Dream M4 Build - Forever Build

[Drifter2090]

Originally Posted by heymarkv

Normal people: *Sleeps in on the weekends*
Me: *Wakes up at 5am to go to a spot for photos during sunrise at 6am*

Also hot take: LCI tail lights > GTS tail lights.

100%, the OEM LCI's are so much better than those cheap aftermarket GTS tails. Definitely would love a set of the Shadowline LCI one day.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by Drifter2090

100%, the OEM LCI's are so much better than those cheap aftermarket GTS tails. Definitely would love a set of the Shadowline LCI one day.

Oh I 500% agree, the Euro Shadowlines are subtle, but so much cleaner. A pricey mod that very few will notice or appreciate, but the ones that do will understand and definitely agree that they’re way cooler than the GTS tails.

[heymarkv]

Made some changes and acquired my dream set of wheels, but more on that later when I finally edit the photos.

Also, the LED adaptive headlights is the best option for this car, it just looks so menacing!

[heymarkv]

So, I told myself that I was just going to keep it OEM+… (That was also a lie)

Year 2 Update – “F*CK IT, WE BALL”

After the first year of ownership with the car, I knew that I needed to get new tires as mine were the old original tires on the car from 2017 and shot. But, I put the car away for winter and didn’t think much of it as I wouldn’t need new tires until the Spring time – which in WNY generally means late April / early May.

Also side note: I use a CTEK Lithium battery tender while the car is stored in a garage during the winter, fantastic product, simple to setup & use.

Anyways, I am obsessed with wheels, wheel fitment, and achieving a clean stance on cars. I love researching these topics and getting inspiration from others who have similar styles like mine. Younger me was all about slammed, stretched, stanced cars whereas adult me is all about Form = Function, something that looks great but also improves the car’s handling capabilities.

So, I needed tires for this upcoming season right?

I was originally looking at a set of Apex Arc-8s but I asked some local powder coaters if they could do a custom brushed finish for me, unfortunately none of them could do what I wanted. Disappointed I just continued to look around at wheels online until I stumbled upon my dream wheels.

WheelFlip had a set of Matte Black 19in Volk TE37SLs listed on their website still in stock, which I was surprised as the 19s have been discounted for a while now and Volk was currently phasing out the 18s. I knew I had to have these as these were the LAST SET IN-STOCK online new, so it was now or never.

I immediately contacted WheelFlip, confirmed that they still had them, and asked about custom finishes as Matte Black is boring and saw that they offered Triple Chrome for a better cost than what my local powder coaters were offering for just powder. I’ve had a bunch of different finishes over the years and Triple Chrome was always one that I wanted to do on a white car. Immediately placed the order with WheelFlip, went to Denver for a work trip and the suspense was killing me while I waited for these to get shipped back home to me.

Boy Math = Buying new tires for a new set of wheels because I needed the tires anyways.

I’ve bought a lot of different sets of wheels over the years in a bunch of different colors & finishes, but nothing compares to how it felt unboxing these babies, truly a surreal moment as I’ve dreamt of owning a set of these wheels ever since I was a kid. Red valve stems originally came with the wheels along with some red spoke decals, but I ordered blue Volk valve stems as I prefer blue over red. And, if you're wondering why I don't have any stickers on the wheels, I just feel like it takes away from the clean look that the triple chrome finish provides. Trust me, I've tried many different spoke decal colors, even OG stickers and no stickers just looks the cleanest imo. I won’t lie, I was a lil worried about how the rear would fit as it’s an aggressive offset meant for the E9X, not F8X but I found a couple other F8Xs running these specs online and they seemed fine. The wheels fit extremely well with only being lowered on Swift springs.

Dream Wheels on the Dream M4, I can die happy now.
Specs: Stock Michelin Pilot 4s Tire Sizes
Front: 19x9.5+21 with a 10mm spacer, effectively a +11 offset
Rear: 19x10.5+22

[heymarkv]

I’ve never been one for showy engine bays but I had to make an exception this time around. Back when I owned a F10 535 I met Graham in the F10 group on FB and we instantly hit it off as if were long lost twins that were separated at birth.

