Have been on M3post for a relatively speaking reasonable amount of time now (approximately October 2010 when my E90 M3 order was confirmed by the local BMW dealership), typically admiring all the mods members post up, technical discussions about everything and anything M (or BMW) related and the great stories of European Deliveries (which we don't have the option for) to name a few. Given the lack of photos posted on my end thought it would be nice to share a few especially since I've come around to adding a few bits and pieces recently.
Just to give a bit of context to the mods below, having just sold my 997.1 Carrera S 6MT a month earlier I was looking to find an 'all-in-one' performance 4 door saloon (due to a need for easily accessible rear seats, ample storage space and limited parking space preventing ownership of a DD as well as a weekend car). I've always loved 4 door performance cars as they are typically understated, most looking at a E90 M3 would assume its a regular 3 series until they hear the S65 engine. Looked at the C63 and ISF but neither offered 6MT or the same dynamic capabilities of the M3 around a corner. Test drove a Frozen Grey E92 DCT to get a feel of what the dual clutch system was like coming from 6MT my whole life. It was as expected, quite amazing but nevertheless still hankered for a 6MT. October 2010 I put down my deposit for an E90 M3 6MT Space Grey with Fox Red (non-extended) interior, unfortunately there never was a ZCP option for the E90 M3s here in the UK so settled for EDC and 18 inch 219Ms. Yes I am one of those that prefer the 18s over the 19s (both 220M and 359M). By January 2011 I had a call letting me know there was a new E90 M3 waiting to be picked up.
Thought I would be conservative with the mods so stuck to the Performance pedals, M3 Edition grills and side gills to get rid of the chrome (it was a pain in the behind to get the side gills out). Thought I'd leave it at that and just be happy with the car.
14 months and 6,000 miles later no matter how many twisty A and B-roads I went in search for to the South, South West and North of London (have been to Snowdonia in Wales and the roads are amazing but just a bit far from London to go on a regular basis) I knew I needed to step it up a bit and take the car to the track to more safely explore its capabilities and then summer this year to The Ring and possibly Spa. That thought then led me to search for upgrades to brakes, seats and steering wheel. In all honesty I probably could have gotten by without the seat and steering wheel but it was just too hard to resist and a bit more side support for the thighs wouldn't hurt.
In order to maintain my full BMW warranty decided to keep it OEM.
BMW Performance sports pads and discs
Part numbers
34112283764 - Front pads
34212283366 - Rear pads
34112283385 - Discs
34112283386 - Discs
34112283387 - Discs
34112283388 - Discs
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...nce+brake+pads
Emil had the Performance pads installed without changing out the rotors (despite the different part numbers). From the BMW dealers that I had approached, on their parts system they were instructed to install the 'different' discs in conjunction with the Performance pads). Visually the stock rotors and the ones that are advised to be used in conjunction with the Performance pads do look the same but the parts department informed me that the new rotors are of a different compound to prevent premature wear from the sports pads, that being said yet to see anything definitive on paper.
BMW Performance bucket seat (Recaro Sportster CS) and wiring loom
Part numbers
52100442130
61122155580
A few hiccups experienced with the seat install, the new wiring loom was put in and recoding was done, in the consequent testing (takes a couple of hours) half way through it stopped as the alarm siren failed and needed to be replaced.
BMW Performance Steering Wheel V2 (non-electric)
Part number
32302212772
Looking forward to the summer will be heading off to The Ring, Welt and other alpine passes (haven't done Grossglockner previously in any car let alone the M3, will also have to introduce the M3 to a few of France/Italy and Switzerland's mountain passes that I had previously done as well as a few UK track days. Will post pics of any potential future mods (the Performance exhaust is very tempting). To prompt the answer to a potential question, I have no plans to change out the springs, agreed it would look nicer if it sat lower but unless I was out of warranty and/or going to get very serious about track work then perhaps adjustable coilovers would be the next step.
From an aesthetic perspective would love to get the CRT lip and the BMW CF Performance Spoiler II (maybe with a touch of IND!) but functionally are probably not crucial at this point in time.
Thanks all for looking.
Jon