2011 E92 M3 ZCP – AW/FR – OEM+ Build Summary

[CravingBavaria]

Almost 3 years in the making, I can finally post a full writeup of my journey as a first-time E92 M3 owner! I bought this car back in October 2019, and it’s been nothing shy of a dream to own and modify her. Enjoy the build summary!

Refinement:

Clean-Up & Detailing:

Being a one-owner car, I had a detailed history of the dents, dings, any paintwork, etc. Luckily, there wasn’t too much to note, but the perfectionist in me said there was plenty to be done.

First and foremost was rim rash “removal”. From what I could tell, this was more or less shaving down the rim rash and painting over it with paint that matches the CURRENT finish on the wheels (since of course after 65k miles the finish is slightly different than factory Hyper Silver). Plain and simple, I’m impressed with the work and the wheels look brand new.

Next was removing a few dings professionally with PDR. Easy enough. The hard part was of course the imperfections that took paint with them. There was one spot on the left rear fender that was previously touched up so that you wouldn’t notice it unless you really looked for it, along with a few rock chips on the front bumper and hood. I slowly learned how to wet sand, cut, and polish, and this improved the look of all of these imperfections drastically. I was a little upset with myself for wet sanding slightly too much in some areas so the scratches were noticeable even after cut and polish, but mostly just noticeable to me.

The end goal was always to have the car professionally paint corrected and ceramic coated, so now was the perfect time to see if that would help the fine scratches I made during the cutting process (spoiler, it did to an extent). I went with a one-stage paint correction to see how good the car would look without digging too deep into the clear coat. It's a night and day difference and looks amazing in the sun. The light scratching from wet sanding was improved 50% or so, but the result was much better than the paint chips I started with.

I should also now mention that within a few months of ownership I had Suntek film applied to the roof so I will never have to worry about sun damage or chips. That is the ONLY film on this car, and for 80k miles it’s pretty impressive to say that with how good it looks.

Pickup Day!





Inside of the car was a 9/10 to start. Very light wear on the driver bolsters, practically no wear on any of the passenger seats. I went a little overboard and ordered Swissvax leather reconditioner from overseas as that was the only place that had this liquid gold in stock. Overboard as it may have been, the results are incredible and the seats took away the years of color fading that comes with time. I repeat this process yearly to keep the seats in as good as shape possible. I also replaced the cup holder and dashboard/HVAC controls trim pieces as they had some scratches which are literally impossible to take out of the material. Lastly, I used RUST-OLEUM Paint + Primer in flat black with a toothpick to touch up some of the light chips around the HVAC and Audio controls (this turned out way better than expected and is unnoticeable).

The Wonders of Swissvax



Replaced trim & touch ups



Maintenance:

I purchased this car without the “Big 2” taken care of, but the price was still justifiable (and allowed me to choose who I wanted to have these services done with).

Rod bearings were done first when a group buy opportunity with MRF Engineering presented itself. I had to hop on it and I’m glad I did. The car was sitting at 72,556 miles when I brought it to MRF. Malek did a perfect job with the rod bearing service (inclusive of motor mounts, oil pan gasket, etc.), but also added a hydraulic fluid flush, differential fluid flush, coolant flush, and wheel alignment on top of it. All of this ended up being $2,300 and I could not be happier.

Throttle actuators presented themselves at around 76k miles when my car threw the code. Thanks to my Alpine tune, I coded it out so I could still drive the car conservatively while I waited for my new actuators. I decided to go with the refurbished M Power Motorsports throttle actuators. This is definitely the way to go if you want throttle actuators that don’t break the bank, AND will last the life of the car. I had these installed by a friend of mine, and all out the door had refurbished throttle actuators in the car for just shy of $1,000. Another very happy experience, and I have officially checked off the “Big 2”.

Aside from that, I’ve been slowly chipping away at some other maintenance items as time and money allows. Spark plugs, brake pads, etc., but nothing else major. I only drive the car about 300 miles or so a month so luckily there aren’t too many maintenance headaches I get into, even at my mileage. The only larger item on my list is valve cover gaskets, and whether or not I replace the entire valve cover set or just the gaskets. I’ve heard arguments for both, but that’s still awhile out as I’m not even close to having severe enough oil weeping to justify that yet.

Aesthetic Mods:

Exterior:

Now onto the fun stuff. I bought the car with 60-40-30 ceramic tint, IND reflector covers, matte black kidney grilles, matte black side grilles, and Macht Schnell spacers (15F & 12R). Everything else was fresh and ready to go, and I had a very specific look I was going for. I actually bought the car with one of the Angel Eye headlights burnt out, so LUX H8 189 bulbs came very quick into ownership. Highly recommend!

The decklid spoiler was the first aesthetic mod. I apologize to everyone with a white M3 and a carbon fiber decklid spoiler, but I just don’t think it looks good. After a TERRIBLE experience trying to get an Alpine White high kick spoiler from Mode Carbon, I ended up with a $100 plastic eBay spoiler that is literally PERFECT. The paint match and orange peel makes it look like it came on the car from the factory. The fitment to the trunk is amazing as well. I’ve had tons of compliments on this spoiler and I wouldn’t ever think about swapping to something else.

