Alright so here is the plan for moving forward, I want to add one final piece to the exterior of the car to complete the look I envisioned for the car, As I am daily driving it the Mileage has climbed up to 205,000km. the car got an oil change done. All sides of the car look pristine, paint is very clean except..

The front of the car from previous owner driving really close to other cars and trucks has been peppered with stones and sand. it doesn't look good and does not compliment the rest of the car.

First thing, I got the front bumper resprayed and blended with the fenders. It looks soo nice, flowing smoothly with the rest of the car. The shop did a soliddd job on the repaint. I am gonna post the photo from before which clearly shows the glistening paint.

HOWEVER the front end of the car is nice and all but now more then ever you can see the hood has so much more peppering and even a bit of fading... it doesn't match the rest of the car and really looks horrible up close... .I did not get it resprayed because I have something else in mind for this..... an upcoming upgrade perhaps?
.

[umarabdullah]

Now then,

time for the next step. I have acquired a replacement hood for the car, it comes pre primer-ed from the factory. Unfortunately in my area, labour is super expensive and getting the old hood sanded down, primed, repainted and all cost very close to getting a new primed one and getting it painted so that's the route I went down. I will install it myself and will document the process on here. I should be able to recoup some of the cost by selling the old hood and all in all the numbers will makes sense. I am really looking forward to this. My biggest gripe with the car will be gone inshAllah.

Can't wait!

[umarabdullah]

Well here goes, I have acquired a suitable hood OEM+ themed as usual, M3 lookalike hood with a vent in it that is designed for f30 fitment.

Beyond excited to install it to the car. I have to get it transported using a truck because it does not fit in the car itself. Off to ask some friends for a favor!

[grotle998]

the wheels 100% solved the ride height dilemma looks absolutely killer now. Smart move with the tires too, with the hood did you get an M3 one or an M3 CS one?

[umarabdullah]

Thank you I am vey pleased with the tire and wheel setup stance and everything as well.

[umarabdullah]

The hood I got the CS Style hood. It is after market of course as the f80 hoods are a bit longer than f30 as mentioned above.

I borrowed a friends truck and procured the hood. Couldn't wait to put it on so installed it the same day. The installations was pretty straight forwards. I had to re-use the latch and hinge mechanism from the original hood so I did that.

Here is a photo of the hinge from the OE hood. I removed the window washer nozzles and associated pipes and plumbing from the old hood as a first step. These luckily for me are not drilled in through the hood, instead they live on the inside of the hood in the front cowl area. they just clip out of original spot.

[umarabdullah]

Next step I had my brother open the passenger side hinge and I did the drivers side so it doesn't slip or slide. It is fairly heavy and can not be removed easily with one person.
The hood uses an adjustable hood latch and couple tabs in the fron that adjust the final resting position of the hood when you close it. You dont need any tools to remove these. Just undo anticlockwise by hand after pulling down the plastic retainer. Brilliant design in my opinion.

Here is a photo of the latch I mentioned.Has some grime and dirt that I cleaned off after removing it.

[umarabdullah]

Next step removed the old hood and place aside in safe spot where it wont get scratches. and started transferring all the old mounting stuff and brackets over.

[umarabdullah]

Here is the hood installed on the car. it looks very good and almost same color from 10 feet away however when you get up close to the car you can see it has no clear coat and and is a totally different shade. This is just primer colored and no clear coat on it.

Need to get it painted ASAP.inshAllah Will update soon when i do!!

Closer look:

[grotle998]

Love the look, it ties in amazingly with the splitter might be because of the way the creases look similar to the splitters lines but in any case well worth it!

[umarabdullah]

I think so as well. Absolutely love the look from all angles. I have had it painted Sapphire Black metallic to match the rest of the car and it blends in very well and looks even more awesome!

[umarabdullah]

As mentioned above, I got the hood painted to match the rest of the car. done by a professional shop it matches spot on with the rest of the car. Here is some photos of it with the painted hood:

[umarabdullah]

Here is another small update:

I had originally gotten the hood vent plastic insert paint matched with the hood but I wanted a bit of a different look. I have applied some carbon wrap on it, took me an easy 30 mins. Here's how it came out:

[umarabdullah]

Here is the next update. I did a controversial mod. Something I was thinking about for a while but never got around to doing. I replaced the 4 in the 340i badge with a 2. Since the 320i is the lowest spec model you can buy here, i went with that.

If not for any other benefit, it will balance out the worlds other BMWs and confuse non bmw guys. For the many "M" badges put on non M cars, I have put 320i on my 340i to ensure all is right with the world. The 2 is sitting perhaps 2mm too high but I am okay with it, adds a comedic touch. My 340i will atone for all the bmw owners up-badging their cars. I will also always use my turn signals from now on..

[grotle998]

Someone's in for a big surprise when they see a FAST 320i
Sleepers for the win!

[umarabdullah]

I am considering getting an aftermarket license plate kit. Just to give a cleaner look to the front bumper I want to add the one the hooks into the tow hook location... just a cheap AliExpress part I guess