So, obviously I had to support him and his company ApexBuilt as I continue with the mods for the M4, always support your homies & small businesses when you can.

ApexBuilt Titanium air intakes and charge pipes in their blueberry finish.
They look fantastic but sound even better, the induction & turbo spool noises are amplified and just sounds WILD, even with a stock exhaust.

As much as I love the blueberry finish, I do wish that I went with their ghost finish (Raw Ti) for a more subtle look, but I'm more than pleased with these and kinda goes with the White / Chrome / Blue color scheme that I have going with the car currently.

[heymarkv]

TE Tuesday?

Oh, I also added a Pom Performance CF front lip. Came pre-drilled and has a thin underside which really liked as I was able to utilize the factory bolts for the undertray as connecting points as well as some self-tapers+washers combo.

Super easy to install with really great fitment & finish, would recommend.

[heymarkv]

“So, what’s next?”

I get asked this a lot and truthfully I don’t know. I have always prioritized cars and modding them until my heart’s content, but that meant other interests and hobbies of mine have been put on the back burner as I unfortunately don’t have unlimited funds to do everything that I want to do. I love the state that the car is currently in, I haven’t made it too low to where driving is always worrisome, it looks great, and stock power is an absolute rocket ship compared to my winter beater 06 TL.

It’s tough to justify at the moment a bunch more mods that will realistically make the car more of a pain to drive around where I am in NY. So, I’m just kinda chilling at the moment and going to enjoy the car as is for now, get it paid off as I don’t owe a ton left on the car and then take it to the next phase. Is this adulting???

I have this vision of what I want the M4 to become one day which is more like a clubsport type car that’s still streetable while being a very capable track / autocross car. Something that just amplifies what this car does so well already. I’m heavily inspired by Ring Cars, WEC GT4 class, JDM car culture, Form = Function fitment, all together ultimately working towards making a beautifully balanced M4.

Probably won’t have any major mod updates for a while, but we all know damn well I’m going to still have some great photos to share here as I continue to enjoy the car.

And then for all my photo homies out there, these shots were taken with a Sony A7iii paired with a Sony 85mm 1.8 lens. If you have the space to utilize an 85mm for car shoots, do so it's such a great combination for subject focus and dreamy background separation!

[RAT3DM]

Fantastic thread...love the car and progression you've made with it. I'm in love with my M4 as well so know this made my heart happy!

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by RAT3DM

Fantastic thread...love the car and progression you've made with it. I'm in love with my M4 as well so know this made my heart happy!

I really appreciate the kind words brotha! I firmly believe the F8X Ms are the best cars, they're so great at everything and look so goddamn good from every angle!

[heymarkv]

Accurate AF, I recently took the car out from storage like a week ago and man, it felt so freakin' great to drive it again. Others dream of super / hyper cars, meanwhile I dream of BMWs.
Personally, my dream garage would be:
- F82 M4 street / clubsport type build
- G05 X5 M40i daily
- E92 M3 track build

[heymarkv]

My buddy Larry just got his latest bike, a 2024 BMW S1000rr and it is absolutely menacing in the black storm metallic colorway. He offered to let me to ride it, but it's been ages since I rode a sport bike, 600cc were the max that I have ever ridden and a brand new 1000cc liter bike just seems extremely intimidating in my eyes. The S1krr has been my dream bike ever since I laid my eyes on one at the NYIAS back in 2015... but I left the bike life for cars and I'm beyond happy with the M4.

But you know me, had to snag some photos of it with the M4 because BMW x BMW.

[heymarkv]

Met up with Derek last weekend so that he could do an updated shoot with the M4 as our schedules finally aligned and man, all I gotta say is that I’m so stoked on how these shots came out, there are no bad angles with the F8X!

I can't stop staring at these and just admiring the car as it's my pride & joy.

Anyways, enjoy Part 1 of my shoot with Derek Palmer Creative!

[heymarkv]

I think it’s time for me to fix 1 of the 2 biggest issues that I have with my car – the lack of the moving redline / shift lights in the instrument gauge cluster within the dash.

A little back story about the car, it was originally a Canadian car that was converted and imported to the US; being that I live right by the Canadian border and close to Toronto, it’s not a crazy thing to see desirable cars imported in and resold around here.