Spoiler-less was a vibe, but I had enough...



MUCH better!



The front lip and MLT Engineering Skid Plate came second. I knew I wanted a GTS-style lip in carbon fiber to match the roof. Thanks to POM Performance for directing me to their “CH” lip which supposedly sits just a tad bit lower than their “GTS”. POM’s prices are perfect for not having to worry about tearing up the lip, which I surprisingly haven’t done yet. Onto the skid plate, I was very picky with deciding which I wanted to go with. The MLT skid plate is most likely the lightest and most low profile of the options. It may not be the best choice for someone who drives their car rough or tracks it and wants added protection with a thicker skid plate, but this worked perfect on my car. The fitment with the lip was great as well.

The lip and skid plate are ON!



Her first photoshoot with the lip -



AND her first outing with the lip @ South OC Cars & Coffee!



Lastly, something that took longer than I thought it would - I finally swapped the matte black pieces (kidney and fender grilles) over to gloss black to match the shadowline trim. This looks 10x better, and really ties all the gloss parts of the car together. I decided to keep the mirror caps and hood vents Alpine White so the carbon fiber use wouldn’t be overbearing.

Oh VERY last, OEM aluminum valve stem caps haha. Subtle, but very clean.

I remember this shoot being the first time I looked at the car and thought "yes, now this is PEAK"



Interior:

The interior mod list is pretty simple. The first was brushed black aluminum paddles. They’re a little longer than stock as most aftermarket paddles are. These were another awesome eBay purchase I’m very happy with. I also added the Induktiv wireless charging station to replace the ashtray portion and it’s much nicer. I’ve maybe used it to charge my phone once, but it’s a great storage spot for keys, etc.

Paddle Comparison -



Behind the Wheel!



Paddles, Induktiv wireless charging station, FLAWLESS!



Performance Mods:

Tune:

I would be remised to not start out with one of the most important aspects of performance mods – TUNING! I have the well-known Alpine MS tune by Alex and have no complaints. Alex has been very responsive and I have been able to do everything I want with Alex’s guidance. I also have the GTS transmission flash, Euro MDM, and remote coding ability. The full line of tuning!

Exhaust:

Now the REALLY fun part! I’m literally head over heels in love with my exhaust setup. When I first got the car I never knew what direction I planned on going. I always thought the car sounded cool totally stock, but started to get bored of it and wanted to spice it up.

The first piece of the puzzle was the axle back. I had an E9X M3 friend of mine reach out about a group buy for a “Valved Bomiz exhaust, but directly from the distributor”. Ok, you got my attention… A few months later, my axle back was sitting in my living room ready to install. So what exactly is the axle back? The manufacturer is actually called “GRWA”, but you can 100% call this an Alibaba exhaust LOL. There is no branding on any of the exhaust which gives it a VERY clean look. And the vacuum valves? Absolutely perfect. The exhaust tips that came with the axle back were atrocious. After a lot of looking around with no luck, I found 42 Draft Designs who made exactly what I was looking for. The sound with just the axle back was amazing, but how could I not want more?

Axle Back with the much nicer tips...



About 6 or so months later, the final chapter (well maybe final…) of my exhaust began. How do I possibly source a resonated Bimmerworld X-pipe when Bimmerworld won’t sell them unless you have proof your car is solely for track use? Well other than buying a used one, you can’t get one. I posted a WTB here on M3post, and less than a week later had a message from someone about 2 hours north of me selling a VERY lightly used resonated Bimmerworld X-pipe. Match made in heaven. I picked it up and brought it home. But… the resonated and catless Bimmerworld X-pipe was still a little “much”. I purchased a set of GESi G-Sport 100025 High-Flow Cats and had them installed in the secondary position. The sound is amazing, just enough rasp to make it sound mean, and no drone (all this with valves open of course). To my comment of “may final”… I might end up swapping things over to titanium, we will see.

The entire X-Pipe setup!



Wheels/Tires/Suspension/Handling/Brakes:

Pretty standard protocol here, but still fun. The tires that came on the car were already the “upsized” Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in 255/35ZR19(F) / 285/30ZR19(R). I’ve decided to keep those since they look good with the spacers, well and the Swift Spec-R springs. I was VERY hesitant about lowering the car, but I had to fix the notorious front gap. As most things have gone with this car, the springs are perfect. They lowered the car, but somehow didn’t really lower the lip noticeably to where I’m scraping it all the time. Seems like some wizardry, but I swear it’s the case. It looks so much better and the ride quality is awesome and bearable in all EDC settings.

Springs have settled, looks good!



That FITMENT



The brakes are pretty straightforward as well. I recently swapped to StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads which have a nice bite to them. They also seem to have produce brake dust than the OEM pads, an added bonus. I also went forward with StopTech Stainless Steel Brake Lines as I really started to notice how “mushy” the braking feel is in this car. The stainless steel lines helped a lot (not perfect), but totally worth it.

The last part of handling mods is the H&R front sway bar. I drove the car with just the front sway bar prior to getting the springs installed, and I would say there is noticeably less body roll. The car felt a lot more planted with just the front sway bar, and even better with the springs. Couldn’t be happier!

