What did you do to your M3/M4 today?

[SteveYem]

Originally Posted by Jbonly21

M performance diffusers with RM1 design sides.

Thank you!!

[SteveYem]

I installed a new M Performance shift knob this evening:

[jackgreer]

Got the LCI illuminated badges for my f82 only to realize that Kies packed only one bag/set of crimps and adaptors…a few hours later and a lot of soldering help from my father and another weekend project is complete.

[SteveYem]

Today I removed my beat up carbon fiber front lower splitters and installed a set of gloss black splitters and accompanying MP style gloss black lip. I actually dig how the gloss black ties in with the kidney grilles, black 437M wheels and other black trim elements on the car, despite my initial impulse to go with carbon fiber.

Before:



After:

[Wanted_M]

New wheels, something different.

[Clarkie52]

Visited PVM in Manchester to get my CT Carbon MP style carbon splitter fitted.I think it transformed the front end.

[BigFatRaccoon]

Originally Posted by SteveYem

I installed a new M Performance shift knob this evening:

How are you liking the shifter compared to the OEM one? Does it make a huge difference or not in terms of shift feel and throw?

[shotsbymikey]

New Front Lip

[SteveYem]

Originally Posted by BigFatRaccoon

How are you liking the shifter compared to the OEM one? Does it make a huge difference or not in terms of shift feel and throw?

Overall, I like it and prefer it over the stock shift knob. Shifts feel more precise and the throw feels a bit shorter. It removed some of the 'rubbery' feel that I noticed with the stock shift knob. The only downsides I could note are that the M Performance knob is smaller than the stock one which results in a more focused feel in the hand, and also that the white cross-stitching on the suede boot looks a bit out of place against the rest of the car's interior (subjective). The iND version with the tri-color stitching looks right at home, but at ~$250 more I can forgive the white stitching.

[BigFatRaccoon]

Originally Posted by SteveYem

Overall, I like it and prefer it over the stock shift knob. Shifts feel more precise and the throw feels a bit shorter. It removed some of the 'rubbery' feel that I noticed with the stock shift knob. The only downsides I could note are that the M Performance knob is smaller than the stock one which results in a more focused feel in the hand, and also that the white cross-stitching on the suede boot looks a bit out of place against the rest of the car's interior (subjective). The iND version with the tri-color stitching looks right at home, but at ~$250 more I can forgive the white stitching.

Thank you for your insight! The boot can probably be swapped by something like this https://cobywheel.com/f80-manual-shift-boot.html

[SteveYem]

Originally Posted by BigFatRaccoon

Thank you for your insight! The boot can probably be swapped by something like this https://cobywheel.com/f80-manual-shift-boot.html

Wow…that’s a much more palatable price point! I’ll have to do some research on how to go about removing the knob from the boot…

EDIT: I just placed an order with Coby for a tri-stitched shift boot and matching e-brake boot. I'll let you know how the install goes!

[SteveYem]

I swapped in a set of yellow DRLs. Not sure yet whether I love it, but it’s certainly a different flavor!

[HotRodM4]

5k oil change + FCP Euro old oil return today

[F80RN]

10mmF /5mm R Macht Shhnell spacers installed. Then added gas.

[SteveYem]

I installed a carbon fiber and alcantara e-brake grip from Autotecknic, as well as tri-stitched alcantara e-brake and shifter boots made by Coby Wheel. I’m pretty happy with the result!




Had to get the steering wheel stitching in the shot



Shout out to @BigFatRaccoon for the recommendation on Coby Wheel!

[BigFatRaccoon]

Originally Posted by HotRodM4

5k oil change + FCP Euro old oil return today

How do you like Motul? I've always used Liquimoly for my 5W40 but been seeing folks on here really liking Motul and just curious about how different it is.

[BigFatRaccoon]

Originally Posted by SteveYem

I installed a carbon fiber and alcantara e-brake grip from Autotecknic, as well as tri-stitched alcantara e-brake and shifter boots made by Coby Wheel. I’m pretty happy with the result!




Had to get the steering wheel stitching in the shot



Shout out to @BigFatRaccoon for the recommendation on Coby Wheel!

That's awesome! How was the install process? Pretty straightforward?

[NoorSinghJohal]

Originally Posted by shotsbymikey

New Front Lip

This lip looks amazing, which one is it ?

[SteveYem]

Originally Posted by BigFatRaccoon

That's awesome! How was the install process? Pretty straightforward?

It wasn't terrible, but it took a bit of doing. Regarding the shift boot, I unfortunately/carelessly broke all three of the plastic mounting tabs on the base of the shift knob when removing it from the OEM boot which means I'll have to get creative if/when I ever put it back to stock. That said, the Coby boot all does not have to be secured to the knob and instead the knob is bottomed out on the shift lever as usual and then the boot is secured in place on the shift lever using zip ties, with the upper zip tied positioned to get the boot snug up against the bottom of the knob so that there is no visible gap. The boot has an additional 'tongue' of material that fits around the shift lever to make this possible.
You also need to remove your OEM shift boot from it's plastic mounting frame which is fairly easy; gently pry out all of the staples and then gently peel the boot material from the frame. Note, if you are modifying the original OEM leather boot (as opposed to my case where I was modifying the OEM M Performance alcantara boot with white x-stitching), you may find that the leather is sort of crimped/pressed/melted onto the plastic frame and does not want to come off easily. In this case you may need to take a sharp razor blade and work your way around the material to free it from the base, and you may/will tear the material in the process. This may result in the stock leather boot being irreversibly damaged and not possible to reinstall down the road, so take this into consideration!

