[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Please get Tantra Fluke ASAP. Works flawlessly and recreates an almost OEM like feel with music streaming and audio/track controls via a wired remote, while retaining phone connection for calls with the default bmw connectivity (Both BMW and this product get auto connected via Bluetooth to the phone). Since I installed this in my car, I have never missed OEM integration of Bluetooth streaming!

https://www.amazon.in/Tantra-Fluke-P.../dp/B00U76LX76

Thanks a ton. Just saw it on Amazon and the product looks excellent. I so wish I had bought this earlier and enjoyed the flexibility during all these years. Which car are you using it in? I am asking because the AUX is located inside the front arm rest in the 3 series with no space for the wire to come out and as a result you have to just force close the arm rest over the lead which results in premature wear out of the wire over a few months. I currently use a Boat AUX cable which has been able to better withstand the pressure from the arm rest cover and has lasted me for close to 3 years now.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Thanks a ton. Just saw it on Amazon and the product looks excellent. I so wish I had bought this earlier and enjoyed the flexibility during all these years. Which car are you using it in? I am asking because the AUX is located inside the front arm rest in the 3 series with no space for the wire to come out and as a result you have to just force close the arm rest over the lead which results in premature wear out of the wire over a few months. I currently use a Boat AUX cable which has been able to better withstand the pressure from the arm rest cover and has lasted me for close to 3 years now.

I am using it in a 320d too, and am able to close the arm rest normally. Maybe it has a thinner wire than usual? In any case, I have not had this problem. Both the USB power & AUX connection are from within the armrest for this product.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

T

My opinion regarding the tyres stays the same. I have now driven 20k kms on the new tyres. The ride quality has changed dramatically and everyone else apart from the driver (that is me) appreciates that. From a driver's point of view, it has made the car a lot less fun to drive. The confidence in high speed runs has dramatically come down. On the other hand the softer side walls of these regular tubeless tyres have ensured that you are a bit more relaxed in encountering potholes and road undulations. Earlier the shockers used to bear the brunt each time the car encountered anything other than smooth tarmac.

If you plan to be in the rear seat then definitely get the tyres changed to non RFT set up.

Have you tried pumping up the pressures, like +2 or +3 or +4 psi over the manufacturer recommended ones for the RFTs? I too switched to tubeless tyres for my X3 and my initial observation was also that the car had become a bit 'soft'. The recommended pressure for RFT was 32 psi all round. I then pumped it up to 35 psi and the car regained that sharpness while still riding very well. Of course the X3 is a different car, but the switch to tubeless improved the handling as well as ride quality in my case since the car came with eco oriented, low rolling resistance type Pirelli RFTs. I switched to tubeless and a little sport oriented tyres which improved things in every possible way. For next change try something with a bit more sport bias. The P3STs are highly comfort, silence, mileage type tyres IMO.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Have you tried pumping up the pressures, like +2 or +3 or +4 psi over the manufacturer recommended ones for the RFTs? I too switched to tubeless tyres for my X3 and my initial observation was also that the car had become a bit 'soft'. The recommended pressure for RFT was 32 psi all round. I then pumped it up to 35 psi and the car regained that sharpness while still riding very well.

I have tried it and it does help. But then the ride quality gets bumpy which beats the primary purpose of changing the tyres. It felt like neither here nor there kind of a situation and hence I have fallen back to the 33 psi mark for all tyres.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

For next change try something with a bit more sport bias. The P3STs are highly comfort, silence, mileage type tyres IMO.

+1 to this. In fact, I would recommend Micheline Primacy 3 ZP, which is a run flat version of the P3ST. I recently switched to these on my 3-series, and after about 3000km of driving on new tyres (including long highway drives), I am very happy with these.

The P3 ZP will give you the same comfort and silence of the P3ST, with some added stiffness of the RFT, and of course, the peace of mind of the RFT and no issues with BMW warranties. I did not feel any loss in handling at all.

To anyone thinking of switching to tubeless from RFT, I would recommend trying the Micheline P3 ZP as the optimal sweet-spot between these two extremes.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

+1 to this. In fact, I would recommend Micheline Primacy 3 ZP, which is a run flat version of the P3ST. I recently switched to these on my 3-series, and after about 3000km of driving on new tyres (including long highway drives), I am very happy with these.

Michelin ZPs are not available in the 16" size, at least not in India :(
16" RFTs have very limited options in 225/55 size - Bridgestone ER300 & Pirelli is all that I've seen so far. With the soft sidewalls of the Pirellis, Bridgestones are the only real option.

[drmohitg]

Problem finally solved!

Ever since I have bought the 3 series, one aspect has been a nuisance and I have mentioned it multiple times before on the thread - the lack of Bluetooth Music streaming on my car. Even though mine is the basic model (prestige to be precise) but it still costs you a lot of money. And to not have something as basic as BT music streaming had really affected the ownership experience and is just not in sync with the time. Even a 4L Rs. basic entry level car has it and a 35L Rs. BMW doesn't!