Engine Bay:

The engine bay is a REAL eye catcher, but I will get to that in a minute. I had a feeling the air filter wasn’t cleaned or replaced in the life of the car. This looked correct when I pulled the stock filter out. I purchased the Active Autowerke Performance Air Filter (Drop-In) and it’s been great so far.

So the eye catching part is 100% due to the Eventuri S65 Carbon Fiber Plenum. This was a spur of the moment purchase and I’m happy I did it. I got it brand new at a nice discount from Majdi Chowdhury who actually manages (I think manages) M Power Motorsports who I got the throttle actuators from. I had the plenum ceramic coated, and on she went. I had the engine bay DEEP cleaned right after the plenum was put on, and it all looks amazing. I honestly don’t notice too much of a difference in induction noise (maybe it’s my exhaust setup drowning it out), but I really wanted it for the look, it’s a real masterpiece.

Actual Work of ART!




In closing, this has been such an awesome experience learning about the E9X M3, meeting other enthusiasts, modding the car, and just enjoying the driving experience. I will provide updates to this thread as they come, and who knows, maybe another E9X M3 will make it’s way into my life as a stablemate!

Enjoy some BEAUTIFUL photos from her most recent shoot!

[boomerang.e92]

Really nice write up! Very clean looking e92. I may or may not have seen it in person

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by AK.Gone.Driving

Really nice write up! Very clean looking e92. I may or may not have seen it in person

Maybe once or twice? Actually, only once or twice...

[JimmyChengCA]

awesome write up, thoroughly enjoyed your journey.

[wyatth]

Nice work, those last photos are stunning!
Interesting you didn't notice much intake noise from the plenum.

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by JimmyChengCA

awesome write up, thoroughly enjoyed your journey.

Appreciate it!

Originally Posted by wyatth

Nice work, those last photos are stunning!
Interesting you didn't notice much intake noise from the plenum.

Thank you! Yeah I've brought it up to redline a handful of times and I'm just not hearing that crazy induction noise that everyone talks about lol

[JimmyChengCA]

Originally Posted by CravingBavaria

Appreciate it!

Thank you! Yeah I've brought it up to redline a handful of times and I'm just not hearing that crazy induction noise that everyone talks about lol

I think most of the sound comes from intake elbow/filter not the plenum? Could be wrong.

[mym3adventures]

Awesome read! Any sound clips of the exhaust setup before/after adding the resonators in the secondary location?

[vitalsigns]

Nice car! A definite labor of love. Congrats!

Do you have a link to the ebay rear spoiler?

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by JimmyChengCA

I think most of the sound comes from intake elbow/filter not the plenum? Could be wrong.

I've heard arguments both ways, but know of some cars that have just the carbon fiber plenum (eventuri or other) and say they notice a sharper/louder induction noise. I just can't relate haha.

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by mym3adventures

Awesome read! Any sound clips of the exhaust setup before/after adding the resonators in the secondary location?

Thank you! I actually never drove it without the high flow cats in the secondary. I heard too many people (including the guy I bought the x-pipe from) say it was almost unbearable rasp and drone wise, and smell wise. When I first drove it with my current setup I was thinking it was a little too raspy and might need different resonators than the Magnaflow that come on the x-pipe from the factory (which some guys have done before), but I didn't want to keep cutting up the x-pipe. In the end, I think there was a sort of "break-in" period for the cats since the rasp toned down to be just right IMO. I'm glad I didn't swap the resonators too soon.

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by vitalsigns

Nice car! A definite labor of love. Congrats!

Do you have a link to the ebay rear spoiler?

TOTAL labor of love and worth it. I'll try to find a link to the spoiler or something close. I know when I bought mine it was one of the last this supplier had and he wasn't going to get anymore. There has to be some more out there similar if not identical.

[mym3adventures]

Originally Posted by CravingBavaria

Thank you! I actually never drove it without the high flow cats in the secondary. I heard too many people (including the guy I bought the x-pipe from) say it was almost unbearable rasp and drone wise, and smell wise. When I first drove it with my current setup I was thinking it was a little too raspy and might need different resonators than the Magnaflow that come on the x-pipe from the factory (which some guys have done before), but I didn't want to keep cutting up the x-pipe. In the end, I think there was a sort of "break-in" period for the cats since the rasp toned down to be just right IMO. I'm glad I didn't swap the resonators too soon.

Oops, just realized I called the high flow cats resonators lol.

I'm going back and forth with a few different setups. Do you have sound clips of how the current setup?

[CravingBavaria]

Originally Posted by mym3adventures

Oops, just realized I called the high flow cats resonators lol.

I'm going back and forth with a few different setups. Do you have sound clips of how the current setup?

All good I've done the same thing I knew what you meant haha. Here you go!

What are you thinking of doing? If you want a more high-pitched V10 kinda sound this is a good one. I'm hoping full titanium would amplify this exotic sound even more. The axle back is relatively easy to source and I might pull trigger on that. The BW x-pipe in titanium is a lot harder since it doesn't exist yet, but there are a few parties discussing doing it. One thing I do notice is the power gains from the BW X placement - it was VERY noticeable.