Regarding the e-brake boot, I was replacing the stock leather boot where I ran into the issue described above with the leather material being bonded to the plastic mounting base. I had to cut the base of the boot in various places to remove it, and I believe reusing it would be difficult at this point.

In the near term, I'm not concerned about the irreversibility of this modification because the Coby alcantara shift boots look so much better (IMO) than the stock ones, but in general I do always prefer modifications that are fully reversible. Another observation is that the OEM shift boots....both the stock leather one and the OEM M Performance alcantara one.....have a sort of fine white mesh lining on the inside which adds some relative rigidity to the OEM boots and I suppose may be there as a protective backing for moisture ingress into those areas or possibly for durability / tear-resistance reasons, but I'm really not sure. In any case, the Coby boots do not have any such interior lining and are instead single layer suede/alcantara material. I don't expect to run into any durability issues but wanted to point it out to anyone considering purchasing the product.

EDIT: Adding a photo showing the Coby boot (left) and the OEM M Performance alcantara boot which has the aforementioned inside lining material. You can also see the extra 'tongue' material on the inside of the Coby boot which is zip-tied to the shift lever to retain its position relative to the shift knob.

[HotRodM4]

Originally Posted by BigFatRaccoon

How do you like Motul? I've always used Liquimoly for my 5W40 but been seeing folks on here really liking Motul and just curious about how different it is.

No complaints. I used to use Liqui Moly on my 335i. No issues, occasionally got the add oil warning.

Oil changes every 5k running BM3 Stage 2 OTS tune.

I’ve been using Motul for like 3 years now cause of that long oil thread.

[BigFatRaccoon]

Originally Posted by SteveYem

It wasn't terrible, but it took a bit of doing. Regarding the shift boot, I unfortunately/carelessly broke all three of the plastic mounting tabs on the base of the shift knob when removing it from the OEM boot which means I'll have to get creative if/when I ever put it back to stock. That said, the Coby boot all does not have to be secured to the knob and instead the knob is bottomed out on the shift lever as usual and then the boot is secured in place on the shift lever using zip ties, with the upper zip tied positioned to get the boot snug up against the bottom of the knob so that there is no visible gap. The boot has an additional 'tongue' of material that fits around the shift lever to make this possible.
You also need to remove your OEM shift boot from it's plastic mounting frame which is fairly easy; gently pry out all of the staples and then gently peel the boot material from the frame. Note, if you are modifying the original OEM leather boot (as opposed to my case where I was modifying the OEM M Performance alcantara boot with white x-stitching), you may find that the leather is sort of crimped/pressed/melted onto the plastic frame and does not want to come off easily. In this case you may need to take a sharp razor blade and work your way around the material to free it from the base, and you may/will tear the material in the process. This may result in the stock leather boot being irreversibly damaged and not possible to reinstall down the road, so take this into consideration!

Regarding the e-brake boot, I was replacing the stock leather boot where I ran into the issue described above with the leather material being bonded to the plastic mounting base. I had to cut the base of the boot in various places to remove it, and I believe reusing it would be difficult at this point.

In the near term, I'm not concerned about the irreversibility of this modification because the Coby alcantara shift boots look so much better (IMO) than the stock ones, but in general I do always prefer modifications that are fully reversible. Another observation is that the OEM shift boots....both the stock leather one and the OEM M Performance alcantara one.....have a sort of fine white mesh lining on the inside which adds some relative rigidity to the OEM boots and I suppose may be there as a protective backing for moisture ingress into those areas or possibly for durability / tear-resistance reasons, but I'm really not sure. In any case, the Coby boots do not have any such interior lining and are instead single layer suede/alcantara material. I don't expect to run into any durability issues but wanted to point it out to anyone considering purchasing the product.

EDIT: Adding a photo showing the Coby boot (left) and the OEM M Performance alcantara boot which has the aforementioned inside lining material. You can also see the extra 'tongue' material on the inside of the Coby boot which is zip-tied to the shift lever to retain its position relative to the shift knob.

Very in-depth review, thank you for the install tips. Yeah I do notice the Coby boot is a bit thinner but hopefully that doesn't cause any differences in long-term wear. As for the plastic ring, did you have any issues with that? I think it was the Tommy G video where he was saying something about it being hard to manuever and I think he ended up glueing it at the end, sounds like you didn't have that problem but curious to hear your thought anyway. Post some pics of it fully installed as well, would love to see how the final product is in fit/finish.

[F80RN]

Short paint correction and ceramic coating applied.