[vignesh.cv]

Madhus visit and Trackday updates

It was close to 7k kms since I got the tyres replaced and got the balancing & alignment done. Decided to get it checked as I had a trackday coming up at Chennai. As usual, I decided to take her to Madhus for a top quality treatment. It was wonderful to meet people from back in the days, and they recognise you and welcome you with a smile. Something that's become synonymous with Madhus. Since it was a weekend, the place was quite packed but the folks over there were super efficient, finding a place to park the car and get the wheels removed for balancing check.

Awaiting her turn to be attended to


Quickly up on the hydraulic jack


Removing any stones lodged in the treads before balancing




The balancing was done in about 25mins for all the 4 wheels. Thankfully, all the 4 wheels have not gone worse when compared to before.

Loaded up on the alignment bay


The underbody still looks okay


You can see the rear diff protection as well as the DPF. The exhaust pipe looks more oval until the DPF after which it becomes more rounded. Not sure what is the reason.

The wheel alignment readings were also well within the norms and off I went to travel to Chennai for the track school. It was pouring by the time I left Bangalore and it rained almost until Kanchipuram. The drive was fabulous as usual, the car soaking up the undulations effectively and allowing me to carry decent pace even in the wet. We stopped for early dinner at Saisangeet and were treated to some good food as always. There are a few places where flyover construction is still not complete, especially crossing Ambur town and that slows you down considerably. Otherwise, the roads were fine until Kanchipuram. Post which, the roads become tricky owing to the heavy vehicle movement in that area. The return journey was pleasant as well, with thankfully no rains and manageable traffic all through.

[vignesh.cv]

43,000 paid service update

The iDrive console was reminding me a service was due in approx 1000kms. I had extended the BRI, and was contemplating on the BSI package. After going through a few posts here, and considering my usage pattern, I decided to get the BSI plus package before giving the car for the paid service. As usual reached out to folks in Deutsche Motoren, got the package done and then gave the car for servicing. I went in for the 3yr/40,000 km package.

As part of the servicing, they carried out the following tasks:
- Engine oil & oil filter change
- Fuel filter
- Air filter
- Microfilter
- Wiper blades

The service bill says Shell LL04 5w30 oil has been used for the oil change.

Also, there was a recall for replacing the EGR cooler and that got replaced under extended warranty free of charge.

My total service bill was Rs.3141 - the breakdown goes like
- Distilled water - 473
- Replacing number plate (KA) - 275
- AdBlue top up of 14ltr - 1542
- Pickup & drop charges - 850

Next service is due in 12,000kms. Now that the Skoda has been sold off, she's been my daily driver, be it driving around crowded streets of Bengaluru or highway drives and has been delivering stellar performance whilst cocooning in absolute comfort all through.

[vignesh.cv]

First anniversary

And just like that, one year has passed since I got her home. Still feels like yesterday I travelled to Gurgaon to meet Mohit to inspect and seal the deal. I’ve done little close to 12,000kms since then. Got her washed and waxed as part of the first anniversary - the PPF from The Gloss Factor still shines through and it’s easily the best investment I have done after purchasing the car. It has kept my car scratch free in Bangalore traffic as well as providing that nice gloss finish. The next best investment is switching over to tubeless tyres from RFT. The ride quality and comfort and peace of mind has increased multifold post switching to tubeless.

The cosmetic additions like the black kidney grill, black M logos do add a nice touch while keeping everything understated. Still discover small things to my surprise - learnt that the car in Adaptive mode can downshift accordingly when the navigation system indicates a curve or incline coming ahead. This doesn’t work on our roads though :-). The ride quality has been fabulous be it highway runs or navigating pot holes in the city. The sound insulation has been good as well. I do end up taking calls while commuting and no complaints about background noise so far.

At the wash place





After the wash, just chilling





The modification bug hasn’t hit me yet, mostly because I’m still getting used to the car. Once the extended warranty runs out, I do intend to start with something basic.

