[Air_Kerala]

"I drive a BMW", words every petrol head prays to say some day. Beautifully written, I look forward to following 5385's adventures as it unfolds. Congrats on the acquisition, may the roads stay smooth as she smokes the competition at traffic signals. Cheers

[lamborghini]

Congrats! She looks to be in as great shape!

I had actually spotted this on the classifieds a little while ago, was trying to push a friend to pick it up because it seemed immaculate and clean!

[arun_m5]

Congrats on your purchase. I think you must be aware that this car has a fatal flaw which was faced by several e90 320d owners I know. The water drain below the wind-shield NEEDS to be kept clean and must drain water without issues. If it gets clogged, the water can overflow into the ECU box and ruin / short the ECU and lead to an unusable car. A new ECU definitely isn't cheap and getting a chip level fix took 2 months for my friends car. Plenty of resources online that elaborate on this issue. Take care and wish you years of happy ownership.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by hey.rudey

Only in manual mode, you can rev-match and shift to your accordance

Really keen to understand how you're 'rev-matching' in an automatic....

[hey.rudey]

Originally Posted by arun_m5

If it gets clogged, the water can overflow into the ECU box and ruin / short the ECU and lead to an unusable car.

Hi @arun_m5 thank you so much for sharing this. Keeping extreme caution about about this.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Really keen to understand how you're 'rev-matching' in an automatic.

Hi @ghostrider, I meant this while upshifting . I have the habit of rev-matching on Popcorn, so sometimes I instinctively press the brake pedal and accelerator while downshifting in manual mode. The car automatically shifts down in manual mode as well as the speed lowers, hence there is no need for this

[hey.rudey]

Almost 2 months update:

It will be 2 months of ownership in a week. We have driven 5385 almost 1200 kilometres now, and she has started talking back to me and dad. The car does have some quirks; a few exciting, a few unexpected.

This is Spartaaaaa!
(AKA the AUX pit of doom)

When one buys a BMW or any premium car in particular, he/she/they often are told of the amazing features, feels, and drive

What about the quirks?

The last time I wrote about the car, I had noted about the cupholder. While I did not fix it (as I don't eat in the car, hence no need), there was another quirk I had to immediately fix myself: The AUX port. I had taken the bluetooth module from the Beemer to use in the City. When I went back to place it in, the aux port module fell inside the centre console. After 2 hours, a long thread and magnet, chopsticks, and finally my longest finger, I managed to pull out the module from the wire and place it back (albeit not entirely). The barmy part it is that this is a very common and regular problem in E90s. There is a possibility of the module dropping in again.


( -_- ) ( ;-; )

A Christmas weekend drive along my favourite spots

After driving the car for short distances under supervision, I finally got the go ahead to take the car for morning drives (it is the family pride and joy.... and tuned). I took the car for short spins over that Friday and Saturday, where I took the car around Five Gardens and Shivaji Park. Sunlight shining though yellowed leaves, fitness enthusiasts training with intimidating impetus, and minimal cars on the road. The calm was amazing, there was no need to speed or anything.


At Five Gardens


At Grandad's spot with an unexpected photo buddy

Sunday was a different tale. I went for an early morning drive with friends town side, and I could finally get a feel of the Sports/Manual Mode. It felt like the car had an unlimited source of power. On open stretches such as outside NSCI in the mornings, I noticed that car became rev happy. One press of the accelerated, the car sets off like an evanescent bullet. In manual mode I achieved shifts at relatively higher rpms, 3500 to be precise over the normal 2500 - 3000 rpm Sports mode range (in normal mode it shifts at 2000 rpm, where the stage 1 tune comes alive). Surprisingly, the car gave me a splendid average of 10.5 kmpl, it reached 10.7 at one point. The car HUGS apexes and gives you confidence at any speed.

The only thing I feel I need are a good set of break pads; the current ones are really good but I do feel I need something missing. I am currently thinking of getting EBC pads; many people I am acquainted to use and recommend this. The confusion is between the grades: Green Stuff or Yellow Stuff.




A random Hirawat photobombed

Taking care of the car
I can start a side business of car cleaning

I am not going to lie, I was immediately bitten by "keep the car clean" bug. Even the smallest spot made pull out a microfibre cloth. After receiving splendid from a friend, I went and got a few products to start with:

1. Wavex Wax + Shampoo
2. Michelin Wheel Cleaner
3. 3M Interior Polish
4. A set of microfibre cloths

I had already had a sponge and cleaning cloth for Popcorn, hence didn't need to get another

The shampoo worked amazingly well, it gave the shine the car deserves. The wheel cleaner was a bit of a let down; it only works well after you clean the wheels with the shampoo. The interior polish returned a great deal of shine to all the plastics in the interior. I also got a special perfume hanger and spray set for the car from Curated for Cars. They make scents based on many popular perfumes. I have got the one that smells exactly like Gio Armani, and I'm very pleased with it.

I even got a new set of number plates for the car, giving it a Euro feel.





Overall it has been nothing but awesome. Will post more updates, hopefully a road trip or a car meet one!