[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Completely my pleasure . This is the charm of TBHP.

Hope we'll see your respective ownership threads soon, or at the very least post pictures and your experiences here itself.

Yes Sir surely.
also just putting it out here in case someone comes up with a solution to add Carplay to the sport model. I have the 330i Sport model with IDrive 6. it seems the only solution is to go the Bimmertech route with the MMI prime. I will take that plunge if i run out of all options. it'll be great if any existing owner of 330i Sport manages to get carplay added and shares his experience. thanks!

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Yes Sir surely.
also just putting it out here in case someone comes up with a solution to add Carplay to the sport model. I have the 330i Sport model with IDrive 6. it seems the only solution is to go the Bimmertech route with the MMI prime. I will take that plunge if i run out of all options. it'll be great if any existing owner of 330i Sport manages to get carplay added and shares his experience. thanks!

Hi, does your car have in built navigation? In that case it would be possible to add Carplay in this. Else, i don't think there's a way out.

If yes, please share the maps version as some systems can be activated with carplay.

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Completely my pleasure . This is the charm of TBHP.

Hope we'll see your respective ownership threads soon, or at the very least post pictures and your experiences here itself.

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Hi, does your car have in built navigation? In that case it would be possible to add Carplay in this. Else, i don't think there's a way out.

If yes, please share the maps version as some systems can be activated with carplay.

Hi thanks for the reply.
No, the 330i Sport did not with navigation and is running on IDrive 6.
the only option i have come across till now is the Bimmertech MMI prime hence the confusion whether to go ahead with it or not.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Hi thanks for the reply.
No, the 330i Sport did not with navigation and is running on IDrive 6.
the only option i have come across till now is the Bimmertech MMI prime hence the confusion whether to go ahead with it or not.

Okay, so a software to upgrade to Carplay is out of the equation then.

Not just the Bimmertech MMI prime, but any MMI box (upgrade/box) whatever you want to call it should be a possible option. But I believe any hardware upgrade/modification will void the warranty.

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Okay, so a software to upgrade to Carplay is out of the equation then.

Not just the Bimmertech MMI prime, but any MMI box (upgrade/box) whatever you want to call it should be a possible option. But I believe any hardware upgrade/modification will void the warranty.

Yes it would void the IDrive warranty and that is why it is the last option if no other factory upgrade from BMW is possible. Also CarPlay is not one of those essential upgrades for me so I am going to give it a good thought before deciding to go for MMI.

[astrodex]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

current drive - G20 330i sport Alpine white and loving every minute of this insane engine.

Congrats! .. I have the same color, Alpine white. It wasn't my first or second choice, and was the only color available at that time. I have come to love the color, it looks very elegant and the black interior contrasts it well.

Originally Posted by helterskelter

it seems the only solution is to go the Bimmertech route with the MMI prime. I will take that plunge if i run out of all options. it'll be great if any existing owner of 330i Sport manages to get carplay added and shares his experience. thanks!

I had looked into this, but then read a couple of threads on Reddit about it also having glitches. Bimmertech is the best option if you really need to have CarPlay. Warranty is also an issue, though SA tells only IDrive warranty gets invalidated.

I'd suggest sticking to stock go low tech. I've my phone setup on a mobile holder. Have been using a one that connects into the driver side air vent, but am looking for a nicer one that feels more seamless.

Wishing you many many happy miles.

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by astrodex

Congrats! .. I have the same color, Alpine white. It wasn't my first or second choice, and was the only color available at that time. I have come to love the color, it looks very elegant and the black interior contrasts it well.

Thanks astrodex! Its the first time i have ever bought a white car and only because it has all black interiors which provide a nice contrast and even then the first thing i did was change the kidney grille to black in the showroom itself. I think it looks much better with the black grille. I am attaching pictures, hope you like it!


I had looked into this, but then read a couple of threads on Reddit about it also having glitches. Bimmertech is the best option if you really need to have CarPlay. Warranty is also an issue, though SA tells only IDrive warranty gets invalidated.

I'd suggest sticking to stock go low tech. I've my phone setup on a mobile holder. Have been using a one that connects into the driver side air vent, but am looking for a nicer one that feels more seamless.

Wishing you many many happy miles.

Carplay is a low priority upgrade to me so i'll wait and watch and hopefully more solutions will present itself. I have it in the family Octavia and have only used it while travelling out of town for navigation. Do keep in touch if you come across some solution as well. Bimmertech is always there as an option though. i really suggest you check out the car mount from IPitaka. check out their website. its the most seamless car mount i have ever used and its simply amazing. Do check it out.

[astrodex]

Was going to ask you about the kidney grill color when I saw you mentioned it in the reply quote itself. You are doing the ceramic coat too?

The black grill looks amazing!

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by astrodex

Was going to ask you about the kidney grill color when I saw you mentioned it in the reply quote itself. You are doing the ceramic coat too?

The black grill looks amazing!

thanks! yeah black kidney grille was a must. i have not got ceramic coating as yet, turtle wax here in gurgaon has a ceramic spray package which is quite economical and lasts for 8-9 months so instead of spending a sizeable amount on ceramic coating, i intend to just send them the car once a year for this basic treatment which serves the purpose. its also a DIY product.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Off to TPT this week - will update conditions once back. Plan is as follows:

1. Leave my Yelahanka residence around 1400;
2. Take the usual ORR route to hit NH 75;
3. Straight to TPT via Kolar and Chittoor bypass;
4. Stay overnight and do SED the next day at 0900;
5. Leave directly from TML by ~1100, and
6. Arrive back to BLR in time to beat the evening rush from KR Puram to Yelahanka.