[cooldip]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

First anniversary

Many congratulations Vignesh on owning and driving an amazing car.

I still remember the chats we had on the 630d as I continue my subtle lookout for one.

Ever since I looked deeper into the 630d, I haven't found a better BMW for my use case.

Wishing you many more miles of happy driving

[sandeepravi]

If I might ask, where did you get your grille blackened? I believe you stay in BLR.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by cooldip

Many congratulations Vignesh on owning and driving an amazing car.

Wishing you many more miles of happy driving

Thanks a lot Kuldip. Hope you find the right vehicle for your needs.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by sandeepravi

If I might ask, where did you get your grille blackened? I believe you stay in BLR.

Hey, this is an original BMW accessory. Of course you can also get it painted or wrapped but I just went with the promise of a better fit and finish. Yes, I live in Bangalore.

[niki9009]

Thanks for the nice write up, Wanted to check with you if you had re registered the car in Bangalore and got a refund of the tax from Gurgaon RTO? If yes how did you do it and any agents to help with this? TIA.

[AKSarkar1]

Not really a fan of the new BMWs but boy does the 6 series look like it’s worth every penny. Undoubtedly my favourite model from the recent years and I hope to own a pre-worshipped one in the coming years. The design of the car is such that it will not age quick!

Thanks for sharing and wishing you many many happy miles in this beauty.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by niki9009

Thanks for the nice write up, Wanted to check with you if you had re registered the car in Bangalore and got a refund of the tax from Gurgaon RTO? If yes how did you do it and any agents to help with this? TIA.

Thank you. Yes I did get the car re registered in KA. Unfortunately the refund from the source RTO is anpplicable only if the first owner transfers the vehicle in their name to the destination state. Not for the second owner. Hope that helps.

[Oggy]

Congratulations on your ownership, great to hear you're loving the car. I honestly believe the 6 series was one of the more underrated Beamers offering 75% of the 7 series experience for half the price. It's a phenomenal tourer and 12 hour journeys with the vehicle felt refreshing thanks to the seats, climate, and comfort of the air suspension. I personally think the M Sport package balances out the looks very well. Good luck with your ownership! (Attaching photos for reference)

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Not really a fan of the new BMWs but boy does the 6 series look like it’s worth every penny.

Thanks for sharing and wishing you many many happy miles in this beauty.

Thank you, the looks are polarising, but I feel BMW have made the proportions in a way that it does not look very bulky.

Originally Posted by Oggy

Congratulations on your ownership, great to hear you're loving the car. I honestly believe the 6 series was one of the more underrated Beamers offering 75% of the 7 series experience for half the price. It's a phenomenal tourer and 12 hour journeys with the vehicle felt refreshing thanks to the seats, climate, and comfort of the air suspension. I personally think the M Sport package balances out the looks very well. Good luck with your ownership! (Attaching photos for reference)

Thanks a lot. Your car in that shade with those alloys looks fabulous & timeless. Yes, this is a rare species and the space and practicality keeps growing on. Completely agree with you on the touring part, one can easily do cross country trips on this car without feeling tired.

[manualManuel]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

First anniversary

And just like that, one year has passed since I got her home. Still feels like yesterday I travelled to Gurgaon to meet Mohit to inspect and seal the deal. I’ve done little close to 12,000kms since then.

When I saw the 12k, thought you have done nearly the same distance as me, and its the same colour! Then noticed the 'more'

I too have a white 630i GT Signature edition. Compared to the new 5 series, I think this is awesome value. And BMW gave very good discounts on the 630.

I did not take a service pack, because the regular pack I thought was not enough, and the plus was a bit much. What about you? How has the service been?

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by manualManuel

I too have a white 630i GT Signature edition. Compared to the new 5 series, I think this is awesome value. And BMW gave very good discounts on the 630.

I did not take a service pack, because the regular pack I thought was not enough, and the plus was a bit much. What about you? How has the service been?

Thank you and congrats on your 630i - given it’s a petrol, it’s very quiet in town and a capable machine.

