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My E81 120d M-Sport Metallic Graphite

3K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Madtoady 
#1 ·
Here is my first BMW which I bought a few weeks ago. Since buying it I've found this forum absolutely brilliant for ideas on mods to personalise it to my taste, so thank you :)

Few things about me, well I've just turned 24 and this is my first decent car with my 2 precious cars being a 1992 Citroen ZX 1.4 and a 1997 Citroen ZX 1.4. So this new car is quite a big step up on what I've had before and I love every minute I'm driving it :)



The car on the day I bought it:






Few things I've done to it in the past couple of weeks since owning it:

Windows Tinted.
Debadged.
Replaced rear tyres (was an MOT advisory) with Bridgestone run flats.
Changed front indicator bulbs to Silvertech bulbs.
Replaced wheel badges to a black carbon look.
Bought black carbon fibre bonnet, boot and steering wheel badges (awaiting delivery).
Bought new M wheel badge stickers (little ******** keep falling off!!).
Replaced headlight and sidelight bulbs with Philips BlueVision Ultra H7.
Replaced all interior bulbs to white LED bulbs.
Bought stubby aerial (awaiting delivery).
Bought LED crystal clear side repeater (awaiting delivery).

Really not sure what else I want to do with the car yet, any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking and keep up the good work on this amazing forum :)

Here are a few pictures I took today after a nice wash.





 
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#4 ·
roshambo said:
Nice. I did notice the debadge before reading! Lol

Are the fronts RFs too? Cant quite tell by the pic.
Thanks and yes the fronts are RFs aswell and I do plan on matching them with the new rears as and when they need or I can afford it :)

marco_polo said:
Hello and Welcome. :)

Nice machine, how about an Aero spoiler, as you seem to be into suble cosmetic tweeks?

Or some tweeters to lift the stereo sound?
I have been considering an Aero spoiler I think it would look pretty awesome, would like to see one in person tho. As for the stereo, I'm incredibly happy with what I've got, the previous owner replaced the standard one with an after-market £350 Alpine head unit and with the current speaker setup it sounds fantastic.
 
#6 ·
Welcome - another local. :)

Mods? ....err, where do we start (or finish) - see signature.

Viewing this forum can get expensive. :eek2:
 
#8 ·
redwizard said:
Welcome - another local. :)

Mods? ....err, where do we start (or finish) - see signature.

Viewing this forum can get expensive. :eek2:
I'm quite surprised with the amount of locals on this forum, yet I very rarely see decent 1ers on the road. I have already noticed that this forum is quite expensive, pointing things out I would've normally been ok with leaving standard but I've just had to change!

Power kit: I don't think I'm quite ready to mess with the car properly just yet :)
Black Grills: This is one thing that I've ummed and ahhed about for a few days now, I really can't decide whether or not I like them lol :)
LED Darklines: I'm quite happy with what I've got already but that's probably because I've not need them in person yet.
Angel Eyes: Would love them, need to get ideas on what style to go for and to save up some pennies to get it done.
Plates: I do want new plates, not sure whether to bother with pressed plates or just get some nice new GB standard ones without any advertisements.
 
#10 ·
marco_polo said:
Reg plate 'adverts' are law sadly. They need to have the name & postcode of the manufacturer, iirc.
Yes, but the details on mine are in the smallest legal font and gold so you have to be really close up to see them.

Just as well as they are supplied by DTUK.
 
#12 ·
The joys of owning a nice car...

Woke up this morning as normal for work, notice my steering felt weird after i nearly lost control of the car and nearly hit a cyclist. Finish my shift at work and had my uncle come and take a look, we knew something wasn't quite right with the tyres take it to the air compressor and see they had zero pressure... while putting air in I notice a small slit where the air was escaping as fast as I was putting it in. My new £250 pair of rear Bridgestone run flats had been knifed and at the same time the person who had done it put a massive deep scratch all the way along the boot. Not a nice morning.
 
#13 ·
Ahh what a bashtard! Joys of owning a beamer the tyres aren't cheap! Could be chance to replace the runflats for non runflats?

I'm a massive fan of the aero spoiler!

What's a ballpark figure for the tints? Did you get the front windows done too?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 
#14 ·
Sneaky Reeve said:
Ahh what a bashtard! Joys of owning a beamer the tyres aren't cheap! Could be chance to replace the runflats for non runflats?

I'm a massive fan of the aero spoiler!

What's a ballpark figure for the tints? Did you get the front windows done too?
Changing to non run flats would mean I would need to get all corners done, not really in the financial position to do that atm. Tints only cost me £100 but thats cos it was a mate of mine who did it and the front windows weren't touched, cba with possible police issues.

Anyway, pictures of the damage...

Boot:



Tyre:



Close up:

 
#15 ·
Hmmm - not good with the vandalism, one of the perils of having to leave a decent car on the streets. :(

No Bluewater meet for a while as a few of us are going up to the pod on September 15th - why not join us?

You won't see mine around much unless I'm driving it as it's garaged and not fired up every day - pm me if you would like to come 'round
 
#16 ·
Since owning this car it's had squeaky front wheel brakes and I finally got around to changing the pads which have thankfully solved the problem! I decided to paint my calipers and clean it all up a bit. Quite impressed with the look now. Was really temped to go for either yellow or red paint. Still unsure now but decided to go with black for the time being.













Now I just have to do the rear ones tomorrow to match :) Even if I decide to go for a more extravagant colour in the near future.
 
#17 ·
It's been a long time since I updated this thread and there's a few things I've done to the car in that time.

Dark Lines:





18" 313 BMW Performance Wheels:





Tobys Bi-Xenon headlights:









And today I fit my new Royal Steering wheel:



Alwell as:
- Pressed aluminium private plates
- Storm motorwerks V1 Brushed Stainless Steel weighted gearknob
- Front bumper respray
- New floor mats

Still to do:
- BMWP Pedals (bought not yet fitted)
- New LED bulbs in the rear light cluster (bought not yet fitted)
 
#18 ·
roundasapound said:
Very nice toady :thumbs:

I best start my own thread too.

Really like the 313 wheels. How much did they set you back and where from? What you done with your 209 stock wheels?

Twin exhaust where did you get that done and how much?

Are you going to spray the diffuser black?
Cheers dude. It's definitely worth making your own thread. Comparing your car now to what it was is really interesting and you might give others ideas :)

I bought the 313 wheels unseen off ebay. It was a bit of a risk but after spending a while speaking to the seller I felt confident in the purchase. They were £900 with only a few thousand miles used. Absolutely perfect condition but unfortunately the front tyres had bulges which needed replacing. The tyres were used but nearly new and a bargain from a seller on this forum. My old 207m wheels are currently in a relatives shed as I don't think I'll get much for them in the condition they're in. My plan is to refit the old wheels when I sell the car.

The exhaust was a custom jobbie from a place in Ashford. Replaced the back box with a straight pipe with a twin pipe at the end. It looks a million times better than the stock oval exhaust. I think it was £100ish.

To be honest, I hadn't even thought about spraying the diffuser. I think I need to see a black one on the same colour car. You've definitely thrown a spanner in the works! I thought I was gonna be done with my car for a while but now I'm not so sure!
 
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