ONWARD:

BLR:
Plan went off smoothly except it took a hellish amount of time to navigate the ORR and KR Puram. Nothing specific really, just slow moving traffic hogging multiple lanes. Bottomed out the engine sump on an ugly and deceptively deep pothole near Manyata. This was the only one on the entire trip :-).

Hoskote-Kolar



Traffic thinned out somewhat beyond Hoskote, but was always messy with 2W & small LCVs veering all over the road. Clearly, whatever COVID-19 has increased among people, common sense and brains are not in that list. Scenery was superbly green and a visual feast. Medians were awash with flowers especially the yellow ones. One downside a large number of flying insects committing suicide on the windshield, thereby needing copious washes to quickly remove the messy stains.

Kolar-Mulbagal-Chittoor:
Cannot help but make a strong point that the newly concretized stretches of Mulbagal - Chittoor is atrocious in the execution, quality and road markings. In fact, i would rate it as the worst I've driven on. Criminal that such a new piece of road was so badly laid, especially when the Chittoor bypass tarmac portion is a masterpiece. High GC vehicles need to be very vey careful as there are deceptively smooth stretches followed by ghastly sudden dips/undulations, which can seriously imbalance a speeding vehicle. Being white concrete, these undulations are almost impossible to spot early on. Again, some of the flyovers are reasonably paved only in the middle lane and the rest (shoulder, left & fast lane) are atrociously finished. Be careful of sharp edges and ample road debris lying around. Did not notice expected cats-eyes either but may have missed them as we drove during broad daylight. Road signages are decent.

Chittoor Bypass:



An amazing piece of tarmac with 2+(3+3)+2 lanes, fenced off and with minimal traffic as of now. Very easy to get to ridiculous speeds here even if you didn't mean to. I would rank it to be the best portion I have travelled in for many years now. Be careful though as there are a couple of diversions onto the messy old highway.

Tirupati & Tirumala:
Overall, total journey time was an amazing 3.5 hours from Yelahanka till Tirupati. Tirupati to Tirumala was a breeze with time-based speed controls as usual. We really enjoyed the drive up with the sunroof open and feeling more and more pious as we got closer.

Darshan:
Special Entry Darshan was very smooth with good social distancing (well, mostly), and we were out in 1.5 hours flat. Got slightly held up by the Aarti for 40 minutes else would have been a total breeze. Had a lovely darshan of the Lord for a good 45 seconds as they were still clearing up (after the Aarti), and there was no hurrying along.

Funny thing was that many devotees slid down their masks immediately after the darshan as if moksha had been obtained! Avoided them totally, quickly collected the laddoos and started off.

There was no time stamping on the way down, so had a little fun on the hairpins.







RETURN:
Started off from Alipiri directly and Maps routed me through the Kalur Cross Road which had a delightful rough stretch.



No issues and it shaved off a good amount of time from the city traffic.

Took the identical route back till Hoskote. Avoided the KR Puram route and took the Budigere Road towards Yelahanka. Google Maps again duly routed me through a (personally known) shortcut with some surprises. A video speaks a thousand words:

https://youtu.be/DFCgBK_aaz8

Overall an excellent drive with a lovely darshan! Pictures and videos from my new DDPAI Mola N3 dashcam.

[FamilyTraveller]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

thanks! yeah black kidney grille was a must. i have not got ceramic coating as yet, turtle wax here in gurgaon has a ceramic spray package which is quite economical and lasts for 8-9 months so instead of spending a sizeable amount on ceramic coating, i intend to just send them the car once a year for this basic treatment which serves the purpose. its also a DIY product.

Looks stunning now with the grill and the treatment. Did you use the hybrid Ceramic coating spray? Btw how much did it cost? I will most likely get this done within a few days after getting my car.

[jkrishnakj]

The Chittoor by pass road tops any expressway. I can’t imagine the joy you might have had on this stretch with your car.

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by FamilyTraveller

Looks stunning now with the grill and the treatment. Did you use the hybrid Ceramic coating spray? Btw how much did it cost? I will most likely get this done within a few days after getting my car.

Hey thanks! so yeah this is the hybrid ceramic spray package from turtle wax. I also got interior detailing done from them and it was quite nice.
It cost me around 15k total for both exterior and interior detailing with ceramic spray. They claim it’ll last for 8-9 months. I intend to do this every year instead of one lump sum payment for ceramic coating.

[helterskelter]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

ONWARD:

Perfect Drive. The joy this car can give on highways and winding mountain roads is amazing. I drove from Gurgaon to Bir near Mcleodganj in Himachal, roughly 500 kms. Got a FE of around 14/kmpl.

[sid_deb]

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Hi thanks for the reply.
No, the 330i Sport did not with navigation and is running on IDrive 6.
the only option i have come across till now is the Bimmertech MMI prime hence the confusion whether to go ahead with it or not.

Congrats on the purchase! What discount did you get on the 330i sport? Also did you have to pay 95K as the service charge to the dealer in Gurgaon?