As I mentioned in my other thread, I recently took delivery of my new car. I made sure the dealer did not prep it before delivery as I wanted to do this entirely myself. I also wanted to try out a new paint sealant, CQuartz, which is suppose to last 2 years and help minimize light swirls and marring.
The car:
2011 E92 M3 - Jerez Black
M-DCT
Fully loaded with competition pack
OEM Edition black grilles and gills (compliments of Nate@IND)
Painted reflectors (compliments of Nate@IND)
MS spacers 10mm front and 5mm rear (compliments of Nate@IND)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires (245/35 front and 275/35 rear)
I wanted spacers but did NOT want an aggressive fitment. 10mm is perfect for the front and it is just slightly shy of flush. 5mm on the rear is pretty darn flush with 275 tires. All of the "rumours" that 10mm and 5mm spacers won't work are not true. Nate confirmed this as will I. The 10mm MS spacers have a tapered inner lip so that they fit absolutely flush to the hub... no issue as all. The 5mm spacer still left enough lip to properly mount the tires. I am a novice at this (relatively) and had zero fitment issues. I like the more subtle look as the wheels are flush but not sticking out at all and I don't need to worry about rubbing, etc.
I will install my Lux H8 V3s tonight.
The spring detail:
As mentioned, I made sure the dealer did NOT prep the car for me on delivery. Even with that, there was some swirling and a few areas where the finish looked very dull and matte. I was very excited to try CQuartz on this car and am VERY happy with not only the result but the ease of application... probably one of the easiest sealants I have ever used.
- Wash (TBM) with Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II
- P21S TAW as needed
- CQuartz IronX... spray on dwell... agitate lightly
- Claybar (Riccardo Blue) with FK425 as the lubricant
- Rewash the car
- Polish with Menzerna Power Finish and a combo of 4" orange and white pads on my PC
- Menzerna Top Inpection after each panel
- 90/10 Isopropyl/Dawn wipedown
- Wash with Dawn to a very squeeky clean in preparation for CQuartz
- First coat of CQuartz (used cotton pads from Shoppers Drug Mart which were much better than the supplied pads)
- Next morning... second coat of CQuartz
- Will apply Reload next weekend
- For the wheels, removed them from the car and applied Powerlock to one side and CQuartz to the other... let's see how it holds up.
- Duragloss 253 Tire Dressing (by far my favourite)
The paint was flawless before CQuartz application and it really brought out the gloss in the paint. I can't say enough about how happy I am with CQuartz... it will be VERY interesting to see how durable it is.
The detail took around 10 hours start to finish over 2 days. Interior detail is next weekend
A lot of work but, for me, very rewarding and a LOT of fun. Now it is just the maintenance which, on a comparative basis, is EASY
Pictures:
Front... pretty flush (for my taste) with 10mm spacer
Rear... again, pretty flush (for my taste) with 5mm spacer
Is this a mirror? NO, it's the side of the car
VERY happy with the stance with the ZCP wheels and 10/5 spacers.