I ended up taking the service pack plus as I realised the service intervals are 12,000kms for India and given the highway drives, it does pay off over time. Especially considering what all are included. I’ve been giving my car to Deutsche Motoren near Hoodi and I’m happy with their service. They don’t add anything extra unless you ask for it. And delivery time has also been prompt.

[vignesh.cv]

Audio Upgrade

I had started a thread in the ICE section with regards to tuning the sound system for a better and clearer audio output. My listening is mostly vocals, classical and electronic. What I found lacking in the stock setup was that clarity which came only when you turned on the volume to more than 50%. After a bit of tweaking the EQ, things did improve. And the other difference was when playing via usb vs. streaming. After some research and some superb advice from fellow BHPian Shon, I decided to take the plunge to upgrade the factory HK amp to something better.

Starting from iDrive 7 onwards, BMW have switched Amp setup, so now we have a Receiver Audio Module (RAM) along with the Amp. Due to this split setup, the HK Amp has been downgraded from 600W to 464W since then. The number of speakers remains 16 though. Now, the audio quality isn't terrible, perfectly fine for those listening to casual music/radio etc., My problem was with the audio clarity, tone especially in low volume settings. This was the motivation behind this journey.

I also wanted something that was plug n play. Match was highly recommended for their compatibility with BMWs. I reached out to AutoCorsa Bangalore as their parent company Concept 12V were the distributors for Match/Helix here. I met with Roshan, the engineer over there, and he explained the variants and understood my needs. He knew his stuff, was very helpful, and did not try to sell anything that I did not need. He also demoed a F30 where they had installed the Match DSP with Focal speakers with Helix trunk subwoofer and I could make out the difference in clarity. No distortion and clarity was maintained from low to higher volume levels. After inspecting the 6GT's setup, he recommended we use the Match UP 10 DSP along with compatible wiring harness to make it plug n play.

We finalized on a date for the install and blocked a timeslot for the same. The installation itself was fairly straightforward - the DSP needs power, which was tapped from the battery. The workmanship and attention to detail was really good. The first thing they did was hook up a battery charger to ensure the battery is topped up. I enjoyed watching them go about measuring the power wire, sheathing it and then using a heat shrink on the terminals before piping it under the frame support. Everything was neatly cable tied and one would only know the battery was tapped by looking at the massive fuse coming out of the battery +ve terminal. The Match supplied harness connects to the factory wiring on both the RAM and Amp side. After this, Roshan proceeded to connect the DSP tuning software with the Match DSP via the supplied USB cable. The DSP software automatically upgrades the firmware on the DSP if it was out of date, and it proceeded to promptly flash the DSP. However, the flashing failed midway and the DSP was effectively bricked. So, Roshan sent out his person to get another DSP and we did the same and that also ended up getting bricked with a failed flash. After some troubleshooting, we could not un-brick the DSP so called it a day and Roshan mentioned he will get in touch with Match in Germany to get this resolved.

Couple days later I receive a call from Roshan that the DSP is fixed and flashed with the latest firmware and we are good to go ahead with the installation. So, I took an appointment today and got the installation done. Again, a thorough job by Roshan - he setup a mic in the driver's seat and played the pink noise clips and then proceeded to tune the DSP. Post that he asked me to play my fav music and boy what a difference it made. I played L.Shankar's Who's to know streamed via Apple Music and it was just amazing. It just felt like all the speakers in the car just came alive. I could distinctively hear the instruments in the background and made it for an immersive experience. The clarity was something to be experienced in person. The best part about the Match DSP was that the software is very capable, wherein one can configure the channels via the software itself instead of having to go back and change the wiring.

Was it worth the investment, I would say a definitive yes. Long drives would even more enjoyable with this setup.

Battery charger hooked up

HK amp specific wiring harness

Match UP 10 DSP

Mounted behind the Receiver Audio Module

Factory HK amp

Power wires connected, can see the huge bulb like thing from the positive terminal

Close up of power cable

Tuning session

All done, ready to wrap up