So, I’m missing out on the iconic M moving red line / shift lights, ya know the orange and red lights towards the end of the tachometer that light up as you reach operating temp and highlight when to shift in the instrument cluster. It’s not a major issue, but I’d love to solve this just incase others are also experiencing the same issue too.

I’ve searched the internet trying to find the source of this issue and I learned that:

- US cars only have MPH in their Speedometers, whereas Canadian cars only have KPH. Mine have both therefore the original gauge cluster was changed to meet import regulations.

- 99% sure that the programming to the VIN was done incorrectly and that is the reason why the moving redline lights aren’t working as the hardware all seems perfectly fine, and the likelihood of LEDs being burnt out at 20k miles or at 6yr old is extremely unlikely.

My question is:

Can this be solved with remote coding from a professional as I imagine whoever would need access to ESYS, and the proper knowledge of whatever modules to change & fix? Very much so out of my own DIY realm.

OR

Would I need to purchase an entirely new instrument gauge cluster and have it programmed to the VIN via the dealership?

You can see why I’ve been putting this off as it’s not really a big bother to me, but I do wish that I had the proper iconic moving redline shift lights in my dash as they look amazing and it’s part of the specialness of a M-Car, but it’s also not the end of the world for me driving without them as I also do have the HUD.

Let me know what you guys think and any recommendations that you may have.

[jdmpimp]

Originally Posted by heymarkv

I think it’s time for me to fix 1 of the 2 biggest issues that I have with my car – the lack of the moving redline / shift lights in the instrument gauge cluster within the dash.

A little back story about the car, it was originally a Canadian car that was converted and imported to the US; being that I live right by the Canadian border and close to Toronto, it’s not a crazy thing to see desirable cars imported in and resold around here.

So, I’m missing out on the iconic M moving red line / shift lights, ya know the orange and red lights towards the end of the tachometer that light up as you reach operating temp and highlight when to shift in the instrument cluster. It’s not a major issue, but I’d love to solve this just incase others are also experiencing the same issue too.

I’ve searched the internet trying to find the source of this issue and I learned that:

- US cars only have MPH in their Speedometers, whereas Canadian cars only have KPH. Mine have both therefore the original gauge cluster was changed to meet import regulations.

- 99% sure that the programming to the VIN was done incorrectly and that is the reason why the moving redline lights aren’t working as the hardware all seems perfectly fine, and the likelihood of LEDs being burnt out at 20k miles or at 6yr old is extremely unlikely.

My question is:

Can this be solved with remote coding from a professional as I imagine whoever would need access to ESYS, and the proper knowledge of whatever modules to change & fix? Very much so out of my own DIY realm.

OR

Would I need to purchase an entirely new instrument gauge cluster and have it programmed to the VIN via the dealership?

You can see why I’ve been putting this off as it’s not really a big bother to me, but I do wish that I had the proper iconic moving redline shift lights in my dash as they look amazing and it’s part of the specialness of a M-Car, but it’s also not the end of the world for me driving without them as I also do have the HUD.

Let me know what you guys think and any recommendations that you may have.

Have you looked up bimmercode app to see if they can do anything to help you out. I definitely don't think you would need a new cluster. Have they ever lit up? Wonder if there is a way if you were to pull the cluster and test it to make sure they actually do light up.

Man, that looks so weird without those lights being lit up. That would bug the shit outta me.

[heymarkv]

Originally Posted by jdmpimp

Have you looked up bimmercode app to see if they can do anything to help you out. I definitely don't think you would need a new cluster. Have they ever lit up? Wonder if there is a way if you were to pull the cluster and test it to make sure they actually do light up.

Man, that looks so weird without those lights being lit up. That would bug the shit outta me.

Bimmercode doesn’t have the ability, I’ve looked into it

If its something that someone could code in/out it would require pro tools like ESYS to go in and modify the KOMBI like someone does to do an EDC delete. That’s my guess though as this is a really bizarre and rare occurrence.

Hopefully I don’t need a new cluster but who knows.

It inly bugs me whenever I try to take interior photos LOL otherwise I never notice it.