Special thanks to member d3mon for letting me know about this BT receiver by Tantra on the page before. The product looked promising and was delivered in a day by Amazon. And Voila! The issue was solved. I can now enjoy music like every other car user does ( pun intended). Moreover the device is quite neat and nice looking and doesn't spoil the looks of the car by being bulky or an eye sore. It connects to your phone instantly and allows you to use it both for music streaming and phone calls while also letting you keep the functionality of your steering and iDrive controls intact. My only regret is that I didn't come to know about this device earlier.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Special thanks to member d3mon for letting me know about this BT receiver by Tantra on the page before.

Glad to know it worked out for you

Now if you enjoyed this upgrade, check out this other upgrade (Sports automatic transmission coding) which I'm sure you will enjoy 10x more than this one.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post4578183 (BMW - Coding & enabling hidden features)

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Problem finally solved!Special thanks to member d3mon for letting me know about this BT receiver by Tantra on the page before. The product looked promising and was delivered in a day by Amazon. It connects to your phone instantly and allows you to use it both for music streaming and phone calls while also letting you keep the functionality of your steering and iDrive controls intact. My only regret is that I didn't come to know about this device earlier.

Hope the sound quality is good. I had one for my old Elantra the sound quality wasn't good and it would disconnect frequently.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Hope the sound quality is good. I had one for my old Elantra the sound quality wasn't good and it would disconnect frequently.

The sound quality seems as good as wired to me. It's possible that you faced issues due to your USB power source with electrical interference. I'm using a USB socket provided in the car by default, which I'm assuming will have much lower electrical noise than a 12V to USB power converter.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Hope the sound quality is good. I had one for my old Elantra the sound quality wasn't good and it would disconnect frequently.

No such issues yet in my car. I am not very specific with the sound quality though. The ease of playing it was more important. To me it sounds as good or bad as before.

[drmohitg]

Service Update

The time of yearly service had come up and the car's odometer currently stands at 65k kms. Both the engine oil and front brake pads needed a change as per the iDrive. This is the second brake pad change during the ownership period. The first time only the brake pads were changed but this time around both the pads and discs were changed. The rear brake pads are still showing 29k kms life left but I expect it to fall suddenly (as it usually happens) in the next 5k kms or so. The service was of-course covered under the BSI pack which I had got extended last time around to 10 years/1L kms.

The total cost of service otherwise was Rs. 78k and I continue to believe that BSI packs are rather useful provided your car runs atleast 10k kms per year.

Also got the interior cleaned at 3M as the beige shade is a dirt magnet and had accumulated a lot of dust. The experience at 3M was average and I can still see a few obvious places which are dirty, particularly the grab handles in both front doors which are used a lot. A did point it out to them there and they tried for a second time. But after driving back home, I could still see significant areas still dirty along the gran handles. I will try and go back if time permits to see if they can try one more time. I have previously got my Innova and Altis cleaned at their Gurgaon outlet and the workmanship that time was phenomenal. Those cars were much dirtier and they managed to bring them to nearly showroom condition. In comparison the Bimmer was quite clean when it went in and hence the overall average rating.

[drmohitg]

On a recent outstation drive, my car suddenly popped up this warning that the parking lights or DRLs have malfunctioned (picture from iDrive attached). On inspection I saw that the left front DRLs were not working. I parked my car overnight and next morning went to further inspect the error. To my surprise, the error didn't pop up this time and the error from previous day also did not show under "vehicle status" in the iDrive. The lights were functioning normally with no indication of any fault. Any idea what could have been the issue? I would be driving back tomorrow to Delhi (approx. distance of 480 kms) and just hope it doesn't cause any trouble during the journey.

[adi_petrolhead]

This error in no way would affect the driving capabilities of the car. So even if it pops up again, you can continue your journey. Yours is a Prestige so does it have LED DRL or Halogens?

Edit: Okay, I just saw the first page of your thread. The DRL is LED powered. Might be an electrical issue due to the weather, better get it checked once you're home. But don't worry about the drive, it'll not interrupt or cause any other failure. Do check if the error pops up with the headlights being on for some time? Since these days day light is pretty much 12 hours a day, you should be home well in time not to use the headlights at all.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

But don't worry about the drive, it'll not interrupt or cause any other failure. Do check if the error pops up with the headlights being on for some time? Since these days day light is pretty much 12 hours a day, you should be home well in time not to use the headlights at all.

Well reached back to Delhi today and most of the drive was under heavy rain with multiple stretches of water-logging. But the car managed to wade through them all and not die on me. The lights performed absolutely fine with no trace of any fault whatsoever. I have a service due in October for brake fluid replacement and would get it checked that time or earlier if the error comes back again.

Final figures of the round trip:


This includes almost 2 hours of idling with AC on since we had home cooked food and beverages both ways inside the car due to the Corona risk.

As far as the drive goes, it felt wonderful to finally be able to take the car on a long drive. 7 years almost completed and it still rides so beautifully that you want to just keep driving it. The brutal acceleration, pin point steering feedback and the overall connected feeling that this car gives is simply unmatchable. One need not ever drive at maniac speeds to enjoy this car since our highways are just not meant for those kind of speeds and it is rather foolish. But even in that legal speed bracket of 20-100 kmph, it is just so much fun. And the gearbox is so well tuned that regardless of how much you push her, the rpm meter never really crosses the 2k mark unless you drive in sports mode. I may look to sell her towards the close of this year pending some major relocation decisions, but regardless buying this car was one of the best decisions I took. Or rather convinced my father for!